SUMMING UP: (XVII OF ‘A Tale of 2 Continents’) By R.J.Fensterman
XVII
SUMMING UP: A TALE OF 2 CONTINENTS
What are the two continents that are being juxtaposed? First off, Europe v America. Secondly, Europe v Russia. It seems to me that both America and Russia have had this odd love-hate relationship with Europe. Theoretically Russia is part of Europe; but then 2/3 of its land-mass is part of Asia. America broke from Europe 235 years ago, but we continue to be heavily involved with everything they do: economically, politically, culturally, philosophically, militarily. James Monroe in 1820 voiced the doctrine that we should stay clear of being involved with Europe, and that they should not interfere with our affairs. Unfortunately, this has not been the case at all.
I first set foot on the European continent at Bemerhaven, Germany in the Fall of 1962, dressed in the uniform of a Private in the U S Army. There would other trips to Western Europe in the passing years after 1964: a four-week visit to Paris to look for work in 1971, a river-cruise to Amsterdam and Bruges in 2006, a tour of the British Isles in 2007. But this tour in 2010 was a return to familiar territory – Italy, Austria, Germany.
In my opinion, the new Europe was no improvement over the pre-Euro continent. This was the 21st Century Un-holy Roman Empire. Prices inflated by 19% by a so-called value-added tax to support economic weaklings like Ireland, Greece and Spain, at the expense of more sturdy members like Germany, France and England; the ever-fluctuating and over-valued Euro currency in places that were once inexpensive, the militantly secular nature of the contract between member states; the inclusion of Eastern European nations; the application for membership by Turkey: a country that occupied only a few square kilometers of European soil; the arrogance of un-elected bureaucrats dictating policy.
To me, Western Europe was a spiritual vacuum, a post-Christian civilization that was as empty and sterile as a used Clorox bottle. Yes, many of the churches were extremely old and very beautiful, showing an architectural and decorative skill seldom seen anywhere else. And even some of the newer buildings were impressive in their imaginative designs. But it seemed more like a movie-set than a functioning reality. Russia had not felt this way atall. Nor, with all its faults, does America. I believe both continents – Russia and America – stand for something besides just greed and hedonism. I don’t believe this can be said of the continent of Europe, especially Western Europe.
When we left Frankfurt in 1964, the tallest building in the city was the 14th Century Cathedral of St Bartholomew in the center of the old town. Now the tallest building is The Commerzbank Tower, the tallest building in Western Europe at 849 feet. And there are a half-dozen other buildings – banks and office complexes, all built in the last 10 years – that easily dwarf the old cathedral. It makes me think of my latter-day hero, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who said “The trouble with today’s world in that Man has forgotten God.” He also wrote an article entitled “The Relentless Cult of Novelty and How it Destroyed the Twentieth Century.”
Comparing America to Europe, another of my heroes (this one from my rebellious youth), Henry Miller, wrote: “Whatever there is of value in America, Whitman has expressed, and there is nothing more to be said. The future belongs to the machine, to the robots…There is no equivalent in the languages of Europe for the spirit he immortalized. Europe is saturated with art and her soil is full with dead men’s bones, and her museums are bursting with plundered treasures; but what Europe has never had is a free, healthy spirit, what you might call a MAN. Goethe was the nearest approach, but Goethe was a stuffed shirt by comparison …Goethe is the end of something, Whitman is a beginning…They say America is a country of extremes, and it is true that the thermometer registers degrees of cold unheard of here, but the cold of a Paris winter is a cold unknown to America…A foul, damp cold against which there is no protection except a strong spirit…it is psychological, an inner as well as an exterior cold. If it never freezes here, it never thaws either. Just as the people protect themselves against the invasion of their privacy by their high walls, their bolts and shutters, their growling, evil-tongued, slatternly concierges, so they have learned to protect themselves against the cold and heat of a bracing, vigorous climate. They have fortified themselves: protection is the key word. Protection and security. In order that they may rot in comfort.”
I myself express it this way – If European Socialism is so bloody wonderful, why do you see so few Europeans ever smile? Or as Hamlet (or rather Shakespeare) put it: “How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the devices of this world.” A museum or a church that is a thousand years old is of no more significance than a Smart Car parked illegally on the sidewalk, or a billboard the size of a Pennsylvania barn advertising lip-stick. In the end, despite the order and the beauty, you are left feeling quite empty in Western Europe.
The difference in weather was also interesting. Western Europe was a lot colder and wetter than we remembered it. We had visited Russia in the late Spring, just as we did this time in Western Europe. And – believe it or not – the weather was better in Russia.
Italy was somehow a disappointment. Perhaps it was the poor quality of the food. It is said Italians invented food and music. If so, they were exported to America. And Germany. The best Italian meal I ever had (not counting, of course, my grandmother’s kitchen) was in a small cafe in Neu Isenberg, just outside of Frankfurt. It seems to me that the emigrant always makes the best ethnic food when he is not in his native land.
St Peter’s Basilica left me cold. Size for size sake. I much preferred St Paul-Outside-the-Walls. St Mark’s in Venice was truly incredible, both inside and out. The second-most beautiful church in the world (after the Church on the Spilled Blood in Petersburg). But it seemed much more like a museum than a house of worship. In Russia, none of the churches that we visited were empty – they were filled with Russians, not tourists. They were praying, meditating, lighting candles, venerating icons. In all of the churches we visited in Italy and Germany, we saw only a handful of local worshippers
Austria, too, was a disappointment. Granted, we were there a short time, and did not see much of the culture. The natural scenery, of course, was magnificent, but, after all, the people did not make that, nor did they really seem to notice it. Except as a source of income.
Germany was much as we remembered it, especially the country-side and the small towns and villages. The food was good, if rather expensive. The language was familiar to us. The Church of St Peter and Paul in Oberammergau was very beautiful. The music at the Passion Play was good, but it wasn’t Beethoven or Wagner. The interior of Neuschwannstein Castle was exquisite. Rothenburg was a Gothic ‘pearl of great price’, Nuremberg was a pleasant surprise. Heidelberg held fond memories. But Frankfurt now…?!
When we got back to Virginia, I kept thinking about that United window attendant at the Frankfurt Airport, and what she said: “If some one hadn’t seen you for 46 years, would they recognize you?” So I surfed through Phoebe’s computerized portfolio of all her great pictures. And I came up with two photos, 46 years apart. This one was taken when I was an American soldier on furlough…
And this one was taken now, retired and living in Virginia…
I recognize myself. And Phoebe does. Perhaps our daughter. You see, we’re the only people that knew me 46 years ago that are still alive, or in contact, or can even remember what I looked like back then. Another quote from Miller sure rings true here – “The worst thing about growing old is that all your friends are dead.”
(BTW, this is our final trip by air — until America, and the world as well, recovers at least a semblance of sanity. From now on, if we can’t get there by car, bus or train, we ain’t goin’!)
And so, we wish you all: Auf Weidersehen
