Travel Tips

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I have just finished blow drying my underwear. Before that it was my socks. And before that it was my wife Sarah taking a shift at blow drying the same pair of underwear and socks. This has been the last hour - a building block in our marriage.. These items were not wet by accident though, it was the result of hand washing. Until these times of hand washing and hand drying underwear, I have never been so grateful for laundry machines back home.

I am using this little bit of time before I go to bed to tell you about our travel strategies. I am doing this mostly because I believe other travelers out there might take away some useful tips for their journeys yet to come. The advice below is strictly inclusive of our experience in Western Europe during the winter months, and pertains mostly to young people. I might also add, it is strictly regarding the highlights of what to bring or not to bring - a utility blog. I will not heed advice in this post as to anything else.

1. To start, travel cubes are everything they are cracked up to be - they are brilliant. For those wondering what a travel cube is, it is a rectangular lightweight piece of luggage with a mesh top and a zipper flap to encase its contents. I enjoy my travel cube for a few reasons. (a) My travel cube has two sides to it, and this allows me to sort my dirty laundry from my clean laundry within my backpack, and without the need of a plastic grocery bag (an item not always easily found in Europe). (b) When searching for everything in your backpack other than laundry, a travel cube allows you to quickly conduct this search without pulling your dirty laundry out onto the floor in either an airport, bus terminal, or hotel lobby.

2. Next, if you are traveling overseas and are considering electrical adapters vs. electrical converters, be rest assured that if you are using these for your computer, telephone, or any other gadget like this, the gadget probably already comes with the converter. This is important because converters weigh about 6 times as much as an adapter, and are a lot bigger too. I have used one tiny plastic adapter for this whole trip.

3. While plastic bags may not be my first choice for sorting clean and dirty laundry, they are useful for other things. Carrying extra items that do not fit in your bag or carrying a bagged lunch come to mind off the top. Zip lock sandwich bags are particularly useful for sandwiches and toiletries. Leaky soaps pair well with these and we have now been in a few airports where they do not provide the baggies for liquids (even though they tell you that all your liquids have to be in a baggy).

4. If you are flying Ryan Air (particularly for the first time), consider the carry-on baggage restrictions (10 kg plus size restrictions) very seriously. Sometimes they will not weigh your bags or measure them, however, they often will and if they find you over the maximum restrictions you will either pay lots of money, or not get on the aircraft. (And the aircraft will not wait for you to make up your mind. All these things play out as you're boarding).

5. If you can avoid using a suitcase with wheels, do so, and use a backpack instead. There are three reasons for this. Cobblestone streets and wheels are embarrassing, noisy, and hard on your luggage. Secondly, in my own experience, if you are taking a backpack vs. a carry-on with wheels onto Ryan Air, Ryan Air is more likely to single out the wheel-cased passenger over the backpack carrier for cross-examination. Thirdly, pack a small enough load that you can walk for up to an hour at whatever destination you arrive in. Backpacks work well for this in uphill scenarios, quick train catching situations, and busy streets.

6. Bring a roll of tape, and a rubber stopper to use in hotels that do not have sink plugs. This will allow you to hand wash laundry. And do not depend on the laundromat - they are seldom found and often overpriced.

7. Bring a travel towel, and if you don't mind being cold, invest in a smaller travel towel. They are usually very absorbent and will do the same job a larger towel would do but without the warmth or the fuzzy feeling. The reason to opt for this is because they take up smaller space in your luggage and tend to dry quickly.

8. I gave Sarah a very hard time about bringing a blow dryer before coming to Europe, however, now after having visited various coastal towns, I can say a blow dryer is useful if you are hand washing your laundry in humid climates. Women, bring it. Guys, consider it.

9. Carry a change purse separate from a wallet, and bring a money belt separate from the other two. Leave the money belt somewhere safe during your travels and use the wallet and change purse while out and about. Money belts make you a target for pickpockets. In a wallet, carry the minimum amount of cash you anticipate needing in any given outing. The change purse is for the mass amounts of change you will inevitably collect in the Euro system. There are coins for .01, .02, .05, .10, .20, .50, 1.0, and 2.0. It works really well but often results in lots of metal in the pockets.

10. I'm a fan of the wool sweater, t-shirt, rain jacket combo. Wool is rather resistant to smells, and also works well with a variety of climates at various times of the day. Rain jackets are your shell. Anything beyond those three layers may be needed in temperatures below -1. Otherwise though it's just bulk. Bring a scarf, some mittens, and a toque (or beanie as they might be called). I don't have a toque or mittens here but I wish I had brought them. Regarding the rain jacket, if it has a hood (which it should) this will be enough. Leave the umbrella at home.

11. Bring ear plugs, and be liberal with their use. Silence is hard to find.

12. Carry a notepad and a pencil. There may always be something of interest or necessity to write down. You may even need to draw a map.

13. Never buy a map. Maps are always available for free either at hotels or tourist outlets and usually outline the major attractions within the given area.

14. Consider bringing a little netbook computer. They are cheaper and cheaper these days, they are small, and they will likely do anything you could need to do while traveling (write, e-mail, photos). Even if you think you can go without your e-mail for the entirety of the trip, a computer will be useful in mapping, communicating with hotels while on the go, and searching for other necessary information. Lastly, on this note, do not carry guide books. Wikipedia is a giant guidebook, and for all the guidebooks you could carry, a notebook will weigh a fraction of the weight. PPS - do not rely on internet cafes. Since the emergence of iPods and PDAs we heard of 2 cafes closing in Bruges due to lack of business.

15. If you are traveling during the rainy season and are considering getting a camera for your trip, look at buying a camera that is water resistant and shock resistant. We have used our camera (shock/water resistant) both in the rain and dropped it a couple times. But it's holding up 😊 Otherwise, I think we would be missing out on a lot of pictures...

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Comments

[Bev Yeaman]

OK - I am now convinced that you two are truly experienced enough to be on the next episode of Amazing Race !!! Hope you're continuing to enjoy the journey - wet underwear and all!!!