Courtesy Doug Mack

Doug Mack, shown here in Venice, traveled through Europe using a 47-year-old edition of Arthur Frommer's classic travel guide "Europe on Five Dollars a Day" while researching his new book, "Europe on Five Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide."

Most of us are not like Indiana Jones, and do not want to travel like we are. And that’s the premise behind a new book that pokes fun at the current trend for travel writers and travelers to seek out the road less traveled.

To research "Europe on Five Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide" (Perigee/Penguin), to be released April 3, author Doug Mack traveled through Europe, visiting many major cities and sites, using a 47-year-old edition of Arthur Frommer’s classic travel guide "Europe on Five Dollars a Day." Along the way, he may have spent far more than five dollars a day, but he discovered the beaten path offered some unexpected surprises.

Mack answered a few questions for msnbc.com:

Why did you write this book?
The back-story is that I was at a book festival in Minneapolis with my mother, and I happened across a copy of "Europe on Five Dollars a Day," which I initially found interesting only because the title was so laughably outdated. When I showed it to my mom, she got all excited: she’d been LOOKING for that! For YEARS! It turned out she had used that book during her own Grand Tour in 1967; she also mentioned that she had all of her letters from her trip.

At first, I was just interested in the family-history angle, but as I dug through the letters and paged through the book, it also struck me that they offered intriguing big-picture views into travel and life in a very different era. I decided go to Europe guided by those letters and that book, both because it seemed like a fun adventure but also to see for myself how the tourist experience had changed in the last generation.

Did your journey turn out to be what you hoped at the outset?
Yes, in the sense that I generally had a great time and found lots of interesting comparisons between then and now.

That said, I had also naively hoped that in every single restaurant and hotel, I'd find an aged proprietor who would instantly recognize my 1963 guidebook and start regaling me with stories about Arthur Frommer, and we would become fast friends, and share many bottles of wine and hours of lively conversation until the wee hours, just like in a movie. Alas, it was not like that all day, every day — more often, I got blank stares from jaded young employees when I pulled out my book. But those awkward experiences also made for amusing stories.

What’s your personal favorite story or experience that you wrote about in the book?
In Rome, I stayed in a place called the Hotel Texas. Frommer's 1963 description runs nearly half a page and raves about its “glamorously-decorated” spaces and sophisticated guests. When I got there, though, it was essentially an archetype of deteriorated grandeur. When I showed my book to the desk clerk, he got very excited and told me he remembered "Europe on Five Dollars a Day," remembered that quote, remembered the glory days. He pulled out a hotel brochure from that era, and pointed out all the praise from other guidebooks and magazines. I had a fantastic time chatting with him over the next few days and hearing all of his stories. 

How do you think the book will contribute to travel writing memoirs?
I hope that it helps encourage other writers to take a second look at the so-called “beaten path” and realize that there are still plenty of stories left to tell there. There are two classic archetypes of travel memoir writers: the swaggering adventurers who cheat death on a daily basis, and the corporate dropouts who go to a rustic, charming village to learn “what really matters in life.” Those are all fine and good, but it's interesting how these sorts of books have become cliches in their own right; the road less traveled is actually a bit tediously familiar when it comes to travel writing.

How can readers use your book for better travel experiences?
I was about to make a joke that my book really only serves as an example of what not to do: Don't travel with a decades-old guidebook, or you will get very, very lost. But, actually, getting lost was one of the unexpected and revelatory joys of my unpractical travel method. I don't advocate total ignorance, and there were certainly times when I really wished I had been better prepared and better informed. On the whole, though, I found that getting lost and having to rely on my wits rather than a smartphone or a stack of Lonely Planets ultimately made for a more delightful, interesting, and immersive experience.

I enjoyed reading your descriptions of Arthur Frommer’s early years and his transition to travel guide writing. What were his main contributions to the field, then and also more recently?
Before Arthur Frommer came along, the major guidebooks were aimed at well-off travelers, what one might call the steamer-trunk crowd. Frommer's book had much more populist, middle-class appeal; it was essentially a manifesto for budget tourism, starting with the forthright, catchy title, almost like something from a self-help book: "Europe on Five Dollars a Day." I liken Frommer to Julia Child: they both provided the template and encouragement for the typical American. 

The general layout and style of Frommer's book was also different, more clear and concise and intuitive to use: chapter per city, each one divided into neighborhoods, all the recommendations in bold type — it's a template that basically all guidebooks follow today, but which was innovative at the time.

In the 1990s, Frommer's was one of the first guidebook companies to have a major Internet presence, and Frommers.com remains one of the most prominent travel web sites. Arthur Frommer himself has a blog there.

What do you think are the main ways travel guides have changed since the original edition of “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” came out?
The biggest thing is just that there are so many more of them — Frommer's now publishes something like 470 different guidebooks, Lonely Planet has even more, and there are many other publishers. Today’s guides also tend to be more specialized, focusing on a particular city or activity or demographic. I have not yet found a book titled The Extreme Athlete's Guide to the Vatican, but it probably exists.

The coming change, of course, is that guides are going digital. All of the major guidebook publishers also have material online, plus their own smartphone apps, and then there's all the competition from the likes of TripAdvisor and other crowd-sourced sites.

And have they changed for the better or for the worse?
Mostly for the better — planning is easier when there’s so much more information available. However, I think it's a shame that most guidebooks today don't give you a sense of the personality and specific writing voice of the author. Frommer wasn't trying to fit a specific institutional voice or style manual, so reading his book is sort of like hearing tips from a trusted friend, just because of the conversational tone of his writing.

How did “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” hold up?  Did your view of it change AFTER you traveled with it?
As you'd expect, most of the hotels and restaurants listed in the book were closed. Others had gone upscale, way out of the range of a budget traveler. Oh, and five dollars a day? Not a feasible daily budget nowadays, shockingly. Some cities were virtually unrecognizable from Frommer's descriptions — Berlin has changed tremendously since the 1960s, obviously — but some, like Rome and Paris, felt basically the same. And in every single city, there were at least a few hotels and restaurants and attractions that were still around and seemingly unchanged since Frommer's day. It held up enough for me to get by.

What is an example of how using “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” got you in trouble, and an example of how it was surprisingly rewarding?
In Paris, "Europe on Five Dollars a Day" led me to a restaurant called Le Grand Colbert, which Frommer says is really cheap and off the tourist path. Well, it turns out that it was featured in the movie “Something's Gotta Give” a few years back, so now it's a huge tourist magnet, and definitely not cheap. I walked in and the maitre d’ gave me this horrified look that basically said, “Sacre bleu, not another one of those Diane Keaton groupies. . . .” It was a spectacularly awkward meal.

There were other times, though, when Frommer's book led me away from the crowds. Like in Munich, there’s this lesser-known neighborhood that he compares favorably to Greenwich Village. I went there and it was still quiet and funky and charming, as Frommer promised; if anything, I think it was less touristy now than it was back then.

Did you send a copy to Arthur Frommer? 
Yes, my publisher sent him a book. And I was so nervous about what he would think! I have tremendous respect for him and his legacy, of course, and I trust that comes through in the book, but I also knew that the very nature of the project was probably off-putting to him: I'm a young, upstart writer doing this goofy experiment and also telling his story. But just recently, I heard Mr. Frommer on the radio show "Rudy Maxa's World," and he gave the book a glowing review — he said it was erudite and amusing and he thinks it will be a best-seller. His words, not mine. Here's hoping....

Are you still a committed non-adventurer?
Mostly. I still like to go to seemingly familiar places and find the unfamiliar thing; I really love finding the stories hidden in plain sight. But I'm certainly more adventurous than I was, so we'll see. Maybe my next book will involve using an outdated guidebook to climb Mount Everest.

What is the next travel experience you have planned?
My fiancée is trying to convince me that we should go on a hitchhiking trip in Asia. (As you will have guessed, she's quite a bit more adventurous than I …) I'm still dubious, but she's doing a good sales job, so it might happen. I'm also hoping to spend some time exploring some of the forgotten communities and cultures right here in the United States.

What’s the big message of the book you want readers to walk away with?
My message is basically the same as Frommer's underlying point all those years ago: No matter where you travel, make it your own. What's important isn't following the crowds or even not following the crowds but appreciating a place and a culture on your own terms. Don't be afraid to be a cliché and follow the masses to something really cool; don't be afraid to get totally lost and away from the crowds and out of your comfort zone. Find your own path.

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Experience the grand cities, amazing architecture, cultural attractions and natural beauty of the Old Continent.

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American travelers may have felt betrayed by their national currency over the past five years, but the dollar is finally gaining some ground. Its value against the euro increased 9.2 percent between January 2010 and January 2012.

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Pair a stronger dollar with unsteady European economies, as well as growing tourist markets and emerging destinations, and the happy conclusion is this: Europe travel can be affordable again, and not always where you expect it.

In Berlin, a slew of new hotels — the city currently has 30,000 more hotel beds than New York City — is creating competition and driving down prices (the average room rate is about $111 per night). And here’s a money-saving tip: Berlin recently introduced the Berlin Welcome Card, which covers two days of public transportation and admission to more than 160 urban attractions for $22.75.

The Berlin Brandenburg International Airport opens in June and will have new routes to up-and-coming Eastern European destinations. Cities such as Bucharest, Romania, and Zagreb, Croatia, are great values (hotel rates in both cities decreased 20 percent in 2011). Americans will also be pleased by the cost of visiting Hungary; the dollar is up 25 percent against the Hungarian forint since July 2011.

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Tourists enjoy Iceland's Blue Lagoon, which collects waters from natural hot springs.

To the west, Iceland continues to be a savings hub for Europe travel. Icelandair flies from the U.S. to Continental Europe with stops in Reykjavik; packages — some as low as $80 for hotels, meals, and spa treatments — encourage overnight stays.

Americans were the second biggest growth market to Portugal in 2011 (after Brazil), where eating out in Lisbon, for instance, costs a fraction of what it does in other European capitals. “Its appeal is similar to that of Spain and Italy but at much better value,” notes travel agent Judy Nussbaum.

Any true Italy addicts can take some comfort that a stronger dollar will help in Florence and Venice. But to really stretch your travel budget in Italy, veer off the beaten path to regions like Puglia, where you’ll be rewarded with more than freshly made pasta and century-old olive groves.

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The Titanic Belfast attraction nears completion in The Titanic Quarter on March 13 in Belfast. Belfast's Titanic Quarter is a regeneration area on the original site of the Harland and Wolff shipyard - birthplace of RMS Titanic.

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A model-like sculpture of the Titanic on display at the new Titanic Belfast Visitor's Center.

Northern Ireland's capital, Belfast, scarred by 30 years of Catholic-Protestant violence and mired in Europe's economic doldrums, is gambling on a gleaming new Titanic tourist attraction to bring it fame beyond the Troubles — and a renewed sense of civic pride.

"What happened to the Titanic was a disaster," said Tim Husbands, chief executive of Titanic Belfast, a 100 million pound ($160 million) visitor attraction due to open March 31, in advance of the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking. "But the ship wasn't."

Belfast is banking on the global reach of the Titanic name, a fame given new momentum by James Cameron's hit 1997 movie, which set Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's star-crossed love story aboard the doomed liner.

-- The Associated Press

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An employee of The Titanic Belfast attraction stands in front of screens showing computer generated images of a restaurant on The Titanic on March 13.

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A replica of the the famous staircase onboard the Titanic is on display in the new Titanic Belfast Visitor's Center.

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A visitor takes a phone picture of the slipway at the Titanic Belfast attraction on March 13.

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Brett Irwin of the Public Record Office moves old plans of Harland and Wolff ships from the 19th century in the Titanic Drawing Offices.

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A Titanic related mural is pictured near a Loyalist paramilitary mural in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on March 13.

"When one of the thick, yellowish compounds known as a "pea-soup" fog falls on London it makes day darker than the darkest night; it arrests all traffic, obliterates all landmarks, and, as Mrs. Browning says, it looks 'as if a sponge had wiped out London.' The city is transformed into ghostland." The New York Times, December 29, 1889.

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Fog engulfs London Bridge as commuters make their way towards the financial district across the River Thames during the early morning rush hour in London, England on March 15, 2012.

The fog was indeed thick as I crossed the Thames on my way into work in London this morning. In its wake, thank goodness, have come bright blue skies and city's warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures expected to reach into the high sixties. 

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The pods on the London Eye cast shadows against a thick morning fog as the spring sun shine begins to burn it off in central London, March 15, 2012.

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Commuters walk through fog as seen from the north side of Westminster Bridge in London on March 15, 2012.

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Sea waves hit the Blue Star Paros vessel during a nine-hour trip to the Greek islands of Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini, in the Aegean Sea on March 14, 2012.

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A Greek passenger seen on the Blue Star Paros vessel during a nine-hour trip to the Greek islands of Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini.

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Foreign tourists admire the volcanic island of Santorini.

See more images from Greece in PhotoBlog.

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A wine trip through Germany includes stops at historic wineries, such as Maximin Grýnhaus near the town of Trier.

I blame it on the fact that I grew up in Texas. By which I mean, at some point it occurred to me that driving from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one of France’s greatest wine regions, to Piedmont, one of Italy’s greatest wine regions, would be only a slightly longer trip than driving from Houston to Dallas. (Not to mention that at the end I’d be in Piedmont, a more appealing place than Dallas.) After that, the mental dominoes fell into place: What if I flew to Europe and hit the road, visiting five iconic wineries, in five great wine regions, in five different countries, in five days: the Priorat in Spain, Châteauneuf, Piedmont, Germany’s Mosel and finally Austria’s Wachau. I’d visit five legendary wineries, and I’d also have the pleasure of founding an entirely new pursuit — extreme wine tourism — in the process.

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Mile 0: Spain

My starting point was Alvaro Palacios’eponymous winery in Spain’s Priorat. The Priorat, about an hour-and-a-half southwest of Barcelona, is a steep, severe place that produces some of Spain’s most sought-after red wines. People have grown grapes here for hundreds of years, but the region only recently came to prominence.

Palacios was one of the small group of winemakers that recognized the Priorat’s potential back in the 1980s, and he is now its most famous producer. His top wine, one of Spain’s greatest reds, is called L’Ermita. The grapes come from a single, old, steep vineyard in the shadow of a 16th-century hermitage (it’s still in use; apparently, there’s even a waiting list to be the resident hermit). L’Ermita is a stunning expression of Grenache, a grape that reaches a pinnacle in the Priorat. “It’s one of the few grapes that can transform heat and aridity into something vibrant and refreshing,” Palacios said.

As I walked that morning in L’Ermita’s vineyard, there was certainly no lack of heat and aridity. With each step, I crunched through gravelly schist, kicking up red and brown dust; the sun was fierce. Palacios farms L’Ermita with mules, as the slope is too steep for tractors. As I hiked back up the slope, sweating, I felt fortunate not to have their job.

Palacios’ winery is a spare, modernist structure, its big glass windows looking past the town of Gratallops to hills scored by the terraces of old vineyards. We tasted a number of his wines, ending with the 2009 and 2010 L’Ermitas, which cost roughly $800 a bottle. The ’09, from a warm year, was a study in power, with immense tannins under its dark fruit; the ’10 was even better — extravagantly aromatic, perfectly balanced. They were both wines to sit with and ponder; wines for long, lingering, unhurried reflection. Instead, I checked my watch. “Uh-oh,” I said. “I’m sorry, Alvaro. I’ve got to get out of here!”

Mile 359: France

The drive from the Priorat to Châteauneuf-du-Pape takes you from dusty and scruffy (Gratallops) to drab and industrial (the northern outskirts of Barcelona) to sunlit and idyllic (France’s Mediterranean coast). Four hours in, I was sailing along the E15 past Nîmes, under a glorious Provençal sun. To my right was the pastel-blue Mediterranean; to my left, maniacal French drivers, rocketing past me with fine Gallic disregard, even though I was doing 90 miles per hour.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape shares three important things with the Priorat: the sun, the Mediterranean and Grenache. The Priorat is a hardscrabble, impoverished region, despite the success of its wines; in contrast, the southern Rhône Valley, home to Châteauneuf, feels like an extension of Provence, all sparkling light, picture-postcard villages and gentle hills. The place is charming, not harsh. If a local farmer from the Priorat were to wake up here, he’d think he’d gone to heaven. At least until he realized everyone was speaking French.

I spent the night at a bed-and-breakfast; the next morning, I drove to Château de Beaucastel, one of the greatest producers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Marc Perrin, a lanky 41-year-old whose family owns Beaucastel, looked surprisingly relaxed — surprising since it was the middle of harvest and his wife had had a baby three weeks before. “I’m not getting much sleep,” he admitted.

Beaucastel, unlike Palacios, is open to visitors by appointment, and the Perrins also own L’Oustalet, a tree-shaded restaurant with a great wine list in the nearby town of Gigondas. I had a superb alfresco lunch there with Perrin, but even so, the transcendent moment of this visit for me was back at the winery, tasting five vintages of Beaucastel’s great Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We tasted the 2009, 2008, 2001, 2000 and 1990. All were remarkable, but the 1990 soared above the rest. It had a transparent, dark ruby hue, with a tremendously complex flavor that kept sounding different notes: truffle, sandalwood, black cherry, cured meat, a little bit of black olive.

“There have been vines growing here since Roman times,” Perrin told me, “but my family purchased the estate in 1909. We’ve been organic since 1950, and working biodynamically since 1974, but we never claim it on the bottle. It’s like something my uncle used to say: ‘Some people go to church just to be seen at church, and others go simply because they believe.’”

Mile 676: Italy

Heading north out of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, I skipped the rest of the Rhône — St-Joseph! Hermitage! Côte Rôtie! Oh well! — then stopped for croissants and coffee at a bar overlooking the Isère River in Grenoble. From there, the road curved up into the Alps, then down into Italy and to Piedmont.

I’ve always harbored a fantasy of moving to Piedmont, so it was extremely convenient to find that the 17th-century castle at the top of the hill in Castiglione Falletto, next door to the Vietti winery, was currently for sale, according to Vietti’s Luca Currado. And only $2,500,000 for an entire castle! “But you have to maintain it,” Currado added. This was a good point; for instance, one might have to repair scratches to the exterior walls caused by people (like me) who drive by without paying attention to how far their side mirrors stick out.

Currado’s family has grown Nebbiolograpes in Piedmont since the 1600s; today, they own vineyards in all nine villages of the Barolo region. They also produce some of the region’s most acclaimed wines, like the 2007 Vietti Barolo Rocche that I tasted with Currado over dinner in Alba that night, a polished, luscious red with tea leaf and dark cherry notes. Currado mentioned that when Alba was a Roman town, the emperor talked about “the fog grape” (nebbiais Italian for fog; hence, Nebbiolo). “In Tuscany, they have ‘under the Tuscan sun,’” he said with a shrug. “In Piedmont, we have ‘under Piedmontese fog.’”

“I’m still blown away by that castle being for sale,” I said.

“You know, in old times, the owner of a castle had the right to spend the first night with the bride of anyone who got married in the village,” Currado said thoughtfully. “I don’t think that’s the case anymore, though.”

Mile 1,191: Germany

Switzerland's mountains are scenic, its water is pure, and I have fond memories of falling asleep one time in a Swiss meadow and waking up surrounded by cows (different story). But when you’re trying to drive swiftly from Italy to Germany, Switzerland is just a big, mountain-filled problem.

Nevertheless, nine hours after leaving Piedmont, I arrived at the gates of Maximin Grúnhaus. One of Germany’s greatest estates, it’s in the Ruwer valley region (Germany’s Mosel wine region is made up of a trio of river valleys — the Mosel, the Saar and the Ruwer). Dr. Carl von Schubert’s family has owned Grýnhaus for five generations; originally it belonged to the Abbey of Saint Maximin, and there are written records of the property that date back more than a thousand years.

The Ruwer is known for delicate, precise Rieslings, which is especially true in the 2010 vintage. The 2010 Maximin Grýnhaus Abtsberg Kabinett I tasted that evening (along with 15 other wines) was a sublime German Riesling — fragrant and polished, its sweetness and acidity in perfect balance. It was unexpectedly good with the wild boar stew that von Schubert served to me and the 25 wine salespeople from New Jersey who happened to arrive via minibus exactly when I did. (I suppose, from their point of view, I was the interloper.)

“I used to shoot about three boar per year in the vineyards,” von Schubert said as we ate. “Now it’s about 60. Perhaps it has to do with global warming.”

“They destroy the vines?” I asked.

“They love the sweetest grapes. But if they penetrate the vineyard, they have to risk ending their lives as salami.”

Mile 1,707: Austria

This was my fifth and final day. When I pulled up at Nikolaihof, in Austria’s Wachau region, I’d driven more than 1,700 miles and spent nearly 35 hours behind the wheel.

Nikolaihof is ancient. The oldest winery in Austria, it was a Celtic holy place, then a Roman fortress until 511 AD. Then the Romans left and, as Nikolaus Saahs, whose family now owns it, told me, “after that, the history is unknown until 777 AD, when a monastery was founded here.”

Hearing the story of Nikolaihof brought something home to me. Every single region I’d hit on my five-day journey shared one specific thing, which was that Romans had been the first to cultivate wine grapes there. (After 1,700 miles of driving, it also struck me as amazing that the Romans held together their empire with no mode of travel other than foot and horse.) All different countries, all different cultures, but a single unifying thread: wine. It was heartening, somehow.

Over a seemingly endless succession of Austrian dishesat the winery’s restaurant that night — Saahs’s mother, Christine, is a well-known Austrian chef — I tasted the Nikolaihof wines. If I had to pick a favorite, it would most likely be the family’s Vinothek Grýner Veltliner, which is only bottled after it has aged for a decade or more in huge wooden casks. I love the fresh white-peppery spice of Grýner, Austria’s signature grape, and it can last (and improve) for far longer than people realize. The 1993 Vinothek, the current vintage, had intense, lasting flavors, yet was amazingly alive, ending on an ethereal honeysuckle note.

Earlier that day, Saahs had taken me down to the oldest part of Nikolaihof’s cellars, built more than 1,800 years ago. The room had been a wine cellar back then, and it was a wine cellar now. While we were standing there, Saahs said, “I’m just a small part of the history of this house, and I know it. Two thousand years of history, and I’m living here 70 years? That’s nothing.” True, 70 years was nothing. But here we were, in this small stone room, talking about making wine. And 1,800 years ago, two other people had no doubt been standing right here, too, in exactly the same place, talking about making wine. In between, what had there been? Wars, famines, revolutions, discoveries, nations rising and falling, people living their lives, and through all of it, no matter what, in every single place I’d visited, someone making wine.

Iconic bottles

Germany
2010 Maximin Grýnhaus Abtsberg Riesling Kabinett ($37). Dr. Carl von Schubert makes several terrific wines from Abtsberg, his top vineyard. This slatey bottling is one of the easiest to find.

Austria
2010 Nikolaihof Grýner Veltliner Hefeabzug ($30). A peppery white, it’s a great introduction to Nikolaihof’s Grýners. Also look for the powerful, spicy 1993 Vinothek bottling ($170).

France
2008 Château de Beaucastel Châteuneuf-du-Pape ($98). Great producers make superb wine even in tough years. This violet-scented, complex red is a perfect example.

Italy
2007 Vietti Barolo Castiglione ($48). The ’07 vintage in Barolo is spectacular, something this cuvée shows with its depth and elegance. It’s made with grapes from several grand cruBarolo vineyards.

Spain
2009 Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofí ($70). Palacios’s legendary L’Ermita runs $800 a bottle. Dofí costs a fraction of that, yet it’s still world class — powerful yet subtle, with intense fruit and a mineral edge.

How to visit

With the exception of Alvaro Palacios in Spain, each winery on Ray’s tour is open to visitors by appointment (with a fair amount of advance notice).

Chateau de Beaucastel, France
Visits to and tastings at Beaucastel, in Courthézon, can be arranged through its website (beau castel.com). To book a table at L’Oustalet, the Perrin family’s restaurant in the town of Gigondas, go to restaurant oustalet.com.

Vietti, Italy
To arrange guided visits to Vietti’s winery and cellars, in the small town of Castiglione Falletto, go to vietti.com.

Maximin Grýnhaus, Germany
Located near the town of Trier, along the Ruwer river, Grýnhaus offers tours and tastings Monday through Saturday (vonschubert.com).

Nikolaihof Wachau, Austria
At Nikolaihof, in Mautern, visitors can taste wine and try traditional Austrian cuisine at the winery’s tavern (nikolaihof.at).

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With the addition of Slovakia, Eurail Global Pass holders can now visit 23 countries. Pictured is Bratislava castle in the capital city of Bratislava, Slovakia.

Many Americans associate the Eurail Pass with college students bumming around Europe for the summer. However, that stereotype is about as dated as Americans cruising Route 66 in a V8 convertible.

The Eurail Pass is a low-stress, efficient and civilized choice for travelers of any age and increasingly of mid-range and upper budgets. And with the recent addition of hotspot destination Slovakia to Eurail’s Global Pass, it is an ever more comprehensive way to visit the continent.

The Adventure Travel Trade Association recently ranked Slovakia as a top adventure spot in the world among developing destinations. Eurail Marketing Director Ana Dias e Seixas points out that “with the inclusion of the Slovakian railway, Eurail Global Pass holders will expand their range to 23 European countries.”

With more than 225,000 miles of track, Eurail gives direct access to areas not served by air and does away with the anxiety of driving and parking on roads that were originally built for horse-drawn chariots.

Why pass up on that glass of champagne at lunch only to sit in horrific traffic in your rental car? Instead, you can amble over to the dining car and take in the sights as the countryside rolls by. Most trains also deposit you right in the city center rather than forcing you to negotiate an additional trip from a suburban airport to your hotel.

The Eurail Pass is no longer a one-size-fits-all travel voucher but a variety of ticket options that have evolved along with travelers’ new needs. These days, most people have shorter vacations and prefer to target a few countries rather than taking the summer-long jaunts of yesteryear.

According to Mark Smith, founder of train travel information site The Man in Seat 61, “Eurail isn't even necessarily the best money-saving option. It's actually the gold-plated option, giving you flexibility and freedom at a relatively affordable cost compared to the expensive full-price fares you'd pay at the station.”

Smith says that nowadays students and others who are on the tightest of budgets may be more attracted to “the cheap 'budget train fares' you can find online for an advanced-purchase, pre-planned itinerary assuming they’re willing to risk a no-refunds, no-changes ticket."

The Eurail Pass is worth the price for peace-of-mind and convenience. And they sweeten the deal with free or reduced transportation on private railroad companies, national and international ferry crossings and bus transportation, as well as reductions on hotels, museums and bicycle rentals.

Next time in Europe, consider thinking beyond flights and rental cars. With new destinations like Slovakia, Eurail allows you to see it all and actually have a chance to enjoy that relaxing “Continental” pace-of-life in the process.

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• Ice clogs the canals of Venice, Italy
• Stilettos in the snow... only in Rome!
• London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists 

Winfried Rothermel / AP

People watch the Triberger waterfalls at the Black Forest in Triberg, southern Germany during temperatures far below zero, on Feb. 7, 2012.

Anna Schuermann / EPA

A hiker stands behind icicles as he takes snapshots of a frozen waterfall in Bad Urach, Germany, on Feb. 7. The cold wave sweeping across Europe is expected to bring even more snow and frigid temperatures in the upcoming days.

Martin Schutt / AFP - Getty Images

A car drives through the snowy landscape on the Grosser Inselberg mountain in eastern Germany, on Feb. 6. The deadly cold snap that has gripped Europe for more than a week wrought more havoc across the continent, straining emergency services, grounding flights and pushing the death toll past 200.

Patrick Pleul / EPA

Packed ice floes are seen from the Stadtbruecke Bridge in Frankfurt Oder, Germany, Feb. 7. The drifting ice has come to a standstill along more than 140 kilometers of the Oder River on the border between Germany and Poland.

Christof Stache / AFP - Getty Images

A pedestrian walks between snowy stairways in the Olympic park in Munich, southern Germany, on Feb. 7. Temperatures plunged to new lows in Europe where last two week-long cold snap has now claimed more than 220 lives and forecasters warned that the big freeze would tighten its grip at the next time.

Malte Christians / EPA

Young men play ice hockey on the frozen Outer Alster in Hamburg, Germany, on Feb. 7. The frozen Outer Alster could be used at one's own risk since yesterday. In some places the ice is 18 cm thick.

Uwe Meinhold / AP

Ice crystals hang from a water wheel at the technical museum in Annaberg-Buchholz, eastern Germany, on Feb. 7, 2012.

The extreme weather hitting Europe this winter has caused some surreal and beautiful scenes across the continent. Sadly, the picturesque images of iced-covered towns mask the impact the freezing temperatures have on the people experiencing them. In the Ukraine alone there have been over 130 people confirmed dead, and temperatures as low as minus 22 Fahrenheit are expected to continue for another week. There are now fears of deadly flooding that will follow as the climate warms up.

Related content:

• See more images of the severe winter in Europe on PhotoBlog
• Deadly floods follow in iced-over Europe
• Slideshow: Winter Wildness

Marco Sabadin / AFP - Getty Images

A small boat passes on a canal covered with ice on Monday in Venice, Italy. Temperatures fell to 14 degrees Fahrenheit in Milan on Monday as 59,000 households remained without electricity in Italy and officials declared a gas supply emergency.

Luigi Costantini / AP

A view of the Cannaregio channel, partially iced because of unusually low temperatures, in Venice on Monday. Schools will be closed in Rome on Tuesday, as Italy copes with unusually heavy snow for the Mediterranean country. So far, ten deaths have been linked to winter weather, including two people who were crushed under a collapsed roof south of Rome, and a 91-year-old woman in the northeast port of Trieste who was knocked down by strong winds. In the north, rescuers had to pluck people from their homes, as piles of snow reached 3 meters (10 feet) in some areas. In Milan, Italy's fashion and financial capital, temperatures fell to 10 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, and the authorities opened a section of the city subway to shelter some 100 homeless people.

Manuel Silvestri / Reuters

A boat floats in a frozen lagoon in Venice on Monday. Bitterly cold weather sweeping across Europe claimed more victims on Sunday, brought widespread disruption to transport services, and left thousands without power with warnings that low temperatures would continue into next week.

More images from freezing weather in Europe in PhotoBlog.

Related story: Venice rebels againts cruise ship intrusions

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Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

Tourists protect themselves with umbrellas from the falling snow in front of Rome's ancient Colosseum on Feb. 3.

Massimo Percossi / EPA

A man cycles through a snow storm in Rome, Italy, on Feb 3. Reports state that the severe cold has killed more than 100 people across Europe, where temperatures have in some areas have plummeted.

Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

Women walk near the Trevi fountain during snowfalls on Feb. 3 in Rome.

AP reports:

Thick snowflakes fell in Rome on Friday, a rare occurrence for a capital usually blessed by a temperate climate, and other parts of the country experienced frigid temperatures unseen in years.

The snowfall prompted authorities to stop visitors from entering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors.

The last substantial snowfalls in Rome were in 1985 and 1986, though there have been other cases of lighter snow since then, including in 2010.

Read the full story.

See recent photos of the harsh winter Europe is experiencing.

Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

Scooters and motorbikes are covered with snow as they are parked downtown Rome on Feb. 3. A rare mantle of snow blanketed the historic center of Rome on Friday as temperatures in the Alpine region of Piedmont in northern Italy went as low as minus 22 Fahrenheit.

Tiziana Fabi / AFP - Getty Images

People walk on St Peter's square covered by snow on Feb. 3 at the Vatican. A rare mantle of snow blanketed the historic center of Rome on Friday.