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Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

(Bryson and Katz #1)

Bill Bryson

3.86 · Rating details · 60,325 ratings · 2,934 reviews

Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia. Fluent in ...more

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Paperback, 254 pages

Published March 28th 1993 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published 1991)

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Aug 10, 2007 Carol Jones rated it it was amazing

I simply cannot read this book anywhere in public, because I just collapse with laughing, and people stare. You really have to enjoy Bryson's snarky sense of humor to get him; otherwise I could see how he would strike some people as whiny. When he loves a place, he really loves it, but if there is something to be exasperated about, he will let you know. I enjoy this as much as Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad, for the same kind of snarky humor. ...more

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Mar 16, 2015 Sonja Arlow rated it it was ok

Shelves: audio-books, 2015-read, non-fiction

After finishing this book one thing is crystal clear, Mr. Bryson and I would not make very good travel companions.

Out of 22 Chapters and 26 cities in total there were only 3 cities where the author didn’t bash the locals, their lack of English (What did he expect?) horrible food, noisy streets, and unfriendly service……… the list goes on and on. I also noticed that the cities he had been to as a youth always left him disappointed and the few he now visited for the first time got glowing reviews. ...more

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Apr 17, 2007 Katie rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: travellers with a sense of humor

Bill Bryson is amazing. He captures the essence of the peculiarities of travel.. of people in general. I read this before going to London (also read Noted from a Small Island- about England which was also excellent).. If you've traveled or want to travel, it's a great little book full of entertaining short stories. I read part of the 'Belgium' chapter to my grandmother (she's from Antwerp) and she nearly went off her rocker. No really, she almost fell off her chair laughing. :o) I recommend. ...more

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Mar 26, 2019 Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: recently-reviewed, travel, humour

Leaving his comfort zone thousands of miles away Bill explores Europe accompanied only with his curiosity and happy smile.

Buying bread...
You would go into a bakery and be greeted by some vast slug-like creature with a look that told you you would never be friends. In halting French you would ask for a small loaf of bread. The woman would give you a long, cold stare and then put a dead beaver on the counter.‘
No, no,’ you would say, hands aflutter, ‘not a dead beaver. A loaf of bread.’

Reservation ...more

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Aug 10, 2019 Jason rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2019, armchair-challenge

Bill Bryson is 1 part comedian, 1 part explorer and 1 part grumpy-old-bastard, when you put those three things together you get a very funny travelogue by a reluctant traveller who dislikes most humans.

Neither Here nor There covers two journeys, one when Bill was young and touring Europe with his "mate" Katz and today where Bill is retracing that first journey. He visits France (full of psychopaths), Belgium (sooooooo dull), Scandinavia (too wet), Italy (untidy), Switzerland (grumpy people), Ger ...more

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Jun 15, 2019 aPriL does feral sometimes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, travelogue, non-fiction

Bill Bryson's book 'Neither Here nor There' is hilarious. This is a travelogue about a journey through Europe which could easily pass as a stand-up comedian's dialogue.

The book was written in 1992, so I am certain a lot of the author's descriptions of hotels, streets, restaurants, museums, landscapes, cities, trains and people he saw on his journey through Europe are lacking somewhat in current usefulness to travelers hoping to see exactly today what he saw back then almost thirty years ago. Ho ...more

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Oct 14, 2008 RandomAnthony rated it liked it

Neither Here Nor There,, my second Bryson book (the other one was similar but focused on traveling through the US), reads smoothly and seems like a pretty good place for potential Bryson fans to start. Bryson is kind of like your uncle if your uncle was Chuck Klosterman in 2040 and very concerned about beer and hotels and people cutting in front of him in line.

This book, the story of Bryson retracing the path of one of his college trips through Europe, has its high points. Bryson is at his best ...more

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Oct 12, 2020 Marianne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Even read almost three decades after the first reading, Bill Bryson’s take on his European travels is still entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny (if seeming more sexist and politically incorrect), but William Roberts narration of the audio version does it a disservice. Bryson’s own narration, when heard on other audio versions, is amiable and a little wondrous, often bemused, while Roberts changes the tone, making it sharper, snarkier, even a bit nasty. 5★s for the content, 2★s for the na ...more

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Mar 16, 2016 Erica Miles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In theology, we call it a 'calling.' A vocation. The perfect match between your greatest love and the work for which you are most well-suited or which God or the Universe has called you to do. Bill Bryson describes his travels in Europe with that sort of passion. But add to that, not only his talent for conveying information, but also his characteristic sense of humor, his ability to describe the things he observes down to the minutest detail, his exquisite writing style, the way he paints so de In theology, we call it a 'calling.' A vocation. The perfect match between your greatest love and the work for which you are most well-suited or which God or the Universe has called you to do. Bill Bryson describes his travels in Europe with that sort of passion. But add to that, not only his talent for conveying information, but also his characteristic sense of humor, his ability to describe the things he observes down to the minutest detail, his exquisite writing style, the way he paints so delicately, so specifically with words, and above all, his love, his love of all he experiences. Bill Bryson is the perfect travel companion. I, for one, am disabled and don’t see myself boarding a plane or train or bus anytime soon, let alone walking miles and miles, as Bryson does. But through this author’s words, I take wing as a reader and fly with Bryson. He makes me laugh so often; he also makes me cry; he makes me share his passion. He eats and drinks a lot throughout his travels in Europe. He also shares his admiration for beautiful women. But his most endearing quality for me is his honesty. He pulls no punches when he describes the qualities of the countrymen he encounters in the various nations through which he travels. But he also laughs at himself and often makes a fool of himself. He is no exception to the rule which he, himself, establishes. But with such keen intellect and such sheer artistry, he paints the entire picture in such an exquisite way. It is no wonder that Bryson is such a popular writer. I read the Audible version of this book. That is, I listened to it rather than reading it with my eyes. Bill Bryson was the narrator, and oh my God, what a narrator! He hypnotizes and charms the reader/listener with his beautiful voice, the way he veers between tenderness, admiration, and sarcasm. This has got to be one of my all-time favorite books. An illuminating history of Europe, as seen through the eyes of a modern traveler, a keen thinker, an immoderate drinker, a gourmand, an art connoisseur, a nature lover, a humorist, an isolationist, an awe-inspirer, a tickler, and a sharer of all he experiences, throughout the spectrum of physical, emotional, and intellectual. I love Bill Bryson. Period. ...more

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Sep 17, 2013 Mary Simses rated it really liked it

If you've never read any of Bill Bryson's travel books, you should. This is the third one I've read, and, like the other two ("Notes from a Small Island" and "I'm a Stranger Here Myself") I found it hysterically funny, entertaining, and enlightening. Although the book was written in 2001, my guess is that what Bryson captured in terms of the feel of each place he visited in Europe is probably still accurate. His descriptions are so vivid - the sights, the sounds, the people, the trains, the hote ...more

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Sep 02, 2015 Trelawn rated it really liked it

Having just spent a few a days viewing Europe of the '90s through the eyes of Bill Bryson I have a strange urge to travel by train while simultaneously never wanting to leave home again. He is witty, irreverent and fearless, a somewhat imperfect travel companion but I will happily go wherever he takes me next. ...more

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Jan 14, 2017 David Sarkies rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Backpacking Around Europe
15 January 2016

The thing that really struck me with this book was how annoying it would have been traveling in Europe back in the late 80s and early 90s (or even earlier). Okay, automatic teller machines were starting to appear, but it wasn’t like now where you basically had a common currency over much of the continent, nor do you have to load yourself up with traveler’s cheques to make the journey. In fact I have never seen a traveler’s cheque in my life. Sure, I have Backpacking Around Europe
15 January 2016

The thing that really struck me with this book was how annoying it would have been traveling in Europe back in the late 80s and early 90s (or even earlier). Okay, automatic teller machines were starting to appear, but it wasn’t like now where you basically had a common currency over much of the continent, nor do you have to load yourself up with traveler’s cheques to make the journey. In fact I have never seen a traveler’s cheque in my life. Sure, I have heard of them, especially the famous American Express ad:

‘Mr Wong, Mr Wong, I’ve lost all my traveler’s cheques’;
‘oh, what kind where they’.

All I can say is that I felt sorry for anybody with the name Wong in the telephone book because no doubt they would gets lots of prank phones calls, and you pretty much work that out when you are the one making the prank phone call and the response is ‘and f**k you too!’. But seriously (yes, I was young once), when I first decided to leave the country and explore the world it was 2011, which meant that we had smart phones and Google Maps, it was nowhere near as frustrating, and I certainly wasn’t wandering around blind. Okay, on my first trip I didn’t have any internet access, so I was reliant upon a road map when we were driving, tourist maps when we were in a city, and basically stumbling around with my eyes bulging out at seeing Venice in the flesh.

The thing about travel is that it is addictive, and a book about traveling around Europe brings out the part of me that wants to say ‘stuff this, I’m out of here’. In fact I did do that once, and jumped on a plane to London simply to go and watch a live performance of Les Miserable (I had just seen the film, and staring at the poster while wandering through the London Underground just made me want to see it all the more). Fortunately that second, and third, time I did work out that the best way to deal with the internet problem is to buy simcards over there, and I have to admit that Vodafone turned out to be a life saver – namely because I ended up buying one in the Netherlands and using it for the next three weeks as I wandered around Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Pas de Calais.

However, it must have been a pain in the neck having to change currencies every time you crossed the border, though my understanding was that traveler’s cheques solved that problem by being accepted wherever you go – though I suspect that you later had to cash them at a Bureau de Change, and then change currencies whenever you went into another country. Mind you, crossing from France to Switzerland, Germany to Czechia (Czech Republic), and France to England proved headaches enough, especially in Czechia where it was impossible to actually work out what the value of the money actually was. In Hong Kong I simply divided the price by 10, in the Eurozone I multiplied it by three quarters (or just hazarded a guess) and in England I basically doubled the price.

Another really interesting aspect to this book is when it was written. Apparently when Bryson went backpacking with his friend in the early seventies he was able to pass into the Eastern bloc, namely Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Mind you the stories that he tells of his experience in Sofia makes you wish you were young, American, and backpacking through the Eastern Bloc in the Early Seventies. However things had changed, and Bryson was pretty fortunate that he was able to go there when he did because within a couple of years Yugoslavia would explode into a massive war. As for Bulgaria, he got to witness the breadlines first hand, though his comment about walking into his hotel and having a full buffet available is rather interesting. In fact it is also noticeable that it appears that only foreigners were even allowed in the hotel. As he said, it is surprising that he simply wasn’t mugged because it was pretty obvious that he was American, and quite a wealthy one at that (he followed in his father’s footsteps and became an editor in a London newspaper).

I could write a lot more on this book, namely sharing my experiences in 2011 with Bryson’s in 1991, however I think I will leave that for my blog (which you can find a link here). Mind you, if you are interested in reading about my travels there is always my travel blog, and one of the main reasons that I went to Europe in 2016 was to actually have something to write about that didn’t involve suburbs in Australian cities. However, one thing that I should mention before I sign off, is how Bryson mentioned that with the collapse of Communism, tourism was only going to get worse – however it wasn’t something I noticed. In fact I suspect that what it has done is not so much brought more tourists from the Eastern Bloc – they still happen to be quite poor compared to the rest of Europe, but it has actually opened Eastern Europe to tourism. ...more

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Apr 26, 2013 astried rated it it was ok

Shelves: thinking-about-the-world, 2013, footstep-on-a-trail

I've realized from reading this book how thin the line between hilariously funny and whiny is. And Bryson has crossed the line. Or maybe I drew the line thinner just because he did the unforgiveable act of not liking Cologne (which is still the loveliest city for me). So you've been warned, this review is subjective and biased (oh dear, so much so) and when I said I don't like it doesn't mean you won't, you probably will.

Anyway, midway reading, I suddenly had this thought. Is it possible that Br ...more

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Jan 30, 2016 Baal Of rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

Another book that falls outside my typical reading pattern, and another book that I snagged during the great book giveaway at work. I like Bryson's breezy style with lots of humor, laced with profanity, and sharp but sympathetic observations of human nature. I appreciate the fact that he presents his apparently raw, unfiltered thoughts rather than giving some kind of rose-colored view of the places he visits. He's not afraid to describe the raw sewage running from a sewer pipe right between rela ...more

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Dec 29, 2015 Mar rated it did not like it

Shelves: essasys, travel

I really, really wanted to like this book. I really did, but the so called humour and wit of this book was extremely disappointing, mainly consisting of complaining about everything that wasn't suited exactly to his tastes and objectifying women (and he does this quite a lot). Some of his jokes are less than tasteful, and he doesn't seem to actually enjoy himself anywhere. Everywhere he goes, he finds something to complain about - whether it is the food, hotel, people, or even the architecture o ...more

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Jan 03, 2019 James Hartley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is good, light and fun - a bit outdated now (first published in 1991) but the usual breezy, funny, Bryson read.

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Jul 23, 2018 Sudhir Pai rated it really liked it

At first, Bill Bryson comes across as one of the worst kinds of tourists. The one that always seems to have a problem with everything he encounters on a trip. The only excess baggage he seems to carry, lie between his ears. He's probably the last person you'd hope to be stuck with in a long flight or a train ride. But it's those fantastic observations he makes as a whiny tourist that makes him my favourite travel writer.

In Neither Here Nor There, he explores Europe in the early 90s. Since it wa At first, Bill Bryson comes across as one of the worst kinds of tourists. The one that always seems to have a problem with everything he encounters on a trip. The only excess baggage he seems to carry, lie between his ears. He's probably the last person you'd hope to be stuck with in a long flight or a train ride. But it's those fantastic observations he makes as a whiny tourist that makes him my favourite travel writer.

In Neither Here Nor There, he explores Europe in the early 90s. Since it was written around the fall of the Soviet block, with several societies welcoming a fresh lease of life at what would be the end of the cold war, many of his observations may not be prevalent today. But considering his times, it's amazing how the writer found humour in undertaking a journey across Europe in such a challenging atmosphere.

Whether it's his comical exaggeration or his profound epiphanies while travelling across foreign lands, there seem to be no half measures when it comes to Bryson. I'd only read Notes from a Small Island earlier, where we elaborated upon every little town he visited across UK. This journey, where is travelled to towns as diverse as Hammerfest in Norway to Sofia in Bulgaria, gave Bryson a far wider canvas and he exploited it fully.

You may skim through the pages wondering if the book is only full of laughs, and boy there's no dearth of it in this book. But carefully concealed in all his hilarious narratives are some gems that's make to stop and think.

While admiring the excesses of the uber-rich in Italy, he observed, "Isn´t it strange how wealth is always wasted on the rich?"

While he cribbed at the appalling standards of basic tourist facilities in one of economic stays, he yearned, "I sat on a toilet watching the water run thinking what an odd thing tourism is. You fly off to a strange land, eagerly abandoning all the comforts of home and then expend vast quantities of time and money in a largely futile effort to recapture the comforts you wouldn’t have lost if you hadn’t left home in the first place."

On his sudden decision to to take a flight on a whim, he declared, "Traveling is more fun-- hell, life is more fun--if you can treat it as a series of impulses."

My favourite Bryson quote however comes early in the book, when he elaborates the why he travels at all, "I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."

I could keep digging out such gems, possibly when I read it again. And I think the style in which it's written allows a reader to pick any chapter at ramdom and still find it amusing. I'd possibly carry this book the next time I visit Europe, and insist on reading some of the chapters at the very places Bryson visits. Though you should be warned about the outrageous sounds that will emanate from your being when you stifle a laughter while reading Bryson in public.

"There is something about the momentum of travel that makes you want to just keep moving, to never stop." I could say the same about reading Bill Bryson's books, and I sincerely cannot wait to pick up my next one. ...more

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May 09, 2019 Kiwi Begs2Differ ✎ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nf-other, humor

This book it’s a tongue in cheek travelogue, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
True, Bryson’s attitude towards countries other than Britain or USA are not exactly amenable, makes you wonder why does he bother visit them? Admittedly, his tone tone sounds snotty, snarky and disrespectful but I don’t think Bryson intends to offend anyone. It’s the equivalent to listening to a politically incorrect stand up comedian describing his overseas trip, full of comic adventures and funny anecdotes, you would This book it’s a tongue in cheek travelogue, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
True, Bryson’s attitude towards countries other than Britain or USA are not exactly amenable, makes you wonder why does he bother visit them? Admittedly, his tone tone sounds snotty, snarky and disrespectful but I don’t think Bryson intends to offend anyone. It’s the equivalent to listening to a politically incorrect stand up comedian describing his overseas trip, full of comic adventures and funny anecdotes, you wouldn't take his comments seriously and grudge him, would you?

Granted, it’s not to everyone’s taste, but I took it for what I think it is: humor. The book gave me some chuckles and good laughs, I liked it. Besides, I learned a few surprising facts, e.g. which country in Europe was the last one to give women suffrage (view spoiler)
If you are an over-sensitive member of the EU (particularly if you are Swede, Norwegian, Swiss, Austrian or Bulgarian) and full of country pride, avoid this book.
If you are looking for a travel guide to Europe, look elsewhere, this book, written in 1990, is dated anyway.

Fav. Quotes:

The best that can be said for Norwegian television is that it gives you the sensation of a coma without the worry and inconvenience.

He gave me one of those impassive Gallic shrugs – the one where they drop their chin to belt level and try to push their ears to the top of their head with their shoulders. You have to be Gallic to do it. It translates roughly as ‘Life is a bucket of shit, monsieur, I quite agree, and while I am prepared to acknowledge this fact, I shall offer you no sympathy because, monsieur, this is your bucket of shit.’

I love the way the Italians park. You turn any street corner in Rome and it looks as if you’ve just missed a parking competition for blind people. Cars are pointed in every direction, half on the pavements and half off, facing in, facing sideways, blocking garages and side streets and phone boxes, fitted into spaces so tight that the only possible way out would be through the sun roof.

Q. How can you spot a Swiss anarchist? A. He doesn’t use the post code.
...more

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Sep 29, 2014 Krista rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, memoir, audiobook, nonfiction

Bill Bryson is near the top of my Most Read Authors list, not because I'm a particular fan, but because his audiobooks make easy listening for my daily walks. He doesn't attempt to do voices, I don't need to think too hard, and sometimes his stabs at humour make me laugh (and more often, make me roll my eyes). Neither Here Nor There has the advantage of being an interesting concept to me: after living in England for a dozen years, Bryson spontaneously decided to go see the Northern Lights, and a ...more

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Aug 09, 2018 Ellen Trautner rated it it was ok

This was printed in 1992, so Bill is traveling around Europe just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and he doesn't have cell phones or the internet readily available. It makes for quaint travel adventures, really.

However, once I realized how long ago this was, I didn't really appreciate Bill Bryson's grumpiness. I thought he got grumpier as he got older, and some of it is quite funny, but I don't feel he really has an excuse here to complain as much as he does. Especially at the end, when he m ...more

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Apr 24, 2009 Laura D. rated it it was ok

I did like this book, although I couldn't help feeling that following Mr. Bryson through Europe was a little like watching the movie Dumb and Dumber. I have traveled in Europe and my philosophy was completely different from his. I knew that typical American tourists spend a day or two in a place and then go on to the next place. I disagree with this idea so much because I don't see the point of spending a lot of money on a plane ticket to go to another continent if I am not going to experience I did like this book, although I couldn't help feeling that following Mr. Bryson through Europe was a little like watching the movie Dumb and Dumber. I have traveled in Europe and my philosophy was completely different from his. I knew that typical American tourists spend a day or two in a place and then go on to the next place. I disagree with this idea so much because I don't see the point of spending a lot of money on a plane ticket to go to another continent if I am not going to experience something amazing, and you can't expect amazing unless you take the time to do so. I took three months with my sister to travel by rail to 7 different destinations and we spent a significant chunk of time in each place. It is not that hard to do especially if you put yourself out there and try to meet some people. Once you show an interest in the culture and history of the place that you are in, you will be amazed at how people welcome you into their worlds. We stayed in the home of a guy that we had just met, who was a friend of a friend, in Rome and his mother served us an amazing breakfast in the mornings, and she didn't speak a word of English. This friend of a friend also took us to his three favorite pizzerias and his three favorite gelatorias, each day a different combination. We were there for a week and learned a few words of Italian, learned a lot about the history of Rome, and most importantly learned about what it is like to be a Roman today.

I felt that Mr. Bryson totally missed this concept. It seemed that at every turn he was disappointed with where he was and the experience he had. It's no wonder! He spent absolutely no time trying to learn about the people or even to speak a few of their words. I spoke one word of Russian to a Russian bartender once and from that moment on I was the only person in my group that he would even try to communicate with.

I read this book because I was feeling a little nostalgic about my travels and wanted to remember these places a little. The only thing that kept me from hating it was Mr. Brysons sense of self-deprecating humor. Just when I was about to give up on him because his sense of adventure was so skewed, he would make a knife-sharp remark indicating that he was an idiot, and then I would feel better and keep reading.

Mr. Bryson is from Iowa and in this case it is clear that you can take the boy out of Iowa, but you cannot take the Iowa out of the boy. ...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Jessaka rated it liked it

Shelves: adventure, travel, around-the-world, fun-and-easy

This book made me laugh. I used to think that funny books were not funny to me; I don't even laugh at the Sunday comics. I am often not sure if they are really supposed to make you laugh or not. Maybe they are since my husband often reads me the ones he finds funny.

Then I wondered how Bill Bryson came up with this stuff that happens to him on his vacation. I came to the conclusion that he thinks of something that could happen and runs with it. I say this because my husband and I just took a two This book made me laugh. I used to think that funny books were not funny to me; I don't even laugh at the Sunday comics. I am often not sure if they are really supposed to make you laugh or not. Maybe they are since my husband often reads me the ones he finds funny.

Then I wondered how Bill Bryson came up with this stuff that happens to him on his vacation. I came to the conclusion that he thinks of something that could happen and runs with it. I say this because my husband and I just took a two week trip across half of America by car and nothing funny happened to us. I just now thought about how I could make my own journal of our trip funny. I really couldn't, because I only came up with this: We drove through the everglades on a two lane dusty road, and there were alligators on each side of the road. We stopped and got out when we saw a turtle being pecked at by vultures. So far true.
What would happen if an alligator appeared? Maybe one is hiding as they are all over the place. We saved the turtle when I placed him near the swamp, which I had actually done, but now the fantasy: "An alligator grabbed my arm. My husband dragged me to the road, but it was too late". Now this isn't even funny. See, my mind does terror, not funny. I worried about our car breaking down and no one else was on the road. I worried that we might have to walk to the main highway, highway 41. And my husband joked: And you fell and twisted your ankle, and then fire ants began eating the flesh off your hand. See, I don't think of funny, but my husband was funny because he enlarged upon my fears in a more unrealistic way, a way that made me laugh.

Bill Bryson's kind of funny was when a friend of his got pigeon poop on his head, went back to the hotel to clean up, came back in twenty minutes smelling of Brut cologne, got poop on his head again and went back to the hotel and came back an hour later wearing a hoodie. Somehow that story of his wasn't too funny, but I could see it even if I didn't believe it.

I prefer a travel book where someone talks about the people they meet and the places that they have visited--a heartwarming book or even a scary one. Still, this light read was good, and I especially liked reading it at bedtime when I read books that I don't have to think about and that make me sleepy in the long run. Now, I do have to say that the book I loved most of his, so far was, "A Walk in the Woods." Now I can make up terrorizing bear stories with that book.
...more

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Dec 08, 2015 Brian rated it did not like it

Shelves: one-star, europe, travel

Ignore that Bryson comes off like the worst kind of tourist, always complaining about the food, about how hotels are too expensive, how waiters are surly, how trains are slow, how people don't speak English, and every other stereotype of the pampered American tourist unwilling to make any effort to fit in. Ignore that the only parts of Europe that seem to spark any excitement are the landscapes or some of the architecture. Ignore the constant needling of European bureaucracy. Ignore all that, an ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Gisela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: format-audio, library-borrowbox

Yes, it might be outdated, and yes, it's self-absorbed but it's so refreshingly blunt, and his humour is brilliant. Of course, that's just IMHO. Bill Bryson is one of the few authors (or travel writers) who can make me larf out loud. He could/should have been a stand-up comic, I think.

And even though I've had some disappointing experiences with audio books -- which have completely turned me off even reading the book in print -- this reading by William Roberts is priceless. No doubt Bill Bryson ...more

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May 29, 2014 Marianne rated it did not like it

I have generally enjoyed Bill Bryson's books prior to reading this one, but "Neither here nor there" was a huge disappointment. Where in e.g. "Notes from a small island" he comes across as witty, good natured, and open-minded, this book seems to be one long (and not particularly funny) whinge about continental Europe. What annoyed me the most was that Mr. Bryson considers himself qualified to make unreserved public judgements about an entire country's culture after a two-day stay and personal en ...more

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Jul 18, 2007 brendan rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: older travelers and wanna-be's

while bill bryson does possess a fair amount of the cranky traveler that has overwhelmed the genre these days (and is found particularly appealing by the united states audiences) it fails to appeal to the younger traveler-more hopeful traveler

the comments that i found to be most exciting/humorous/poignant were those involving mr bryson's earlier european travail with the unfortunately unlikeable katz, particulalrly their almost pathetic and as my bryson claims, "catholic" starved sex drives, adv ...more

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Nov 01, 2017 thereadytraveller rated it it was amazing

The master of humourous travel writing thoroughly entertains us on his journeys through Scandanavia, Paris, the Low Countries, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. In amongst all of this he also manages to find something to write about in Liechtenstein, which is no small feat!

Bryson writes with killer wit partly retracing his steps from an earlier four month backpacking trip taken in 1973 with his friend Stephen Katz (who Bryson fans will recall from A Walk in the Woods). The r ...more

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Apr 04, 2018 Marissa rated it did not like it

I was so disappointed with this book!
I loved A Walk in the Woods so much that I've read it twice now. Of course, it may partly be because I'm obsessed with the AT, but still...Bryson's writing makes me laugh out loud.

But this? Ugh...I mean some of it was funny, and the first chapter was great..but then...it just went on and on. It was all the same - arrive in a new city/country after a long trip, can't find a hotel, can't find food, everything is dirty and disgusting, people are stupid...it real ...more

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Sep 16, 2011 mairywo rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: box, humor, non-fiction, travel, basement, partly, abandoned, 1, europe

In my opinion someone who obviously doesn't like to travel and has a problem with different cultures and their way of life, and other languages shouldn't travel as much as Mr Bryson does. And he definitely shouldn't write books about it. I've tried to read this book several times and always started with a different country, but I always had enough after only one chapter. I don't think it's funny at all, it's annoying how he tries to be funny by insulting others and their way of life. I expected ...more

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Nov 26, 2016 Zoe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: travel, comedy

Just as enjoyable as Notes From a Small Island, this is Bryson's memoirs of bopping around random places in Europe while contemplating everything from the Bulgarian economy to blow-up sex dolls. If I have one complaint, it is that some travels were back in the day with the lamentable Katz, and some were more modern, and the going back and forth in time is sometimes confusing, as things change quickly in European countries. Still, his powers of observation are as astoundingly good as his ability ...more

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About Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson

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William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, FRS was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and worked in journalism until he became a full time writer. He lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to New Hampshire in America for a few years, but they have now returned to live in the UK.

In The Lost Continent, Bil ...more

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“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” — 839 likes

“Is there anything, apart from a really good chocolate cream pie and receiving a large unexpected cheque in the post, to beat finding yourself at large in a foreign city on a fair spring evening, loafing along unfamiliar streets in the long shadows of a lazy sunset, pausing to gaze in shop windows or at some church or lovely square or tranquil stretch of quayside, hesitating at street corners to decide whether that cheerful and homy restaurant you will remember fondly for years is likely to lie down this street or that one? I just love it. I could spend my life arriving each evening in a new city.” — 140 likes

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