What to Bring on a Trip: Kids Perspective

Whenever anybody goes on a trip, the first thing that they think about is clothes and of course, money and passports. Our family was going to be staying in Italy for three months so the first thing we, the kids,  thought of was: Entertainment

For us the main entertainment is of course the traveling, but what about when we have down time? For this specific time we brought four main things to do:

The first thing that we brought was card games/deck building games. We brought three of them in a card box so we could fit dominion along. Our personal favorites include: Love letter, Dominion, Guillotine, Curses, Farkle.

The second thing we brought was Kindles to read on. Everyone in our family enjoys reading so we of course brought an easy way to read books on long travels.

The third thing we brought was DS and iPads. What kid doesn't love video games? Although we don't get to use them that often due to not having enough adapters.

The last thing that we brought was the main thing that none of us like to do. Can you guess what it is? That's right (if you guessed correct. If not.. well,you're wrong). It's homework. Our parents didn't want us to fall behind in our schooling so we brought along workbooks and online passwords for the textbooks. We try as hard as we can to keep up with the lessons as we can. The main problem with that is we were using our school emails to communicate and they took those away so we cant rely on those. But otherwise, our homework and study habits have stayed under control.

Driving in Europe: Austria Edition

Here’s where I provide my own cautionary tale so others don’t have to make the same mistake I did. This past weekend, we decided to set out for Salzburg Austria (as, undoubtedly, you will have figured out by the plethora of blog posts about Austria that you’ll be seeing in the next few days).

In getting our preparations together, we planned our route, our place to stay, and all of our activities. We had everything covered…everything except for one thing. And it could have been avoided if we did a simple search online for “Driving in Austria”. So without further ado, the highs and lows of driving in Austria. We’ll start with the low, because pretty much everything else was a high:

The Autobahn Vignette

In the US, we pay for tolls on the road as we drive. Lanes that require a sticker are clearly marked. This is not the case in Austria. Driving from Italy through the Brenner Pass (which is amazing) and just past Innsbruck, the Austria Autobahn requires a sticker, called a Vignette, to drive the roads. It’s a basic sticker that costs 8 Euro for 10 days. Not pricey at all. The problem is, it isn’t terribly clear that you need one, unless you’re fluent in German, of course. I only happened upon it searching information about a location we hoped to visit. The penalty for not having a sticker is steep: 120 Euro steep ($156). It took me 2 days to figure it out too (so 240 Euro steep for me).  The way they catch you? Cameras. Or at least, you hope they catch you with cameras, because if a cop pulls you over, they can demand 200 Euro in cash on the spot, plus the ticket you will get in the mail later. I can be grateful that I probably only have 1 or 2 pictures coming in the mail, and that the police didn’t notice my naivete. Apparently, the Vignette is also required in Switzerland, Slovenia, and Germany, among others.

Now on to the high points…

Side of the Road Wonders

Driving across country in the US usually reveals side of the road rest stops and deserted gas stations. However, in Europe, rest stops and deserted gas stations are replaced with deserted castles and rest “villages”. The drive from Italy to Austria also includes trips through the Dolomites and Alps. Plenty of side of the road photo ops, or if you’re like us, out the window photo ops.

 

Driving (and Drivers) on the Autobahn

If you listen to Rick Steves, you’ll avoid the Autobahn because he makes it into a hair-raising experience. If you’re like me, however, you’ll look forward to every chance to use the Autobahn, because you’ll find the best drivers in the world on it. I’m not kidding either. The rules are simple, if you’re slow, stay in the right lane. If you’re slow in the left lane, you get over. If you don’t get over, you deserve to be honked at or at least have lights flashed at you. And the best part, everyone gets it. Not once did I mutter out loud my usual rants in the car while driving in the US: “Get out of the way!” “Why are you going so slow” or, most importantly, “At least go the SPEED LIMIT!” (any one who has driven in the Midwest will appreciate that one). Even better, trucks are not allowed in the fast lane! The Autobahn is a perfect system where fast drivers can enjoy their freedom in the left lane and slow drivers can do whatever it is they do in the right.

Speaking of drivers, there’s one peculiar thing missing from the Autobahn that we regularly see on US Freeways: Skid marks. That’s right, I didn’t see one skid mark (and broken light fragments were curiously absent as well). Either the Austrians really know how to clean a highway, or people are more attentive while driving. I suspect it’s the latter.

No Speed Limit

This is a bit of a myth, there are speed limits on the Autobahn, but there are also stretches where the speed limit isn’t restricted. In fact, instead of having signs that indicate the new speed limit, the signs indicate when the old speed limit is over. My GPS told me that those “no speed limit” stretches had a limit of 130 km/hr, but I can tell you that I had cars pushing me much faster than that…What can I say, when in Rome (or Austria)…

Stop Lights

Now this doesn’t have anything to do with the Autobahn, but Curls and I noticed something very efficient about traffic lights in Austria. Green lights begin to blink when they’re about to go to yellow, and even better, the light turns yellow when it’s going from red to green (just like in races). There’s no guessing, you know when to start revving your engine (and believe me, everyone does on the yellow light). Curls and I both agreed that the US should adopt this as soon as humanly possible.

Gas prices and Cost

I put this under the good side of driving despite the fact that you pay 1.29-1.59 Euro per liter (not per gallon). Cars here have much better gas mileage than in the US. For example, we drove from the Treviso Italy area to Salzburg (5 hours of driving) on a half tank of gas (which is about Euro 40). I don’t care how you slice the gallons to liters ratio, that kind of mileage and price is unheard of in the US.  Also, another highlight of Austria is gas is much cheaper there. 1.29 in Salzburg vs. 1.59 in Treviso.

In the end, the cost to drive from Treviso to Salzburg was 18 Euro in tolls and a tank of gas (about 70 Euro). For 6 people, that’s much better than taking the train.

 

Overall, driving the Autobahn was more than a bucket list thing, it was invigorating. It would’ve been even better had I done a little homework about the Vignettes beforehand.

Padova: Look Ma! No TomTom!

In our world of readily available maps, GPS devices, and directions, I have to say I was a little scared at the thought of navigating around without a GPS here in Italy.  But I forced myself to accept the challenge of reading a map again, and go exploring. Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t start small either. Trip numero uno: Padova. About 45 minutes from where we are in Paderno.

Now, I have to admit, I wasn’t completely without GPS help. With the help of my iPhone and a little WIFI trick, we were able to activate the map and get our GPS location. When we traveled outside of the WIFI service, the direction capabilities may have been gone, but the phone would still keep track of my location. This worked for the first half of the trip down, though I lost all reception about 15 minutes outside of Padova.

So, trick numero due: Follow the street signs. The first thing I’ve learned about driving in Italy is that you can find your way around fairly simply thanks to all the street signs in and around the cities (the 2^nd thing I learned was how crazy driving is here, but more on that in a moment). If you don’t know the exact address, you can just follow signs to the city and make your way there as you go. This second method worked ok, though it did eventually lead us to making our 1^st official site visit in Italy at an Ikea.  And Ikea in Italy has gelato, so we got another 1^st in, Behold!

From there, we were able to get basic directions back into the center of town by asking an associate (knowing some Italian is definitely recommended…thank you Duolingo). From there, we enjoyed the old town tour of Padova, including the largest cathedral I have ever been in (no pictures allowed…not even drawing was allowed! One too many art students, I guess).

Now, as promised earlier, a word on driving in Italy. The driving guide we got from the program that we’re teaching in here has an appropriate description of the driving experience, one that I learned in the first few minutes of driving: “Driving in Italy (and Europe, in general) demands that you are a ‘mature’ driver. By mature, we mean that you have the ability to drive anywhere without experiencing extreme irritation, frustration, and trouble”. I would add: the bigger the city, the more “mature” you need to be. 

After day 1 of driving here, I can only report: I love it here. Anyone who knows my driving will know that I fit right in with frustrating and irritating driving. Back home, people drive at (or even slightly below) the speed limit. Not here. The speed limit is only a suggestion! Heck, so are no tailgaiting and 3 seconds distance rules! This is my kind of driving experience.

Flying with 6 to Europe

A few thoughts on getting to Europe with a family of 6:

Chicago

First off I don’t like Chicago airport.  It by far was the most crowded and tricky airport we flew into.  I had to go through security twice.  We got divided up twice.  Once when we showed our passports and once when we went through security.  The security was very chaotic.  Next time I would try to skip this airport.

Zurich 

The Swiss airport was awesome.  The check point for passports had a nice happy English speaking gentleman who treated us great.  We also had a blast riding the tram from passport to check in, where you get to hear yodeling and whistling and see funny Swiss photos.

Swiss Airlines

Swiss air was great as well.  Before the flight began they gave the kids coloring books and crayons.  They had children's meals that were better than the adults' meals.  Seriously, in fact they told us we could all order kids meals next time.  Other passengers next to us even commented on the kids meals.  Tons of food and drinks.  They were willing to accommodate the kids.  They had kid friendly movies which is huge at our house.  Before you leave they pass around Swiss chocolate.  This happened on both swiss air flights we went on.

Venice

Getting out of the Venice airport was simple and quick.  However,  the massive amounts of people was a bit overwhelming.  Not the Italians, but the backpackers laying all over the ground and covering every seat possible.  I must admit it was a bit overwhelming and I don’t think it was just jet lag.

Making Connections

We had not one but two short connections (1 hour between flights), so our biggest worry was missing our connections, especially with 6 of us and carry on luggage for each. I'm happy to report that we made every connection with time to spare. So if you're flying with kids, making 1 hour connections is doable.

Getting to our destination 

I was super grateful that our Host University sent a driver to pick us up with all our luggage.  It was huge as we were all so tired and he knew his way.  He even dropped us at the University and then to our apartment.

Overall navigating the airports was exhausting with the security and passports.  The boys did great as they knew as soon as we got through they would get their choice of drinks and shows to watch.  I guess not having cable at home and getting free soda makes them really like flying.

Note for next time try to avoid Chicago.  Only pack one water bottle not two.  No need to have a traveling pillow on Swiss air they have great side pillows and blankets.  No need to bring entertainment they are super excited to just sit and look out the window, watch the big picture of where we are flying over at the moment, talk, or just watch what is being offered.  

The Big Pack, part 2

This is what packing the car for a trip for 6 to Europe looks like. It's a good thing we traded in the Honda Pilot for the Odyssey!

The Big Pack

So this is what packing a family of six looks like.

We had been putting clothes together incrementally for the last few months, but the actual packing job was just as overwhelming as we expected. We approached packing strategically: knowing that we only had 50 lbs for checked-in baggage, and that we already had 40 lbs of books for Agent P's Eagle Scout Project, we tried to fit as much as possible in the carry-on bags. We also had another thing working against us: We have to pack for two seasons, the Fall and the Winter. In the end, we were able to have one empty bag (we fit all the 6 year old's clothes in a carry-on). 

For our 3 month trip, here's the packing list we used:

Suitcase	Backpack
10 Short-Sleeve Shirts	Camera, Cord
5 pairs of shorts	Crayons, Colored Pencils, Pencils, Pens
7 Pairs of Khaki Pants*	Nintendo DS and Games
3-5 Long Sleeve Shirts	Journal & Drawing Book
10 Pairs of Underwear	2 Empty Water Bottles**
10 pairs of socks	Snacks
2 pairs of running shoes	Flashlight for night hiking
1 pair of crocks	Tooth Brush, Tooth Paste
1 pair rain boots
1 pair church shoes	Extras for Suitcases
1 jacket	Games (Dominion, Curses, Guillotine)
1 rain jacket	School books
1 coat	Bug Spray (Euro-Mosquitos are insane)
1 set of church clothes (shirt, tie, socks)	Wet Wipes (So MANY uses for these)
1 pair PJs	Taco Packets (for when we need Mexican)
1 set running/play clothes	Small toys for 6 yr old
1 Swimsuit and Towel	Ear Plugs

Of course, for the adults, we subbed in suits, dresses, skirts, scarves, jewelry, makeup, medicine, hygienic products, and so on (but let's face it, packing kids is the hardest).

*Because having a dryer in an apartment is so uncommon in Italy (and throughout Europe), we opted for clothes that would dry quickly. Ergo, no jeans. 

 **Water fountains are much less prevalent in Italy than they are in the U.S., so for each trip, we'll fill one bottle with water, one with juice.

Managing the Flight Carousel

We found out we were going to be spending a semester in Italy almost a year in advance (10 months to be exact). Though this gave us plenty of time to search for ticket options, it also gave us plenty of time to second guess our ticket options. For a while there, it was like watching the stock market. How low can we wait before we buy? How long before prices shoot up?

We played the game, and though we did come out somewhat ahead, we definitely could have done better.

First, it does matter where you buy them. I've never understood what the point is for sites like Expedia and Travelocity to advertise that they have the lowest deals. They never do, and in our case, they were consistently $200-$300 more than other sites. The best prices we found using CheapTickets, CheapoAir, and SkyScanner.

Second, it takes a lot of research, and we did our fair share, if not more. Where to fly in, when to fly in, what day (and time) to book tickets. What we found ranged from the common (fly out on a Wednesday) and not-so-common (buy tickets on Tuesday). Kayak recently conducted a study of thousands of flight purchases and found an interesting trend: the earlier the better rule isn't exactly true anymore. According to their research, buying within 50 days before your flight leaves is the best time to buy.

Our personal experience has been a little bit different. The cheapest flights we found were about 1 year early. Here's a quick run-down of the average round-trip ticket costs to Venice based on the time-frame that we looked at tickets:

Nov - Dec 2013: ~$750
Jan - Mar 2014: ~$900
Apr - May 2014: ~$1200
Jun - Aug 2014: ~$1100

After almost a year of checking flight costs, we learned one important lesson: If you find tickets to Europe under $900, book 'em. I'll also add that the travel tips floating on the Internet didn't really make a difference. For example, buying on a Tuesday was the same price as buying on a Thursday, and flying out on a Monday was the same price as flying out on a Wednesday. One thing we would highly recommend, though, is if you're buying online, make sure you clear your cache and your cookies on your browser before you buy. The airfare sites do track your searches, and prices do change based on your search history.