Crestview Public Library to present free seminar on ABCs of traveling in Europe

Brian Hughes | Special to the Northwest Florida Daily News / USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read

CRESTVIEW — Many magical moments await independent travelers to Europe, and a free upcoming Crestview Public Library seminar will teach participants how to plan them.

Discovering Europe’s cultural treasures such as London’s Elizabeth Tower at your own pace and itinerary is easily done with tools you’ll learn at the free two-night “Europe Bound” seminar presented Jan. 24 and 25 at the Crestview Public Library.
Discovering Europe’s cultural treasures such as London’s Elizabeth Tower at your own pace and itinerary is easily done with tools you’ll learn at the free two-night “Europe Bound” seminar presented Jan. 24 and 25 at the Crestview Public Library.

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Attendees will hear a presentation on activities like these:

  • Strolling the cobblestones of a medieval village as half-timbered houses form a fairytale canyon on either side

  • Climbing the Acropolis to watch the sun rise over the Parthenon

  • Exploring the crypts beneath a 15th-century cathedral

  • Spending the night in a Rhein River castle

  • Sampling the cuisine of countless cultures

  • Beholding the masterpieces of centuries’ worth of art

  • Experiencing world architectural and artistic treasures most only know from history books

  • Letting the gentle sway of an overnight train lull you to sleep, awakening two countries later.

These are just some of the memorable experiences you can create when you plan your own exploration of Europe.

Why head to a typical fast-food place when Europe’s communities abound with great traditional eateries like these in Krakow, Poland?
Why head to a typical fast-food place when Europe’s communities abound with great traditional eateries like these in Krakow, Poland?
Exploring Europe by trains like this German high-speed ICE express is easy. The “Europe Bound” seminar will show attendees the simple step-by-step procedure for picking the right train, booking a reservation and finding your seat.
Exploring Europe by trains like this German high-speed ICE express is easy. The “Europe Bound” seminar will show attendees the simple step-by-step procedure for picking the right train, booking a reservation and finding your seat.

“Europe Bound,” a free two-night seminar developed at Tulane University, will provide the tools the first-timer needs to plan and execute an independent trip to the Old World from which so many of our ancestors set sail generations ago.

The seminar starts at 5 p.m. nightly Jan. 24 and 25 at the Crestview Public Library at 1445 Commerce Drive.

Since 1986, “Europe Bound” has been helping first-timers discover Europe at their own pace and on their own schedules.

Check out the diverse stores along Noirmoutier-en-l’Île’s main shopping street during a visit to Crestview’s Sister City. Learn how to find the best souvenirs and the cheapest prices at “Europe Bound,” and find out about the Sister City program’s next trip to Noirmoutier.
Check out the diverse stores along Noirmoutier-en-l’Île’s main shopping street during a visit to Crestview’s Sister City. Learn how to find the best souvenirs and the cheapest prices at “Europe Bound,” and find out about the Sister City program’s next trip to Noirmoutier.

The Crestview Area Sister City Program is co-sponsoring the class in advance of its May visit to Noirmoutier, France. Many participants will take advantage of already being in Europe to continue their experiences before and after their “official” visit to Noirmoutier.

But going to France with the Sister City program isn’t a prerequisite for learning how to plan and execute an independent European vacation. The class is open to anyone.

“Europe Bound” isn’t as much a “what to see” as it is a “how to see it” program.

Participants will receive a free 40-page booklet — courtesy of Crestview’s Hart Printing — that features useful websites and simple techniques for traveling in Europe.

A good guidebook can offer hints to experience some of Europe’s grand traditions, such as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Learn about some of the best guidebooks at “Europe Bound,” a seminar at 5 p.m. Jan. 24 and 25 at the Crestview Public Library.
A good guidebook can offer hints to experience some of Europe’s grand traditions, such as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Learn about some of the best guidebooks at “Europe Bound,” a seminar at 5 p.m. Jan. 24 and 25 at the Crestview Public Library.
Not all of Europe’s culture and history is positive. Experiencing the tragedy of the Holocaust at former concentration camps such as Auschwitz is a somber contrast to the “Disney baroque” of many of the continent’s grand cities, but its lessons are important ones for any traveler.
Not all of Europe’s culture and history is positive. Experiencing the tragedy of the Holocaust at former concentration camps such as Auschwitz is a somber contrast to the “Disney baroque” of many of the continent’s grand cities, but its lessons are important ones for any traveler.

When you plan your own trip, unlike on a package tour, you can change your plans and itinerary if a place — or new friends in it — catches your fancy. You can linger over another pastry and cappuccino without being hustled back on the bus and whisked off to another quick stop on a whirlwind “If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium” packaged tour.

“Europe Bound” participants will learn they don’t need to be particularly adventurous to plan and take their own custom-designed European vacations. They just need a little advance planning, and planning, most independent travelers agree, can be half the fun.

“Europe Bound” is a free program of the Crestview Cultural Services Division, the Crestview Public Library and the Crestview Area Sister City Program.

Before you go to Europe for your first independent trip, go to Europe Bound.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: How to best travel in Europe? Crestview Public Library to hold seminar