Student Travel – Backpacking In Europe

By Nomadrick Chapo

For the fortunate few, life isn’t complete without a
backpacking trip through Europe. This right of passage is
believed to further the maturation process of college students,
according to sociologists. Of course, others have opined that
copious amounts of alcohol, sun and Amsterdam have something to
do with it. Regardless of your purpose, you still have to figure
out what to take.

Backpack – Getting In Touch With Your Inner Mule

Obviously, the first critical item is your backpack. While one
doesn’t need to buy the $10,000 Himalaya Turbo Pack, you should
also avoid the $12 blue light special. So, how do you pick a
happy middle ground?

The best method for picking a backpack involves three phone
books. Select/swipe/borrow three yellow page books from
neighbors/friends/enemies and hit your local sporting goods
store. With the books, head to the backpackapalozza section of
the store and pick out a few sturdy/cool/outrageous rigs. Stuff
the phone books in, adjust the straps and go for a walk. Now
break out into a run to simulate future dashes for trains/
ferries/ toilets and make the sales people nervous. These steps
should quickly reveal the perfect pack.

Now, you may have read other publications suggesting highly
technical ways to select a backpack. Trust me, until you have
run for the last ferry from Italy to Greece, you have no idea
how to pick a pack. The three phone book test solves this
nicely.

What To Take

There are a few mantras that every person should chant before
packing for Europe. These chants were developed originally by
the little known, Oh-My-Back Monks of Southeast Asia. The “OMB”
Monks were known for traveling half way to far off cities,
turning around, returning home and then traveling the full way
to said cities. Religious experts opined as to the deep
metaphysical meaning of such trips. They were later embarrassed
when the monks revealed the back and forth nature of the trips
was due to forgetting something, often whether they had turned
off the iron. Nonetheless, such chants have become the guiding
light of experienced backpackers.

Let us slowly and clearly chant together,

“I will pack only that which will not result in me being
hunched over like a Sherpa.”

“Remember, I can pick it [(lower voice) toothpaste, book, soap]
up over there.”

“I will not stuff thy pack to the point of bursting, for thy
damn zippers always break/get snagged/refuse to work.”

“I will learn humility through wearing incredibly wrinkled
clothes and shall not bring an iron.”

“I shall bring only one guide book, not one for each country
that I MIGHT see.”

“I accept that I will come home wearing something I didn’t take
and will have lost/traded/burned much of what I did take.”

For female travelers and, okay, the occasional male,

“I will not bring high heels or a gaggle of make-up.”

Admittedly, chanting these mantras will not bringing you
immediate enlightenment. Fret, not. You can always throw items
away or send them home in a box to your parents/friends/parole
officer. For the resourceful backpacker, it is not unheard of to
send particularly smelly/discolored/toxic clothing to an
ex-girlfriend/ex-boyfriend/little brother. Follow these
practical guidelines and you will soon happily be speaking in a
loud voice to make foreigners understand you.

The Evidence

This is the hard part for most travelers to wrap their minds
around. You will forget those special moments of your trip when
you met the hunk Sven or babe Svenetta from Sweden and had a
romantic evening/danced the night away/got arrested in
Ios/Ibiza/the airport. Maybe not immediately, but you will
eventually forget.

You will also forget or lose the contact information of people
you meet, despite meticulously writing it down on the back of a
coaster/napkin/your hand in a bar/poetry reading/jail at three
in the morning. Surprisingly, said coaster/napkin/hand often
survive the night/day/weekend and get deposited in your already
trashed backpack. Of course, their presence is often forgotten
when you later put a Oktoberfest mug/wet towel/toothbrush in.
The extra padding at the bottom of your pack is specifically
designed to deal with the decomposing result. Still, the
information is gone and so is your future with Sven/Svenetta.

To properly record the magical moments of your trip, you must
take a diary or journal. Don’t worry, you can burn it later
before you get married/your parents get nosey/you have kids. You
want a journal in a water/beer/sweat resistant case. Of course,
I prefer a Nomad Travel Journal, but just make sure you take
something. When you have some extra time in the bus/train/jail
cell, you can record how you got there and the people you met.

Trust me, when you, Sven/Svenetta and your nine children are
sitting on the porch 10 years later, you will greatly enjoy
reading your journal. Of course, that assumes you didn’t burn
it.

About the Author: Rick Chapo is with
http://www.nomadjournals.com - Preserve the experience with
writing journals for traveling, hiking, rock climbing, fly
fishing, bird watching and more. Check out
http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read more travelogues and
articles.

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