Perfect Europe Trip

TRAVELLING IN EUROPE IS CHEAP – SAID NO ONE

And we wonder why! Let us guess – you have worked for a few years now, saved up on some cash (may be just a lac) and browsed through Lonely Planet and Tripadvisor to prepare yourself forthat epic Eurotrip! You totally deserve that sabbatical and the holidays – but not the way the world sells it to you! Let us give you some protips and a sample of what your trip could look like and also the least it could cost.

Protip No. 1 – read up on parts of Europe that you do not hear about! Yes, Europe is more than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Red Light district in Amsterdam, Oktoberfest in Munich, Vatican City, Snowy peak experiences in Switzerland! There are parts of Europe which have much more to offer – the underrated, underground and way more beautiful places at half the prices. So what are we talking about? We are talking about – Ruin Bars in Budapest (Hungary), the lake island experience in Bled and Vintgar Gorge (Slovenia), the castles in Bratislava (Slovakia), the Volksfest (Wassen) in Stuttgart (Germany), the river Duoroin Porto (Portugal) and much more! Not convinced? Have a look at the pictures below

This was clicked at Kuplung(Budapest, Hungary) during one of our many Eurotrips! There is whole underground vibe to this place and unimaginable colors of drinks at the bar counter! Strike a conversation with the people sitting on the next table – you will be surprised to find how much people travel and how many of them love India! We discovered this place with the help of our very pretty Barparade guide Dory! Barparades are awesome – for about 8 Euros a person you get free shots (Tequila / Jagermeister / the infamous Hungarian Palinka) and entry at 5 bars / nightclubs! Do the math (8 Euros = 650 INR) and we hope that you get convinced that paryting is dirt cheap!

Useful link:  http://welovebudapest.com/clubs.and.nightlife.1/the.best.ruin.pubs.in.budapest

Another picture from the Kuplung courtyard follows:


Lake Bled in Bled, Slovenia – one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. This picture has been clicked from The Bled Castle which provides breathtaking views of the Lake Island. It has a pretty cafe and souvenir shops that you don’t want to miss! For shutterbugs – this place is worth every expensive lens in your kit and 2 hours of that!


The above two pictures are from the Vintgar Gorge in Slovenia. The best way to explore the same is on bikes which you can hire from the City Centre in Bled or the hostel / apartment owners. The bike ride takes you through the most picturesque locations and adventurous turns before you arrive at this spectacular gorge!
We had the most pleasant stay with a Slovenian family from Bled. We found our hosts from www.airbnb.com and she was Karmen Schneider. Her husband drove us around in his car and also gave us a lift till the bus station on our way back! The kids and their dog were great company as well. Highlight of the stay – the best Slovenian breakfast Karmen prepared for us every morning – the fresh cherry juice and the bees!
When you go to Bled, do not miss out on Lake Bohinj! Just Google Image to get convinced.

Useful links :http://www.bled.si/en/


Useful links :http://visit.bratislava.sk/ES/  http://www.subclub.sk/  http://www.patiohostel.com/

Do not forget to check out the club under the Bratislava Castle – it is called Subclub and is deep down in the caves. It has a cheap bar and plays Dubstep, EDM and Reggae. We had a great time grooving! We stayed at Patio Hostel Bratislava at 13 Euros a night 🙂

The last four pictures are from Bratislava, Slovakia. A walk around the Old Town on the cobbled streets gives you a strange sense of calm in the off season. The summer evenings are in sharp contrast with that mood complimented by the live and kicking scene of the cafes and bars. The Bratislava (Hrad) Castle is grand in itself and offers unique views of the Bratislava city with the river and  UFO Tower standing tall on its bridge!

The tourists in Germany flock to the Oktoberfest in Munich almost always unaware of the fact that Volksfest in Wassen offers the same ambience and entertainment. You can book the beer tents at a relatively lower price and enjoy the same variety of beer, bands and drunk + well behaved people! The last three pictures are from Stuttgart, Germany – the place for Volksfest!

Useful links: http://cannstatter-volksfest.de/de/landing-page/

The river Duoro and the bridge Ponte D. Luis are something that you cannot miss in Porto, Portugal! 1 Euro for a cup of Cappuccino and less than 2 Euros for an Espresso shot – we are talking about incredibly cheap drinking – not just coffee but beer! Try out the Super Bock and snails to go along with it! Like the last two frames? Go there!
Too many pictures to digest? Let us continue with the Protips!
Protip No. 2 – the cheapest travel in Europe is with carpools. Awesome cars to drive you to the most random places with the awesomest co passengers, expressways and drivers! That way, you see more, get closer to the local people and score more points than a typical tourist on a Europe Tour. You do not visit, you travel. There are carpool websites like www.carpool.co.uk and www.blablacar.de . You can spontaneously choose your destinations depending on the rides available and need not plan anything from before. More often than not, the localites give you protips on local cuisine and places to see. You get all of this at one-third the price of a Deutsche Bahn (the German trains) or TGV (French trains). Europe is one of the safest places to travel like that and you almost never need to worry about the authenticity of these cars or drivers. Just make sure that you connect your profiles on these websites to your Facebook profiles, so that you are taken seriously and offered a ride! They love Indians and almost everyone from different countries in their cars. Do not talk about Hitler, politics 😛 The screenshots of Carpool and Blablacar below should help you to get a fair idea –

Protip No. 3 – Get yourself acquainted with the cheapest airlines in Europe. Ryan Air, Wizz Air, German Wings and Vueling! We are taking about prices as cheap as 40 Euros for a round trip of Barcelona Girona, Spain from Karlsruhe, Germany! Yes, these flights exist and they want you to travel with just one bag pack! Do not forget to delete your cookies before searching for flights. Our recommended sites for air travel are www.skyscanner.com and http://flights.drungli.com/ . We love Drungli because it allows you to travel spontaneously and for the cheapest prices. All it asks you for are the dates / week of travel and the preferred airport to fly out from! You can choose from a range of destinations.

Protip No. 4 – Get yourself acquainted with the cheapest bus services in Europe! Everyone knows about Eurolines, the most expensive one. Here are a few cheaper options – Simple Express, Student Agency, Meinfernbus, Flixbus. The websites for the same are:

http://www.simpleexpress.eu/de/simple-express-busse

http://www.studentagencybus.com http://meinfernbus.de https://www.flixbus.de/

Protip No. 5 – Do not stay in hotels! Stay in hostel dorms or book private properties from www.airbnb.com . We are talking about prices as cheap as 15 Euros per night per bed with breakfasts, awesome dorm occupants and hostel BBQ parties included. The best websites for hostels are www.hostels.com , www.hostelsclub.com . Almost all these websites have a picture of their properties with additional facilities, which will make your decision making process easier! At these hostels and private properties – the hosts and receptionists tell you everything about the local attractions just the way they would do it in a more expensive hotel. Free wifiand postcards can be taken for granted  J

Protip No. 6 – if you don’t want to spend too much on eating out in Europe, you should definitely choose Yuvka or Durum as your stable diet. You will find plenty of Turkish kebap shops all over Europe and each Döner dish costs about 4 Euros max. Tastes great and costs almost nothing for a meal! Want to spend a little more? Go for a plate of Döner Teller, either with fries or salad!

Protip No. 7 – Please download the maps / metro apps /language apps of the places that you plan to visit on your smartphone. We recommend you to not buy Matrix SIM Cards. They are very expensive as compared to the services available in Europe. Try and get hold of a Lyca or Lebara SIM which allow flat rates on India calling and 3G services. They get activated in less than 2 hours. At most of the places, you can get a decent and free wifi service for all your Whatsapp needs, Instagram + Facebook uploads and show off!  😛

Useful links: http://www.lebara.de    http://www.lycamobile.de/de/

Protip No. 8 – For cost cutting measures, Lonely Planet Europe (on a shoestring) is an amazing fat book to have and so is the Tripadvisor app (for every city which can be accessed offline) on your phone. The best option however is to follow us: Empty Rucksack Traveler’s Club! We will ask you to plan your intercity train commute during the nights so that you save up on that night’s accommodation cost. Smart tip, eh? Hostels have no problems if you check out in the middle of the day, keep your baggage in their locker and explore the city to come back in the evening and leave for the next city! Carry sleeping bags with you or just get one after you land here so that you can sleep in the airports, bus and train stations if needed.

Protip No. 9 – always choose flights from India and back with the longest stopovers! Turkish Airlines offers you a free tour of Istanbul if you have a halt of more than 6 hours. This includes the Turkish Airlines tour bus and free lunch / dinner! Qatar Airways makes you stay overnight in Doha at their own accommodation in the city. Doha, Istanbul, Amman, Kuwait City are good places for stop overs and also for ticking that one additional country off! Long stopovers bring down the flight prices by a considerable amount.

Now that you have all the required professional tips – you might want to look at a sample itinerary:

Day 1:Mumbai to Istanbul (Free Istanbul day trip from Turkish Airlines). It is called Touristanbul, how cool is that? They have a luxury bus, a tour guide who will take you to a restaurant first and treat you to awesome Turkish kebaps with a traditional Turkish drink (Ayran) which tastes like the buttermilk you get in India. The next few stops are being shown to you though the following pictures of The Underground Cistern, The Blue Mosque, The Hagia Sophia and the Sultanahmet Square. Istanbul surprises you with a eclectic mix of elements from Asia and Europe. Do not miss out on the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar and the Bosphorus Cruise.Try and book your Bosphorus Cruise in advance and avoid local touts who have an expertise at spotting first timers and charging them a bomb for having a great time on the river.

Useful links: http://www.istanbulinhours.com/ http://www.bosphorustour.com/

Before we go any further, we also want you to know that the prices that we estimate here are from our travel experiences and you should expect minor fluctuations in expenditure. The INR is mostly dancing around 80 – 82 INR these days. You could complete this trip in a significantly lesser amount, but then you need at least a 1,00,000 INR in that account for your Schengen Visa anyway. The fastest Schengen service comes from the Swiss Consulate. In case you are in hurry but not travelling through Switzerland, you can get hold of a travel agent and ask them to block tickets in that region to help to apply and get the Visa. The famous Indian Jugad!

^^ is the Underground Cistern. Get your camera ready and also your nostrils for a weird smell!

^^ Inside the mosque, you have such pathways to get to the next floor. Could be the cover of a novel.

The mosque still retains elements from its old Christian days of being a church (:-P) – the best part is that, all such features have been preserved in spite of the Islamic texture that it currently has. It speaks volumes about the tolerant culture and style of religion practiced in this part of the world. To get most of these pictures right – you will have to be a Manual Mode master on your DSLR! Good luck with that!

Estimated cost for this part = Mumbai – Stuttgart –Mumbai (39,000 INR) if booked four months before.

Day 1 (Day’s expenditure in Istanbul) = 40 Euros = 3300 INR

Day 2: Stuttgart (CanstatterVolksfest)
Assuming that you arrive right in the middle of the Volksfest which we have mentioned earlier – you will spend Day 2 drinking in a tent and getting used to the German life. Beer, bratwurst, currywurst, schnitzels and beer again! If you arrive at some other time, you can chill out at the Schlossplatz and check out the Solitude Castle. Stuttgart has a lot of expats and people mostly speak in English here.
Estimated cost for this part = 30 Euros on Day 2 = 2500 INR

Day 3: Stuttgart (Porsche Museum) + Drive to Innsbruck
Stuttgart has two major attractions to offer for car lovers: the Mercedez Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum. We recommend the Porsche Museum because of its futuristic appeal and design!

Useful Links: http://www.porsche.com/germany/aboutporsche/porschemuseum/

How about taking a carpool ride till Innsbruck in Austria?
Estimated cost for this part = Museum Tickets (8) + Food / Drinks (13) + Hostel in Stuttgart (13*2 0 26) + Carpool to Innsbruck from Stuttgart (20) = 67 Euros on Day 3 = 5500 INR
Day 3 ends in a comfortable hostel and Facebookingfor the night. Prepare yourself for an Austrian morning the following day!

Cars to die for and an automobile hangover that will keep you happy for the rest of your Eurotrip! Let us have a look at what Innsbruck will look like the next day!

Day 4: Stroll around at the Innsbruck Town Square and take a local bus to the Hungerburg Funicular! You can get to the top for some breathtaking views and chill with the locals up there.

This town square provides a view of the mountains, has a river close by and is full of café bars. The location has been heavily overused by Bollywood and Tollywood. Do not be surprised if you have flashbacks of Rambha dancing near that clock tower!

At the end of Day 4, you take a night train to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. You reach in the morning on Day 5. Useful links: http://www.oebb.at/ Always look for discount plans! An overnight seater train to Ljubljana generally costs 30 Euros. If you have a sleeping bag – sleep on the floor! It is clean  J

Estimated Cost for this part = Hostel in Innsbruck (13) + Local Transport Day Ticket (5) + Funicular Rides (6) + Food / Drinks (20) + Train (30) = 74 Euros = 6400 INR
You are about to move into Day 5 and you have already spent: 55,000 INR
With a few extra drinks and private room stays instead of 4 bed / 8 bed dorms – this amount could be 60,000 INR.We will assume that your spoilt and already blown up 60,000 INR!

Day 5: Explore Ljubljana, Slovenia and take an evening bus to Bled. Amongst the best things to do in Ljubljana for half a day, you have the city river cruise with an English speaking tour guide. After that, you would love the experience of taking a funicular up to the Ljubljana castle. Nice place to look down on the Slovenian capital. We will show you some pictures!

^^^^ This is what your night train from Innsbruck, Austria looks like – a cool one with graffiti! If you wake up early in the morning, let us say 8 AM (because everyone loves sleeping in on a holiday) – you will be surprised to see this part of Europe. A lot of it looks like what you see while you take an Indian train. There is some poverty in this part of the world as well. Did we just sound politically incorrect?
The next picture down below is that of the Ljubljana City Centre. Have your breakfast there with a Slovenian beer! You can wrap up that full tummy deal in less than 10 Euros. If you walk around Ljubljana looking at the walls and the buildings, the pro Communist slogans and paintings surprise you!
Try and pick up a few basic terms in every language. It was so much fun in Slovenia for us – we spoke a little Russian which had similar words. The way people treat you immediately changes – free beers come your way! Use that foreign language app on your smartphone!

A coloured street in Ljubljana, Slovenia! It is interesting to know that this city serves as the capital. It has no signs of being a capital – very laid back, relaxed vibe and you can finish exploring every nook and corner in half a day! Time to head to that bus stand, take the bus (10 Euros) to Bled and enjoy some Slovenian countryside!

Estimated Cost for this part = City River Cruise (7) + Ljubljana Castle (7) + Food / Drinks (15) + Transport to Bled (15) + Hostel in Bled (16) = 60 Euros = 4900 INR
You are about to move into Day 6 and you have already spent: 65,000 INR

You have already seen the pictures from Bled before, so let us show you something different. Bled is a famous place for European weddings and they do not mind guests from India. We happened to gate crash a wedding inside this Cathedral on our way up to the Bled Castle, photographed this beautiful couple and scored from champagne! We also took a boat to the Lake Island. If it is summertime and you love swimming – skip the boat and swim to the island! For the evening, we biked all around the Lake Bled and we would highly recommend you to do that.
Estimated Cost for this part = Boat Ride (15) + Food/ Drinks (20) + Castle Entries (20) + Bike Rent (15) = 70 Euros = 5700 INR
You are about to move into Day 7 and you have already spent: 71,000 INR

Day 7 could be spent at Lake Bohinj, but if you want to see more countries on this trip. We advise you to take an afternoon car pool to Bratislava. There is no direct transport from Bled, which means you need to take the bus back to Ljubljana and travel from the so called Capital. The drive from Ljubljana to Bratislava is beautiful and will exhaust the battery of your camera. The journey is mostly through Austria and the drivers mostly halt at Graz for a snack. All that needs to be done in Bratislava when you arrive in the evening is just drink and have a look at the mighty Bratislava castle in evening lights. So wait, you have already seen India (ha ha), Turkey, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia!
Estimated Cost for this part = Transport to Ljubljana (15) + Food / Drinks (20) + Carpool to Bratislava (20) + Hostel in Bratislava (15) = 70 Euros = 5700 INR
You are about to move into Day 8 and you have already spent: 78,000 INR
A day in Bratislava, Slovakia is always exciting. You could see a lot of things including the St. Elizabeth’s Blue Church, Bratislava City Museum and Nedbalka Gallery. It is time to bring in some history into this trip and what better place than the Slovak Capital made famous by the Eurotrip movie. Do not forget to click a picture with this head sticking out of the street in the Old Town called Cumil. Cumil is always rated and documented amongst the 20 weirdest art pieces in the world! If you are lucky, you will have some amazing play or ballet at the Slovak National Theatre. Look up on the internet the night before. Refer to the earlier pages in this document for more Bratislava trivias and must dos!
There are buses from Bratislava, Slovakia to Mannheim, Germany run by this incredibly cheap but luxury Bus Company called Student Agency. Nope, you don’t have to be a student to travel with them! You will have free wifi, free movies, music and radio all night just for 35 Euros. It makes sense to travel to Mannheim, because the following day can be spent exploring Heidelberg, Germany.
Estimated Cost for this part = Food / Drinks (35) + Entry tickets at various attractions in Bratislava (35) + Bus Tickets (35)= 105 Euros = 8600 INR
You are about to move into Day 9 and you have already spent: 87,000 INR
A day in Heidelberg, Germany is jam packed! It always starts with a walk on the (Karl Theodor Brucke) bridge that leads you to the other side of the Neckar River at the starting point of Philosophen’sWeg. It is the narrowest street leading you up towards the Thingstatte, the site for Nazi propaganda back in the days. It is quite a sight and definitely overwhelming for a first time when he / she stands on those staircases and looks down on the arena. On the other side of the river you have the Heidelberg Castle (Schloss) and the King’s Throne (Königstuhl), both of which can be reached with the Funicular. German words and names can be tough to pronounce and we know that J  It is fun at the same time – just pick up DankeSchön (Thank you very much) and Entschuldigung (Sorry) – you will do fine!
It has been a tiring trip full of experiences and you want to chill now. Why don’t you go to the Cathedral in Heidelberg? You will be surprised to notice the modern art designs on the Cathedral windows instead of the usual colorful Biblical images.

Useful links: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/heidelberg-thingstatte

http://www.schloss-heidelberg.de/

Estimated Cost for this part = Food / Drinks (35) + Entry tickets at various attractions in Heidelberg (15) + Local Transport Tickets (5) = 55 Euros = 4500 INR
You are about to move into Day 10 and you have already spent: 92,000 INR
In case you have not noticed by now, we are calculating your expenditures in a very lavish fashion taking the higher end of Euro INR conversion and rounding off totals to higher amount. This should convince you that you can make it in less than what we are documenting here! An epic cheap travel story is in store!

 

^^^ Thingstatte, Heidelberg. The next picture has been clicked from the trek up to the Thingstatte.

 

If it was us – we would pack our bags and leave for Stuttgart airport for the flight next morning. That way you save on a night’s hostel stay expense and also get to reflect on the past 9 days looking at the sea of travelers. In case, you choose comfort – opt for a hostel the same night and take a local transport DB train (below is the picture of the Stuttgart Hauptbahnof / Main Train Station) the next morning to the Stuttgart (Flughafen) Airport. We hope this helps you tonnes!

 

Below is the snapshot of your entire proposed itinerary. We at Empty Rucksack Traveler’s Club love building (less than 1 lac INR) itineraries for you and would welcome any questions around the same. Wishing you an awesome time and safe travels! Just remember – the time to travel is NOW!

Day	From	To	Night Stay	Country
1	Mumbai	Istanbul	Ataturk International Airport (hard life)	Turkey
2	Istanbul	Stuttgart	Stuttgart	Germany
3	Stuttgart	Innsbruck	Innsbruck	Austria
4	Innsbruck	Ljubljana	Night Train to Ljubljana (hard life again)	Austria – Slovenia
5	Ljubljana	Bled	Bled	Slovenia
6	Bled	Bled	Bled	Slovenia
7	Bled – Ljubljana	Ljubljana- Bratislava	Bratislava	Slovakia
8	Bratislava	Mannheim	Bus Journey to Mannheim (hard life again)	Slovakia- Germany
9	Mannheim	Heidelberg	Heidelberg	Germany
10	Heidelberg- Stuttgart	Stuttgart- Istanbul	Ataturk International Airport	Turkey
11	Istanbul	Mumbai	Mumbai	India

 

This article is written by Avigyan Dutta. 

Avigyan is a photographer, foodie, blogger and techie, whose love for photography is only surpassed by his love for travel. What started off as a hobby grew into a passionate love affair with the camera. He has photographed Indian weddings, rituals, festivals, concerts as well as maintained a travel journal of scenic landscapes and experiences across Asia and Europe. His work has appeared in numerous publications like The Bricolage Magazine, High Priestess Monthly Journal and he was won awards from Clean Planet (Tote Imagine Award for Photography), Tata Consultancy Services (Best Photography – People’s Category) etc. He has worked as a photographer with Magic Bus Entertainment, the Indian Wiccan Community and Vodou Temple and Hochschule Pforzheim. He currently lives and works in Germany.

You can follow his photography at https://www.facebook.com/avigyanduttaphotography