Julia Baird contrasts 1970s European backpacking with her daughter’s modern travel

Australian journalist Julia Baird reflects on the differences between her own backpacking across Europe in the 1970s and her daughter’s recent trip. She recalls navigating narrow cobbled streets in Nazaré, Portugal, using paper maps and a Eurail Pass, sleeping on beaches and train stations, and sending postcards home. By contrast, her daughter relies on smartphones, location data and booking apps, traveling to polished destinations like Venice with a curated social‑media feed. Baird laments the loss of “invisibility” and the spontaneous risk‑taking of the earlier era, while noting the safety and convenience of today’s Euro‑generation travel.

The piece serves as a nostalgic commentary on how technology has reshaped the experience of European backpacking.