Things to Consider when Travelling in Europe/Germany

UPDATED 2/26/2013

• If you are bringing jewelry with you, keep it in your carry-on bag, in a ziploc like liquids. When you go through security, remove the bag of jewelry, like your bag of liquids. TSA and international equivalents are worried about stolen/fraudulent jewelry, and sometimes check jewelry to make sure it can legitimately belong to a single, private collection. Taking your jewelry out of your bag will save time. If you leave it in, they may require you to pull it out so they can verify that it is yours, and run it through the scanner a second time. Don't ever put jewelry in your checked bag. You might never see it again.
• Double check your electronics to see if they work with 220V outlets. If your electronics are not compatible, and you plug them in, they will most likely be destroyed. Remember, simply plugging them into a converter won’t cut it.
• Unless you plan to be inseparable from your phone, or are staying overseas for an extended period of time, don’t buy an international cell phone plan or minutes. If an emergency arises, just using your phone that one time will usually be cheaper than paying for international plans.
• Don’t bring ridiculous shoes. A lot of streets here are made with uneven cobblestones and this making walking dangerous in even sensible shoes. Also remember, 2 pairs of sensible shoes should be enough. The second pair is in case the first pair gets wet or gives you blisters. Shoes are heavy and take up valuable poundage in your checked bag.
•  Remember to leave room in your suitcase for souvenirs.
• Bring clothes that will work for multiple outfits and save space in your suitcase.
• Find out if your bank and credit cards have international agreements that allow you get cash without paying transaction fees. International transaction fees can add up quickly.
• Remember to clear space on your camera’s memory before you arrive to leave lots of room for new pictures.
• Try to sleep on the plane ride over. You’ll arrive here in the morning and you don’t want to waste your entire first day sleeping off jet lag.
• European cities are old—centuries old. They were built before cars were; as such they are usually not designed for drivers. There are many areas in the center of cities that are pedestrian only. Be prepared to walk—a lot.
• Bring clothes for all kinds of temperatures. The weather can vary greatly and change quickly. It’s helpful to be prepared for dramatic weather changes.
• If you are travelling in summer bear in mind that some places have dress codes—no bare shoulders, no shorts, and for women, no skirts above the knees. If you outfit is inappropriate you will be denied entrance, even if you already paid in advance for tickets.
• Keep your phone off or in airplane mode, otherwise it can still receive calls and you will be charged international roaming charges. You won’t need to use your phone while you are here. Get away from it all!
• Dress nicely when flying. Airline staff will be more likely to respect and assist you.
• Wear your coat on the plane; don’t check it in your bag. This keeps weight out of your bag and it will help you stay warm when you’re flying at 30,000ft.
• Bring all allergy and Rx medicines you think you might need. Some countries have bans on importing ALL foreign (US) drugs. Be prepared, do not run out.
• Bathrooms cost money in Europe. Go on the plane, the train, or in the restaurant where it’s free.

New (Semi) Permanent German Adventures

We safely arrived in Germany on September 8^th. All of our planes were delayed so we ended up traveling for 24 hours. The upside was that because every plane was late we didn’t actually miss any. We were afraid that we might be stranded in London though, because of the Lufthansa airport workers’ strike. Luckily, they agreed to a cease strike on Friday and our flight continued as scheduled. We arrived to a lovely new apartment. It’s a bit smaller than our old apartment, but there are 2 balconies, one of which is giant and forms a bridge to the other building. We also have a view of the duck pond behind the building. I’ve noticed that a lot of the apartment buildings here in Germany incorporate some kind of water feature into their common areas, and I must say, it’s very soothing. 

Atypical Airline Rants

Everyone complains about the action of the airlines, and rightly so. In what other industry can you buy a product, be charged a fee if you decide to can't use it, or buy someone else's castoffs for more than full price? The airline can charge you a fee for changing the dates on your tickets and then charge you the difference in price between the old ticket and the new ticket. They will then turn around and sell your old ticket, often at a higher price. Complete racket. Don't even get me started on the new baggage fees. I heard a United employee telling a fellow traveler that his extra 9lbs would cost him an extra $200. That's more than $20 per pound.

But these are common, and even expected complaints. What of those you don't hear about? What about passenger etiquette? I'm proposing a set of guidelines for travelers that will make flying more enjoyable for everyone.

1. Shower before you fly. No one wants to sit next to you and politely pretend not to be choking on your oppressive body odor. And an hour into the flight, the rest of the plane doesn't want to smell the recirculated version either.
          1b. Crucial next step: after showering, put on deodorant

2. Do not wear your favorite perfume or lather on your favorite scented body lotion mid-flight. I used to work in Bath & Body Works, and even I can barely stomach the scent cloud this creates around you. Wait, or buy unscented lotion.

3. If you have checked a pet other people may be allergic to (ie. cat(s) or dog(s)), maybe ask the airline to alert your fellow passengers so they have the opportunity to obtain some benadryl preflight. This way, they won't arrive at their destination with a stuffy nose and puffy, bloodshot eyes; it's never good to show up to a business meeting looking like you have a coke addiction.

4. Please stop feeding your babies food or formula that gives them gas. Baby farts smell awful, like rotten milk in powdered form (if you can imagine what that smells like), and they linger. Once your nose has managed to move on the baby farts again. Poor things have the relieve the pain somehow. It is really just better for everyone if you just switch Jr's formula.

5. Since airline food is heavy on the dairy, fellow lactards should remember to bring lactaid until the airlines start using soy cheese (never).

6. On most flights, you have an assigned seat, and assigned boarding order. When they say first class can enter the plane and you crowd the terminal, even though you aren't first class, you make it very difficult for everyone ahead of you to board in an orderly fashion. Get out of the way, and let others onto the plane so it can leave on time. Pay attention, wait your turn, and if you want to get on the plane earlier, buy a pricier ticket, or injure yourself in some way that necessitates a wheelchair and earlier access.

Returning to the Vaterland (Fatherland)

Happy New Year readers! We spent our time "on holiday in America" with both our families-continuing our habit of always being on the road.

This trip was far less stressful than last time; I would even call it easy. Our bags were not stuffed to capacity and therefore no stressing about them being overweight-one was only 25lbs. I recommend buying a handheld luggage scale if there is a remote chance you are close to weight; it is not worth the stress.

With each trip, we get more savvy; instead of bringing dresses I have no shoes to wear with (oops!) I left the dresses in the closet. Instead of bringing every collared shirt he owns, Joe left behind 5 that I have never seen him wear.

Due to yet unresolved paperwork issues, this will be only a quick 1-month jaunt. I have not yet made any decisions as to how we will be spending our free time. 

Planes, Planes, and Automobiles

Well after a lengthy delay, we finally boarded the BIG plane, which was our 2nd plane of the day. We were in Economy Plus, which according to the ad, gave us up to 5in extra legroom. One I shoved my giant backpack under the seat in front of me though, I didn't really notice a difference . . .

I sat in the middle seat. We each had our own TV screen to watch the show of our pleasure

And now it's 10am. Landed in Frankfurt. Just enough time to go through German security before hopping on our 3rd plane. The Germans also did not like the transformatator (or something like that). It was swabbed for explosive residue for the 2nd time and then I was given the all clear.. I was finally able to watch Bad Teacher and The Help. The Help was awesome, and had me crying in a few spots. Not uncommon, it's an emotional movie, but then I COULD NOT STOP. The last week seemed to have gotten to me. It was something like 3am and I had been up since 8am the day before and I lost all control. I think I cried for like an hour. It was my quarterly cry. Very cathartic later in the day, but at the time, it gave me a headache.

Boarded the plane. It was only a half hour flight, and we both passed out. That actually

helped a lot. 1pm now. Time to get the luggage. Joe realized we needed a luggage cart. He went to get one, and while he was gone, some guy comes up with his arms out, like "what's going on with this luggage situation?!" He then said some stuff in a language I didn't know while I looked bewildered. The luggage showed up and I pointed it out to him. He seemed gratified, and put out his hand, as if to shake. I took his hand, then he kissed mine twice and walked off. Joe, who had been walking back and saw everything, asks "What did you do?"

I have no idea. I can only imagine how my face looked during that exchange.

We yanked ALL our luggage off the conveyor belt and loaded it up onto two carts. It was a miracle it all arrived, first even, on the belt.

Next we had to get a rental car. This involved walking

out of the airport and then back in?

Munchen seems to have an open air square in the midst of the airport.

Rental car? Check. Time to make the trek to Regensburg also

known as Ratisbonne from

Munchen. It's about an hour drive. But on the autobahn in the beamer,

Joe makes short work of it. Finally reaching the apartment, we checked in, and went to find dinner, settling on McDs cause it was cheap and easy. We then passed out at 530pm local time, and we out til 10am the next day.

Stress Pinnacle

The other night my brain broke. I was exhausted and stressed out from trying to make everything I wanted to bring with us fit into 4 suitcases under 50lbs. each. While I was falling asleep I told Joe how I tend to wear red derivative colors on my fingernails, such as pink, orange, red, purple, and brown. This prompted an (unwarranted) explanation of the many ways to make brown, and a (one-sided) discussion of the color wheel, and a serious case of the giggles.

This morning, flight day, I found myself reviewing the contents of our bags. I had spent hours packing, unpacking, and repacking our bags, but somehow I neglected to put ANY underwear in either of my carry-on bags. What an oversight! Now I needed to locate some underwear without completely dismantling the intricate puzzle that was the contents of our bags. I recovered 3 pairs: a nice comfortable cotton pair, a pair designed to show no lines, and a leopard lacy pair. God forbid we have to spend the night in an airport and I have to wear one of those last 2 pairs. Not exactly what I want to be wearing during an all day sit-athon across the ocean.

UGH! Check-in. The culmination of days of planning the location and distribution of our possessions will now be given the ultimate test: the TSA airport scale. I am strangely calm considering how many fresh grays peaked through my dye job during the previous days-the real indicator of my stress levels. The suitcases hit the scales. 56 (BAH!), 47.5 (oh thank God!), 46 (WOO!!), and 43 (YES YES YES!). After a quick redistribution of weight we were on our way! Biggest problem of my week (month?) solved and forgotten.

[Sidebar] We expect our luggage to get lost. It is almost certain it will not arrive in Munich when we do. We are taking a tiny plane from Norfolk to Dulles and have 4 large checked bags. Furthermore, everyone who has a larger carry-on bag will have to check it at the gate. There just can't be room for all this luggage in the plane.

At the gate we settle in for a multiple hour wait time. I get a drink and meet a man in the Hudson news. He says to me, "spechen zie deutch?" (I realize this is probably not spelled right). Thinking that somehow he knows I don't speak German and am moving the country I say, "Oh, I wish" (in a serious wish voice, not in a sarcastic tone at all). I wonder if these words mean something in German, because he immediately starts speaking to me in German. I am unable to understand him, which I think he realized, but we did manage to communicate. My understanding of our conversation is this: he wanted some carbonated water (with gas). But none of the water had gas, so I pointed out the (soda) pop for him, indicated that at least it had gas. I sincerely hope that this was what he wanted and that I managed to help him. So far I'm doing alright with this language barrier.

Later, I've pulled out my knitting, and the woman sitting next to me can't resist the urge to ask my about the loom knitting, no one can. It's very interesting to watch, and most people have never seen anything like it before. I explained what I was doing, and our chat segued into other topics like travel, weather, and European infrastructure vs. American. She was very lovely to sit next to, until her flight got delayed and she had to reschedule her connection.

Then it was our turn. For some reason, our plane was delayed. Causing us to miss our connection. Fun fact time: there are not frequent flights across the Atlantic. It's not like missing a connection to Chicago, and there will be another one an hour later. I figure we're not going to Germany today, but Joe called United and got us re-booked on a flight to Frankfurt with a connection to Munich. We later find out that the flight to Dulles was delayed because our plane was coming from Chicago, where a bag had exploded earlier.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/explosion-chicagos-ohare-airport/story?id=14859229

We finally get on the plane, close the doors, fasten seatbelts, listen to our awesome flight attendant (I'll get to that), and sit there. I read the magazine in the seat-back pocket. I was looking for the movies to expect on my next flight, and was willing to flip through the entirety of the magazine to get to them. I finish the magazine and we are still at the gate. Almost immediately after, the captain comes on to tell us that apparently some Belgian dignitary wanted his bag OFF the fight, so bags were unloaded to locate his luggage, and then reloaded before we could leave. I mentioned before we expected our luggage to be lost, now I think it is important to note that if it arrives at all in the next week it may be a Vatican certifiable miracle. Too many hiccups to expect the end result to still go smoothly.

Final thoughts about our flight attendant, whose name I regrettably have forgotten. Shortly after our arrival he tells us that everything MUST be under the seat or in the overhead bin. It cannot be under our feet, behind our legs, or in our laps. He understands that some passengers will experience luggage separation anxiety if their bags are stored overhead, but he assures us there are trained counselors on board to help us all get through it. He later asks the audience how many exit doors are on the plane, and gave the first guy to answer a United reward certificate. This guy was awesome to be around, and made the annoying part of the flight fun. Kudos to you sir.

My Life in 50lbs or less

Joe and I will cross the Atlantic on November 1st. Due to his repeated business travel across to Europe and back, he has some kind of special status with United, and we will each be able to check 2 bags for free (in theory anyway). Each of these bags may only weigh 50 pounds at maximum, or we will be charged an overweight baggage fee.

Smart people know how much their suitcase weighs before they arrive at the airport, and are not surprised by the red number on the scale. They have planned accordingly, and they will not have to pay the airline another fee. If you plan accordingly, there is no reason for a bag to be overweight.

Right now, I am in the planning phase. Carefully packing, and repacking my suitcase to make sure I am below that magic number. Yesterday, I packed up 1 of my suitcases, and it weighed about 45 pounds. Yay! Underweight! However, I found myself wondering if I really needed all of the things in my suitcase, which led to unpacking and evaluating my choices this morning.

[Sidebar] Due to the German visa system, we are returning to the States for Christmas and will be resuming our European living experience sometime in 2012 when all of the paperwork is good to go. As such, this will be a quick 6 week sojourn in the Regensburg serviced apartments.

I will not be gainfully employed like my husband and will be responsible for occupying myself for 8 hours a day: I need to pack my entertainment. For me this includes what I like to call "Susie-homemaker crafts", such as sewing and knitting, both of which regularly engage my attention. For me, this means accounting for the weight of the sewing machine in my suitcase. It weighs 20lbs. The suitcase itself weighs 10 lbs. Leaving me with just 20 lbs. for clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc.

In my 1st suitcase I have clothes, fabric, sewing notions, beads, some books, and some shampoo. Today I unpacked it and reviewed my choices. I managed to eliminate 11 lbs. and 11.8 oz. from my suitcase. When packing, we tend to just toss everything in. For instance, I knew I wanted to make some jewelry while I was in Europe, so I packed my bead boxes. Today I examined my bead boxes and realize that I didn't need to bring ALL of my beads, only the ones I intend to use, and for which I have a definite plan. Using this theory, I managed to bring my bead weight from 4lbs down to 2lbs. This may seem negligible, but that is 2lbs I can re-disperse elsewhere.

The main points for packing intelligently:

• Think about what you are taking, and put the heaviest things in your carry-on bags, because these are not weighed by the airline; examples include shoes and books.
• Weigh your baggage before you go to save time.
• Pack things that have multiple uses, example do not bring a shirt that you can only wear with a single pair of pants. This is impractical.
• Wear the bulky clothes you will want with you on the trip; they won't take up space or contribute to your weight allowance.