40 Years in Beer, Part Twenty-Four: That infamous Madrid episode, and a necessary curtailment
Ireland to France, 1989. No seasickness for me, but several hundred Irish boy scouts weren’t as fortunate. Previously:40 Years in Beer, Part Twenty-Three: Beery Copenhagen days and Oktoberfest nights in Munich. As a general rule, and for a great many years, beer has been very good to me. In fact I’ve found it to be a beverage that pairs perfectly with travel, especially in European locales where alternative modes of transportation have always provided the means to allow someone else to do the driving. But every rule has its exception, and one of my most fabled of missteps occurred in Europe in early November, 1989. While beer was being consumed at the time, it was only peripherally involved, and yet the story is worth retelling because it reinforces the truth that positive lessons can result from the most cringe-worthy of screw-ups. At least I hope I learned something from this episode. With our departure from Copenhagen in September, the Euro ’89 crusade entered a new phase. Amy and I activated our Eurailpasses and embarked upon a whirlwind tour of West Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, France and Ireland—places I’d been but she had not; I was perfectly content to serve as the concierge. When she flew home...Read more