Outside Munich, Fermor meets a generous Baron, whose many European connections will hook the traveler up with bedrooms for lucky portions of his journey. He crosses The Netherlands to Cologne, Germany, following the Rhine up to Bavaria. Though the Rhine and the Danube rivers guide the author’s westerly direction, he is vocally susceptible to detours. The Destinations:įermor disembarks at the Hook of Holland, boots laced for the trek ahead. Many of the regional cultures he interacted with would disappear soon after, leaving an additional legacy of remembrance between these pages. Thus A Time overflows with subtexts and updates, foreshadowing and the sort of detailed pedagogical facts that came from his lifetime interest in language, art, history and nomadic traditions.
What’s more remarkable about this already distinctive journey? Fermor kept a detailed journal but only turned the trek into a travel book nearly 40 years later. Whether trading cigarettes for a fresh loaf of bread or crashing the dinner party of a hospitable Count, Fermor never loses appreciation for travelers’ joys (like an extra boiled egg at breakfast).
Sleeping in barns and relying on the astonishing kindness of strangers, the Brit documents Europe’s eminent political changes with rarely a complaint for the snowy track, or the state of his hobnailed boots. On foot.įermor is too young to feel daunted by this scheme, and his idealistic enthusiasms serve as the best companion during the ensuing months’ walk. His best and only option is to head out, just weeks before Christmas, 1933, from his English apartment to Constantinople, Turkey. Recently removed from school for a minor discretion (flirting with a local girl), 18-year-old Fermor declares himself unfit for further academics or the popular alternative, a military career. The Book:Ī Time of Gifts – Patrick Leigh Fermor, 1977 The Story: Patrick Leigh Fermor’s cross-continental trip, A Time of Gifts, celebrates this simple-daily-pleasures perspective – and reminds us that joy will always be discovered in the unlikeliest places.
It’s a tip told to all travelers: seek treasure in the journey, not the destination.
0 kommentar(er)
