5 Things I Miss About Europe After Coming Back to India

I can’t wait to go back again only for this.

It’s been two weeks since I got back, and I still miss some parts of my vacation.

Well, it was a 28-day long holiday.

Back to my favourite continent after three years.

But I don’t miss what you think I do — being relaxed, not working, and chilling out. I miss stuff that I didn’t think I would.

I’ve frequently been travelling to Europe for five years. But as a young adult now, what I miss isn’t the laid-back drinking culture or partying— it’s something denser.

Here are five things that are keeping me on a vacation hangover.

For reference, I visited France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Switzerland.

1. No Honking

I hear honks all day long from scooters, cars, tractors, buses, and trucks.

In India, it’s common for people to honk even when the light is red or when stuck in a traffic jam because some people think they can miraculously clear their way by honking. Don’t get me started on how annoying that is.

To rarely hear them for nearly a month was blissful.

There was silence and a sense of peace.

I’m sure it’s easier for those driving, too, because they don’t have an idiot up their behind honking for no reason.

2. I Come From Overpopulation

We are the second most populated country in the world. And honestly, it has plenty of advantages.

Think of this — most of us don’t have to cook or clean because we have somebody who does it for us. We’ve never experienced understaffing like I did this time in Europe.

For example, when we went shopping, we had to put our clothes back on the hanger, and hang them ourselves once done. Yesterday I went shopping in Delhi, and there are 4 staff members only in the trial room. You just have to take your clothes and dump them on the table once done. A customer isn’t expected to work in any way.

Apart from this, there’s really no benefit to overpopulation. Too many people everywhere.

For a few days, it was great to be away from all this.

The below photo is outside our Airbnb in Brussels, Belgium. We saw less than 5 people during our stay here.

The only crowded places are the city centres. But trust me, that crowd is less than what ‘crowd’ means here back at home.

My definition of ‘a crowded place’ looks like this:

3. Feeling Safe

All my crop tops and short shorts are stuffed at the back of my cupboard now. I’ll use them when I visit the beaches in Goa next month because it’s super laid back and has a lot of tourists from across the country and the world.

I live in the capital and have never experienced anything ‘unsafe,’ but I still have to be extremely guarded about what I wear.

I can wear dresses at the mall or in restaurants. But if I have to visit somewhere more local, I’d cover myself.

Some people don’t. But stares from men make me extremely uncomfortable and give me unwanted attention, so it’s a personal choice.

During my holiday, I didn’t even have to think once before pulling something to wear. It’s more freeing mentally when you don’t have to be this guarded.

4. Nature > Restaurants

I’m meeting my friend this Saturday night. We’re heading out to a restaurant. I’m also eating dinner with my fiance tonight at one of our favourite cafes.

I swear, if we had an option to, we’d:

• have a beer at outdoor beer gardens like Czechs and Germans
• swim in the lakes like the Swiss
• chill at the park like everyone else

We’d choose that any day instead of always being indoors.

Below you can see, that my mum and I took our wine and snacks and enjoyed our evenings. In Paris, we also experienced a grand proposal at this location below.

It’s so much more fun and lively to be outdoors, by the nature, and just do your thing.

In all the places we visited, it was common to see locals doing a picnic by the lake or in the park when we’d walk back to our Airbnb.

I wish I could hang out with my friends that way too.

Of course, I know I only saw the good side. These places experience such severe cold for the most part of the year so what I saw is rather short-lived.

5. Freedom to Walk

We walked at least 10,000 steps even on the days we didn’t want to walk. But otherwise, it was an easy 15,000–20,000 steps a day.

And we didn’t even feel it.

The lanes are gorgeous, the weather is great, accompanied by coffee breaks at local cafes.

Back home, there’s zero walking. I don’t enjoy walking in my gated colony because we have stray dogs that I’m scared of (and sometimes monkeys too).

I’m still trying to walk for an hour every evening. But as you can see, the metrics have drastically reduced:

Plus, places we want to visit need a car and aren’t ‘walkable’ like they are in big cities in Europe. It’s probably the same in the States as our countries are much larger and restaurants and shops aren’t just a walk away.

But I miss walking because it also meant I could eat waffles without thinking of how high in calories they are! I actually got home slimmer than before, thanks to this.

Lastly

Travelling exposes you to new experiences that you bring back home.

While I’ve got back countless memories with my mom in what feels like a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us to travel for so long and to so many places, I’ve also come to appreciate a lot of things about my home.

My travels last month also helped me reflect a lot on life and my work. But that’s an article for another time.

I hope you enjoyed this, and I’d be happy if there’s anything you’d want me to write about around this.

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