Processing Europe

It's interesting. I've been back a week, but I'm still actively processing Europe. Not only am I going through the pictures, catching up on missed work and chores, and cleaning up the detritus from the trip, but I'm also dreaming a lot about Europe. I've had good dreams and nightmares, all set in the amazing architecture of Prague and Vienna.

So as some further processing, here are some things I think Europe needs to get their act together on:

1. Big coffee with cream to go. Outside of Starbucks and the occassional bowl of cafe au lait, coffee is sold in units of two gulps. And usually you cannot get your sips to go. It's a cultural thing I know, but I. Need. More. Coffee. Also, milk is not cream. Coffee with milk is categorically inferior to coffee with cream or half-and-half. Scientifically provable fact.
2. Iced coffee. Again, outside of Starbucks and one exceptional coffee shop we found in Berlin (We ♥ Coffee next to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), iced coffee is hard to come by. We did have this weird lukewarm mocha with a dollop of ice cream. Not acceptable. Get on it.
3. Water fountains. Vienna gets a pass on this, but trying to find drinking fountains in the summer heat in Berlin made me very grumpy and frustrated.
4. Pay toilets. Really? C'mon.
5. Sheets. When it is 95 degrees out, you do not want a heavy duvet to sleep under, especially in an unairconditioned hotel room. You know what would be nice? A nice thin sheet. Why do you have no sheets?
6. Shower curtains. We only found this in one hotel, but when you have to shower without a shower curtain, it is a highly unsatisfactory experience.
7. Poppy seeds are not a proper pastry filling. It is quite disappointing to bite into a pastry you think is filled with chocolate, only to get a mouthful of poppy seeds. That slightly sour, slightly dirt-like flavor should not be concentrated, and certainly not in lovely flaky pastry.

Okay. Now that that is done, let's talk about what the US needs to learn from Europe:

1. Clever windows. All over we saw these clever windows. You could open them on hinges from the bottom to make an opening at the top. It's great for getting air but maintaining privacy. The clever bit comes when you swivel the handle around the other direction and you can open it on hinges from the side, just like many US windows. Brilliant.
2. Effective blinds. The window blinds at the apartment of our friends Angie and Matthias came down and closed all by twisting a handle. Once they were shut, light barely could make it in, which caused me to panic a little the first time I woke up during the night and couldn't see a blessed thing.
3. Doors with lips. Also aiding in darkening that room were the doors. Rather than closing flush with the door frame, the doors have little lips around them that sit on top of the door frame covering the gap between the door and frame. Why don't we have these?
4. Gelato. Ok, we have gelato, but not like the masterpieces I had in Vienna. If you're there, you need to go to Zanoni & Zanoni. Two blocks down from that is the 99.5% as good Castalleto gelateria. Blissful and cheap to boot.
5. Courtyards. I can't necessarily explain why I love courtyards so much, but the privacy and peace seems so much better than a backyard.

Anyhow, there's a little more Europe. I'm captioning photos right now, so hopefully the galleries will be good to go here soon. Stay tuned!