As much as I may complain about it, I truly love my job working the back of house in a restaurant. I have had many opportunities to try new foods and learn about proper culinary techniques. While traveling in Europe, the new food is what I had been most excited about aside from the various sights. What follows is what were my top dishes in every city we visited while abroad.

Pasta at Pizza Express

London food was, personally, similar to what I can find in the states. While Prince Alfred’s may have been superior in terms of the menu, the pasta I had at Pizza Express lives in my mind. The sauce was slightly spicy like a vodka sauce, which is my favorite, and the pasta itself was small rectangles folded over. In the middle of it was a ricotta mix, and my empty stomach was extremely grateful such amazing food.

Calamari from Arromanches-les-Bains

I did not have much energy to walk around Bayeux after our adventures, so I sadly missed the phenomenal food that was in the town itself. However, we did stay in Arromanches for lunch while visiting Gold Beach, and the restaurant I visited with Jess and Cleo had some of the best calamari I have ever had. The fries were easily my favorite of the whole trip, and the calamari itself worked exceptionally well with the remoulade.

Gnocchi from Paris

Leading up to the trip, I had been planning on going somewhere nicer in Paris to try a proper French meal but, just like most of the rest of Paris, reality does not live up to the myths. Instead, my top dish had been gnocchi from a restaurant from near our hotel. Again, the sauce was reminiscent of vodka sauce with the spice, and the cheese on top made it more smooth.

Pierogis alongside other homemade sides

Krakow had, undoubtedly, the best food of the entire trip. From pizza to pierogis, none of the food I had there was anything less than amazing. Making food myself, however, makes it all taste just a bit better. Thanks to Grace, a group of us participated at a pierogi making class. Everything there had been homemade, and we even got to help in folding and making the pierogis. Supper that night was one of the best I have ever had.

Currywurst with fries

Lastly, the Currywurst I had while in Berlin has made me rethink whether I like sausages or not. I grew up a picky eater, and sausages had always been a food I refused to eat. Despite this, I had tried Currywurst while in Berlin since my grandfather grew up in Berlin. I had been surprised how much I truly enjoyed it. The fries at this restaurant specifically had worked well with it, and it was also fun to people watch while eating.

It is a common saying, at least in my experience, that nothing in history is inevitable. Everything is a combination of circumstances that either slowly build over time or have one event that lights the powder keg. Despite all the casualties and destruction that the beaches of Normandy saw, I would argue there is one inevitability that no humans can control: Mother Nature will always take back what is hers.

On our final day in Normandy, our first stop was Pointe Du Hoc. The site saw harsh fighting from the Allies, and they fought to climb the cliffs despite German fortifications. While exploring the area, there were pronounced craters scattered around the area. These are the locations of bombing and shelling during the fight to secure the location.

Crater made by shelling during the battle at Pointe du Hoc

There are so many feelings someone can have while walking in what feels like such a serine place while being surrounded by the evidence of the fight. Personally, I was immediately engrossed in how grass and wildflowers have grown over much of the area. There were men there trimming the grass, but it was with weed wackers, not with lawn mowers. This was most likely so visitors could still see the various German bunkers still standing. The effort was much appreciated, but I also wonder how tall the grass would be without human intervention.

Small, white wildflowers blooming at the top of a crater

This picture is of the wildflowers that were blooming in one of the craters. From the distance, and a trick of the eyes, they reminded me of lily of the valley flowers. Lily of the valley has a connotation of returning to happiness, but they can also be used during grieving. They’re extremely important in Europe, and the thought of such a beautiful flower growing where so many men passed has stuck with me since the visit.

The main rock point at Pointe du Hoc

Even the point of Pointe du Hoc, a gorgeous stone, has been weathered and reclaimed with time. The prominent landmark had connected all the way to the mainland at the time of the war, but there is now a significant dip in the wall. Mother Nature is not a force that can be fought against; humans may only temporarily hinder her, but never stop her.

~Katie Johnson

Despite my working knowledge before embarking to Europe, the possibility of coming across Japanese artifacts while in London had never crossed my mind. There were multiple pieces throughout the various museums we went to, and so I made a personal side quest for myself; I would try to read as much of the Japanese on the various flags, posters, and notes as I could.

Japanese propaganda picture.

Japan often turns a blind eye to its involvement in World War II. This could be due to a plethora of reasons, but this means that there are very few memorials in Japan for the war. Posters like ones above show clear imagery of the Air Force. I sadly was unable to read any of the text here.

Notebook containing basic Japanese symbols. The text on the top is various katakana while the lower half is kanji.

Bletchley Park housed some of the brightest individuals, and they had to translate from languages that most of them would not have understood. This led to notebooks like these being written. This was the first instance that I was able to read the Japanese on the notebooks. The notebook contains katakana and kanji, and it’s interesting to see how some of them are slightly different.

Flag carried by kamikaze pilots. The kanji often held special poems the pilot would choose.

I love Japan, and I love learning Japanese. Learning languages is something that you must constantly work at, so being able to learn about World War II and exercise my Japanese skills has just propelled my experience so far while traveling in Europe.