Many TV producers joke that their work is all about “warping reality.” I’m working really hard to show the truth. But it occurs to me that I, too, am warping reality. I have an image of Europe that I want to share. When I learn that my wishful thinking is not the truth, it is a challenge for me to accept the new reality.
I often have a script-driven agenda: I wanted to show “typically Welsh” people in Cardiff, but could only find immigrants on the street. I wanted to show traffic that “stayed in its lanes like rocks in an avalanche” in Rome, but found only polite and law-abiding traffic. I wanted to show tough alpine peasant stock in Liechtenstein, and found only kids that looked like Americans, Swiss people on holidays, and Croatians serving them in the restaurants.
In producing our show, we don’t shoot ugly things. We want to make Europe “easy on the eyes.” (I’ve talked my producer, Simon, into showing only two toilets in 70 episodes.) Whether as a tourist, guidebook writer, or TV producer — and whether in Paris or Bergen or Prague — I acknowledge only the historic core of a city…about 5 percent of it. We just made Zürich, Luzern, and Bern look great, showing only the historic core. In doing so, we ignored 95 percent…and contributed to the tunnel-vision of prospective visitors to these cities.
Europeans cities have forests of cranes, lots of scaffolding, and plenty of graffiti. But the images we bring home — whether for our TV episodes or for your photo scrapbooks — crop that out. Cameras roll when good-looking people walk by, when slick cars roll past, and when sunshine makes colors “pop.” Someone with a huge mole or a terrible skin problem is too distracting to have talk to the camera — even if they have something important to say.
Europe is full of punks, beggars, Bolivian music troupes, and immigrants violating preconceived ideas of who will draw your beer. You won’t see them on the show. We found the perfect spot on a bridge to film an “on camera” (when I talk to the camera), but had to disguise the “F**k Bush” slogan spray-painted on the wall behind me.
I want to show a Europe untainted by corporate logos. It’s just reflex to shoot around the now omnipresent Starbucks, McDonalds, and café umbrellas advertising Coke. My camera strap has a bold yellow “Nikon” on it — which is felt-penned out and flipped upside down when filming. I don’t even show my own guidebooks in our TV shows. (I get my little “ad” at the end, but just try to find any “product placement.”)
The tourist board guides who help us have an agenda, too. In Liechtenstein, they assumed we’d shoot the casino and a falconry exhibition and not talk about the Prince, who threatened to abandon his country if he didn’t get more political power. (We compromised and did none of these.) In Bern, they could get us into their parliament building, but not the needle-distribution desk at the heroin maintenance center. (We did both.)
My earlier producers had an agenda, too: film “people of color” traveling whenever possible to imply more diversity among European travelers, and avoid showing people smoking. Those two concerns aren’t even on my radar.
But I jump at the chance to illustrate a society that is committed to public transit and pedestrian zones. I enjoy showing people biking without wearing helmets (as Europeans do) as a kind of “take that” to a society that is so diligent about that issue while so enamored with guns. I also like to show the responsible consumption of beer and wine in the presence of children — because I think a social scene that is not segregated by generation is a good thing.
Any media warps reality. Travel media generally conditions you to find the Europe of your dreams. My shows — if I’m honest — show you the Europe of my dreams. I know how easy it is to warp reality in travel media. Consequently, I know that other media, as well, can also cause me to loose track of just what’s a window and what’s a funhouse mirror.
My comments about driving in Rome.
We really loved it, all four times we have driven all over the city of Rome in an RV. Yes an RV.
Most countries have traffic “Laws and Regulations.†Italy has traffic “Hints and Suggestions.†Three guesses what a red light means, or a left turn lane, or a two lane road, or a Do Not Enter sign, and … … .
One time while riding a crowded city bus, we noticed a lady reading what appeared (by the pictures in the book) to be a driver education manual. I mentioned to Emmy that I didn’t think they needed to know anything to drive in Rome. A lady who understood English overheard and repeated what I had said in Italian, to the sounds of much laughter.
When our driver (me) does something in the RV that causes, or results from a traffic complication, or that results in a driving problem, we get the feeling some Italian is saying, “That looks like fun, I must try that some time.â€
On my first trip to Italy, the smoking hot tour director pointed out the same thing. He said the key to crossing the street safely is to stay in the crosswalk, look at on-coming traffic only once to make sure they see you, then go at a steady pace. The drivers will time it so that they will not hit you. They get in huge trouble if they hit a pedestrian! Another vehicular memory…the last night of the tour, we were on our coach driving around Rome for one last look. The driver wanted to turn through an opening in the wall, but a gorgeous red Ferrari was parked there. Somehow, our wonderful bus driver made that turn, but I have no idea how!
Hate to add another comment so soon, but it seems to fit. I first wrote this about 20 years ago, and it hadn’t changed by the time of our last trip to Europe, in 19995.
To successfully drive or walk in Paris, Rome, and most other cities, we must become aware of the eye movements of the drivers and pedestrians. They look straight ahead, and act as if we don’t exist. As the driver or the pedestrian proceeds, we can see him looking out of the corner of his eye, making sure we aren’t going to run over, or in front of him, but he will do anything except admit we are there.
If we manage to “win†this battle of (half)-wits, we will have spoiled the “losers†whole day. And believe us, all those “he/him†apply as much to “she/her.†If we don’t drive or walk just as aggressively, if we wait for everyone who wants to get ahead of us, no progress will be made — at least until the people behind us get involved.
Rick – Funny comment about not showing your books on your own show… the other day watching a Rudy Maxa show on Rome – they panned the Spanish Steps and there sticking out of an obviously American couple’s day pack was a BLUE Book! I figured the editing crew didnt notice it was one of yours, so you get your buddies in media to advertise for you! Anyways -thanks for all the reality checks as well as keeping some of the “old world” fantasy alive as well – even if we dont always agree 100% (95 aint bad) – its a great service to share shows you and team produce! thanks! Im off to the alps myself tomorrow!
I think this is one of my favorite blog entries of yours so far. Thanks for recognizing & admitting your intentions. I don’t think there is anything wrong with presenting an idealized Europe of your (your viewers’) dreams. Harsh – and even not so harsh – realities will always be present in any location; but as travelers and learners, our perception of that place is often filtered and/or magnified in our minds to be a sort of utopic wonderland. It’s part of what keeps us coming back for more. Seeing people, places and cultures with romanticized eyes doesn’t mean that we don’t see everything that’s not ideal. Just as with any person dear to you, you recognize, accept, and love them for their “faults” because it is part what shapes them; and you love them even more for everything else that makes them who they are and who they aspire to be.
Cropping is a time honored tradition. I do it in my snapshots as well. “A little to the left, dear. There’s a dumpster behind you. That’s better.” Of course, you could do a “reality check” show sometime. Might be interesting. A sort of expansion on this blog entry. Thanks for taking the time to blog on this.
Great comments. When I travel Europe, it is usually on business and with locals, not as a tourist. So, I have always kind of made a distinction between what to see and do. It is always nice to dress down and act like a local and peek into the less traveled parts of town. Seems like people are people wherever you go – there are good, bad, and uglies in every country. Appreciated this “philosophical” blog entry.
I’m finding your blog really fun to follow. This entry was terrific and I think you would do a disservice to your viewers/readers if you spent time digging up dirt on places you visit. There’s plenty of that in the news media! Thanks for giving us your honest perspective! It’s refreshing!!
Wonderful summarizing blog. This may be your best one of the summer. These comments reflect exactly while I travel with Rick Steves and company. Thank you.
Thanks, Rick, for your honesty. I know fluff goes on behind the scenes, but to hear it said is refreshing. Europe has its problems just like the U.S. Travel teaches us we can bridge the gap to understand what is different instead of being afraid of it.
Great blog entry! I love looking at the “pretty idealized Europe” presented in your TV segments but I know the reality too since I have albums full of photos that were not carefully cropped or edited to remind me of it. Frankly, it is the reality that is more interesting in the long run. Yes, people are people, warts and all. The pretty version gets me there, the reality is what keeps me going back. Keep those cameras rolling!
I agree with your idae of showing Europe as Europe but this can interfere with reality. We are in Haarlem at the moment but just left Amsterdam where over a third of the population are not native Dutch.Our tour guide for the walking tour was a native of Amsterdam, a black fellow named Raschid. An interesting tidbit from Berlin where a guide told us that “ein Berliner” is a kind of jelly donut and that Kennedy should have left out the “ein”. Not sure if it’s true (the guide was a transplanted New Yorker) but it’s a cute story. You advise avoiding the TI in Amsterdam but we went anyway, took a number and stood in line, and got tickets for the Anne Frank house and the Rijksmuseum which allowed us to walk past long lines at both places and go straight in. Just past three months now on our trip and thankfully following your books all the way.
It is funny, this blog also reminded me of Amsterdam where i went for the first time two weeks ago. I walked out of the train station and didn’t see anything at all charming. Really anythign within a 10 minute walk of it called to me either or reminded me of what I had seen on TV. Well I explored further (thanks in large part to your Jordaan walk) and found the Amsterdam that I had expected and had seen on TV and it found a place in my heart. I think it is good that you highlight the beautiful parts, it helps to remember that you can find beauty anywhere. By the way, I went to the Anne Frank house at 7 to avoid the lines and still stood in line for an hour! I recommend pre-reserving or being there right when it opens, i walked right into the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum at 9 and 10 a.m. respectively. Thanks, as always, for the wonderful blog!
Rick — one of my favourite parts of your guide book in the intro where you say, “if your trip is low on magic moments, kick yourself and make things happen.” I’ve lived in Europe for the past two years and traveled all over and had the normal share of run-down hotels, beggars hassling me, walks through seedy areas and so forth. Your shows are aspirational — showing what can happen when you “kick yourself” and “make things happen.”
Rick, Just saw you in Cesky Krumlov filming with Simon and Honza. Hope you are having happy travels. Bethany and Kevin Ohio
Rick: I have to disagree somewhat with your cropping out the reality of Europe from your show. As a tourist, yes, I crop out scaffolding and graffiti and other ugly things. But you are in the business of ‘selling Europe’ and I am not. You sell guidebooks, tours and your television series. So you have a profit motive to distort European reality in order to sell it. I am an avid viewer of your shows, so when I got to Milan this summer I was unprepared for the horrible graffiti everywhere. I was shocked that the square in front of the Baptistry in Florence was covered with peddlers selling counterfeit purses. These realities don’t make for pleasant television viewing and I don’t think you should dwell on them. But they need to be shown and mentioned so that the buyer of European travel is given some ‘truth in advertising’.
Just have to chime in and agree that this is one of the best blog entries you’ve written. It’s great to see a detailed acknowledgment of these possible shortcomings. I agree with Kath, though I don’t think profit is Rick’s motivation for this. It *would* be nice to inject a bit more reality into the shows, if only by not spending too much time trying to get the perfect shot. But that too could give an unrepresentative view of a city — things will differ day to day, street to street. It’s not an easy problem to solve, or even to identify which aspects are genuinely a problem. Rick is ultimately sharing a tourist’s view of Europe, and there’s only so far you can go with that goal.
Last September we took Rick’s Paris and the Heart of France tour. Riding into Paris we were startled to observe graffiti lining the walls all the way into the city center; for some reason we thought the French were “above that”. (how naive) We commented on it to our tour guide Chris, who succinctly said, “There are punks everywhere.” While this is a sad observation, it also is somewhat encouraging to realize that across the globe we’re all dealing with the same societal problems and issues. yes, there are punks everywhere; but there are also people of enlightenment everywhere. Keep on traveling!
Are you people idiots? You think “Europe” doesn’t have homeless people, graffiti, crime, etc.? You do realize that “Europe” contains actual cities with all the problems contained therein, right? If not . . . go to Disney World. Europe is a place people live; if you happen to vacation there . . . you’ll encounter it all.
Sellers of European vacation travel all tend to glorify the product. Rick is more candid than many. But if you only know Europe from what you see on travel shows like Rick’s, you’d think it’s some sort of Disneyland with cute historic villages. Lots of folks are shocked to see the cities ringed with ugly Stalinistic-looking apartment blocks covered with graffiti and litter. People need a little more truth from travel writers when deciding where to spend their vacation dollars.
My perspective may be different from most. I actually enjoy seeing the reality of a place and trying to match up the reality with what my idealized version of the place was before the trip. This is one of the most interesting aspects of travel to me. For example, I always envisioned ~ from movies, books, TV, etc. ~ that Vienna was this gentile, quaint city. It does have gentility, but it also has grafitti, dirt, and in some ways, a more urban feel than I expected. But I found all that fascinating…it brought more complexity to the city and I appreciate that.
Dear Rick, I recently took a trip to Guatemala and did the same thing with my pictures. (on a smaller playing feild anyway.) I then gave a talk to some college students and they all wanted to go. The thing is, I guess I do distort reality a bit. I think the truth for me is always seen through rose colored glasses. I see beauty in places others don’t. I think I would censor things without a camera. Or laugh at them. It is ok that you film the beauty. I am glad you do. I guess one of the real tricks of life is to look for the lovliness. It is hard when you see something change though. Part of “why” we love these places is because they are so different. We don’t want them to change. But Alas……….. Lesley
Just when I thought Rick and everyone else on the American Left who has traveled to Europe had a terminal case of “vacation blinders”, when it came to what Europe was like, I read this. I was beginning to think the Europe I have visited a dozen times did not exist. Thanks Rick. It’s nice to know there isn’t some sort of secret Europe I wasn’t allowed to see. Can’t wait to get back.
best stay home . god bless america
here’s reality for ya, I went into a French pharmacy and told the two staff I had a mild upset stomach nothing much I was hoping for something like pepto bismal they spoke perfect English what they gave me was a high powered laxative, we ended up getting charged extra by our hotel for the volume of toilet paper and vast number of flushes Al very humorous now not so funny at the time Know what your taking is the tip
It’s interesting to see a frank admission that this is what you do. I’ve often talked about the difference in seeing a place on a travel show and actually being there, with no theme music, plenty of traffic, tourists, aching feet and hot sun. And most of all, you have to get your self fromone place to the next, withno fade-out of the Vatican and fade-in to the Spanish Steps. Obviously of course it’s always far better to be there, but you do make it look much *easier* than the reality. Traveling McMahans
There’s a part of me that wants to believe there is this “utopia” on earth, and that if I can just “go there” and “experience it” then all will be well. This is not realistic. Each place has it’s good, it’s average, and it’s not so good. In Europe, in America, wherever. This was the best blog submittal you’ve ever written. Thanks. I respect you even more now than I already did AND that’s coupled with the admission that you and I would definitely NOT see eye-to-eye on many issues. Diversity is an awesome thing… :)
Rick, you do an out-take segment of bloopers. Why not do a show of places, people, things and events that you would leave out of your “usual” idealized travels. Not X-rated (that might be interesting too) but just a reality check. Forwarn viewers of the nature of the show and let everyone see the graffiti, anti-American sentiments, beggers, downtrodden, displaced and all to real world. It might have a positive political effect.
GREAT post, Steve. Travelers who are upset by gritty realities should consider their own hometowns: many have a historical or interesting core surrounded by parts that are industrial, commercial, or just plain banal. However, they are real towns, not movie sets. Towns that HAVE been turned into movie sets — Telluride, Vail, Aspen, Santa Fe — may be quaint and pleasant escapes, but they have had the heart torn out of them. Construction cranes, graffiti, people with huge moles may not be “pretty”, but they are signs that the culture is growing and evolving, not preserved under glass like a stuffed owl.
Thanks for this thoughtful blog entry. I do wish you’d reconsider one thing, though, and show the ethnic diversity of Europe more. I worry that the misleading impression of a homogenous “French” or “British” or “Italian” world or whatever plays into fantasies that Europe is a land of ethnic purity in contrast to the multi-ethnic and multi-racial USA that some people find unpalatable. The reality is that Europe, like the US, is a global village and cannot and should not be portrayed in an “ethnically cleansed” way.
As I sit here missing living in Europe, your shows brighten my mood and finds me hope, makes me smile and realize what a treat and goal I have to look forward to go back.. I look forward to the beauty you portray on your shows. By the way, keep on blogging. It’s great to look back later on in time to see what you were doing last year at this time.