His followers will decide the route!
Meet Derek Earl Baron, or Earl as he prefers to be called. He's just landing into Zurich as we speak and is ready to set out on his first ever European rail trip. Where is he heading? Check out the provisional route that his blog followers have helped him to put together:
- Zurich to Vienna, Austria
- Vienna to Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Ljubljana to Zagreb, Croatia
- Zagreb to Sarajevo, Bosnia
- Sarajevo to Belgrade, Serbia
- Belgrade to Romania (inc. Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu and Cluj)
- Romania to Bulgaria (inc. Black Sea coast, Polvdiv and Sofia)
Follow Earl's blog as his European rail trip unfolds: www.wanderingearl.com
Or Tweet him along the way @WanderingEarl
Interview
Get to know more about Earl in his interview with Eurail.Com...
Tell us something about yourself…
Back in 1999, I left the USA for what was supposed to be a 3-month backpacking trip around Southeast Asia. However, 12 years and 70 countries later, that trip has still yet to end. Whether it be backpacking through Nicaragua, Czech Republic, Vietnam or Syria, working as a Tour Manager on board cruise ships, teaching English in Thailand, volunteering in India or living in Mexico, I've somehow managed to turn that crazy fantasy of constant travel into an actual lifestyle.
I'm originally from Boston, I'm now 34 years old, I shave my armpits, I have flat feet and I eat Indian food as often as possible. And I firmly believe that the education gained from travel is the key to eliminating many of the dangerous misunderstandings that people hold about their fellow world citizens. Travel helps us realize that the overwhelming majority of people on this planet simply want to live a happy, peaceful life just like we do. Being able to constantly confirm this fact and to share with others the knowledge I learn is the main reason I continue exploring this world of ours!
What experience do you have as a travel writer?
For two years I have written consistently on my personal travel blog, WanderingEarl.com, having recently been nominated for the 2011 Bloggy Awards in the category of Best Writing on a Travel Blog. The articles I write involve a combination of personal travel stories, detailed information about the countries I visit as well as useful advice on how others can also live a life that involves a significant amount of travel. In addition to my own site, I have also contributed travel-related articles to dozens of other websites as well as print magazines.
Why are you excited to travel with a Eurail pass?
There are several reasons! To begin with, I'm excited to experience first-hand the benefits of this extensive rail system that appears to offer the most efficient method of traveling around Europe in terms of both time and money. And I'm also excited to just spend some time on the trains themselves as I am quite fond of train travel, especially being able to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery passing by as well as the interactions with other passengers on the train. Air travel is rarely pleasant these days, bus travel can often be frustrating and yet, train travel always seems like such an attractive way to get from one destination to the next. And being able to easily reach dozens of destinations throughout Europe via train is simply something that I can't wait to experience for myself.
Have you ever travelled around Europe by train?
While I have spent a considerable anount of time in several European countries over the years, I have actually never before traveled via Eurail. In the past, my trips to Europe typically involved visiting friends in one location and not moving around too much, so I never had a need to travel by train.
What do you think the advantages are of exploring Europe by train?
Not only does traveling Europe by train offer travelers an extensive transportation system that makes it easy to reach all of their destinations, but it also allows travelers to create their own unique and flexible itineraries through the use of Eurail passes. As a result, traveling around Europe becomes a seamless, hassle-free affair. Such a rail system practically eliminates the time-consuming challenges and frustrations that travelers often have to face while trying to figure out how to get from one destination to the next in many parts of the world. And the peace of mind that Eurail offers is a major benefit for those who prefer to spend less time worrying about transportation and more time enjoying the actual destinations they visit.
What is your plan for this trip?
The plan is to allow the readers of my blog to choose the destinations I will visit on this European adventure. The only catch is that I want as many of the countries as possible to be countries that I have not yet visited before. Apart from that, I will take the five places that receive the most nominations/votes and create my Eurail itinerary around those destinations. I shall also remain open to suggestions from my readers as to specific towns/cities to visit as well as specific sights to see or activities to participate in. The overall goal is to create a participatory adventure so that as many people as possible will not only follow along, but hopefully feel as if they are a part of the journey as well.
What is your most memorable travel experience to date?
Despite having traveled for almost 12 years now, my most memorable experience still remains one of my first. On the night of December 31, 1999, only five days after arriving in Asia, I found myself celebrating the Millennium at the mysterious temple complex of Angkor Wat, located in the midst of the Cambodian jungle. Surrounded by 40,000 local Cambodians, I spent several hours perched on top of an ancient stone wall in front of the impressive temple, watching Buddhist monks release peace lanterns into the sky and sharing food and drink with the kind and generous families seated next to me. And it was this very night, as I found myself in complete awe at the instant and life-changing education that such a travel experience provided, that I first realized that I could not allow myself to settle for anything less than a life of constant travel.
