Dear friends, you have so many questions… I’ll see if I can answer a few before we leave. (If you don’t have any questions about our trip, just skip this post.)
No. We don’t rob banks to make trips like this. First, we use all of the money we could have spent on beer, alcohol and cigarettes in 68 years, and start with that sum.
Let that thought sink in for a few minutes…
Then, we look for bargains on airline tickets and travel in the “cheap seats”.(Remember that the “cheap seats” arrive at the same place and at the same time as the expensive ones!) We feel like we get the most “bang for our buck” in Europe by purchasing EuRail tickets in the US before our trip. We do not stay in 5-star hotels. All of the places we have stayed have been clean, even though on many occasions we have to walk down the hall to share the bathroom with other guests. Meals are inexpensive for us. Most of our overnight stops have a light breakfast included in the price of the room. We also carry snacks with us…granola bars, beef jerky, peanut butter crackers and dried fruit, among other items. As we snack, our backpacks get lighter (and our bodies get heavier, I guess). We shop at grocery stores (which is great entertainment in a foreign country) and buy fresh fruit, cheese, and other items. We picnic a lot, which saves both time and money. We study the areas to visit before we leave home, and we read guidebooks as we visit a town, so we rarely pay additional fees for guided tours (which tend to include too many cathedrals for our taste). Usually the host at our bed and breakfast will tell us about the “don’t miss” places in the area. We are past the age of wanting to bring back trinkets to gather dust, and since weight in our backpacks is an issue, we don’t spend money on souvenirs. Our photos and our wonderful memories are our souvenirs.
Trains?? Really?? If you have never travelled on the train system in Europe, I am sure you have some misconceptions like I did. There is no chugga-chugga, choo-choo and no clickety-clack, clickety-clack that we think of as typical of trains because European trains run on electricity. EuRail trains are quiet, smooth, immaculately maintained, and dependably punctual. The train stations are clean with unmistakable directions to the various trains. Many larger cities have railway stations inside the airports. (How handy is that?!?) I often wish we had a system like this in the U.S. Perhaps it might eliminate some of the zoo-like atmosphere at the Atlanta airport…or not.
Yes, you can take three weeks worth of clothing in a 15-pound backpack, which is the weight I find comfortable to carry. Olen’s backpack is a bit heavier (20 pounds). With my 15-pound limit I still take my small laptop computer, which allows even less weight for clothing. We choose a very few items of quick-drying clothing and every three or four nights we hand wash some essentials. Shoes are heavy to carry in a backpack, so we choose one really comfortable pair and wear them the entire time. Hairdryers and curling irons are heavy, too, so they stay at home. Makeup items would add weight, and the women in Europe wear very little makeup, so makeup items stay at home, also. Soap and water and sunscreen…and go!
"Must-have items": Collapsible trekking poles, laptop computer, train schedule and snacks.
What about Sundays? That is the first thing we think about when we plan a trip like this. We decide where we will be, or where we need to be, on the Lord’s Day each week. We have been able to locate a group of Christians who meet close to our location, or perhaps a congregation may be an early-morning train ride from our location. The services are not always in English, but we usually find someone who can help us with the language problem, and it is amazing how much you can pick up from the service. It is such a great thrill to meet servants of the Lord around the world. On this trip we have already had lengthy e-mail correspondence with several of the people we plan to meet on the Sundays we will be gone. It will be great to put a face to the people we have contacted.
Sickness? We don’t plan to get sick or hurt while we are gone, but that is always a consideration. At our age and stage in life, we buy the trip insurance and then we don’t worry about trip cancellation or interruption. It is a cheap price to pay for peace of mind.
What about problems like bad weather…missing a train…delayed plane schedule…etc.? We don’t have any “problems”. We have adventures! Things that go unplanned on a trip often open doors to even better experiences…or things to laugh about later (when it is all behind us!). Note: You may need to remind me of this statement later in the trip.
Did I cover all of your questions? Then, here we go! It is almost time to leave for our great adventure. Thanks for following along.
I can hardly wait! :)
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