The original do-it-yourself travel guide to Europe ^SM

Telegrams
Wiring Cash and Keeping in Touch

How to get cash to Europe in a hurry - Western Union.

Shopping easy at

The links in this green field take you directly to a page at Amazon.com. That page details the item, and in some cases includes candid and critical comments from others who have bought the item.

Amazon.com pays my site a small commission when you click and order an item, if you put it in your shopping cart within 24 hours based on the cookie they set on your computer. If you don't want to make a quick decision just put it in your shopping cart, think it over, and come back later. You benefit when buying here because Amazon.com has a 20% to 30% discount on many items plus a free shipping deal. The third bonus is that there is no sales tax on internet purchases in most states. Delivery is fast even when it is free, and returns are easy if you are not happy with the product.

You win we win. Thanks for your support!!

Have a good trip in life,
John Bermont

How To Europe
The Complete
Travelers Handbook
by John Bermont

Chapter 19 (without photos) of
HOW TO EUROPE
The Complete Travelers Handbook
Internet edition.
A page from Enjoy-Europe.com by John Bermont

This internet edition of chapter 19, "Communicating as You Travel Europe," is in 4 parts due to its large size. Subjects covered in the respective sections are:

This is Part 4	telegram, wire funds, final notes, homeland security, meeting point
Part 1	calling europe from the USA, country codes, city codes, local numbers, 10-10 services, how to place a call to Europe, list of telephone country codes, local telephone service in Europe, totally metered, telephone booths, coins and slugs, European telephone cards, American telephone cards, discount telephone cards, cellular phones, directory assistance, international telephone service in Europe, from telephone booths, from your hotel, from the PTT, telephone charge cards, costs, potpourri.
Part 2	sending mail to Europe, US Postal Service, mail forwarding, form of address, receiving mail in Europe, poste restante, American Express client mail service, PTT, stamps, express parcel services, FedEx, DHL, Airborne Express, European customs duties.
Part 3	internet cafes, libraries, keyboards, your password, your laptop, connecting hardware, your ISP, hotel lines

Believe it or not, people still use telegrams.

TELEGRAMS

PTT

Virtually all post offices in Europe have an international telegraph office. Blank forms are left lying on the counter for you to write your message. Telegrams are expensive but you can save money by allowing them to hold it for a few hours to be sent at a non-priority time. This makes good sense since daytime in Europe is usually nighttime at home and it probably won't be delivered until the next day even if you did pay for immediate service.

Reliability

I've sent telegrams a couple of times from Europe, but I wouldn't recommend it. Besides the facts that they are one-way communications and cost more than a quick telephone call, you don't know for sure if they get delivered. My batting average is one out of two so far. I've retired from telegrams.

Cash

Keep the telegram in mind though if your wallet is stolen. Western Union can send money by telegram almost anywhere in the world. Phone home collect and ask your closest relative to wire some funds over. This may keep you from starving on a park bench. Telegram services are available over the internet.

FINAL NOTES

Meeting Points

When you're over there traveling around in your newfound world, you might want to meet up with other travelers who you know are going to be in the same area as yourself. Or you might want to split up with traveling companions and regroup later. When you make plans to meet or to reconnect, select your meeting point with care. I recommend hotels rather than Amex offices, PTTs, tourist offices, or park benches. The lounge of a Sheraton, Marriott, or Hilton is a far more relaxing place to sit and wait for the other party. And the coffee shop and toilet facilities are available if needed.

If you agree to meet someone at a specific time and place, keep the date or send word that you can't make it. It might seem easy to assume that if you don't show they won't care, but it is not so. It will be cause for alarm and your friends will waste a lot of time waiting for you.

Homeland Security

It's a good policy to keep in regular contact with someone who cares about you. Send a card once a week saying where you are and where you plan to be in the next couple of days. Or phone home on a regular schedule. It may cost more but sometimes it's worth it. Or drop into an internet cafe or public library and send an email. Don't break the communication chain or you risk generating unnecessary worry over your safety.

Who wrote this?

Home and general index.

Read half of the book for free: HOW TO EUROPE The Complete Travelers Handbook
	Europe Intro Clothing Packing List Luggage	Guidebooks Electricity Photography Trains	Driving Telephones Moving to Europe Living in Europe	Shopping Languages Metric System Seeing Europe

Learn the basic infrastructure: Prime Travel Data Elementary Travel Information for Europe
	Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Finland	France Germany Greece Ireland Italy	Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain	Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

Utilize John Bermont's exclusive: TRAVELERS YELLOW PAGES A Directory of Links to Products, Services, and Information
		Airlines to Europe National Tourist Offices City Tourist Offices City Information and Tours Country Information and Tours Luggage and Backpacks Discount Air Travel	Villas and Homes for Rent Hostels in Europe Hotels in Europe Auto Rental in Europe Rail Services of Europe Eclectic Travel Sites Internet Search Engines	Photography Guide Books for Europe Educational Programs Newsletters from Europe Personal Travel Pages Personal Trip Planning

Get open hours, costs, locations, and more: Travelers Portfolio Essential Visitors Information for the Top Sights of Europe
	Amsterdam Anne Frank Huis (Anne Frank House) Rijksmuseum (National Museum) Van Gogh Museum	London British Museum Buckingham Palace National Gallery Natural History Museum Palace of Westminster St. Paul's Cathedral Tower of London Westminster Abbey	Paris coming soon Arc de Triomphe Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) Hôtel des Invalides (The Invalides) Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum) The Opera Montmarte Cathédrale Notre Dame Musée d'Orsay Musée du Louvre

Exchange rates, weather, maps: Up-To-The-Minute Be informed before you go.
	Money Exchange Currency exchange rates, including the euro, British pound, Swiss Frank.	Weather in Europe Current European weather conditions and forecasts. Good luck.	Maps and Time Zones Free online maps of Europe. Guide to setting your watch ahead.

Didn't find what you need yet?
Google It !!

Copyright Internet edition © 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2001 James J. Broad © 1987, 1986, 1984, Murphy & Broad Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. This is copyrighted material. Do not reproduce, copy, plagiarize, store, modify, extract, transmit, or purloin any part of this publication in any nation in any form or by any means or for any purpose whatsoever without permission in writing. Webmasters: You may link the URL http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap19/telegram.htm freely. Please do. When you link please send the URL for your linking page and a crosslink will be installed in one of the categories of the TRAVELERS YELLOW PAGES to your site if it has significant content for travelers in Europe. Travelers: You may print one copy of this chapter for your personal use. To order the complete book with all of the captioned photographs see the next section below. Permissions: If you want to copy any of this material to your web site, book, article, or term paper ask first. Note that plagiarism includes paraphrasing text and even copying ideas. Everything on this page is original. At least one other travel writer has plagiarized heavily, claiming and getting credit for writing a few dozen books every year. Some of his books include my work, without credit. If you don't want to go to Hell don't steal and don't lie (the two pillars of plagiarism). Permissions are freely granted with acknowledgement so you don't need to steal. For permissions contact: publisher@enjoy-europe.com. Privacy Policy: No personal information is collected when you visit this site. To read the complete privacy policy go to Privacy Policy. Site Map: To see everything on this site in one compact listing go to Site Map
Buy it here: The original do-it-yourself travel guide to Europe. ^SM 470 pages 7" x 10" softcover 345 b/w photos Last Call checklists detailed index ISBN 0-940792-69-9 $28.50 Order from Amazon.com
Read more about it at: HOW TO EUROPE The Complete Travelers Handbook 2008 — Our 26th Anniversary! Utilities: Home to www.enjoy-europe.com To the top of this page E-Mail to John Bermont Meet the Author Type Ctrl d to bookmark this page.
enjoy-europe with John Bermont * * * Mastering Independent Budget Travel * * *

FLAGS of EUROPE

Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia
Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary
Iceland	Ireland	Italy	Latvia	Lithuania
Luxembourg	Monaco	Netherlands	Norway	Poland
Romania	Russia	Sweden	Switzerland	Turkey
Ukraine	Yugoslavia (Serbia & Montenegro)