by Russ & Susan Hatz

When Eurail recently resurrected its unlimited-travel option, my wife, Susan, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to realize a long-held dream: an extended journey shaped as much by people as by places. On May 29, we returned from a 6,700-mile, four-month trip through nine countries, three continents, and nine Servas encounters. We experienced many highs and endured few lows, but what we will never forget are the Servas members who enriched our lives and made our travels about much more than antiquities, art, and scenery.

Carcassonne, France
Vincent and Geneviève Fichet welcomed us to the medieval fortified city of Carcassonne, France. As forty-plus-year residents, they showed us back-door sights, delighted us with stories of raising their family there, and shared the sadness of watching their beloved city shift from a vibrant community to a destination dominated by day-trip tourists.

Lyon, France
In Lyon, France, Marc and Marie-Christine Loy welcomed us into their home. The Loys travel extensively, and their stories fueled our curiosity and desire to push into ever more adventurous places. We had chosen Lyon for its reputation for fine dining, and we bonded with them over food, cooking, travel, and family history.

Rome, Italy
In Rome, we met Sergio Iavarone and his wife, Fabrizi, for dinner. After nearly a month in Italy, we thought we had eaten more than our fill of pizza, but their favorite local restaurant served the best of the trip. They were a delight to visit with and gave us many helpful tips about places to see.

A Shared-Meals Pattern By this point you may notice a pattern common to our Servas visits; they all involve sharing a meal out. It is our custom to invite each host to choose a favorite local restaurant, then treat them to dinner as a gesture of thanks. No host has ever declined. More often than not, the meal also includes a walk through their neighborhood, where our hosts share local lore, personal memories, and the everyday stories that make each place feel more alive.

Vienna, Austria
From Italy, our next Servas visit took us to Vienna and reunited us with an old friend, Dorthea Schelch, whom we had hosted at our Oregon home in 2013. She lives in a small Austrian town but keeps an apartment in Vienna, where we rekindled our friendship. She was leaving the city a couple of days after our arrival, but she invited us to stay and use her place as a base for exploration. We did exactly that and took advantage of very cheap flights between Vienna and Istanbul.

Istanbul, Turkey
In Istanbul we stayed with Pinar Durmaz and her daughter, Cansu. During the day, we wandered the city on our own while Pinar went to work and Cansu went to school. On our first night, we visited the local fish market, selected our seafood, and were soon served a superbly prepared meal. With the abundant leftovers, we hosted Pinar’s mother and two friends the next night. Much of our conversation focused on politics and the perils we face when leaders show autocratic tendencies.

Leiden, the Netherlands
After returning to Austria, we continued to The Netherlands and visited the Keukenhof gardens, one of the world’s largest flower gardens, near the town of Leiden. Leiden itself charmed us immediately: an inviting town, the birthplace of Rembrandt, and the home of our Servas hosts, Peter and Lucia Van Eck. Well-traveled and experienced Servas hosts, Peter and Lucia made us feel so welcome that we found ourselves imagining what it would be like to settle in and call Leiden home.

Ryton, United Kingdom
After The Netherlands, we needed to leave the Schengen area for a few weeks, so we made our way to the United Kingdom. There, we had the pleasure of staying with Ted and Ann Euers at their home in Ryton, near Newcastle upon Tyne. They had been instrumental in reviving the town pub, and walking in felt like stepping onto the set of the TV show Cheers: everybody knew their names and gave us a hearty welcome.

Luxembourg
With our trip winding down, we returned to the EU on our way to our final stop in Zurich, Switzerland—but first, we paused in Luxembourg. There, we stayed with Patrick Hobbs and Martine Kass and daughter Jane. In 2019 Patrick and Martine hosted a dinner for Sue and me, two of our children, their spouses, and one grandson. That visit carried special meaning as we were in Luxembourg to celebrate having been granted Luxembourgish citizenship. Even though we had only met Patrick and Martine once before, returning felt like coming home.

Servas Switzerland Gathering
At the start of our trip, we flew into Paris without return tickets. We wanted the freedom to follow opportunities as they arose. While in transit, somewhere along the way, we learned through the Servas International newsletter, that Servas Switzerland was planning a four-day gathering in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, near Zurich, just as our Eurail Pass was about to expire. We attended alongside Servas members from Japan, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Austria, India, and Taiwan.

That gathering gave us a wonderful new network of friends and a valuable resource for our next adventure, wherever it may take us.

What We Remember Most

With two days left on our Eurail Pass, we traveled to Zurich to catch our flight home. Friends often ask about the highlights of our trip. Our answer is always the same: the Servas hosts. They were the people with whom we laughed, shared meals, exchanged stories, and spoke honestly about our hopes and dreams for a better world. In the end, the journey was defined not by the miles we covered, but by the people who welcomed us along the way.