This month marks the 20th anniversary of my first trip to Europe. That was the first time that I needed a passport because back then you did not need one to travel to Canada or Mexico. How things have changed!
At that time I did not know much about Europe other than what I had studied in some classes in college. The trip came about because my brother had just graduated from college and wanted to go to. I was only working temporary jobs at the time and my parents suggested I go with him.
Travel planing was much different back then. Travel agents, guidebooks and a couple of friends were the only resources that we had to plan the trip. It makes me wonder how we ever traveled before the internet?
Many of the differences that I mention below applies to any travel and not just European. I chose to use Europe because it is the first trip that I really got to experience different countries and cultures from my own.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEN AND NOW
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography is a big part of traveling and it has changed a lot in 20 years. On my first European trip I had a small point and shoot camera and ten rolls of film. During that five week trip I took about three hundred photos. If I were to take that same trip today I would have 10,000+ photos all stored on a few memory cards. I wish I had more photos from that first trip but I probably have better memories of it because I did not spend too much time staring at the camera.
THEN – Film Camera | NOW – Digital Camera
Needless to say I take a lot more photos now
THEN – Asking some stranger to take a photo of you
NOW – Selfie
Selfie at Sagrada Familia
INFORMATION
On the first trip I had three guidebooks and that was it. Those guidebooks were a lot smaller than current books. The Rick Steves 2-22 Days in Europe book that I used is less than 300 pages and covered 5 countries and 14 cities. Modern guidebooks take 300 pages to cover a medium size city. Guidebooks still play a role in my travels but not as much as they used to. There are so many more places to get information that can not be found in guidebooks. I often think that there is too much information available now and travel was more interesting when you did not know everything about the destination.
THEN – Guidebook | NOW – Phone App
Rick Steves is still going strong. Now available on the phone.
COMMUNICATION
There were two ways of communicating on that first trip: telephone and mail. I think we checked in with our parents once a week to let them know we were still alive. Now if you do not update your Facebook status ten times a day they send out a search party for you.
THEN – Payphone
These do not get much use these days
NOW – Skype
THEN – Postcards
Schilthorn in Switzerland
NOW – Facebook status updates or Twitter or Instagram or Email….
Now we update our Facebook status instead of sending postcards
FINANCES
On the first trip every country had a different currency. We brought a small amount of money from each country so we were prepared if we were unable to exchange travelers checks. We also had enough travelers checks to cover the costs for the whole trip. These were exchanged every couple of days at the American Express offices because they had the best exchange rate. Now I carry a ATM card and a couple of credit cards and never have more than a few days cash on me.
THEN – Different currency for each country
“CHF1000 7 back horizontal“. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
NOW – Euro’s used everywhere except Switzerland and the U.K.
“Euro coins and banknotes” by Avij (talk · contribs) – Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
THEN – Travelers Checks
NOW – ATM’s & Credit Cards
TRANSPORTATION
We used mostly trains and a few buses to get between countries. The trains were not that fast and when possible we used night trains to cover long distances so we did not waste time. Now there are budget airlines such as Ryanair or Easyjet that make it faster and cheaper to cover long distances. I still prefer trains but would definitely fly now for longer distance trips.
THEN – Trains
NOW – Cheap flights
“Ryan.b737.750pix“. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
MUSIC
If you wanted to have music to listen to the tape player was the only option. I think I only carried three or four cassettes because I did not want to take up too much room in my bag. Now I can load all of my music on my phone and have access to thousands of songs.
THEN – Walkman | NOW – iPhone
I am glad I do not have to carry cassettes around anymore
RECORDING OUR MEMORIES
I used a journal to record information from that first trip. In it is the planned and actual itinerary, daily summary of activities, daily expenses and thoughts about what I had seen and done. It is a great record of that trip and I am glad that I have it. Now instead of having a journal I have a blog. While the journal is just for me the blog is out there for the world to see.
THEN – Journal
This Journal is from my first Europe trip
NOW – Blog
Everyone and their mother has a blog now
When I think back to that first trip I remember how much simpler it was. The information we had was limited to a few guidebooks so we really did not know what to expect. Every place was a new discovery. Now I can also get more information than I can possibly use from the internet and have a decent idea of what I am going to find when I arrive.
As much as traveling has changed I still get excited going somewhere new. There is nothing like the rush that I get when I arrive in a new country. So while the tools that we use in our travels have changed a lot in twenty years travel is still about experiencing the places and the people that we find on our journeys
How has travel changed for you over time?
1994 was still pre-Schengen implementation (which was 1995). Sooo…. you still had to stop at every border and get your passport checked and stamped. That’s the biggest change to me. It’s one zone now.
Lance recently posted..Seeing London on a Long Heathrow Layover
That is true. We got woken up many times on night trains to have our passports checked.
I totally relate to this post because I first traveled to Europe in 1995, then again in 1996 and then lived in the Czech Rep. until 1997. I sometimes wonder how I was able to plan my trips and make reservations without the Internet back then!
Jenna recently posted..Digging Deeper: The Historic Architecture in California
The internet has definitely changed travel. We did seem to get things done without it though.
This brings back so many memories, Jeff. You are right, in many ways, traveling is easier now. (Or at least a whole lot lighter!) I do regret only having a film camera on my trip to England back in the ’90s though, because the photos have darkened over time and I really never look at them any more. Thank God I still have my journal, or my aging memory might forget a lot of the details of that trip.
Gray recently posted..Where it’s The Fourth of July Every Week
I don’t think it is any lighter. I never used to travel with 10lbs of electronics. If you still have the film negatives from the England trip you can get them scanned and have new ones printed.
What a fun way to recap the changes in travel! It amazes me to think about the things that my kids will never really understand-like having film developed.
Jessica recently posted..You Want Me To Pee Where? The Squeamish Woman’s Guide to Personal Hygeine While River Rafting
I think that is one of the biggest changes. We used to have to conserve our film and only take select photos. Now we can take as many as we want.
Awesome post Jeff! I remember the days of film! I love how much cheaper digital is! When I travel I turn my phone service off and I love that disconnection. My iphone only works on wifi so I can save directions and such in it. My first trip to Europe I had that heavy Lonely Planet book and promptly forgot it on one of the first trains I took. In retrospect it was heavy and I wouldn’t have used it!
Anna recently posted..Nine Examples of the Real Cost of Groceries in Iceland
It is much easier with digital cameras now. Plus film was expensive in Europe if you needed to buy more. I left some boots on the train on that trip and was glad I forgot them. They were uncomfortable and bulky.
Love this post! Excellent comparisons! I still remember thinking carefully about every picture I took, since developing films was so expensive. The digital era has made many things much easier and more comfortable for many travellers. Only think about the research you can nowadays do online before you travel, booking tickets online, but indeed also the travel apps you can use at your destination. I am always wondering what’ll be next, can travelling be made even more convenient?
Lydian recently posted..Art Nouveau in Riga – Heritage From a Golden Era
The next step will be to travel without leaving our house….that would not be much fun though.
I didn’t travel to Europe 20 years ago. But, looking at the difference between then and now is really interesting. It’s so funny, too, what we kind of take for granted. Like traveling between borders as one commenter said.
Nicole recently posted..Getting Scammed by Hertz Hurts
Borders and currency are two of the big changes.
Do you know I still send postcards to my Grandparents. We’ve been travelling non stop for the last 3 years and they’ve quite a collection now!
Charli recently posted..Discovering The Lost Island Of Molokai
That’s great. I am sure they appreciate them. Postcards are so much better than email.
Nice selfie, Jeff! We just got back from our first European trip in over a decade, and the biggest change I noticed was the prices! It’s much more expensive than I remember. Then again, we were in Scandinavia…
It is more expensive everywhere especially Scandinavia.
Love this post! I haven’t thought about travelers’ checks in forever! So funny.
Phoebe (Short Road to Happy) recently posted..An Escape to The Lake District
I don’t miss those travelers checks at all. It is so much easier with an ATM and Credit Card.
Great post! I love all the comparisons–it’s fun to think about how much has changed. Got me thinking back to my first trip to Europe around 7 years ago, and things have changed quite a bit from then too, although not near as much as 20 years!
It was fun to look back at the changes. The way we travel has really changed a lot in the last 20 years.
Such a cool post, Jeff! It’s interesting how travel’s become much lighter yet somehow more complicated in many ways. There are so many distractions now with phones, digital cameras, and social media—especially for us travel bloggers, who seem to feel guilty for missing posting a social media update or two. Even 15 years ago, it was so easy to get “off the grid”, even in bigger cities. (Who honestly had the patience for dial-up internet while travelling?) Now, we’re connected almost 24-7—it’s a blessing in some ways, but can be distracting to getting the full travel experience.
Ryan recently posted..Day Trips From Ljubljana: 5 Reasons You Need To Visit Lake Bled, Slovenia
Getting off the grid is pretty difficult these days. The only way is to actually go somewhere where there is no grid. I think my bag has actually gotten heavier than it used to be. All the electronics I carry take up a lot of room and weight.
Travel has definitely become faster, easier and cheaper (the latter not being environmentally great, but for entirely life-enhancing reasons, of course it is great!). I really love your comparison of the journal and blog, admittedly I love the process of writing with a pen on paper, but I also love how having a blog enables you to share experiences with friends, family, and anyone else who wants to listen! Strangely, I still used travellers cheques in 2008, I think I was a bit slow in adapting to all these changes 🙂
I don’t think it has gotten cheaper but it is definitely easier to research now. I think the last time I used Travelers Checks was in 2002.
I love this comparison. I did my first trip in 1982 but most of your “then” still applied even back then. I secretly still grab a postcard from everywhere I go. Don’t tell any travel purists of my trinket compulsion…
Ed recently posted..Can I get double miles if the plane engine is on fire?
I imagine it would have been pretty similar in 1982. The internet changed everything.