Harvard Student Agencies - Lets go Europe 2015: the student travel guide

For Haley Rue

From running up hills in Budapest, to falling in love with Vienna, to finding inspiration in Innsbruck, you touched us all with your openness, your insights, and above all your friendship. You are, quite simply, the best. We miss you. This book is for you.

With love from the Lets Go family

Whenever someone asks me what I would like to do with my life, I come up with a list of lucrative careers, but I always end my response with but really, Id just love to travel the world, experience things, and write about it.

Haley Rue

CONTENTS

RESEARCHER-WRITERS

MEG BERNHARD: A sophomore from Temecula, a small city in Southern California whose name means sun shines through the mist, Meg bus-hopped coast to coast on the Iberian Peninsula this summer. Living like the Madrileos (even when she was in Portugal), Meg climbed Moorish fortresses, ate a lot of ham, and even walked 20km across Ibiza.

SERENA BOOTH: Serena made Germany her homeeven bringing along a bread pot to do some cooking while she penned notes on Berlins many museums. Wielding a mighty sword of opinion, she put German culture to the test: judging by her high marks for schnitzel, opera, and most palaces, were sure it passed with flying colors.

KEVIN FRIEL: Hailing from the sunny shores of southern California, Kevin brought his laid-back vibe to Amsterdam. On bikes, gondolas, and sheer determination, he powered through endless cheese sandwiches and daunting Dutch spelling while still saving time to grow a luscious Euro-beard. Thankfully, despite his nearby accommodation, Kevin resisted the red lights and committed himself to kick-butt copy.

DAN FULOP: Dan is a daring traveler from New York who made his first trip overseas right out of the womb. Although Dan was raised in Westchester suburbia, he took every opportunity he could to venture into the outdoors. While making his way from the Dolomites to the Matterhorn this summer, outdoor enthusiast met urban explorer during a thrilling journey characterized by a healthy combination of hiking the Bernese Oberland, imbibing with locals, and sampling regional delicacies in a gourmands heaven.

ZEB GOODMAN: Zeb spent the better part of two months wandering around the southern coast of France, offending locals everywhere with his American accent and claiming he was Canadian in an poor attempt to avoid propagating American stereotypes. In the name of research and journalism, Zeb train-hopped and hitchhiked his way to every beach and vineyard from Nice to Biarritz, narrowly escaping homelessness and all the while reassuring his editors and parents that he was visiting museums and living a healthy lifestyle.

CHRISTINE ANN HURD: A beloved Lets Go veteran, Christine returned to Europe for a second summer of travel writing, taking her wit and droll humor to Great Britain, the country that invented them. After researching Austria and Hungary in 2012, Christine traded palinka for Pimms and wiener schnitzel for fish n chips in the UK. In between visits to hostels and museums, Christine also found time to stalk Benedict Cumberbatch and pay requisite visits to 221B Baker St. and the BBC Headquarters.

ANGIE JO: Angie took her passion and poetry to the Golden Horn, enveloping herself in the history, culture, and hospitality of Istanbul. In the midst of skirting protests in Taksim Square and eating plenty of pide, Angie befriended a wizard on the way to anakkale, spent time in quiet reflection at soldiers graves in Gallipoli, and watched some slicked-down Turkish men compete at Edirnes Oil Wrestling Festival.

PETEY MENZ: Petey traveled through Ireland, England, and Scotland, and managed to stay dry pretty much the entire time. He saw natural beauties like the Cliffs of Moher and Loch Ness, world class institutions like the Ulster Museum and York Minster, and an astonishing number of neighborhood pubs. His boots were ruined by the end of the trip.

LYNN MIAO: In eight short weeks, Lynn championed the behemoth that is Paris. A fast master of the Vlib system, she biked her way up many a hill and across the citys 20 arrondissements, scouting out new establishments at every turn. After climbing the steps of Montmartre, storming the streets of the city on Bastille Day, and trekking out to Chartres and Versailles, Lynn spent the last days of her route relaxing in Lyon with a big bottle of well-deserved wine.