Mellow Mountain Hostel

South Lake Tahoe, CA

Recently I noticed that all my posts are super personal and very teary (I have no idea if it is correct in English but you get what I mean (and if you don’t —> with lots of tears (??!))). So I decided to write something a little bit more analytic ( oo what a word, probably it doesn’t even fit here 😀 ) and objective and with more information to show the difference between EU and USA. As whole summer I’ve been waiting for a chance to share my experience about hostels, I’m gonna do that right now!

‘So many places to visit!’ >> World map on my favorite wall

<<<\\\ Interruption No.1: I got really lucky. I did. That’s probably the best thing to happen for me while I was in States.
What was it? It was the place I lived – Mellow Mountain Hostel. Usually people tend to spend only few nights in hostels but me and my Russian friend got a cool chance to experience this lifestyle to its fullest! But. Let’s start from the beginning… ///>>>

Hostels aren’t very popular in USA. Everywhere you go, you mostly see lots of ads, screaming MOTEL or Hotel. Though in Europe you can find Hostels on every corner… <<<\\\ Interruption no.2: people are a little bit afraid to stay in hostels in States, because of horror movies influence. You probably know that there’s one nice example of them called  H o s t e l  and lots of similar ones, where people get chopped into pieces..ergh…../// >>> So, no wonder that experiences from these two continents are different. And as I’ve known both of them, I’ve learnt a few things:  Hostels in USA are’t about sleeping in a cheap place (so as it’s in Europe (mostly)), it’s about sleeping in a cheap place and meeting new people. For example, the majority of folks travel alone, because they are sure that they’re gonna meet somebody just like them. In Europe, people mostly travel with their friends or life partners at least.

My friends made awesome sandwiches in a hostel in Amsterdam (they used credit cards to spread cheese..)

In States, the most important part of the whole hostel experience is a communal room. It is TOTALLY the place where every new person goes first. There one gets involved in never ending small talks with strangers, gets to know them and in the evening all of them party together… People exchange contacts, post pictures on Facebook, tag, like and comment each others pictures for quite a while and later on tell stories to their friends about crazy cool people they met during summer vocation (it is exactly how it works, isn’t it? 😉 )

What is more, the best thing about staying in hostels is that you meet people just like yourself! All of them are young, independent travelers, who aren’t afraid of jumping into the water from cliffs 15 meters high (even though I still am); who are super fun and self confident and who have many unbelievable stories to tell. And they’re from everywhere! All states of America, UK, Whales, Mexico, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Germany – we had them all. Hikers, surfers, mountain bikers, skiers, runners, even clowns, footballers and simply travelers.  <<<\\\ Interruption no.3: awesome people I met in hostels – – > the PCT hikers. (PCT goes by Pacific Coast Trail) These guys were literally walking from Mexico to Canada! And —> the Burners. Yes, I am talking about BURNING MAN. People who actually experienced the ‘dream’ festival with all the crazy stuff it has to offer (maybe next year I should go there too??(who’s coming with me??!!)). ///>>>

Two super cute huskies were also living in the hostel in South Lake tahoe

Getting back to the topic, in Europe that doesn’t happen that much. Travelers aren’t very likely to interact and they do not tend to travel alone. They’re more reserved and caring about their own ‘stuff’. Though of course there are some friendly ones too. So this is about it. I don’t want to overwhelm you guys with long post ’cause we already have TMI (too much information) everywhere. Have a good one! …and if you ever end up in Tahoe, stay in Mellow Mountain Hostel. It’s my favorite so far 😉

Superb host – old lady presented herself as Mama Rosa (Riomaggiore, Italy)