Top 5 Reasons to Stay in a Hostel

Hey, guys, sorry about the prolonged hiatus; it has been way too long since I’ve written. Anyway, I figured I’d better get back up on the ball and pumping these things out again. I still have a few travel-oriented posts that I wanted to get through, even though I’m all done traveling for the moment. The first two of these are the best and worst parts about hostel stays (and, alas, neither of them will have anything to do with Quentin Tarantino movies. I have never seen Hostel, nor its sequel, but I can say with full confidence that my hostel experiences have been nothing like either movie). And, we’re off:

(Note: In this post I am only talking about European hostels, which is what I have experience with. Perhaps South American or Australian hostels are like the Quentin Tarantino movies. Actually I’m still pretty sure they’re not).

5. The charm

Now, this might not be true every time you stay in a hostel (it certainly hasn’t been true for every hostel I’ve stayed in), but some hostels just have a certain quaint charm about them that you don’t find in big name hotels. You could probably find the same quaint charm in a bed & breakfast — in fact, you’re probably more likely to find it in a bed & breakfast than a hostel — but bed & breakfasts aren’t always an option, whereas hostels almost always are. Hosteling International hostels are generally fair to good in this regard; some of them are a bit dry and sterile, but you always know you’re staying somewhere clean and safe, and with their cafeterias and luggage lockers it sometimes feels like you’re staying at a school away from school. Really, though, if you want charm I think your best bet is probably to look online for non-institutionalized hostels. Sure, it’s a slight risk, but with sites like hostelworld.com you can usually at least see a few pictures of what you’re getting yourself into. When you’re lucky you can find places like Olga’s Place in San Sebastian, which had clean rooms, free internet, a charming balcony with a southern exposure, and a really cool name to boot. (Too bad the people who work there only speak Spanish, so they won’t understand all the free advertising I’m giving them).

4. The People

One of the things you get from a hostel that you can’t possibly get from a hotel is contact with a lot of other people. Instead of staying in a room by yourself, or with your travel companions, you stay in a room with anywhere from 3 to 19 other people. This can be both a blessing and a curse, but I feel like the blessing side outweighs the curse aspects because for the most part the people you room with are similar people with similar interests (e.g. traveling and saving money).  However, while you have this in common with your roommates, you often can learn a lot from your differences. Meeting people from different countries is a great way to broaden your cultural horizons. I’m big into slang and inter-lingual trash talk. I like to find out how British slang is different from American slang is different from Australian slang, etc, and learn insults and curse words in as many different languages as possible (I’ve forgotten many of them now, but at one point I knew vulgar insults in French, Spanish, German, Hungarian, Arabic, and Japanese).

To be fair, the majority of the people you meet in European hostels will be either American or Australian. But there is still a great cultural variety within the spans of these two countries. I maintain that there is just as much cultural difference between Northern and Southern states as there is between the United States and Western Europe, if not more.  I’m just as culture shocked by grits as I am by foie gras (and for the record, I’m not a huge fan of either). So you may learn about your own country, but the point still stands that hostels can be an interesting place of learning.

3. Location, location, location

This is not so much an inherent advantage of hostels in itself, but it kind of works in conjunction with reason number 2 as a really important reason that most people stay at hostels. I mean, hotels can have just as good of a location as most hostels, but in order to stay at a hotel that is as centrally located as a hostel, you end up paying a lot more. As implied by the previous sentence, most hostels are pretty centrally located in European cities, meaning that you can get around to a lot of things you want to see on foot. Things that you can’t get to on foot you can certainly reach with the aid of mass transit (generally in Europe you can get wherever you want to go by these two means as long as you stay in major cities), but generally you can find hostels within a mile or so of the train or bus station (which is generally where you arrive, because airports are so far from everything you need to take a bus shuttle to arrive in the actual city). If you didn’t overpack, this is a totally walkable distance. If you’re willing to pay a taxi to take you less than a mile, you’re probably wealthy enough that you won’t be staying in a hostel anyway. And if you’re there to sightsee (which is probably what you’re there for), what better way to see all the sights than on foot, at your own pace? I suppose in a horse-drawn carriage, at a pace you dictate to the driver, but again, if you have the money for this, you’re probably not staying in a hostel.

2. $$$

Now we all knew that this had to be in the top 2 somewhere, so let’s get it out of the way, shall we? I don’t need to go into great detail about this, but let me illustrate with some examples:

In Switzerland, the average cost of the hostels I stayed in was between 30 and 40 Francs a night. The hotel in Geneva where I stayed the night I arrived was 140 Francs for one night, and it was basically the cheapest I could find (I booked it last minute, but even when I looked in advance later I had trouble finding cheaper than 90 Francs a night).

In London, I stayed in a Hostel called the Camden Inn. It lacked much of the charm that I talked about in reason #5, but it was 10 pounds a night! If you can find a hotel in London (in the city itself, mind you) for 10 pounds a night, or anywhere close to 10 pounds a night, email me, and I’ll right a Top 5 post about why you’re the most impressive person I know.

Now, Switzerland and London are extreme examples, because they are some of the most expensive places I’ve visited, but in general hostels are still much cheaper than hotels, which is why cheap, hippie college backpackers use them so much. That and you don’t have to wear shoes inside. Actually I’m not sure about that; you might have to wear shoes.

1. The experience

This may sound a little conformist, and it’s not really my typical style, but I figured it was worth a shot. Staying in a hostel is one of those fashionable things that college students and recent graduates do that just seem like “the thing to do” at the time. It’s one of those fashionable things that you always here people talking about, like backpacking, Eurailing, study abroad, or even volunteering. People do them for totally different reasons, and get totally different things out of them. For example, some people volunteer because they actually care about the cause they’re volunteering for, some people do it because it looks good on paper, some people do it because they’re required to for an organization, etc. All of these people help the community in some way, but their experience is colored differently.  The same with study abroad. Some people use it to learn a language, some people try to “get cultured”, others just use it as a party semester (actually I’d say most people use it as a party semester to some degree).

Basically what I’m saying is that you should stay in a hostel because it’s the “in” thing to do, but the reasons for it being the “in” thing are pretty much up to you (hopefully some of them are on this list), and your circumstances will color your experience. I once stayed in a hostel in Toledo, Spain with four friends from a study abroad group, and it basically turned into a slumber party. We had a beautiful and charming little hostel with our own private rooms, and we stayed up late into the night talking, eating gummis and doing other fun bonding things.  I’ve had other stays where I’ve met really nice people from other countries who have taught me things about their cultures. I’ve even had stays where I’ve just been miserable and wanted to leave, but I’ll save those for “Top 5 Reasons Not to Stay in a Hostel”.

Well, that rounds out this Top 5. The next one will come sooner than 3 weeks, I promise. I think I promised last time, but that was so long ago I can’t remember. Anyway, this time I really promise. And if I don’t follow through, then next time I’ll really really promise.  Tootles.

Top 5 Words to Describe Switzerland

So, this is coming a bit late, for two reasons: 1) I haven’t written a post in over a week, and 2) it’s been at least a month since I went to Switzerland. Anyway, I figured I’d better write this before I forgot anything else. So, without further ado…

I definitely thought that Switzerland was blog-worthy during my week-long visit there, but I wasn’t sure at first how I could make it into a Top 5. I knew that the “Top 5 experiences in…” was kinda played out, and as much as I enjoy mocking TFA, the “Top 5 challenges…” format probably has no mileage left in it either. I figured a top 5 descriptors post would allow me to say all of the things I want while sticking to the format. Not all of the words are adjectives, I realize this. It’s more just words that come to mind as soon as I think of Switzerland — sort of a free association kind of thing, like if when someone says “pitch a tent” and you immediately think…well, I’ll leave that to you. Anyway, when I think Switzerland, here’s what comes to my mind:

5. Discipline

This element of Switzerland can be seen in the almost institutional neatness of the country, but that will be addressed later. Swiss discipline also can be seen in (and perhaps, stems from) the fact that all Swiss citizens that aren’t physically handicapped or otherwise impaired are registered with the military. They all receive weapons with 100 rounds (which they are disciplined enough not to fire, with a few exceptions), and they all receive military training (if I recall correctly from my conversation with the guy in my hostel, it is something like 6 months when you turn 18, then brief review sessions of training — something like 2 weeks a year). When I first heard this, I thought, “Man, I’m glad I don’t live in Switzerland “. But when I really thought about it, it kinda works for them. I mean, they all get basic First Aid and physical training. If you choke at a restaurant, everyone is going to know the Heimlich maneuver. If you’re drowning at a pool, everyone is going to know CPR, and likely be a strong enough swimmer to pull you out of the pool. You don’t see many fat people in Switzerland, and the ones you see are probably all tourists. Real Swiss are all toned from their PT, and can’t afford enough food to get fat, because they live in Switzerland.

And aside from that, when was the last time Switzerland went to war with anyone? No one would care if the US reinstated the draft, as long as it came with a promise that we would never go to war again. It’s not the physical fitness, technical training, and money for college that we’re worried about; it’s the prospect of being shipped off to a foreign country where we may be shot or blown up. What does the Swiss military have to worry about? Everyone either likes their chocolate and watches, owns money in their banks, or doesn’t know anything about them. The worst thing I’ve ever heard anyone say about the Swiss was my college advisor who told me they were, and I quote, “boring”. Nobody’s going to go to a war with a country for being boring. Why do you think we put all of the international headquarters of every international organization in Switzerland? That’s gotta be one of the safest places to be a soldier I can think of. Maybe I should have made “safe” an honorable mention.

4. Mountains (Mountains, Gandalf!)

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the LOTR reference. Anyway, mountains really made my trip. I love mountains, and Switzerland really has some to spare. And when I say mountains, I’m not talking about foothills, or steppes, or other mountain synonyms. I’m talking about some bigtime peaks here — real steep, rocky, jagged, instill-fear-of-heights kind of mountains. Mess you up, give you vertigo kind of mountains. I ascended a mountain outside of Luzern called Pilatus, and it was over 7,000 feet tall! Now, the fact that there were high-speed winds, hail and snow on top of the mountain made it more intimidating, especially since it was the first week of May, but the altitude will do that to you I guess. I felt like I was going to get blown off the summit and meet my cold, jagged, rocky death somewhere down the mountain (I probably wouldn’t have made it all the way to the bottom).

Ideally, I love to see mountains that back up to the sea (a la Monaco, Nice, San Sebastian, etc.) However, Swiss cities all have the next best thing, which is mountains that back up to large lakes. Luzern, Geneva and Zurich all lie in some of the most idyllic surroundings I’ve ever seen. Even just riding the train between major cities gives you some of the best views you could ever hope for. Mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers; I can understand why their tourism motto is “Get Natural”. They could have made it, “Our countryside kicks your countryside’s ass”, but that might not have had quite the friendly draw they were going for.

One downside to the mountains — getting up them. Seriously, I rode a bike to the Zurich zoo, which was maybe 3 or 4 miles out of city center, and I swear it was uphill the whole way. I’ve never felt so tired and out of shape in my entire life. It was a pleasure to come back down the hill, of course, because I didn’t have to pedal at all for the entire ride, but I would really have to get in better shape if I were going to ever live in Switzerland. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

3. Clean

I suppose you could say this a number of ways, really. Neat, Spotless, Spic, Span, Prim, Proper, Pristine, Institutional, etc. They all accurately describe it. That supernatural state of organization and cleanliness that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in the world. Portugal may be the best smelling country I’ve ever been in, but Switzerland in certainly the cleanest. The hostels, while expensive, are among the cleanest I’ve ever stayed in. Out of an entire week’s stay, across three major cities, I saw one homeless person. And given the fact that I was in Geneva, I’m guessing the guy migrated from across the French border and I saw him in the 6-hour period before the cleanliness authorities came and gave him a job and a makeover. I mean, Switzerland is almost eerily clean. In all seriousness, I’m not making this up, while I was standing in a shop doorway during a rainstorm in Luzern, I saw soap suds flowing down the gutters of a city street in the rain water. No car oil making multi-colored swirls on the surface of the water, soap suds running down into the storm drains and sewers — sewers which must either be the cleanest sewers or the dirtiest sewers of all time. My reasoning is this: if the Swiss are just so disciplined that all of their garbage and dirt goes to the proper place, then their garbage cans and sewers must be proportionately nasty. I mean, all the dirt has to go somewhere, right? Either that, or Switzerland is just so supernaturally clean that even their sewers and garbage cans are clean. I bet when Roger Federer finishes a three and a half hour tennis match and ends up dripping sweat all over the place, he still probably smells like a botanical garden. Or at least, the sweat that’s dripping off him is the cleanest sweat of anyone on the ATP tour. You guys know what I’m talking about.

2. Rich

This word can be used in so many ways when describing Switzerland. The country itself has a rich natural beauty and rich cultural heritage; many rich people have bank accounts there; there chocolate is very rich and creamy and delicious (in my opinion it is some of the best chocolate in the world); and you’d have to be rich if you want to live there or spend an extended amount of time there as a tourist. A kebab costs $8, and that’s without fries! They charge you $2 for tapwater in sit-down restaurants! Are you kidding me? Then again, if you were a rich tourist or resident, I can’t think of too many places I’d rather be…

Case in point: hostels and hotels. On my first night in Geneva, due to a lack of planing on my part (somewhat of a theme when I travel), I ended up having to stay in a hotel because all of the hostels were completely booked. The cheapest hotel I could find that wasn’t across the French border was 140 Swiss Francs (about $130). I’m sure if I would have booked the same hotel a little ahead of time I could have gotten it slightly cheaper, but still, it was pretty expensive. On the flip side, for being a self-proclaimed “budget hotel” (as I recall it was 2 stars), I found it quite cozy. It had a plasma tv, (with BBC and CNN as well as French, Swiss and German channels) a large bathroom with a bathtub, down comforter, basically all the creature comforts you miss when you stay in a hostel. The hostels are the same way — they cost between $25 and $40 (expensive for a hostel but way cheaper than the hotels), but they live up to their expensive prices by offering you consistently clean, comfortable, non-sketchy surroundings. The rooms are sometimes a little small, but you can be sure there will be clean bedding, clean bathrooms, and an absence of insects — which is more than you can say for some hostels.

The country is also rich in the sense that it’s not poor — or, at least, you don’t see many poor people there. It goes along with the whole clean, utopian thing. Poor and homeless people just make a mess, so clearly they can’t have that in Switzerland. Frankly, I don’t know where they put all the poor people. They have to be somewhere. Or maybe the Swiss are just so disciplined that they never stay unemployed long enough to actually become poor….

1. Utopian

Most of the other adjectives on this list really add up to this one. I mean, what do you call a place with some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world, an almost creepy level of cleanliness, friendly citizens who all speak multiple languages, coupled with passions for banking, watches, and chocolate (each of which again are among the best in the world)? They have never been ravaged by a major war (at least in the modern era that I can recall — feel free to correct me, history majors), and their massive lakes must be among the largest per capita sources of fresh water in the world — that could turn out to be very important in the decades to come. The cogwheel trains and cable cars that they have built in the Swiss Alps boggle the mind. And their knives are so cute and multi-functional! If only their kebabs and drinking water (or anything, for that matter) were more affordable, I would seriously consider moving there.

However, this word in not actually mine to claim as original; I actually heard it from an American that I met who was living in Geneva. What’s weird, though, is that she also described Swiss people as “nondescript” and “boring” (not unlike my college advisor, who I generally think of as a brilliant and knowledgeable person). I found Swiss people very kind and pleasant, and I was never bored while I was there (particularly while I was on top of the magnificent and awe-inspiring mountains). This raises a question in my mind,  one I’ve been possibly considering as a Moral Question of the Day: Do we, as people, find perfection boring? I mean, Switzerland may not be perfect, but if someone thinks of a place as simultaneously utopian and boring, does that mean that if humanity were to ever actually build a utopia, there would inevitably be dissenters who found it boring, and want to leave? Oh well, this question can be addressed in greater depth later, I’m sure.

Well, I’ll wrap this up now, because it has gotten really long. I really need to write shorter posts, so that I can finish them in one sitting and re-establish some kind of regular setting. Until then, I would highly recommend Switzerland to anyone with the desire (and money) to go there. Tootles.