148
DATE: May 27, 2004
TITLE: Hobo TRAVEL TIPS - Germany - Austria - Italy - England
TIP:
EUROPE TRAIN TIPS
LOCATION: Seitingen, Germany (In South near Stuttgart.)
Hobo TRAVEL TIPS - Germany - Austria - Italy - England
Issue 148 - May 27, 2004
Hobotraveler.com
A Hobo trip around the world. Year 7
Write Andy a HoboTraveler.com
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READ EASY ONLINE: Is this scramble in Outlook?
http://www.hobotraveler.com/newsletterhobo148insert.shtml
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~ NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
~ HOBO TRAVEL QUOTES
How I feel today...
~ HOBO PHOTO GALLERY
This weeks pictures.
~ HOBO DAILY TRAVEL LOG a.k.a. Blog
A daily web diary of my travels.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html
~ HOBO STEW (A Dish of Meat and Vegetables)
Location of Hobo and opinions
AAAAGH TRAVEL EUROPE
~ TODAY�S TRAVEL TIP
EUROPE TRAIN TIPS
~ EXTREME HOBO TRAVEL
Scott�s Bike Trip Around World
~ TODAY�S TIP FROM THE - �Peanut Gallery�
A Joke Tip that is ... hmm sarcastic
~ HOBO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions for Hobo Andy - Take Care.
~ HOBO GOSSIP and/or Jaded Remarks
A jaded remark on world travel.
Thank you, Lord - I'm doing fine
CONTACTING THE EDITOR a.k.a. Andy
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~ NEWSLETTER INFORMATION -
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~ ARCHIVES 0F PAST NEWSLETTERS
http://www.hobotraveler.com/indexhobonewsletter.shtml
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http://www.hobotraveler.com/indenewslettipsbysubject.shtml
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~ HOBO TRAVEL QUOTES -
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How I feel today, or a start down
the proverbial travelers path.
A good traveler is one who does not know where he
is going to and a perfect traveler does not know where
he came from.
- Lin Yutang
~ BACKPACKER JARGON
- Buy Dollars:
The U.S. Dollars is the Universal Currency of
travelers of the planet. If you have nothing in your
pocket you should have some dollars because sometimes
the locals will not take their own money, but dollars will
will buy your way out of trouble. But if you use Pounds.
Franks, Euros, Peso you have go buy dollars.
I do not buy or exchange money, I go to the ATM
and the process is computerized. But I carry 200
U.S. if possible at time, and if necessary I
"Buy Dollars," at a money exchange booth or
sometimes the banks.
~ HOBO SLANG
Bohunk
- A Polish or other Slavic laborer.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/hobo.php
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~ HOBO PHOTO GALLERY -
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A lot of photos - The world unedited...
CAMBODIA
Angkor Wat Aerial Views
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147angkorwat01_04.shtml
Angkor Wat 1 Cambodia
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147angkorwat01_01.shtml
Angkor Wat 3 Cambodia
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147angkorwat01_02.shtml
Angkor Wat 4 Cambodia
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147angkorwat01_03.shtml
THAILAND
Pantip Computer Mall in Bangkok Thailand
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_01.shtml
Cambodia
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_02.shtml
Cambodia Border
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_03.shtml
THAILAND
Khao San Road Thailand
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_04.shtml
USA
Orland Indiana and Plymouth Rock Massachusetts
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_05.shtml
Plymouth Rock Massachusetts
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_06.shtml
GERMANY - ITALY - AUSTRIA
Lake Constance Germany
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_07.shtml
European Trains
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147cambodiafortwayne_08.shtml
Germany
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147germany_01.shtml
German Mountains
http://www.hobotraveler.com/147germany_02.shtml
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~ HOBO DAILY TRAVEL LOG -
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A daily web diary of my travels.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html
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~ HOBO STEW (A Dish of Meat and Vegetables)
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AAAAGH TRAVEL EUROPE
Seitingen, Germany (In South near
Stuttgart.)
Hello,
It is not a surprise to the long term readers of Hobo Travel Tips
Newsletter that I am not real fond of Europe. I have just had
the absolute worst week of travel in my 7 year adventure, Iraq
was easy compared to the overwhelming problems that Europe
poses to me a wanderer of the planet.
I am a traveler, I am not a tourist. Tourist go on tours and pay
too much money for everything and say thank you.
A traveler buys a one-way ticket and roams the planet like
a nomad with no set plans and is complete free, and is not
afraid or delusional about the cultures of the world having
learned that all the world is the playground, and it is my choice
to go or no go. Plus we say when things are stupid!
I will try to keep it short.
I pay 28 Dollars US in London for a Hostel.
(That is 10 Days in most countries.)
Ryanair.com and their 5 pound ticket turned into a bait and
switch tactics that ended up in me paying a cumulative cost
over 100 pounds.
(Note that I traveled Easyjet.com last year with no problems.)
I asked 3 separate people on the plane for advice on a beach
near Genoa, Italy with NO TOURIST and they sent me to
Chinque Terre that has to be one of the most beautifully completely
full on tourist areas of Italy. Right up there with the
Champs Elysees Paris for pains.
I get on a train to go to Slovenia to escapes the lemmings,
and the train ends up in Vienna and the conductor checked
my ticket twice. Could not be bother to help.
I slept in the airport in Stansted, England because this is
one of the worlds most inconvenient airports.
I slept in the trains in Italy because there was no rooms.
I slept in the train again because Vienna has no rooms.
OK, I can get rooms for 100 Dollars, but these places do
not feel good to me, and I trust my instincts that value was
not there.
OK� I give up, I will go to Thailand and head for Vietnam
and the Philippines again. I spent 300 Dollars U.S. in 3 days
and this beat me up, I am not a millionaire and nobody sends
the dollar as the whole world wants something for nothing.
But I am doing good now as I am in Germany living for free
for a week and Germany even seems lots cheaper and more
organized than Italy. London is good, but they really pound you.
Before I try Europe I will arrange BEFORE I come a room
for a month at 300 Euros a fair price or know where I can
buy a van. India is better than this type of crap.
Why does world want to plan every minute of every day?
That is not freedom, I think we have lost the plot.
I feel like I am in a hurry to go nowhere,
and I have no idea why?
I fly to Thailand on the seventh of June.
I did finally put up all the photos.
BOTTOM LINES.
You need to buy a car in Europe or the USA, to say you
know the countries, or rent a room and LIVE.
PLUS you never have to walk for miles or kilometers in
the cheap countries, how could a person get fat in Europe?
They have to walk, it is not a choice.
Today�s tip
EUROPE TRAIN TIPS
Just another day in Paradise!
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE...
Be a Hobo, and leave your mark.
X
Hobotraveler.com was HERE!
Life is good.
The Hobotraveler.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Article written by Andy the Hobotraveler.com
On year 7 of Hobo trip around the world.
Budget Travel, Jobs, and Adventure, etc
Subscribe to Free Newsletter at:
http://www.hobotraveler.com
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~ HOBO ECONOMICS 101 -
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~ TODAY�S TRAVEL TIPS
EUROPE TRAIN TIPS
I do not know Europe.
I do not know European the trains of Europe, but I have
collected some quickie
hints from my latest train torture.
PROBLEM 1 ***********************
The sign or marquee does not have your city listed.
SOLUTION:
I am standing around in the train station of Florence Italy
looking at the signs
change arrivals and departure. I have
a ticket to Venice, Italy and I am waiting
for Venice or
Venencia or whatever the spelling is in the Italian language.
It
is getting closer and closer to the departure time, but
the city of Venice is
not listed.
Why?
THEY LIST THE FINAL DESTINATION OF THE TRAIN
It was something like Wien ?, which means Vienna, Austria
as best I can tell.
Now most of you will say,
�Ask someone.�
What do you think I am stupid,
�It was night and the train station had nobody to ask, I
finally found two
policeman that helped just before the train
came. They spoke terrible English an
my Italian is worst,
but in the muddle I got on the right train.
SECOND SOLUTION - The marquee does not list my city?
If you get a ticket with changes or multiple stops, or really
any type of ticket
you must know the FINAL DESTINATION,
so as impatient as they may be at the
information office or
in the ticket like you must force them to tell you the
final
destination. There are some train books available that will
list all the
trains, I think one is by �Thomas Cook.�
PROBLEM 2 ***********************
How do I know when to get off?
SOLUTION:
TIME, the time on your ticket is almost the only way to
know, so far the
conductor is always missing in my experience.
But you need to keep saying the
city �TALK OUT-LOUD
TO THE CROWD.� I want you to find people that will help
you,
sometimes the only way to do this is to just start saying
the city as best you
can in the proper language, or possibly
pointing a map, soon you will have
someone adopt you and
guide you to the end, or follow another person that is
leaving
at the same stop. I get adopted by the locals on a regular basis.
PROBLEM 3 ***********************
I am hungry!
SOLUTION;
You need to bring water and you should bring some food,
the trains just do not
seem to have food, and they never
stop long enough to allow you to buy anything,
they run like
clockwork and this mean the time at transfers are even
too short.
The water is necessity the food is a want. I fill
up the bottles in the
restrooms, as the water in Europe is
normally about as safe as the bottle water.
PROBLEM 4 ***********************
Why are people punching tickets into machines?
ANSWER:
As a person leaves a station you may see them punching
the TIME on the card,
this tell the conductor information,
and normally you have a certain amount of
time to arrive
at your final destination, so maybe you would say the ticket
is a
PASS more than a ticket.
PROBLEM 5 ***********************
FIRST class, SECOND class, ECONOMY?
Who know how they decide or how they are marked, I only
know that they smoke on
trains sometimes and that can
be annoying. I can never really find help in
boarding the
train, but you do not know what to do?
SOLUTION:
STAY ON THE TRAIN AND SIT DOWN
You do not speak the language, the whole country thinks
you should understand
the train, you think they are rude.
So just give back what they give and sit
down in a seat,
you will be surprised how quickly someone can help you,
but the
last thing you should do is stand around outside
the train if totally confuse,
get on the train or you will
miss the train.
PROBLEM 6 ***********************
You do not speak the language.
SOLUTION:
Just talk and forget this is a problem, force them to come
to grips with
speaking your language, do NOT pretend or
try to speak a language you cannot
speak. Keep talking
your native language or learn the universal travel language
of English. The conductor, the ticket sales office know that
English is the
language of the world, and they would love to
keep you confused. SPEAK ENGLISH
and be pushy.
PROBLEM 7 ***********************
Nobody is available to help.
SOLUTION:
Travel during the daylight hours. 9-4
Europeans do not work much and especially do not want to
work at night, so
travel between 9-4 during the day, and be
careful around lunch as they take a
two hour lunch. Do not
be logical about this, you need help, and do not think
that
service is the same as the USA, they are not going to go
out of there way,
in fact they will treat you just about the same
as you would expect to be
treated in New York City.
PROBLEM 8 ***********************
The train door is not open.
SOLUTION:
There sometimes is a button next to the door you need to
push, just good to know
that they do not always open
automatically.
PROBLEM 9 ***********************
I am too frustrated, I do not speak the language and people are rude.
SOLUTION:
Book a tour!
Europe is one of the most difficult places in the world to
travel as you MUST
have a reservation, and there is no
one to help. So book a tour and avoid the
headaches.
I personally will not pretend to be a cow, but it is a very
good solution. My
solution is to either buy a car or to try
to book a room for one month. There is
nothing convenient
about Europe, in any of the undeveloped rooms of the world
I
can grab a taxi to my hotel for 2-5 dollars U.S, and if there
is not room, he
will surely have a brother, uncle, or cousin
with a Hotel. Plus supply and
demand is allowed in other
countries so they have rooms.
PROBLEM 10 ***********************
I cannot find a room.
SOLUTION:
Leave, sleep on the train.
The train is cheaper than rooms and easier, but to get
a shower is a problem,
you will find that nobody can find
a room, so they often have SHOWERS in the
train
station, and LOCKERS to store your bag. It is totally feasible
to never
book a room in Europe, but to stop in a city and
walk around see the sites,
store your bags in a locker
during the day, take a shower and leave that night.
Yo I be Hobo.
By far Europe is the most difficult place I have ever traveled.
I must walk
because I cannot afford a taxi, the rooms are
over-booked, and they pride
themselves in not wanting to
talk English, then treat you like you are stupid
because do
not understand or know everything already.
I know that is a tough and harsh comment, but if I am to enjoy
Europe, I have to
stop being delusional that this place is easy.
Europe is very beautiful and the
people can be wonderful,
but until you accept that you must deal with certain
problems.
About the maximum time a person can travel in Europe
enjoyably is
probably one month, it is not a place for travelers,
unless they are not the
shoestring variety, but the rich parents
type. The guidebooks like Lonely Planet
are almost worthless
as they do not show you how to live on a shoestring,
but
just say, pay and enjoy it.
But for you Hoboes, learn the trains and there you can
always hop a train.
Just another day in Paradise!
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE...
Be a Hobo, and leave your mark.
X Hobotraveler.com was HERE!
Life is good.
The Hobotraveler.com
As always, these are suggestions. Please realize I am
giving guidance, and there are always other opinions.
�One mans paradise, is another mans hell�
This way we do not all go to the same place.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Article written by Andy the Hobotraveler.com
On year 7 of Hobo trip around the world.
Budget Travel, Jobs, and Adventure, etc
Subscribe to Free Newsletter at:
http://www.hobotraveler.com
You may publish this article for Free
on the internet If this box stays attached.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
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~ EXTREME HOBO TRAVEL -
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SCOTTS BIKE TRIP AROUND THE WORLD
Archives of Scotts Story
Note: Send recommendations for next
"Extreme Hobo Traveler" for newsletter to follow.
Write Andy a HoboTraveler.com
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TODAY�S TIP FROM THE
�Peanut Gallery� -
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Fun tips - Here's a little tip from me, to you,
as an experienced traveler.
Religious Shrines are the number one tourist
attraction, say a prayer when you enter,
better to hedge your bets.
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~ HOBO QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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COMMENT OR QUESTION:
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hey, u sound a bit depressed? are u?
u are alone? but u travel around
by yourself for seven years
now.... arent u used to being alone by now?
sounds really sad!
I am quite busy here ... working...
... ... bye.. andrea
ANSWER:
Hmmm, do you think people in Solitary Confinement
get used to being alone? I suppose I am confortable
with being by myself, but I do not like it.
Sort of a silly question, like somehow a person
can really stop making mistakes or possible
they will always be happy, just does not happen.
Thanks
Andy HoboTraveler.com
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COMMENT OR QUESTION:
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Just went to UK last year and stumbled across a unique experience.
In the town of Moffett (up thar in Scotland), on my way up to
Ben Nevis (a great mountain to climb - from 0 - 4,000 feet),
we stopped for some tea and a break. At the end of town,
on the left, there is a pottery studio.
We went in to find a man as mad as a hatter... he led us into
the back to show us his working studio (in the front, he sells
= his wares whilst blaring christian music) and proceeded to
tell us his pyramid theory. On the back of an American dollar
bill is the pyramid (look at a dollar) and at the top of the pyramid
is where (he claims) the president, George Bush, and other
major leaders of the world will meet to invite Satan to take
over the world. :) It took us a while to politely exit
(there WAS a hatchet hanging by the door), but man - what a nutter!
Wish we had had more forethought and could have had
some real fun with the guy. ;)
Was such a unique bit, thought you'd want to check it
out for fun's sake if you have the time.
cheers,
an avid reader,
desiree
ANSWER:
Hello Desiree,
I was looking forward to meeting the crazy guy.
Maybe next time.
There is a fascination in the world for the str
Click on REPLY to write with questions.
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~ HOBO GOSSIP and/or Jaded Remarks
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Genetically the Americans are fat.
Those genes come from Europe.
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HELP ANDY'S TRAVEL!
My wish list of things to help me travel.
I want to buy this travel gear.
http://www.hobotraveler.com/helpandy.shtml
HELP Andy's Grammar
http://www.hobotraveler.com/helpandygrammar.shtml
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"Thank you, Lord, for thinkin'
'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."
I�m alive and doing fine.�
Song by: Five Man Electrical Band
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MY APOLOGY - If I do not reply quickly or
forget. I am sorry. Please write again. I do reply
to all well mannered e-mails. I try my best and
do want to talk.
CONTACTING THE EDITOR a.k.a. Andy
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