INTERRAILING TIPS FINAL PART

Like all good movie franchises, these parts must come to an end and until I can afford to go travelling again, I won't be offering anymore of my essentially life-saving tips. Although I think if I'm to Eurotrip it again, I might travel further East and end up in St Petersburg or something. 

10) Visit the Tuscan Countryside 

Tuscany could easily be my favourite part of Italy; it's so beautiful, warm and rustic. Rarely when Interrailing do you get the chance to actually stay in a rural part of the country as it's almost always a city-hopping journey. However, I Implore you to stay in the Countryside. Take the opportunity to go on a long evening walk through sunflower fields or through the vineyards if possible. We stayed in a small hotel just outside of Siena, that had amazing views of sun bleached plains and scatterings of old Italian lodgings, it was a welcome break from the madness of city life that we had endured for the past month. 

Beautiful Tuscany!

11) Prepare yourself for lack of efficiency that is Europe's subway systems.

We are truly blessed with the tube in London and I'm not saying this in an ironic way at all I promise, despite the issues I sometimes have with the Overground. Trains in Europe however, are completely different. Experiencing the subway in Rome for example was one of the most confusing experiences of my life. Trying to work out how to get from A to B, even if A is the Colosseum and B is the Trevi Fountain, is like trying to find a needle- no wait, HALF a needle in a haystack. However, I would like to give the City Council of Barcelona a medal for the most refreshingly air conditioned subway system in Europe. It was also very clean,  nice one Barca!

Ah super-helpful Barcelona...

12) Know your Alcohol

Apart from food, regional alcohol is such a treat and it's important to know what is on offer out there. Obviously there are the basics: drink beer in Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic and Austria and drink wine in: Italy, France and parts of Spain. Personally, I'm a big fan of Weissbeer (blonde beer) so I went straight for the Leffe in Belgium and the Erdinger in Austria. There's also this really amusing stuff called Kwak in Belgium, that comes in a weird horn-shaped glass. It's called Kwak as it makes a sloppy duck-quacking noise when you drink out of it! Also don't miss out on; jugs of Sangria and beach-mojitos in Spain and visiting at least one Schanppery in Vienna. Things to you could easily miss out on: limoncello (bleugh) and this weird pale green drink in Paris; it's not absinthe it tastes gross and minty, absinthe just tastes of fire in the belly. 

13) Be Cautious with Souvenirs

When Interrailing, you have limited space, obviously some space may have freed up from losing a few pairs of pants but for the most part you are limited to what you can buy. Therefore, it's important not to get carried away with souvenir buying. For example, buying a huge hat in Disneyland Paris is NOT a good idea, you will never wear it again and it doesn't even look good on you. Bringing back food and drink is also fine, but only near the end of the trip, you don't want a smelly chorizo stinking out your bag. I ended up buying a gorgeous watercolour of the Ponte Veccio, but I wouldn't advise buying a painting. A friend of mine bought a couple of postcard sized paintings, which is a much better idea! I love the picture, but I spent half of my train trips worrying someone would dump their bag on it and crumple it. 

I look like a Bell. Frau Bell

I love Bier

14) Take Tupperware/ Hostels with Buffets my friend

Hostels will not like me saying this, but if they offer a cheap dinner buffet or a breakfast buffet, exploit them. Tupperware is great in this sense, you can fit at least a few bread rolls, meats and cheeses in there at breakfast. And at dinner, a pasta salad will go down a treat for lunch the next day. We stayed at some great places that offered buffets as an inclusive price and it's sad to say how excited we got at the prospect of unlimited food, but you will understand what i mean when you yourself experience this. 

Tupperware AND Cards?!?

Barca again. I just love it a lot.

15) LASTLY enjoy yourself (obviously)

If you're cooped up with a few people for a specific length of time, your bound to have some disagreements or at least get a little sick of eachothers faces. But it's important to remember to enjoy yourself and remember that you may not get to do this again. Re-direct your angsty energy into an energetic picture of you jumping HSM-style in front of the Bridge of Sighs and just have a great time travelling across Europe!

Thanks to Mikki for some of the piccy's! Hehe