European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 of a tour guide a London Amsterdam Paris Prague Berlin a they re his  not Only gets paid to travel to Europe s capitals seeing the sights in the cities is also part of the Job of however his Job is not All Glamour and excitement a a James Bottoms is a tour guide for to Tours a company that specializes in bus a Tours for americans stationed in Europe a Low Cost bargain bus Tours instead of sleeping in posh hotels he a and his passengers it usually spend one or two nights per trip sleeping on the bus. I a dually Bot Toms rarely allows himself the luxury of sleeping while on the bus. He thinks it s safer to stay awake and make sure the bus Driver does t get lost Wien the bus pulls into a City his real work Day begins. From the museums to the churches from the shops to the restaurants he leads his group for a Day or several Days depending on the tour. It s Quot draining Quot work says Bottoms who retired from the air Force in 1989 and has been a Ful time tour guide for the past a two years. Quot there s not muck Money but ids a lot of . Asa tour guide he has had a wealth of adventure a and misadventures following Are tales of some of his More memorable  James Bottoms bus tour companies operate on the. Same economic principle As airlines a empty seats Are lost Revenue. And while a passengers simply love having two or More seats to nest in sustaining that level of business is disastrous. So we try to make a them As comfortable As possible in what they May perceive As tight surroundings. It s not always a snap. One particular episode comes to mind. We we re Enro Ute to our ferry when i was a approached by a customer who wanted to switch seats on a full bus. The seating area apparently was too warm and it was aggravating his Claustrophobia. We made an Effort to adjust the heat but to a. V no Avail. He then explained that the situation had become unbearable and that he had to seek temporary Relief by sitting in the toilet compartment. While we finally were Able to adjust the heating a. A. Somewhat we never did learn How sitting in the confined space of a bus toilet relieved one s Claustrophobia. A As travellers know the bus tour companies generally offer centrally located hotels. These generally offer the usual amenities. However a contrary to the expectations of at least one of Tufty customers a an television is not one of them. A on one occasion my group was assigned a hotel with a particularly a is amps Jiluma ration won Boow desirable location. My glee was quickly replaced with disbelief on learning that the entire area was to be sealed off for a. Marathon a and we must make the bus disappear or lose it. A. _ _ the Driver and i quickly devised a Pian to Salvage the evening s activities and Park the bus outside the Quot exclusion  the next Day instead of boarding the bus the Quot tour group of some 40 people took the subway to the morning s first activity where the bus met us later. The visitor had a great time using a Mode of a tra n sport a Tion that Many a n Ted to try but just had t been ready to tackle. It was a marvelous icebreaker. Such is not always the Case. I remember Well one of my first Tours when we a encountered a labor dispute at the ferry port. The delay ran info hours for which there was to alternative but to wait. Then when we finally did Board the ferry a severe storm hit a but not until after we left port. And suddenly the usually Quick Jaunt across the English Channel became a gut wrenching ordeal Many hours Long with lightning Thunder and 20 to 25-foot  everyone got seasick. I had to mask my Complete enjoyment As we tossed and bounced in the Channel with oranges and apples rolling Back and fort Hon the floor. No doubt about it a it was better than any ride at Disney world. There was More adventure on yet another trip across the Channel. This time the bus was leaving Lon Don a and we were headed for the port of Dover the bus a. Driver considered to be experienced and familiar with the London tour was Well along the Motorway the m2 when we ran into a Detour. At the time a was in the Back of the bus with a group of passengers. A Section of the Detour was apparently not Well marked. The Driver kept his focus on the route designation ."m2�?� and steered a the bus right Back to London. Fortunately we realized the mistake just in the Nick of s time and were Able to avoid being trapped in the inbound Rush hour traffic. On another trip As the bus approached our dinner Stop in Germany i. Painstakingly explained the facilities restaurant cafeteria toilets and telephones. Yet when we arrived the a a building had vanished in the. Previous week it had been demolished to make Way for a larger facility and was temporarily replaced by a fest tent. A fortunately the food was Good and the restrooms warm a passports and Border passes Are an area that seems to invite both misunderstanding and comic Relief. Although the tour company flyers Are usually quite precise about required documents customers and sometimes travel agents fail to take the information literally or seriously. On More than one occasion i be had to clarify that Border crossing documents Are for nato countries and no the soviet Union is not a nato country that will recognize a military id card As an Entrance. Document. And More than one customer a including travel gents has walked Back. _ from the czech Border for failing to understand that Quot Blue . Passport Quot a Means just that despite having been told something different a the travel office Ora Security briefing a children add their own excitement and a interest to bus Tours. I find them a special source of Good humor a and a Reala Challenge for they Are not easily entertained a Wilh history la Sarsons. On one tour die parents had carefully prepared a very interesting game for the kids. They were each Given a list of 25 different sights or features to be spotted. The first to do so received a special treat. This was t just the kids game As a Good portion of those on the bus were soon enjoying the fun and excitement. J there d no doubt about it. This is the kind of experience that allows one to enjoy being a tour guide. _ a guide s efforts May make or break the Quot Chance of a lifetime Quot for Many Quot customers. Guides make a sincere Effort to help fulfil the clients expectations. It s hard to top the feelings when ecstatic customers return from a ceremony at Buckingham Palace having seen the Queen or other member of the Royal a a family. And without a doubt almost nothing beats the applause and cheers of a returning bus tour with the customers eager for their next Trad adventure. May 22, 1991 stars and stripes travel Europe 27