MUNICH, Germany — Before you travel abroad you may be best served to check in with Edmonds businessman and world-renowned travel expert Rick Steves.
In his travel and audio books series, Steves called Munich one of the world's most livable cities. And he's helping KING 5s Jake Whittenberg prepare for his trip to Germany traveling with the Seahawks.
"You have to remember, Munich is just a part of Germany today," Steves said. "But for 600 years, it was the capital of a country called Bavaria. Do your sightseeing, as if you're visiting a proud independent country called Munich."
Whittenberg asked Steves about the kind of mindset a person needs to visit Munich.
"They've got a word that's unique to that culture," Steves said. "It's called Gemütlichkeit. The closest thing we have is a 'cozy conviviality.' Just soak it in and enjoy life."
Steves has been giving tours of Europe and broadening American perspectives for 40 years. His perspective is one that travelers around the world turn to before taking a trip.
"For an ethnocentric country like ours, culture shock is a good thing," Steves said. "It's the growing pains of a broadening perspective. When we travel, we can better understand people who see things differently than we do. And we can realize that we're all confronted by the same challenges. And it's okay to compare notes."
