While Europe is generally regarded by Australian youth as one giant brick of reliable coke, many parents have a different conception of the continent.

This quite archaic worldview tends to picture Europe as a set of incredibly culturally diverse nations, each with sights and landmarks well worth experiencing for the young traveller.

With a great number of these young travellers receiving ‘support’ for their European journeys from their parents, it is pivotal to keep the expectations of the folks in mind, even if completely superficially.

Well, today’s your lucky day!

The Obiter has one sure fire tip to keep your parents happy: take a selfie in front of every random church you walk past and send them through periodically to keep them off your scent.

While in reality you’re rooting/attempting to root hot Europeans, buying cheap pingers off some rando despite a severe language barrier, and spending 80% of daylight hours recovering in a hostel, your parents will be none the wiser.

So, next time you’re walking back to your hostel at 9am after a big night out in Barcelona/Prague/Split/Berlin/any other typical European party-city, take a bit of time out to pay respects to your parents who funded that trip. It’s not hard.

And in the words of Retox Party Hostel Budapest, ‘it is a close family of drinkers who like to drink at the bar during the day and head out to party at night.’ Remember your real family and maybe send them a selfie in front of a random old building that you can boldly call ‘Hungarian Parliament.’

More to come on our devastatingly useful travel trips.