Little Black Guidebook

We’re home and sorting through the pictures. When you’re carrying everything on your back like a snail through the world you travel light. We took only photos and a few postcards home. Even our couch surfing hosts and European friends were surprised when they saw our luggage or lack thereof.

Hubby finished his book basically on the flight over and was lamenting that he didn’t pack more. I handed him the iPad and told him to download another book through Amazon Kindle. We both love the tactile feel of paper and I don’t think he ever would have done this at home, but on the road with no other option he picked up the iPad downloaded his book and read it and 2 others on the trip and loved it!

Now that we’re home I’ve been thinking more about the stuff that fills our life. Books in particular. We’re both voracious readers and always are reading something. Some books are like old friends and will never be discarded, but after having the experience of actually reading a full novel on the iPad it isn’t as necessary to cling to our $0.99 paperbacks. Tom Clancy can always be downloaded or borrowed from the library and doesn’t need to fill my shelves at the house.

One small change in our house, but a fundamental shift in the “I might want this someday.” category.

Via a Favorite blog of mine Pia Jane Bijerk.

She has a new book out Amsterdam: Made by Hand. This is a follow-up to Paris: Made by Hand which I’ve blogged about before. She continues to amaze me with the way she captures things. Makes me want to go straight back to Europe and continue exploring.

We’re back home and its time to put another 3 guidebooks on our shelf. I like this idea of wrapping an old guidebook in a map as a book cover to keep your collection of trip memories without looking like a Lonely Planet dealer. Our guidebooks are mostly DIY Moleskine guidebooks, but I think they still looked pretty wrapped with maps.

Today is the last day before we head home and we’re back where we started. My first trip to Europe was to Paris in 2006 and its Paris through which I will say goodbye for now.

Today we’ll be working off some of the wonderful Belgian and German calories…doing more damage by doing a DIY chocolate tour by Velib. For 1E per day you can get access to bikes all over this large, but very accessible city.

Last time we were here we were one of few American’s using the Velib bikes because we were one of the few to have either a Passe Navigo (rechargable card for the metro) or a credit or debit card with the little chip on it. Hint: an American Express Blue card works great for this, just be sure to call and activate the chip before you go. I did and hubby didn’t so I had to rent all of our bikes.

Each bicycle can be used for up to 30 minutes at no charge beyond that of the 1E daily subscription fee. But I don’t think I could go more than 30 minutes before finding another stand and something nearby to gaze at or another chocolate stand or tea shop to pop into so its never been an issue for us.

Tonight we’re traveling from Munich to Paris by the City Night Line sleeper train ‘Cassiopeia’, leaving Munich at 22:48 and arriving in Paris Gare de l’Est at 09:23 tomorrow morning. We could take a Ryanair flight for 25E for both of us, but then we would have to pay for another night’s hotel. An overnight train seemed ideal. City to city no hassle.

The Cassiopeia has ordinary seats, couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) and sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3-bed deluxe and standard rooms).  We’ll be sitting up all night on the plane soon enough so we opted for the 4-berth couchette option instead.

There is a bistro car available in the morning for breakfast, but as we learned before train food is overpriced and usually not very good so we’ll be packing our own dinner and getting breakfast in Paris.

Travel tip:  For a cooked breakfast in Munich or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound sleeper on your return, try the typically Bavarian Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof itself.

You can book online direct with the German train website. (Don’t worry, its way better than Trenitalia.com and takes American credit cards just fine) You can book up to 92 days in advance. We booked exactly when the fare first became available online for 69E each ($175 total at the time). Booking closer to the date of travel would have cost 272Euro “standard fare” each.

Savings fare is awesome, but it has to be booked in advance, has limited availability, no refunds, no changes. If you can’t commit to a particular train then you may look at  a rail pass or Ryanair. These overnight trains pay to plan ahead.

Wow, last Friday was the first of our Europe trip and I was sipping my tea in Leuven, Belgium, this week I’m in Germany. Today’s tea will be followed by beer and chocolate and other delicious things. Yum!

Disney hopefully has nothing on the original Neuschwanstein castle. No touristy trip of Germany would be complete without a glance of the hoards of tourists in buses, oh I mean fairy tale castle of Neuschwanstein.

We’re short cutting the masses and avoiding some of the chaos by booking book online in advance for less than 2E more and 2 hrs of waiting in line for tickets saved. Tickets are 17E for both Neuschwanstein and its sister castle Hoehenschwangau. We’ll use the time saved to take a hike up to get a glance at the view in the picture above and if the weather cooperates we’ll eat our lunch there too.

Mad King Ludwig has had tourists visiting since 6 weeks after his death. We’ll be paying our respects at 9am, right when the castles open. I’m a little hesitant to pay 17E for two 30 minute rushed tours, but I’ll kick myself if I don’t go.

Our next stop will be off guidebook and less cliche.

Its fitting that I’ll arrive in Munich in a couple days, because today’s tea cup I found via my favorite Munich blogger Emily of Servus Munchen who pointed me towards these totally cute tea cups with a special surprise in the bottom of each one. Servus Munchen is a totally addictive expat blog about Munich, travels around the world and beautiful things and images from around the world. She shares my love for tea, chocolate, travel, Jcrew and dresses plus she is an amazing photographer. In my head we’re best friends. Maybe I’ll get up the courage and e-mail her about tea in Munich. In the meantime here is that beautiful tea cup I was telling you about. (22 E)

See, told you it was cute.

Off to a meeting in Belgium, center for the EU. I hope we get to meet tons of new people from all over. Hubby hopes that Belgium has as good of chocolate and beer as rumored.

Cartoon Via: penelope-jolicoeur

From the moment I set foot inside an airport I feel like I am being worn out and beat down by the process of travel. I mitigate it as much as possible with snacks, naps, noise-canceling headphones, but really who sleeps well sitting up or enjoys being in motion for more than 12 hrs?

I’d love to pick a long-haul international stewardess’ brain on this, but in the meantime, here is what I’ve found that works for me vs. jetlag. I’ll be employing all these techniques just to focus now that I’m on the ground in France.

Any tips appreciated!

Sleep the week before you leave

Stay rested the entire week before you travel. This means don’t stay up until 2am the night before packing or making the house clean so you have a clean house to come home to. I like coming home to a clean home, but I won’t feel like a zombie for three days of my hard earned vacation to accomplish this.

Stress-proof your body

Your body needs sleep, good food and hydration. Figure out how to get them while traveling.

Hydration – The alcohol may be free, but its de-hydrating. And don’t forget to hydrate your skin. The dry plane air is no fun for skin. While technically it won’t help with jet lag, a little moisturizer on your face will make you feel more human guaranteed.

Food – For longer trips pack accordingly, don’t make yourself a victim of the food they serve. (ah, how happy I am we’re not flying on an American airline) And for short trips its far better to have some healthy almonds in flight than those nasty salt packs they hand out.

Sleep – I don’t sleep on planes. 36 hrs to Hong Kong and nope not a wink in the air, but I have been known to set a cell-phone alarm and crash in the airport.

• Lounge: Trust me, $20 to get into the business class lounge and take a nap in a comfy chair is worth it!
• Set your Watch: I also put myself on the local time of my destination as soon as possible. I enforce this on my body by restricting sunlight with sunglasses (who cares if I look dumb walking through the airport in sunglasses) or forcing myself to stay up to get on local time as much as possible on the way there (subject to flight changes and other travel requirements).
• Eat like you’ve arrived: Eating meals at destination times helps me adjust.
• Try some drugs: I also pack Melatonin to zonk myself out as needed. While controversial for a while, the latest research shows that melatonin does help fight off jet lag. (1-3 mg about an hour before you want to fall asleep, but no more or you’ll be a zombie when you wake up.) I haven’t tried Ambien, but I’m thinking about it.

Drink tea

Chamomile tea keeps me calm, but it also works for nausea and as an anti-inflammatory. Ginger calms tummies too and maybe its all in my head, but a good ginger scone makes me feel less claustophobic too. Sitting there eating a homemade ginger scone with some chamomile tea from Starbucks is a travel ritual that doesn’t get old.

Things to try, that don’t work for me

Acupressure wristbands

No jet lag herbal suppliment