Rick

This question is directed primarily to European travel veterans. I've been to Europe twice; in 1975 as a student backpacker, and in 1976 on my honeymoon. I still have vivid memories of sights, sounds and smells of cities, countrysides and train stations. I also remember what things cost..... such as a pensione in Barcelona for 75 cent per night. <BR> <BR>After 25 years of kids, college, bills, marriage breakup, etc,...... I intend to return this fall with a new partner. <BR> <BR>My question is this.... <BR>What changes can I expect to see? Are my vivid memories a thing of the past and a new Europe awaits me, or will it be like seeing an old friend?? <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Alec

Looking back the last 25 years, Europe has changed a lot. I was a student in mid 70's and did the usual trips around Europe. Compared to my recollections of those days, Europe is a lot busier, with travellers from all round the world. In those days, for example, it was rare to see visitors from Communist countries - now travellers from the former Soviet bloc and China are everywhere, as well as large numbers from Latin America, Far East and Middle East. They have certainly put pressure on accommodation and tourist infrastructure, esp in historic cities. Even though travelling has become easier and cheaper (relatively speaking), there is more hassle and I tend to pre-book more than I used to, just to make sure I won't be disppointed or frustrated. Having said that, Europe is still beautiful, there has been a lot of improvement in transport, presentation of sights and things like disabled access. Though most parts of Europe have been discovered, it's still possible to enjoy some stunning scenery and old-fashioned hospitality and pace of life that hasn't changed much, if you travel off-season, choose areas little frequented by tour buses, cycle or hike. So if you prepare for your trip in advance, read up as much as you can on the areas you want to visit and take plenty of money (pensione in Barcelona is more like $75!), then I'm sure you will have a wonderful and nostalgic repeat visit.

Al

Remember--you have changed, too. So it will be a mutual re-get-acquainted experience. You probably will notice how much Americanized certain aspects of Europe have become. Fast food, for example. The pace of life has quickened. Prices will seem higher, a lot depending on how strong the dollar will be. We noticed, for example, how much cheaper some things were and how much more expensive other things were when compared with America. Your interests will have changed--you may find yourself drawn to activities that were not on your personal radar screen back then. For example, we found ourselves prowling antique stores and art shows. I think you will find the experience much more rewarding in many ways.

Timothy

I spent two years living in the UK while in the US Air Force. I went back to London a couple years ago. I was disapointed with the number of American Fast Food places that seemed to be everywhere. 23 years ago, London had one McDonalds and that was it. I also remember buying a Eurorail pass for around $40.00. You can't do that today.

Lori

A general "Americanization" of Europe is what you will notice first I think having been away that long. It's not only the McDonald's & KFC it's a general feeling that things are "different but yet the same" - hard to explain but you will no doubt pick up on it. Do not expect prices to be cheap and you probably would not be comfortable any longer staying in inexpensive places (3*** seems to be the choice of most of us on this Forum). Your own tastes will have changed a great deal. <BR> <BR>As someone said the pace of life is faster and everyone (it seems) is on a cell phone most of the time. Public transportation is still good, efficient and very worthwhile but some systems have had difficulties (i.e. UK) lately due to privitization of the rail service. <BR> <BR>You will find more crowds everywhere, even off season (altho not as bad). Tour buses and people prevail at all the major sights. On my first trip in '76 it was not like that, in fact there were relatively few visitors at some sights then. Each subsequent visit (and we've been many times since) we've noticed more and more people. Luckily for us we have seen most of the places that the tourists flock to so we can concentrate on lesser know sights which are less populated! <BR> <BR>You will also notice that most goods (in stores, etc.) are very much like what you will find home, including a lot of your favorite brands. Not to say there are not things unique to each country because there are, but items like Coke, Pepsi, etc. are not hard to find. <BR> <BR>Just go with an open mind, don't try and compare it to your experience of many yrs ago - just think of it as a new experience, almost like the first time because in many ways it will be. Depending upon where you go the countryside life can still be slower than the cities but even there you will see evidence of "Americanization" what with large supermarkets, malls, etc. not too far from many of the small villages, etc. There are still plenty of charming places to visit but time has not stood still. Go and enjoy and try not to compare then and now too much. <BR>

elvira

The positive changes have been in making sightseeing and traveling easier: a variety of transportation passes, like the 3-country Eurail pass and the London Travelcard; pictographs!; improved public transportation from airports to nearby cities; improved access to museums and sights, like the glass pyramid at the Louvre; passes like the National Heritage Pass or Carte des Musees which save time and money; streamlined detaxe procedures; ATMS!!!; menus, signs, and tourist information in English. <BR> <BR>The negatives are, I think, the results of globalization and modernization: foreign brand names like Panasonic in Italy and Pizza Hut in London; the loss of languages and dialects as the languages of the leader nations become more prevalent; the beginnings of the loss of national culture and identity (teenagers in Paris look like teenagers in Seattle; everyone's got a mobile phone stuck to their head); lousy traffic. <BR> <BR>The things that have remained pretty much unchanged are the historical sights and museums, and the skylines: the Tower of London hasn't been painted yellow, the Mona Lisa hasn't been spiffed up with a new outfit, and sunset over the Grand Canal still makes your heart hurt.

Rex

You killed me with the timing of this post, Rick - - I really wanted to respond, but I needed to get to work, and I just couldn't take the time to do it then. Some days I can check and post from work, others, it makes more sene to just get work done and get home. <BR> <BR>And others have answerd this question well. you really will find both - - the Europe you knew in 1975 - - and a whole new place. I have just recently started going back some places I haven't been since 1969 - - (Venice 1969, then first time back in 1998 and 3 more times since) as well as Rome, Paris, London. <BR> <BR>Venice took my breath away much more than I remember. On the other hand, St. Peter's seems smaller than I remembered. I suppose it was the largest interior space I had ever seen in my life, in 1969. <BR> <BR>I still want to see Greece again, and Zagreb. But you can't totally re-capture the essence of your youth. I ran through the fountains of Trocadero with another 15 yr old (girl) the first night I asked her if she would like to "go out". <BR> <BR>That will never happen again - - not just like that. <BR> <BR>and that's just fine... <BR> <BR>

John

Herewith a lot of opinions… <BR>An interesting question, Rick, which follows on the heels of a Rick Steves-a-thon here in Seattle a couple of nights ago (local public TV station fundraising event - Rick's agency is in Edmonds, just north of the city.) He was doing call-ins and then we would get bits of various episodes of his newer series, intermingled with frequent requests for money and memberships. <BR> <BR>A lot of his advice was good (although I find his demeanor rather smarmy and off-putting) but what struck me was the nature of so many of the questions. People weren't really asking what could they see or experience in Europe, they were asking what they could see or experience in OLD Europe. <BR> <BR>Now, I understand the antiquity of Europe is a central draw, especially for Americans who (mistakenly IMO) feel the US is lacking in comparable historic or cultural sights. But the general tone of a lot of the calls and emails seemed to me to be heavily weighted to people wanting not to see the Europe of today, where castles and cell phones are utterly integrated, or (as I witnessed a year or two ago) where Portuguese supermarket customers arrive in donkey carts and shop for Windows software next to the salt cod display, but rather the Europe of 100 or maybe 500 years ago to the relative exclusion of the new or current. Modern Europe (and, I fear modern Europeans) were seen by many - NOT ALL - of the callers/writers, as impediments to the travel experience, not a means, although everyone certainly agreed that high speed trains and competent medical professionals were worthwhile things. What they wanted was the grand and the quaint - grand castles or churches, grand operas, grand vistas…and quaint villages, quaint folkways, quaint locals. <BR> <BR>How has Europe changed in the last 25 years? Well, completely, of course, if you're referring to Europeans and not stones or steeples. From a dispersed and fractious collection of states to superpower status; from the idea of European unity being something to fear (if you were British) to hotel prices in Euros, from two Germanys to one and one USSR to umpteen, from passports being stamped to smithereens to guardless borders and Polish Mercedes crawling up the B. Saint Mich. Bruges is unchanged more or less (except the signs on the shops) but the Burgers are 21st Century people, not artifacts. <BR> <BR>The Grand Canal is still there, mainly unchanged, and Glen Coe, and they still sell little Eiffel Tower doodads all over Paris, and Harrods is there and KaDeWe and Printemps, even if they all sell the same shirts cranked out in Malaysia. But Europe, like N. America, is a place full of millions of changing and changed people, even if the buildings are now 425, instead of 400, years old. <BR>

Richard

My first memories go back to 1956, the World's Fair in Bruxelles, skip to mid-60's and driving to Berlin, going thru security at the border, driving on a broken-down autobahn, women in the fields harvesting hay, seeing our 1st GI convoy, taking the S-bahn to East Berlin, an adventure, posters of American bombing of North Vietnam at every bus stop. Leaving east Germany the stop at security, guards checking the depth of the trunk, mirrors under the car. Next, my college kids, drive from Munich to Berlin, stop at the border, surrender passports, long wait, finally allowed to go on. Kids witness the "wall", we go to east Berlin, dismal shops, stuck with east German marks, could go on, but it ain't the same.

Capo

Well, Europe's certainly more expensive than it was in 75-76 (my first trip was a six-week trip to the British Isles in 1979), especially countries that used to be very inexpensive, like Spain & Portugal. But, I have no problem with them being more expensive because that's a reflection of their increased standard of living vis-a-vis the U.S. <BR> <BR>One of the best things to happen to Spain, specifically, since 1975, is the death of the fascist dictator, Francisco Franco, and the resultant democracy under King Juan Carlos.

Beth Anderson

this makes me wish I could travel back in time - or at least be older, so I could have seen the 'before and after' (and appreciated it, that is). my 'coming of age' trip was in the early 80s. <BR> <BR>sigh. <BR> <BR>

Rick

So, let me see if I've got it. <BR> <BR>More expensive <BR>More people (tourists) <BR>Faster pace of life <BR>Cell phones <BR>Longer lines <BR>More Americanized <BR>Can't recapture my youth (Fountains of Trocadero???? Way to go Rex!) <BR> <BR> <BR>Sorry folks. Your thinly veiled attempts to keep Europe to yourselves has failed. I still intend to return. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>Seriously, thanks for all your responses. I suppose its what I expected.I really would like to recapture a little of my youth. <BR> <BR>Wish me luck.

wisin'

Good luck, Rick! Have a wonderful return. Have you read Bill Bryson's "Neither Here Nor There"? He retraces his the backpacking route of his youth as an adult. It's quite funny.