Newsletter - April 2006
From the Editor
Welcome to a new month at St. Christopher’s, a new month for adventure and a new month to live your life.
Looking to settle into London Life? Not sure where to start? We’ve got a new series starting this month with you in mind. This month we’re starting by helping you to find accommodation or find your way onto a cheap European flight. After all, travelers can never stay in one spot especially when they can get to Austria for 20 quid.
April is also the time of year for the Easter Bunny, chocolate covered eggs and getting whipped? Europeans have some of the weirdest and wildest customs when it comes to celebrating the life and resurrection of Christ. There’s even enough fun to be had for the non-Christian.
For the North American expat, or any of those lucky enough to appreciate the wonders of ice hockey, our resident sports expert has wrapped up the regular NHL season. And highlighted some of the best matches for the start of the playoffs on April 21.
Phew! As if that’s not enough we’re also taking you on the road to visit Amsterdam and beyond; breaking up some of the widest held beliefs for eating healthy; writing up a checklist for those first time travelers – helping them to sort out their rucksack; and introducing you to some of the best in Scottish delicacies.
Top Features
Easter Top Ten
Whipping, water fights, fireworks and food. Welcome to a whole new understanding of the celebration of Easter. And learn a little bit about its origins.
Edinburgh & Scotland Delicacies
We’re launching a new site, dedicated exclusively to the Scottish capital. The best places to party, the best sights to see, all the fun to be had, that’s what the site is all about. And we’re starting out with the best Scottish foods to be eaten.
What to Pack & Other Travel Tips
New to travel? Still never sure what to pack and what to leave behind? Let us help with out tips for the traveling rookie.
Monthly Features
Hot Hostel
Visit this month’s ultimate St. Christopher’s destination. Bruges is a perfect place for spring - chocolate and beer this April.
Bed n’ Bar News
The number one entertainment pub in Greenwich and London’s friendliest backpackers hostel, St. Christopher’s Inn Greenwich has all the best meals, deals, drinks and fun.
Sports Report
The NHL is finishing up the regular season and heading into the playoffs. Australians are getting geared up for the National Rugby League.
Backpacker Bites
Everywhere you look there is a new fad, a quick fix for shedding those last few pounds. But how are you ever supposed to know what to believe? By asking our health guru, James MacDonald.
Travel Story
Tired of the smoked filled cafes in Amsterdam? Head into the countryside for some fresh air with this month's travel writer, Miles.
London Life
Need help navigating the best of the best in London? Our newest monthly feature is the place to find tips for living in London like a local.
Europe’s Famous Hostels
EFH is turning 10 and there’s a party to be had. Find out more.
Catalyst for Adventure
Summer and Crystal travel as far from civilization as Switzerland would take them and still meet old friends from home.
Backpacker Interview
Meet someone just like you, with a love of travel, a loathing of hostels, a rucksack that’s glued to their back and pick their brain.
Write around the world: Travel story
Beyond Amsterdam: Waterland and a Whole New World
Undoubtably, Amsterdam is a must-see location for backpackers in Europe. But the cosmopolitan, modern-day, coffee shop filled Amsterdam is an anomaly amongst the traditional Dutch towns. Our travel writer extraordinaire, Miles, is taking us on a cycle adventure out of the city and into the amazing countryside filled with castles and cattle and barely a car in sight.
Sound like an experience for you? Book yourself in at St. Christopher’s Amsterdam hostel and have a home base for exploring the Dutch country side.
Try your hand at travel writing, send us your submission and if we publish it you get two free nights in a St. Christopher’s hostel. E-mail submissions@st-christophers.co.uk
Travel Tips: Travelling for beginners
You’ve found the perfect destination, booked your flight, consulted the guide books, planned until you could plan no more. And you think you’re ready for life on the road? There’s no amount of planning that can prepare you for the spills and surprises the backpacking lifestyle has in store for you. But your friends at St. Christopher’s have put together a guide to help you expect the unexpected.
Got some travel tips of your own? Send it to submissions@st-christophers.co.uk.
Did you know.....?
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in Old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your p's and q's".
Backpacker’s Bites - Healthy eating, healthy living
Taking control of your diet and lifestyle, making those choices to get healthy and get in shape this all takes on-going dedication. And the quickest way to sideline this new found dedication is by buying into the many myths found throughout the fitness and nutrition industry. With so many contrasting accounts of miracle workouts or quick fix foods, it’s tough for anyone to know which way to go. That’s why we’ve once again consulted St. Christopher’s own personal trainer, James McDonald, to help bust some of the biggest nutrition and fitness myths and the real story behind these widely held beliefs.
If there are any topics on nutrition and fitness you’d like to see addressed in this column then please let us know. James McDonald is a St. Christopher’s Manager and fully certified personal trainer, he can be reached at healthy.living@st-christophers.co.uk for any questions on Health and Fitness.
Top 10: Oddest Easter Events Europe has to Offer
Easter isn’t just for kids anymore. If you’ve outgrown the dyed eggs, marshmallow chicks and chocolate bunnies then we’ve got the perfect cure. All throughout Europe Easter is a time for celebration. From it’s pagan roots as a celebration of the coming of spring, the signal of fertility and the raising of the crops, Easter becomes a time for single men and women to let their feelings show.
Got a Top 10 idea? Want to know about the best of Europe but don’t want to do the leg work? Give us the idea and we’ll hook it up for you. Send it to submissions@st-christophers.co.uk
Did you know.....?
After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called aul, or ale, the Vikings would head fearlessly into battle often without armor or even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild battles.
Beds & Bars News - What's on in our hostels and bars
What do you get when you cross Greenwich’s No.1 Entertainment Pub with London’s friendliest backpackers hostel. The answer my friends is St Christopher’s Inn Greenwich.
BritBound - Get settled in the UK
Living in London
New to London? Still trying to get your new life sorted? Well, welcome to our newest monthly feature. This is your guide to settling into one of the biggest, busiest, liveliest cities in the world. To start you off we’re going to tell you where you can pat a policeman on the bottom without ending up in the clink; Where to go for all-night parties or to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday. We’re also hooking you up with tips on finding the ultimate flat and cheap flights to help keep you travelling.
Read more
Sport Report
Tai the Sports Guy here ready to sort you out with all the latest and greatest from the world of sports. Setting you up for a great month of action from football to cricket and all the way to North America for some ice hockey.
Catalyst For Adventure:
The True Story of Best Friends Travelling Through Europe
Tired of European cities and their hectic sight-seeing schedule everyone’s favourite backpackers are looking for a little country comforts and relaxing solitude. This month, Crystal and Summer take great pains this month to find the most remote village in Switzerland. Gimmewald, population 139, high in the mountains, random goats everywhere. And of course, this ends of the earth locale proves just how small the world really is when the girls meet friends from home. Enjoy this month's Catalyst for Adventure: The True Story of Best Friends Travelling Through Europe.
Read a great travel story? Send along your favourite titles to submissions@st-christphers.co.uk
Hot Hostels - The best hostel to visit this month
St Christopher's Hostels in Bruges
As spring kicks off into summer the city of Bruges is buzzing with festival excitement. These guys are celebrating everything, from bagpipes to chocolate to hard rock. And there’s always plenty of beer, more than 450 local varieties to sample. And right there to celebrate along with you is your favourite backpacking hostel and mine, St. Christopher’s at the Bauhaus.
Europe's Famous Hostels
Europe’s Famous Hostels is throwing a party!
Europe’s Famous Hostels invites you to celebrate 10 years of the best that hostels in Europe have to offer! To celebrate our 10 year anniversary – every hostel in “Europe’s Famous Hostels” is throwing a simultaneous birthday party on Thursday, April 6th. That’s 17 parties around Europe that YOU’RE invited to!!! Come celebrate with Europe’s Famous Hostels and lift a beer for 10 years!
Check out all the EFH party locations at: www.famoushostels.com
All about Edinburgh
New for April, St. Christopher’s will be launching a new site dedicated entirely to our Edinburgh hostel. More and more backpacker’s are coming to the Scottish capital in search of the medieval grandeur with the like of Edinburgh Castle standing watch over the heart of the Old Town. Full of great hints and tips from finding the best taste of whisky to surviving on next to no money, this is a backpacker’s dream guide to Edinburgh and St. Christopher’s hostel hospitality.
Check out our attractions highlights as well, where you’ll get an insider’s glimpse at all the best ways to spend your time in Edinburgh. Including the Edinburgh Zoo where Aussie expats looking for a little glimpse of home will find the only Koala bear in the UK. There are all the usual suspects as well, like the Edinburgh Dungeon, Princes Street Gardens and the Royal Mile.
As a way of introduction we’ve set out to introduce you to one of the best parts of Scottish culture: their food. Starting with haggis and working your way through a mountain of potatoes, our journey through the Scottish delicacies will have you drooling for more.
What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're travelling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.
William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways
