European travel guru Rick Steves to discuss changes and challenges at Norfolk Forum

In his decades traveling throughout Europe, Rick Steves has been mugged once and pickpocketed twice.

But he wasn’t mad at the robbers.

“I’m thankful for all those experiences because they taught me,” he said during a recent interview.

For Steves, travel is all about new experiences. He’s known for his bestselling guidebooks, PBS shows and tours, which 25,000 people will take this year alone, about half of them repeat customers. (His travel column also runs each Sunday in The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.)

On Sept. 7, Steves will be at Chrysler Hall to share his experiences, the first speaker in the Norfolk Forum lineup for its 90th anniversary year.

Jason Davis, president of the forum, said they selected Steves because they like to start the season with a recognizable name.

“He has to be the world’s leader in European travel,” he said.

He expects Steves’ talk will be entertaining, not too serious and timely.

“Coming out of COVID,” Davis said, “travel is on a lot of people’s minds.”

Steves said his guidebooks stopped selling and his tours ended during the pandemic after a successful 2019. But demand for travel has returned and people who received refunds in 2020 signed up for this year. There’s still a risk of getting COVID-19, but Europe has begun treating the virus as endemic, and he’s seen a return of the energy that he loves about Europe.

Still, he’s noticed some changes in the continent he thinks of as “a playground.”

Historical sites have started using advance booking to control crowds. People have gotten used to eating outside because of the pandemic. Climate change has made European summers hotter and it’s noticeable in places that don’t have universal air conditioning like the British Isles and Germany. And it’s hard for a traveler who is not vaccinated to explore because some sites require proof of vaccination.

Exploration is key for Steves.

When he started his business in the 1970s, he called it “Europe Through the Back Door.”

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People have a better trip when they don’t just check off bucket list items but try new things, he said.

“How many people do you interact with who are not stationed there to earn money off you because you’re a tourist,” he asked. “But how many people just want to invite you to the party? And are you willing to join the party?”

Steves sees travel as more than having a fun time, though. It’s a way to build understanding in a divided political landscape.

“I think the most fearful people are generally the people who have not traveled,” he said. “Because if you don’t travel, other people can shape your worldview. But if you do travel, you can shape your own worldview. … I think the world would be a safer place if people traveled. If you had to travel before you voted, our political landscape would be entirely different. The flip side of fear is understanding and we gain understanding when we travel.”

Steves considers Europe the sister continent of North America and “the wading pool of world exploration.” It’s where he’s comfortable and it’s the biggest travel market so he focuses on it for guidebooks and tours, he said.

But his favorite country is actually India because it’s so different from the world he knows: The toilets might be a hole in the ground, people don’t see time as a commodity and the country doesn’t have a Christian heritage.

“When I go to India, it feels like somebody has rearranged all my cultural furniture and I just really love that,” he said, joy in his voice.

“And for me, culture shock is a good thing. It’s constructive. It’s the growing pains of a broadening perspective.”

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If you go

When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7

Where: Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Blvd., Norfolk

Tickets: Only full-season subscriptions are sold for the forum’s first speaker; $160. If available, limited single tickets will be offered later.

Details: thenorfolkforum.org