Counting Countries
I feel like people who travel a lot tend to say they don't 'count countries,' meaning they don't keep track of the number of countries they've visited. They're getting at the fact that they don't visit places just to say they've been there - a country isn't a number on a list for them.
A country isn't a number on a list for me either, but... I do totally have a list!
As I've said previously in this newsletter, borders are weird, changeable, and generally harmful, but they can also be meaningful reminders of history and culture. I find it interesting to keep track of the countries I've visited and I enjoy visiting new-to-me countries because I enjoy seeing new sights, eating new foods, hearing different languages, and noticing similarities and differences between places I've been.
I also just enjoy this sort of data: countries visited, US states visited, mountains hiked, books read, games played, etc. Measuring/tracking the things we do and the places we go can be an interesting exercise that jogs our memories and reminds us of what those experiences were like.
The road trip E and I took earlier this month allowed me to visit two new-to-me countries (Belgium and Luxembourg), which brings my total number of countries visited up to 31. Visiting those places brought me joy and adding them to my "Countries Visited" list just now also gave me a little jolt of pleasure.
I'm so glad to have finally made it to Belgium to visit my friend, Brittney, because I've been wanting to make that trip happen since we moved to Europe four years ago. I enjoyed walking around Brussels with E and eating waffles covered in chocolate and realizing at the same time what other city Brussels reminded us of: Washington, DC. I also look forward to going back! We only spent two days there and now that I've gotten that little taste I can envision future visits. It's a nice feeling.
And visiting Luxembourg was a pleasant surprise! We spent just one day there because it was a good stopping place on our way back to Berlin from Paris, but I'm really grateful to have passed through. Unlike Brussels, the city of Luxembourg didn't remind us of anywhere else we'd been before because it had such a unique geography. The city is built in valleys alongside two rivers, but also up on the plateaus that surround those valleys so it had cool highs and lows. E called it "good [video game] level design." I hope someday I get to return and explore Luxembourg more, maybe when I'm not pregnant and can handle a more strenuous walk.
Of course, I also look forward to adding more new-to-me countries to my list, and starting the little lizard's "Countries Visited" list!