What not to do in Europe

I scanned this NG relentlessly picking up tips before I left on my 6 week
backpacker around Europe. It was my first serious trip anywhere away from
North Am. For what it's worth, here are my little list of do's and don'ts
for anyone who might be considering something similar. I maintained blog
which chronicals my follies and successes, which you may also find helpful
if you are considering just such an expedition
http://timetraveller.tblog.com


Background.
This trip was conceived one morning while having coffee with a friend who
mentioned that his daughter was having a blast doing the Eurail thing around
Europe. I had heard rumours about Eurail passes for getting around Europe
on the cheap, and what a good deal they were...which I suppose was true at
one time. Anyway, for better or for worse, the Eurail pass was the corner
stone on which my trip was built and I purchased the 15 days in 2 months, 5
country flexipass covering Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Greece. I
actually only visited France, Spain and Italy. My plan was to use mostly
youth hostels, 1 star hotels and overnight trains for accomodation, which I
did. For what it's worth perspective wise, I'm just on the wrong side of 50
years old and moderately fit. I found I was the only person over 25 years
in every hostel I visited, however, all the staff and young people were very
open and friendly and the age thing had no effect other than the fact that
we often ran out of common things to discuss. At my stage of life, when the
general conversation mainly revolves around places to meet girls, I find to
don't have too much to contribute. That having been said though, did meet
some very interesting and charming young people who were very open,
interesting and friendly. I found that many people made more effort to
communicate with me than I did with them.

Internet
-Internet access is everywhere. The larger centres in Spain have some
excellent franchise operations where all the computers are new, work well,
and the prices are low. Smaller centres have all kinds of computers from
very well run to very old, Windows 98 type machines, that are slow, buggy
and loaded down with all sorts of crap that random people have downloaded
and installed. I was concerned about security... about keystroke loggers and
other such stuff that anyone could have installed to capture passwords and
credit card numbers. Nothing happened, but it is a hazard when making
reservations etc using the internet. I found it to be invaluable tho, in
keeping in touch with family and friends.
Hotels and airports are the worst pricewise...often charging as much as 7 or
8 Euro an hour. I found the average price was around 3 Euro and hour. While
I was surfing, I uploaded digital pictures in the background from CDs I had
burned from my flash cards using FTP to a site a friend set up for me before
I left. It's a good thing, because I lost the CD and flash card when my
camera was stolen.
The French keyboards drove me nuts, but the ones in Spain and Italy were not
significantly different from the North American.

Packing
- As nearly every experienced poster predicted I brought way too much stuff.
I had a 40 litre pack with a detachable daypack. I packed 3 pairs
pants,/shirts, 2 pairs shorts, toilietries, a towel, 3 tee shirts, 4 pairs
underwear/socks, backpack mesh security device, hostel bedsheet, an
expensive digital camera with couple of lenses and spare batteries/flash
cards, light weight windbreaker, tear outs of the appropriate pages of the
rough guide to Europe, baseball type hat, sleeping shirt/shorts, hiking
shoes, hiking sandals and a heavy flannel shirt /jacket.
I could have easily gotten by with(in addition to what I was wearing)
one pair of pants/shirt, 2 pairs underwear/socks, sandals, (no shoes)
windbreaker, towel, toiletries, medicine kit, camera with no accesories
except spare battery, charger, flash cards. I never wore my shorts. I had
loose cargo pants that I simply rolled up in hot weather. I looked dorky I'm
sure, but when the option is aching shoulders, it doesn't seem all that
important. I would wash my laundry in the shower while I was taking one and
let it air dry overnight. I did this several times due to my lack of
success in finding laundromats. If you need more clothes, you can get them
from street vendors for as little as 5Euros for cargo pants/shirts/shorts
etc and throw them away when they are dirty. For that price why bother
lugging them around? The laundromats I did find in Rome and Madrid charged
me 6 and 8 Euro respectively plus a huge penalty of valuable vacation time
searching for them(and in many cases not finding).
If I were to do this type of trip again I would try and use a 25 litre
pack with a large shoulder bag for day trips. This shoulder bag would hold
my camera, medicine kit, toiletries and documents in case I wanted to ditch
my main pack in a storage locker while I took a spontaneous trip somewhere
for an overnighter. (I actually did this a couple times and it worked
rather well....just slept in my clothes).

Eurail
- Again my inexperience showed as I tried to see too many places. In future
I would stay minimum of 4 and maybe 5 or 6 nights in any place I visited and
get a cheaper pass. Otherwise the overhead of travel and orientation makes
it not worth it....I ditched my plans for Greece (Crete) once I realized it
was going to be the better part of 5 days travelling to get there (boat,
train, bus) and back from Sicily. If you need a goods nights sleep,
overnight trains are a bad idea. I can get by on a few hours sleep for 2 or
3 nights in a row, but not everyone can. Overnight trains worked for me,
but when my wife joined me for part of the trip, they were a disaster for
her. In addition, with the supplements, they often cost quite a bit more
than a 2 star hotel.. especially if you are a couple..especially the Spanish
TrenHotels. The French ones are cheaper if you go 2nd Class (6 to a
compartment). I mourn all the valuable vacation time spent on slow trains
and in train stations when I could have taken a taxi or metro to the
airport and boarded a cheap flight to my destination in many cases.

Boats
- My Eurail pass indicated that I got reduced fare on the TransMediterranea
ferry to Mallorca. True, but it was still over 100Euro, not to mention the
time involved in travelling and the uncertainty of departure ofthe fast
catamarans due to weather conditions. It costs only 55Euro to take a plane
from Barcelona to Mallorca, so I don't know why anyone would bother with the
catamaran unless they (like me) didn't check it out thoroughly.

Accomodation
- In the off season, you can get very low hotel rates for really nice
hotels in places like Mallorca and Costa Blanca...I got 4 nights in a 3 star
on Mallorca for 30 Euro a night and on Costa Blanca for the same. Some
nights and places I paid that price for a shared dorm in a Youth Hostel.
- Hostels can be very noisy. I initially had some concerns about snoring
(mine and others) but in most of them, the "white noise" of traffic
generally drowns that out. I found I was able to sleep perfectly well
through all kinds of racket...even roomates having late night conversations
with the lights on. In Spain, one Saturday night, there were people full on
partying outside the window until 6 AM. I would wake for a few seconds for
the odd loud noise then go right back to sleep.

Transportation generally.
-In my sleepy small Canadian city, you get on a bus, you put your money in
the box, the driver smiles and you go where you want. If you need to get
another bus, you ask the conductor for a transfer. In Europe, you buy the
ticket and then you MUST validate it in the little box behind the driver. I
was unaware of this protocol and when the transit inspectors boarded the
bus, it cost me a 24 Euro fine. Ignorance is costly and in Europe, my
experience is that there are often no second chances. You make a mistake,
you pay.
-I rented cars and scooters numerous times from local operators for a
fraction of the cost as from brand name operator such as Hertz.
-Though I never took any of this discount airlines, they appear to be
amazing, and many people I spoke with were using them.
-The best trains are the French TGV and Spanish AVE trains, althought
Spanish trains tend require a much greater supplement ( you gotta pay over
and above the Eurail Pass) The best part is being able make a base in a
place like Paris or Madrid, and take day trips to other interesting places
without having to lug the whole backpack around. I did this on several
occasions.
-I did a LOT of walking. The guy at the outfitter store where I got my pack
before the trip recommended a pair of solid stiff hiking shoes and a pair of
very (flimsy looking to me) hiking sandals. I could have easily left the
stiff heavy shoes behind. The sandals were very comfortable for all the
walking I did, from mountain hikes in Province to day to day wandering the
streets in a big city, loaded down with pack and looking for a hotel in hot
weather.
- Due to terroist concerns, getting storage lockers in the various
transportation terminals is now a very iffy proposition. At this time, if
they don't have special XRay machines to examine your bags (think smaller
centres like Nice Ville for example) you can't put bags in lockers. Some
places have a 12 hour limit, so you can't really leave town. Some places you
would expect to have lockers don't even have them...Avignon TGV and Paris
Bercy disappointed me when my shoulders ached!

Language.
- I had some high school French (which helped a lot in France) and picked
up a bit of Spanish and Italian as I travelled. It was hilarious when
crossing borders though because I was mentally still in the previous
country, so I would buy a coffee or something I would kind of run through my
greetings.."Hola, er...I mean Bonjour, er..maybe Bon Giorno...?" (especially
after a night train ride!)..I got by, but not knowing the language can make
some transactions exceedingly difficult, especially if it's something like
trying to get a ticket refund or report a stolen bag. I would recommend
taking language courses if you can. You can get by without it, but it's
often like trying to fix a watch with boxing gloves on. I found I was
usually able to figure out what signage meant, but speaking/understanding
was a whole different matter. I did plunge in, make fool of myself many
times, but found that I was learning the languages.

Food
- I self catered a lot...bread, cheese, wine/beer/juice/water, salami and
fresh produce/fruit. The variety of delicious cheeses is astonishing. . Can
do that for less thatn 10 Euro a day I would say, but, it does get
monotonous. I also had a few abominable "take out" meals. Honestly the
worst pizzas I had were in Italy and the best were in France. The best
meal I had was in a Greek Brasserie in Paris across from Gare de L'Est. For
breakfast, in my opinion, the best deal around is MacDonalds (except Spain
where they don't open for Breakfast usually). 5 Euros and you get a full
stomach and not some foo foo croissant and bread for 7.50 Euro like in
France. I was corresponding with a guy in Paris before I left and was
shocked that was his recommendation as well.("Phillistine!" you say ...and I
say yea, yea, "mea culpa"!!) I didn't care for Spanish food in general...if
you don't care for omellettes, anchovies, tuna or ham (I know I'm fussy)
there isn't a lot left.
The 3 star off season hotels I stayed in had huge buffet breakfasts, so I
really loaded up in the morning and just had a late afternoon meal. I lost
weight on the trip, mainly because I was having such fun (or frustration at
times) that I often didn't stop to eat. I also did a LOT of walking.

Security.
- I got robbed in Barcelona. I was warned, I was aware, but it still
happened. I let my day pack sit on a chair beside me in a cafe in the
TransMediterranea terminal while I was having a coffee with my wife. When I
got up to leave, I found it had left before me with someone else. Lost a
camera, tickets and travel documents. Was able to recover from it but wasted
a lot of time and energy doing so. The theives there are really effective.

On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:11:54 GMT, Ruth wrote:

In Europe, you buy the
ticket and then you MUST validate it in the little box behind the driver.

That's different from country to country and town to town. There's no hard
and fast rule.
Sometimes you have to validate it on the bus, sometimes before, sometimes
not at all.
--
Tim C.

On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:11:54 GMT, Ruth wrote:

...when crossing borders though because I was mentally still in the previous
country, so I would buy a coffee or something I would kind of run through my
greetings.."Hola, er...I mean Bonjour, er..maybe Bon Giorno...?"

I know exactly what you mean. :-) You don't half feel a twit. But that's
what travelling's all about.


Honestly the worst pizzas I had were in Italy and the best were in France.
That's what I find as well. I often finds the Italian ones soggy with
watery toppings.


--
Tim C.

Tim Challenger wrote:

On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:11:54 GMT, Ruth wrote:


...when crossing borders though because I was mentally still in the previous
country, so I would buy a coffee or something I would kind of run through my
greetings.."Hola, er...I mean Bonjour, er..maybe Bon Giorno...?"


I know exactly what you mean. :-) You don't half feel a twit. But that's
what travelling's all about.

I mix up words a lot in languages that I don't know very well, which
sometimes make me seem like a complete idiot. One example was when I
opened the door to my train compartment on a russian train, found a guy
already sitting there, and greeted him with a loud and clear: "Do
zvedanja!" (i.e. "Goodbye!").

Bjorn

Following up to Ruth

I didn't care for Spanish food in general...if
you don't care for omellettes, anchovies, tuna or ham (I know I'm fussy)
there isn't a lot left.

There's a great deal left! A central market stuffed with
vegetables, fruit and fish and meat for instance

God post though, makes a change from the usual US v Europe
snipeng :-)
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
Wasdale-Lake district-Thames path-London "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Sounds like you had a nice little
adventure. With regard to protecting bags against theft while traveling, I
always wrap the strap around my ankle while I'm sitting so no one can swipe it.
My wife always thinks I'm being paranoid, but now I can tell her your story to
redeem myself. Sorry to hear about your misfortune though.

Following up to Tim Challenger

Honestly the worst pizzas I had were in Italy and the best were in France.
That's what I find as well. I often finds the Italian ones soggy with
watery toppings.

ummmmm. pizze. My best ever was in Milan, black truffle with egg.
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
Wasdale-Lake district-Thames path-London "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Following up to Wolfgang Schwanke

"Ruth" wrote in
news:KK3qc.509685$oR5.475844@pd7tw3no:

-The best trains are the French TGV and Spanish AVE trains,

Any particular reason for omitting the German ICE?

"actually only visited France, Spain and Italy."

could that be the reason? :-)
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
Wasdale-Lake district-Thames path-London "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:16:49 GMT, Tim Challenger wrote:
On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:11:54 GMT, Ruth wrote:

Honestly the worst pizzas I had were in Italy and the best were in France.
That's what I find as well. I often finds the Italian ones soggy with
watery toppings.

The best pizza I had was in Venice, Italy, and the worst pizza I had was
in Lyon, France. I got the Venice pizza from a place that was fairly
highly-rated (for taste, not cost or atmosphere) on a few travel sites,
and the Lyon pizza from a place highly-rated locally. The Lyon pizza was
like a cracker with tomato sauce on it.

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

"Tim Challenger" "timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote in message
s.com...
On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:11:54 GMT, Ruth wrote:

Honestly the worst pizzas I had were in Italy and the best were in
France.
That's what I find as well. I often finds the Italian ones soggy with
watery toppings.

Yuck. I find pizzas topped with Emmental cheese not only unauthentic, but
unappetizing as well. Or perhaps that's just a Côte d'Azur perversion of
pizza. I've found Argentinean pizza parlours in Spain to serve up tasty
pizza.

Lana