Some reflections on modern continental travel.
Facilitators,
Mobile phones, laptops, booking on-line, Sat-nav, credit cards
Flexibility,
It all comes together now of course to allow hotel booking/cancelling/ re booking on the move and navigation even at night straight to the hotel.
But not that long ago you set off and were on your own, relying on public call boxes, even with a breakdown having to find a phone to ring the breakdown organisation.
Some memories of navigating in and out of Barcelona by observing the position of the Sun. Then across France, Belgium and Germany on a bike, with a roadmap held against my back and a hand coming out from behind to point out the route.
A lot of chance too. Finding that camp site or hotel by good luck at the end of an exhausting day.
Past ridgidity,
Even the ferries were much more expensive years ago, now so cheap as to be almost inconsequential (£63 for our next trip Sea France)
Improvement,
It seems that travelling by hotel, (with reference to the above facilitators) has now at least achieved the past independence and flexibility of caravanning, Motor-homes and so on..
Of course there are exceptions, but does anyone else marvel at how technology now allows you to flit across the Continent changing plans with ease as you go?
If you do this too, how did it come together for you? Surely the mobile phone was the first facilitator? Although the credit card perhaps had a role before that too.
When was the point that it suddenly occurred to you, how easy it had all become?
oilrag
Edited by oilrag on 07/09/2008 at 10:51
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And the growth of those "basic" hotels has made it as cheap as using a caravan!
Oops didn't answer the Q! - We started travelling across Europe back in 98/99 and was able to do a lot on the 'net, the cheap hotels were around, but you had to rely on your mobile to phone them for directions so i suppose that was around the start of the crossover period?
Edited by b308 on 07/09/2008 at 11:00
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Mostly agree, it's very easy now - the phone I think is the main one. Just returned from a drive down to Spain and found the Sat Nav I borrowed largely redundant, in fact I didnt bother, signage is so good on the continent and map-reading is a skill worth maintaining.
The downside of these gadgets is it's creating a whole generation completely lacking in self-reliance and mental agility. eg a friend's sat nav packed up in Birmingham and she couldn't find her way back to S Wales-ha ha!
On line booking, great, but personally don't bother taking a Laptop on hol, getting away from stuff like that is why I go in the first place!
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I have been around computer technology from the start of the 80's.
I have seen the development from the very first laptop, the Osborne 1 tinyurl.com/6jl69y the first 'AST desktop/tower PC's' tinyurl.com/59c9bg
to your current day laptops and desktop/towers and been in and around IT all of my working life.
Right up to what we have today that your average mobile phone has just as much computing power & memory installed than your average PC at home does!
I would be truly lost without my gadgets!
I wish I would be here in another 50 to 100 years to see what technology we will hve then.
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"your average mobile phone has just as much computing power & memory installed than your average PC at home does!"
I seem to remember reading that the average mobile phone now has more computing power that was used on the flights to the moon in the late '60s/early '70s
Your satnav probably does also!!
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signage is so good on the continent
I have to beg to differ, certainly for France, Germany, Belgium, Czech R, Lux., and Holland - the one thing I have noticed is that signage in GB is far far clearer and there is a lot less of it meaning its easier to understand! The signs on the French motorway heading to Belgium are awful compared with ours and when you arrive in the towns and villages you are positively bombarded with far more info than you will ever need!
Can't speak for Spain, though, never driven over there!
Edited by b308 on 07/09/2008 at 17:16
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The `end of threads` for me at this point I think, while I get on with planning the next trip and reading Richard Holmes. See you all later ;)
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