Getting Worse Since 1914
Once upon a time, European culture was marked by optimism, scientific progress, and artistic flourishing. It was a time when borders were porous, ideas flowed freely, and people could travel across the continent with minimal passport or visa requirements. Don’t believe me, as people seem to think, that Europe is so integrated, but the Belle Époque (1871–1914) was the truly golden age and yup, gold reached another all-time high this month.
A World Without Borders
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, travel across Europe was remarkably uncomplicated. No biometric checks, and no border walls.
The Train des Grands-Ducs, which connected St. Petersburg in Russia to Cannes in France, required only one change during two overnight journeys. You could purchase a single ticket from one company. Money was tied to gold or silver, so exchage rates were relatively stable. A student from Russia could enroll at the Sorbonne in Paris, study, and return home on short notice and without much hustle (provided they could afford the journey, but if they could, they likely spoke fluent French too!). (Women were already permitted to study in Switzerland (at least).)
What a world…
Fast forward 100+ years: you now have to take eleven different rides from Petersburg to Cannes, among them buses, or even shared car rides, due to construction works in France. You’ll have to wait between each transfer, that’s if you are lucky and your rides are not severely delayed or cancelled. And it’s no longer a single ticket you can buy like in the Belle Époque. Expect to sign up for seven different national train accounts and bus apps, and accept cookies and GDPR agreements each time. Ensure your passport is up-to-date and meet all visa requirements; you’ll probably need a transit visa for Belarus and one for the European Union? Good luck getting an embassy appointment. And if you’re planning to attend the Sorbonne, most likely you never will, even if you happen to be clever; but make sure to translate all your certificates and get them approved according to French requirements, assuming you speak French well enough.
The Intellectual and Artistic Playground
The Belle Époque was not just about luxury travel—it was an era of boundless curiosity. Our Russian student in Paris could probably attend a Paris salon, like the one, Gertrude Stein and her girldfriend hosted, having the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, for guests. Vienna saw Freud revolutionize psychology, while Marie Curie’s discoveries in radioactivity earned her two Nobel Prizes. The middle class and above immersed themselves and their children in the arts, literature, and the study of sciences. Yes, but I guess we have Netflix now—cheap and low-quality entertainment. Progress, progress, progress.
The Belle Époque was far from perfect—class divisions were stark, and colonial exploitation continued unabated. But isn’t that the case now, just in a different variation?
A Lost Dream of Europe
Perhaps one day, Europe will dare to remember what it once was—and dare to prioritize knowledge and exchange. Backward nation-states and consumerism don’t seem to do the job…
