Hi again!
We have just finished our month-long Spring Break and this week marks the beginning of our exam revision period. We’ve finished all of our 10 weeks of school and during the break, my friends and I have been travelling around Europe. So far I have been to Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands and currently on the way to Paris. I have also been able to fit in some travels in the weekends in the teaching period. This was mainly within the UK, but I also went to Belgium. It’s quite crazy that I’m even saying this, because travelling Europe has always been my biggest dream. I think that as a NZ student travelling all the way to the UK, you’d also want to travel around Europe as well, so here are some insights into travelling!!
Cost
I am going to be so honest, I wouldn’t say I have been the best at budgeting for my travels. I am definitely going over what I initially thought I would spend, simply because I am trying to make the most out of this amazing experience. I also think that it’s important to prioritise what you want to spend your money on – if you want to see as many places as possible, or just relax in one place. As this was my first time in Europe, I just wanted to see as much as possible so I chose to stay in hostels rather than hotels (this is what all my friends ended up doing) and researched what the cheapest way to travel between destinations were. It will be important ask yourself whether you will be able to balance your standard of living once you get back to Auckland and your travel experiences with the amount you’re spending. For example, I went to Lake Como with a few of my friends and we did a boat tour. This was expensive, but it ended up being one of my favourite things I did the whole time I was travelling. FlixBus, Ryanair, EasyJet and grocery stores are your best friends!! Before arriving to Glasgow, I was also quite worried that it would be too late to book things if I wait until after I have made friends to travel with and that the prices would be so high by then. However, because Europeans travel around all the time, prices don’t really go up until 3 weeks before your intended travels. So there isn’t much pressure to book very early in advance!!
Reality of Backpacking
Obviously I was really excited, but I was also really scared to start backpacking. I thought that I won’t be able to shower when I wanted and have to carry dirty laundry everywhere. This isn’t true!! Even within hostels I would say there are “tiers” on how nice the hostel is and as long as you choose the right ones you will have a good experience. It also depends on the city/country you are going to so make sure to do your research. And even if anything does go wrong, you will always make it out in the end and it will all be a funny story to tell in the end, especially if you are travelling with your friends!! I have learnt a lot on how to pack/how to book things/little hacks to save money as I travelled, and some things you just have to experience to learn 😅
In summary…
Besides all the travel hacks, I have also learnt so much about European culture, history, traditions and a lot about myself!! It was very interesting to come back from my backpacking trip and find that Glasgow is such a comforting city for me now. Only 3 months ago I was still trying to get used to this place, and now it feels like home and I have an amazing community here. On that note, I love that Glasgow isn’t much of a tourist destination, so it was quiet compared to the major cities I’ve travelled to and I could feel more like an authentic Glaswegian student. This experience has been very much a roller coaster but overall such an amazing journey that I will never forget.
If you have any questions on specific locations or anything please feel free to message me!!
