Before there was Rick

Very interesting article, thanks for posting it. In many ways he was the first Rick Steves. I remember using those books in the early 80s when we were stationed in Germany as good practical travel guides. Ah travel before the internet!

Very good guide books.
RIP, Sir.

A woman I met in a youth hostel in Vienna in the summer of 1968 ripped some pages out of her "Europe on $5 a Day" for me, so I could get across Europe to Amsterdam to meet a study group. I didn't even have enough cash for $5 a day, but with the book's help, I made it. I knew nothing about travel, budget or otherwise, having gotten to Europe on a study tour. After a summer in the then Soviet Union, we were left in Vienna, with instructions to gather in Amsterdam by a certain date, for the end of the program.

That book opened my eyes to possibilities, and I will always be grateful to that very kind woman who helped me out. I believe she also treated to to a sachertorte! She said, "If you're in Vienna, you must have sachertorte. It's a rule."

This was the book we used on our first trip to Europe in 1972. Long before the internet, we had no real information other than this book which we assiduously carried and relied upon for nearly 3 months everywhere we went. It still sits on our bookshelf. It started us on a lifetime of travel and we owe a great deal to the man and his work.

That’s sad to hear about Arthur Frommer dying. He certainly started something, encouraging travel to Europe, and showing that it could be done affordably. Rick Steves has been an advocate with the same idea, but so is Mr. Frommer’s daughter, Pauline Frommer. She’s running the family business now, and a travel book she wrote on Italy several years ago that suggested Castrovillari in Calabria (southern tip of mainland Italy) helped make our trip there extra-special.

R.I.P., Arthur Frommer!

He was certainly a big influence on us. We spent three months in Europe in 1975 with a copy of Europe on $10 a day and a copy of Let's Go Europe.

Thanks for the link to his obit. He really changed the view that "the rest of us" could travel to Europe.

I'll bet Rick had one in his backpack when he toured Europe in the early 70's!

Thanks for posting this.
I did my first trip to Europe with my sister when I was still in high school.

We used Europe on $5 /Day and had a great time. We kept on budget everywhere except Switzerland which was relatively expensive even back then. But it averaged out as we spent less in Spain which was particularly inexpensive in those days.

What a concept!

Still have that book.

For what it’s worth ( probably not much)…I have been sitting here all day reminiscing about our first Europe trip and dug through a pile of ancient photos to find a favorite from our first $5 a Day 1972 trip. Two glasses of Coca-Cola on a park table in Paris….my then partner and now husband was addicted to Coke but I held down the fort for almost a month and a half before splurging on two 50¢ Cokes. I’ve thought of that picture for decades and am today finally having it enlarged and framed as a reminder of days past and how far we’ve come. He remembers paying 8¢ in Athens. I spoil him. And we too slept on many trains to save a buck. RIP Mr. Frommer

RIP Mr Frommer! And lovely stories and reminisces - keep them coming!

Rick just gave a tribute on his Facebook page that is a great read.

I think every college student used that book in 1972. I did. RIP Arthur Frommer. Thanks for sharing and thus encouraging me to explore horizons.

@mgg travel, thanks for the tip on Rick's FB post about Arthur. What a very sweet tribute!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15Rx2kSQin/

"Arthur Frommer, the father of budget European travel — and, in many ways, my kindred spirit and mentor — passed away yesterday."

I don't have a facespace account but the wife does and she showed it to me. Very nice.
Great to see how he was a seminal influence on Rick and family.
We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us...