Money matters...

I've been trying to calculate how much money I'll be needing for my trip. It seems like such a big amount. Right now, I'm thinking it'll be an average of 20 euros per night for accomodation and then breakfast so in total that'll be around 1000 euros. Lunch and dinner may equate to 40 euros a day so that's 2400 euros (although I can just skip meals or eat fast food to lower this cost lol). I'm not really sure how much it'll cost me to go sightseeing and all that, plus not sure how much crap I'll buy. I also have to pay for some trains (cos some require reservation), which will be around 5 euros each, although I think the Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussels costs about 80 euros each way. So much money for a damn train ride. Anyways, I given myself around 4500 euros to last me for the two months that I'll be on the road. Hopefully it lasts. If not, looks like I'll be heading back to Emmenbrücke early lol.



The thing that I'm worried about though is the fact that I don't have a travel card (if only I had had more time, then I could have organised one before I left). I'll be carrying around my money with me, which means I will definitely not be taking overnight trains. I can't risk falling asleep and waking up to find that everything has been stolen. Nevertheless, I will still need to be cautious even on day trains. Once again, it's times like these that I wish I wasn't travelling alone. Will need to exchange the money as well, since it's currently in swiss francs. I've been told to exchange in banks to ensure a decent exchange rate, as compared to dodgy street booths. Even dodgier are those people who come up to you offering to exchange money. Never exchange with randoms on the street!!

Anyways, the trip starts tomorrow!! My trip throughout Europe will finally begin!! I've packed (sort of), and even though my Ben Sherman bag is surprisingly large, I still don't think I'll be able to fit everything. It's because of my extra jacket which is so damn thick, but I will definitely be needing it so that needs to stay. I can only bring one bag since I have to fly from Madrid to London, and if I have more than one piece of luggage, they'll make me check one (and pay more money). I guess from London onwards, I can buy another bag and split my things between the two. But for now, I may have to take out some shirts or something to make sure I can zip up my bag. I haven't even put in my towel yet or my massive Lonely Planet guidebook. Hmmmm, maybe I should take a pair of jeans as well.

Went to a massive shopping centre today (kind of like Westfields). This one was quite interesting. It was so spacious. It was literally 30 or 40 metres from one wall to the opposite wall. Very big open areas. What made it even more interesting was that almost the whole place was made from wood. It's quite odd to see wooden staircases and pillars in a shopping centre, but it made it look really nice. Also Migros is the main store in Switzerland. They do everything. Everywhere you turn, there's a version of Migros around. Migros Food, Migros Electronics, Migros Liquor, Migros Florist, Migros Sportswear...I think you get my point.

Well, it's 7:30pm now. I should really get back to packing (more like unpacking to make room). Need to make sure I have all the essentials. Passport, rail pass, money. If only I was rich enough to be able to travel with only those items. I could just buy everything I needed wherever I needed it. But whilst I am still on Centrelink payments, I should probably save money wherever I can.

HBL signing out from Emmenbrücke, Switzerland. Hopefully I will be able to post again tomorrow night when I'm in Nice, France.