What means of visual shorthand do other countries have to signify “you’re home”? I suppose for the Japanese it would be Mt. Fuji, for the French it would be either the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Trimophe. What else?
*I chose the White Cliffs of Dover for England for several reasons. First is the song from WWII; second is the scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves where Robin didn’t get excited about being home until he saw the cliffs; third is the scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (movie) where the Quidditch World Cup took place near the cliffs.
BTW, London Bridge and Tower Bridge are some distance apart. I agree it’s frustrating: famous bridge named London, famous bridge that’s a symbol of London, but they’re two different bridges. London Bridge is actually kind of unprepossessing.
For Canada, the best I can do is the Centre Block of Parliament.
If you are looking for instant establishing shots (like in old movies)
Italy would probably be the Coliseum or maybe the Tower of Pisa.
India would probably be the Taj Mahal
Russia, the Kremlin
One of the problems of having an enormous country: Ontario landmarks mean very little to the Western provinces and (I imagine) the Atlantic provinces; and while the Parliament Buildings are visible from the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, I doubt that the CN Tower would mean much to a Quebecer.
I’d suggest a Mountie. They patrol from coast to coast, and even in the provinces that don’t use them as provincial police force, the Mounties still have a presence in certain federal buildings and installations. No matter where I enter Canada, when I see a Mountie, I know I’m home (even though I may still have 3000 miles to travel).
On that note, I suggest “crowds of overweight/obese people with no fashion sense” for the US’ symbol. Whether I fly in through LAX, ORD, DTW, or ATL, I see crowds of overweight families wearing Garfield and/or Mickey Mouse t-shirts, sucking down 32oz sodas and immediately think, “Damn, it feels good to be home.”
