Europe Through the Back Door

Guidebook corrections:

Please note: The following corrections were submitted by readers and have not yet been confirmed by Rick. Check updates from Rick for the latest.

"A sleepy, romantic, and inexpensive town on the Riviera without a tourist in sight."... It's Italy's Cinque Terre.

Wow. If I had paid for this book (Europe Through the Back Door, 2007) instead of borrowed it from the library, I might be writing to ask for my money back. "Without a tourist in sight"??? Oh lord.

I knew in April '08 that I would be traveling to Italy in May of this year. I asked some friends for recommended destinations and two close friends quickly suggested the Cinque Terre. Though neither had been since the mid 90's, they assured me that this was a spot not to miss. They both admitted that the place had probably grown because of publicity in the past several years. I wasn't too concerned until I saw it listed as the #1 "Back Door" site in Mr. Steves' book. I figured it was still worth a shot; so many trusted travelers couldn't be mistaken!

Now, please don't get me wrong; I was absolutely captivated by the Cinque Terre. Indeed a natural splendor, the beauty of the place is simply stunning. Both the geography as well as the human footprint on the land is impressive and deserving of much praise. It is easy to see why so many people would have struggled mightily to eke out an existence in this hillside, waterfront region. But I found that what may have been an inexpensive and sleepy village in Vernazza up to five years ago was now a jewel encrusted with the dirty glue of hundreds of barnacles. That place feels WAY to popular for it's own good. I found nothing short of HOARDS of tourists here and the crush never let up. Mind you I was in the area for four days, mid-week in May. It was not a major holiday, nor summer, nor was the weather even pleasant during my stay; yet try as I might I could hardly strike up a conversation with anyone working in the restaurants or hotels because they were so dang busy catering to dozens of Americans asking the ubiquitous "how long?", "how much?", "where can I...?" questions. I couldn't see how the environment could be called warm and welcoming for long. For sure, many of the folks living or working in the area are very friendly, charming and helpful. I have no issues with the people of the town; it is the massive influx of tourists that, in my humble opinion, have pushed this region to the limits.

Even the trails, which I walked between each town, were beautiful but very crowded. I am not one to let streams of people ruin my experience of such splendor but it was rare to find myself alone for a stretch of trail. Though I admit it was a hoot saying hello to fellow hikers in about a dozen different languages!

I did finally manage to find some folks who worked in an art gallery who were happy to take the time to hang out and chat for extended periods of time. They were a lovely couple with a nine-year-old daughter, they worked in one of the buildings near the water in the town square of Vernazza.

"This place was very slow up until ten years ago," they told me. "Until about five or six years ago it was getting busy but it was okay. Now it is like a hotel."

They told me that very few residents can afford to live in the main town any more and that so many of their old living quarters have been converted into "for rent" flats and hotel rooms. "We can only manage to stay because an old man lets us live in his house," they said.

When I was leaving Cinque Terre on 21 or 22 May it was dumping rain and someone on the train told me that Rick Steves himself was arriving in Vernazza that very afternoon. I am very curious to hear from a travel-writer who has visited the area many times over the past 10+ years. What are his thoughts on the place now vs. five or ten years ago? Does he think that there is such thing as overpopulation of tourists and if so, what are the markers of such a state and is Cinque Terre at that point in his opinion?

I am not writing to bash Mr. Steves or travel-writers in general. I am aware and appreciative of Mr. Steves' efforts to get Americans abroad and of his efforts to motivate travelers to tread sensitively as tourists. I can empathize with a travel-writers quandary of "how do I let people know how wonderful and enriching such-and-such a place is without drawing so many people here that it may deteriorate the experience?". I certainly don't know the answer to that question.

I grew up in Seattle. I moved a short distance away so that I can still enjoy the "big city" without being trapped in it. That city feels something less to me now because it seems as if so many people moved in with ideas of what Seattle is supposed to be that the real Seattle got lost. That is the scourge of rampant tourism; that the force of the observers can be so great as to affect the observed.

I am writing all this in the "Corrections" box simply because I think the opening line of the Cinque Terre chapter should be modified to reflect the true state of these "sleepy little towns". They sleep no more!

Thank you for your time

Andy Royer in Vashon, WA USA 06/11/2008

no

Theodore in Morro Bay, CA USA 05/06/2008

There appears to be a contradiction concerning what to do if one is lost. In 2004 I was in Brussels & while shopping in a cluster of "Belgium Lace Stores" I got myself completely turned around. When I had finished at the stores I thought I was headed back to meet my Bus Tour Group but I walked in the opposite direction! After about 35 minutes I realized I was heading into a residential area. My next mistake is that I started to panic because I knew I was going to be late for the bus departure. I approached three (3) people, 2 on the street & one in a Deli/Cafe & to my utter amazement I was brushed aside & had absoultely no idea why. I see on page 322 in TTBD Europe 2008 in the section about Outsmarting Thieves that "Sometimes, the scam artist is disguised as a lost tourist". This statement would explain why I was brushed aside in Brussels; however, on page 398 in the same book it states "If you are lost, take out a map and look lost". I am going to Europe May 7th for 17 days & after my experience in Brussels I will be better prepared but I thought I would point out that for me looking lost was perhaps taken by locals as a posssible scam.

Pat Irwin in Saint John, NB Canada 04/08/2008

Dear Rick Steves, I am a Malaysian, a university lecturer, who is currently on a work stint for a few months in Germany. In between work, I enjoy travelling around Europe and your book is wonderful company for the trips. Like you, I am a positive thinker, always trying to look for the best of situations, no matter how awkward, and also to always think of the best of other people. Yes, people from different parts of the world obviously have a lot of differences from one another, but we should all seek to bridge the differences by trying to understand more of each other, rather than rejecting a stranger based solely on our own ideas and perspective. After all, we share one world, one earth, and the world would be so much a better place for all when together, we strive to live in peace and harmony.

I greatly enjoy your book entitled ‘Europe through the back door 2007’. However, there was a point in your book, on page 260, that I wasn’t very comfortable with. On the last paragraph of the said page, you mentioned that a billion people in south Asia never eat with their left hand. I wonder if you somewhat implied that people from this part of the world practiced a less hygienic standards of cleansing oneself as compared to your methods of using toilet paper? Still, this wasn’t reason enough for me to write to you. Today however, I chanced upon your blog entry from 2007 on your recent trip to Turkey. In that blog, you mentioned that a lot of people from other parts of the world other than America use fingers to clean themselves, which indeed, sounds pretty disgusting (forgive me for the use of the word but I couldn’t think of anything more polite). However, please allow me to share my views on this somewhat unappetising issue that people generally find awkward to discuss with others. My comments are from a Malaysian muslim perspective, and I would not attempt to discuss the matter from the perspectives of other Asians.

As muslims, we take cleanliness very seriously. In Malaysia, muslims, as do other muslims from other parts of the world, clean ourselves very thoroughly after each visit to the toilet. I would not say that we use fingers to clean ourselves. Rather, we use water for cleansing. For us, the use of toilet paper is simply not clean enough. In fact, a lot of us use toilet paper only as a first attempt to rid of the ‘human waste’, after which, we use water to further cleanse ourselves. For big jobs, it is common to use soap for even more cleansing effect. In Malaysia, young children are taught at home and even in schools to use soap and water for cleansing. The use of water ensures that we really clean ourselves off urine or faeces, both in physical matter and smell. Imagine wiping a table smeared with sticky jam and coffee after an accident during breakfast. You need a wet towel to really clear off the residue.

Of course, when we use water, the hand is needed to scrub the area for cleansing, but this is after almost all of the physical waste has been removed earlier. After which, the hands should also be washed using soap and water to guard against germs. As for eating with only the right hand, this is table manners, like how you would hold your fork and knife accordingly when you eat in America or in Europe. In addition, we also have toilet manners, where only the left hand is used for scrubbing the parts in need of cleansing.

Muslims pray at the very least, five times a day. And prayers can only be offered if one is clean which explains the significance of using water for our cleansing purposes because water is the only medium that can help rid off the waste (bad smell and all), much as we use water for showering and keeping the rest of our body clean and smelling good.

I think this may come as a surprise to you. I do apologise beforehand, but as young Malaysian students in the UK more than 15 years ago, we were horrified to notice our university mates; fellow students, who used only toilet paper even after a big job in the loo. We thought of how unclean and unhygienic it must have been (the jam and coffee analogy) and to top it off, we noticed how in the UK, our British friends did not shower daily like we did. Even when it came to doing laundry, we certainly used the washing machines a lot more often than they did.

I hope this letter will change your perspective on some toilet issues that are seldom discussed in public. I also hope that you will one day take a break off Europe and visit Malaysia instead. It would be a pleasure to show you around, especially the new administrative capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya, where I live with my family (when I am not travelling abroad of course). I do not work for any travel agency, if that thought crosses your mind. I am just happy to share with you and America our side of the world.

Yours sincerely, Tuti Muchtar University lecturer and mother of three lovely kids, who considers travelling a passion and ever eager to contribute to bridging the gap between the so called East and West of one Earth.

Tuti in Duisburg, Germany 01/22/2008

Offer a guide for cruise passengers for ports in Europe, e.g., Dover, Amsterdam, Havre, Tallin, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, La Rochelle, etc. It could list local sights and low cost day trips from the ship that are cheaper than the cruise line add-ons.

Max M in Rochester, MI USA 08/27/2007

Rick, I live in Germany with the US Army (lucky me) and wanted to share something I just learned that contradicts a statement you make about Austrians. You say they have the longest lifespan in Europe, but the following site has life expectancy ages for men and women and at least Swedes and Italians enjoy longer lifespans. I didn't look up every European Country - but they are all listed. I'm very aware of the fewer number of obese people here in Europe and note the Austrians penchant for good food, walking and hiking. The Italians also share a love for strolling outdoors. I learned of the life expectancies here: http://reference.aol.com/atlas

Thought you should look into your claim of the Austrians being heavy smokers who live longer than other Europeans. They may still have the shortest work week, though!

Teresa in Mannheim, BW Germany 03/27/2007

On page 308 you talk about the "hood samaritan" trying to get you to use a station locker they have a key to - I assume it is supposed to be good samaritan?

Anica Mercado in Corvallis, OR USA 02/15/2007

In your Europe Through the Back Door 2007, you list the VAT in Germany as 16%. This has increased to 19% VAT as of 1 January 2007.

Maile Rough in Muehldorf a. Inn, Germany 02/05/2007

On page 41, when discussing fish shops, you end with the sentence "Poultry sold with the head attached is a sign of freshness." You certainly were referring to fish, which is not poultry!

John Acevedo in Columbia, MD USA 02/25/2006

yes , that it should be stated that if you decide to travel in the month of august to italy that there is a 3 day holiday for the italians where some of the resturants that are in the Europe through the back door are closed .

maryann jagosz in los angeles, ca USA 02/10/2006