Re: "Planning" a trip to Europe

dblthnk84 wrote:

I'm going to finish my undergrad this fall and decided that I wanted to
take a small break from the whole school thing to actually see some of the
world. I've wanted to go to Europe for a while now, and it seems like
early next year might be the best chance I'll ever have. I'm tentatively
thinking from early January to early June (2009).

Ideally what I'd like to do is just buy the tickets there and back and try
to pay for everything else by busking while I travel around where my whims
take me. Some places that I already know I would like to visit are
Norway, Greece (Athens in particular), Italy, United Kingdom, and
Chekslovakia (Prague). Oh yeah, I probably should visit France at some
point too. Does anyone know if local laws would tend to discourage me
from trying to busk for my meals?

Also is there anyone in Europe that would be interested in putting me up
for a night or two? :D

Are there any big juggling events that I should make a point of trying to
attend while I'm out there?

Am I just daft? Probably, but I've already filed away for my passport and
am getting more and more excited about this trip with every day. :D

Please feel free to give me any advice or suggestions, all help is greatly
appreciated. I know this is really vague, but I'm sure it'll be more
defined as the trip approaches (and I like the idea of just bumming around
Europe for a couple months).

Thanks,
Brandon


You are already on the right track, posting here.

A lot of very friendly and hospitable jugglers read this forum and reside
in Europe.

Pack as light as you can, and if you can manage to get all your juggling
props in one rolling bag
(which you check in as checked baggage on planes) with enough space for
your clothes (in a smaller
bag that fits inside your juggling bag) then you will be happier.

I used to lug around a backpack full of clothes AND my juggling/show bag
PLUS a carryon. It was too
much, impossible without a vehicle. I now leave the big one (with the
bulk of my clothes for 6 ish
months) at a single "base location" and just put enough clothes into the
smaller bag inside my juggling
bag for each leg of my travels.

If you come to Norway, make sure it´s between May and September sometime.
Norway is super
expensive and if you are going to fund your travels with shows, you have
to have good weather (which
is never guaranteed, but may happen in summer months).

The Norway in a Nutshell tour is actually so good that it´s worth the
price if it´s not too rainy.

When busking, if you do a talking act, feel free to gently suggest a
donation and humorously chide
people who start putting copper coins like pennies and crap into your hat.
You are worth more than a
hatful of pennies, which will never add up. Be nice to people but let them
know, while making eye
contact, that you depend on your tips to make you a living. Keep a smile
on your face and don´t let
any rude people get too much of your ire or attention.

London does not allow fire juggling anywhere anymore, so have a backup
prop you can use instead of
torches/fire poi/flaming attorneys etc.

Talking shows in Italy need to be in Italian, according to what I´ve
heard. I always perform in French
in France, but in Paris I have to do bilingual shows because of so many
international tourists in front
of Centre Pompidou (the ONLY officially allowed busking spot left; expect
queues).

Frankfurt and Munich have recently copped huge Teutonic attitudes about
fire juggling also. Man. So,
if you don´t have to do fire, you´ll find it easier to adjust to those
places.

In Copenhagen there used to be a local policeperson known as "Hitler" who
hated buskers in general
and was pretty harsh on jugglers. I hear he has now retired. Copenhagen
still has inexcusably strict
and fussy laws about when and where busking can take place, but Denmark is
a great country.

Edinburgh (Scotland) is WAY better outside of the Fringe Festival weeks
(August, I think the first coupla
weeks). During Fringe, expect huge queues for any spots as a juggler, and
way, way too many juggling
performers for it to be fun anymore. When it´s not the Festival, Edinburgh
is more chill but the High
Street can be a good spot to bring in over 50 dollars in a small but
decent show (25 British Pounds).
Two of those a day and you cover your hostel and food.

This is only a rumor that´s reached my ears, but it´s reached them via
multiple channels: Warmish
places like Greece, the Canary Islands, Mallorca and the Riviera have
Mafia bastards who, along with
corrupt police, shut down and cruelly harass buskers. Check carefully
before even letting them see
your props.

Prague is gorgeous but so far, only Czech people can get a busking license
and only licensed people
can perform there, at least officially.

Berlin has a decent pitch (= performing spot) on the Ku´damm
(Kurfürstendamm) near Kaiser
Wilhelms Gedächtniskirche but there was a troupe of skateboard
breakdancers there hogging it all
freaking day every day last year. Not cool.

Hamburg may be ok because I did fire there a few times with no police
hassle. Use either slow English
or some German. Glasgow (Scotland) is good, on Buchanan street, but watch
for thuggish football fans
and bag thieves along with the occasional pickpocket. The police who watch
your show there are
watching the crowd for trouble, not hassling you. Thanks, Glasgow cops!
You rule.

Restaurant eating is way more expensive than buying food at grocery stores.

Make sure you stay hydrated while traveling. I recommend drinking the tap
water everywhere you go
in Western Europe because it´s safe and free. You can buy a bottle of
water at the beginning of your
trip and just refill it where you go, and remember that even if the water
tastes funny , in EU countries
it will not hurt you or make you sick.

If you hitchhike, make a large, clearly labeled sign with the name of the
next town or city you want to
get to, then the word ´please´on it. Sometimes juggling 3 balls while
wearing a clear sign will help.

Budget airlines are getting cheaper than trains unless you have a
railpass. If you can tolerate long
distance buses, you might find some incredible deals, but trains and boats
are the most comfortable
transports.

Get a copy of Let´s Go Europe. It is written every year by budget
travelers from Harvard who do a
great job of finding all the hostels and warning you about ripoffs.

Bring a flash drive and extra memory cards if you take digital photos.
Internet cafes sometimes let you
rent their wireless signal, and that´s a lot cheaper than using a paid
location like Starbuck´s. Many
McDonald´s in France have free WiFi.

Plugging in your electronics in Europe need not be a hassle if you use the
kind of chargers that are
made for international markets. For example, my old Casio digital camera,
my computer, and my
camcorder all have a box halfway down the charging cable. You unplug the
part that goes into the
wall, the part with the wall plug on it, and that same little dual
connector hole on the box part will
accommodate a Euro or UK version of the plug part (cost about 6 or 10
bucks US). The box on the
charging cable is what takes in the stronger Euro current and feeds the
right amount into your
electronics. You can use one cable for Europe and one for the UK for all
of your chargers if they are
modular like the ones i´m describing.

Bring a towel and ear plugs if you will be staying in hostels. Don´t keep
much cash on you if you have
an international ATM (bank machine) card. Your ATM card will give you a
better rate than changing
currency ever will. If you busk, remember that coins cannot be changed to
other currencies so they
must be changed up for paper notes, or spent, while they are in their
homeland. Bars and grocery
stores will often buy smallish coins if you buy something in their
establishment.

European cities usually have pedestrian streets, often called walking
streets. That´s where you will
often find busking pitches. If you meet other buskers, get a friendly
dialogue going and share pitches
with them. They are mostly pretty cool and can really help you with advice
and local info.

If you fly into the UK, the Immigration of Her Royal Majesty or whatever
will require you to fill out a
form with your occupation on it, and they will ask you a lot of questions,
as if we Americans are trying
to move to the UK forever and steal their jobs or women or royalty or
something. Answer politely and
succinctly, but don´t tell them you´re busking. They think that means
you´re going to illegally live
and work there. Forever. Even though it rains a lot.

One more thing about traveling in Europe: if you voted for our current
President, that should be kept
a secret. Americans can still be popular over here, if we show humility
and respect for our hosts.

John










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