I just checked into the airport to fly to Geneva with Easyjet, which was the cheapest flight to Switzerland. I've specifically been carrying around a backpack and carry-on bag.  So naturally I say I'm not checking luggage in.

They tell me at the gate I need to pay 40€ for not declaring I'm checking luggage.

I'm sorry, what?  No, this is a carry-on.

We only allow one item on board.

Well, this backpack is a personal item.

Only one.  It was all over the website.

So, exactly what year is it that there are still airlines which don't allow a personal item, and charge you extra when there's confusion?  Seriously, travel through Europe is absolutely an inconvenience at best.

Update: The overhead bins are nowhere near capacity and my backpack fits under the seat.  This was definitely just for getting more money, but for any safety reasons.

You know how in the movies, there's the scene where the character is sitting in train, looking out the window?  It have you heard countless stories about saving money on hostels by taking an overnight train?  What they don't show is how much our character pays.

Maybe if you're under 26, this is a possibility, but the euro rail pass, I determined, would hardly be worth it on my trip. So, I'm taking it step by step.

As it turns it, transportation in Europe I'd REALLY extensive.  A train ride lasting a few hours can easily cost $150.  My euro star trip did, and since then I haven't taken any major trip by train.  Crazy enough, even flying is cheaper sometimes.  My host in Edinburgh even said she's planning on taking a plane to London instead of a train.  Remember, this is a domestic trip, what exactly causes a train to be so much more expensive?

I'm already looking into bus trips to Munich.  Most other bus trips would take over 6  hours, but this one should be only 30€ and three hours.  Ride sharing through blablacar has been pretty popular here too.  After checking my bank account today, I'm definitely in need of more affordable options.

The way if the spontaneous budget traveler is, sadly, a thing of the past.

Trying to leave London for mainland Europe by train?

Consider any other option.

Eurostar seems to be the only train company offering routes to Brussels or Paris.  In fact, I don't even see any other international train companies.  So, there's that issue of a lack of choice.

A two hour train ride to Brussels costs 107 pounds.  Now, it is international, I get that, but if you book a flight early in advance, you can easily pay LESS than this train.  And I don't think I could imagine a train's operating costs being less than an airplane's.

So, after exhausting all other options to get to Brussels (the last-minute plain tickets came out to be more), I decided to bite the bullet and buy a train ticket.  Now, it doesn't seem like there should be a problem during the purchasing process.  I find the ticket, click, go through everything up to payment.

Then comes payment.  There's a 4 pound fee for using a credit card.  I'm sorry, this isn't Joe's Gas Station, or POS Corner Store.  This is an international train company whining about the marginal fee that comes with using a credit card for a purchase.  And I -highly- doubt the fee comes out to be a ridiculous 4% of the purchase.

So, I pay by debit, which has no fee attached.  Click submit.

Sorry, eurostar.com is down.  Like right now.  Well okay then.  I feel like this would have been important to know beforehand (I checked my account, I wasn't charged).

So next morning, I go to buy the ticket; this time the website miraculously is up.  During this process, I opt not to buy insurance, because I have travel health insurance already, and I can and have make it to each location on time (click on March 2015 and reread what ended up happening in Trang, in transit to Koh Sukorn, to get an example).

I've been told to get here 30 minutes ahead of time, so I do (33 minutes to be exact).  Clearly, this advice was delivered by narcissists, because as it turns out the UK's emigration process took me 29 minutes.  So it sounds like you make it there as the doors close, right?  Well no, it's never specifically mentioned when doors close.  I'm looking at the departures and my ticket right now, and I see no indication of when the doors close.  So, I get past security at 8:54.  Departure is 8:58.  Doors are closed.  I'm sorry but this isn't like at airports, where part of the takeoff process involves actually taking the plane to the runway.

Now, I've since worked out cheaper ways to get to Brussels, so I wanted my money back.  Not an option.  And of course while trying to reason with this guy there's meanwhile a line of other people who missed the train to Brussels.  -Clearly-, something is amiss.  If it's just me missing the train, I get it.  If there's at least 20, well something went wrong in the process.

The guy at the desk points out I checked in at 8:25.  I confirm with him that the minimum recommended time is 30 minutes.  So someone check my math here but I'm pretty sure 8:58-8:25 = 33 minutes > 30 minutes.  I cannot be given any reason this is my own fault besides what equates to "You should have gotten here earlier; 30 is the MINIMUM amount of time".  Right, so how many minutes early?  Clearly not 30.  I upheld my end of the bargain, you did not hold yours.  This is what generally allows for a termination of contract to some degree.

I can't claim to have ever crossed borders by train before, and even if I had crossed EU countries before, the UK is a special little snowflake who has their own non-schengen immigration process.

So, no refund, just a change of time.  I mean, in the grand scheme of things I know it isn't the end of the world, but it's clear I'm not paying for the service I'm receiving (and what if I had a meeting to go to in Brussels?).  I'm hearing there isn't wifi or outlets on this train (there certainly doesn't seem to be an outlet in the station, though yes on wifi).  My trip from Scotland at least had that much.