Editor’s Note: Analucia Roa is a student writer from Dr. Wiedemer’s and Ms. Ireland’s class at Spangdahlem Middle School (SY 24-25).

Being able to live in Europe has been eye opening for me. From the time I stepped off of the plane I knew there was something special about this place.

I was first stationed in Ramstein Air Base, which is nicknamed to many(or at least my family) Mini America. Who cares about Little Tokyo or ChinaTown? I want to go to Germany and get stuffed full of mediocre fast food and a huge BX that surpasses any BX I ever went to.

It’s not like Ramstein was bad, I just have my own reservations about the place because when I went COVID-19 happened. 2019-2022 was brutal, I left all my friends to go across the country and got hit with a lockdown. There was no time to make friends or try to connect with others when everyone was stressed out of their mind about an illness. But it wasn’t all bad, I was able to see incredible places that weren’t on my bucket list but will forever be in my heart.

Does anyone remember when we had to get a stick shoved up our nose to make sure we didn’t have COVID-19, because I sure did? Every time I stepped into one of those buildings I dreaded it, not because I had the disease (I didn’t go out), but because of how it made me feel. Why couldn’t I just go to the Gartenschau Kaiserslautern without getting a test? It was bull, that’s what it was. Not to mention that one map online that showed how many cases a certain area had and whether or not we could visit them. Which is why it limited our chances of getting to do anything on our bucket list. Places like Paris and Rome were never available. In fact, the first place we ever wanted to go was Paris, but our plans had to get changed and we ended up going to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam wasn’t something we were really planning on going to, but since it was my birthday and we couldn’t go to Paris, we were like “Who cares let’s just see what happens”. My parents of course wanted to enrich my life with history and art, so they booked a time to go to the Van Gogh Museum and the HUGE National History Museum. While at the time I didn’t think much of it and just passed it off as just another insane guy making cool art. But now, being 14, it’s incredible that I got to see his pieces in person. As for the Rijksmuseum, we didn’t even finish it all the way through. I was 10 and my parents knew that I didn’t find any enjoyment in looking at huge empty rooms with paintings and a couple of “interesting” attractions. Which is why we cut it a bit short and decided to walk around the city itself.

It literally doesn’t matter where you check, every little nook and cranny has something to do with Amsterdam uniqueness. Like the houses, if you ever looked at the homes along the canal you can see a slight tilt. They aren’t uniformed but they have become a staple in Amsterdam’s culture, they were even appropriately nicknamed “Dancing Houses.”

Not to mention the fact that one of those very houses was where Anne Frank lived and went into hiding. But if you’re not into history or art that much and are more of a foodie or sports nerd don’t worry there are plenty of other things this place can offer you.

The food was a ten out of ten. Never have I ever been to a European country that was able to burn off my taste buds from how spicy their taco was. They have so many food options it can be quite intimidating, but it also makes you wonder how places like London, who was one of the leading forces during the spice trade, ended up getting such bland food. Amsterdam has the complete opposite issue; it was like a melting pot visiting there.

“Foods from Asia, India, Africa, America, ect were all there! ”

Our first day being there we were all famished and we didn’t really care what we were putting in our bodies, as long as it was just food. We ended up going to a burger place (yea, I know, not the craziest thing in the world). Me and my parents both thought it was just going to be one of those overpriced burger joints, but they delivered. The burger was perfectly cooked and hearty, so my parents and I joked about the cows being really happy. The fries were just as good; they had a nice balance of being soft and firm and even had a nice golden hue.

Saying all of this might make you think how you can get rid of those extra calories. Well in Amsterdam everywhere you see you can see people being active. You won’t look like a weirdo if you just started running or biking since almost everyone does it. The people there seem to be very health conscious. They make up for it with everything else.

Well, many of the places I went to during COVID-19 were just small towns, I barely remember half of their names other than the fact that they had a Five Guys. I’m not saying that everywhere I went to was forgettable. You can find small little day trips that take you down a vineyard or hikes that make you question whether or not your legs are still attached to your body or if you lost them on the way up the mountain.

If you lived around Spangdahlem you might’ve come across a place called Bernkastel-Kues. While it isn’t anything major, it sure can be a fun little thing to do before going to someplace big. It has the charm of what you expect Germany to be everywhere. The funky little gingerbread houses, uneven terrain and cobblestone streets. They even have a castle you can check out if you’re willing to hike the vineyard (or if you’re lucky, drive there). Places like Bernkastel-Kues are just a delight to visit if you’re feeling bored and want to get out.

This luxury of bouncing around from place to place has made living in Europe so refreshing. I can go down the street and I just stumble across some ancient structure that predates the founding of America. Even when we were limited to what we could and couldn’t visit because of COVID-19 we made it work.

Kaiserslautern had these fish statues around the town. If you looked close enough you could see brightly colored fish and there really isn’t any definitive reason for them being there. Little things like that make living here all the more interesting. We wouldn’t even have found it if we weren’t just cruising around in our car and walking around.

Living here has made walking the new norm, in America there really isn’t much to walk to especially since malls and public stores are considered novelties now because of online shopping. Here in Europe anything can be a walkable distance if you put your mind to it. However, there are a few places that don’t follow this rule, such as Lake Como.

You may or may not have heard of it, unless you’ve been to Vegas and went to the Bellagio hotel (but never knew where Bellagio was or if it was all just made up). Here in Lake Como, you can visit the real Bellagio. It isn’t some fancy fountain but instead a charming lakeside town.

Just keep in mind that if you do get a bit queasy on boats, you’re going to have to go on a ferry to visit Bellagio. But it’s completely worth it when you don’t have to admire the town from the other side of the dark iridescent lake. You even get to walk along their long and skinny alleyways that can only be described as whimsical.

Only downside is that if the ferry is closed you won’t be able to get to Bellagio because driving there takes six hours even when it’s just right across the lake. I know this because me and my parents drove six hours already to get to Lake Como and it was 6 P.M. and we really wanted to go to Bellagio, but we couldn’t because the ferry was closed. Sure, it seemed close enough but what it wanted us to do was make the biggest U-turn in the world just to go to Bellagio. Plus, the food isn’t the best but I think that’s just how Italian food is.

I’ve been to Rome before and everywhere you go THERE IS PASTA AND PIZZA! You cannot escape it. You will get the same thing over and over again. If you get over that you’d be able to admire the natural beauty of the area. Lake Como is like the love child of Italy and Switzerland. You have the Swiss Alps and the Italian infrastructure that bring out the good in both places. You can’t find any place like it in Europe.

Madrid on the other hand is a bit different, and something about the place resonated with all my entire family. We visited twice, once during the winter and the other during the summer. The one thing I can take away from visiting during Christmas is that no place other than Germany does a Christmas market right. It was quite tacky and not in any way something you should look forward to if you visit during the winter.

But what you can look forward to is the food. I have never had better Mexican food out of state than I did in Madrid. They had everything you could ask for in a Mexican restaurant. You had the carne asada, the tamale’s, the sauce, and even horchata. Never have I ever been to a Mexican restaurant that was able to not taint the perfection of the taco. It didn’t have some Tex-Mex slop infused with it; it was just pure Mexican deliciousness. Both times we visited we went to that same spot, and even if I wasn’t able to indulge in a tamale the second time, I still quite enjoyed myself. The meat in Madrid is cured and cut so perfectly that you may even be tempted to eat it if you saw it on the side of the road.

Food is one thing, but Madrid also has the largest art pieces that Pablo Picasso ever made. Guernica is an incredible piece that has so much history involved with it that for a while it was only in New York until eventually it was returned to Spain. I’m no historian or art critic but this is a must see if you’re able to go to the art museum [Museo Reina Sofía]. There really isn’t anything crazy you can do in Madrid, but it is a good hub to start if you were to visit places like Barcelona. But just being in Madrid made me happier and by getting a good hotel to explore everything around you is a treat in itself.

There were many places I wanted to visit but couldn’t because either we didn’t have enough money or vacations that gave us the opportunity to do it. Despite that, Europe and being stationed here will always be something I will forever be grateful for. Even if my parents think I don’t appreciate it, I will know deep down that wherever I visit will never meet up to what I saw here in Europe.

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