Here in the states we often finish up a hike, set up camp and get the
fire started. Then we break out the freeze dried meals and sit down to a delicious dinner of powdered lasagna.
Yum. In Europe, they do things a little differently. There, hikes are more likely to end in a pub or a
mountain cabin, where the smell of peat fills the air and some beer hag is drawing Steins of the sudsy stuff large
enough to park your Jet Ski in. Well, not always. But it makes for a good image, doesn’t it?
Americans used to vast, gaping Western expanses are likely to frown upon some of
these
Euro-Hikes listed here in the New York Times. But let us not judge them so quickly. There is history
in there thar hills, and it behooves us Yanks to learn a little bit about our cousins overseas, and get a little
exercise in at the same time. For example, how about a hike along Hadrian’s Wall? Did you know that this
famous wall, built by Emperor Hadrian in AD 122 was an 84-mile national trail? That’s nothing to scoff at.
And Gran Paradiso, which became Italy’s first national park in 1922, has got a eponymous peak that stands at
over 13K. Pretty sweet.