Europe inter-railing trip, September 2005

(Writing for friend Hamza Khan’s university newsletter)

Travelling…Do it now! 

When I was asked if I wanted to do a column for the indiependent, I thought…”you what!? Nay chance, never done that, what on earth could i write about!?” Then after a bit more thinking I figured, ah why not, with one of my recent travels being the subject! 

So what’s needed? Some time off, which there is plenty of while you are a student; some money, which is no barrier, as you will learn; organisation, and most importantly a sense of adventure! 

I embarked upon Central and Eastern Europe with 2 good friends in September for 4 weeks, before our final year of uni. We booked flights in February, which cost £30 return to Germany - bargain! Plus no loss if we couldn’t make them! With low cost airlines, the world’s your oyster!

We chose inter-railing, an excellent option for visiting loads of places in a short space of time. The ticket cost £205, lasted 22 days and allowed unlimited rail travel within 10 countries. There were 16 day and 1 month options too.

In the space of 24 days we set foot in 8 countries, 14 towns and cities, used 7 different currencies, practiced “please” and “thank-you” in 6 languages! Sleeping options varied, from sleeping where you sat on night trains (wake up in a different city), to out in the open (may not be advisable), which are free! Camping is another cheap option for the adventurous, if it's summer time! We stuck with hostels and paying for a bed on night trains, both great ways to meet folk, and decent value at around £10. Hotels…for bigger budgets, if you want to treat yourself, or if all else fails!   

Now a few stories. A friendly German pensioner we met on the way to our hostel gave us a very eye-opening tour of Hamburg’s notorious red light district! We stuck our like sore thumbs walking nervously/excitedly through the red light district in our shorts and t-shirts! What an experience/shock we got even though we never spent a penny or Euro!

Berlin was one of the highlights, with its rich history and beautiful buildings. A free walking tour is a must. It was highly entertaining and educational, and the guide definitely deserved the generous tip! One incident that day made us laugh; as we sat on the street corner to prepare our packed lunch (saving money) a random passer-by dropped a 2 Euro coin in front of us and said, “buy yourself a drink!” This came much to the amusement of our tour guide as well! 

Auschwitz near Krakow brought a different kind of shock. Seeing the massive Nazi concentration camps for real was a jaw-dropping and often emotional experience. We caught up with some local sport along the way, cheering on Sparta Prague to wins at football and ice hockey! We even attended our first ever Champions League football game with some extremely dodgy looking tickets we acquired outside the ground, as Bratislava took on the mighty Inter Milan!

Oktoberfest in Munich brought some of the best banter of the trip; those Germans sure know how to drink in style! It was like one massive fairground with beer tents everywhere! We drank from glasses which weighed a ton and held 2 pints, listened to the traditional German live music and enjoyed the amazing craic and atmosphere!

The Swiss Alps and the town of inter-Laken with its off-the-hook stunning scenery, brought swimming in ice cold lakes (free entertainment) and the even greater adrenaline rush, which was Canyoning. This madness involved a mixture of sliding down waterfalls without knowing where they’d lead and jumping from 12 feet high crags into tiny rock pools! Thankfully we survived uninjured and the beer tasted so good afterwards!

Those were just a few of the highlights, with the 3 of us leaving as friends for life, with so many great memories and experiences to match none other. My advice is travel NOW while you are still young and ‘relatively’ free from major responsibilities. if you are a student, you know your term dates, so go get chatting to your friends and book those flights! When travelling, chat and banter with as many people as possible; you never know who you’ll meet, and we met so many fantastic folk in our mad weeks! 

I hope this has inspired you to travel in the future and explore somewhere new! I certainly have the travel bug; my cheap flights are booked already for exploring Italy and Greece after my finals! Good luck and happy travelling!

David Patton