12 Reasons why every Indian should visit Europe

By | July 1, 2023
reasons to visit Europe

Exploring a foreign nation is always a wonderful experience and there are at times when you feel the WOW’ness (or) mind-blowing experience when you visit a foreign country. The mind actually gets expanded if not blown for that matter.

I’ve felt that Wow’ness for the first time when I visited Bali, Indonesia as that was the first foreign land I stepped on. New people, places, culture, volcano, hills, beaches were all quite refreshing to the mind.

I did travel to many other South East Asian countries after that, which I did like without a doubt, but the wow factor was little missing, obvious because location and people are largely similar.

But after many years, I recently visited Europe (Austria & Germany) and there I felt this Wow’ness once again after a long time.

Hence I’m writing this down so you don’t miss it too. Here are the top 12 reasons why I think you should visit Europe next:

Fresh Air

With less cities, less population and lots of snow clad mountains and lakes around, you get fresh air not only in the countryside but also in the city.

You can actually feel the freshness when you breathe. Well, you can feel it even in our Indian hill-stations, but in Europe you feel it almost everywhere.

Pleasant Weather

Actually no! Europe has erratic weather with chilled months dominating the year.

But as a tourist, if you visit Europe during the summer, you can enjoy the sun and chill breeze at the same time.

Imagine Shimla (or) Ooty on planes without the crowd – that’s Europe to begin with.

Beautiful Landscape

Beautiful landscape

When I think of Europe, I think of beautiful mountains covered in green, stunningly gorgeous lakes, waterfalls, rivers with transparent and clean flowing water, snow clad mountains in winter – the best that the nature can offer to us.

In the recent past I was exploring Golf courses in India to get these beautiful views of the greens and now it has shifted to Europe as it’s even more natural.

Tap Water for Drinking

Like in most developed part of the world, Europe too has clean drinking water coming out of the tap.

When I called the hotel assistant last time for a new bottle of drinking water, he proudly said that “Sir, the tap water is a drinking water and it comes straight from the mountains, its as clean as the bottled water across major cities in Europe.”

Healthy Pizza’s

If you’re travelling to Europe you can’t miss Pizza’s, because you would hardly have an option otherwise. But after consuming Pizza’s in India that causes the feeling of heaviness, I was little concerned.

But to my surprise, the pizza’s in Europe didn’t feel so and they also sell Gluten free ones. It felt super light, just like how it would feel if we have any other food. And the body was also not craving for too much water after having the Pizza.

Not only Pizza, we also had Pasta’s & Sub’s and I could say that those we get in India are all of low standards.

Clean Roads

clean road in Innsbruck

If you might have noticed, the roads are so clean in most European countries, even in the countryside. I’m unsure if that’s because of their sand or because of their ability to cleverly cover the sand.

Above shot was taken at Innsbruck, Austria that not only has clean roads but also comes with beautiful views of the nearby mountains.

That aside, I was super surprised to notice that they actually clean the roads with water. This probably applies to the busy/popular streets in the city and I witnessed it personally one day while on the way back to Airport by early morning.

Noise Free Roads

There maybe 50 cars moving on the road, 100 people walking in the streets but no one uses their horn’s on their expensive cars, as fortunately people follow the traffic rules.

I don’t even remember hearing any horn sounds throughout my entire 1 week trip in Austria, which was quite a good feeling.

Heaven for Walking

With wonderful weather, fresh air, less noise around, you’ll be much more happy to walk around the city anytime of the day. You could easily walk 3-4 kms a day, if not more and you would be surprised to see that you’ve walked quite a lot than usual.

I’ve hit my lifetime highest walking distance per week during my recent trip to Europe with an average of 12K steps a day and here’s the alert that iPhone sent when it found a change in my health trend.

Health Trends iphone

Quick Public Transport

While walking is good, going to far end places can be done via public transport.

Moving around the city is super easy with trams and busses connecting the major parts of the city. And on top of it, the frequency is too good (like 10 mins) with proper updates at respective stops.

Public transport in Austria

The good news is that Google is well integrated with these transport systems.

On our last day of the trip, we actually took a bus till it’s last stop of the route & return. It took us across the city, through farmlands, busy streets, etc.

It was an experience in itself, apart from using for the actual commute.

Comfortable & Luxury Taxi’s

Booking an Uber? Expect a comfortable, clean and luxury car arrive in under 5 mins. We got Merc’s, EV Hybrid’s and MUV’s on Uber in Austria and they were all well maintained. Here’s a quick look at some of the taxi’s we got in Austria:

Taxi at innsbruck, Austria
Taxi at Salzburg, Austria

Expect the same at most other developed part of Europe especially in and around Germany for obvious reasons, but well the problem is the cost, which can go up quite a bit easily.

Sunset at 9 PM

It’s magical to experience sunset’s at 9PM in Europe. Of-course there are places on earth where sun might not set even at 12, but well, to really enjoy the sun, the 9Pm sunset’s in Europe during the Summer is certainly a blessing I would say.

And if you’re in a scenic spot like a castle nearby, sunset would feel like a Disney movie. You may experience one here. To feel it in person would be 10X more joyful.

We used to roam around the riverside many days and I usually forget that it’s 10PM and not 6PM.

Note: Do note that all of above are from my experience by travelling on own across Austria and parts of Germany.

Affordable on Miles

United miles to Europe

Whenever we talk about Europe, the very next thing that comes to mind is cost. It’s expensive – both hotels & flights!

But if you intend to fly business class to Europe from India, probably now is the best time to do so because you can find Return Business Class flights just for ~60K Turkish miles and if you wish to be more flexible, you may go with ~120K United miles.

Have a look at the United Mileage Program, just incase if you’re new to it. The good thing about United is 100% free cancellation which comes pretty handy for all the Visa requirements and of-course the actual booking.

Now that’s the reason why Axis Magnus Credit Card points are lot more valuable than how it appears to be.

Final Thoughts

Some of you might have experienced the above while some might have just heard about it. Either way, I hope the above is useful, especially for those travellers who’re not exposed to Europe or other western countries yet.

May a times when in Austria I used to think what the hell we actually do in India while life is so good, healthy and pleasant in this part of the world.

No wonder why UNHI’s are legally moving to Europe. For those who can’t afford that or don’t prefer to, the easy alternative is to settle in the hills in India.

So to sum up, if you’re sitting on lots of Reward points, drop your SE Asia trip and consider a trip to Europe and you’ll thank me for lifetime.

Because it will have a lifetime impact on you, your children and for the entire nation just incase if you’re influential. For this very reason I wish all politicians are given a complimentary trip to Europe.

I think it helps us embrace India in many ways. At-least I got generous in tipping after getting back to India and having a good meal for 3 EUR, while back in Europe it would easily cost me 10 EUR or more.

Having said that, you shouldn’t do it on a package tour as you don’t get breathing time to really think and observe these and instead become busy in just clicking pictures with an induced smile.

I wonder how these tour companies do like 5 countries in 1 week while I can’t even do 1 country in a week!

Anyway, I hope the above serves as a good start for those new to Europe.

Have you been to European Countries? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.

Author: Siddharth

Helping Indians choose the right credit cards, find the best offers, and enjoy luxury vacations for less using credit card rewards.

23 thoughts on “12 Reasons why every Indian should visit Europe

  1. Pradeep

    This blog is a go-to source for the best reviews on credit cards.
    I do understand that its your own personal blog, but the content of late regarding Visa and Europe travels don’t align to the reason the viewers are here. I wish this sticks to the content!

    As again, its your site and you control what you write, it will just be a customer less!

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Let me know which card reviews you want me to cover?

      Reply
      1. Pradeep

        Cards like HSBC Premier Mastercard Credit Card (or others that I am not aware of). I rely on this site for insights into cards that I may not know of.
        But things like visa and why Indians should goto Europe absolutely doesn’t align to this blog.

        Reply
  2. Amir khan

    Return business class flight to europe with 60k turkish miles, may i ask how?

    Reply
  3. Naveed

    Everyone wants to travel to Europe, but you also need to mention how horrible the Schengen Visa process is. They treat Indians like backward class criminals.

    After going through the ordeal once and getting the Visa, I swore to never go through the horrible process again.

    Planning a trip to Turkey this year instead 🙂

    Reply
  4. AAJ

    Echo your views, Europe is picturesque and wonderful to visit.
    I have visited 7 of them and always cherish.
    Malta was very exotic being an island.

    Reply
  5. manoj singh

    Wow nice to hear that your first trip to Europe was pleasant. Europe is good destination for travel.
    Keep exploring in eastern Europe. You will find much beautiful

    Reply
  6. Srikanth Nalla

    I have visited France, Netherland, Spain ( Ibiza ) in July ,2018 using my Regalia credit card points . Planning my next trip in coming months using Infinia points
    Thanks to Sidd in this topic and for Cardexpert.in

    Reply
    1. Yogesh Kumar

      How many regalia points were used by you for europe trip

      Reply
  7. Balaji

    Went to Barcelona in June 1st week and I agree with all of your points.

    Reply
  8. RT ax

    Would love you to cover which miles program is best? Like you mentioned united provides advantage for free cancellation

    Would be great for all kind of genre

    Reply
  9. aka

    True That….been travelling to europe every year since 2013 ( Pandemic years apart) and in fact majorly on points from 2017 onwards and its truly an awesome experience. Nothing can replicate that experience in india though if you spend money then kashmir and goa are going to appeal to you !

    Reply
  10. vadakkus

    Hi Siddharth,
    It would be great if you could you write an article about your hands-on experience and practices ways of using credit cards while on international trips? And on the best cards you used and the benefits received?

    Reply
  11. AK

    Hey Siddharth, what’s the approx cost of a 1 week trip to Austria?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Can do both at 30EUR/day or 300EUR/day, depends on what kind of traveller one is.

      Reply
  12. Prabhu

    Thanks I will move all my magnus 1L airmiles points to United. So that I can enjoy Europe trip.

    Reply
  13. Shiv Duggal

    I wish I have enough money to explore this and many other parts of the world. Can you also write a blog on travel only, i.e. how to travel free of cost by points and how much time and money it will need to accumulate those.

    Reply
  14. Amit Gupta

    hi Sid, great if you would published on itinerary for us. How many days and which places you explored…..cities and hotels you booked at specific days. Not detailed but brief just to give an idea.

    Reply
  15. saurabh

    Such articles on visa and Europe trip are very welcome Sid , thanks a lot for sharing your views . It really helps a credit card holder to plan acculumulating points in the right direction and with a clear purpose. Without a worthy goal , (credit card) life is just distractions

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Good to hear that and glad you like it Saurabh. 🙂

      Reply
  16. Krishna Bhalaji

    An insightful article that not only highlights the enchanting allure of Europe but also emphasizes the profound impact of companionship on travel experiences. As an Indian traveler, it resonates deeply to acknowledge that while Europe offers unparalleled beauty, the true essence of any journey, much like in Bali, lies in the company we keep. A reminder that the right companion can elevate any destination into a lifetime memory. Kudos to the author for capturing this sentiment so eloquently!

    Reply

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