One Summer in Europe

US dollar loses 7% against Euro in just a few weeks

Terrible timing for those of you Americans ready to cross the pond and travel Europe this summer...the USD is dropping big-time against the euro (and all currencies for that matter). A few weeks ago you could get a euro for $1.20 but now it is more like $1.29.

If you want to understand why this is happening, check out this no-holds-barred analysis of the declining American dollar. There ARE reasons for this decline and it has to do with the terribly unhealthy condition of the US economy and its absolutely massive debt load owed to the rest of the world.

I wouldn't be surprised if the USD is $1.50 to the euro by the end of 2006. Sorry travelers, that is the way it is going to be until we get a Congress and a President that don't run our country into the ground.

Europe Railpass Center

We've done a complete makeover of the One Summer in Europe railpass and train travel area. Instead of a one page summary on Europe train travel, we have 65 pages of great info for those of you ready to travel Europe by train. Find all you the info you need and latest prices on rail passes such as pan-Europe passes such Eurailpass, Eurail Flexipass, Eurail Selectpass, 20 multiple-country passes such as France 'n Italy, France 'n Spain, and Scanrail pass, and 15 or so single-country passes such as the Italy Trenitalia railpass, the Swiss Pass, and the Prague Excursion pass. Not only that but you will find all the info you need on Europe youth rail passes and group passes such as Eurail Saverpasses.

Besides specific railpass info, you will find all kinds of useful general info about train travel in Europe, high-speed Europe premier trains, Europe scenic trains, with very helpful links to train schedules, the EuropeTracker Europe itinerary planner, and for good measure info on London airport trains and buses.

We hope you find the OSiE Railpass "Central Station" helpful and informative.

EuropeTracker update

Hello folks,

We're real busy here getting EuropeTracker ready for summer 2006. A few updates:

1) We're always adding tons of data to the system. We've recently added connections for another 45-50 cities, including Hamburg, Lyon, Geneva, Hanover, Lille, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Genoa, Torino, and several towns and islands in Croatia. The connection DB is about 12000 records long now and should be about 15000 by summer. The vast majority of larger and more popular European cities are in the system now, and we're trying to fill in gaps with smaller places. If you don't see a city that is important for your itinerary, let us know and we will add it for you. Otherwise, please be patient as we get our arms around this massive amount of info. For most of you, your complete itinerary can be built using current data. For a few of you with missing cities, patience is a virtue!

2) We're adding a bunch of new discount airlines into the system, including Virgin Express, Transavia, Volare, and more. We've also added the flights for the existing no-frills airlines (Ryanair, easyJet, Germanwings, Wizzair, and about 4-5 more) when we add new cities into the system. For example, when we added Hamburg as a city, we added the many Germanwings flights that go to/from Hamburg (Intl Airport) and Hamburg (Lubeck Airport). The growth of these discount airlines is phenomonal and you really should consider using a discount flight or two on your trip.

3) We've added a ton of Bus connection data (especially for Northern Europe) but, due to its size and reseach difficulty, this will not be completed for a few more months. However, there are already 1000+ Bus connections in the system, so you might find one for your trip. Consider using the bus at times when trains get too expensive.

4) You no longer need to login and build an itinerary to view the EuropeTracker connection data. The new QuikConnect page lets you do a fast search for the A to B connection you need info for. Modesty aside, our Europe transportation connection data is the most comprehensive such collection of information in the world, and it's free for you to use.

5) We're eliminating remaining bugs with the system as testing concludes. There are still a couple issues but 99% of you will never see these or have a problem. If you see something wrong, let us know so we can fix it.

6) Our permanent design will be released shortly, around the middle of February, and replace our current temporary design. EuropeTracker will look and work as smooth as you expect.

7) If you need in-depth help with planning a trip to Europe this year, consider signing up for our Paid account (only 15 euros for one year, soon to be 20 euros when the new design is finished). We are experts in European travel and, by knowing how to use EuropeTracker and its very useful itinerary-building process, we'll help you build your perfect itinerary. Others would charge 10x as much for the same service, but since we love helping people travel Europe, we'll do it for a low enough price to cover our time spent.

8) Even if you don't want or need a paid account, please consider using EuropeTracker for your bookings (railpasses, hotels, hostels, activities, discount flights, etc). We'll get a small commission from the suppliers, and your support this way helps keep EuropeTracker free for all to use. We're not Expedia or Travelocity, so every booking helps us continue to build the system for the benefit of all independent travelers.

9) Don't forget about our original site, One Summer in Europe, to help you plan your Europe travels. It is one of the most comprehensive backpacking Europe sites on the net.

10) If you have any comments or questions about EuropeTracker, let us know!

Happy Travels...

Hostel - the movie

You've probably heard of the new movie called Hostel about a few guys traveling Europe who encounter some terrible things in Eastern Europe. I've not seen it, and probably won't for awhile since I live in Croatia and it won't play here for several weeks at least. Not that I really want to see it for I'm not real happy about its effect on backpacking Europe and on Slovakia as a travel destination.

First, I know it's just a movie, but I must tell people who somehow think this movie captures the reality of hostels in Eastern Europe or anywhere that this definitely incorrect. I bet more than a few people have seen this and decided that the backpacking Europe adventure that they always dreamed about might not be such a good idea after all. Who wants to get tortured to death in a cheap hostel in some distant land?

That would be a very unfortunate result if this movie scared people away from this kind of trip. After all, the whole of Europe is, no doubt in my mind, much safer than many parts of the US.

So, first lesson, hostels are safe and backpacking Europe is safe. Why don't you check it out for yourself rather than let some fictitious (and let's face it, stupid) movie decide for you.

Next, I feel sorry for the poor people running the Slovakia tourism board (see here also). They've spent more than a decade in the shadows the Czech Republic, as the hordes flock to nearby Prague, while skipping Bratislava and Slovakia entirely.

And yet recently travelers have discovered Bratislava as the "new Prague" a hip and trendy and beautifully historic capital city less than an hour from Vienna. Not to mention Slovakia's growing reputation as an outdoors paradise for hiking, skiing, and the like.

Then along comes this grotesque movie about travelers getting tortured to death in a Slovakia hostel and 15 years of hard work and solid gains in tourism go down the drain. I hope this doesn't happen but, as an American who knows how we think, I bet thousands of people who see this movie now view Slovakia as some wasteland and who will never set foot there.

That's a real shame. As someone who spent a few days in Bratislava in August 2005, I highly recommend a visit to this wonderful small city. My girlfriend and I really enjoyed Prague, but we liked Bratislava even more because it is so fresh and untouristed, not to mention cheap as hell (hearty dinner and beer for $5). It's safe as can be and the people are friendly and warm.

So those of you scared off from backpacking Europe or from visiting Slovakia, think again. Don't let your thoughts and dreams be led by a silly movie that has no basis in reality. Go and see yourself.

Here are some personal photos from Bratislava (looks pretty safe and attractive, heh?):

National theater in a main town square

Sidewalk sculpture in central Bratislava

Bratislava castle - lots of history here

That's me in the city center

Maris above the mighty Danube

EuropeTracker update

EuropeTracker has been online now for about two months and is growing steadily. We are adding lots of connection data right now, especially bus connections for those of you who want to save money compared to trains. Also, we have recently added lots of cities, including Hamburg, Geneva, Strasbourg, Nuremberg, Dresden, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Tours, Carcassonne, Nantes, Marseille, Cesky Krumlov, Trieste, Antwerp, Ghent, and several more.

We also have EuropeTracker QuikConnect coming soon, which is a basic search tool for all transportation (bus, train, flight, and/or ferry) connections between two cities. You won't need to build a trip to access this very useful data. This data is, without a doubt, the largest and most comprehensive collection of Europe transportation information on the entire internet. Take advantage of our research and use EuropeTracker!

EuropeTracker is the only Europe itinerary planner and trip-builder on the internet, so we hope you find it useful. It's especially useful for you backpackers out there. If you like it, please support our work by using our site to make your railpass, accommodations, and other bookings - this helps provide us with the necessary financial support to keep building the site and allowing it to be free for all users. Thanks!

Comments on EuropeTracker

EuropeTracker has been online now for about a week. We've got lots of users signed up and building trips. Does anybody have any comments on the site? Love it? Hate it? Keep in mind it is a work in progress and just beginning, but do you find it helpful for your trip planning in Europe? All comments are welcome....

EuropeTracker is here

EuropeTracker is now open! We really apologize for it arriving several months late but our small team did our best to get it launched as soon as humanly possible. So if you are looking for a Europe itinerary builder or backpacking Europe route planner, then check it out and build your Europe trip of dreams!

Looks like your backpacking Europe trip (or any trip to Europe) just got 5% cheaper

The recent political developments in the EU, most notably the rejection of the EU Constitution by French and Dutch votors, have weakened the euro against major currencies by 3-5% in the last few days. Add in the last few months and the euro has decreased by 10% against the US dollar.

This is suberb news for travelers to Europe, especially Americans. Rather than an exchange rate of $1.33 to E1, it is down to nearly $1.2 per E. Thus, your daily expenses (in eurozone countries) are now appreciably cheaper than they would have been just a few months ago. Since I don't expect the euro to remain weak against the dollar for long (because the dollar is in a long term decline against all currencies), I recommend that any of you on the fence about traveling Europe solidify your plans now. Given US economic trends and risks, I would not bet against a Euro to $ exchange rate of $1.4 or even $1.5 in 2006. So go to Europe this year!

As an American in Europe, let me also say that the rejection of the EU Constitution in two countries is a fantastic development for Europeans who are concerned about protecting positive and important aspects of European cultural and economic life, and a strong rejection of a "new Europe" based on a US-style neoliberal economic model which would actually be a regressive step for most European countries. The people, in two Euro countries at least, have spoken - they are smarter than politicians give them credit for and they should be heard. Bravo France and the Netherlands!

EuropeTracker

I apologize for the delay in launching EuropeTracker, our new Europe trip / itinerary builder. One of our programming subcontractors is excessively late (six weeks!) on an important piece of the system. Unfortunately, we can't launch until this is done.

Please know we are trying as hard as we can to get it finished so that people can plan their Europe trip or backpacking routes for the summer. For those of you leaving imminently, EuropeTracker can be utilized in the midst of your trip as well.

Thanks for your understanding and patience. We'll have it ready soon!

Extended Travel vs. the Working World

I suspect the vast majority of people who are at this moment planning a summer trip around Europe are young people fresh out of college or graduate school. However, I know there are a few people that have a few years work experience under their belt who are trying to escape the workaday routine for a precious extended travel experience.

I know because I did this myself. In my mid-twenties, I was working a good corporate job in the US and attending law school at night. As time passed, the thought of "Is there more to life than this?" grew to a deafening volume in my head. So I started to plan a Europe trip, and the mere thought of it happening in the future really kept me going at times.

By age 28, I finished law school, quit my job, and was on a plane to Europe two days later for a 5-month adventure in Europe.

It was the best decision I have ever made. The decision has not been without significant (and, to some people, unjustifiable) sacrifices, but I will never regret taking this chance to live, to experience, to learn, to grow.

This article from the Chicago Tribune addresses the subject of working adults who want to escape from it all, for at least a little while, and take a long trip around Europe. It has some excellent points.

Quitting a job to travel may seem scary, and in today's job/economic environment, it really is. But life is to be lived, and there are ways to minimize disruption to a job or career, so I really like this article because it stands for the point that, yes it is possible to drop out for awhile to take that trip and, yes other people are doing it as well.

The last sentence is very insightful and one I can readily endorse from experience:

...there's no doubt we appreciated it far more as grown-ups than we would have as college kids.

So true. If anybody in this situation wants my advice on how to pull this off, feel free to ask.