The Amish on vacation

Amish people often ask a lot of questions when you tell them you have visited places overseas.

I’ve spent a good bit of time explaining to inquisitive Amish folks how people live in Poland, or what it’s like to climb Mt. Sinai.

By the nature of Amish life, Amish mobility is typically more restricted, and many are naturally curious of life outside as a result.

At the same time, out-of-state vacations have become more and more popular  over the years.  Some Amish visit Florida, rent RVs (with driver) for long-range excursions, or go hunting out West.

Some even travel overseas, as in one Swiss article I recently read describing an Amish trip to trace roots in Switzerland.  In this case, the Amish group was made up of members of both New and Old Order affiliations.  They agreed to go by ship, as Old Order Amish generally don’t allow air travel.

That meant paying $6,000 a head for the Atlantic passage.

Probably the most popular Amish excursion is the trip to visit family in another settlement, perhaps for a wedding or reunion.

To me, the oddest sights are seeing Amish folks in the Greyhound station.  Especially since these stations are usually found in the most heavily urbanized chunks of the city.  Talk about being a fish-out-of-water.