At the end of 2008, an Iraqi threw his shoes at G.W. Bush’s head.  As 2009 draws to a close, a deranged Italian guy launches a souvenir statuette at Silvio Berlusconi’s face.  Maybe next Christmas an anvil will fall on Nicholas Sarkozy, who knows?

Madonn'! That's not marinara sauce!

Berlusconi, the much-loved-or-much-hated Italian Prime Minister, was made the latest YouTube casualty when a man of undetermined psychological health threw a miniature reproduction of Milan’s Duomo cathedral at him, striking Berlusconi square in the face and leaving him bloodied, stunned, and with a busted nose and two broken teeth.  This made for shocking media footage, considering Berlusconi’s larger-than-life persona and untouchable political status.  I’m sure it also provided a moment of glib joy for the Prime Minister’s many detractors, who resent him for any number of offenses (proven and otherwise), including adultery, corruption, monopolistic ownership of the media, demagoguery, suspected mafia ties, and generally being too rich and too powerful for a democratic head of state.  Naturally, a million Facebook groups praising (and vilifying) the statuette-thrower bloomed in the aftermath.  I’m not going to say he deserved it, but you can’t blame people for feeling somewhat vindicated after all the merda he’s dragged Italy through.
Be horrified/indulge your schadenfreude here.

In typical German fashion, the town of Bamberg, located in Bavaria in the country’s east, is most famous for its beer. Not only does the town sport its own unique beer style but the colors and shapes provided by Bamberg’s architecture are a premium example of just how strong and detailed German architecture can be.

Situated on the Regnitz River, the town with a population that barely exceeds 70, 000 has a growing tourist pull and a substantial student population. In fact, thanks to a large presence of the United States Army, ten percent of the town’s entire population is made up of foreign nationals. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the town has 9 fully operational breweries (with even more in the surrounding area) - a ridiculously high number for its size. Read the rest of this entry »

La Grande Arche de La Défense at night. Photo: Florian Gerus

Americans head to Europe for new experiences.

New architecture? That’s certainly something we can go some time without seeing. Considering that half of America was thrown up within the last 50 years – and probably rebuilt or remodeled six times since – the centuries-old skyline is one of Europe’s greatest perks.

In Paris, you’ll find lots of old. Old streets, old gargoyles, old parks with their old fountains and statues – there’s no shortage of awe-inspiring, romance-evoking, classical structures that make Paris so, well, Parisian. But you should, at least once, seek out the city’s new.

Read the rest of this entry »

Trains are a fast and efficient way to travel in Europe

If you’re like me, the novelty of flying has become much less exciting over the years as airport security continues to increase and a one-hour flight now requires at least 3-4 hours of airport time.

And since airplanes are no longer any fun, trains have now become my preferred mode of travel.  They’re comfortable, you always have plenty of leg room, and sometimes you can even have a whole room to yourself.  Awesome!  The only downside of trains versus planes is that it can be frustrating how long it takes to get places on them compared to air travel.

Well, now there is good news for train lovers in Europe: the Pan-European high-speed rail network that has taken ages to perfect has a new coordinated timetable that cuts journey times substantially between many key European hubs.  The timetable will become effective after the New Year, and rail times between Germany, the UK, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy will be all slashed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mt. Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples seen from Monte Faito

I packed into the little cable car with a few of my friends, a bunch of middle-aged tourists, and a couple of kissing teenagers. The conductor clanged the door shut and the ride began, carrying us high over the tree-covered slopes of Monte Faito, a mountain in the Monti Lattari in Southern Italy. The cable car took about ten minutes to get us to the top of the 1100 meter peak, and one of my friends filmed and narrated the whole journey in an effort to overcome her fear of heights.

I thought the ride was great, and the view at the top was fantastic. The cable car let us off at a little clearing with a few bars to cater to the tourists who might want a drink after the exciting ride. To the left a path led into a grove of pine trees and to the right, a stone trail directed us down a slope. We opted for the trail – which soon deteriorated from its neatly-laid stones – and followed it as it skirted behind a couple of hotels and met up with a road. Then we followed the road until it dead-ended at a bar. Read the rest of this entry »

The Champs-Élysées is packed with people on New Year's Eve

Whether you’re a struggling student or just backpacking around Europe, chances are you are pretty strapped for cash. Splurging on an overpriced party to celebrate New Year’s Eve is probably not something that is in your budget. So then, what is the cheapest way to have an amazing time on one of the biggest party nights of the year? Take to the streets!

New Year’s Eve is one of the only days out of the year where partying in the streets is not only accepted, but something that is embraced. Hordes of strangers gather together to bring in the New Year with a bang, and if your lucky enough to be in Europe, you will probably get a lot more bang than you had bargained for. Read the rest of this entry »

The open road awaits.

Tiptoeing around multiple language barriers, we exchange muted but polite introductions in a nondescript parking lot on the outskirts of Berlin.  Not one minute later, the four of us – a German, an Italian, an American, and a young woman of ambiguous nationality –are racing eastward in a shiny black BMW, bound for Prague.  “Classic German efficiency,” I think to myself, wondering who my car-mates are and what they’re doing here too.

It’s a familiar experience for experienced users of Mitfahrgelegenheit, Germany’s wildly popular ride-share system.   Mitfahrgelegenheit, which loosely translates to rideshare, is easier to use than it is to pronounce.  Its straightforward, free-to-use website helps budget-savvy passengers and drivers going to points to, from, and within Germany arrange long-distance carpools.  It’s hitchhiking for the Facebook era: digitized, streamlined, and remarkably easy even for foreign travelers.

Read the rest of this entry »

All cities have a certain extra charm at night, but Athens is stunning. The city is built in a bowl-like depression that can collect smog and look hazy during the day. At night, though, the low-lying landscape is an advantage. There are only two high places in the whole city. The first is the acropolis, which is spectacularly lit at night and looks like a postcard hovering over the city. The second is the perfect place from which to admire the acropolis, a high hill called Mt. Lykavittos.

When I was living in Athens, Mt. Lykavittos was my favorite place to go for a walk. In the hot evenings, I would wander out of my apartment in Kolonaki, one of the chicest regions of the city (I’ve heard Kolonaki has more shoe stores per capita than any region of any city in the world, but this is probably an urban legend). I walked along the marble sidewalks – marble sidewalks are one of the amazing features of Athens; the country has so much marble they don’t know what to do with it – until I got to the entrance of the Mt. Lykavittos park. The park is full of pine trees and good trails for strolling or running, but I would usually bypass the park and head straight up the steep slope, eager for the view that awaited me at the top. Read the rest of this entry »

Europe is never short of a party if you know where to go. There are brilliant party cities and towns littered throughout the continent, but perhaps the most famous and popular is a city with some of the most complex culture and history in the world: Berlin, the nation’s capital.

Travelers head to Berlin for nothing more than week-long benders and blowing the last of their Euros on the big, late night clubs for which the city is famous. Many of the hostels are designed to suit this type of trip so be on the look out for the use of words like party, bar and no curfew in descriptions and advertisements. Of course, some of of you will want to stay up late and be loud and some of you won’t – it is important to pick the type of accommodation that suits the type of Berlin experience you want to have. Read the rest of this entry »

The ever-generous Rail Europe is doling out yet another deal for the student traveler: Bill Me Later, a financing option that delays any Rail Europe charges of $750 or more for six months. The offer expires December 31, and purchases made this month needn’t be paid off until August.

European excursions often entail limited budgets due to lack of a steady income, and so the option to hold off on paying for tickets (or even seeing them on a credit card statement) is an attractive one indeed. It would have been nice to wait until I was back home and working to cover the costs of my sometimes-expensive train tickets as opposed to taking it out of my allotted funds. BML, where were you when I needed you?

To partake, select the Bill Me Later option at checkout, but be careful – as is the case with all credit plans, late fees apply and only those with decent credit get the go ahead. Check out the Bill Me Later page for more details.