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Travel broadens our horizons

5 min read
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It hit me full force on a recent Sunday evening watching “Game of Thrones.” The gorgeous scenery and castles along the Irish coastline depicted in the series were places I had visited only weeks before. I felt like I was closer to the story and characters than at any time in the previous 10 years.

What is it about travel that captivates us? Why do we put up with all the inconveniences of leaving home to spend a brief portion of our lives in an entirely different setting? What part of the human condition is satisfied by wanderlust when books and documentaries could easily instruct us on faraway places?

The word travel and its etymological twin, travail, both originate from the name of an ancient Roman instrument of torture. When one considers the nasty, brutish and long hardships endured by early travelers, this makes sense. During the Middle Ages, there was no leisure travel, but there was still a great deal of movement to foreign lands among diplomats, merchants, soldiers and religious pilgrims.

While difficult and dangerous, medieval travel came with a purpose. The subject of travel fascinated those who could dream and read. The most celebrated poems of the age were travel narratives. Homer provided great travel epics with “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” Geoffrey Chaucer did the same with “The Canterbury Tales.” There were also great travel works by Marco Polo.

It is awe-inspiring to consider the results of travel through history. From the great warriors, like Alexander the Great and the Vikings, to the explorers, like Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan. Benjamin Franklin made 12 trans-Atlantic voyages, and Charles Darwin ventured to the Galapagos Islands on-board the HMS Beagle. American authors Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein all went to Paris to seek inspiration.

What inspired them to embark on these journeys? What did each bring back to influence or enrich our culture?

Things changed with the evolution of the train and the great steamships. Travel became a leisure pursuit and pastime of the wealthy. The operators of hotels, museums and beach resorts in Europe were eager for American dollars. A trip abroad became a status symbol. Americans without the means to travel were enthralled with the experiences of others. It was no accident that Mark Twain’s “The Innocents Abroad,” published in 1869, and a humorous account of his cruise through Europe and the Holy Land, became his best-selling book during his lifetime.

Once air travel became readily available and less expensive, almost everyone could expand their first-hand knowledge of the world. Now, each year brings new “hot-spots” to challenge us. There are few places that cannot be explored by climbing, diving, skiing or simply walking.

Travel has enriched my journey through life in ways I could not have predicted. I continue to dream of the Serengeti region in Africa, and envision all the diverse wildlife there. After walking through and considering the Minoan Palace of Knossos on the island of Crete, classical Greek culture seemed a mere building block, and not the foundation of Western civilization.

Observing where Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Monet and Picasso lived and worked brought new meaning to their art. Experiencing first-hand the Old City of Jerusalem and the Tower of London produced immense awe that so much history could occur in such small places.

Each week, an article I read, a blurb on television or a comment from another person will spur a memory from my travels. Dots are connected, and the world becomes easier to understand. Political discontent in the Middle East, an attempted coup in Turkey and Scottish attempts to secede from Britain are no longer abstractions. The events in these places are associated with real people and real places.

The psychology of travel and the traveler has become a topic worthy of research. Experts have determined that, for many, there is an intimidation factor to conquer before tickets are purchased. Fear of flying, foreign crowds, terrorism and losing a passport are enough to keep many within their zone of safety. On the other hand, those who dare to venture to exotic locations find a new purpose, broaden their horizons, learn to cope with uncertainty and often make new friends. I always return from a trip grateful to be home, but refreshed beyond compare.

Of course, travel is a two-way street, and what is mundane for us is often an adventure for travelers visiting our community. I could not help noticing the Observer-Reporter article on German Fulbright scholars visiting Washington & Jefferson College in August. One student observed, “It is very interesting how people are living here in this little town with this huge campus.” These students will always remember the Frank Lloyd Wright, 150-year commemoration with their visit to Fallingwater, or the Pittsburgh Steelers football and the Senator John Heinz History Center. Western Pennsylvania may not have castles, but we have a great deal to share with the world.

Whether coming or going, travel provides a reset on our place in the scheme of human existence. While languages, cultures, architecture, and culinary habits may differ from place to place, travel confirms the universal truth that we all share similar values, hopes and fears no matter what address we call home.

Stout is a Washington attorney.

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