Cell phone maps and Strasbourg at Night

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One thing that makes traveling in foreign countries easier these days is Google Maps on your cell phone. I’m sure no one remembers how I wrote years ago about staring at the big bus map in Nice, France, trying to figure out how to get from here to there, and not figuring out anything, finally realizing I was looking at the wrong map.

Now, with a GPS and internet connection on your phone, all you have to do is type in your destination at the top, then press the route icon. You can choose walking, driving or mass transit. I discovered today that Strasbourg is just west of the Rhine River, so I decided to head out of town and go to the Rhine Promenade on the other side of the Rhine. I entered Rhine Promenade at the top, and selected mass transit route. At the bottom, I was shown to walk 2 minutes to the tram (street car), then pick up the D tram to go to a certain stop, then take the #21 bus to another stop, then walk ten minutes to the walkway along the Rhine.

You can watch your progress along the way on the map, which is essential when you’re trying to find the right place to start. And you can follow along as the tram makes all it's stops. They're all listed. It’s pretty amazing. But make sure you have a good battery because the GPS, map and constant mobile connection will take its toll. My battery drains fast, so yesterday I bought a tiny portable charger that I maintain fully charged, and keep with me to use when my battery gets low.

As far as internet connection, some people just extend their U.S. mobile service to Europe, which is probably good. Make sure you do that. It’s worth whatever the cost. Me, I have an unlocked phone. So, when I got to France, I went to the big phone/internet carrier, Orange, and bought a sim card that is good for two weeks with 1 gig of data for 20 Euros. Right now the Euro is about $1.08 – a good time to be spending money in Europe. But it’s only good for France. In Germany, I had to have another one.

After I got off the bus near the Rhine, I went to the bus stop ticket machine and was expecting the same type machine I have gotten used to here in France. But, noooo. It was a different machine and it was all in German, a language of which I know very, very little. If you travel in Germany, most of the people speak English, so why learn it? Unless you want to live there. The towns are nice.

I figured I would use Google Maps to tell me how to get back. But, noooo. I don’t know how they do it, but as soon as I crossed the Rhine and entered Germany, no more Orange internet. I could look across the Rhine and see France, but no internet reception.

So when I was finished relaxing under a shade tree along the Rhine, I had to resort to the old fashion method. I asked a German where the bus stop was, and he told me. In English.

It’s great we can use one currency for all of Europe. Now, if they could just use the same bus ticket machines…

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