How to plan a trip, part 2

Posted on February 19, 2010 by elliewick

It’s time for planning a different type of trip. This time, it is “You know exactly where you want to go and what you are going to do.”

This type of trip is the easiest to plan. If you have been dreaming of a trip to a certain location or to see a certain something, this is that kind of trip.

Take me. I know I am going to visit a friend of mine in Portland, Ore. sometime this spring or summer. I know that while I am there I am going to see the roses the city is famous for, get some stellar views of Mount Hood and touch the Pacific Ocean. Throw in a modern art museum and my trip would be complete. I have already done some research for this trip, which includes looking at a couple of guidebooks and checking flights. My guidebook reading showed me the sights and not too many things sounded like must-dos, so I will leave many plans up to my friend who knows the area. Touring a place with a native makes it so much more meaningful, and if that isn’t possible, suggestions from others helps, too. The only decision I have to make is when to go, and since I want to see the roses, late spring will be the best time. The city’s Rose Festival already has dates, so that gives me a good time frame, and I have to decide if I want to be there for the festival or avoid it and its flock of tourists.

The hardest thing about this type of trip would be selecting when you want to go. If you just want to see art, say the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower, then there is not a specific time when you need to go. Picking a shoulder season or the off season would make a trip with fewer tourists and shorter lines. Something that is more timely will always involve more tourists because everyone wants to see the flowers in bloom or European Christmas markets or Carnival in Venice, Italy or Cologne, Germany in February. All of those examples happen at a certain time and avoiding the tourist rush is near impossible.

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How to plan a trip, part 1

Posted on February 10, 2010 by elliewick

It is time for “How to plan a trip, part 1.” The first type of trip you could be taking is “You have absolutely no idea where you want to go or what you want to do, but you know you want to go somewhere.”

This type of trip can be tricky to begin planning, but once you have some ideas, you’ll probably have a hard time deciding what you want to do.

Take me, I know I want to do some traveling in Ohio, but I do not know where I want to go or what I’d like to see. I do, though, know things I do not want to do. I know that I do not need to concern myself with Bowling Green or Toledo in western Ohio, nor do I need to look at touristy areas along the Lake Erie coast, nor do I need to go anywhere in Cleveland, Akron or other parts of northeast Ohio. Essentially, this comes down to this area: from Findlay in the northwest down to Cincinnati in the south, east to Athens and north to areas south of Akron, all surrounding Columbus.

Now that I know my boundaries, I went to the library. The travel section contained a variety of Ohio guidebooks, including some Neil Zurcher selections. I selected three. Guidebooks are good because they group activities by city and region so you don’t have to figure out what things could logically be combined into an excursion.

Then, I went to AAA. This, of course, is a logical step only if you are a AAA member. If you aren’t, it could be a good idea to join, just for the travel assistance they provide. I explained my boundaries and received all sorts of pamphlets to attractions and guidebooks and magazines.

Now I am at the reading stage. I am looking through my books and pamphlets, keeping a list of sights that sound interesting. From my groupings by city and region, I will be able to pick a group of things that I can do in a day. Then I will want to find out how long it will take to get to the prospective places. Maybe on the way to some attraction, I will pass other attractions I want to see. Combining those into one trip makes sense, only if I can spend enough time at all the sights I want to see. The Internet is another fabulous resource. I will be using the Internet to confirm opening hours and directions, and probably to learn more about prospective sights.

Once your places are picked then you can pick a time you want to travel. If you need lodging, then you will have to work your trip around that. After that, you’re all set.

A couple of other examples:

Let’s take the lady I met at the library who wants to go to Canada to see wilderness things. Wilderness in Canada is really most of Canada. In this instance, I would go to the library or AAA to get information about Canada, so you can read about popular activities. Look at the table of contents in the guidebooks. It’s likely there will be a nature section. Thinking about the landscape is another great way to narrow down your choices. Do you want to go somewhere with lots of lush greens, the prairie or the mountains? Are you looking for water activities? Find some way to narrow down your options.

Maybe you don’t even know where to begin. First, I would suggest thinking about activities you like participating in. This could be skiing, hiking, laying on the beach, learning about something historical, learning about a different culture, riding roller coasters, looking at art or rafting. Maybe there is a certain time period from history that interests you or a certain subject, like castles, the Renaissance, totem poles or old forts. At the same time, think about what you would like this vacation to accomplish. Do you want to relax or do you want to be active? Do you want to be alone or do you want to be around throngs of other tourists? Do you want to stay close to home or go far away? Do you want to leave the country? How do you want to get there? How long do you want to be on vacation? And probably most importantly, how much money do you want to spend?

One last example:

After reading my above suggestions, let’s say you think you would like to take a trip where you would learn about the ancient Egyptians. This could go one of two ways. OEgyptian art in the British Museumne, you go to Egypt and see the pyramids. Or, if you are looking for something a little less far, costly and hot, you could go to New York City and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has an excellent collection of Egyptian art. Other museums across the country are likely to have Egyptian exhibits as well, and there may even be a traveling exhibit — one that goes to many museums — about the Egyptians. Maybe an IMAX theater is showing a movie about Egypt.

I used that example to show that one idea has many possibilities. Because of the multitude of travel options surrounding one theme, you should be able to plan and take a trip that is pleasing to you. Planning a great trip can require a lot of thought and effort, but when it comes down to it, and you are seeing or doing something that you have always dreamed of, you will know that all the stress and planning were well worth it. I know this because I have felt it many times. Like when I was walking the grounds of the Ancient Agora in Athens looking up at the Acropolis basking in early morning sunlight. Or when I was bicycling through the flower fields in The Netherlands. So, what I’m saying is that travel dreams do come true.

Sun over the Acropolis

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1 year after the blizzard of ’09 in London and Dublin…

Posted on February 6, 2010 by elliewick

…that same blizzard followed me to the United States, dumping maybe 4 inches of snow on another city that freaks out when there are snow flurries.

The snow wouldn’t have been so bad if there hadn’t been so much wind. I got stuck in my parking spot at work, and then stuck again in a drift almost on the train tracks and then again after them.

The drifts at my apartment are 3-feet tall and the snow has been plowed into the middle of the street, so turning is a bit difficult.

Really, this is ridiculous. I love snow … except when it causes problems. Maybe these things happen because it is the month of February, and ever since I was little, February was the month that hated me the most. It is the month I would get the flu or strep or a nasty cold all through grade school. It was also the month of the science fair when I was in third, fourth and fifth grades. In college, February was the month it snowed so much that we had two consecutive snow days, but I still had to go to work and be in charge of the campus newspaper, making sure it made it to the press on time.

Then comes 2009. I planned two-weeks worth of adventure during the February holidays — the semester break. London, Dublin, Athens and Santorini were on the schedule. I still made it to all those cities, but had a bit more adventure than I asked for.

I was in London when it decided to snow 6 inches in one night. That’s not a big deal, says the girl from Northeast Ohio who was living in Salzburg, situated just north of the Alps. But it was a big deal. London does not have snow plows and salt trucks because it doesn’t snow there!

This meant that the city, more or less, shut down for two days while trying to figure out what to do. As a tourist, I didn’t want to miss out on any sites, but the Tower of London closed, the Buckingham Palace guards didn’t ceremoniously change, the museums locked up tight and I was left wondering what to do.

Fortunately, some things did open, like part of the National Galleries and they gave an abbreviated tour. St. Martin-in-the-Fields still gave their organ concert. I went to see Paddington Bear at Paddington Station and called home from an iconic, red phone booth.

But after that, I was ready to go home. I should have trusted my gut and changed my flight to Dublin to a flight to Salzburg, so I could get a bit of rest before Greece. But I didn’t.

My flight to Dublin was delayed three hours because of weather problems. I finally arrived and my taxi driver couldn’t find my hostel. I passed out in my bed once I arrived and spent a day in Dublin. It wasn’t too exciting and I was bummed I went. It really was the only trip I didn’t enjoy the whole year.

But the weather wasn’t done yet.

The next morning it started sleeting. Then it turned to snow. As I was ready to get on my plane to Salzburg, they canceled that flight and just about every other flight out of Dublin.

This was a problem because I needed to get to Salzburg so I could take a train to Vienna the next morning to catch my flight to Athens. So much for that plan. I spent the night in the airport after purchasing a really, really expensive Lufthansa flight to Athens with a stop in Frankfurt for the next morning. The only fortunate thing I can say is that there are Internet terminals in the Dublin airport, so I was able to book that flight and let my friends know that I would not be seeing them in Vienna and that I would meet them at our hostel in Athens.

The night mare still isn’t over, though.

I get up at 4:30 a.m. to be first in line to make sure that I get a seat on that flight to Frankfurt. I get to the gate where there are outlets so I can charge my appliances. In the bathroom I try to fill up my water bottle, and some Irish airport employee says there is a drinking fountain just outside. (That is important because it is one of two drinking fountains I encountered the entire year).

We are delayed getting on the plane. I have a window seat in the back row. We don’t move and don’t move and don’t move. Our pilot tells us the plane needs de-iced, but since so many need de-iced, we will have to wait a while. Then when we can move, we can’t. We were stuck in the ice. We got a tugboat, or whatever its equivalent would be called for an airplane, and were pulled away from the gate. The pilot finally says that since we were all set to depart, we would be allowed, with two other planes. After us three, no other plane was leaving the Dublin airport.

I think I started crying at that point. If I didn’t, it was when we were in the sky and the pilot jokingly told us to look out the right windows and notice that only the airport had snow. I have never been so happy to leave somewhere as I was then.

I don’t think I have ever been so happy to arrive somewhere either. Touching German soil was profound. I found my gate for my flight to Athens and a phone to call my mother to tell her I was finally out of Dublin and that I was never going back there. I cried at this point, too. I bought some food and sank into a seat to wait for boarding time.

I didn’t care about the old Greek ladies wearing jewels and fancy clothes stealing glances at the girl in jeans, sneakers and a ratty, gray, zippered sweatshirt. I had at least washed my faced, brushed my teeth and combed my hair. And I was happy to be in Germany, waiting for a flight to warm, sunny Athens. Life would be better there, and it was.

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Putting my travel knowledge to use

Posted on February 5, 2010 by elliewick

I just love when my time in Europe and the knowledge I gained from being there gets put to use. For weeks, the ordering of the travel books at the library has bothered me like no other. Someone who is not as OCD as me probably would not care, but I know that there are people who would miss out if I did not speak up.

The situation:

The Moscow book was not next to Russia (it was after Scandinavia and before Amsterdam), the Eastern Europe books were split up over two places and the only edition of “The Best American Travel Writing” was in the middle of France! Sacre bleu!

The problem:

What if someone just went looking for the travel books because they were planning a trip to Easter Europe and wanted to start with the overarching books before selecting books for certain countries and cities. Because the books were not all in the same place, you would not be able to find them all.

The solution:

One of the reference librarians and then the director of the library told me that there really could be a problem, and as long as I was willing to write up a note about each of the books, the problem and where I thought each should go, then the situation would be investigated. Hurray!

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The Joys of Border Crossings

Posted on February 3, 2010 by elliewick

When international travel is your game, border crossings are one of the steps you must successfully navigate. Some crossings are easier than others, and well, the ones that aren’t easy just make good stories. I have experienced a handful of these, so read on as to how I managed to get in (and out) of European and American countries and continue my travels.

  • Canada: This was my most recent border crossing. This past weekend, I went on a curling trip to Windsor. We crossed the Ambassador Bridge and were randomly selected to be searched, but we were recommended for passage. When we pulled into the special area for other special travelers like us, we were asked to get out of the car and then asked why we were coming to Canada. We told the officer that we were going to curl, but she asked why there was only one broom. We told her there were two others, and those were under the luggage. Next, she asked where our fourth person was (what a coincidence it was that we had a border officer who knew curling!), because there were only three of us. Our fourth was sick, so she did not come. Finally, our answers satisfied us and off we went.
    Returning to the U.S. was also fun, because you have to answer a lot of silly questions like, if you have nuts or vegetables or meat with you. The U.S. can be quite particular about those types of things!
  • Germany/Austria: Traveling in and out of these countries was never a problem. Saying I was going to school there was always a satisfactory answer.
  • Italy: My passport was checked many times on my overnight train from Salzburg to Venice. This wouldn’t have been so scary if it wasn’t for the Mongolians riding in the same compartment as us who required many minutes of the border officials’ time. In the end, everything was fine.
  • Romania: Traveling into Romania also was not a problem because it is a member of the EU and Schengen, so the border are open to all people inside the EU. The same goes for my travels to Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
  • Hungary: Although Hungary is an EU member, it really isn’t too friendly with its eastern neighbor, Romania. Therefore, there is a border control. We were driving from Romania to Austria, and the Hungarians were a bit curious as to why there was an American with four Romanians. We were told to get out of the car and they were going to search everything. And they did. This was much scarier than Canada, mostly because I had no idea what was being said, nor was I ever addressed. It should also be noted here that my friend’s father told the Hungarian border officials that if they needed any of the wine and cigarettes we were taking to Austria, they could help themselves.
  • England: England, although is it a part of a EU country, does not partake in Schengen, which gives all member states open borders. The official there was really perplexed as to why an American was on an EU flight (I flew from Salzburg to London). The questioning progressed to the paperwork I had to fill out, where I had accidentally left one line blank. The official kept asking me where I was staying, and I kept saying the name of the hostel. Never once did he say to me that I had left the city off my address for the hostel, which is what he was asking for. This was only cleared up once I showed him on the city map where the hostel was located.
  • Ireland: I was required to get a free visa upon entering the country. All it was, was a stamp in my passport. No problems there.
  • Croatia: Croatia is outside of the EU, so this required a bit more of a border control. Going into Croatia was not exceptionally tight, mostly because the officers were more concerned with the Serbs in my compartment than me. Leaving Croatia was not so fun. First, it was the middle of the night. Second, there were more Serbs. Thirdly, my name was read (and spelled) over the speaker announcing my departure. Fourthly, I was asked why I was traveling from Croatia and where I was going and that I was alone and in Croatia.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnia conveniently cuts Croatia into two pieces, albeit one very large piece and one very small piece. This means that if you are traveling to Dubrovnik, in southern Croatia, then you must go through Bosnia. On the way to Dubrovnik, my passport was casually glanced at. On the way back up to northern Croatia, all I had to do was hold up my passport.
  • Mexico: I went to Mexico before passports were required, so anything that I remembered from that experience really would not be helpful now. I am sure that security is quite ample.
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O Canada!

Posted on January 29, 2010 by elliewick

Later today I’m going to Canada to curl in Windsor on Saturday. This will be my first trip out of the U.S. since July (ack!).

Expect to see something about my trip next week. Also in the works is a post about how to plan a trip. I’ve decided there are three different types of trips a person could be planning:

  1. You have absolutely no idea where you want to go or what you want to do, but you know you want to go somewhere. I, for instance, want to do a bit of touring in Ohio, but the only places I know about are the places I’ve already been. Or, you could know that you want to go to a beach or the mountains or to see wilderness in Canada, like a lady I was talking to in the library while I was straightening travel books on Wednesday.
  2. You know exactly where you want to go and what you are going to do. This typically involves one home base, and you do touring in a one- to two-hour radius. I, for instance, know that I am going to go to Portland, Ore. to visit a friend, and while there I will see the roses, Mount Hood and the Pacific Ocean.
  3. You want to see a handful of sights far apart but close enough together that you want to combine them all into one trip. There is no home base involved in this type of trip. I, for instance, want to go to Grand Teton National Park in Jackson, Wyo. But if I am going there, then I am also going to Yellowstone National Park; Cody, Wyo.; Thermopolis, Wyo., where there are free hot springs in which you can soak; Mount Rushmore in southwestern South Dakota; and the Badlands, also in southwestern South Dakota. How I will ultimately combine these is quite a puzzle. If I would drive the entire trip, that would be around 70 hours just to get to all of my stops.

I will write about these different types of situations by sharing how I am preparing for each of the trips I want to take, based off of knowledge I have gained from already planning for trips that meet each of these styles.

Until then,

Happy travels!

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The top 5 German (and Austrian) things to do in Frankenmuth, Mich.

Posted on January 26, 2010 by elliewick

At the beginning of January, I headed up north to Frankenmuth, Mich., to see if its claim as “Michigan’s Little Bavaria” could satisfy the needs of someone who’d spent an ample amount of time in the real Bavaria.

Frankenmuth succeeded in taking my mind back to Austria. The sausage was delicious, the beer schmeckt (tasted good) and the architectural style of the buildings (visible timber, murals and a Glockenspiel) really made me feel like I was in a little Bavaria.

Here are my Top 5 German (and Austrian) things to do in Frankenmuth:

5. Frankenmuth Cheese Haus

The Frankenmuth Cheese Haus didn’t have that much German-style cheese, but it did have lots of German beer. Hefeweißen — or wheat beer — was available in many varieties, including Hacker-Pschorr and Hofbräuhaus, two of the Munich city beers. Pilsner-style beer was also available here.

4. The Gnome Hunt

The story says that when the Germans migrated to Michigan to create a town they called Frankenmuth, some gnomes came along for the journey in the year 1845. They dug homes into the riverbank and lived there undiscovered until 2006. When they were discovered, they were taken to the Historical Museum, and later, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce, were found new homes in businesses in Frankenmuth. Now, with the Chamber of Commerce’s Gnome Guide, visitors can hunt for the gnomes and win prizes.

3. Willi’s Sausage Company and Kern’s Sausages

Sausage and Schnitzel are the two foods I miss the most. These stores are a sausage-lover’s heaven. Most sausage is too scary for me to try (think Blutwurst), but I dearly enjoyed Nürnberger Rostbratwurst  and Käsekrainer , and I was able to find both, in addition to more German beer.

2. Silent Night Memorial Chapel

After visiting Salzburg and Oberdorf, both in Austria, in 1976, Wally Bronner, the owner of Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the world’s largest Christmas store, decided he’d like to have a copy of the Silent Night Memorial Chapel at his store. The chapel was constructed in Frankenmuth in 1992. The chapel in Austria is where “Silent Night,” an original, Austrian hymn called “Stille Nacht,” was first performed. Officials from Oberndorf gave Bronner copies of “Stille Nacht” in 30 languages in 1990. By 1999, Bronner had collected versions of the song in over 300 languages, which he presented to Oberndorf. The octagonal building in Frankenmuth is the same shape and size as the original and is decorated in an Austrian fashion.

1. The Bavarian Inn and Lodge

With German restaurants, decorations, a tower with an onion dome, a  Glockenspiel and a half-timbered building, the Bavarian Inn and its Lodge definitely are the most German of all of Frankenmuth’s activities. The Inn’s restaurant has menu items of ethnic-German style, like Kohl und Schinken Knödel (cabbage and ham dumplings), buttered Spätzle (a type of pasta), Stollen (fruit and nut bread), Schnitzel (breaded pork pounded as thin as possible), Sauerbraten (marinated roast beef) and Kasseler Rippchen (smoked pork loin). They also have an extensive beer selection, including Ayinger Alt Dunkel, Hofbräu, Dortmunter original, Warsteiner Dunkel and Erdinger Weissbrau.

The other neat thing about the Bavarian Inn and its Lodge, is that they have an authentic pretzel-making class and a Ratskeller restaurant in the Lodge that is decorated with German signs.

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Hello, world!

Posted on January 25, 2010 by elliewick

It is time for the travel blogging to begin again. I have been writing stories in my head and planning too many trips I won’t be taking any time soon, so it is time to feed my travel bug. Writing will be the answer.

My goals are one trip a month and two stories. Traveling in the U.S. is significantly harder and costlier than Europe. I am also limited by a two-day weekend (it was three days when I was in Salzburg) that is currently half filled with curling.

In addition to future trips, I will be blogging about journeys I have already made, because over nine months in Salzburg, I visited 11 countries and 30 cities over 20-some trips, as far west as Dublin and as far east as Santorini, Greece and Piatra-Neamt, Romania. That means that I have had my fair share of travel glories and nightmares and have so many travel tips to share.

Across the top of the screen, above the photo of Salzburg’s Altstadt, you can find the “About,” “Austria” and “Planning a trip” sections. Those will be works-in-progress for a couple of weeks.

And with that, bon voyage, Gute Reise, good journey and above all, happy travels!

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