The British Isles and Germany are the historic heartland of the hostel movement, and they're the heart of this book, too, with over 600 hostels-lodgings with shared rooms-between them. They have private rooms, too, of course. And the Benelux countries and Scandinavia are no slouches, either. Then there's East Europe-Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and the Baltic countries-a new frontier just waiting to be explored further. Do you already know how to travel? Do you just want to know where the hostels are, so that you can plan a hostel-based trip along the highways and byways of North Europe, in the major cities, smaller towns and remote villages, too? Then this is the book for you. This is the most comprehensive hostel guide ever written, encompassing the old youth hostel movement and the modern phenomenal spread of backpackers' hostels around the globe as well. That ranges from the dozens of the most modern 'flash-packers' hostels in the urban centers of London and Berlin to remote wilderness hostels in Ireland and surfers' camps in Sweden. Sound good? Are you afraid that maybe you're too old for a hostel? Don't worry; most hostels have no age restrictions. And they all have English-speaking staff and internet capabilities. Most even have kitchens. Some even have bars. All have cool people as guests. The 1000 hostels listed here are to be found in over 250 cities and places in north Europe from Dublin to Moscow, and Oslo to Munich. C U there.
About the Author Ex-pat American Hardie Karges took his first extended international trip at the age of twenty-one in 1975 and traveled to his first ten countries within two years, all for less than two thousand dollars. Thus began a way of life that has taken him to some 150 countries (and counting), living and working in a dozen of them, learning several languages and trading in folk art and cottage industry products. He has also published poetry and created videos, before finally deciding to write about what he knows best-travel. His first book, "Hypertravel: 100 Countries in 2 Years," was published in 2012. The full set of "Backpackers & Flashpackers" is projected to include 6 to 8 volumes and be completed in 2014.
