Travel tips for backpacking through Europe!

I’ve decided that since most of my readers have already seen all my pictures and heard my stories, that a better use of this blog would be to give some advice based on my experience during the two month journey.

What to bring:

*To carry everything: Using an internal frame backpack is a great idea when it comes to touring Europe.  Trying to roll a suitcase along cobblestone streets is not something I would recommend.  One thing I would be cautious of is buying a backpack too big!  When shopping for a backpack, buy the smallest one that you think it is possible to fit your essentials in.  Try the bag on and make sure it fits your body.  I ended up buying one that was too long for my frame even when it was on the smallest setting.  It worked, but it would’ve been much more comfortable had I ensured a good fit before I bought it.

*Items to remember

-A student ID if you have one!  Many attractions and museums offer discounts if you show your student ID.  Even if you aren’t a current student, if you have your old ID, bring it!  By the same token, some sites offer a discount just for being under 26, so having any form of ID handy is a good idea too.

-Bottle opener/cork screw/utility knife! There were several occasions on this trip where we found ourselves with alcohol and no tools to open it.  Of course, we improvised and managed to find ways to open our bottles.  Needless to say, it would’ve been much easier/less messy had we brought something with us.

-Medicine!  Especially when traveling in the colder seasons, it is smart to bring with you your normal required medicines, but also bring some pain pills, allergy pills, birth control pills, cold medicine, dramamine, etc. if you feel there’s any possibility you might need it.  Which you will!

-A padlock! Bring a lock with you if you are staying at hostels because they are most often not provided, or you must pay for the lock.  Be sure to buy a standard looking lock, not an oddly shaped one that looked neat in the store but wont fit on any lockers!

-At least one cute outfit! Trust me, you think you’ll go through the trip with dirty backpacker clothes the whole time and be happy about it, but you’re going to want to go to a club and look nice.  So bring at least one cute outfit and a decent pair of shoes, or else you’re just going to end up buying it while you’re there anyway!

-Boots/umbrella/other weather related items.  I went in the fall so these items were necessary.  If you’re going in summer, substitute boots for flip flops and umbrella for bathing suit!

How to get around:

*Trains! Taking trains is the easiest most convenient manner to travel from one city to the next.  You can buy individual train tickets, but purchasing a Eurail pass is a GREAT idea!  My friend and I both used Global Eurail Passes valid for any 10 travel days within a 2 month period.  We used all 10 travel days and got our moneys worth for sure!

-Advantages to the Eurail pass:

If you are under 26 the passes are much cheaper.  Be smart and research approximately what individual tickets would cost you… but we found that for our planned route it was much cheaper to do the passes.

In addition to possibly being more cost effective, having the passes is very convenient because for the majority of train rides you do not need to stand in line to buy a ticket.  As long as the train does not have a compulsory reservation, you can show up and hop on it without any hassle whatsoever.  Some trains require a reservation for a small fee.  For us it was 3 out of 10 train rides with the fees averaging about 15 dollars, so that’s not bad at all.

-Tips for riding the train with a Eurail pass:

+Make sure you know if you have to transfer trains to get where you are going, because if your train requires no reservations, you just get on it and you do not receive a ticket that outlines your journey.  Arriving at the train station a bit early in order to ask the information desk if you must transfer is a smart idea if you aren’t sure.

+When making a reservation for a train that requires them, make sure it’s for the right day!!!

+Couchettes on overnight trains are kind of terrible, so just know what you’re in for if you plan to reserve one.

*Metros & trams! For transportation within a city, it’s all about the underground.  Once you figure out how to use one, you’ll be able to figure them all out.  Super easy!

*Plane tickets! If you’re under 26 years old you can go to the STA Travel website and get cheaper airfare!  This is also the website I purchased the Eurail pass from.

Where to stay:

*Hostels! I highly recommend staying in hostels if you are a young person on a budget.  I will point out some particularly good hostels in my posts on individual cities, but here are some general tips:

-Read the reviews. Go to websites such as hostels.com, hostelworld.com, or hostelbookers.com and see what other people have to say.  Some reviews should be taken with a grain of salt but overall they can be helpful in choosing a good place.

-Make sure the place you pick is in a good location either close to the attractions or close to a metro/tram stop!  This should be one of the first things you check before booking a place.

-Book at least a few days in advance… more if it’s the weekend or during the busy summer season.  There were a few times where my friend and I waited until the very last minute to book a hostel for a weekend and we ended up paying twice as much for a crappy place.

-Check for things like curfew and lockout for hostels.  If you plan to be out partying all night and like to sleep in during the day, you might want to pick a place with no curfew or lockout.

-Look at your food options. Free hostel breakfast is usually no big deal.  They give you bread and cheese on average.  It’s nice to have but honestly I didn’t wake up in time for it the majority of the trip.  The rare hostel offers free dinner!  That’s a huge plus.  Many hostels will have a kitchen the guests may use.  Any of the hostel booking websites will outline these features.

Tips for site-seeing:

*Do the free walking tours! Almost every major city in Europe has at least one free walking tour that you can take.  Visit Sandemans New Europe for info on one such tour company.  The basis is that you receive a free walking tour (3 hours on average) and at the end of the tour you pay what you feel it is worth to the tour guide, who works only on tips.  Do the walking tour on your first day and you’ll get a small taste of the major attractions, which you can visit in more depth later.

*Check to see when attractions you are most interested in are closed. Some museums in particular are closed on odd days.  We missed out on seeing Picasso’s Guernica because of this.  Also, Many museums have days or times that they offer free or discounted admission!  Find out, and plan to go on the free day.

*Pub crawls/tapas tours/etc! In general, a pub crawl or tapas tour type of organized food/drink group is a little pricey (15-25 euros).  However, it can be worth it especially if you’re not sure where to go and want someone to guide you around.  Make friends with the folks running it and you might just get some free drinks the next night!

*Make friends with people who live there! Some of the coolest experiences we had were with locals who showed us around to their favorite places.

My final tip is to JUST GO!  You’ll figure things out on the way!  It’s super easy.  If you would like any more tips or advice, please comment with your questions!

Letterpress love ♥

It is crazy how few people know anything about printmaking.  Pretty much everyone has held a camera before so they understand when I say I’m a photographer… but if I add that I am also a printmaker, 99% of the time I will get a confused look.  Most of my printmaking is either screenprints or letterpress work.  I attempt to explain what these methods mean, but “non-art” people barely understand my verbal explanation of what a screenprint is, let alone letterpress.

Thus, I am going to explain… with visuals!

Letterpress is old school and rarely used outside of fine art purposes except for crap like wedding invitations, so I’m not totally surprised that people don’t understand it or why I use it.  Still though, I feel like people should at least vaguely know something about Gutenberg and his bible.

As seen in these images, letterpress is essentially using letters of lead (or sometimes wood) type to create whatever text it is that you want to print.  Type comes in cases of different sizes and typefaces.  The ASU type shop’s walls are pretty much filled with rows and rows of different cases of type.  So, you assemble some type into what is called a composing stick.  You proof the type for errors or damaged letters and then transfer it out of the stick and onto a tray for storage until all your type is set.  Once your type is all done being assembled, it’s time to print it on the press!

This is a Vandercook press, much like the ones at the ASU type shop.  The short and sweet version is: type is “locked up” on the bed of the press, ink is spread onto the rollers, paper is placed into the guides, you crank the handle, and voila; you have a letterpress print!  For me, it always seems to be more complicated than that.  There’s a lot of measuring and adjusting involved that I just wont get into.

So why would anyone ever want to spend hours hand setting little pieces of lead and hunching over a press when we have COMPUTERS and PRINTERS?  I have a couple reasons.

For one, I don’t know any printers that can emboss the surface of the paper to where you can actually FEEL an impression of the letters.  It looks awesome, and that’s why people spend big money for it on their wedding invitations.  However, my biggest reason is that it makes the work I produce that much more personal to me.  Each letter was carefully placed by hand and printed by me!  Even though it can sometimes take countless hours (like if you’re setting a giant paragraph of 8pt italic type!!!) it is a meditative process that is therapeutic for me.  There is something about doing everything by hand that letting the computers do the work and clicking print will never achieve.