Take a walk and have a look

Traveling at one's own expense is more cost-effective than playing mahjong at one's own expense. It was a joke, but I really did it.

As a small civil servant, or a rural teacher, one month's salary is pitiful and not much. Besides daily necessities, it really takes courage to spend money to travel around the world. So for many years, I didn't travel much, so I chose some scenic spots in the surrounding provinces, that's all.

This trip to western Europe is a brave trip.

Initially, I visited eight countries in Europe. On the way, the tourists suggested adding a small country, and the tour guide was happy, so I went to Liechtenstein, the second smallest country in the world. Plus the two-hour stopover at Doha International Airport in Qatar, an Asian country, there are only ten countries in total.

Probably because no one signed up in Zunyi at that time, I was arranged in a Chongqing tour group. Along the way, I got along well with those old and young people in Chongqing.

The plane at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport is at eleven o'clock in the evening, and the tour guide sent a text message saying that he would wait in the afternoon. It will take five or six hours to board the plane after arriving at the airport. The guide didn't come, and I don't know anyone. I have to eat something and wait in the open space outside the airport.

Fortunately, it's summer, so you can sit anywhere or walk around. While guarding my simple luggage, I watched the pedestrians in a hurry at night and counted the ups and downs of large and small planes.

(2)

The tour guide surnamed Huang is a tall, thin and handsome young man, 28 years old, who worked as an exchange student in Munich, Germany for one year. I have been a tour guide for many years. I not only have a wide range of knowledge, but also have rich experience as a tour guide.

Because it is during the summer vacation, there are many teachers among the guests, including teachers from universities, primary and secondary schools and even kindergartens. There are also many students, both primary and secondary. There are also individual bosses, office workers, retirees and so on.

On the plane from Chongqing to Doha, everyone walked silently because they didn't know each other. Only an old couple in their seventies caught everyone's attention. The man's face is paralyzed, so his mouth is crooked. Lame, on crutches. Fortunately, the old lady was weak and helped her along the way. During the connecting flight, the two were sent away by the airport staff car, but the tour guide didn't know it, which led to a false alarm and thought it was shameful to leave just after going out. Later, the two became acquainted, and the old man said that they had reported to the elderly group and somehow put them in this group. The old man is optimistic. He said, never mind, I can keep up with you.

There is a six-hour time difference between European time and Beijing time, but our feelings about these six hours are not obvious, because we passed out in a daze on the plane. After getting off the plane in the sunny German financial town of Frankfurt in the afternoon, the tour guide asked everyone to adjust the inspection time, but everyone still didn't fully react. I didn't know the time was wrong until I called home to report my safety.

(3)

The tour guide hired a middle-aged Greek driver. The driver has a strong body and a clean beard. Very kind to people, but unfortunately, because of the language barrier, we can't communicate. Only the tour guide communicated with him in Italian and then told everyone about the Greek driver.

The Greek economy is facing collapse and employment difficulties, which may be one of the reasons why he left his hometown. Drivers in Greece are punctual and dedicated, but in the process of driving, they always talk on the phone with their relatives and friends in Greece, worrying about the savings at home and in the country and the political and economic changes.

Tour guides should be busy all the way and introduce scenic spots and related countries at any time. It's better in the car, and there are many people listening. After getting off the bus, more people like to listen or not, standing one by one. Just like a teacher facing a group of disobedient students, when he is angry, he will call and say that he can't keep up, and then take a taxi to find us at his own expense.

There are many scenic spots, urgent trips and many benefits. But browsing like a dragonfly has different hobbies. Many people complain, but they are helpless.

From Germany to Western Europe, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and the Vatican, all countries are connected by expressways; Squares, churches, museums, ancient castles, ancient arenas, famous shopping malls, jewelry stores, and gulf fishing villages have all been left behind by our hasty steps.

Gradually, an ancient and beautiful western Europe remained in people's minds.

(4)

There are many scenic spots, and each scenic spot has some stories, so it is impossible to elaborate. I took more than 1000 photos with my camera. Although it is rough, it is a souvenir.

I still remember some unforgettable details in my mind: in the sunshine of Brussels Flower Square, many people sat on the floor and ate snacks, mostly girls: on the coast of a small fishing village in the Netherlands, fishermen watched the sea while drinking beer, which was so enviable; On the cruise ship on the Seine, tourists waved to the idle people on the shore, and the carnival scene was particularly infectious; When the lights of the Eiffel Tower suddenly lit up in the evening, the scene of tourists screaming for the camera from all over the world, although only for five minutes, became a permanent memory; The "sad lion" on the cliff in Rome, Italy, formed a pool of tears for the defeated, which made the viewer sigh for a long time and could not bear to leave; In Venice, a water city, it is as convenient as taking a taxi to take the boat "gondola" and wear it on the street; The classical sculptures and oil paintings of Versailles and Louvre make people appreciate the accumulation and profoundness of European culture, and the world-famous products make people linger and be fascinated; More importantly, the fantastic steeple church is not only beautiful in appearance, but also rich in connotation. No wonder they attract so many Christians. In the crowded Galeries Lafayette shopping mall in Paris, many people generously spend a lot of money on shopping, which makes people feel that there is really more money to burn. ...

I also like to watch the handsome rickshaw puller in Amsterdam Square, the girl who lingers in the Louvre and chats with her mobile phone, the worker who makes wooden shoes with lathes in the Dutch windmill village, the black girl who takes pictures of scenery and people with her mobile phone alone in the Flower Square, the girl with big eyes and white skin who waves and shouts to strange residents on the shore with her brother in the cruise ship on the Seine, the old man who plays the accordion at his feet next to Notre Dame de Paris, and the warm pigeons flying around the square like no one's watching.

(5)

I also want to talk about the tourists in the same car.

Although they are all from Chongqing, they don't know each other. At first, I mostly chatted with my family or companions, but later I got acquainted, and everyone was like a family, no longer at home.

Let's start with beer drinkers.

Boss Lai, who is in his forties, is traveling with his wife and daughter. Lean boss Lai likes to drink, drinking every meal and inviting people to drink. One night, in the Austrian hotel opened by Henan people in China, I wore slippers and went downstairs to buy beer. Boss Lai and Lao Wang, who are in the medical equipment business, are already drinking. He asked me to sit down and generously said that it was his treat. A small bottle of beer is 3 euros a bottle, equivalent to about RMB 20 yuan. I sat down, but I didn't dare to drink heartily, so I had to turn my interest to chatting.

Later, I got acquainted, and his wife saw that my rosacea was serious, and she also gave me ointment specially bought when traveling in Japan.

There are two kindergarten teachers who are also in their forties, but Xu Niang is a little old, charming and fashionable. Every time I go to a scenic spot, I put on beautiful clothes and play with all kinds of charming postures, so that people can take pictures with their mobile phones. One is Tang, tall and thin, meticulous and thoughtful. One has the same surname as the tour guide, also surnamed Huang, slightly fat. Teacher Huang is cheerful and outgoing, whenever he sees our male compatriots drinking.