Jen Z

I'm finding myself often gravitating towards helping the less-experienced travelers in this message board, and I've even created a first-trip to Europe itinerary for a friend of mine. But I'm curious to know other people's thoughts on THE first trip, knowing that I'm not necessarily helping people if their ideas of travelling are different from mine. So... If you could do your first trip all over again, how would you do it? What would you do differently from what you did do? How long would you go for? What would you plan to see? Or would you plan at all? Just curious...

CJ

This is an easy one. Do not over pack. I overpacked on our first trip and it was a total disaster. In a strange country, pouring rain, trying to hail a cab, can't understand a word of what they are saying, jet lagged and two large pieces of luggage and a husband saying "you packed it, you carry it". I learned my lesson. PACK LIGHT <BR>

wes fowler

My first trip to Europe over 30 years ago (Paris, for three weeks) led to a particularly rewarding, though unorthodox, second trip a year later. On the way to Paris, a two hour layover in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport allowed me to take a bus ride into the city. I was fascinated by boats sailing along on highway overpasses and vowed to visit the Netherlands on my next trip. The following year I carefully planned an itinerary encompassing the Netherlands, northern Germany and the Rhine. First on my list was the Zuider Zee project. I drove out one rainy morning and out of seemingly foolish compassion picked up a bedrenched hitch-hiker who proved to be an hydraulic engineering student who gave me one heck of a comprehensive tour of the Zee project and invited me to his farmhouse for lunch. Dined at one end of a large room with cows munching behind Dutch doors at the other! Decided then and there to pick up hitch-hikers first thing in the morning and go where they were going, and so I did. Was treated to dinner in Bremen's rathskeller by three young women who introduced me to the city and to Worpswede, an artist's colony to the northwest. Toured LeCorbusier's chapel in Ronchamp, France in the company of two architectural students; one from Austria, the other from Italy, neither of whom spoke the other's language; both of whom spoke English. Toured Berlin in the company of a young couple returning from their honeymoon who gave me a tour and invited me into their home for dinner. Dined in the shadow of the newly erected and onerous wall. Ended up after three weeks seeing 90% of what I had planned to see, much I hadn't dreamed of and all through the eyes of young people keen on displaying their knowledge of things of interest to them. A foolhardy way to travel, I know (wouldn't dream of doing so now) but eminently rewarding at the time and decidedly influential in turning me into a long time

Lee

Jen: Good question. You'll probably get some good input from many others. When I think about my first trip, I realize that my attitude was not very good and because of it, I didn't have a very good time. I had just moved to Frankfurt and I wasn't used to living there yet. Everything was so different, I felt out of place. After a month, we went to Paris for a few days. I evidently thought that I must have deserved some sort of preferential treatment as I was "an American" and I had a few events with the French and I thought they were so rude! When I got back to work in Frankfurt, I asked a coworker (he had lived there for about twenty years) what the problem was and he told me that I WAS THE PROBLEM. He told me to go and visit all of these beautiful and DIFFERENT places and take an open mind. Treat the places with respect and act like a visitor should. I've taken that advice and ever since, I've travelled through much of Europe, came back to the US in the late 80's and now have returned (bringing my wife)to Germany last summer, Paris this year and Bavaria next spring. Every trip was a good one because my attitude was good. That's my input: take an open mind with you, wherever you go.

Neal Sanders

Jen: <BR> <BR>My first trip to Europe was in 1969. I was armed with a $198 round trip ticket on Icelandic Airways (the "hippie express"), a 21-day student Eurail pass, $200 in cash and traveler's checks, and a beat-up copy of "Europe On $5 A Day." <BR> <BR>I did not have the slightest idea of where I was going, what I was going to see, and where I was going to sleep at night (I mostly slept on trains, as it turned out). I possessed a college student's mistaken belief in his own omniscience; I utterly lacked any cultural context for my visit. I ought to have been refused entry on grounds of general ignorance. <BR> <BR>While in Europe, I learned about Chappaquiddick from Armed Forces Radio; I watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon from in front of a department store in Munich by early morning's light; and I did not learn about Woodstock until it was all over. <BR> <BR>But along the way I also discovered the United States was not the center of the universe, and thereby lost some of my arrogance as an American. People were kind to me, even though they had seen tens of thousands of ignorant American students just like me traipsing through their towns. I finally understood the sheer youth of the United States as a nation, and its pull upon the people of Europe. <BR> <BR>What would I do differently? For the most part, nothing. It was a voyage of discovery; even though I was as ill-informed on my first trip as was Columbus on his. I saw the Colosseum, the Louvre, the Mediterranean from above Nice, and the Houses of Parliament; I celebrated my twentieth birthday in Heidelberg. That trip awakened me to a world that had heretofore been only in books and on the screen. <BR> <BR>I would do one thing differently. I wish I had scraped together a few more dollars so that I could have had a few decent meals, and maybe a night or two in a real hotel. <BR>

dan

My first trip was part of a large group (my wife included). We were all business school graduate students taking a course on international business (I had done the same to Asia the year before). The only thing I would have changed would be to go without a group, so that I could set my own itenarary. We had quite a bit of free time though, and we saw a lot of places that most tourists never see. We had a wine tasting (turned party) with food in a private cellar in southern Moravia, for example. Can't say touring a water treatment plant on our wedding anniversary was fun though (outside Freiburg, Germany). We did go for four days on our own at the end of the trip to Vienna and Munich, and had a free weekend in Prague in the middle of the trip. <BR> <BR>I like to see a lot, but the places that remain most special to me are those places that I stayed for several days. I would go for 3-5 weeks, pick out about 2-3 areas per week, except for lengthy stays in Paris and London. Another criteria would be to use the Rick Steves suggested method of picking places that are very different (Mediterranean, mountains, different cultures and languages). How about Paris (5 days), London (4 days), Prague (2 days), Barcelona or Madrid (3 days), Rome (3 days), Venice (3 days), Florence (3 days), Italian or French Riviera (2 days), Swiss Alps (4 days), Bavaria (3 days)? <BR> <BR>I don't actually have the time to take off for 3 week trips anymore though, so I try to concentrate on 1-2 countries per trip, and I like to stay in each hotel for at least two nights. <BR>

Frank

You're getting some very interesting postings. For my part I would do exactly what I did almost 40 years ago- The first year of jet commercial flights, by air NY to London-Copenhagen-Munich, then train to Lucerne, Interlaken, Montreux, Lausanne, Geneva. Then by air to Paris, and of course, Europe on $5.00 a day. Never managed that figure but close. Had many hotel rooms with a bath down the hall. Splurged several times for a room with bath en suite. Learned that room and bath did not always mean that the bath was attached to the room, but was given a key to my private bath down the hall. Also had a very large bathroom with the tub on a platform in the center into which they moved a bed.

Erni Hirsch

We took a 8 countries in 9 day Cosmo Tour. If I had it to do over again, I would concentrate on one area at a time and savor the flavor. I have since spent time in England and France and plan to visit Spain and Portugal next year. While a tour provides a basic orientation, independent travel allows you the opportunity to plan for yourself and be flexible. With all the resources available (books, the net, travel video etc) I think planning is essential for full appreciation and even be half the fun.

mattie

I would not arrive in and depart from the same city when part of my trip will involve car travel. On our last trip, we arrived in and departed from Paris which meant we had to pay round-trip expense on Eurostar to visit London. Also we had additional gas expenses by making a loop from Paris to visit French Alps, Geneva, Venice, and Freiburg, Germany. Next time I think I will plan to arrive in Berlin where I will rent a car, take in the spots I want to visit, drop off the car in Paris and then depart for home from London.

Polina

If I were to plan my first trip again, knowing what I know now, I would have done things differently. First, I thought the train system in Europe was much more direct than it is. It is a great system, but I just didn't know how it worked. Thus, I had planned our itinerary in the following way: flew into Amsterdam; took the train from Amsterdam to Paris, took an overnight train from Paris to Venice; took a train from Venice to Florence. We were originally to take a train from Florence to Cinque Terre, but had to cancel, because my husband just could not take the long overnight train rides. To get back to Amsterdam from Vernazza, we would have had to take a train from Vernazza to Genoa, from Genoa to Milan, from Milan to Duisburg, Germany, and from Duisburg to Amsterdam. The entire trip would have taken us almost 24 hours to then fly home 12 hours later. <BR>Instead, I should have done one of two things: either buy an open-jaw ticket, so that we could save precious time by flying into Amsterdam and then out of Milan or Rome or re-arrange the itinerary so that Cinque Terre was the 2nd to last stop and either Florence or Venice was the last stop, making it easier to get back to Amsterdam. We wasted a lot of time on the train, just because of the way we planned our itinerary. <BR> <BR>The only other thing that I would do differently (we packed very light and were thanking the stars that we did) is buy more things. When I returned to Amsterdam, I was kicking myself for not buying a leather jacket I saw in Florence and a perfume bottle I saw in Venice. We misjudged our $$$ situation, and, the exchange rate being much better than we thought, had a lot of extra money left over after we left Italy. Such is life!

Laura

My first trip was to Greece and it was wonderful, but I would change some things. American Airlines lost one of my bags and I had to fight them to be paid for it (3 months later). So since then I have travelled with a carry-on and it works well. I just pack a clothes line and wash when I am in one place for a few days. Since it was my first trip, I was afraid of surviving in a country where I did not speak the language, so I booked a very expensive American hotel. I found that to be unnecessary. I also sent laundry out to be done and was in shock for a month over the bill (I didn't pay any attention to the prices beforehand). I also travelled with someone that I didn't know very well and we really were not compatible. She was much older than me and I felt more like an escort than a companion. I am now very careful with whom I travel.

D. Spiegel

My first trip was in 1979 -- four weeks with a Eurailpass. If I had it to do over, I would have spent more money. We stayed in the cheapest places we could find; I would have enjoyed a few splurges. I would have taken that gondola ride -- I regretted passing it up to save money -- finally took one in 1997. Would have bought some things to have the tangible memories. Would have kept a journal. I hit many of the major capitals -- would have concentrated on small towns -- much more appealing that the big cities. Packing light was one of the things I did right. My parents saved my postcards which I now have -- mail yourself some postcards.

Reb

My first trip was also in 1969 (as Neal Sanders); I went for about 8 weeks and traveled from England (including a visit to the Lake District)to France (Paris to the Atlantic coast resort Le Baule), Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece...back through Italy, to Paris and London. Watched the moon landing on a tiny television in a shop window in Florence,saw "Hair" in London, ate every brand of pastry in Paris, rode a motorcycle from Rome to Tivoli with an incredibly handsome Italian student, took a ship from Brindisi (stopped in Corfu) to Piraus...a week in Athens and out to Hydra for several days. I had $700, lived out of Europe on $5 a day, and brought presents to every relative I had (including an embroidered linen table cloth for my mother, beautiful leather gloves for $1.80, etc.) I brought money home! So, what is my point...the bloody suitcase nearly killed me. I was so overpacked it was pathetic!

loraine b.

My first trip to Europe was in 1969, when I was 17. An AYH "un-tour", they got us there and then we were on our own. Four of us bicycled for 8 weeks, staying in hostels in England, France, Belgium and Holland. Recommendations? Stay open to new experiences (some of our unexpected ones were the best...or, at least, the funniest!), be humble (right! USA is not the center of the universe), "go local" meaning, stay in smaller hotel/pensions so you get a real flavor of the area you're in, eat local foods (especially breads, cheeses, pates, etc.), get out by yourself or a very small group so you have an opportunity to meet locals. Momentos can be wonderful reminders of your experience. Take pictures or buy postcards (one trip I came home with about 100 postcards; they make a great reminder of where I went and what I did). And, maybe, even this....feel the fear BUT DO IT ANYWAY! <BR>Have fun. There are wonderful people everywhere!

Ken Bradbury

I wish to heaven I'd had this message board before I took my first trip. <BR>My first was in 79, taking a group of students to London, Paris, & Madrid. Boy, was I green. I've traveled every year since to various locations, but like so many of your respondents have noted, my attitude was the thing I forgot to pack. <BR>Now to prepare kids I spend perhaps an hour on the nuts and bolts of packing and safety but weeks preparing them to open up and be ready to grow.

Jen Z

Thanks, everybody, for all your great stories. If anything, you've made me appreciate my first trip even more...though going on 5$ a day would have been nice -- it was 50$/day at the bare minimum when I did my trip three years ago! I had the right attitude...and I'm glad for it now that I realize how important that was. And I came home with more confidence than I'd ever had previously. On a simpler note, though, and contrary to some of your thoughts, I think I would have taken in even greater territory, taken more night trains and moved even faster than I did. Call me crazy, but I liked it that way. I've only been back once since my first trip, and it will probably be at least another three years before the next. I like to think of where I've been as starting points for future trips... and the more I've seen the more I have to choose from for more leisurely travel in small areas, which will be more my speed when I'm older, with only two or three week holidays per year, and perhaps children in tow. Anyway, I hope some first time travelers are checking this out...very interesting!

Erika

<BR>Boy, this posting certainly brings back memories! My first European trip was in 1968 -was it really 30 years ago?? I had just started working for the US Government in DC (about 2 months) and was faced with a major dilemma - how to get my bosses to agree to let me go to Europe for 6 weeks! I had found out about a Latvian Youth Conference in Berlin, and most of my friends were going, as well as about 600 others from all over the world. I couldn't pass that up. Finally, being granted permission, I got to go. After one day in Berlin, the Soviets frowned on this mass of students wandering the streets of Berlin, carrying placards to "Free the Baltics". They convinced the Allieds to ship us out of Berlin the following day. So, unceremoniously, they hauled us all to the airport and flew us to Hannover, Germany. But, I spent six weeks wandering Europe, going wherever I could, seeing whatever seemed interesting, spending little money, meeting lots of folks. Took the Orient Express overnighter from Vienna to Paris and spent the night in Les Halles with the butchers, drinking beer and singing folk songs! But, certainly the one thing I would have done differently was the age-old advice - to have packed less. The first week, I checked my far-to-many suitcases at a German train station and collected them 6 weeks later.

Glaucia Negreiros

Dear Jen Z, <BR> <BR>Thank you so much for starting this topic! Extremely useful!!! I will be a first-time traveller in Europe in July 99 (if I don't die of anxiety first - I can wait no more!). I am addicted to Fodors Forum and am so grateful to everybody who make comments on their trips, I learn so much with you all - places to visit, problems to avoid, etc. So we could perhaps sum up all the advice: <BR>1) Do not overpack <BR>2) Take an open mind <BR>3) Respect the place/locals <BR>4) Send myself postcards <BR>5) Get a real flavor of the area you are in <BR>6) Consider something off the beaten track <BR>7) Take risks <BR>8) Try the local food <BR> <BR>Anything to add, to complete the "Ten Commandments"?

matt

<BR>If not too time consuming, I would appreciate a copy of the trip to Europe you ade for your friend. I am 17 years old am I am going to Europe for 10 wks in the summer of '99. <BR>Thanks in advance <BR>

Bill

Adding a 9th to the 10 commandments two posts above: bring some extra money so you can have an occassional nice meal, a nice place to stay, or an excursion that you might otherwise have passed up if you scrimped too much. You can have a great trip living cheap, but it's nice to indulge occassionally