Home again

It was really wonderful to come home just in time for glorious afternoon weather, a perfect welcome, and fireworks on TV!

Here's a quick wrap-up of my impressions of travel in Europe.

Great stuff in Germany, et al.:

* German toilets (use less water and flush better).
* Public pay toilets (almost always worth the price).
* Euro-style windows (and doors).
* Cathedrals.
* Sparkling mineral water.
* Eisbecher!!
* Eierlikör (an essential ingredient in my favorite Eisbechern).
* Trains, trams and buses.
* Sidewalk bike paths.
* Beer gardens.
* Their laid-back and healthy attitude about alcohol.
* Drea and her friends and family, of course!

Stuff I missed about the USA:

* Free refills.
* Table napkins.
* Really cold drinks. Hell, even the ice cream in Germany is lukewarm.
* Having "Y", "Z", "/", "[" and "]" where I expect them to be on the keyboard.
* Space. Altstädte (old towns) can be really claustrophobic!
* Our fascist attitude about cigarette smoking.
* St. Mark's.
* My friends and family, of course!

Stuff it turns out we have here, too, but I didn't know about it before:

* Soda Club.
* Quark.
* Gelato (not to be confused with the yucky "gelato" they sell in grocery stores).

Best travel choices:

* Eurail German FlexiPass. A very stress-free way to travel.
* Phrasebooks. "Thank you", "I'm sorry/excuse me" and "please" are essential; any traveler can and should learn them.
* Ziploc bags.
* Daily showers. I get one concession to my nationality.
* Small family-run hotels that serve breakfast, and calling ahead to reserve rooms therein.
* Cutting up the travel books and bringing only the sections I needed.
* Mailing stuff home when I didn't need it any more.
* Bones!
* Doing it myyyy waaaay....

Travel choices to improve upon next time:

* Think of something, anything, to avoid the horrible moneybelt. Those things are not designed with curvy girls in mind.
* Definitely don't need the suitcase to convert to a backpack.
* Never, ever, ever buy another City Card/Welcome Card.
* Skip Rick Steves' leaky travel wash.
* Bring a real washcloth. Gimmicky quick-dry microfiber washcloths suck!
* Consider a front-carry daybag (e.g., Timbuk2) instead of a daypack. Much more convenient and potentially more secure.

---

---