Just thinking about the traveling possibilities that Europe has, I just stopped for a moment to understand that point a very tourist city is also a good place to live. Provided that you don't hate tourists, it may issue to live in a tourist town, don't you think so?
Well, after my head in the past and try to remember some places I've seen and lived in, I can tell you that it couldn't be more different. There are great cities in Europe, cities where you could spend hours and hours and when the time comes to house you would never leave. You ask someone: "Hey, come on, why not we come to live here"?
It's not a strange feeling, and I think there's nothing wrong with that, but to what extent we know the cities we visit? A first important topic is one part of what we consider as tourist places. We visit the center, we admire some cathedrals, churches, populated narrow streets, museums ... That's OK, but the real city is not there.
Looking back to my hometown, Barcelona, I must admit that even if I try to convince myself that there is a real reason to be so famous, I really don't find. Yes, we have the famous "Sagrada Familia", "parc gaudÃ", plus some other old buildings belonging to some crazy head architects we had a few years ago. Big boys, really. It looks not bad at all, but I think that when a city must have a tourist bus, and one of the most emphasized things there in exploring the city is the tourist bus. Well, take care, because it certainly means that you need to be brought to the places to admire, and the rest may be not that fun.
From my point of view, it's not a city that is a special feeling or send positive vibrations. The only thing that could make it different, the people, but nowadays with the kind of society that we constantly develop, even the people feel too much stress and has no time to give you their smile.
Interesting, I thousand more smiles in Stockholm, Sweden. Having regard to the fact that their inhabitants are known as "cold" persons or critical, I discovered that far from being an absolute myth, it's just an appearance that tourists get when going to the city. Admittedly, they live on their own, very independent, their faces on the tube are absolutely meaningless ... But you have a shop, and they offer you the best customer service I have ever seen. You ask anyone where a street is, and they will even a few paces to the direction where this street is, and ask you even if you need anything else.
To this in a few words. If you do not communicate with them, they keep on their world. But if you do, they are much more enthusiastic than many southern Europeans who I've met.
Far from trying to criticise my own country, that has never been in my plans when writing this article, I would like to make people understand that what it seems from outside is not always what's inside. Stockholm sounds that not much as a tourist destination, but I promise that it offers much more to see. In fact, it has much more architecturally wonderful buildings and, as the main reason for one of the nicest cities I've ever seen, every street that you walk really gives you the feeling of a tourist, even when you here for more than a year.
That is what makes a city really interesting to live in. If these streets make your daily routine.
Apart from everything that I wanted to note that in this article I haven't wanted to the understanding of issues such as green zones, security issues, economic level, etc. Everyone knows that the circumstances a lot better in Northern Europe, but I wanted to take this apart and really concentrate on the feeling that the city itself.
See you soon in Stockholm!
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Dani Alonso
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