Why European Soccer Fans Are Going Kerouac on the American Road

"Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road."

-Jack Kerouac

Among the most charming and fun developments of the United States hosting the World Cup, along with all the ties and low-scoring, of course, has been a bunch of Europeans discovering the wonders of America and sharing it on social media.

A German who goes by the handle Freddy has taken America by storm, describing the joys he finds driving through the deep south. He and others have lauded everything from the grand magnificence of Buc-ees gas stations to the savory goodness of biscuits and gravy.

Perhaps most American of all is the fact that the majority of these travel accounts on social media are road trips of Europeans, who are used to biking everywhere with a baguette under their arm. Here, they are even posting maps, covering hundreds of miles like latter-day Lewis and Clarks.

As the great American novelist Jack Kerouac understood, driving is the only way to truly understand America, to find its secrets, its nooks, crannies and roadside gems. You can’t fly there and you can’t take a train. You have to get behind the wheel and hit the road.