Earlier this summer, a friend and I embarked on a mini tour of Europe. As a pair of self-proclaimed culture vultures (geeks), we’ve always enjoyed travelling around and seeing the wealth of history that Europe has to offer. As we ventured around the eight major cities on our itinerary (Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Budapest, Krakow and Prague), print proved to be a vital part of our trip.
Our pre-ordered InterRail Pass meant we were permitted to travel for 10 days over a 22-day period. The ticket was our lifeline to go pretty much anywhere and we found that most of our fellow travellers used the same method of getting around. Although it was quite expensive to buy the ticket, we were able to use them on any train, no matter how long the journey was – perfect!
Although we met lots of lovely, interesting people on our travels, we soon learned our very best friend would be our Book of Central Europe. With zoomed-out maps of the major cities and advice on local sights and attractions, this book became our Holy Grail of travel and meant that the short time we spent in each city was not wasted on traipsing round, trying to follow people with visors, fanny packs and oversized cameras.
Whenever we arrived in a new city, the standard protocol was to find our hostel, use the free WiFi to catch up on current affairs (read: look at our Facebook newsfeeds) and ask the hostel staff where they advised we visit – at which point, they drew out their free city map. Ooh the free city map! The city map was used and abused in the 2 to 3 days we spent in each city; the map contained notes and scribbles made by the hostel staff on where was best to eat, visit and, of course, party! The very best city maps also contained tube and tram links, as well as local adverts.
Though our trip exposed us to many beautiful sights and cultures, it did beg the question of how would and of it be possible without the use of print? My advice to anyone travelling would be to equip yourself with a decent map of all the areas before you arrive – it saves a lot of hassle and potential arguments. My advice to printers? If you can print a free city map that doesn’t fade at the sight of some intense sun and a spilled stein or five, you’d be on to a winner!