Blogabout Europe

Words of Advice

As part of the continual effort to procrastinate on my paper, here are five random tips for those of you who haven't yet started your European adventure.

1. Always carry change for the toilets. Peeing is rarely free in Europe. Unless you are male, that is. Especially in Amsterdam, where there are plastic urinals scattered throughout the city. The whole place is like an outdoor concert. For the rest of us, plan to pay anywhere from 10 to 50 euro cents to use a public toilet. Make the most out of it - I still sort of wish I had taken a camera with me into some German rest stops, where the toilet seats actually rotate and self-clean. It is how I imagine Japan to be, where hygiene and technology go hand-in-hand. Also in Germany - when you pay 50 cents at certain roadside stops, you get a coupon for 50 cents off of a food purchase. Even a roadside schnitzel is better than no schnitzel at all.

2. Sticker your fruit. When in a European grocery store, don't fill a bag with nectarines and expect to pass smoothly through the checkout. I tried this in a Paris MonoPrix with a naked apple and the cashier was not pleased. She lectured me in French that I couldn't keep up with, then the man behind me grabbed the fruit and ran off. Literally, ran, as I stood confused. He returned, breathless, thirty seconds later, proudly producing an apple with a bar coded sticker on it. Even if you are only buying a single grape, I recommend that you weigh it on the scale and attach a sticker. It's for everyone's benefit.

3. Do stuff. Even if you don't feel like it. OK, you've been on a long bus ride. It's raining. You're hungover and desperate for a shower. The last thing you want to do is take a free walking tour of Bruges with a bunch of virtual strangers. Do it anyway. Whether it's a free tour or a night bike ride or a hike to the top of a fortress, don't cop out. Suck it up and do it - you'll usually get the benefit of local knowledge and see places you would otherwise have missed out on. But please. Shower first, which you really should have done before getting on the bus in the first place.

4. Create a Facebook account. Yes, it is kind of like selling your soul to the internet, but on the other hand, it's a really easy way to trade photos and keep in touch with people. Thanks to Facebook, I've already caught up with several people in London who I might otherwise not have seen again. We also have access to each other's photos. Much better results than empty promises to 'stay in touch' and 'send that group picture from Salzburg.'

5. Take pictures of people. Not just buildings. This sounds obvious, but it's such an easy trap to fall into, especially after several weeks of travel. The last thing you want is an album full of you, making the same pose, in front of a building that may as well be a backdrop. "This is me in front of the Eiffel Tower. This is me in front of a church in Berlin. This is me, looking exactly the same, in front of the Alps." Be that annoying person who is always carrying around a camera and instructing people to look your way. The pictures you are going to want later are not the ones of anonymous monuments. But if you don't get any good shots, you can always steal other people's photos from Facebook.

Alter Egos: How people make their travelling money

I mentioned before that I couldn't believe the variety of jobs amongst the boat passengers in Croatia. This video will put some names and faces together with those professions. I think everyone is telling the truth - all except one. I'll leave it to you to figure out who that one is.

Wish I was still on that boat.

RIP Freedom

I am in mourning.

London, formerly my favorite city, is now the home of obligations and dissertations. You mean to tell me I've got to pay rent? And go to work? Possibly most depressing is when my alarm goes off and I go to catch the bus. It is now a red double decker that takes me into the heart of Kingston-upon-Thames, not a smurfy blue Busabout bus full of hungover travellers.

I watch my Croatian tan rapidly fade as I sit on the couch, 'working on my dissertation.'

This is how I work on my dissertation:

Log onto Facebook (warming up my brain)
30 minutes later: Open Word and look at document
5 minutes later: Check email
20 minutes later: Delete five sentences of dissertation. Write one. Despair.
3 minutes later: Look back on photos from trip.
40 minutes later: Wander into kitchen for snack. Become depressed at lack of gelato in freezer.
Repeat cycle for 2-3 hours, then close down computer and vow to really focus tomorrow.

I look at all of my stuff that has yet to be unpacked: books, DVDs, piles of random paper that I've kept 'just in case,' shoes, clothes. I have come to the realisation that I don't need any of this stuff. I wish there was somewhere I could sell it all and head back out on the road. Sadly, I can't think of a place that would pay good money for a chipped Prague mug or rejected drafts of my dissertation.

BUT. Silver lining alert.
I'll be at Stansted airport at six AM on Friday, October 3rd, to catch my flight to Stuttgart, where I'll join a Busabout coach to Munich, where I will participate in the great celebration that is Oktoberfest. This will be an ideal way to complete my Masters Degree.

Between deleting sentences from my paper and checking my facebook account, I'll work on getting some of the backlogged video footage up from the most recent trip. I'm also going to do some more in-depth posts on some of the hostels I stayed in and activities I did, so hopefully that will be helpful to anyone out there who is planning their own trip.

SO Blogabout Europe is not dead yet, keep checking back for more.

Tell me how you really feel

Six weeks ago, I was in Paris.
Five weeks ago, I was in Berlin.
Four weeks ago, I was in Vienna.
Three weeks ago, I was in Venice.
Two weeks ago, I was in Korcula, Croatia.
One week ago, I was in Slovenia.

Now, of course, I'm in London, still reeling from everything. I actually got up and went to work this morning. I'm sure they were pleased to see me turn up in obscenely wrinkled clothes (gotta get an iron) with a dazed look on my face. The inevitable question was posed:

"How was your trip?"

I knew it would happen, but I didn't have an answer. How was my trip?

I met what seemed like hundreds of people, some crazy or suspect, most friendly and incredibly fun. I went whitewater rafting in Croatia, canyoning in Austria, tobogganing in Slovenia, and hiking in the Czech Republic. I touched the Berlin wall, toured the Red Light District, and gawked at the Basilica San Marco. I ate baby octopus, pork knuckle, and genuine Belgian waffles, not to mention countless pizza slices and gelato cones. I drank steins in the beer halls of Munich and Austria, sampled walnut brandy on a Croatian sailboat, and toured a brewery in Bruges. I spent hour after hour on busses, trains, boats and planes, missing the city I left behind but looking forward to the next one. I sang karaoke, pub crawled in the rain, and stayed up way past my bedtime. I added numerous destinations to my list, stamps in my passport, and random foreign words to my vocabulary.

That's how my trip was. So if you ask me that question and I say, "Great," know that my answer is a gross understatement, because until you do it yourself, you can only imagine. And doing it yourself will far surpass your imagination, so my advice is to start planning.

I've got some laundry to catch up on and some boxes to unpack, but you haven't heard the last of me. I hear this rumour that itchy feet are incurable.

But for now, the photo albums on the blog have all been uploaded - my computer is not letting me add pictures to the posts, but everything is up in the albums.

Blogabout Europe Refills Her Beer

 

Finally think I got this video working:  At the beer hall in Salzburg, doing a bit of self service.  What's not on the video is the little girl next to me at the fountain who was also washing out a stein.  I learn from the best. 

Blogabout Europe is back in London

I'm back. 

I don't know what to think.  It's kind of like crashing into an alternate universe that seems vaguely familiar.  Suddenly there are all kinds of things to deal with:  dissertations, moving house, work...yet all I can think about is Croatia, Austria, coach journeys and multiple foreign languages.  I bought a sandwich at the airport in London and had a quick rifle through my brain to figure out the correct way of saying 'Thank you.'  Then I remembered - 'Thank you.'    It was kind of disappointing, because I was ready to give Danke Schoen, Hvala, Merci, or Grazie. 

Since I am currently between houses, I have no internet connection and so have snuck into a posh local pub here in Teddington.  The fact that I still wear whatever is at the top of my bag (cropped trousers, flip flops and a hoodie) didn't seem to impress the barman, but he let me in.  Tomorrow afternoon I'll head to the Kingston University library for some free wireless, so you can check back for photos from the Eastern Trekker and more updates on the last few days. 

In the meantime, there is a pub quiz kicking off here and I am about to be asked to shut down this computer, so I'd better comply...especially because I know that my next step is to go back on the Busabout website and start checking out the Egypt tours.  I hear the diving is fantastic and I quite fancy checking out those pyramids...

Lazy Backpacker Syndrome

I'm in Bled, Slovenia. This is a place at the foot of the Alps, reminiscent of Lake Tahoe, California. There is a massive freshwater lake, surrounded by gorgeous forest and mountains, complete with castle and alpine cottages. When we arrived, Carlos (our guide) gave us numerous options of things to do - whitewater rafting, canyoning, horseback riding, paragliding, skydiving - but I decided to take it easy and pass on these activities.

Then the feeling of guilt started to kick in. This is common among backpackers, especially when you have been on the road for over a month.

You've done a lot. It might not always seem like it, but you have actually been pretty busy. You're in an attractive little town, and you kind of want to take it easy.

But what about Carpe Diem? Is passing up activities really living life to its fullest?

I figured I'd take it easy today, but there was a knock on my door just after breakfast, and I was told that some of the other Eastern Trekkers were heading out for a toboggan ride and a swim.

This is where the conflict started. To be lazy and take a break from the constant pace of travelling, or go out and push myself to do something.

Of course, the answer is always to go out and do it. So I did.

And, like always, I did not regret my decision. I was in a group of seven, and we walked around Lake Bled until we hit the toboggan course. There was a chair lift up to the top, with predictably fantastic views, and predictably dodgy toboggans. I jumped into one, got strapped in and given instructions from the elderly Slovenian man running the ride:

"Forward, Go. Back, Stop."

Next thing I knew, I was sailing down a mountain in a small plastic vehicle attached to a singular metal track.

There was some screaming and some unnecessary braking, but it was so fun I got up there and did it a second time (2x for 10 euro).

After that, we walked further down the track and went for a swim. Lake Bled has a small island in the center, and on this island is a church. Legend goes that if you make a wish and ring the bell of the church, your wish will come true.

Well, I've kissed the Blarney Stone, so I'm not one to scoff at legends. I jumped in the water and swam my six weeks of unfit body across the lake to that island.

We were accompanied by two of our group in a rowboat, so the cameras could come along. I envied the rowers, because halfway across the lake I had a minor anxiety attack, convinced that i was going to choke on my hair and drown. Of course, this did not happen, we all reached the island safely, and rang the bell.

No word yet on that wish fulfillment thing, but it's always worth a try.

Tomorrow it's an early start, back on the bus, and on to Salzburg. You might recall that I passed through Salzburg a few weeks ago, promising to return. Now that time is here, and I'm still shocked at how quickly the time passes.

Every day reinforces the fact that no matter how much I might want to cop out and be lazy, it's always worth it to suck it up and try something different. Even if you are careening down a mountainside without a helmet.

Blogabout Europe has a Midnight Snack in Pag

Walking around Pag yesterday, I saw a vending machine unlike any I had seen before. On the way back to Hotel Bavaria that night, I stopped to sample the merchandise.

Eastern Trekker

Ten days in Croatia and I still can t find the apostrophe key.  I m writing from Pag, and the town we are in has one 8-computer internet cafe.  I ve been spoiled so far with hostel wireless connections.

I am officially an Eastern Trekker now.  Joined the tour from Split to Prague yesterday morning, and a rough morning it was, thanks to the festivities of Friday night.  We started at a bar called the Red Room, then moved on to the beach clubs.  On the beach, I noticed a large group of deaf people.  I ve got deaf parents, so was instantly intrigued.  The only problem was that I know American Sign Language, and these people weren t using ASL. 

Contrary to popular belief, sign language isn t universal, so there was no guarantee that they would be able to understand me, but I took a shot and tapped one guy on the shoulder. 

"Are you deaf?" I asked.  Duh.  Great conversation opener. 

It turned out that he didn t know ASL, but his friend did, and I carried on a conversation with them for a while.  They were Italian and Croatian, also on holiday.  One of them even had friends at Gallaudet, which is where my parents went to college.  Random small world.  It s a trippy experience having a conversation between an English speaker and an Italian speaker in American sign language.  I think that language barrier is starting to crack.

Here in Pag, another Croatian island, there tend to be a lot of German tourists, so hospitality workers have a pretty good knowledge of German.  I got a gelato today (cherry flavor) and he told me it cost funf kuna.  Since my German counting abilities extend up to the number seven, I knew that meant five.  This is really cheap for gelato, so I might have to get another one later. 

So far I m a bit confused on this tour.  I keep looking around going, "These people werent on my boat, where am I?"  Our guide, Carlos, forced us to "speed date" on the bus - rotate from seat to seat and have a quick chat with people so we got to know each other.  I was bitter about this at first, because all I wanted to do was sleep off the night before, but I was glad he did it.  Looks like another good group who are only going to make it harder for me to get on that plane out of Prague on Saturday. 

Tomorrow I leave Croatia and enter Slovenia.  Better consult the language dictionary and swap my kunas back into euros.  I ve also got some photos and videos to catch up on, which I ll post as soon as I can get some wireless.  Until then, I see a beach outside and it is calling my name.  Got to take advantage of this, because pretty soon it won t be at my front step anymore...

Say it isn t so

I had a reality check today when we pulled into port in Split. 

My trip ends in one week.  On Saturday the 16th, I fly home to London.  Six weeks seemed endless, and I am sorry to face the fact that it is not.  The day I left for the sailing trip, I ran into a girl at the hostel who had just returned.  Her comment was that she couldn t believe how quickly it had gone.

On Monday, I thought I had plenty of time.  On Wednesday, there were still a good few days left.  But now it is Friday, I am back in Split for one night, and I disembark tomorrow and join the Eastern Trekker Bohemian Rhapsody tour.

When I left London, I thought that this would probably be my last shot to do something like this, backpack for a six week block.  I thought that at 26, it was time for some stability.  I figured that I d get back, finish my dissertation, get a proper job, and take weeklong vacations for the rest of my life.  Silly Lauren.  I should have known that could never be the case. 

I ve met plenty of travellers who are older than me and who have job commitments.  It s never as difficult as it seems, just takes some planning.  I am sure my backpack will be seeing some more action over the next few years, and I ve been flipping through the Busabout brochure again.  Egypt is sounding really good right about now... 

The number one thing to keep in mind about travel is that when you cross one destination off the list, you had better be prepared to add at least three more.  And the best part about going home is figuring out where to go next.