In Ontario in 1970/71 they still had Grade 13. I had an additional year in high school compared to BC students. It was the year I only took four classes — French, History, Enhanced English and one other class (maybe math?). I had dropped out of music where I played the clarinet because I was unhappy with the teacher, angry with my father and didn’t know why I was taking it. I had absolutely no idea what I would do next, and people were constantly asking: “What will you do after you graduate?” I had read The Drifters by James A. Michener, and I decided that that was the answer. I would go to Europe and find myself.
Now in the novel the characters had wonderful adventures, very bravely tried many different things. Exciting events just happened to them, including sex. I wanted to put myself in a place where I would try many new things, and change my life, and my whole being in fact. (Maybe even some sex, although I kept that thought secret, although my mother did take me to the Doctor’s to get The Pill). In retrospect perhaps I set myself up with an unrealistic challenge, but that was what I wanted to do.
I had a friend Margaret, whom I met every day and we started walking to and from school. We could have taken the bus, but the half hour walk was more peaceful. Margaret was not a close friend, but that year we got to know each other. We often stopped at the restaurant by the school and bought cokes and fries. I guess we had the idea we could get physically fit, but the restaurant showed how small that idea was. When I told Margaret about my European idea, she suggested that she come along with me. It was good, because in actual fact I had no idea how to travel, and was terrified about how to enact my plan (although I was determined to do so and very afraid I would fail after telling everyone about it).
We graduated, and arranged to take off for London, England in September, as it would give us time to earn more money at our summer jobs to pay for our trips. We bought the book to help us -— ‘Europe on $5 a day’ and applied for our passports.
My Mom and family drove me out to the airport where we met Margaret and her family, and we took off on the plane. It was my first plane trip ever.
England: The First Step
Our first challenge was London. We stayed for 2 weeks, and I remember travelling on the tube in the Underground. There were enormously deep escalaters going unbelievably deep. There were maps posted at every station to help you find your way, but underground had many different routes, not just the two routes we had in Toronto. At our first accommodation, a cheap hotel for young people willing to share, the woman renting our space to us asked us if we wanted sheets. I didn’t need them as I had brought a sleeping bag, and Margaret had a sheet type sleeping bag. Then it turned out this was just a joke, and in fact they supplied sheets. She was just trying to see how much she could get out of us? It was not a pleasant joke, I remember thinking.
Nevertheless we got a space in an old building with access to a kitchen. One night we brought food home and made some strange kind of stew I never would have eaten at home, but I was very impressed our ability to put something edible together. We travelled though London, visited the Tower of London I had read so much about in English history books and novels. At Buckingham Palace where we watched the Changing of the Guard. The legend at the Tower of London, we were told, was about the many ravens surrounding it. It said that when the ravens leave, the White Chapel Tower will collapse. This legend was fascinating to me, for some reason. We did see the Crown Jewels too, but my postcard home with a picture of a raven says that the buildings were even better.
While in London I realized that the backpack my mother had lovingly bought for me was far too big for me. I went out and bought a new one that was much more practical that I could manage. One of the tall men staying in our residence took it, and my new backpack was much more manageable.
Paris: A Sad Realization
Our next stop was in Paris where we stayed at a Youth Hostel outside the city in a suburb. It had a huge cafeteria style dining room where we could buy food, and that is where we ate breakfast and dinner. I was surprised that they sold wine — of course at that time we were not allowed to drink wine in public in Ontario until we were 21. We had to take a train into the city, which we did quite often. I wanted to see the Left Bank of the Seine to see all the activity and romance, but when we were there I was sadly disappointed. There was a Church there that was really interesting and possibly it was Notre Dame, but unfortunately I don’t remember. We visited the Muse du Louvre, and were introduced to a lot of art. As well we took a day trip out to Versaille, which was enormous and still looked incredibly rich.
In the midst of a crowd in Paris I tried to use my French (6 years in Ontario public schools, Grades 8 to 13), and was very devastated to find I did not understand a word the woman I spoke to said. She grew impatient with me and left, so I didn’t even get to try and communicate. Of course, she was a stranger in a hurry. But that was my experience throughout the trip. Most people I spoke to spoke more English than I did French, so it was not usable.
One day we stayed around the Hostel and took a long walk, which was very calming and relaxing. There were some trees and I think a river of some sort. I was a bit depressed and not sure whether we were doing what I wanted to do. We seemed to do a lot of sight-seeing, but was that my goal?
Meeting other people at the Youth Hostel was more interesting. They had people from around the world who we chatted with. At the end of our 10 days, we left with a couple of Australian women we had met, on our way to Holland.
Amsterdam: What fun!
Amsterdam turned out to be much more fun than Paris. Buildings were tall and narrow rows all squished together. We were in a Youth Hostel again, but it was really nice. On the main floor there was a bar, and we had the opportunity to go there and meet all kinds of people. I cheered up. We visited many places. It was there that I learned about Rembrandt, the painter I liked the best at that time.
We visited the place where Anne Frank and her family had hid from the Nazis, which was open for visitors. To get to the area they lived in you had to climb many stairs to the top. In 1971 it was almost 20 years after the Second World War, which at the time seemed ancient, but in retrospect it was actually very close in time. Such a major thing influenced the rest of the century, and people even now act and make decisions in response to that war. I was glad I had the opportunity to see it. I brought a leaflet about it home with me, but I think I threw it and everything else out except a few postcards in a fit of cleaning years later.
Our Australian friends parted from us there, but a Canadian man named Bing joined us for the next stage of our trip. And we were off to Scandinavia.
See Part 2 for the rest of the adventures.
I’ve never heard details of your youthful European travels, so finding this very interesting.