Autah-gr.140
net.travel
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!ihnss!vax135!harpo!utah-cs!utah-gr!thomas
Tue Jan 19 10:06:00 1982
Travel to Europe
1. Stay out of Switzerland!! (At least, this was the situation a couple of
   years ago).
2. I dunno about Germany.  That's where we spent the most money/day of our
   whole trip (and we were staying with friends too!).
3. Definitely get Eurail or something similar, the convenience is worth it.
   We missed a train out of Paris by 2 minutes once, with the whole train
   system due to shut down at midnight for a strike, and were able to take
   the next train going in the general direction of our destination, with
   the assurance that we would eventually be able to get to our destination
   without extra expense.
4. Paying for a Youth Hostel membership is also worth it.  These are (usually)
   the cheapest accomodations you can find.  It may be a good idea to make
   reservations if you know when you will be somewhere - it avoids being
   shut out in the cold because the hostel's full when you arrive into town
   late.
5. Eurail can also function as cheap accomodations - you get on a night train
   going somewhere far away and sleep.  (Pick one that doesn't stop too often.)
6. Scandinavia is EXPENSIVE, but generally worth it.  Plan on eating bread and
   cheese - these are the only cheap food items (they're subsidized by the
   government).
7. Buy a good belt knife and wear it (or carry it someplace handy).  It is
   invaluable for assembling impromptu meals (cutting bread/cheese/meat,
   spreading butter, etc.)  A jack-knife (Swiss Army knife) is good, but
   the blade isn't big enough for a lot of the tasks you want it to do.
8. Be aware that the Eurail pass doesn't (last I knew) cover travel
   between W. Germany and Berlin - you'll have to pay for that one (about
   35 DM in 1979).

Well, that's probably enough ramblings.  Have fun (and take enough money -
I spent $600 in 1 month).
=Spencer