It is through the key hole that you discover what makes a holiday unforgettable.
I cannot take credit for the beautiful photograph above, that all lies with my younger sister and her creative touchscreen (none crapberry phone). However, I will proceed to present an insight into my muddled thoughts which have circumstantiated having experienced Brits abroad. Being British is a rigid image, we are certainly not the tall athletic physiced blonde, blue eyed tanned German one sees sipping a cold beer in the sun. We are not the chirpy, bright-eyed Dutchman we see during hotel breakfast; the early riser who talks proudly over orange juice at the breakfast table and opts for sour yoghurt and honey to awake his pallet in the morning. We are also not the energetic, loud and somewhat annoyingly enthusiastic American, licking a fast-melting ice cream looking out onto the harbour. What are we then when we are abroad?
On a family holiday away in Kos, Greece I enjoyed the heat, the relaxed way of life and the friendly Greeks. I enjoyed this holiday, but it was a different kind of enjoyment, an enjoyment that I was not accustomed to. It panned out to be a slow-paced vacation and a week of escape from the normalities back home. Without any sort of guided recognition I found myself observing the different nationalities and their style of holidaying. The German holiday maker appeared organised armed with a bulky, black, optical zoom professional-looking camera and with some sort of plan for the day in mind. They mooched about the souvenir shops taking a more steady look at what it was that Greece had to offer the tourist. They did not commit to a sale over a snap-shot decision nor did they spend many minutes considering what to buy. The German style of shopping that I observed appeared relaxed, they would look with the eye and only intermittently quiz something more closely with their hands. They confidently handled the tourist scene which stirred interest on my part. The Dutch governed the cycle track, they rode fast, tall and straight-backed clearly being an old hand at such an activity. The Dutch cyclist saw the bicycle as an effective mode of transport opposed to a means of fun and would warn off slower riders ahead, and wandering pedestrians encroaching onto their cycle route with an assertive, short and sharp ring of the bell. The Dutchman's face looked relaxed, he was able to appear friendly without smiling, a unique trait.
This only leaves the British holiday maker from the Europeans that I had observed whilst in Kos.
The Brit was a late arrival at breakfast, why should he awake early, he is on holiday after all. He ordered a beer at 11am opposed to a water or fizzy drink, the sun was intense and he was sunbathing and groping for something cold after all. His locality accent was strong (Mancunian, Brummy or Southern) and his laugh was loud. He roamed the island mostly topless, he was on holiday after all. He was red. Red-face, red-bellied and red-backed. However not all Brits took on this glow. Others appeared, so brown that you couldn't help but try and calculate just how many days had they been lying in the sun, had they time to see anything else of Kos beside the shore? The Brit ordered big at dinner; meat, chips and a large Mythos beer, dessert as well, he was on holiday after all.
Even now, I try and fathom through my thoughts in efforts to pin-point why the Brit abroad stuck out so rigidly for me. I was thankful that I was on the island at the end of the holiday season (mid September) as I knew that had I holidayed earlier I would have seen many more Brits abroad. When talking to other Brits on holiday, conversation flowed and was warm, it was nice to contact familiarity whilst away. However, it was all too British for me. Did I notice these traits because I could spot the Brit abroad wearing an M&S linen trouser, a Topshop playsuit and Matalan beach bag? I think that what I am trying to admit is that I didn't like seeing so many Brits on my holiday. I wanted to meander through the small streets of Kos hearing different languages, looking at different clothing that I couldn't recognise the branding of and have help from the waiter because I couldn't read the menu. This holiday, this time around was too commercialised, it was too much of a little Britain for me.
I am appreciative to be British and a second generation Brit lucky enough to have holidayed abroad in this current economic climate, and I mean that. However, I wanted to be cultured from the experiences from my holiday. I wanted to taste the traditional Greek cuisine. I admit that being a vegetarian did limit my ability to do so, and Greek taverns were plentiful however what I'm trying to say, is that I wanted a little more. I wanted more moussaka and less pizzas, less tour guides, less sun loungers and more mythology. Maybe this is something that I will experience more mainland Greece, who knows. Maybe it is I that has been spoilt by my previous holiday experiences and by my History degree that I sought more culture over convenience.
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