I want to be in Spain right now on an almost physiological level. I can’t explain what it does to me to be there. I have no other explanation for these feelings than that my ancestors were Spanish Jews expelled in 1492.
I also have very intense feelings for the south-east of Germany.
I’ve been to what? 16-17 countries, and these are the only places that have this effect on me.
Where have you been in the South-East of Germany that you liked so much? Heidelberg?
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Regensburg! A beautiful, beautiful place.
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Ah sorry, you said South-East not South-West.
Now I feel bad — I lived in Munich for three years and never even visited Regensburg! Bavaria is great. I hope you get to travel there again soon!
It is fascinating how it is possible to feel at home at a foreign place, like you know it from a former life. I experienced this with Edinburgh. I still dream about this city regularly, I have no idea why. And I also still miss Munich.
Do you also have places that you immediately detest and never get used to? I had that with the Netherlands and also Ireland for some reason. Maybe a very bad former life… I hate wind mills and the Irish landscape seems ugly to me.
Yes! New Haven, CT. I detested it from the first second. Had dreams about setting the whole place on fire. Ten years after leaving I had to work through it in psychoanalysis because it was still torturing me. I have no explanation.
It’s also funny about Regensburg. I’ve been to other parts of Germany. I love Berlin. But I never had this feeling of complete belonging that I did in Regensburg.
It’s the same with Spain. I love the South of Spain but it doesn’t give me the feels. Madrid and the Basque Country, on the other hand, the affinity is insane.
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“I want to be in Spain right now on an almost physiological level”
Some of my places…
Front range in Colorado (except for Denver which is blah) especially Colorado Springs and the Boulder to Fort Collins area. Just feels right.
Ghawdex (Gozo) in Malta. Just absolutely felt like home on the drive from the harbor to the town.
The Aegean both the Greek and Turkish sides. I would love to live in Kos, a short ferry ride to Bodrum. The air the scenery, the food, all just perfect.
For Spain I most like the East coast, the Valencia area, Mallorca….
Negative…. not as many… I think of a couple of small towns (one in North Florida, one in Nebraska) which just always gave me very bad vibes but… that’s about it.
Denmark seemed very…. off-putting, didn’t hate it but it felt a bit…. off (was in Odense for a meeting for a couple of days, expected to like it and….)
Brussels too, just… not my kind of place…
I can’t describe how differently I feel on the East Coast and in the Midwest. The landscape has a lot to do with it, I’m sure. The nature in the Midwest is very recognizable to me, even if I detest the climate.
As you say, it feels right. It’s inexplicable but you just instantly know it.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
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