Has Travel Changed You?
Rick Steves wants to hear from people who had never left the country before using Rick's guidebooks or going on a Rick Steves tour. Please let us know how your worldview changed as a result of Rick's influence on your travel . Did you meet someone abroad who made a dramatic impact on your life ? Has traveling overseas changed your views on America?
Please note: We may contact you based on your comments posted here. Please include your email address if we may contact you.
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
Travel in Europe
This was our first trip to Europe and we split the time between Italy and a Greece. We stayed a week in each country and upon returning back to Chicago began planning our return trip for the following year. Spending time in Europe allowed us to see how people in other parts of the world live. We can truly say that America is the greatest country that ever existed. We don't have any horror stories to tell due to the fact that our trip went smoothly. We are planning to travel to Germany, Switzerland and Austria in 2011 and have definitely caught the travel bug.
Joe and Christine
Chicago, IL USA 06/01/2010
How travel can change you
I had traveled "pre-Rick", but when I used his books almost exclusively to plan my wedding in Italy (Positano, and I'd highly recommend getting married there), I was hooked. Using his tips, we immersed ourselves in a way I hadn't done on a foreign vacation before, and now I think it's the only way to travel. Now when I visit a new country, I feel I soak it up so much more, and I'm a lot more resiliant and creative - I've chilled out on the "disasters" that occur (leaving our passports in the hotel in Venice was not only a learning experience, but now is a terrific story).
Heather
San Rafael, CA USA 03/30/2010
My mind, my heart and my soul...forever changed.
"I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world."
— Mary Anne Radmacher
Carolyn
Indianapolis, IN USA 02/18/2010
Once a hobby, now an obsession
I used Rick's guidebook the first trip that my husband and I went to England six years ago and we couldn't believe how courteous everyone in the recommended B&B's were to us!! It's as if we were personal friends of Rick! Fast forward to now, we have gone three more times to Europe and are planning our fifth this summer.(Rick, you need to put out more info on the Baltics.) Travel has made us so much more aware of who we are as Americans and who we are as global citizens. We not only understand history better, but are appreciation has expanded to reading literature from those countries as well. I have no idea what to do with all of this info, and I hope that I am not boring all those around me. At first we felt guilty for increasing our trips to annually, but I cannot imagine not doing this. Europe is such a vast place and there are so many places to explore. I can't imagine exhausting the castles, cheese, wine, and music they offer.
Denise Wilson <email>
Denver, CO USA 01/10/2010