TRAVELLING

     Travelling is very  popular in the 20th century  and that is
why it is so common.
     People all around the world  travel for various reasons: One
of them is  tourism - especially during holidays.  People want to
see the most beautiful sights of worldþs famous metropolis: Rome,
Venice, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague  etc. Some people travel
on business,  for political and  cultural reasons. Others  travel
for scientific purposes. Even smuggling is not unusual. Many like
travelling because it is very  exciting, they can see new places,
meet new  people and friends,  eat something unusual  and see the
way  of  life  in  various  countries.  Besides  they can get new
experiences.
     On the other hand travelling has some disadvantages - it may
be very  dangerous: we can meet  bad people, we can  get lost, be
murdered or our  money may be stolen. For  some people travelling
is very expensive. The worst it the fact that the people and some
countries lose their individuality and travelling spoils nature.
     There  are many  means of  transport to  choose from.  Young
people like hitchhiking or just  hiking. Some people prefer going
by car,  by air, by  train, by bus,  on a motorcycle  or riding a
motorbike, a bike  or even a horse. In London  we can travel by a
double-decker. Some people love more romantic means of transport,
e. g.  going on a  yacht, canoeing, gliding,  hot-air ballooning,
windsurfing,  skateboarding or  roller-skating. In  Europe it  is
very popular now  to travel by residential cars  in which you can
have everything for your personal use.
     When going abroad we must  get necessary documents. First of
all a valid passport and a  visa (to some countries we still need
a visa which we  can get at a local  embassy in Prague). Besides,
we  must  change  money  to  hard  currency  in  a  bank or at an
exchange-office. When going by train  (or fast train, express) we
must buy tickets  (single or return, first of  second class), and
when we fly, we must get air (or flight) tickets and find out our
flight number and departure time.
     We should know foreign languages because it is important for
making  ourselves understood.  Most people  all around  the world
speak  English  and  in  Europe  German  can  be  used as a world
language as well.

     Travelling does  not mean only going  abroad but also seeing
interesting  places in  our country  or commuting  to work  or to
school.  People usually  commute by  train or  bus, in big cities
they can go by tram or the underground or take a taxi.
     In  our  country  there  are  many  state and private travel
agencies.  Through  travel  agencies  people  have  their  trips,
tickets and  accommodation reserved. We can arrange various kinds
of trips, e. g.:
 - Cultural  trips to well-known  historic places (Egypt,  Rome),
   seeing nice architecture in large European cities.
 - Recreation stays in various mountains or seaside resorts.
 - Stays with sports of educational programmes.

     Many foreign tourists travel  to our country, mainly because
of - beautiful nature in the  mountains, by the lakes and rivers,
     the can practise mountaineering or stay at camps,
   - cultural  and   historic  monuments,   above  all  gothic,
     renaissance and  baroque castles and  churches. Most of  all
     they are attracted  by Prague, but they may  be surprised by
     the bad state of our monuments.

     For travelling we can use many kinds of luggage according to
the kind of trip.
     We use a knapsack for a  longer sports journey, we can fix a
tent and a sleeping bag to it.
     We use a rucksack when going for a walk or to school.
     We use  a suitcase when  we go  by  a couch and  we need not
carry it so  often. We use it when  we take a fine dress  or suit
for our evening entertainment and we do not want to be folded.