A Guide to Europe’s Forgotten Adventures From the Camino di Santiago, to the Iron Curtain Trail Cara Räker e do not know what the fuW ture holds for the travel and tourism industry ‘after’ COVID-19.
As stated by the World Travel & Tourism Council, considering that one out of ten jobs worldwide are related to tourism, 75 million people are at risk of losing their jobs while international travel is largely put on hold. While Europe has gotten a little bit out of fashion the last couple of years, certainly ranking behind Australia or Thailand amongst young travellers, there is certainly no shortage of exciting travel opportunities just around the corner. Of course, the hospitality industry does not have it easy these days. Hotels, museums, restaurants and other tourist attractions are forced to close, re-open just to immediately close again. A map of European countries shows most of them tainted in red or orange and travelling should really be left for the new year but, nevertheless, here is a list of 5 adventures you can embark on right now! Or at least very soon.
The E-paths I admit, the E-trails are for deeply committed adventurers rather than casual travellers, but they are definitely worth mentioning. Spinning its web all over the continent, the European long-distance path network consists of 12 individual long-distance trails, numbered E1 to E12, which have been maintained by the European Ramblers Association (ERA) since 1969. The E1, for instance, starts at Nordkapp in Norway and stretches over 8,000 km down to Capo Passero, Italy, covering a total distance of 8,000 km. Three of these paths E2, E8 and E9, pass through the Hoek van Holland close to Rotterdam and can lead you to all kinds of different places.
The Iron Curtain Trail
EuroVelo Routes
Eastern European students, listen up! The Iron Curtain Trail might be your (wet) dream come true. Running alongside the Western border of the former Warsaw Pact States, the Iron Curtain Trail enables you to experience European history firsthand. The trail stretches 10,000 km from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea and has been recognized by the European Parliament as a model for sustainable tourism in 2005.
The European cycle route network resembles the E-Paths but it’s for bikes! The EuroVelo project is supported by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) which, in its own words, has ‘pledged to ensure that bicycle use achieves its fullest potential so as to bring about sustainable mobility and public well-being’. There are sixteen in counting, EV1 to EV16, bearing delightful names such as the Sun Route (EV7), which follows the above-mentioned E1 from Norway to Italy, or the Atlantic Coast Route (EV1), which stretches along the coastlines of Norway, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. Can you imagine starting your journey in the deepest forests of Northern Europe just to end up with a well-deserved beer in hand on some beach in Portugal?
The Camino Routes Building upon already existing long-distance trails, the ERA aims to provide a trail network which brings the traveller closer to the European countryside and its natural heritage. The trails are reminiscent of a tradition of long-distance walks which has been present in Europe for centuries. A prominent survivor of this heritage is an existing network of pilgrim routes, the Camino de Santiago, whose origins can be traced back to the 9th century. While vastly travelled during the 10th to 12th century for religious pilgrims, the route steadily declined in popularity until its rediscovery in the 1970s to 1980s. In 2019, the paths attracted over 347,578 registered pilgrims alone. All of the Camino routes lead to Santiago de Compostela, a town in Northern Spain, where an impressive cathedral awaits all those who have successfully completed the journey. Nowadays, people walk the Caminos for all different kinds of reasons be it religion, the longing for an ambitious outdoor holiday or the love for Southern European flora and fauna.
Eurail Pass Of course, no guide to European travel would be complete without highlighting the popular opportunities presented by the European rail network. While the program is currently paused due to the risks posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, there is a good chance that travel within Europe will be possible again in the not-so-far future. A Eurail Pass can be purchased at rates as low as 185 euros and connects 40,000 destinations in 33 different countries. Different packages are available where the traveller can choose between fixed destinations or more flexible approaches including unlimited travel for an x-number of days.
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