Susan Staley 6/27/22 Susan Staley 6/27/22

Gap Year Travel in Europe on a Budget

By Josie Herring

During the spring portion of my gap year I spent 2 months traveling solo-ish in Europe. Although this was never in my original gap year plan, I had to rearrange my plans quite a few times and it is where I ended up and I am so grateful that I did. This past year was a weird time to take a gap year with ever-changing COVID restrictions, war, and multiple other factors. Not only did I get to learn about the world and myself, but I also learned the importance of going with the flow. I’ve always considered myself to be a flexible person, able to move wherever life takes me but in all honesty, this was a totally different ballgame. I had never traveled alone for so long and I had never left home with no idea when I would come back. In March, I booked a one way plane ticket to Copenhagen and packed up my backpack and took off with minimal plans, a tight budget, and no return flight home. I had plans to meet a friend in Copenhagen and then head to Cadiz, Spain to spend 3 weeks at a Spanish school. From there, I had pretty vague ideas about where I would end up. I found this a little bit stressful at first but as I got into it I realized there was no need to be as worried as I was. As soon as my plane landed in Copenhagen, I was ready to go wherever my feet (and FlixBus) would take me.

Before continuing, I would like to restate that I did this on a pretty strict and pretty much self-funded budget. I spent a lot of my senior year of high school and the summer after graduation working 40+ hours a week between two jobs, as well as picking up odd jobs like dog sitting and babysitting on the side to make my gap year possible. Before departing for this trip, I had moments of weariness. Did I have enough money to actually do this? Would I be able to make it work on my budget? The answers were yes. In total I had around $6000 in savings when I left and ended up using a little over $5000 for the total 2 months of my trip. There were small sacrifices I had to make along the way such as choosing to take a $15 ten hour bus ride over a $40-$50 six hour train ride or spending less on food (by cooking at my hostel rather than eating out every meal) in order to purchase tickets to see things like The Alhambra in Granada or Belem Tower in Lisbon. In the end, it was always worth it. Maybe I was on a bus for ten hours, but hey I got to see the beauty of the Spanish countryside. Maybe I spent a little less on food some days by cooking rather than eating out, but I got to walk around sites filled with history and culture.

Moving on from budgets and finances and to the actual traveling part, it’s safe to say I was pretty nervous going into this trip. I had very minimal experience traveling alone, especially outside of the United States so the idea was pretty daunting at first. I wasn’t solo for my entire trip and met up with friends in a couple different places, but for the majority of the time I was on my own. My main concerns were having to navigate new cities and countries alone and being extremely lonely during the solo portions of my trip. Madrid was the first city I visited by myself and also where I realized there was no need to be as nervous as I was. I immediately made a new friend my first day there and was able to keep doing this for the rest of my trip. Not only did staying primarily in hostels help me to save money but it also allowed me to meet people in every city that I visited. I never felt truly alone because I was constantly meeting new people and spending time exploring new places and experiences with my newfound friends. I even met people that I’m still in contact with and plan to see again even after leaving them behind and returning home.

During my travels across Europe, I saw places I had previously only ever dreamed of visiting. I visited stellar museums in Copenhagen, bustling food markets in Spain, colorful tiled buildings in Portugal, castles in Budapest, and the clearest water I have ever seen in my life in Croatia. I spent a big portion of my trip (3 weeks) at a Spanish school in Cadiz, Spain. I spent each week going to classes in the morning and then exploring the smaller city during my afternoons. Not only was I able to learn and improve at Spanish, but the school also offered cultural activities where we were able to learn about the history and culture of the city and country we were in. I was able to learn and improve my Spanish skills while also getting to form a connection with the city I was in and the people around me. My time at the school prepared me to continue traveling around Spain afterwards as well. I left Cadiz with better (but still not perfect) Spanish and more knowledge about culture and customs in Spain. I found it easier to visit different cities like Granada and Barcelona because I felt as though I was more prepared to communicate and navigate the cities. The rest of my time in Spain was spent visiting centuries old landmarks, art museums such as the Picasso museum in Barcelona, and also eating amazing food. From Spain I headed to Portugal, a country somewhat similar but also totally different from Spain. I spent most of my time in Portugal exploring the most picturesque places such as the Algarve, Jardins do Palácio de Cristal in Porto, and the ancient architecture of Portugal's past.

Originally I planned to only visit Copenhagen, Spain, and Portugal but as time went on I was ready to see something new. I found a cheap round trip flight to Budapest with a return flight from Dubrovnik and less then 48 hours after booking it, I was off to a completely different part of the continent. That spontaneous decision is probably one of the best I made during my entire trip. I got to see historical pieces of Budapest and learn more about Hungarian culture. From Budapest I headed to Zagreb, Croatia where everyone was welcoming and kind. During my first day I did a walking tour (one of my favorite activities in any city I visited) and got to learn about the history of Croatia, Yugoslavia, and some of the awesome things we have today that came out of Croatia (electric light bulbs for example!).

View of the coastline in Split, Croatia — Split, Croatia

By the end of my trip, I felt as though I had left a small piece of my heart in every place I visited. After coming home, everyone asked me my favorite place I went to, my favorite things that I did, my favorite foods that I ate, etc. Those questions were extremely difficult to answer because everywhere I went had something different that I loved. Semana Santa celebrations in Cadiz, the Alhambra in Granada, Park Guell in Barcelona, Rua Augusta Arch in Lisbon, the Jewish quarter of Budapest, the old towns of Croatia, and so much more. It’s impossible to pick a favorite place or favorite thing out of all of these amazing experiences.

In the end, I am extremely grateful I decided to take a gap year and for all the places it took me. I am grateful that all of my plans changed and I ended up in places I never planned to visit this year. I am grateful for all the people I met and the connections I created with people from all across the globe. And finally, I am so grateful that I was able to have the experience of traveling alone for the first time. It gave me a chance to spend more time with myself and really evaluate myself. Every person in life builds their personality from the people they spend the most time around and in a way, our personalities are all just little pieces of each other. Traveling by myself gave me the chance to discover more about who I am and what I want from life without the presence of close friends and family from home. While it’s fun to travel with friends and it’s fun to have people to share our experiences with, it’s also liberating to travel alone and amazing to see how you can develop from doing so.

Josie was the 2021 Recipient of the Free to Roam Adventures Gap Year Counseling Scholarship. For details, or to apply click here.

Susan Staley 10/3/17 Susan Staley 10/3/17

Weekend in Switzerland

I’m not sure why I waited so long to return to Switzerland, but my weekend visit this fall is certainly not going to be my last! People are always asking me which country is my favorite. I tend to have different categories - favorite place for food, outdoor adventure, beach, nightlife, etc. New Zealand, Chile, and the U.S. are among my favorites for outdoor exploration. Switzerland just gave them all a run for their money though - The Jungfrau region is by far the cleanest place I have ever visited (I saw one piece of liter the entire time) plus it is super accessible with public transportation.

I traveled by train from Paris to Interlaken and then from Interlaken to Florence. If you are studying abroad or planning to travel to either place, Interlaken is easy to get to while still being scenic enough to give you a break from the hustle and pollution of the cities. I stayed three nights at an Airbnb in Interlaken. Staying at an Airbnb is one great way to save money, plus I got some great tips from my host. There was a mini-fridge in the room, so I was able to buy groceries for breakfast, snacks, and store left overs. My host provided me with a discount card for travel within the region as well. You will need to take regional trains for day trips into the mountains.

Interlaken was a great home base for exploring the Jungfrau region. You can easily catch a train to surrounding mountain towns. My first full day I took the train to Lauterbrunnen (recommended by my Airbnb host). It was only a 20 minute train ride and return trip cost 11.40 CHF (including a discount with my Eurail pass). You can purchase a ticket at the ticket office in advance or on the train. Be sure to carry some cash with you, if you plan to purchase tickets on board the train or bus. I didn’t have much of a plan, so I allowed myself to become entranced with the beauty of the valley and kept walking what seemed like the entire length of the valley. There are waterfalls along the mountainside and farms selling fresh cheese in vending machines. It was a mostly flat walk from the train station through the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Stechelberg (you can also take a bus).

At Stechelberg I hopped on a cable car up to Murren (8.60 CHF one way). I explored the village, took in the dramatic views from above, grabbed a picnic lunch at a small grocery store, and then decided to walk back down into the valley. The walk from Murren to Gimmelwald is stunning and on a paved path that only takes 30 minutes. If you are fit and enjoy walking, I recommend walking all the way down to the valley. The walk from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg took about 1 1/2 hr (all down hill) on well maintained and marked hiking trails. In Stechelberg I caught a bus (5.40 CHF) back to the Lauterbrunnen train station. This whole day trip took me around 7 hours, though I stoped to take LOTS of photos.

My second full day I took the train from Interlaken to Grindelwald. Grindelwald is about 30 minutes from Interlaken and a roundtrip train ticket cost 18 CHF (with a Eurail pass holder discount). From Grindelwald I decided to walk up to Bort, a steep climb of about one hour on a paved path with stunning views of the town and surrounding snowcapped mountains. You also have the option of taking a cable car to Bort, or further up the mountain to First. At First you can also rent mountain carts to ride down to Bort. This whole region is very touristed, but many tourists don't go far from the cable cars, so you can still enjoy some serene wilderness if you choose to walk rather than ride up and down in the cable car. There are signs at regular intervals and the towns are so small it is really difficult to get lost.

After having a picnic lunch in Bort, rather than following the paved path up to First, I veered off to a wilderness trail and meandered up the mountain a bit further before returning to Grindelwald via different wilderness trails. I didn't really have much of a plan, just went where the views guided me and I was not disappointed. Happy trails!