European Odyssey

I got recruited as a blogger for my college’s admissions website.  That’s where I’m doing most of my reflections about my time in London, now.  I’ve already amassed four posts there — I hope you’re not jealous.  To keep abreast of my goings-on, direct your browser to www.hendrix.edu/admission/katie.  The newest scoop: someone here asked me if I was French, and told me I looked European!  Score!!

Almost three months ago, I wrote about how to pack lots of outfits from from few clothes.  Now, having actually traveled, I have a better, more extensive list of packing tips.  They’re geared toward women travelers, but men are more than welcome to read and heed the advice.

Clothing Care 

1. Febreze It

Buy a small spray bottle and fill it with Febreze.  Eventually, your things will stink.  Even clean things smell bad after being in a pack with dirty things day after day.  Your traveling mates and the locals will thank you for packing this.

(The best thing about traveling is that no one you meet knows your past.  You’re free to reinvent yourself– or to just rewear that shirt you wore two days ago … and two days before that.  My rule: if it doesn’t have gelato spilled all over the front of it, it’s fair game for several Febreezings.)

2. Shout Wipes 

There’s hope even if you do spill gelato.  I used half a dozen of these babies on my five-week trip.

3. Spray-on Wrinkle Remover

You can find small cans of this at travel stores.  Unless you want to look like a nasty bum, this stuff is pretty necessary.  It works amazingly, too.  Just spray it on the wrinkles, smooth them out, and watch them disappear.

I used the store-bought stuff, but there are also recipes for cheap, home-made wrinkle releaser.  Try a dryer sheet in a small spray bottle of water.  Or, mix 1 cup water, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, and 1/4 cup fabric softener.  I haven’t tried either method, so make sure to test in an inconspicuous spot, first.

4. Packing Cubes

If you’re trying to catch an early train, packing speed is crucial.  Packing cubes keep everything organized, making it easier to stuff it all back into your pack without leaving it hopelessly wrinkled.  I brought one for bottoms, one for tops.  Also helpful: a bunch of ziplock baggies of varying sizes, for wet clothes or mementos or receipts or whatever.

5. Think Ahead about Washing

In winter, I wouldn’t bother with bringing Woolite and a clothesline to handwash clothes.  The heavier clothes you’ll be wearing won’t dry quickly.  But definitely don’t plan on finding a laundromat.  Instead, when you’re booking hostels, plan to stay once a week or so in a hostel with washing facilities.  (You can even use an advanced search on Hostelworld.com to ensure that you pick a hostel with laundry facilities.  On the “Book Your Bed” panel, click “Additional Search Options” and then “More Facilities.”)

Garments

6. Choose Your Shoes

They’re heavy.  Choose a good, comfortable pair for walking around the city.  Flats, which are stylish, light and compact, can supplement for nights out on the town.  During the summer a pair of flip-flops can serve as both shower shoes and streetwear.  Also, even though boots are super-cool, it would be pretty ridiculous to pack a pair.

7.  … And Socks

If you’re going to be doing a lot of walking in cold places, thick woolen socks could be key to keeping your toes happy.  But! make sure your shoes will still fit around them.  For formal occasions, I brought little thin, nude-colored, super-low-cut socks.  Those were a lifesaver when I didn’t want to look like a dork with my little white athletic socks, but also didn’t want my shoes to smell bad and get all sweaty and give me blisters.  Get a cheap pair at any department store.

8. Panty Power

I brought seven pairs of nylon/lycra panties.  They dry really fast, so if you’ve desperatly run out of undies you can wash them in the hostel bathroom, wring them out, and they’ll be dry by the next morning, if not sooner. 

9. Bring Some Bling

Bring a fair bit of cheap fashion jewelry — stuff you don’t mind breaking or losing.  It ties outfits together and makes you look like a real person on days when you just feel like an exhausted traveler.  It also helped me keep from getting bored wearing the same small set of clothes over and over again.

10. Pick a Prudent Purse

Bring a purse with a strap, not a clutch.  Out on the street, the clutch is too easy to snatch from your hands.  Also: bring your driver’s license.  It isn’t valid for driving abroad, but it has your birthdate on it and will let you get into clubs or buy alcohol without having to bring your passport around town with you.

11. Buy Pashminas Abroad

Throughout Europe, there are tons of cheap (about $5) pashminas for sale — and people really wear them!  (As neck scarves, especially.) You can buy two or three of different colors.  That way you’re warm, the pashmina ties your outfit together, and when people at home tell you how great you look, you can tell them you got it in Europe!  They’re also good, light compact presents.

12. Ditch the Hoodie

Sweatshirts are really bulky in your pack, and they’re worthless when they’re wet, so you may want to invest in more high-tech, waterproof medium-warm layer. 

Other Concerns

13. Saving Space vs. Saving Money

If you’ll be abroad for awhile, you may consider bringing a box of tampons with you, because they’re expensive over here!  O.B. tampons are the smallest and lightest choice, if you’re willing to live an applicator-free lifestyle.  Bringing a few of those personal wipes is also worth the trouble.

14. Pack for a Picnic 

Dining out can also be vicious to your travel budget.  To save what you can, eat out at lunch and make picnic dinners.  Many hostels have guest kitchens.  A fold-up plate and a set of good plastic cutlery makes impromptu picnics simple.

15. Audiobooks

Downloadable audiobooks from Audible.com add absolutely no more weight to your pack, but they still give you something to listen to on long train rides.  One paperback book is advisable, too, though, because reading a book in a restaurant or cafe looks a lot more normal than staring off into space with your headphones on.

Happy packing!

With Hostelworld.com as my guide, I set out for five weeks of backpacking through Europe.  Fifteen hostels later, I’ve amassed some great experiences, as well as plenty of opinions.  Here they are:

Hostal Metropol (Madrid, Spain) 

♥♥♥

My first-ever hostel, so I didn’t know what to make of it.  In retrospect, it had a nice breakfast and restaurant (although the paella I had was quite salty).  The lobby features free wireless internet and four free computer stations.  In general, the hostel great location just off Gran Via, near some of the best nightlife in town.  Free baggage storage is available, and the hostel has an *elevator*!  It’s also super-close to a metro station,  – three big bonuses for the backpacker who didn’t master the concept of “pack light.”

The down-sides: squeaky beds, street noise, teensy showers, and you provide your own bedlinen.  My room also featured an in-room bath with a hole in the wall.  Eek!

~

Residencia Luena (Lisbon, Portugal)  

♥♥♥

This budget hotel is definitely lacks the ambiance of a hostel.  The breakfast crowd was elderly and formal — wearing my PJs was quite a mistake!  The staff was very friendly, and the hostel was well connected to bus and metro services.  Free luggage storage and ensuite bathroom was a bonus.  My sister and I stayed in a private room here for 25€ each, which is the going rate for a dorm room in many hostels.  This is a nice place to catch your breath and get some privacy.

~

Oporto Poet’s Hostel (Porto, Portugal)

♥♥♥♥♥

This hostel made me regret I hadn’t planned for more than one day in Porto, nor known about this hostel’s Lisbon branch (the original Poet’s Hostel).  It’s super clean, brightly decorated, and brand new.  Sparkling kitchen, great outside hang-out area, and free wi-fi.  The owner and staff were very friendly, and they hung out with the guests at night.  One German backpacker had fallen so in love with the place that the staff converted a lounge into a bedroom for him so he could stay an extra night.

This hostel is small and warm.  It’s a short, uphill trek from the metro station and rather hard to find, but a cheap trip up the nearby belltower will help you get your bearings on the small city center.

~

Meiga Backpackers Hostel (Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

♥

Easy to find, hard to hang out in.  It’s an easy 10-minute walk from the train station, and many busses run past the nearby plaza.  Rather intimidating staff and strict atmosphere, fitting of a town to which Catholics make pilgrimages.  Oddly enough, this hostel had absolutely enormous bathrooms.  There’s no internet access, and bag storage costs 2€.  The weird, stiff atmosphere would keep me from staying here again.

~

Bull’s Hostel (Madrid, Spain)

♥♥♥

The staff was friendly, but I couldn’t quite figure out why this hostel has gotten such rave reviews on Hostelworld.com.  It’s clean enough, but kind of small.  There were only two dorms, sleeping about 20 total.  Breakfast was pitiful – mini-toasts and digestive cookies.  Fellow guests from the larger dorm had stories of bedbugs, too.  The hostel’s wireless access is achingly slow, so go outside to the adjacent park and use the neighborhood’s free wi-fi.  (In Spanish, “wee-fee.”)  It’s adorable to see the handful of Madrileños hunched over, using Skype or just surfing the net.  This hostel is very near the Metro, as well as to bars, restaurants, and fun.

~

Lima’s Guesthouse (Barcelona, Spain)

♥

Although this place was clean, fairly well located, and very well-decorated, it was definitely not the place for fun-loving backpackers.  Silence reigned, and I never saw any other guests.  Staff seemed almost awkwardly eager to please.  No guest kitchen, 5€ wi-fi (which lasts all night), and a rather un-private shared bathroom.  (Sliding door barely closes; no lock; glass shower; unscreened windows onto a central courtyard.  Eek!)  In general, a beautiful but uncomfortable place.

~

Youth Hostel Bern (Bern, Switzerland)

♥♥♥

The complete opposite of Lima’s Guesthouse.  Full of people, and it felt like going to camp.  Very ample breakfast included: cereals, breads, tea, juice.  No eating limit, either.  One Uruguayan guy ate practically an entire loaf of bread!  My dorm was enormous — 20 beds — which was a great opportunity to make friends and an even better opportunity to put your ear plugs to good use.  The hostel was hard to find — ask a local for help if you don’t have a map.

~

Youth Hostel Van Gogh (Brussels, Belgium)

♥♥♥♥

Definitely the most happening hostel I’d stayed at yet.  Not an ideal location, but near metro.  Guests congregated around the bar, and the atmosphere was friendly (if drunkenly so).  There was a very nice guest kitchen and a great washer/dryer.  Bedrooms were less than homey (more like run-down … almost gross), but somehow I didn’t mind.  The staff was also very helpful.  They even upgraded our room for free so we wouldn’t have to switch rooms mid-stay.

~

Flying Pig Beach Hostel (outside Amsterdam, Holland)

♥♥

The folks at the Flying Pig Downtown branch were incredibly kind on our arrival, allowing us to stor our bags (even a random friend’s huge pack) and use their free internet.  (Many fast, Skype-enabled computers to choose from.)  It was a disappointment, then, to arrive that evening at the smaller, shabbier Beach Hostel.  A single, oldish computer sat on the bookcase in the smoking room/bar.  Although the toilets were separated by gender, the showers were not.  And there was one small changing room that one could not readily lock, since there were two showers and 20 people who needed to use them. 

The hostel’s shuttle service to Amsterdam, a 45-minute ride, costs 3€ each way.  The public transport alternative is a bus (2,10€ round-trip) and a train (free for Railpass holders; 10-15€ for regular folks).  It takes about 1.5 hours that way.  Although the Beach Hostel was cheaper than the Uptown and Downtown branches of the Flying Pig chain, it wasn’t worth the hassle.  That being said, the beach was nice (if cold and windy), and the beds were very comfortable and easy to hop down from.

~

Hostel ROOM Rotterdam (Rotterdam, Holland)

♥♥♥♥♥

Each of this hostel’s rooms is decorated in a theme.  Although our Dutch Delight room had some unwelcome mosquitos visiting, it was so darn cute that I didn’t mind.  In the evening, the staff of the hostel arranged an international game of charades in which the winners (my team) were granted a free beer from the bar.  Free shots of Dutch gin also followed. 

The hostel was right by the waterfront, very near two tram stops and a pretty canal.  The amazing breakfast the next morning (dozens of jams, great bread, good cereal, tea, coffee, etc.) was the best I’ve had in Europe.  Nice.  One downside is that the showers have no lip, so the water leaks onto the floor of the toilet stall next to it.  Kind of gross.

~

Hostel X Berger (Berlin, Germany)

♥♥♥

This place was very dark.  Free wi-fi was a bonus, as was the fact that my room of eight never had more than five guests in it.  There was a guest kitchen, but no real hang-out place to meet people.  (A lounge was under construction in the basement, so that may soon be remedied.)  The big bonus was its location near many bars and restaurants, and a U-bahn stop.  (That being said, it took two or three line-switches to get from the hostel to the main train station.)  This place was deliciously cheap, but too dark to be comfortable.

~

Hostel Louise 20 (Dresden, Germany)

♥♥♥♥

Definitely not dark — blond wood, light blue bedcovers, and natural light flooding in.  This place was spotless, incredibly comfortable, and quite beautiful.  Like Lima’s Guesthouse, but not creepy.  I only stayed for one night, but there didn’t seem to be a happening “scene” there — no noise, no fun.  The other two people in my room were businessmen.  But it’s close to the Nuestadt Bahnhof and in the heart of the bar and restaurant district.  Free baggage storage, too, but a 5€ breakfast.

~

The Tent (Munich, Germany)

♥♥♥♥

An experience!  The first night around the campfire I met a dozen new buddies, most of whom I went out with the next evening.  Funny staff, clean (if a bit cold) showers, and a surprisingly good night’s sleep, considering there were 100 beds in the tent where I stayed.  Cheap, organic food and drink were huge bonuses.  Although it got quite cold at night, the staff gave me five blankets, and I stayed quite warm.

For 10,50€, I don’t think you can get better than this.  It was like Girl Scout camp, except cleaner, newer, and with plenty of boys and booze.  Bring your own marshmallows for the campfire, though.  They don’t sell them at the hostel, and they’re hard to find in the neighborhood grocery stores.

~

St. Christopher’s Bauhaus Hostel (Brugge, Belgium)

♥♥♥

This hostel was a great value for the money.  However, the bathrooms were absolutely gross; they don’t have sinks, and they’re often dirty.  The showers were warm, large, and private, though.  The breakfast was hearty, the people were friendly, and the town was fantastic.  Led by the free map I was given on check-in, I had a great two days in Brugge.  One warning: with the curtains drawn, the rooms stays very, very dark.  You may want to open them half-way before going to bed, or you’ll never wake up.

~

Journeys Elephants & Castle (London, England)

♥♥

For London, this place was cheap.  In fact, it was so cheap that there were several folks living there temporarily.  A brand new hostel, this one is still working out some kinks.  The key cards that unlock the rooms are very touchy, and I had to get mine replaced twice during my two-night stay.  However, the bar area is nice, as are the spacious rooms and showers.  The kitchen/TV room was also a nice gathering point for guests. 

Two warnings: the wi-fi is a rip-off.  Put your laptop in your bag and take it to an internet cafe on nearby Walworth Rd.  Most of them have wi-fi for 1£ per hour.  I also warn (and this advice may contradict my suggestion that you carry your laptop around) that this hostel didn’t seem to be in a particularly safe area.  Other female travelers have echoed my thoughts that the rather isolated, residential neighborhood creeped them out after dark.

~

Now I’m sleeping in my own bed in my own flat.  But I’ll be back around Europe several times this fall, and I’ll make sure to keep you updated of the best and worst hostels.  Cheers!