"Adventures in Hostelling" Writing Contest

Winning Stories

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Carpe Diem: Hostel Adventures Are Priceless… and Ageless

The face of the three-year-old German boy lit up as I handed him the Aunt Jemima syrup bottle.

"Nice," he said, pouring sweetness with abandon onto the sourdough French toast I'd plopped on his plate. His mother apologized for his excess.

"Back home, I never let him do that himself," she said. I reassured her -- sharing breakfast with that Puckish preschooler made my morning at the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel.

Three days earlier, while staying at the Fisherman's Wharf Hostel in San Francisco, my husband and I trekked four hours over Russian, Nob, and Telegraph hills. Led by a hostel volunteer, the tour attracted a nine-member Finnish strings ensemble, a retired Israeli, two baby-faced British soldiers, an Alabama family, Columbian newlyweds, and we two Texans. In such entertaining company, my arthritic knee didn't complain.

At the hostel's Café Franco, coffee, bagels, and a smorgasbord of young, old, married, single, American, and foreign visitors greeted us each morning. Its Golden Gate sunsets energized us for later theater and gallery events.

Approaching our 42nd anniversary (and retirement), my 65-year-old husband and I celebrate romance wherever possible -- secluded beaches or crowded cable cars, redwood cathedrals or tiny tidepools, eucalyptus scents or salty spray. Northern California hostels expand the meaning of carpe diem, Latin for "seize the day." Staying at the Fort Mason, Marin Headlands, Redwood, and Montara hostels lets us "seize the sunset" with the unbridled joy of that three-year-old. Away from our Austin home yet connected to the world, we savor sweet new experiences. Get ready, Pigeon Point Lighthouse!

by Dorothy de la Garza
Austin, Texas
HONORABLE MENTION

Loch Ness Thanksgiving

Three months abroad was taking its toll on me. I was studying in England, living in a dingy flat and eating beans-on-toast for supper every night. I was calling everyone "mate," and didn't argue anymore when I was told "Americans are fat."

When November rolled along, I found I needed to escape. The thought of missing Thanksgiving turkey with my family was simply too much for a homesick Ohioan. So come November 22nd, I hopped a train and took a three-day tour of the Scottish Highlands.

The first night of the tour, my group of travelers stopped at the coast of Loch Ness. We all bunked down in a hostel overlooking the murky, sea-monster-riddled waters. After a bite to eat, I heard some very familiar sounds: American accents!

I quickly befriended a gaggle of girls, all of whom were studying abroad in England as well. The very first topic of discussion was lamenting over missing our national holiday, but conversation quickly turned to all the exciting happenings we had encountered in Britain.

Two girls had found themselves English boyfriends. Another girl couldn't get over how thrilling it was to sightsee in the South of England. My melancholy quickly lifted, and I was contributing my own stories about famous castles I'd seen in Derbyshire County.

That evening, I wasn't so sad about missing mashed potatoes with mom and dad. Under the roof of the hostel, we travelers made our own family, comforted by fellow friends a long way from home.

by Alyssa Eckles
Berkey, Ohio
HONORABLE MENTION

(untitled)

I came to San Diego at the end of 2005 and it was a very cold season, even for Southern California. Before my arrival, I was in despair because my husband had passed away in Taiwan due to malicious cancer. I aimlessly stopped over at Hostelling International's Point Loma Hostel. At that time, I could understand only a little English, so it was very hard for me to communicate with others.

During my stay at the hostel, a staff member, David, would talk to me. However, because of my poor understanding of English, I responded with illustrations and gestures. David would try very hard to understand what I was saying without success. Finally, he had the kindness to find a traveler who could speak the same language.

At that time, I was mentally isolated from others because I wished to have died with my husband. But during the hostel's bonfire party, I met other employees -- Nathan and Jenny -- and the traveler David had found to help me. They were very friendly and spent a lot of time with me, and I felt that life was meaningful again.

Now, my life has changed like a rosebud becoming a full flower, because I married that traveler in September 2006, and my baby came into this world in January 2008. I would like to say "thank you" to the Hostelling International staff members at Point Loma, because they saved my life and led me to my wonderful husband by going beyond cultural backgrounds.

by Masako Hibi
Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
HONORABLE MENTION

My Hostelling Adventures

On my first hostelling trip beginning in 1953, I joined three gals to hitchhike around Europe. We traveled through 19 countries in seven months. But hostelling is not about how many countries one visits. It's about meeting people, the cultures, and the experiences.

The people who offered us rides varied. Some American soldiers thought we were French, but on learning we understood English, they left us at the next village. In Denmark, a couple took us to their home to see mementos of Hans Christian Anderson, to whom they were related. In Norway, the Indian Ambassador to Norway and his chauffeur gave us a ride.

In Bordeaux, the hostel was full. While deciding what to do, a police car stopped and asked if we needed help. When we told them our problem, they said we could spend the night in the jail as it was empty. They did not lock the door! Another incident occurred in Switzerland where we slept on cots in a smelly goat shed because the hostel was full.

Later, on a hostelling trip in the Canadian Rockies, I met a young man from England who was on his way to Australia. We married and took a three-and-a-half year honeymoon around the world, hostelling.

When I am with a group of hostellers, I look around and find so many couples who have met through Hostelling International, which to me is wonderful. So my recommendation is, keep on hostelling -- it could happen to you!

by Olive Bavins
San Francisco, California
HONORABLE MENTION

The Yin and Yang of Travel

It was my first solo travel expedition. I was hopeful and (because I wanted to see it all) I was hopping trains, planes, and buses through Europe fast enough to give anyone a head-spin. I arrived in Paris on a train. It was raining. I hadn't slept. I was starving. My bag was over-packed. I didn't have a place to stay and I was lost.

Back aching, hot tears rolling down my face mixing with the cold rain, I was about to give up. Then I saw something that gave me a glimmer of hope. A brightly colored hostel beckoning me in. I threw open the door and liberated my back from my belongings. Another solo traveler with a friendly smile sat watching my spectacle of disorganization, and after I had checked in he invited me over to share a bottle of wine in the hostel lobby.

We drank and talked and after the wine was gone we climbed to the top of a nearby hill and entered a beautiful cathedral. Sunlight was pouring through the stained glass and angelic voices were singing. Outside we sat on a bench and observed the view, taking it all in silently. My frustration was completely gone and I was again rejuvenated.

That moment defines Paris for me. One kindred soul changed my day and I'll never forget it. Since then, if ever I notice a flustered traveler checking in at my hostel, I greet them with a compassionate smile and a helping hand. Who knows what adventures we could share?

by Aly Young
Lawrence, Kansas
HONORABLE MENTION

Judges

Special thanks to our Grand Jury members: Lynn Ferrin (freelance travel writer, former Editor-in-Chief of VIA magazine), Janet Fullwood (Travel Editor, Sacramento Bee), and Spud Hilton (Deputy Travel Editor, San Francisco Chronicle); and to our staff and volunteer judges: Stuart Bousel, Maureen Forney, Myra Forsythe, Ryan Forsythe, Ursula Gummett, Beryl Kay, Sherezada Kent, Tiffany McFarland, Molly Mitoma, Valerie Montes, Samantha Willems

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