Comments on: InterRail memories from before the internet age

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:19:48 +0000

Thanks Kate. Why is it that when you talk to an Inter-rail veteran of the 1980s, you just need to mention the word Yugoslavia and the stories come pouring out. It was a place of legend! Like you, those experiences provided a solid foundation for a lifetime of restlessness

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:10:13 +0000

Just loved this post ! I also went inter-railing in 1987 and it brought back the memories of sleeping in a cheap hotel and eating a sandwich OR eating something decent and sleeping on a train (normally in the corridor on the floor); Yugoslavia before the war when we found it hard to spend the money we had changed as it was just SO cheap…doing overnights from Gemany to Italy or Nice to dry out the sopping wet tent….I don’t even remember having much of a guide book, it was just check out the timetables, an old floppy-eared map and see what fitted best really. Great stuff, set me off on independent travel and now over 70 countries later I am still a travel addict….

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:00:51 +0000

Ah yes, the TC timetable – what a great book! I think I still have mine somewhere… taught us the art of reading these complex spreadsheets before Excel even existed!

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:20:43 +0000

Great post, brought back memories for me. With a group of friends I did two interailing trips in the late 80′s. I was talking to someone the other day about the huge Thomas Cook european train timetable we carried with us – it was our bible. Full of arcane symbols and trains that interailers weren’t allowed to travel on – it took us the whole month to figure out how to use it! No checking out the timetable on your iphone in those days. Great days.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:15:55 +0000

Hi Andy – Yes, I was surprised when I looked at my LP book a couple of years ago and realized it was the 1st edition. I should have a look and compare the ’93 writing style to the ’10 writing style. My book was “Western Europe”, they didn’t even include Eastern Europe at that time. I was traveling a bit blind when I went to Prague, but luckily met people in Vienna (with the Let’s Go book including Prague) to travel with of course. Going to Prague was all the talk back then – “you’ve got to see Prague!” was all I heard from Brindisi to Berlin.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:45:07 +0000

Thanks for the comment Jelena – you’ve made me feel very old! Maybe the tickets are still the same in 2010?

Thanks Lisa – a 1st edition LP book? Good job you’ve kept it. Must make for some good reading now – Europe has changed so much since that time (although more in the east than west).

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:38:12 +0000

I have great memories of my pre-internet first trip to Europe in 1993. A ton of ticket stubs, youth hostel card, my eurail pass (700 bucks for unlimited 2 months of travel in 1993) and of course my Lonely Planet Western Europe guidebook (turned out to be the first edition). Thanks for sharing these. I think the little bits of paper that you can collect along the way are priceless. just stick them in an envelope for each country.

By: jelena

jelena — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:55:43 +0000

Such a nice idea to put these on
When you came to Belgrade in 1988, I was attending the first grade of my primary school there…
Funnily enough, I visited the Nat. Museum last some 10 years ago and the tickets looked exactly the same as the one you’ve got – not just the ‘design’, but the paper quality as well. Time still moves at a different pace in the Balkans…
Cheers!

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:40:14 +0000

The flute story? I think that’s one to keep to myself – it’s all rather embarrassing One day, maybe…. but yes, this memento collection was perhaps a from of early blogging. I never collect anything these days (apart from loose change from countries with unusual currencies)

By: Theodora (Travels with a Nine Year Old)

Theodora (Travels with a Nine Year Old) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:12:46 +0000

Lovely nostalgia. How organised of you to keep these things! I interrailed during a similar era and have no mementoes whatsoever. But thanks for taking me back to a time before we all relied on email, internet, pre-booking…

Will you tell the flute story one day?