Travel Sized Bites.
A selection of short stories submitted by visitors to the site between 500-1000 words
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open your eyes, open your mind
By Author: Sincere Lee
E-mail: leejohnmax@prodigy.net
Submitted on Tuesday 14th March 2000
Independent travel with a 6 yr. old child will always be one of the wonders of the universe. How does one accomplish the task of opening his little eyes to the vastness of the world when home seems just as big ? We brought our son to Europe with us to galavant around Gremany, thinking this would be the perfect oportunity to begin his worldly education.
What a trouper he was. He had more to carry than we did. We each had our one bag to live off of for a month, he however, needed to have an extra backpack to carry toys and schoolwork in. I don't think he ever asked us to carry it for him. He made his way just fine.
From town to town , Bahnhof to Bahnhof his little feet kept up with ours. Always making sure there was something in the plans within a day or so for him to look forward to ( Panzer Tank Museum - a must for all big and little boys ). We visited small towns and stayed in small hotels.
Sitting outdoors at the cafes people watching, indoors at the cafes playing pool. Trying always to feel the day to day atmosphere of each area. Exposure to culture foreign from ours is what we were after. As we travelled along the Rhine river by train, we thought ourselves the best parents for his first train ride being in such a poetic place. In no way did we imagine that this would be the ticket to freedom that we held in our hands.
The train took us everywhere that month and we would find ourselves invaritably in each town at the playground. No matter how similar or foreign another country is, the language of play is universal. He showed us that no matter where you go, even if you are just passing through, stop and play. Locals will eventually join in. He didn't need to speak the language, he didn't care where he was, he just knew that to be happy - you gotta play.
Our idea of travel would forever be changed by this simple vision of our son at the playground in a German neighborhood. We were free. We didn't prove to him that we were the best parents for taking him on such a journey, he proved to us that he was the best child by really being there.