{"product_id":"minus-the-journey-a-journal-through-europe-a-redemption-in-serbia-paperback","title":"Minus the Journey: A Journal through Europe-a Redemption in Serbia - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMichael N. Sever\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the fall of 1993, Author Michael N. Sever embarked on a 2-month mission to honor his late father. During that time, he experienced the whole gamut of Europe, from artistic to atrocious. However, most of his experiences were light-hearted as he relates them through self-deprecating humor and sometimes obscure cultural references. Mr. Sever's story demonstrates the self-reliance and resourcefulness that innately define many aging Gen-Xers. This humor and those traits enabled the author to see his goal to the end.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSome examples of his travails in France: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI was stuck.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLost forever in France.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI would buy a beret and a loaf of long bread. I would wear black clothes and smoke clove cigarettes. Existentialism would become my mistress. The Selecty Home Pension would fade from my memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn Austria: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a horrible walk with a heavy-almost painfully heavy pack-yoked to my bent and near broken back. At a few points I caught myself talking to myself, alternating from encouragement to scolding. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI felt my face contorting into scowls.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI had gone mad in Vienna. I would be placed in the sanitorium that housed Dr. Caligari. I would befriend a somnambulist who lived in a cabinet. My world would consist of odd-angled doors and hallways.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJust as I was about to give up and wait for the men in white suits, I saw civilization. I saw a woman walking and grunted, \"Hotels?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe told me, in broken English, that I could find them in the \"ring,\" and she pointed me the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn my near-animal devolution, I offered her no thanks; I just snorted and knuckle-walked down the \u003cem\u003estrasse\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBut never forgetting the beauty: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI did that all the way to Piazza San Marcos. From there, I walked and walked and walked. I walked down large tourist filled avenues, down small desolate side paths-I took in the city. I saw laundry hanging out of medieval windows, and I saw flood-scarred buildings. I walked over odd canals and tiny bridges. I saw red and white poles measuring the depth of the water, and gondolas and scows racing about the lagoon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI finally got it. \u003cem\u003eThis\u003c\/em\u003e was what it meant to be lost in Venice. Not when you had to use the bathroom, but when you wanted to feel the city-to experience every last nook and dead end. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was beautiful to not be in a rush.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 282\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.64 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 17, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51783686816032,"sku":"9780578329635","price":23.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/6dd83ceed8b15e832d89c27740e38015.webp?v=1780592385","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/minus-the-journey-a-journal-through-europe-a-redemption-in-serbia-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}