Monday Musings 9 September: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”

by Linda Piegl

It’s not often in my age group that you get invited to a wedding. But on Saturday, a special friend got married in a much-anticipated event that brought together far-flung friends and family from around the world, some reuniting after decades!

The bridal couple themselves have been UK residents for the last few years and chose South Africa for their celebration as it was the most central location. The ever-glamourous bride was perfectly on trend from her show-stopping (self-designed) haute couture teal gown, a customised ceremony that included beautiful verses and quotations, and a lady marriage officiant.

With every generation present from toddlers to grandparents, naturally topics of conversation were diverse. Travel, however, was a central theme at our corner of the wedding table, where family members had journeyed from as far afield as New Zealand. We shared stories of our gap years and overseas adventures and laughed about how, back in the day, we used to scour cities for internet cafés and phone booths! Yes, they really did exist, not only in the movies! I recall dropping the bombshell on my folks that I was no longer with the family in Austria, from a phone booth at the foot of the Eiffel Tower!

We giggled about postcards and letters, remembered the astronomical costs of overseas landline calls, the many currency conversions at Foreign Exchange counters when travelling across Europe and the language complexities. Oh, and the physical maps! Remember those? I plotted my Parisian exploration in a Montmartre bistro with a black pen, and the map spread out over the chequered tablecloth, held down by a carafe of red. “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

Now, the super-wealthy are jetting off to explore space while the tech-savvy are navigating destinations through augmented reality apps and wearable tech. And how wonderful we’ve waved goodbye to dodgy hotel rooms and disappointing experiences as virtual tours give us sneak peeks from the comfort of our couch. Translation apps help us “win friends and influence locals”, and even pesky passports look set to fall by the wayside.

What’s heartening to me is that just like fashion trends, travel comebacks are no exception. The retro travel revival is going strong with classic destinations like Rome and Paris in huge demand, often inspired by popular culture (looking at you, Emily in Paris).

When I lived in Europe, I was a “train tripper”, loving nothing more than a window seat to the landscapes whizzing by from Amsterdam to?Antwerp, Lake Bled to Lake Geneva. Today, with the high cost of flights and a rising interest in train aesthetics, train travel is making a resurgence. It also feeds into two other trends – slow travel and sustainable travel.

While not a comeback, I’m particularly delighted by the solo travel trend. Singletons are marketed to and catered for, whereas in my day, travelling solo was cause for consternation – like, didn’t you have any friends?

Whether we opt for nostalgia or embrace new advancements, travel continues to bring us together and create precious memories. Saturday’s glorious garden wedding was a perfect example of how modern travel and tech enabled a beautiful event to be planned remotely, reconnected long-lost people, and even included absent friends via the magic of live streaming.

Mindful Musings

What the world was musing over this past week

Spain’s pineapple trolley tango takes dating by storm

Forget swiping right. A new viral dating trend in Spain involves an upside-down pineapple, a supermarket, and bumping your trolley into someone you like…

RIP beloved beluga “spy whale”

A friendly beluga whale who captivated many hearts and imaginations has sadly been found dead under mysterious circumstances in Norwegian waters. It was suspected that “Hvaldimir” was once used as a Russian spy.

For sale! Half a house for half a million

A California house was damaged by a fallen tree, leaving half of it standing. The property’s now been listed as a half a million dollar “bargain” with an “open-concept floor plan”!

A star is born

A talented Cango Caves tour guide has been demonstrating the acoustics of the 20-million-year-old cave system with impromptu opera performances. Two show tickets for the price of one!

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