May 2000
Special Agent
Michael Dickinson's onging investigation of European life
Former university of Connecticut president Homer Babbidge (now deceased) often shared his opinion of higher education: “when we graduate high school, we should be given a book of tickets to college. Throughout our lives, we should be able to redeem those tickets at any time, and not just cram courses into four years, when we are too young to know what we want to learn.” Based on a recent conversation with Munich travel agent Michael Dickinson, it would seem the Alabama native has taken his time using his chits — and probably has an endless supply. His journey from the Montgomery suburb of Opelika to Just Travel on Dreimühlenstrasse involved considerably more lessons than are taught in school.
The son of former U.S. congressman William L. Dickinson (he served for 30 years until 1994), Dickinson spent his formative years in Washington, D.C. “After high school, I went back to Alabama for college,” explains the expat, his heritage revealed by his southern drawl. “But after a couple of years I needed money for school, so I went back to D.C., where I became a ‘vertical specialist,’ an elevator boy at the capitol,” laughs Dickinson. Months of rubbing elbows with VIPs led to a job as a research assistant for the Committee for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations. “By the end of the four-year project, I’d earned enough money to put college off yet again, opting instead to backpack through Europe.”
In 1979, Dickinson, who at that point had mastered only Spanish, explored Europe and Eastern bloc countries extensively. “I took an instant liking to the East,” beams the Schwabing resident. “Sure, I didn’t like communism, but the people are so genuine! Here they had nothing, four families shared one apartment, and they were giving me presents!” Today, Dickinson (45) speaks six foreign languages. “I wanted to improve my French, so I took a course at the Sorbonne. I wanted to learn Italian, so I went to Florence. I studied Russian in [then] Leningrad, and on my next vacation I will head to Hungary to study Hungarian for 120 hours! My friends think I’m nuts,” exclaims the linguistic overachiever. “Next on my list are Turkish, Croatian and American Sign Language.”
Upon completing his initial tour, the politician’s son decided to stay and find work. “Through steadily gathered connections, I landed at the University of Maryland outside Munich. I was offered a position as a secretary in the Student Housing Office. They said they needed someone, but I think they just wanted my tuition,” guffaws Dickinson. While taking courses in anything that struck his fancy — “it took me forever to graduate because I kept ignoring required electives” — Dickinson became involved in the university’s Study Tours program. Acting as tour assistant — “I was in charge of counting heads on the bus and giving directions to the hotel bathroom” — the Europhile quickly picked up on regional customs. “I eventually became director of the program,” shares Dickinson. “I dealt with the practical side of things. I warned students about tricky border crossings and encouraged them to respect local ideologies.”
Ten years later, when it became clear that UM would relocate, Dickinson, considered opening a travel agency here. “It seemed only logical,” smiles the man who’s found his niche. “I asked a friend what she thought. She said, ‘Michael, if you don’t go into business for yourself, what will you do?’ I said, ‘I’ll have to start all over from scratch.’ She said, ‘And if you do open it, and fail, what will you do?’ And then it hit me where she was going and I replied, ‘start all over from scratch!’ So, in 1991, I opened Just Travel.”
In addition to informing himself about every dot on Europe’s landscape, Dickinson enjoys alpine hiking, sailing, cooking and sampling from Munich’s rich cultural calendar. While it took him 12 years to secure a four-year college degree, he is ever eager to hand over his imaginary learning coupons, and, in doing so, he does Homer Babbidge proud.
