Post by snorkelman on Oct 12, 2001 5:57:31 GMT -5
On the flight to Europe you will probably be able to drink beer for free. Resist the urge and do not drink alcohol. Opt for water. The reason is that flying for that length of time will tire you out and dehydrate you and you should drink water not alcohol (which further dehydrates you). <br>
Also, your flight will most likely arrive in Europe in the early morning (European time) and it will probably be very late your normal USA time, so try to sleep on the plane, because you will have to stay up for the whole first day you arrive (well you don’t have to, but you should in order to get over the jet lag. You will probably be pretty excited and unable to sleep on the plane. If that is the case, read up on the first town that you will be arriving in and make sure you know how to get from the airport to the train station (or to your lodging). <br>
When you arrive in Europe, you will have to navigate to your place of lodging for that evening (or drop your backpack in a locker and see the town with your daypack and catch a night train out of that town). But don’t forget that if you are taking a night train, you may need to make a reservation (if sleeping car or couchette) and you will not have a shower or free food, so prepare for that.
Before leaving the USA make a list of all the home phone numbers and addresses that you will need when you are in Europe (to call or to send a post card to) and write or type them either in your travel book such as Let’s Go (because you will never lose that) or onto a piece of paper – this is much better than carrying along an address book or palm pilot.
Also regarding exchanging money – it is wise to rip out the section of the USA Today (on your flight over to Europe) that lists all of the current exchange rates and put it in your Let’s Go. This will allow you to have a general idea of what the exchange rates should be during your trip so you don't get ripped off.
It will rain at some point while you are traveling. Some prefer a big poncho so they can just throw it over their backpack too. Others prefer umbrellas – to each his own. I now believe that the poncho is pretty much a waste of space and weight. My reason? My personal preference is to bring a windbreaker (which I have previously sprayed to make it water repellant) and I just spray water repellant on both my big backpack as well as my daypack. (I just use my hood on my jacket to cover my head). This way you can use the jacket when it rains, and it is not extra weight – since you will have brought it anyway. The only way that this saves space is if the jacket is waterproof – so make sure to buy one that is waterproof or to spray your windbreaker down before leaving home. I also like to bring a waterproof clear plastic zip-lock type bag that is specifically made to hold a normal sheet of typing paper. That way, you can just rip out the part of the Let’s Go that has the map of the town that you are visiting and carry around the map (in the plastic) so it doesn’t get wet when it is raining. This is also what I do if I arrive in a town and I get a hostel lined up and I am making my way to the hostel and it is raining (this way, your directions don’t get smeared).
Also, your flight will most likely arrive in Europe in the early morning (European time) and it will probably be very late your normal USA time, so try to sleep on the plane, because you will have to stay up for the whole first day you arrive (well you don’t have to, but you should in order to get over the jet lag. You will probably be pretty excited and unable to sleep on the plane. If that is the case, read up on the first town that you will be arriving in and make sure you know how to get from the airport to the train station (or to your lodging). <br>
When you arrive in Europe, you will have to navigate to your place of lodging for that evening (or drop your backpack in a locker and see the town with your daypack and catch a night train out of that town). But don’t forget that if you are taking a night train, you may need to make a reservation (if sleeping car or couchette) and you will not have a shower or free food, so prepare for that.
Before leaving the USA make a list of all the home phone numbers and addresses that you will need when you are in Europe (to call or to send a post card to) and write or type them either in your travel book such as Let’s Go (because you will never lose that) or onto a piece of paper – this is much better than carrying along an address book or palm pilot.
Also regarding exchanging money – it is wise to rip out the section of the USA Today (on your flight over to Europe) that lists all of the current exchange rates and put it in your Let’s Go. This will allow you to have a general idea of what the exchange rates should be during your trip so you don't get ripped off.
It will rain at some point while you are traveling. Some prefer a big poncho so they can just throw it over their backpack too. Others prefer umbrellas – to each his own. I now believe that the poncho is pretty much a waste of space and weight. My reason? My personal preference is to bring a windbreaker (which I have previously sprayed to make it water repellant) and I just spray water repellant on both my big backpack as well as my daypack. (I just use my hood on my jacket to cover my head). This way you can use the jacket when it rains, and it is not extra weight – since you will have brought it anyway. The only way that this saves space is if the jacket is waterproof – so make sure to buy one that is waterproof or to spray your windbreaker down before leaving home. I also like to bring a waterproof clear plastic zip-lock type bag that is specifically made to hold a normal sheet of typing paper. That way, you can just rip out the part of the Let’s Go that has the map of the town that you are visiting and carry around the map (in the plastic) so it doesn’t get wet when it is raining. This is also what I do if I arrive in a town and I get a hostel lined up and I am making my way to the hostel and it is raining (this way, your directions don’t get smeared).
