This is information that was not able to find a home in
any of the other categories in this article.
Bathrooms
Just about all the bathrooms in Europe have an access charge. Usually this
runs from several cents to several dollars depending on the country and the
location. The bathrooms in places that you had to pay to get in were usually
included in the price of admission. By charging an entrance fee to get into
restrooms, most of the bathrooms were extremely clean. If you want to use
free restrooms there are several places you can look. One is McDonalds which
have over 26,000 locations all over the Europe, and more then their fair
share of restaurants in Europe. Another place you might want to consider looking for a
bathroom is in large stores, and especially large stores in malls. As a last resort for
using the bathroom you can always find several bushes in a park and hide. On several
occasions I saw some of the locals doing this, although they were not hidden very well.
Drinking Fountains
First of all there are continuously running drinking fountains in most of Europe but
especially in Greece and Italy. This is very good considering the extremely hot weather
that often times plaques parts of Europe in the middle of the summer.
I drank out of all fountains from Italy northward. I had no dire results. I even drank out
of fountains in Rome and in Venice. I found Rome to have some of the best tasting water.
It was also very cold and clear. The only country that I did not drink the water from was
Greece. I have met some North Americans that have drank the water in Greece and have not
gotten sick. It may have been just fine, but I stuck to bottled water and soft drinks. A
particular soft drink that you find all over Europe is Fanta, a product of coca cola,
slowly becoming more popular in the United States.
European Travel Books
Lets Go Europe is almost 1000 pages of Europe information.
It provides some general Europe information as well as gives information about particular
countries and other travel information. It sells for about $25 US. It has some street
maps.
The Triple A travel book is also another good source of
info about Europe. This book also gives some general Europe information and then delves
into specific countries. It sells for about $14.95 for Triple A members and for $25.95 for non
members.
An excellent book which lists all type of information for traveling through Europe by
train is called "Europe by Eurail". This book
includes maps, updated information on fares, updated every year, tips on keeping costs
down, and pre planned itineraries. This book has been published every year since 1976.
ID Cards
For those people who are students, usually under the age of 24 years of age, or senior
citizens, those above age 60, having an ID card was needed to get a discount on
attractions and museums. For students, purchasing the International Student Identity card
is a waste of money. A school ID with your age listed worked in all the museums and
attractions that I visited. I even forgot my card several times and I was still able to
convince the cashiers that I was a student. However, this didn't work all the time and I
was forced to go back to my hotel to retrieve the card at one museum.
If you are planning on renting a vehicle or motor cycle/scooter for a short while, usually
a day to several days, plan on giving up your drivers license or passport. The rental
company will hang on to this until you return their vehicle.
Internet Access
I should mention something about Internet access. Internet access was all over Europe.
There were often several Internet cafes in the large cities, and also Internet access in
the smaller cities and towns. This surprised me, because in the early 90's you never
would have had this opportunity to correspond through email. Its only in the
late 90's that the physical infrastructure was built to support Internet access. I
was able to keep in touch with relatives and family members back home, almost every day
through email.
The prices for Internet access really varies from country to country. Most places charged a minimum
of 15 minutes. Some places were even free, but these were the exception rather then the
rule. Most places charged a dollar or two for an hour of access.
All of the Internet cafes that I used had the latest technology and the same programs that
I am use to using. Gmail or
Hotmail are popular
free email services
used by many of the tourists.
Most of the Internet cafes serve food and beverage. Some are more popular with tourists
than others. Some cafes off of the beaten path are a hangout for mostly the local people.
Many places will print out emails and other information for you. However some of the
Internet cafes that I visited did not even have printers. The ones that do have printers,
have a variety of ways of printing. Some will want you to copy all text to notepad and
print from there, and others will print right from your browser. If you are going to copy
text from one location to another location, in order to cut costs, lower the font size.
Most of the cafes charged you per page, regardless of how much text you had on the pages.
Photocopied Documents
I highly recommend, instead of taking entire travel books to Europe, that you photo copy
only selected sections. Choose sections of the book the contain information about areas
that you will be visiting. Photo copy information about restaurants, hotels, and
attractions. You will want to especially photo copy Street Maps of places that you will be
visiting. Carrying photo copied information is far lighter then lugging
around several heavy books. This way you only are carrying the information
that you actually need. If you decide to change your plans and stay in an
area for which you never photo copied information you can always ask about a
particular place at your hotel, hostel, or ask other tourists. Also most
tourist areas publish informational packets or brochures about a general
area, and you may want to pick up their literature.
Another thing you may want to highly consider doing is photocopying your passport, drivers
license, credit cards, and other important information. Take several copies and put one in
your money belt and another somewhere in your luggage or backpack. Also leave a photocopy
of at least your passport with someone in your home country.
Student Travel Organizations
Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE):
205 E. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017-5706.
Their TELEPHONE NUMBER is 888-268-6245.
They are geared towards student travelers, and they have worldwide academic
and volunteer work opportunities.
www.ciee.org
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The Federation of International Youth Travel Organizations:
Bredgade 25H DK-1260
Copenhagen K, Denmark
Their TELEPHONE NUMBER is 45-33-33-96-00
This is an international organization promoting travel for young adults. You can visit
their web page at: www.fiyto.org
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