While I love Europe for what it has to offer in terms of culture, history, language, and cuisines, I mostly love it for how I feel when I am there.

• I sleep better. While I am a middle of the night insomniac in the US, I sleep extremely well in Europe. Though I suspect it relates to the absence of food additives and the absence of the quiet roar of the interstate a mile from my home, it may just reflect a feeling of well-being.
• I love walking and always carry a pedometer. While I have to devote a period of time at home to achieve my 10,000 steps, I rarely have a day in Europe where I don’t attain that number just in the course of a day. I suspect that it is due to the fact that I rarely use a car and that I rarely visit a place without pedestrian zones.
• I love the cycle and times of meals. A later lunch and dinner and allowing for both to be drawn out affairs adds to the feeling of well-being.
• I love the availability of culture in most European second and third tier cities. While one expects London to be like New York, one doesn’t expect a place like Nuremberg, Trier, or York to have nightly cultural venues that include multiple options.

I look forward to my vacations in Europe as times of rest and recovery and always return refreshed — except, perhaps, when I have guided and taught 24 university students around the continent.