Yes, the irony is that I live in NYC, where I have little fear…yet am nervous to go to Paris.
This is just something that happens occasionally. I mean, I can’t be the only one who remembers back when Red October was in their heyday, and German military(?) patrolled the Frankfurt airport with submachine guns.
I think that overall security in Europe is tighter than in the U.S. That said a few years ago while travelling with DH, retired FAA, he felt security was lax in Barcelona. He also felt that way when we were travelling in Maui not too long ago heading to San Francisco. We have changed planes in both Amsterdam and Madrid several times on various trips and gone through multiple security rechecks, especially as several times those trips involved going to Israel. That extra layer of security is quite common when travelling to Israel and something you simply accept. Older d is travelling to a conference in Jerusalem in June and I am not any more concerned than normal. She and her boyfriend had just come home from Paris a few weeks in advance of the Paris terrorist attacks and stayed not far from where those restaurants were located, walked that street numerous times and used the metro Republique stop, which became the monument and gathering place.
Oh… something else retired FAA’er would never do is to on a tourist helicopter… too many issues with maintenance, pilot license, etc.
Yes, I also agree with above posters. The common impression in parts of Europe and Israel is that life in the U.S. has deteriorated so much because of gun violence and random shootings that people are at risk going about their business on a daily basis Just read that in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks, for a good many of the doctors in hospitals where victims were taken, it was the first time they had ever seen a gunshot wound in their entire careers!! How many ER doctors/trauma surgeon in the U.S. could possibly say the same thing?
@dfbdfb , I have seen police with assault rifles in Times Square and also Newark Train station. It is unnerving , but I think what bothered my husband was that such beautiful places in Europe now have to be protected from extremists .They have made it known that they want to destroy them and that tourists cannot visit places that they once took for granted without armed guards…that made him feel more sad than unsafe.
I was also in Boston the weekend of the marathon bombing, standing right where the Tsarnaev brothers kiiled and maimed innocents just the day before.
Just returned from 10 days in Paris. I saw more security at Versailles Palace and at the D’Orsay museum than I did at airports. I also used the metro here and there. As someone else said, if we don’t continue our lives the terrorists win.
Thanks, lje62. Kid1 is in Spain for 2 weeks now, so I was extra curious. The uptick in terrorism seems a variable in many places It is poignant to see the protection in place, yet I studied in England in 1975 and remember bags carefully inspected at entertainment venues that were off the beaten path due to similar safety concerns. I am not remembering how ubiquitous armed security was then.
I know New Yorker’s who are avoiding Paris. They get the irony, too, @GCmom. Perhaps familiarity helps; perhaps a trip abroad is optional.
How we wrap our heads around things… Had a toddler and DH had just started traveling overseas regularly for work when the plane went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. I immediately focused on how much more danger his highway commute put him in daily and decided that since there was no room for twice a day anxiety about that, the business travel could not generate extra concern either. It mostly worked.
Just got our travel documents today. Will have to read them over.
@travelnut , one of my daughters participated in a semester abroad in Spain a few years ago. They were all briefed about how to act, dress and even what kind of handbag to use. They were trying to make the students not stand out to pick pockets and avoid being targeted.
She didn’t have any issues at all and really enjoyed the experience.
The only thing that was shocking was when they took a weekend trip to Portugal , and that was because the locals partied and openly used drugs in public 