Staying in Hostels

I left home with too much on my plate, so I have spent most of the week working in the library and various Internet hot spots.  But, I have had fun staying in hostels on my travels.

What’s a Youth Hostel?  A place to stay, but not a hotel.  Accommodations are in dorm rooms, generally in bunk beds, of which there could be anywhere from 4 to 14.  I try to avoid “mixed dorms” (male-female) but sometimes it is impossible.  The price per night might be anywhere from $15 (low-end) to $50 (for smaller rooms in big cities).  Two things to know:  (1) youth hostels are for the young at heart not just the chronologically young, and (2) youth hostels are not hostile, rather just the opposite.  So far on this trip I have stayed in three different hostels and one B&B (since there wasn’t a hostel on the Isle of Man). 

In London:  I had my bed reserved when I arrived in London.  From Heathrow I took the tube right to Oxford Circus and walked a few blocks to the London Central Hostel, located in one of London’s best neighborhoods: Fitzrovia.  They were ready for me, but I couldn’t check in until mid-afternoon.  Graciously, they offered me a chance to store my pack in the basement.  There were six of us staying in the room that night (pre-nuptial night).  Spent night one there, zonked by travel and wedding walking. On night two, I got back a little Iate, entered the dark room, and sat down on the edge of my lower bunk.  Yikes!  Someone was sleeping in it.  Never mind, I told him.  The top bunk was empty, so I took it.  Turned out he was an American who arrived the day before without a reservations and found no rooms available anywhere, so he had been up for many hours and was jet-lagged to boot. 

In Liverpool:  Like London Central, the hostel in Liverpool is a member of the YHA (Youth Hostel Association), of which I am a card-carrying member.   YHA generally provides top-end hostels, but they charge for all the extras like breakfast and Internet wifi (which should be free!),  Liverpool was not busy and was very conveniently located not far from the waterfront.  There, one of my hostel mates was Tim, who was a serious traveler from the USA.  He had gotten out of the Navy and was travelling, planned to be gone until December, return to his Pennsylvania home for Christmas, apply for graduate school acceptance, and then head out again until September.  We shared destination stories and I encouraged him to visit the Isle of Man, since he was headed to Ireland on the next morning’s ferry from a town south of Liverpool, then to Scotland.  He had spent a prolonged time in France studying French and really wanted to go trekking in the Himalayas.  He had a program all lined up, but was suffering with a wrenched ankle and wasn’t sure he was going to make it.  He told me I was going to love Thailand.  These are the types of travelers I like to meet.  Their stories keep me going.

In London:  The other hostel where I stayed in London is called Palmers Lodge, located in Swiss Cottage on the Jubilee Line.  I am there now.  It is actually my favorite, and they include free breakfast and have free wifi in the great room.  It also has historical character, not a purpose-built hostel but a converted Victorian mansion overlooking the “north way” out of London.  There has been a very large German group (came in a big bus) staying here. I am struck by how much they interact with each other and how little they interact with others at the hostel.  I recommend travelling solo or in small groups; you then have to develop an outward orientation.

Geographically yours,

D.J.Z.