I had been meaning to write a wrap up about spending two weeks in Milan, but I wasn’t really inspired to do it. I was somewhat disappointed with the time I spent there. I think my disappointment was more about unmet expectations than anything else.
I lived in Germany for 6 1/2 years about 30 years ago, and I accepted the way that people lived there then as standard for European life. Each village had bakeries, butcher shops, inns offering rooms and food. I spent time in villages, towns and cities, and with the exception of the core of Koln, that is the way it was. These places were provided the civic space for meeting. This is what I found while traveling in France and Italy in 1986. I expected the same.
It wasn’t that way. The villages, some of which were as much as 40 miles from downtown Milano, had no such places. It seems that they have been squeezed out by merchants who offer the same goods at lower prices. Restaurants, with plastic coated menus, just like Applebee’s, have taken over. When I lived in Heilbronn in the late 1970′s, a restaurant chain called Wienerwald was one place open late. I didn’t like the place because it was a processed food store. I guess that is now the norm in Europe. France has the highest density of McDonalds food stores outside of the United States.
McDs could be found in the Milan area. But along with McDs, it seems that Europe has adopted a lot of American culture, and not the most attractive parts. Tattooing has begun to sweep the youth there. MTV has a lot of impact on young people. In some ways, it is the like a new religion. Is it a search for identity for a young population that isn’t well connected to history? I don’t know.
The Italians I met were nice people and, with the exception of the car I kicked in Rome, well met. My issues are about my expectations, not Italy as I found it.