why europe? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**buzzingtalk** · 06-26-2007, 09:02 AM

or while were on the subject, why do you choose to travel the places you do?

i wanna know what people see in europe. it seems to be the most popular destination out of anywhere else...what is it about europe that attracts ro many people?

as a european it dosent really do anthing to me, but maybe this is becuase im so accustomed to the southeast asian way of life and travel i dont think i can turn back now.

**simply_angelic** · 06-26-2007, 09:52 AM

I think for a lot of people (or at least for me) it's the history. Europe was developed really early & really fast so there is just SO MUCH to see culturally. Also, there's a lot of different cultures jam packed into one tiny continent so it definitely has variety. For me, I chose it for my first backpacking trip for the reasons mentioned above & the fact that it is relatively easy to navigate, I was going solo for the first time anywhere, it's a lot safer than many places and I was a young female. I wanted to start off easy then build. I'm really glad I did it as my first trip, now I'm more into the developing world, so we'll see how that goes... Africa 6 months and counting!

**mbo108** · 06-26-2007, 10:48 AM

I agree with the Simple Angle's sentiments above. I also have a few ideas that are stupid and should not even be considered.

For Americans, so much of our k-12 history education is tied to learning about events in Europe that we end up gaining much more sense of the continent's past than other places. Sure we cover ancient Egypt for a month, maybe discuss something about ancient Chinese dynasties or the Vietnam war here and there, but we have Europe jammed down our throats. Kind of an Anglo-Saxon/Caucasian thing because so many teachers were (and in some places still) are predominantly white. Also, the majority of American backpackers I've met are white and perhaps they want to see where their families came from, etc. Real cultural diversity didn't become hip or accepted overall in the States until a generation or two ago.

Oh man, i think i went off and if i said something insensitive or idiotic excuse me. I'm at work.

**lauren313** · 06-26-2007, 11:55 AM

I'm with you, Sarah, Europe really doesn't do much for me. I know that there is so much more out there for me to discover in Europe, but I just feel I would much prefer to spend my time going to other places.

I've been to quite a few places in Europe, either with friends/boyfriend on short trips, or for the annual summer holiday with my parents. I think what it might be is that I feel I've "overdone" places like Spain, because I've been there so many times with my parents (my parents love it there, and are actually having a house built over there). Although I know I've only seen a tiny part of Spain, I've grown rather bored of what I have seen, and it's left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, if you know what I mean?

Unfortunately, at this time, I don't have the funds to travel further afield than Europe, but at least there are many varied places to visit. You'll always manage to find somewhere to suit your own tastes there, I guess.

hurr111 · 06-26-2007, 05:53 PM

For me Europe was my choice because of the ease of getting there and around. This is also my first trip like this and I wanted to see how I would do out on my own in a foreign land before heading to other places that have a much bigger change in their culture.

My ideal trip would be to do some type of volunteer work with the people in places like South East Asia, South America, or Africa.

**joe7f** · 06-26-2007, 06:01 PM

When most people learn to swim they start in the shallow end.

Europe is the shallow end of the international traveling swimming pool for North Americans. I don't mean that in a derogatory way at all; people that learn how to swim will still spend time in the shallow end

Speaking as someone who within the past two years started looking beyond Western Europe for potential travel (but not overlooking it) I can give you my reasons.

Most people don't know anything about Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Bhutan and if it wasn't for a war, Vietnam would be in the same boat. By contrast, Europe has a familiar feel. Even if you have never set foot in the UK, if you are transported to Picadilly Circus or you awake in Venice you will know exactly where you are. Ditto for Paris and Rome. If you take the typical London Paris Rome tour, you know what you are going to see before hand, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the L'ourve, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Spanish Steps, the Parthenon, the Colloseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican and more.

Sure part of that overall desirability is due to the history and safety as MBO and Laura suggested, but I think even more than that, Europe represents something somewhat exotic to most of us on this side of the pond. We view things differently, and I don't just mean politics. Mass transit to me means a bus if you are lucky. To Europeans it is riding trains, subways, buses, street cars, and ferries. Little things are different. Something like being able to walk to a bakery (something I can't do safely) or riding a train is a novelty that you all take for granted. We make a big deal out of a 100 year old building and a 20 year old restaurant which is "just beginning to get broken in" elsewhere.

I remember being in Austria and a woman said she wanted to visit the US because to her it was never reallly "real' it was just the big place from the TV. Which is sort of how I thought of Europe (and the rest of the world for that matter). It's not until you visit some place that it becomes tangible. When someone mentions Tokyo, I conjure up a specific image based on experience. When someone mentions Beijing, I just flatly imagine the Forbidden City, the big photo of Mao but nothing that brings it home. That will change in 14 months.

I have totally forgotten how unnerving it can be to travel to a new place. When I have told people that I went by myself to Europe and Japan there were a few that were shocked like I underwent a true adventure and am a gutsy guy. Perhaps it is being here for too long where Tpunks seem normal, but I couldn't for the life of me understand that. However, if your vacations are to Disney World, the beach, or something like that perhaps even London can feel distant and foreign.

Combine all of that with the vast array of things that you can see, do, eat and drink and you have why Europe is backpacking mecca for us while understandably, it is just routine fun for you all. There are still tons of places here I haven't seen in the US (the Grand Canyon, California, Vegas, Boston etc) but they feel more accessible for short trips later. For now, I need to be in another country, speaking other languages, eating odd foods in order to feel like I am traveling rather than simply vacationing. And likely, you do as well

--Joey

**joe7f** · 06-26-2007, 06:04 PM

double post

--Joey

**buzzingtalk** · 06-26-2007, 09:37 PM

ahh what you said joe, made me realise why im not too interested in travelling the west. becuase i know what im going to see. old buildings, cathedrals and churches, expensive food and familiar things even though ive never been there. i think its the element of knowing things so much before i go, for me it takes the element of surprise out. mayber its becuase my first major trip was to asia, which is a competley different world to the west, this must have set the travelling standard within me. the places i really yearn to go a places like india, africa, the arctic...places where you are kicked in the backside by a completley different way of life from the west. i dont really have a big desire to travel america, europe...ive been to both places and i find the west can be a bit repetitive after a while...especially having grown up there. but thats my story anyways!

one day i will travel europe, the second thing that puts me of is money, its cheaper to fly to asia and backpack there then to travel europe. one day when im a bit richer ill drive around europe in a camper van. but until then ill have to continue to be amamzed at the number of people flocking to places like london and paris!

**IDDQD** · 06-26-2007, 11:01 PM

I was thinking about going to Europe first but I guess only by default. Thats what people around me did. Finished college and went to Europe.

The more I looked into things I found out what I was really interested in. So instead I went across the other ocean to Taiwan. Im waay more interested in SE Asia than Europe right now. Europe seems like itd be great but this place just surprises me every single day and Im not sure i'd get that in western civiliazation.

**expatben** · 06-27-2007, 01:30 AM

Personally I love traveling around Europe. Each country can be so different and there is always something new to see.

**lilwings** · 06-27-2007, 01:30 PM

I always felt like certain parts of Europe were my Spiritual Homeland. I know, it's cheesey, but it's true. I might travel places, but the minute I step off the train in Germany and it's home (partly because it was that way for 3 years).

I think joe7F is right. Europe is easily recognizable. Glossy prints of the pryamids at the Louvre, screen savers of the Eiffel Tower, mugs in Walmart with Neuschwanstein castle are all over the place. Every American is raised with the picture of Europe in their heads. (My very own view of Rome was black and white like Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn).

SE Asia is distant. It's mysterious. It's a little stinky. It's hot and muggy. It's the collective nightmare of thousands of men trapped in impregnable jungles surrounded by black pajamas. You say SE Asia to someone on the streets in Nashville or New York or New Haven... the subconscious flashes to an image of red dirt, elephant grass, temples, and lines of soldiers walking in the distance. We know that it's not correct and incredibly ignorant, but it's the first thought.

Mystery draws some people. Familiar draws others.

*and here is my philosophical statement* It's whatever makes you happy.

**joe7f** · 06-27-2007, 01:48 PM

Quote:

*and here is my philosophical statement* It's whatever makes you happy.

Well said!

--Joey

**BelfastFlyer** · 06-27-2007, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzingtalk

or while were on the subject, why do you choose to travel the places you do?

i wanna know what people see in europe. it seems to be the most popular destination out of anywhere else...what is it about europe that attracts ro many people?

as a european it dosent really do anthing to me, but maybe this is becuase im so accustomed to the southeast asian way of life and travel i dont think i can turn back now.

I'm not a big fan of europe, to be honest I can go anytime I want for the weekend so I guess it's different having it on your door step.

Why do i pick where i go? Well, I love america (it's a country that has everything you could want from a holiday) and south america just I love the people....

**noke_travel** · 06-27-2007, 08:02 PM

i guess the grass is always greener.

from a traveling standpoint, it's a short flight from the east coast of the us, there are the best and cheapest (except maybe for london) public transport systems, you can cover several countries, languages and cultures in a semi-compact distance and for many north american's it's our ancestorial home. we're a nation of immigrants so we all have a certain level of connection to our original 'homeland'

i don't know i'm just kind of theorizing.

a 2 week trip in europe can be had for the cost of a flight to malaysia and for people from the land of walmart, it's just as exotic.

funny example(for all the brits): a friend of mine from rural virginia who was studying in london for a two-week seminar and i met up the last time i was in the uk visiting family. he suggested a place to go for dinner. the whole way there he kept raving about this 'hidden gem' of a very upscale italian bistro. he kept raving about how amazing the food was here and how he was sure it was the best kept secret in tooting and how he was loving the london culinary scene. After about 15 minutes of walking, we arrived. it was a fucking pizza express.

i know, a bit off topic, but i love the story.

**freespiritz** · 06-27-2007, 08:17 PM

The whole familiarity thing is precisely why I have no desire to backpack (Western) Europe. I'll get there some day (will be spending a semester in Italy soon enough) and I know it will be a monkey barrel of fun when I do, but for now part of it is also quiet snobbery if you will - blatantly not doing the Eurotripper thing, just because it's the thing to do, which means that obviously I don't want to do it, lol.

When I pick out a trip I tend to be very budget-oriented, which explains my romping around South-East Asia and now Central America (and picking the three cheapest countries in the region, hah). I also like to pick places that I know will hit me with unfamiliarity because travel is my means of educating myself about regions that I know nothing about, although right now I kind of feel like a dose of familiarity would be nice.

Other than that I just choose places that pop up as opportunities arise - kind of like doing China because it was a good chance to go with school, and then working in Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand because it was in the region.

**buzzingtalk** · 06-27-2007, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noke_travel

i guess the grass is always greener.

from a traveling standpoint, it's a short flight from the east coast of the us, there are the best and cheapest (except maybe for london) public transport systems, you can cover several countries, languages and cultures in a semi-compact distance and for many north american's it's our ancestorial home. we're a nation of immigrants so we all have a certain level of connection to our original 'homeland'

i don't know i'm just kind of theorizing.

a 2 week trip in europe can be had for the cost of a flight to malaysia and for people from the land of walmart, it's just as exotic.

funny example(for all the brits): a friend of mine from rural virginia who was studying in london for a two-week seminar and i met up the last time i was in the uk visiting family. he suggested a place to go for dinner. the whole way there he kept raving about this 'hidden gem' of a very upscale italian bistro. he kept raving about how amazing the food was here and how he was sure it was the best kept secret in tooting and how he was loving the london culinary scene. After about 15 minutes of walking, we arrived. it was a fucking pizza express.

i know, a bit off topic, but i love the story.

aaahhh that story is funny!! i thought pizza express was an american thing?
i guess id need to travel the US more to understand europe from a tourist perspective; i understand europe from the asian perspective - mostly out of bounds cos its too damn expensive. but otherwise my freinds here are fascinated with it, if anything even scared by it becuase it seems so different.

my few freinds from the US have never left that country. yet one of them says she is a traveller - i didnt understand this til she told me about going on a trip around the US for a year. coming from a little island called britain i have no understanding of the scale of america, ive been there once but i was only 11 and too young to appreciate real america. i cant imagine backpacking in england for a year, my idea of a trip is far away from the familiar!

**MeTurk** · 06-28-2007, 06:24 AM

I must be the only European that loves the place.

It's a very friendly and open place to travel around, or at least it's gotten that way in recent years. Even the remote places are used to meeting travelers. We've gone through our wars and are genuinely prepared to get along at this stage. It's easy to get around and always fun and despite being very familiar no matter where I've gone in Europe I've always learnt something new. We're so well set up and used to tourists at times it's a bit like one giant Disneyland but that's not necessarily a bad.

Being European makes traveling around Europe easy. It's so easy and cheap your practically encouraged to travel I like the EU and the sense of European community it creates. I plan to visit every country in the EU and that could take me a long time .

**DC_Jessica** · 06-28-2007, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BelfastFlyer

Well, I love america (it's a country that has everything you could want from a holiday) and south america just I love the people....

lots and lots, BF!

I loooooove this country. And not in a weird, Texan, local militia-joining, immigrant-bashing way. I just think there is so much to see and do, and honestly, it sucks that you *don't* get your passport stamped when you cross state to state because they are all SO DIFFERENT. We have so much intense nature and quirky festivals and interesting architecture. I confess, I was an "elitist" for a while, not really being all that interested in Europe, much less the US (which is even harder to sell on people who love the exotic).

But now I'm really interested in looking closer to home, and Portugal is moving up on my top list of next destinations (maybe it's all those Portugal - Land of the Explorers ads in my Metro stations!!), as is stuff like the Grand Canyon and all our national parks. For most Americans, old stuff is so thrilling because our architectural history is a baby compared to Europe and elsewhere. But I'm becoming a big fan of the new...and the extremely old (rock formations, petrified forests, deserts!). Soo...that's "why Europe?" for me, anyway.

And I

when anyone from somewhere else says they like America too because it's so ubiquitous to not be interested traveling here. I have actually had someone (a Spanish someone) say to my face "Oh, DC, yeah I've been there, it's nothing" when I told him where I was from. And we got along later (took me a bit, though

), and he seriously didn't mean to insult me. I think the comment was just like, "well, everyone knows your country sucks, so criticizing it isn't personal, it's fact."

**lilwings** · 06-28-2007, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzingtalk

my few freinds from the US have never left that country. yet one of them says she is a traveller - i didnt understand this til she told me about going on a trip around the US for a year.

That's so dead-to-rights on the mark! I love it. To truly appreciate another culture, you sometimes have to understand your own. I love travelling around the States, especially with people like that.

Don't get me wrong, Vietnam and Cambodia are on the spring travel schedule for next year (when I'll have enough leave days saved). I can't wait to go. Yet, I travel SE Asia for the same reasons that I travel Western and Eastern Europe: the little discoveries.

Granted, it's not the mad bragging rights of saying that you ate the still-beating heart of cobra in Vietnam (stole that from Anthony Bourdain, by the way), but it's a pretty cool memory to look back on (when you were watching a town soccer game in some Unter-Franken town in Germany with the locals, drinking a heffe brewed in the town brewery... which is 1200 years old, by the way).

**tumblezweedz** · 06-29-2007, 12:08 AM

I don't think it's uncommon to either ignore or scorn the place that is most familiar to you - how many of us are ever tourists in our own cities? Even in cities with tons to offer, you meet people (myself included for a long time) who have never visited their local attractions, though they might spend their holidays going to other "exotic" places to see the exact same kind of thing that they might see at home. Or to sit drinking by the pool. We only went to local tourist spots when we had company in town, and I didn't see many of the more far-flung sights until I became a tour guide in Vancouver. I think it's human nature to take the attitude "it's always here, I can see it any time", but whatever's "out there" - the exotic, the unknown - has a siren song.

So for me, it's not remotely surprising that Europeans often have a blase attitude toward their continent. Now that I'm a big girl, I've had the amazing experience of traveling and living on several different continents, in several different countries - including my own. And by experiencing the others, I've come to appreciate that which is good, and recognize that which is flawed, about my own.

My first solo trip was to Europe, though I opted for the rather less conventional approach, beginning my travels in Poland and the then USSR; so for me, with no applicable language skills or family connections there, it wasn't exactly the shallow end (I love that description, very apt).

After over a month in eastern Europe, at the time just recently having lifted the iron curtain, coming back into western Europe was a major adjustment. I remember savouring reading every single description in the first French museum I visited (in Colmar), just because I finally COULD understand. And I remember feeling utterly panicked in the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, so completely overwhelmed by the sudden presence of consumer goods, and having to get outside and away from it all.

Europe felt like a safe and comfortable option for a single, young Catholic woman from a sheltered background, who spoke French fluently, had spent years reading French and English literature, studying European history and admiring the art and architecture of western civilisation. What that woman learned on that trip, was that she could handle anything that happened to her, and gave her the nerve and the passion to tackle the deeper end.

Like Alabama. Because believe me, if you're from Vancouver and you find yourself in Montgomery, you are in an environment every bit as unfamiliar as a Japanese temple or a Moroccan souk or a Lithuanian marketplace. And every bit as fascinating, exciting and wonderful.

So maybe we can all start looking at Europe as a "gateway drug".