By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

Travelling around Europe, we are so often struck how the start dates advertised by new transportation operators are all too frequently hopelessly optimistic. On the whole, Europe’s rail companies are pretty good when it comes to sticking exactly to what they say in their pre-launch publicity. But airlines and ferries much less so, for the late delivery of a first aircraft or ship to a new venture can so easily lead to delays.

Over-optimism on the part of a new venture’s promoters, difficulties in securing regulatory approval, and under-capitalization are all potential pitfalls for which even the most lavish PR show cannot compensate. Some ventures never get going at all. Air Vardar, Air Maxi, and GetJet are just three of many European airlines that went bust before having flown a single revenue flight.

Planning your trip to Europe

So, as Cheapos plan their spring and summer travels around Europe, it is just worth checking on carrier details. If your itinerary relies critically on a new air or ferry route in its opening week or two of operation, just be aware that all may not go absolutely according to plan.

And if a flight or sailing is canceled, while the operator will usually quickly refund your fare, you may be left with a gaping hole in your travel schedule that can only be filled at very high cost. Those cheap promotional fares on offer from a wannabe airline or start-up ferry company may look great on paper, but if the venture folds or the launch is postponed, you may rue the day you opted for the new kid on the block.

Even well established carriers are not immune to such start up problems. In late 2008, Ryanair was due to launch a new Edinburgh base, but just a fortnight before starting a raft of new routes from the Scottish capital, delays in aircraft delivery forced the Irish carrier to defer its Edinburgh launch by six weeks.

False Starts: Two topical examples

This week has seen a few false starts as some carriers were just a shade too optimistic in their plans for new services. We mention just two here, by way of example. Fastnet Line announced that its new ferry link from Ireland to Wales would debut on March 1, 2010 - St David’s Day, always a treat in Wales. That was deferred after a last-minute glitch.

Some companies really specialize in false starts. Would-be ferry operator Euroferries has confidently promoted its claim to be the leading fast ferry operator on the English Channel. The company does not actually own a single vessel. Euroferries was due to debut on the Ramsgate (England) to Boulogne (France) route in March 2009, but has thrice delayed its start date since. Press reports late last year suggested that Euroferries would eventually set sail on March 1, 2010, and the publication of a timetable effective March 1 on the company’s website gave credence to those reports. But March 1 has come and gone without any ferry operations.

The bottom line

So the moral of this tale is that the misplaced optimism of others can all too easily wreck a traveler’s best laid plans. Check, check, and check again. And on the eve of departure try and ascertain if the service really will start as planned. It is often best to check by phone, as companies needing to postpone a launch are often slow in updating their websites. Bad news spreads too quickly on the internet.

Susanne and Nicky run a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. You can read more of their writing in their regular e-brief and in the Notes section on their website.

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The Alsace town of Wissembourg, France. Photo ©hidden europe.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

Note: The authors, on a slow train somewhere in Alsace, reflect on the enduring appeal of borderlands.

Borderlands are always interesting. These are the territories that somehow defy classification. Today, as we ramble along through eastern France, we focus on two of our favorite borderlands, Wales and Alsace.

The Welsh Borderlands

Of course, maps depict a border separating Wales from England, but the reality on the ground is more complex, as the traveller moves seamlessly through the marchlands from one cultural realm to the other.

Ludlow, an appealing small town in the Shropshire hills, is unequivocally English. Llanwrthwl, a village just 35 miles west of Ludlow, is most certainly Welsh. But drive the main road west from Ludlow and you’ll realize that Wales is not a clearly defined territory but more a state of mind. Communities along the way, like Knighton and Bleddfa, are also deliciously ambiguous.

Images of Alsace

Much the same is true of Alsace, the region in eastern France that is bordered by the Rhine. We stopped off in the Alsace town of Strasbourg, then meandered north to Wissembourg, never straying more than a dozen miles from the German border.

We ate choucroute and flammekueche, lingered over Riesling wines, and listened to conversations that started in French but moved effortlessly into Alsatian German.

In Strasbourg this month, there is a public initiative that focuses on the very idea of identity. Citizens are being encouraged to think about life in their border region, with performances, readings, and debates that explore four clear themes: perceptions, frontiers, values, and connections.

Traveling through this marvelous region, we are ever more struck that folk in Alsace could really teach the rest of us in Europe a thing of two. This remarkable borderland is little more than two hours from Paris by fast train.

Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner run an editorial bureau in Berlin that provides text on travel and cultural affairs for media across Europe. They also publish hidden europe magazine.

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Photo courtesy of hidden europe magazine

Cheapos clearly like to get under the skin of a city, probing well beyond the regular sights to get a feel for what makes a community tick. Faith is often still part of the fabric of European life, but getting a feel for it as a foreigner isn’t always easy – unless you happen to be a churchgoer.

Churches of all denominations (and mosques and synagogues, too) usually welcome casual visitors to their services, provided that the stranger dresses appropriately, adopts a reverent demeanour, and does not attempt to take photographs during services.

Get thee to Church

York Minster for Evensong is a very different place from the echo-filled space around which tourists wander during the day. The Minster is transformed into something altogether more meaningful. Similarly Vespers in St Mark’s in Venice will leave you in awe of the space for which Monteverdi wrote such evocative music in a way that you’ll simply miss if you shuffle round with the tourist crowds. The interior of the newly restored Frauenkirche in Dresden seems, with its strange mix of pastel shades, like a tribute to poor taste during the day when tourists traipse through the place; attend a service and the space assumes a different meaning and is altogether more pleasing.

Whether it be at a grand cathedral like Chartres or Milan, or in a humble parish church in a small village in the Alps, Mass on a Sunday morning will only take an hour out of your day. This sedentary hour may give some quiet insights into local life. Take in a service at a Methodist chapel in Wales for a good glimpse into Welsh life. What is modern Poland without Catholicism? And in hundreds of communities across Russia, devotional zeal knows no bounds. A visit to an Orthodox service for the Divine Liturgy on a Sunday is a chance to witness some fine liturgical theatre that offers rich insights into life in Russia.

Take in a service and you’ll save on a few admission fees into the bargain. No church has yet had the temerity to charge those who come to pray!

This is the latest in a summer series of postings by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries. The Berlin-based duo are the editors of hidden europe magazine, a publication that explores the patchwork quilt of cultures that make up modern Europe.

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