TBB Escapade 2014: Eurail through Europe – 25 Countries in 60 Days

 Back to Basics Travel

It’s been 25 years since I went backpacking through Europe.  Well, not really backpacking.  I’m not the hardcore backpacking sort of girl, but certainly all I took was a very small suitcase.  The trip was in turns glorious, adventurous, exhilarating, challenging, and terrifying, and expanded my world far beyond my limited American point of view.  I always explain it to my friends this way: Traveling is like your brain is a computer with an American operating system that comes loaded with certain images, assumptions, and conceptions.  Taking on travel, especially a journey like the one that I did 25 years ago and plan for next year, well that is as if someone comes and clean wipes out your American operating system and loads a whole new World operating system where everything is completely different.  The upload is constant and it’s intense.  Nothing is the same as it once was.  You have expanded your mind exponentially and there is no going back.

Why?

I decided to take on another trip through Europe like the one that I undertook oh so many years ago because I am sure it will be just as mind boggling what with all of the changes that have taken place in Europe since that time.  I’ve been a little sedentary in the last decade if the truth be known and I feel the need for the elegant challenge that this adventure will present.  I want to switch it up a bit.  I want to do the mambo in a Piazza and eat wurst at a stand in the center of town.  Once again, I’m not planning to hardcore backpack my way through, but I will certainly pick out a stylish rolley bag that will allow me only the necessities for speedy in-and-out on the trains.  Way back in 1988, I headed out on a two-month, first class Eurail Pass that cost me $600 USD and covered 15 different countries out of which I made it to 13 (I missed out on Portugal and Finland).  Today, that same two-month, first class Eurail pass will cost me a cool $1,694, but will take me to adventures in 25 different countries.  This means that I can hang out in the two countries that I missed out on the first time and then explore four new ones including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Turkey.  Other countries new to the Eurail Pass include the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary.  I didn’t hit these on my first Eurail trip, but had the pleasure of spending time there while I was living in Europe so I am already acquainted with them.  It will be nice to see these countries again, because they are bee-you-tea-full.

Money, money, money, money…MONEY!

One thing that I am going to have to keep an eye on this trip is the expense.  I will be traveling in the Eurozone, which has essentially made even the countries that were previously inexpensive, expensive. Right now the Euro trades at one Euro = $1.31 USD.  No more lira, no more francs, no more schillings…it’s Euro all the way.  This means that staying at hostels and pensiones will be necessary once again, but I do plan to fit in a few splurges if I can help it. I also plan to save money by taking some overnight trains.  These are a cool option for taking on a long distance, say, the trip from Nice to Barcelona.  Traveling this way will mean researching each country carefully for the best and most reasonable option.  I plan to connect with the various tourist bureaus.  I know that the ones in the UK and France have even developed tourist guides for People of Color, so I will definitely check into these.  I also plan to grab a couple of my go-to travel bibles from before: Let’s Go Europe and Lonely Planet.  But you know, what would make this trip even more incredible than before is if the readers of this blog would send in their travel tips for any of the countries that I will be making an appearance in.  What are those countries?  Well, here is the list:

TBB Escapade 2014: Eurail through Europe 25 Countries in 60 Days – Countries

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland (includes Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.

Ta-dah!!!  Quite a selection, no?  25 countries in 60 days means, roughly, two point four days in each country.  This is just a guidepost because we will spend more time in some countries and less time in others, but the two point four days per country allows me a framework to work within including travel time on the trains.

Now, in upcoming blog posts, I will be focusing in on each country and giving an itinerary for what I plan to do there, providing my advice and suggestions for how to get along best in each place, but also incorporating the input of blog readers.  So much more interesting.  Scheduling will be a key factor because at this time of year in Europe, all of the countries are crawling out of winter and putting on their warm weather clothes.  Fountains that were closed off for the colder months will reappear, piazze (No, I didn’t spell it wrong.  That’s the Italian plural for piazza) will reopen with their sidewalk service and wonderful music, and festival season will start.  This trip will be planned to take in such events as the Umbria Jazz Festival, which is INCREDIBLE, as well as the Vienna Festwochen which runs from May through June in that renowned city.  This is when the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic will be performing in front of the town hall and other cultural delights take place during the entire month.  But let me know what I don’t know that you do. Are there any restaurants that I should hit?  Perhaps there is a little hotel on a quiet street in Florence that I should check out.  There are no holds barred this time.  I’m going to be live tweeting and Facebooking and streaming…all of the stuff that now sounds so normal and slightly shady at the same time…all with a gin and tonic in my hand.  It’s going to be a  blast.

Why Trains When European Airlines Are Now So Cheap and Fast?

Why trains when there are cheap airlines in Europe now like Ryan Air or Easy Jet?  Well, the simple truth is that trains are more elegant and harken back to a time when in travel, elegance was everything.  The engineering of the trains is incredible and I am sure it has only gotten better in the last few years.  You also meet the most incredible people on the train and get to have some truly amazing conversations.  For example, I will never forget a conversation that my sister and I had with an African gentleman on a train from Paris to Frankfurt.  He was of the opinion that America would never, ever, have a Black president because the world would not accept one.  Well….?

Trains are a much bigger factory for adventure than planes are.  With planes you are airlifted from one place and suddenly arrive in another.  In trains you make a journey through Alps and cities…your window is like a moving postcard with the most beautiful images floating just outside.  It’s exciting.  And another thing: Trains allow you to travel comfortably with plenty of legroom and an ability to walk around.  When I’m on a train to Paris, my tray table is not in my chest because the person in front of me put their seat back.

By now I am sure that the luxury trains have amenities like WiFi and power plugs so I can get some writing in while I’m underway or watch a movie on my laptop.  In first class you get dining service right in your compartment or there is a tricked out dining car to experience if that’s your preference.  It’s just a different way to travel.  For People of Color, I always suggest traveling first class on the trains in Europe as a safety precaution.  Most people travel second class in Europe and it can be really crowded and rowdy.  The folks in first class are usually better educated, better behaved, and will look after you should anything go awry.  This goes double for ladies.

I am planning to ask some family members and friends to come along on this journey.  I would really like to bring my young nephews, my mom, my sister, and of course, my husband, but if no one is interested, I still plan to have a great time.  I have actually done most of my traveling all by myself and have always had a lots of fun.  You can come along too if you are interested.

Why Europe? Why not a place with more POCs?

Growing up all of my friends would go on these amazing European tours with their families.  I would always listen to the stories when they got back and imagine the thrilling destinations in my mind’s eye knowing one day I would experience these places too.  There is a lot of American history stored in Europe.  Many of our government practices are taken from European cultures, so in a way, traveling through Europe teaches us more about our own country.  It is always thrilling to me to find the footprint of POCs in Europe and there is a whole vast history of POCs all throughout the area that I will be covering.  I would like to see what new revelations I discover.

Travel Budgeting

Well, as I said before, money is going to be a concern since things have become so much more expensive in Europe.  In order to make sure that I don’t get caught short, I’m going to do things the old fashioned way.  I plan to create a special savings account, as I always do, in which I will place a certain amount of money per month to take on this journey.  In order to figure out how much I have to save I will need to have at least a rough budget.  This is what I have come up with so far:

• Plane Fare: $0 (I will use my frequent flyer miles. Yeah!)
• Eurail Pass: $1,694
• Train Supplements: $300 (A supplement is an extra fee you have to pay for the coolest trains. This is not covered by the pass.)
• Food: $1,200
• Accommodations: $,3,000 (Will use hotel clubs to get some discounts)
• Entrance Fees and Tickets: $500
• Miscellaneous: $300 (This will cover stuff like donations and gratuities)
• Communications: $500 (Internet, Phone, and Postcards)
• Health Insurance: $200 (International Health Insurance)
• Grand Total: $7,694

Using this as my base number means that I will have to save approximately $641 per month over the next year in order to meet my goal amount for a May 2014 departure.  That’s pretty stiff.  I’m going to attempt to get it down to be no more than $5,000 and that’s including the luxury bits.  I will start by trying to whittle away at the total by taking advantage of hotel club deals like those offered by Starwood and Hilton.   By looking into these things now, I can make purchases here at home that will offer rewards on my trip.  Even while I travel I can still be earning points if I plan it properly.  Using this method, I hope to cut down on the overall amount I spend, especially on where I stay.  Another way to cut down on the cost of accommodations is to travel with someone who will share in the cost of hotel rooms.  There would be no savings when traveling with someone if you are staying in hostels or relais as they usually charge a fee for each person.

Well, that’s it!  The trip is planned and now it’s time to get to researching.  I’ll let you know what I find.

Ciao people!