Europe '78: No Bargain Basement

The only thing that's cheap is getting there

Encouraged by the lowest transatlantic air fares in history, more Americans than ever are expected to visit Europe this year. But the tourist who is not on an all-inclusive package trip should tote along a Jeroboam of aspirin. Relief will be needed just about every time he has to pay for a hotel room, a meal, a cup of coffee or a bottle of mineral water to wash down the medicine. The dollar's weak buying power in most European countries, further sapped by inflation in many of the places on itineraries, makes even the disco life in Manhattan or Los Angeles seem cheap. The costliest popular countries for the dollar-bearing tourist are, in descending order, Switzerland, West Germany, France, Italy and England.

Germany, where $1 buys about 2.10 deutsche marks today, vs. four marks a decade ago, has become almost as expensive for the American as Tokyo. Beef is twice as expensive as it is in the U.S. Even in once cheap Munich, the famed liter, or Mass, of beer at Hofbraeuhaus has quintupled in price since 1969.

At London's elegant Claridge's, the price of a double bedroom is $112 a night. An ice cream cone in Hyde Park may cost $1.40. At the other end of the scale, a couple from Phoenix paid $27 in a small hotel for what they described as a "filthy" room without a toilet.

In Paris, the unsuspecting tourist may wander into a deceptively simple-looking restaurant and pay $20 for a plate of fresh asparagus and $217 for a bottle of Chateau Latour '55. The Paris Sheraton, which on the luxury scale is about equivalent to a better-class U.S. motel, charges $90 a night for a double room. At a top restaurant in Venice or Rome, an a la carte meal for two will cost up to $50 without cocktails or wine. A room for two at a first-class hotel averages about $35 a night.

But the biggest jolt for Americans who plan to travel extensively abroad is the cost of intra-European airplane tickets and the use of a car. The tourist who has flown from New York City to London for $138 finds that he must pay $575 for a round-trip economy flight from England to Athens. In Germany, where the visitor might expect to rent a small Mercedes-Benz 200 for a reasonable sum, he will find that it costs $82.60 a day, plus 30-c- per kilometer, plus gas, which can cost $1.75 per gal. on an autobahn. Obviously, the U.S. tourist needs to plan his trip with pfennig-pinching, shilling-saving, franc-squeezing acumen. If he does so, the wary wayfarer can still get a lot for his shrunken buck. Items:

> In Spain, Portugal and Greece, the dollar is actually worth more than it was last year. Though prices have risen in these countries, they are still relatively inexpensive. For example, a comfortable double room with private bath and breakfast at a three-star Spanish hotel costs $15.50 a night; a meal at a good average restaurant costs $8 a person, with wine.

> The most sensible way to get around Europe is to use its incomparable railway system. The 15-hour high-speed train trip from Paris to Rome costs only $53, plus $7.82 for a couchette berth, plus $13 for cooked-aboard dinner. Every Western European country has offices in the U.S. where the tourist can buy lower-price tickets in advance. Example: for only $115, the American who plans to visit Germany can buy a rail pass good for 16 days of unlimited travel.

> European capitals have some of the world's most efficient subway systems. For about $10, the visitor to Paris can buy a carte orange, which allows unlimited travel on the Metro for 30 days.

> European stores still offer many bargains for the perspicacious visitor. In Italy, Fendi handbags and Nazareno Gabrielli shoes cost 25% less than they do in the U.S. Greece's hand-woven shoulder bags, called tagari, are priced at only $7.

With forethought and on-scene thrift, Europe can still be affordable and memorable. The small hotels and offbeat restaurants can be as pleasant as any in the world. But don't forget the aspirin.

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