final thoughts

ok. i guess i've written most of what was in my journal relaying the things i saw and did. but how did i feel about it? what was my favorite thing? would i do it again? before i get to that, let me share a few sidenotes...

restrooms in Europe are called "toilets". if you ask for anything else you're probably going to get a confused look. be sure to take some cents with you because it's highly likely you'll have to pay. some toilets were a set amount like 50 cents or one euro, others were whatever you wanted to put in the tray. a couple of toilets you HAD to pay in order to get in because the money in the slot would open the turnstyle for you to go through. if you didn't pay, you'd have to find a bush outside.

european service stops are really nice. they usually have great eating options with FRESH food in addition to semi-fast and regular fast food. the first stop we went to had a McDonald's and near the end we finally found one with a Burger King ... otherwise, it was just fresh, local food, clean bathrooms, and a convenience store with everything from special pasta, fresh bread, suveniers, and toy trucks.

Contiki had a saying we had to adopt for ourselves ... it's not wrong, it's just different. toilet seats, elevators, anything other than bread for breakfast, and extra room keys are all bonus in Europe ... it's not wrong, just different.

now, to my final thoughts. i had a really great time. doing the whole trip solo was pretty easy, but it would have been much more fun to have a companion to share things with. making friends in the tour eventually got easier as well, after everyone started loosening up. Europe is beautiful and different and fun. Contiki is a great tour group for people aged 18 to 35, depending on your personality ... i had a great time with younger people, but had to find the right people to hang out with. otherwise i would have been drinking/partying much more or i would have been sitting in my room by myself much more. my hope, if i were going to do it again, would be that there are always a few mature people like me in every group.

travelling nearly 5,000 kilometers in 12 days was a crazy plan, and though we succeeded, i didn't see much. sure, i saw TONS of stuff, but most of our time was spent on the coach travelling from one place to the next. by the time we'd get to the destination city of that day it would be late afternoon or early evening and then we might only have 3-4 hours to spend in that place. that's not nearly enough to actually explore. it was wonderful to see so many places because now i know where i want to go back to and what i'd want to see or not see if i ever go back to some place i've already been.

my favorite places ... Switzerland, as a whole. Rhine Valley in Germany because of all the castles! Venice, just because of its uniqueness.

my favorite moments ... that moment i saw Big Ben for the first time. wow! seeing the castles while driving along the Rhine River in Germany. boating into Venice and realizing it's exactly how i'd pictured it.

dislikes ... the German language. when having to read a menu in German and not understanding any of it, i felt very intimidated. i was afraid i'd order something disgusting like frog legs, so i ended up eating pizza. otherwise, nothing major. :-)

the future ... i'd definitely do a group tour again. having all my hotels, transportation, and most food taken care of for me was a huge help and made my holiday much more fun. i'd recommend a group tour, as well, but i'd put this caviat in there ... realize your time for exploring a city/area will be limited and there will be people in your group who will probably cause a few problems by being disrespectful or whiny throughout the trip. however, despite all that, it was fun to do things as a group, to make a few friends along the way, and to see so much in a short amount of time. plus you always had the option of doing things with or without people ... there were lots of times i'd go do things on my own, because i CHOSE to, not because i HAD to. having that option really helps as well, especially for an independent person like me.

did i make friends? yeah, sure, but only for the duration of the trip. i didn't grow attached to my tourmates at all. it was fun while it lasted, but no best friends made for me. for others? maybe.

where did i go that i would return to ... Austria, because i only saw a little section of it between Germany and Italy. it was beautiful, but i don't feel like i got to experience it at all. and i'd still like to go to Vienna and Salzburg one day. i'd also go back to Italy. and maybe see a little more of Germany ... it's really more beautiful than i thought it would be.

what else? i can't think of other questions you might have for me, so feel free to write me and ask me anything. i'm an open book. :-)

"It's where we go, and what we do when we get there, that tells us who we are." ~Joyce Carol Oates