EXPERIENCE THE JOURNEY

When I first went to Budapest I got onto a small plane in an equally small airport far away from Paris city centre. It was like I had closed my eyes and Budapest could be anywhere. I had no real sense of where it really was, what lay between my home in Paris and the city in which I had just landed.

The second time I went, I took the train. I looked properly at its position in Europe and contemplated the major and minor cities as well as the geographic hotspots that lay between me and my destination, not because I looked at them on a flight path, but because I really experienced them.

I was whisked from Paris to Basel in comfort and luxury while the French countryside sped past me in all its glory. I can still picture the fields and the churches, the villages and hills. Then from the city of Basel (a historic location lying on the border between France, Germany and Switzerland dating back to the Roman era) I traversed the beauty of Switzerland towards Zurich. Mountains and typical Swiss houses appeared before me like living chocolate boxes. Then I was transported through some of the most awe-inspiring geography in Europe to find my way to the heart of Budapest.

I passed through the Bavarian Alps and by the Tauern Mountains, the towns of Feldkirch, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz and Vienna as equally chocolate-box-like homes and even a few castles revealed themselves. I gained a real sense of place and geography and felt like I was truly on a journey.  I contemplated the people that lived in the homes of different sizes and stature, the creatures that roamed the woodlands and mountain tops, the stories that these landscapes could tell as well as the history and politics that had shaped it and its people. You can’t get that from an aeroplane.

When I arrived in Budapest for the second time, I felt far from home. I felt like I was in a country which was south of Paris, past Switzerland and across the span of Austria. I could picture the landscapes, the homes and the structures that lay between my destination and my home. I experienced the journey and that was worth ten thousand words.

Going public

It's a truth universally acknowledged that public transport is more environmentally friendly but is more than often over crowded and uncomfortable.

On the other hand we should really open our mind to the other opportunities it offers...

During that time you come into contact with an extremely high number of people. Next time why not have a look at them properly. See the variety of life and circumstances that passes you by on a daily basis. Think about what brought them there, what every day human and extraordinary things pass us by.

Why not take it a step further and help someone with a heavy bag up the stairs. I know I'd certainly appreciate that help when I find myself lugging my belongings around. Or give up your seat, or help someone on or off the metro or bus.

Should you find yourself in an antisocial mood why not bring that book with you you always wanted to read. Or you're on the bus, have you looked out of the window during your journey and realised what streets and buildings take up your daily commute.

You could even be creative thinking about your next project, taking sketches or notes. You could even like me now, with the aid of the smartphone, write a blog and see where it takes you.

Have a think about it. There are a lot of potential benefits to going public.

(This blog was brought to you from the line 10 metro Paris.)

an ode to the odyssey

The word Odusseia, from where the English language derives the word Odyssey, means simply “the story of Odysseus”. Now though, Odyssey means so much more. According to Webster it refers to “a series of adventurous journeys usually marked by many changes of fortune”. It evokes a sense of struggle, adventure and longevity but ultimately of courage and perseverance.[1]

It takes Odysseus ten long years to return to Ithaca, his home, after the end of the Trojan wars. During this voyage he encounters the Cyclops, the beautiful and deadly Sirens as well as the six-headed monster Scylla. Throughout his journey, despite the life threatening behaviour of some, he relies on the kindness of strangers such as when the Phaeacians and Aeolus, King of the winds, entertain him lavishly and send him on his way with precious gifts. Through trials, tribulations, monsters and marine challenges Homer sucks us into the story of Odysseus and we become lost within it. 

Finally however, he makes it. He returns home to Ithaca and his wife. As the first line of the chapter “Ithaca at Last” reads

“His tale was over now”

….How different the story would have been without a ten year journey.

Homer’s Odyssey was written nearly 3000 years ago and yet it is still read and still means so much to so many. The story of a journey, of an adventurous one, was immortalised and has been loved ever since. Why?

Because Journey’s should be epic, literally.

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[1] Homer, The Odyssey, Penguin Classics 1996