Travel Tips? / What Should I Know About Europe? / Blogging Abroad - Comments

If you get the chance to go to England, I know the first place people think is London, but I suggest Oxford, Bath or Salisbury. I studied at Oxford last summer, and the surrounding area is so quaint and adorable. If you're a Harry Potter fan, there's a tour that shows you different areas where scenes from the films were filmed in Oxford. Salisbury is awesome too because you have Salisbury Cathedral which is absolutely breathtaking. And sections of it might appear familiar if you are a HP fan. Stonehenge isn't too far away from there either, and that was an amazing opportunity as well. Bath has some Jane Austen stuff, and of course the Roman baths. Plus a bunch more that I didn't get to see since we made a small stop on the way back to Oxford from Salisbury, but seriously if you have any questions about England for if you get the chance to go, feel free to shoot me a message!

Holy shit I love Germany (it's like my 2nd favourite country)!! I used to live in Ludwigshafen when I was little. Whereabouts are you going? I'm literally so excited for you but idk if secondhand excitement is possible (???). And now, I'm going to wordvomit on you

Travelling to Europe — culture shock? Oh, tourist scams - when you go to places with heaps and heaps of tourists, beware of those! And I've read a lot of people advising others to keep a fake wallet, or keep your wallet out of sight, which, while I've never had a problem with that whilst I was in Europe, there's still that 1 in a million chance that it could happen, so.

Airports — they are usually very well sign posted! Although in my experience American TSA (or is TSA already American) is pretty rude, HOWEVER I'm assuming you're American so you should be okay. Definitely don't be afraid to ask people for help if you don't know where to go. For security, remember the 100ml rule: no liquids in bottles more than 100ml, even if the bottle says 200ml and it's half empty, and always in a clear plastic bag. Also you have to take out all electronics and put them in a tray, so I'd put them somewhere easily accessible.
— oH and also always keep your passport and boarding pass on hand; some shops require you to show / scan your boarding pass before you can make a purchase. Oh and also maybe bring an empty water bottle that you can fill between security and the time you have to board, because that'll be useful on the flight. (I'm sorry I don't know what you already know about airports haha awkward laughter haha).

Heights — I know there's some kind of medicine / pill thingy you can take that basically knocks you out for the flight, but if you're not about that life I'd suggest looking up what kind of plane you'll be on and the seating, whether it's 3-3-3 or 2-4-2, and choosing the aisle seat or even middle seat, if you can. Sitting near the front/middle of the plane also helps if you're not keen on turbulence. Also, since it'll probably be a long haul flight, you'll probably have a screen on the seat in front of you and gurl. The movie options that planes offer are amazing

Tourists — I've heard that the one issue many Europeans have with American tourists is the loudness and the fact that they assume everyone speaks English. Which not everyone does, obv, but as a generalisation it's pretty accurate. Also, people can usually tell you're a tourist by the way you dress, which I thought was pretty cool.

Best places to buy things — if you're living in uni accommodation and you have your own kitchen, Lidl and Aldi are good supermarkets (? grocery stores?) for cheap groceries. Also a good way to save money.

Stuff to see in Germany — depends on where you're going! But also, exploring is a great way to find beautiful places that you might not normally find. As long as you have a phone with a GPS and mobile data that can tell you how the fuck to get home, after you get lost.

England — London! But if I were you and could see more of Europe instead of the UK (which is technically part of Europe, but not very European), I'd go for that instead.

Other countries — also depends where you're going bc if you're going to Berlin, for instance, Poland is like right next door. But if you're in the south, it might be worth it to go to Austria or France or Switzerland.

Blog — I know people use blogger, blogspot, and wordpress. Alternatively, and especially if it's easier for you, you can make a tumblr and find a theme that's more appropriate for lots of text posts. Defs recommend Nutty Themes for that.

But yeah dude I literally have so much advice about travelling mainland central Europe (i.e. I have not been to Spain / Portugal (yet) or Eastern Europe (yet), but I have plans ) and if I didn't answer all of your questions you can PM me I'm sorry for the word vomit!