[ragix]

I would love to spend a few days there just taking it all in.

I visited Europe for the first time last year. My favorite part of the holiday was walking through the streets of the old village's in Germany and Switzerland marvelling at the history.

Here in New Zealand a 100 year old building seems ancient. So a 1,000 year old bridge was mind blowing.

We got invited to a mass in the church at the local castle in the village we stayed in, that was an unreal experience. Something I will never forget. I don't think Europeans realise how lucky they're to be so connected to there past.

[andyjdavis]

>I don't think Europeans realise how lucky they're to be so connected to there past.

It is a double edged sword. Its great they have that connection but that can lead people to glamorize the past and to focus on trying to hold onto the past while neglecting the future.

When I spend time in the UK I am always surprised how frequently history comes up in conversation, how positively it is spoken about and how gloomy everyone's descriptions of the present and future are. Apparently the past was great and the future is bleak (even years pre-Brexit). There is one notable exception, the Margaret Thatcher years get brought up at least once a week by family/friends/strangers on the bus and described very negatively

In Australia where I am from the past bright/future gloomy logic is reversed. The past rarely comes up and discussions about the present and future tends towards optimism.

[NamTaf]

Another Aussie here, I'm headed over for 8 weeks in September - November and this is by far and away the most exciting prospect for me. I'll be spending some time driving around the place just marvelling at the concept that buildings older than 150 years old exist.

[femto]

They do daily and weekly tickets, for 15 and 50 pounds respectively. Must be booked in advance.

http://www.londonlibrary.co.uk/join/join-online

[yitchelle]

Australian living in Germany here. I had similar thoughts when I started living in Germany in 2009. One of my thoughts was the church in my local German village is older than the Australian consititution by centuries. However, I realised that this is history as defined by European cultures. If is open this up to include Aboriginal culture, we can start to talk about similar time frames. I believe that Maori cultures would have similar time frames as well.

[anotherevan]

Australian here. I have had the same reaction when visiting Europe and trundling around little villages in Ireland.

[theoh]

This sounds a bit "Rick Steves" to me. Europe has a violent past, generally fueled by antagonisms with roots in the even deeper past. The 16th C bridge at Mostar, destroyed and rebuilt in the last couple of decades, is an example of built heritage as a hostage to violent forces in the present.

Tangible heritage of all kinds is at risk (of rising sea levels, of war) and it doesn't mean a lot to most people because they have no direct involvement with it. There's an increasing awareness that it is the intangible and living aspects that really must be preserved:

http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/