Jemma in Europe: Travel Diary
A day late and a euro short is a good way to sum up my trip to Europe.
OK, OK, it wasn’t so bad, but I’m only sitting down to write this now, two weeks after my plane touched the Philly tarmac and my credit card bill is still more than I would like it to be.
I traveled throughout Switzerland, Germany and France for 15 days from Aug. 26 to Sept. 10. I made stops in Basel, Munich, Berlin, Paris and Bayeux, exploring, shopping, EATING!, and connecting with old friends. Even though I’m not pleased with my lack of budgeting (I made a valiant effort for the first week), I wouldn’t trade the experiences I had for the world.
In general, my plan was to:
Only spend 25€ a day on food
Stick to a rough budget of 50€ a day on “stuff” (activities, shopping, etc.)
Chill out, it’s vacation! Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, and pay the credit card bill later.
I had already paid about 500€ for my lodging and transportation, so that didn’t really factor in too much to my budgeting. My plane was paid since I had to work in Switzerland at the front of the trip, but I had to pay fees to reschedule my personal vacation to accommodate the work trip. Those ended up being about 400€, so I just told myself to pretend that was the flight cost. Which would have been a real steal.
I opened up a Bank of America Travel card for this trip. I don’t have international transaction fees, and I gain points that I can put toward my travel purchases! I ended up making back about $150 using this card. No yearly fees either. I also have an American Airlines account, so I’m racking up those miles.
The trip was so long, I’m going to break up my wins and losses by city.
Basel
Spending Win: I really enjoyed my trip to the Vitra Museum. I bought a day pass and I got to see really beautiful industrial design and a room full of the most important chairs from the past 200 years.
Spending Loss: Everything in Switzerland was insanely expensive. I was blowing my budget by 10€ a day. Thankfully, I was only there for a few days, but jeez. Two plates of melted cheese, some pickles and a beer cost me 50€! Yeah, that was dumb.
Munich
Spending Win: I loved my hostel. It was cheap, clean, and a nice mix of social and quiet. Wombats was great; I would totally recommend. I bought Birkenstocks in Munich! This was an expense I had been planning for, so absolutely no guilt here. Also, I visited Dachau concentration camp. Museums and historical sites are always going to be worth the money for me.
Spending Loss: I wasn’t planning on buying bras abroad, but I absolutely had to. After a week of wearing my old ill-fitting bras for 12 hours a day, I needed support. I was dying. But my lack of planning cost me about 150€ for the good French bras that fit me. To explain further, I am a little person with big boobs and I will splurge on bras that actually fit. I didn’t feel bad about needing bras but I would have preferred to buy them in another month where I’m not already dropping massive amounts of money.
Berlin
Spending Win: I lived in Berlin for six months a few years ago, so I had friends in the area. Friends mean couches and couches mean not needing to pay for lodging. Woo!
Spending Loss: Similar to the bras, I didn’t think about how Europe is rainy and cold even in the dead of summer. So I had to go on a hunt for a raincoat (in the rain). I ended up buying a Marmot coat that I was happy with for 100€. Cha-ching.
Paris
Spending Win: I had a great meal with my friend that we cooked ourselves using vegetables from a veg stand. We ended up paying about 2€ for a bunch of carrots, potatoes and onions. So cheap!
Spending Loss: I bought too many metro tickets. It was only a loss of 10€ but I felt silly. I gave them to my friend as a parting gift.
Bayeux
Spending Win: I splurged on a hotel that was super fancy because I wasn’t impressed with any of the hostel options in Bayeux. It was the off season so I got a suite for 100€ a night. For reference, the hostels were 30€. Definitely a treat-yo-self moment, but I loved the bath and I felt refreshed after a few days in a grimy Paris hostel. Also, I got a delicious three-course meal for 25€. I accidentally ordered two courses of cheese, but damn. So good.
Spending Loss: I bought Vans before I left for the trip, thinking they would last the whole thing. Nope. On my D-Day tour, it started pouring. That’s when I noticed there were holes in the top of the shoes and you could see my wet-socked toes poking through. They were the only walking shoes I brought, so in a panic I bought 50€ off-brand sneakers from a store on Bayeux’s main street. I’m not happy with them; they’re uncomfortable and I probably won’t wear them much here. A total spend of desperation.
In summary
I spent about $2,900, which is about $400 more than my budget. Ah well. C’est la vie. I’ve paid off about $2,500 using savings, so I’ll just have a credit card balance for a month or two. I’m not happy about it, but it’s manageable. Frankly, it was worth it.
Aug. 26 - Sept. 10
Total: $2900
WINS: Food, food, food! And museums and tours. Staying with friends saved me major $.
LOSSES: Poor packing meant I had to spend on necessities like bras and shoes.
OVERALL: I went over budget by $400! Ah! But I had the time of my life. To me that’s worth the extra credit card payment.
