“I felt the power of Google once again while traveling in Europe.”

The Google Maps app provides bus arrival and delay information… Make inter-country bus reservations at once

Travel makes us realize what brilliant and beautiful moments we are living. Paris, Rome, and Prague, which I visited in October, also gave me many happy moments, as if comforting me from the dull daily life of the past four years. As soon as the skyway, which had been blocked due to the COVID-19 incident, was opened, the planned trip to Europe had to be left with only flight tickets and accommodation reserved due to unexpected circumstances. It was a 15-day, 13-night trip starting from Paris and continuing to Rome and Prague. With my husband who is new to Europe, my mischievous seven-year-old son, and three travel books. My wife and I, who trust books more than the Internet, decided to read three travel books on the flight to Paris. However, the seat on the airplane that I had been on for a long time was not only uncomfortable, it was almost like torture. I arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport after 13 hours and 25 minutes without being able to fall asleep, let alone read a book.

The first overseas trip I took four years after my trip to Guam in 2019 was different, starting with the way I used my smartphone’s data. Roaming, Wi-Fi lunch boxes, and using SIM cards are a thing of the past! Now, you can use the pre-paid amount of local data using the eSIM (embedded SIM) built into the smartphone itself. The cost is around 20,000 won if you use 1GB per day for 15 days. Taxi fares from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the city center were also changed to a fixed rate system. Based on the Seine River, the price in the north is 55 euros (about 77,000 won), and in the south it is 63 euros (about 88,000 won). The price was reasonable for travelers of three or more, so I took a taxi to my accommodation without hesitation. When I was single in my 20s and 30s, I mainly used residence hotels or Korean guesthouses located outside the city center as travel accommodations. However, for this trip, I chose a spacious apartment in the city as much as possible through Airbnb. So that your child can enjoy the trip with a little bit of comfort.

The day after arriving in Paris, we began our trip to Paris in earnest. The theme of the Paris trip is an art museum tour for children who are Vincent van Gogh fans. We decided to visit the Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, and Center Pompidou. I also couldn’t give up Montmartre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Sainte-Chapelle, and Notre Dame Cathedral. We decided to actively utilize public transportation to avoid disruption to our greedy travel plans. However, I wanted to avoid the notoriously unpleasant Paris subway if possible. Before starting my trip to Paris, I opened the Google Maps application (app) and, just like in Korea, I just entered the departure point and destination and various routes appeared. Among them, the bus route caught the eye. A bus in Paris! When I visited Paris in 2008, I didn’t even think about taking a bus. Unlike the subway, it is not only difficult to obtain a bus route schedule, but also the arrival and travel times vary depending on the traffic situation, so travelers with tight schedules could not rush to try it. So, I remember riding the subway where the musty smell made my head itch. But now, not only bus routes but also arrival and delay information are provided. Above all, there was no reason to refuse since you could see the unadorned city of Paris through the bus window. Also, if you open Google Maps after getting on the bus, you can check your location and avoid the mistake of missing the stop.

Night view of the Eiffel Tower seen from Bateau-Mouche. [한여진]

Vincent van Gogh special exhibition held at the Musée d’Orsay. [한여진]

The most useful bus routes I found while spending five days in Paris were the 80 bus that runs across Paris and the 67 bus that crosses it. Bus route 80 runs from Montmartre Hill to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, making it ideal for exploring these places. In fact, on the second day of my trip to Paris, I started from Montmartre Hill, followed by the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower to the Bateaux-Mouche Pier by bus, but thanks to bus number 80, I was able to have a leisurely meal and enjoy the sunset from Bateaux-Mouche. Bus number 67 is convenient for visiting the Louvre Museum and the Musée d’Orsay and traveling east to Notre Dame Cathedral or the Center Pompidou. However, it is recommended to walk when moving from the Louvre Museum to the Musée d’Orsay. This is because the two art museums are located across the Seine River, so you can enjoy the scenery around the Seine River. And if you find it difficult to visit all the art museums while traveling in Paris, I highly recommend visiting the Musée d’Orsay. A special exhibition on Van Gogh will be held until February 4th next year, and Van Gogh’s works, which seem to come to life with each brush stroke, are a marvel in themselves.

In Rome, we toured around architecture, including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Castle of Angels, and Trevi Fountain. I felt confident about Rome, which is my personal favorite travel destination and which I visited twice in 2006 and 2009, even without any special information. But many things in Rome had also changed. First of all, the road from the Roman Forum to the Colosseum has been prepared like a plaza, so you can meet more artists than in Piazza Navona. There were many tourist attractions that used to be open for free, but have now become chargeable, so check before visiting. Advance reservations are required to enter the Colosseum, and the Pantheon began charging an admission fee of 5 euros (about 7,000 won) in July. Above all, the prices were murderous. At the restaurant I went to after visiting the Vatican Museum, the menu included spaghetti with commercial tomato sauce and three meatballs for 28 euros (about 39,000 won). On the other hand, the buses, which were similar to rural buses in Korea in the 1980s, had been updated to a state-of-the-art model. Thanks to this, in Rome, like in Paris, I used Google Maps to get around by bus instead of the subway. Bus number 70, a favorite in Rome, allowed you to travel from your accommodation near the Castle of Angels to the Roman Forum in one go. Since the route passes through Piazza Navona and the area around the Pantheon, I was able to enjoy the feeling of riding a city tour bus.

The Trevi Fountain is crowded with tourists. [한여진]

From Prague, I visited Plzeň, a nearby area where the Pilsner Urquell brewery is located, and Google Maps was useful this time too. When I searched for routes on Google, I was able to see at a glance a list of buses running between cities. Clicking on a bus route takes you directly to the reservation site. These buses have routes throughout Europe, including not only the Czech Republic but also Germany, Hungary, and Austria. However, due to the high number of users, advance reservation is essential.

People say, “European cities remain the same over time.” But the way to travel around the city has changed a lot. Now you don’t have to worry about being hit in the back by a travel guidebook full of out-of-date, fake information. If you use travel apps such as Airbnb, Uber, and Skyscanner as well as Google Maps, you can travel all over the alleys of Paris even if you only have ‘Bonjour’. If you need comfort in your dull daily life, install Google Maps on your phone right now and go. You may come across a sparkling moment unfolding beyond the window of a bus you board in an unfamiliar city.

《This article
Weekly Donga No. 1414
It was published in》

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.