In recent posts, I’ve been sharing some of the photos from trips I have taken. I’m going to do the same today with a little different perspective. As writers who create the characters in our stories, we are warned not to make our characters too stereotypical. We want them to be what they call three-dimensional. We want them to be like real people who are both good and bad. None of us is all good or all bad. You can even find something good in a villain.
Sometimes we can stereotype countries. I had some expectations when it came to our trip to The Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. Some of the stereotypes held true, but I was surprised by a lot of other things.
The Netherlands, in my mind, is known for cheese, wooden shoes and windmills.
I think I was right, but here are some things that surprised me. The architecture with buildings that tilted. Beautiful canals. Indonesian food. More bicycles than I could count.
Then we went to Norway where I expected to see glaciers, thatched roofs, trolls and woolly cows. I saw all those things.
But I had expected the glaciers to be larger like those in Alaska. I never expected to see WWII bunkers, comments on US presidential candidates, so many beautiful flowers or dozens of waterfalls.
In Belgium, I didn’t have as many preconceived ideas about what I would see. I expected to see lots of chocolate, and I did wonder about security with the recent terrorist attacks in mind. I was not disappointed in the chocolate, and we saw soldiers everywhere in Brussels, but not in the smaller towns. I saw lots of fabulous architecture in every city we visited in Belgium.
Finally, I thought the place we stayed in Brussels had an appropriate name.
Do you have any preconceived ideas about places you haven’t been? If you did visit, what did you find that surprised you?
I have books to giveaway. I’m giving away one of my older books, Montana Match, to anyone who leaves a comment on the blog.
My latest book, A Love to Call Mine, is up for preorder. You can find it here.
Merrillee Whren is an award-winning author who writes inspirational romance. She is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award for best inspirational romance manuscript presented by Romance Writers of America. She has also been the recipient of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award and the Maggie Award for Excellence. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of thirty plus years, and has two grown daughters. She has lived in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Florida but now makes her home in the Arizona desert. When she’s not writing, she spends her free time playing tennis or walking while she does the plotting for her novels.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photographs, Merrillee. I love the canal shot…the windmill is gorgeous!
Jill, glad you enjoyed the photos.
Great photos, thanks for sharing, makes me want to travel to Europe. I do have preconceived ideas about places, some, like expecting lots of sheep in New Zealand where right. Coober Pedy surprised me by being exceptionally windy, cold and drizzly when we were there. Still an interesting place to visit.
Wemble, New Zealand and Australia are both someplace we are hoping to visit.
Thanks for sharing about your recent travels, Merrillee. Three European countries I have not visited; but I have eaten Belgium chocolates (even bought some in Tokyo, Japan). In Europe I have visited Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Not to many surprised there, since I was born in Germany. I had layovers in London and Amsterdam, so didn’t have a chance to see their culture.
In 2009 while visiting my cousin in Berlin, we made a trip to Poland and a Polish flea market. My cousin was constantly on the watch, afraid I might be abducted. I guess human trafficking is a problem there. So that was an eye opener. I was not a young girl, but a mature woman almost 60.
While walking to the cathedral (Gothic architecture like Notre-Dame) in Strasbourg, France, I saw a house with a plague saying that it was “Goethe’s House.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) is the William Shakespeare of Germany. So why did he live in France? As a college German major, I was not aware of this. Strasbourg is located near the German border and during Goethe’s time the border changed constantly. One morning you woke up and lived in France, a month later you woke up and lived in Germany. Hopefully you were bilingual!
As a retired American lit teacher one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes is: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” Mark Twain wrote two inspiring travel logs: Innocents Aboard and A Tramp Abroad. He spent six months at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and they still commemorate his visit today.
Merrillee, thanks again. I could share more, but will close with – in my travels be it around the States or World, I always returned with more questions than when I went.
Renate, I love that quote from Mark Twain. It is so true that travel broadens your perspective. I’m so thankful that we have been able to make these trips. Next year we have a trip planned to Spain and Portugal.
Oh wow. I love to see pictures from other countries. They are absolutely beautiful. I hope one day to visit my friends in Spain. I don’t have any preconceived idea about the place but I am sure I will enjoy visiting. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Kaleen, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Next year we have a trip planned for Spain and Portugal.
Im love the photographs and talk about other country.
Linda, thanks for stopping by the blog.
Love these photos! My travel bug has been biting lately, but I’m guessing I’ll have to live vicariously a bit longer.
Elizabeth, glad you enjoyed the photos. We are blessed that we’ve been able to do all this traveling.
I loved seeing your pictures! Thanks for sharing….
Rita, so glad you enjoy them.
Thank you for sharing those pictures. I have all three countries in my to visit list, but haven’t had many chances to travel lately. I have a friend who moved to the Neatherlands and she and her family love it. Her pictures are always amazing (make me feel in a movie).
And I can’t think about Belgium without also thinking about eccentric neat types with moustache like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Wonder what you found about the people in these countries.
Priscila, I found the people to be very friendly, and many, many of them spoke English, which was a real plus. We had two young ladies that were such a help to us in the Antwerp train station. We were trying to put our luggage in a storage locker and they came to our aid. I also got the impression that they are very proud of their countries and are so glad to have people visit.
Love the photos. Thanks for sharing.
LeAnn, thanks for stopping by.
Enjoyed reading about the trip and loved seeing the pictures.
Ann, thanks. Glad you enjoyed them.
Before we went to Hong Kong as missionaries, I assumed it was hot all year long. Thankfully, when some retired missionaries were showing us pictures, I noticed one of them wearing warm clothing. It can get quite cool in the winter months, and there’s no central heating in buildings. So, we were able to pack in knee sox, sweaters, etc., and were so glad we did!
Margaret, it’s a good thing you did pack in those warm things.
Beautiful photos! Those chocolates look fabulous! Thanks for sharing.
Beth, so glad you enjoyed the photos, and those chocolates were delicious. You know when you get a box of chocolate, you always bite into one you don’t like. That didn’t happen with these. Every single one was delicious.
Love your photos! I’m just a bit envious of your travels, I have to admit. Interesting thoughts on preconceived notions, too. Thank you.
Kathleen, thanks for visiting the blog. Glad you enjoyed the photos.
Thanks for the history lesson! I loved the pics.
Diana, you’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
As a kid I took several trips to the beach in Florida and thought that those were the best beaches to visit. However, I had friends who would visit Myrtle Beach and I always wondered what the attraction was. Well, three years ago I took a trip to Myrtle Beach, and now I get it. It has become my new measuring rod of what to look for in a beach. In fact, I’m currently planning to go visit my brother in Florida and am trying to find a beach that will compare (in my mind) with Myrtle Beach.
Jessica, what did you like about Myrtle Beach that made it your favorite? I used to live in FL and Amelia Island is my favorite place.
i especially loved how clean the beach was and all of the dunes covered with beach grass.
Do you have any preconceived ideas about places you haven’t been?
Two countries come to mind when I think of preconceived ideas; both Germany & France. When I think of Germany, I think of bratwurst & sauerkraut, beer (though I don’t drink), polka music, and many festivals during the summer. The closest I’ve been to that is when hubby & I visited Leavenworth WA; a Bavarian themed town at the foot of the Cascade mountains. We went twice there and got to see Maifest (or May-fest) and watched the Maypole dance while listening to polka music. It was like being on the set of “The Sound of Music”…loved it!!
When I think of France, I think of rich pastries & strong coffee drinks, love in the air (I believe Paris is called the City of Love), the slouchy Beret hats, and the beautiful language spoken. I’ve never been there or anything place that would parallel it, so I’m sure there are many different things than what I picture in my head :-)
No need to enter my name for the book as I have it sitting on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up! I’m also about to start your newest book “A Love to Call Mine”; I’m sure to love it as I literally devoured “A Place to Call Home” :-)
Thanks, TrixI, you have some pretty good ideas about Germany and France. I’ve been to both, and they have so many other things to offer, too.
Went to SanFransisco on my honeymoon. I guess I always saw it look bright and sunny (which it was) and everyone seemed to be walking around in t-shirts. Little did I know (leaving Washington) that it was windy and cold.
Beautiful, but not like “typical” California at all.
Yes, San Fransisco has much different weather than just a few miles inland.