Now that I am back to everyday life, not that travelling is not a part of life, I decided to finally write an entry on Pros and Cons of backpacking (through Europe), what I learned along the planning process and along way throughout the journey as well.
So I had gone on the journey alone, and as a solo female, I can honestly say that I did not have any fears or troubles, being a female, in Europe. I felt that Europe was one of the more female friendly places, at least the places I lived in and visited there. In fact, I have felt more scared in my own area of town in the USA than abroad by myself in Europe. Needless to say, I took precautions being alone. I developed a keen sense of who I can trust and whom to beware of, and I kept myself out of certain situations by being more mindful of my surroundings. I also learned that no matter what anyone says, travelling alone as a female is not the end of the world! Like I said, my neighborhood I grew up in USA is more crime prone and dangerous, along with my college campus at night, than the places I visited in Europe. In a way, I did feel safer there despite not knowing all the languages and constantly learning my way around. If your intent is pure, and you want to explore the world for what it is, then why wait around for someone to accompany you. I met many solo travelers or backpackers and with some planning, you can make your journey feasible. You do not have to be a millionaire; instead you could be a student, on a budget, and save up money wisely to give yourself a birthday present like no other!
In fact, this whole journey was planned in less than 1 month. I never expected to go to Europe in my life, until around my birthday in July when I realized I do deserve to give myself a treat-it was not going to be a luxurious European vacation, and I do not like luxurious vacations. I prefer working for everything in life and understanding or valuing every little thing, so then came the process of researching budget hostels and cheapest deals I could find. Meanwhile, working more and more hours to save up money to fund my trip because I did not want to rely on anyone else as this was supposed to be my present to myself.
First, planning a general itinerary of the places you want to visit... this was actually a difficult process because of all the places I wanted to go, but limited time. It requires prioritization of what you absolutely want to see, and I also realized that being in one place for at least 2-3 days is needed, in most places at least, to do justice. Even then, one cannot fully learn everything there is to learn about a place in such a short time, but when backpacking, I found 2-3 days sufficient considering the time I had to be abroad. When I only had 1-2 days in a place, it seemed to be really rushing it and not enough time to see everything-such as Interlaken and Geneva, Switzerland.
I started looking into hostels once I decided on an itinerary. I used www.hostelworld.com and I highly recommend it. For hostels, I absolutely loved my stay at Wiki Hostel in a town outside of Rome, so for those of you who want to experience Italy outside of tourist hubs, while being only a half hr train ride away from the city, I recommend it! I had different hostel experiences, but I thoroughly enjoyed them and am glad I got the opportunity to stay in them. You meet more people, and honestly, all you need at the end of the day is a bed to sleep on and a place to put your book bag, which most hostels had locks available to use. Definitely lock up your stuff! I found most of my roommates very trustworthy, but I still locked up important things, and certain documents that you do not want to loose in a foreign country! Some hostels have common bathrooms, and some have en-suite (meaning bathroom in the room!)... take slippers! find cheap slippers to wear in the bathrooms, and I realize I should have done this, but I got too busy and lack of time before the trip lead to not buying extra slippers. Nonetheless, I got lucky as I was staying with family outside of London for couple days before I headed to mainland Europe, so they gave me a pair of slippers to take with me! No shops in London had slippers or flip flops when I went in August!! Then, I finally found another pair in Athens, for 5 euros, which is expensive per US standards for simple flip flops, but cheapest I could find there! (better than the tourist shops that sell 10euro flip flops!) Take a good pair of tennis shoes!! If you are going to be hiking, or even walking a lot, which you will-its Europe! then good pair of shoes is a must! again, my shoes were not very supporting, but I was thankful to have shoes! Back to topic of hostels, if you really want to save money from not eating out, look for hostels with kitchens, or breakfast included..some hostels may charge for using the kitchen or breakfast, and some do not, so read the fine print! I loved the hostels with the free breakfast because that allowed me to start the day with full energy, and save up some food for the day like a banana or piece of bread with nutella! Some places have laundry facilities too for an extra charge, and so are free (the hostel Backpacker's villa in Interlaken has a laundry room where you can use the tokens the staff gives you when you check-in!)...but I must admit, the fun of backpacking, are the simple things, like washing clothes in the sink, and hanging them to dry on window still and any space on your bunk bed! They may not dry as quickly, but most people in the world do not own washing machines and dryers, and it is good to experience what others experience in their respective countries, cities, or towns...
Next step I took was to plan my transportation in between cities or towns. I booked all the airline and train tickets ahead of time, well the train tickets within 1 week of departure because of a busy schedule, but I highly recommend booking at least 1-2 months in advance for good deals. For me, this trip was very last minute, so I did not have many options with good cheap airlines. Europe is known for budget airlines, ie>Easy Jet, Rynair, Vueling.. etc. but I missed out on good deals due to the ticket availability for the routes I was taking... so look in advance, and you might find flights cheap as less than 30 euros! of course, with that comes baggage restrictions. Checked in baggage is very expensive, and sometimes, more than the cost of the ticket, so if you are backpacking on a budget-helpful hint, carry only what you can take as carry on. Your wallet and back with thank you! :) I also waited to buy the regional tickets until I got to the place; for instance, metro ticket from Athens airport to Monesteraki square or ticket from Rome termini to the town I was staying in, or Interlaken to Geneva, etc. Big cities will often times have ticket machines you could use, and it is actually very simple once you get a hang of it. I loved the ticket machines in Italy, and found them convenient rather than waiting in long ques. Remember, some places only take cash, like the airport ticket booth for the metro/train in Athens airport! Also, a lot of places through out the city only took cash, same with Rome... so when you find yourself in a situation that I found out debit card does not work, when there are plethora of ATM machines all around you!, I became on an even tighter budget!! but I am glad... the interest rates are not too friendly either. In some places, such as Roma termini, if you tell them you are a student, you just might get a discount!
Budgeting, Itinerary, hostels/accommodations, transportation, and then excursions... such as buying passes for day trips, or visiting archaeological sites, museums.. etc.. Now it is important to book ahead online because many places have very long lines.. If you want to save time and use it to explore other places, then booking ahead is a good idea! I baught my ticket for Colloseum, Palantine Hill, Roman Forum (it is all on one ticket, and 14 euros online, 12 in person)... purchased my day tour to Delphi (87 euros-kind of expensive, but it included transportation, and an amazing tour guide that gave great details on Greek mythology and history as we were driving to Delphi, and at Delphi itself! so I highly recommend a good tour like that if you feel very passionate about something, which for me is Greek mythology!)... The things I did not book in advance, such as Vatican museum, I had to stand in line, and I did not use any audio guides or live guides, which made the experience not as interesting for me... I now look back and think I could have learned more by having a guide, but at the time, I was too tired, partly from waiting in line for 3 hours. Some excursions can be booked the night before if you know where to look: In Interlaken, I knew I would want to go paragliding, but I did not book it until the night before I went. The hostel provided great resources and booked on the spot for me by making a simple phone call! The van for the company came to pick me up at the hostel the next morning (early in the AM-my style! my eyes would automatically open at 7am!) and drove to top of a mountain.. If anyone goes to Interlaken, paragliding is incredible! I had my fears before taking off, but I was with an experienced pilot who had been paragliding for years, and I felt very safe once we were in the air! I am glad I chose it over skydiving because paragliding was cheaper and allowed more time in the sky!! and such beautiful light feeling of flying and viewing the town, lakes, mountains, animals from the air! It is probably one of the most expensive excursions I have paid for in my life, but one of the best experiences, and I would do it again if given the chance! Of course I got the photos afterward as a memory, and here is a tip, some companies will allow you to use your own camera (not the ones with separate lenses like fancy cameras, but the smaller cameras...) they can tie it or adjust it with a handheld stick that the pilot holds/attaches with harness while paragliding, but I left my camera at the hostel, so just ended up buying the pics and videos from the company's camera... which they gave instantaneously after we landed in a USB flash drive!
Last but not least, packing!! Less is more... I may be a female, but I avoid hair straightners, make up, accessories.. basically, take only what you need. I have seen people bring their curling irons, etc.. but if you absolutely can live without it, then no need to bring it... I chose a small bookbag (not the typical backpacking bookbags!)...so my space was even more limited... my budget allowed me to buy a cheap bookbag from wal mart! but it was sturdy and despite how rough I was with it (sitting on it at train stations waiting for train, throwing it on my bunk, shoving it under the seat on trains and flights.. stuffing so much in there, it survived! and did not rip!) It is your journey and you can choose a better book bag if you want, or take make up, hair straighteners if you want, but I chose not to as I do not use that stuff everyday here either. I wanted the trip to be simple and natural, and I did not see the need to deck up in accessories or put layers of make up on.. I hate make up anyway! worked to my advantage! being a minimalist.. one thing I do recommend is a passport pouch that you can hang around your neck, hide under your hoody..etc.. a lot of pickpocketing...so be careful! It does get cold and chilly..especially London, city of rain and cloudiness.. so take some warm clothes. I found Athens and Rome to be warm in August, but when up on the hills in Cinque Terre, it got chilly sometimes, and my low tolerance to cold weather, I needed the hoody and scarf! I recommend a scarf too, for female travellars, or anyone who wants one! I baught a cheap one from Athens flea market, but I am glad I did because the scarf served as extra pillow, covering my valuables/bags when travelling (I would tie my bag handles together for further security and tie the other end of the scarf on my waist!) , shade in the sun, and covering me in the cold and wind! So it was definitely multipurpose.. and layer up! Thanks to budget airlines' strict restrictions for bags, I would wear 4 layers sometimes because my bag had no room for some of my clothes, but I find airplanes chilly anyway! Luckily, trains do not have such strict bag restrictions!
One last thing, try to familiarize yourself with local culture, etiquette, and learn a few phrases or words in the local languages. It was hard for me to do because I had very little time to plan for this trip, so all the language learning I did, was after I got there! I would just randomly ask shop owners or people I met, how do you say (...) in Greek, Italian, German, etc.. I am very thankful for that experience, but I wish I had learned more of the languages! I love other cultures and languages, and it is a hobby to learn them, but hard to learn multiple languages in short time days apart!
Your journey is what you make of it! For me, this was a learning experience and see how I do and adapt in new places by myself! Europe was very diverse, and my last major stop-Geneva proved this! It is a beautiful city and raises global awareness (after all it is home to WHO, UNICEF, and UN)...I loved Geneva, and my 24 hrs there were not enough! I wish I had booked UN tour in advance but I did not, so I could not go as tickets were all sold out for the date I was there in Geneva.. here are posters from lake Geneva that bring awareness to global poverty and cities against poverty! My favorite walk down a lake-learning about this!
People I met in Europe were very friendly and nice. I choose not to recall the unfriendly encounters..no matter where I am in the world... but overall, many people were very kind. Whether they were the people sitting across from me on the train who spoke Italian in Italia or German in Switzerland, their language of communication was kindness. I still remember the lady I met at a discount/thrift store like place in Interlaken (I am the girl who will find bargains no matter where!), so I went there and she spoke no more than 2 words of English, and me, no more than 1 word of German!) but in the 15 minutes I was there, I connected with her, and she taught me how to say thank you in German! and the next day, I was walking along that street, and she saw me from the window, and it instantly put a smile on my face, and we waved to each other! Strangers, but not so strangers after all! Or the families I met who I exchanged smiles with on 2nd class train journeys, be it half hour ride, or 3 hours. I loved walking, and many people walked, rode bikes, a lot more than here in the city I live in... I wish I could be more active, but not all places are set up to be able to walk or ride bike to in the world. Many cities and towns were much more environmentally friendly and had less pollution than USA. I love USA, but sometimes, I wonder what all my taxes are going towards, really... after meeting so many people from European nations, Canada, etc., and discussing our societies, and what type of public amenities we have, I could not help but feel frustration. Every place has pros and cons, but I do not think education, health care, and public welfare are things to be put aside. When I was talking to a fellow traveler about maternity leave, etc. in USA, she was shocked to hear what it is like here versus in other western counterparts... Anyway, these are topics which cannot and should not be ignored. Being exposed to European culture and ways of life fueled my passion even more, and I think you are bound to have your own learning experiences when abroad. Our planet is so multicultural, diverse, and I like to keep popping that bubble and immersing myself into another part of the world or society.
