Mr. HomeFree and I travel more than some, but considerably less than others. We have now been to Europe five times and our overall country count is in the double digits. We are fortunate that we don’t really have any travel disaster stories. I knock on wood as I tell you that neither of us has become ill in a country with questionable medical care. We’ve never been stranded in a remote area with no luggage. We’ve never had to barter with a farmer for use of his burro so we could seek shelter from rainy season downpours in an abandoned barn. Nothing so colorful has ever happened to us. However, after our trip to Germany and Belgium, we did learn a few valuable lessons. Remember as you read that all this happened on the same trip.
Travel tip #1: U.S. Federal government travel websites are a necessity when planning international trips, not a suggestion. Before planning this trip my husband and I checked our passports and saw that they did not expire for almost another three months after we were due to return home. We made a mental note to work on the renewals when we got home and went on our merry way. It wasn’t until he called me from New York City while stranded at the airport, that I learned there was a problem. He was in New York for work. On a Friday night, he was due to fly to Germany so he could report for the next leg of his work assignment on that upcoming Monday. He called to tell me that the friendly airline staff informed him that he would not be allowed to board the plane because the European Union has a rule that travelers must have more than 90 days (i.e. 91 days) of validity remaining on their passports from the day that they plan to EXIT the European Union. The expiration date on my husband’s passport was short of E.U.’s deadline by 27 days.
“Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy a plane ticket. . . that’s kind of the same thing.”
unknown
He was told he would have to travel back into the city, stand in line at the passport office and request an emergency renewal. Did I mention this was a Friday night and he was due in Germany on Monday morning? Through a series of paperwork acrobatics that I won’t go into here, his employer was able to get him on that plane at the last minute. But there was still the matter of my travel to deal with. . .
In addition to sharing his panic with me, he was calling to tell me to check the exact date on my passport immediately. I did so, and then dialed the 24-hour hot line that the federal government operates for passport issues. They confirmed my fears. If I did not take quick action, I would not be flying to Germany to see my husband because my passport fell short of the E.U.’s deadline by 8 days. What, if anything, could be done? Could I bribe someone to help me? Could I throw myself on the mercy of the government? No.
But, I could complete a renewal application, pay to have new passport photos taken, take a day off of work to drive five hours to Atlanta to the “nearest” regional passport office to my home, pay $14 for downtown parking, pay $170 in expedited renewal fees, wait six hours for a new passport and then drive five hours back home. And so, I did.
Research your destination on www.travel.state.gov to determine how many days of validity you must have on your passport. Be aware that some countries actually require 6 months or more of validity remain on your passport. So, in the future, when my husband and I reach the ninth year on our passports, we will be renewing. . . no matter what. The U.S. Government’s website is very thorough. Spend some time on it at the very beginning of your international travel planning.
Travel tip #2: Do not panic over train strikes. Do have a back-up plan. If traveling internationally, remember that trains are a more common method of travel than they are in America. Two days before I was set to fly to Germany, Mr. HomeFree called and said, “Honey, you know those day trips by train to Manheim and Luxemborg City we talked about? Well, we may have a little problem. There is a train strike scheduled.”
Considering that I was receiving this news in the hallway of the Regional Passport Office in Atlanta, while trying to sort out the mess created by my husband’s last phone call, I think I took it well. I laughed. I mean I laughed and laughed until tears ran down my face and strangers getting off the elevator gawked at the crazy lady.
“Who schedules a strike,” I gasped. “Only the hyper-organized Germans, that’s who!” I had never, in my life, heard of telling your opponent in a bargaining situation that you are scheduling a workers’ strike for 8:00am Wednesday! Doesn’t that take away your element of surprise? Your leverage? My husband said he would make arrangements for a rental car, which was an expense we had not anticipated. We adjusted our pre-trip budget and chalked it up to the fun story that I am recounting to you now.
Want to know what’s even more “fun”? Finding out later that the strike only lasted one day before an agreement was reached! The footnote to this story is that I spoke to a couple of foreign-born friends of mine and they said scheduling strikes in advance is quite common in other countries. Apparently, only Americans have an affection for the element of surprise in labor negotiations. On a side note, the meme below made me laugh embarrassingly hard. Who’s with me?
Travel tip #3: Vehicle GPS systems do NOT always know better. As I mentioned, my husband traveled ahead of me and due to his work schedule, we had not seen each other in six weeks. I just wanted to see my husband! I arrived in the Frankfurt airport after three flights and nearly 24 hours of travel. Tired, disheveled and ready to hop in the aforementioned rental car and go, I puzzled over his absence at my arrival gate. I scanned the rows of molded plastic seats in the waiting area, I held my breath and crossed through the dreaded smokers’ area to scan the crowds just outside the door along the curb. Back inside, families held up colorful signs welcoming their relatives and I tried to swallow around the ever-growing lump in my throat. Did I mention that I just wanted to see my darn husband?
“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for reason.”
Jerry Seinfeld
When I did finally reach Mr. HomeFree by phone, he explained that the GPS in the rental car had given him directions to a different airport. Of course, he assumed that since the Frankfurt airport is a large hub it would be the default suggestion. Computers think they know better, apparently, because it gave him directions to a smaller airport instead. By the time he realized that he was traveling in the wrong direction he was way behind schedule. Late afternoon traffic meant we were reunited about 90 minutes later than planned. On subsequent days we experimented with the GPS in the rental vehicle and discovered that it continuously suggested smaller, less logical airports, including the commercial freight airport in one city. Confirm with many sources (especially local humans) if there are multiple airports that service the city in which you are staying. Our situation was far from being a travel disaster, but we learned a valuable lesson for future trips.
Travel tip #4: Lodging staff is a resource for details on how holidays are observed. During our four-day stay in Bruges, Belgium we became aware of a national holiday (the last Monday in May). We knew that many restaurants and shops would be closed and planned our itinerary accordingly. The next day (Tuesday) we called three different restaurants to make reservations for dinner and none of them were open. No explanatory voicemail. . . just no answer. Baffled, we asked the owner of our bed and breakfast. She kindly explained that since restaurants are open all weekend many close on Monday so the staff can have a rest day, but, since the national holiday fell on a Monday many restaurant owners took Tuesday off so they could also have their holiday. He and I agreed this was perfectly logical, but definitely not a cultural tidbit you would find in a typical guidebook. Make friends with the locals and ask them what days are actually observed for any holidays that might occur during your stay.
While the “disasters” on our trip might not be of the white-knuckle variety, they certainly contained invaluable lessons. Nuances came to light, some very small and some very inconvenient. Some you might find in travel guides and some you won’t be likely to see published anywhere else but here. What was the biggest lesson of all? In the end, the minor glitches make the best stories anyway.
Does anyone have a brief travel mess that they would like to share with the group?
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