Euro Trip

Like many Americans, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Europe. Heck, my family is overrun by Europeans - my kids are dual American/British citizens, my husband is from Scotland, my sister-in-law is Czech, and I have extended family in Sweden. I can’t complain, of course. My first marathon was in Prague, which – despite a mid-race toenail malfunction – was fantastic. And I did the obligatory and amazing hostel tour of Europe in my early 20’s, spending hours on dodgy trains and drinking far too much absinthe with relative strangers. These were the days before social media, of course, so I still have plausible deniability with my kids.

And while I can’t tell you with a straight face that my European travels in the early 2000’s were focused on anything remotely healthy, I have since – in my relative wisdom borne of advancing age – come to appreciate the approach of many European cultures to health and wellness.

Salzburg, where I studied in college. Site of many pub nights and Salzach river runs...and some German studies.

I’m broad brushing a bit here out of necessity (the average Spaniard’s way of life is quite different from that of your average Hungarian’s, for example), but I do think there are several cornerstones to healthy living in Europe that are worth considering:

·       Walking everywhere: people do certainly drive in Europe, and some areas are more car-dependent than others, but on the whole, walking as transportation is far more commonplace there than it is in the US. Sometimes it’s a combination of walking and use of the robust public transportation system, but most Europeans aren’t counting their steps on a daily basis – those steps just happen naturally. I stayed in Prague for 3 months in my mid-20’s, I ran very little but walked everywhere – and I was in fantastic shape.

·       An emphasis on family: I get it, family can be annoying (sorry, dad!), but there is a certain American aversion to being remotely within striking distance of our parents and grandparents once we leave the nest, so to speak. Most European cultures embrace their elders, with multiple generations often living under the same roof or – at minimum – in the same town. I’m not saying we should all move back in with our parents, but there is ample research showing that close ties with loved ones have a net positive effect on our mental health.

·       Mealtime as a social hour (or three): even before COVID, a lot of American office workers ate lunch at their desks. And dinner is often a rushed affair squeezed in between sports practices, evening email checking, and various other commitments. In much of Europe, mealtime is considered a social time. In some countries (Spain, France), lunch can be a 2-3 hour marathon, a time to chat, connect, and savor your food. There is surely a happy middle ground, but the rushed American mindset can lead to indigestion and a complete lack of appreciation for our food. Plus, when we are constantly hurrying, we are far more likely to make unhealthy choices – fast food is a lot more palatable when you’re inhaling it at your computer.

Cooking and eating together can have a positive effect on mental health - and encourage healthier, more mindful eating habits!

·       Taking real time off: I’m the worst offender with this, almost always telling my coworkers “I’ll be on vacation BUT I’ll have my laptop and feel free to ping me if you need me”. What’s the point of vacation if we don’t unplug? I can justify it to myself however I want, but the reality is that we all need time off – from everything. And nobody does this better than Europeans. Most EU countries require a minimum of 4 weeks of paid vacation per year, with many countries offering upwards of 5 weeks. In the US, it’s not remotely uncommon to start at 2 weeks…if you’re lucky…and stay there for the first few years. All work and no play will make anyone less productive, less happy, and less healthy. Don’t even get me started on how damaging chronic stress can be…

·       Normal-sized produce: if you’ve ever been to a grocery store/market in Europe, you have probably noticed that their produce is significantly smaller than ours. Honest-to-god, I have bought apples at my local store that are closer in size to pumpkins. In Europe, apples are almost comically small. But SO much more flavorful. There are a lot of reasons for this, some of which involve market preferences, agricultural practices, and selective breeding in the US. In other words: produce in the US is bred for yield, production, and disease resistance rather than flavor, which leads to a distinctly inferior culinary experience for the end buyer. The takeaway here is that we, in the US, are very much concerned with getting the biggest (literally) bang for our buck. But in doing so, we deprive ourselves of a lot of the joy that cooking and dining can provide. It’s already hard enough to get most kids (and many adults) to eat their fruits and vegetables – why stack the odds against ourselves with produce that doesn’t offer much in the way of flavor?

As I’ve said many times before, there is no perfect society, no perfect path to wellness. But it’s worth taking a page out of the European playbook and rethinking our relationship with functional exercise, food as more than just fuel, and quality time with our loved ones.

And seriously, if my kids ask, I’ve never touched absinthe.