And from Amsterdam we went to Den Haag.
And from Den Haag to Paris.
To Barcelona.
To Nimes (which was an accident, more of that later).
To Venice.
To Lljubljana.
To Bovec.
To Krakow.
To Prague.
And while it was an absolutely amazing experience, as three novice travellers we made a LOT of mistakes. Pretty much every mistake you can make, actually, from booking hostels on the wrong day to accidentally hanging around waiting for a night bus in a well-known red light district. So, for those of you off on your own adventures, first of all, lucky you. And second of all, here are some of the things I learned on my Gap Three Weeks. Take heed.
1. Learn about exchange rates. In Krakow, we didn't understand that 25zl equal 1 Euro. So you can understand our embarrassment when we got 40zl out of a cashpoint then galavanted about town expecting to live like kings.
2. READ THE SMALL PRINT ON YOUR TICKET. In a manouvere I don't think I will ever understand, I ripped off part of my ticket before going because I thought it was a questionaaire (yes, really. And no, I don't know why). Turns out that without part, the same part that was lying on my bedside table some 230 miles away my quote: 'ticket becomes invalid' end quote. Trust me, that is not a fun fact to be dealing with when you're nursing an Amsterdam sized hangover.
3. Pretending to be asleep on trains doesn't get you out of paying. They'll just shake you right awake.
4. Invest in a sleeping bag. Some of the hostels are pretty grim, and the only thing you want to catch when you're away is the travel bug.
5. Be prepared to sleep in some pretty strange places. Some of my personal highlights included pitching a tent on a train platform (seriously, very good idea) and a rather unforgettable night in Nimes. We'd spent a day trying to get from Barcelona to Marseille, but ended up stranded in Nimes when trains stopped running. Our initial plan? Just stay out all night and get the first train home. That was soon scuppered when we realised that tumbleweed wouldn't look out of place blowing around Nimes town centre. So, we set of trying to find a bed for the night. Several 'no vacancies' and '150 euros a night' later, we found ourselves in a cat-themed hotel. And after some VERY jammy convincing, ended up with an, shall we say, ususual set up. A woman staying in the hotel was on her own, but had booked a room for four people. No word of a lie, we ended up sharing her a room with her. Her in one bed, two of us in another, three in a double and one on the floor (we'd picked up three other backpackers on our way). She didn't speak a word of English. We don't speak French. She woke up every hour on the hour to have a cigarette. We were a bit drunk off beer and exhaustion. One of the more awkward nights of my life...
6. Read a map. In Barcelona station, we saw a sign about international trains saying: "Zurich, Venica, Talgo." So, we marched up to the ticket office, and asked for three reservations to Talgo. Instead of reservations, we got a blank stare. So I continued: "I think its in Switzerland." The ticket lady burst out laughing. It was out turn to look blank. Once she'd calmed down she told us that Talgo is actually not a Swiss holiday destination, but a type of train. To put it into perspective, that would be like an English person asking to go to Arriva. Not my finest hour.
7. Go to places you would never usually visit. In fact, go to Slovenia. It may not sound it, but it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. See for yourself.
8. If you're planning on going to Barcelona, go there last. Seriously, that place is harder to get out of than Alcatraz.
9. The train journeys can be really long. Use your time wisely. Like us? We decided to write a rap about our travels to the tune of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme tune. Things are much funnier on 24 hours with no sleep.
10. Sounds cheesy, but above all just relax and enjoy yourself. Things might not always go to plan but you can guarantee you'll end up in some pretty amazing places.
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