The Top 5 Urban Legends About Backpacking Through Europe

1) Gassing The Train - One of the oldest and most persistent, this one is amazing simply because of how utterly impossible this would be to pull off, and yet it still continues to "happen" to so many naive backpackers. This conversation usually starts with, "I had 150 Euros in my fannypack when we left in , but when I woke up this morning, I only had 15 Euros!"

Let's start by asking: How many drinks did you have before you left? Did you forget that you had to pay for dinner? Did you pay for the sleeper upgrade because your Eur-rail pass didn't include it (which would have been nice to know before the college campus travel agent sold you the friggin thing)? Do you think you might have been too f*$*ed up to remember how much you spent at the ultra-techno uber-disco before you stumbled onto the train and passed out?

There are so many things wrong with this it's hard to know where to start. Do you really think someone who is sophisticated enough to rig several canisters of non-lethal, odorless gas to knock you out is going to rob people who can't afford to fly? And why would he only take some of your money? I asked this a few times and the response most frequently given is the hilarious, "They don't want you to know you've been robbed." WTF?!?!?! Somewhere back in the States a village is missing an idiot. And throughout Europe the KGB has dispersed an elite force of highly-trained criminals that have an unlimited supply of NOS to rob every American traveler of a few hundred Euros. And it's impossible that you aren't keeping an accurate accounting of how much of your daddy's money you're pissing away, right?

2) Gypsy Baby Toss - Gypsies unexpectedly throw you their baby, then pick your pocket while your hands are busy playing catcher.