Festivals. Basically the funnest time you can have if you do it properly. Music you love (with any luck), at the most massive party of the year. And if you're bored of the threat of being washed away at Glastonbury, sick of Reading's invasion of wasted thirteen-year olds, I advise leaving the country might be the best plan of action. Not that Britain is alone guilty of making the festival of today into a commercialised husk of the celebration it once was, it's just that Europe does one thing that the Brits don't quite achieve: organisation.At Amsterdam's popular Lowlands Festival last year, I was amazed by the stable paths and walkways lining the vast campsite. Well planned, this one is of course not on the flood plain, so mud was reduced to a minimum, and various trees acted as scenic landmarks in what's usually an abyss of canvas. Impressing especially, was the permanent stance of the toilet block in all it's concrete glory. Instead of hovering over a hole in a rotting plank above a stinking pit, Holland's each individual cubicle flushed convincingly within a structure substantial enough to withstand the usual seeping sewage from the surrounding ground. You can even shower for a small fee - hot water for as long as you want, and because the toilets succeed, there's no danger of worrying you're showering in somebody else's piss dungeon. Or worse.
And because everything's so reassuringly foreign, it's harder to be bothered by the fact you're spending so much money on a predictable surround of adverts and merchandise. As well as beer and take-away food (the essentials), the traditional Dutch offer the additional alternative of fresh milk and breakfast, - a healthy consolation for the inevitably inflated prices. Lowlands festival has even implemented its own currency: the "Munten", which cheekily obscures this problem by detaching us from how much we're spending. And if there wasn't enough to do already, adjoining the festival there is even a theme park, "Walibi World" - no wonder the tickets say "A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise". It's even got bigger rides than Thorpe Park.
After being considerably impressed by Lowlands, my high hopes for Europe were sustained by recommendations of places to go next, the first being Benicassim Festival near sunny Barcelona, Spain. Affectionately named "Glasto del Sol" for the excess of sunshine, this festival boasts a whole five days of music (largely indie pop and electronica) rivalling the typical 3 days of music we can expect at English festivals. The campsite is open for 8 days in total and culminates with a 24 hour beach party on the final day: a festival and beach holiday rolled into one.
One of the really excellent things about attending more festivals abroad is that you get to hear about places you usually wouldn't think of visiting. Pictured above, Sziget Festival, Budapest is now firmly on my to-do list, after hearing the Lowlands' folk rave about it. Sziget means 'island' in Hungarian, and is aptly named as the entire festival is situated on an island on a river in northern Budapest. Only a brief train or tram ride away from the thriving city centre, you can see the sights and do the festival all in one weekend. It's quite a bit cheaper than the average English festival too, the campsite is open for 7 days surrounding the music weekend, tickets priced at just 120 euros.
And if you think this sounds like drastic action when all you want to do is get drunk in the daytime, just remember there really isn't as much effort involved as there seems. I'm no great planner, just book up some cheap flights while they're still going spare (before our crashing economy forces air tax to soar above the student budget) and you can obtain the ticket at your leisure. Unlike Glastonbury, you don't have to register months in advance, only to have your hopes dashed in a panic of frenzied telephone and internet bashing.
After tickets go on sale, the average European festival takes about 2 months to sell out: not because they're any less popular, but impressively boast colossal capacities. Considering that Reading festival usually sells out in less than an hour, (abundantly to blood-sucking touts) this is a ridiculous imposition of stress we can all do without, especially in what is essentially an endeavour to chill out! If you start spreading the word now, there's a good chance some one who enjoys planning will organise it for you anyway. Go!
