From Macedonia to Estonia (Let's Go)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Let's Go
Date:	23/07/01 (64 review reads)
Rating:

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I think it was Bill Bryson who once said this series should really be called "Let's go get another guide book". In fact I know it was since I was re-reading "Neither Here Nor There" the other day and cam across the quote.

This is a review of the Let’s Go guide to Eastern Europe. Although I’m sure some points will apply to the series in general.

The guide book covers 18 countries which should immediately tell you that the depth of detail is not that great. Countries covered include the west of Austria (namely Vienna), Slovakia, Poland, Bosnia and Macedonia among others. Never thought Bosnia and Macedonia were top tourist destinations? Well they are for the American travellers at whom these books are aimed.

The series itself is written by Harvard students and Harvard students alone. Each summer the publishers ship them off all over the world all in the name of research. The problem is, some of the writers have never left the country before and it shows. I always seemed to get the impression that the audience were also supposed to be going on their first non-domestic plane flight which frankly, is not what I’m after. I know how to check in, and that it’s a good idea to take my passport with me, and so I didn’t need the first 2 chapters (you may be asking why I read them in the 1st place – well I was bored on the way back from Bratislava, and had already read the novels I had with me so sat down and read this cover to cover just to keep me occupied).

Before the country info, the book has some “general awareness and travelling facts” pages. Here I leant the best places to see a giant Campbell’s soup can, the cheesiest tourist restaurant and the best party on a nuclear reactor in the area – always good to know. Then comes a detailed (or as detailed as you can be in a book covering so many countries) breakdown of each country in alphabetical order. Th
ere are sections on accommodation, travel, food, sights and more. My favourite though had to be the customs and etiquette part, in which it tells you oh so useful things, like the fact that if someone buys you a drink, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not married....... Also, what to wear. The Slovakian chapter told me to dress in a long skirt, sandals and a headscarf to avoid any unwanted attention and blend in. Jeans and trainers were a definite no no. So what did I wear my 1st day there? You’ve guessed it, jeans and trainers. And unfortunately it didn’t mark me out as a tourist as I was asked no less than 3 times for directions in Slovakian. At least I think it was Slovakian – it definitely was not English, French, German, Spanish or Italian (the languages I can understand and, with the exception of Spanish, speak).

The books claim to be updated annually, but although I have the 2001 edition, it recommends a swimming pool here in Vienna that, according to some friends who live here, has not been open since 1997 – interesting.......

One thing I will give these guides is that they are laid out nicely, and have some good maps. They also list price info on everything which is handy when you are on a budget. And they have semi-up-to-date currency converters for each country at the start of each chapter which is always handy. However, nice layout alone is not enough to make up for a sometimes dodgy content – think I’ll be sticking to the Eyewitness Guides in the future.

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