It's been a long time since I travelled seriously and on my own accord. This time, it was born entirely out of my own free will. Naturally, I learnt a few things.
First, I thought European Union and Schengen countries were the same thing until I travelled to Switzerland last week and found out that the local Swiss currency was Franc, Czech used Slovania, Hungarian used Forint. Countries in the Schengen region do not necessarily have to use the Euro.
Of course! How silly of me! If the concept of Schengen and EU were the same, why would they require two different names? It was only then I found out that one was used mainly for travelling, while the latter was for currency stability and strengthening. Unity is after all present in numbers. So, on my first day of my trip to Central - Eastern Europe, I discovered that Switzerland, Czech and Hungary are part of Schengen but not part of EU.
As if living in the 20th Century, I happily imagined my passport to be filled with immigration stamps as I weaved in and out of each European country. But once again, I stand to be corrected. Under the Schengen law, once one has entered one Schengen member country, the passport doesn't have to be stamped anymore, as long as it remains within the Schengen member country. Wow! How convenient!
And I found out that tap water was drinkable from most of the European countries, especially water from Switzerland and Sweden. And for the first time, I learnt how to distinguish between Switzerland and Sweden.
I also thought that all European citizens spoke English, were Christians and each country possessed their own language. For example: Spain - Spanish, Germany - German, France - French, Amsterdam - Dutch. But Swiss spoke Italian, German and French. There is no Swiss language. And most Europeans aren't very religious.
Oh wow... There is still much more for me to learn every day!
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