Europe String

Yes, more free stuff, read on for more….
This summer, when I was living in Madrid, my husband contracted Mumps. An unusual affliction, and before we knew what it could be, we were both panicked at what the softball sized lumps on his jaw could be. We both spoke a little Spanish, enough to do almost everything we needed in daily life. This wasn’t daily life. Suddenly I was presented with medical vocabulary I had never heard or studied before. What’s the word for swollen? Or allergies? Or insurance card?
At almost the same time, …read more

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This Just In is a new weekly column at EuropeString.com featuring the week’s best European travel deals. Have something to share? Leave a comment or Twitter @europestring.
We didn’t have a column last week, for the US holiday (plus I was on the road traveling)– so this week’s column is extra special.  It’s something that I wish someone had thought of years ago.  Imagine this scenario:

You want to spend sometime in Europe.
You don’t have a fixed date or a fixed city.
You just want to find the cheapest flight over there, and then you can travel around and come home.
Maybe …read more

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Back when I was recommending this cool little airplane headphone adapter, I wanted to recommend some noise-canceling headphones as well. Given that this is a budget-conscious travel blog, I stopped short of singing the praises of my husband’s fabulous but pricey Bose headphones. But then I came across these iceTECH noise-canceling headphones that go for a mere $30. That seems like a small price to pay for some deliciously silent time on a long flight. I love being able to escape from the plane’s engine noise!

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Thumbing through Zagat 2008 Europe’s Top Restaurants, I became nostalgic for the Zagat books I know from the US – guides which include great recommendations for restaurants at a whole range of price points. Not so for the European guide, in which the prices seem to range from expensive to very very expensive.
Not only that, but the recommended restaurants seem mostly tired and predictable – locales you can find in any upscale guidebook. There’s no insider’s feel to it (despite the fact that I myself have submitted a couple recommendations from the various European cities I’ve lived in . …read more

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On flights within, to, or from the US, checked baggage can only be locked with special TSA-Accepted Locks. Since the US is an occasional destination of ours, we naturally have a stash of these locks. We use them on all our flights, even those which are only within Europe. Hey, a lock is a lock. Plus ours are mostly funky colors (such as the lime green ones pictured), so they help make our luggage look a little bit more distinct from the other bags on the carousel.

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If you rely on the airline’s selection of movies and shows for entertainment on a flight, you might be interested in this nifty little item. This airline adapter allows you to use your own headphones (rather than the cheap ones the airline gives you) to listen to the audio on a plane. Chances are your headphones are more comfortable and offer better sound quality than the ones given out.
There’s always one of these adapters in my carry-on for long-haul flights. You can pick one up for about $1.

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As a frequent traveler, I have tried several systems for keeping my clothes organized inside my luggage. The one I am currently using is Eagle Creek Pack-It Cubes. They are far more sturdy and durable than other similar items I’ve tried, and so far I’m really happy with them (I bought them back in November). The cubes keep my clothes organized and wrinkle-free, and make it easier to feel organized when digging around in a large suitcase.
How do you pack your clothes for travel? Do you use something like Pack-It Cubes, or do you just toss everything in loose?

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One of the items that I never leave home without is my metal water bottle. I love that I no longer buy overpriced plastic bottles of water on my travels – it’s better for the environment and my health to drink out of this reusable metal container. Plus it leaves me with more cash to spend on other things.
Don’t let the European penchant for bottled water fool you – tap water is not only potable but delicious in most parts of this continent. This bottle travels with me even when I fly – I just have to remember to empty …read more

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I think Orbitz was the first online travel site I ever booked through, years and years ago, but recently it has been frustrating me. Not quite enough to keep me away when their fares pop up as the lowest on Kayak or Sidestep, though. I usually end up booking plane tickets through Orbitz at least a few times a year, but I have a real love/hate relationship with the site.
Things I like about Orbitz:

They’ve been around for a while and are well-established, so I can feel safer about giving my money to them than to a new fly-by-night travel website.
Sometimes …read more

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Zoozie’z restaurant and bar was a lifesaver during my weeks without home internet access in January. Located next to the Isar River in the middle of Munich, Zoozie’z is the kind of place I’d enjoy hitting for dinner or drinks even if they didn’t offer free wireless internet access to their patrons. It just has one of those charming, welcoming kind of vibes.
Every meal I’ve had at Zoozie’z has been enjoyable. They offer daily lunch specials which at EUR 5.50 are totally affordable even for the budget traveler. And during the non-busy time between lunch and dinner, I was allowed …read more

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