European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Travel $9 Europe items to take along by Anita coach staff writer. Most people probably have seen that commercial on an to in which a schoo Marmish woman tells you what to a pack a and what not to pack a when travelling in Europe. Bring conservative clothes she says flashy dressers tend to stick out As americans and could be prime targets for terrorists. A \ thai advice is Only part of he Story. A experienced 1 Ravelero know that there Are a few things you really should t be without when you re on the Road in Germany suggests you take along some told Medicine especially decongestants some Type of headache reliever and bandages. A Roll or two of Anat if is is also a Good idea. 1 1 a a a a a. A. A a a electricity converter and adapter. C plugs. travel find out what v kind of electrical currency the particular country has and take along the proper plugs. Some hotels in Europe Don t have outlets in the rooms and the lamps Are impossible to unplug although Many have outlets for razors in the bathroom. Luxury hotels even have blow dryers nailed to the bathroom Wall. A film. Lots of it. Camera buffs will Tell a you that film on the Economy anywhere in Europe is much More expensive than at your local Exchange prices Are particularly outrageous at souvenir stands near tourist attractions. The same goes for camera batteries so be sure to take some extra we be asked some frequent travellers and people in the travel Industry what they suggest taking along to make travelling in Europe easier a whether you re going by car Shiv plane or train. V v i lore s what they said. A enough Money. Yes that should go without saying but according to Gisela Haugen 111 direr Tor at Rumstein a. Vogel Weh in Germany and former tour guide some americans tend to underestimate prices in Europe. She s known of people who ran out of Cash 111 bus Tours and Money had to in collected so they could at least get Ameal. A. \ a a. I Langer advises exchanging the bulk of your travel Money at bunks in the country. You re visiting you la get a better rate than if you Exchange the Money at Home. You should however enough foreign current y to tide you Over in Case the local Banks Are closed when you a. A travellers c Hecks Are a Good idea and c Redit cards of course come in Handy. A passport that too should be obvious. Mii members without. Passports need to have the proper travel a. A a. A a Money Toudy or Bell. Any Type of. Smalt bag or thin Wallet that you can hang Uro Iohd yom Waist or neck is especially. Valuable in countries where pickpockets and purse Snak hers run amok. In most. Large cities thieves Are not uncommon. Quot a is great for carrying important papers like passports As Well As most of your lire Quot says Francesca Myers a. A. Recreation assistant at the Naples Italy naval support activity itt Oitice a pocket calculator. This Handy Gadget is often forgotten until the first time you try to figure out How much something costs in dollars. Then you re sorry you left it at Home. 1 ,. A first Aid kit and non prescription Medicine. Anyone who s had a headache or blisters on the feet while travelling knows How Nice it is to have some aspirin or band aids Handy. You Don t need much. Seasoned traveler and free Lance writer James Bottoms of we Brucken a i Ravel guidebooks. These Are always Good to have although you Don t want to Load yourself Down with them you might consider photocopying the parts of guidebooks you la need then throwing out the pages As you use them. A pocket size dictionary or phrasebook. Plenty of europeans speak English especially at hotels shops and other places tourists Are Likely to visit. Still they appreciate it when visitors attempt to learn a few words of their language. Phrasebooks also make it easier to decipher menus. A a comfortable shoes. These Are a must because ideally you should be doing a lot of walking in your travels. Sometimes the Only Way to see Many sights in Europe is on foot. Walking Over the Stone paved streets of Pompeii in Italy or up the sleep paths to the top of Vesuvius for instance t an lie a painful experience without the proper footwear. And with shoes you won t be using up nil your Bandage s on misters. A a a a a a extra jacket or sweater. The weather in Europe can be erratic just when you thought it was Safe to go out in a to shirt there will suddenly be a major hailstorm. Even in generally warmer countries such As Spain Italy or Greece evenings can be Cool. A /. A a a collapsible umbrella. also be prepared for sudden rainfall in Europe especially if you re travelling to the United kingdom. If you believe what the natives Tell you in England until the Day you arrive. Then it might never Slop. A Towel and Washcloth. Veteran. The right word at your fingertips by the new York times. Radio Shack has reduced its Multi language computer translator to 3 a by 5 i inches roughly the size of Side by Side. It. Weighs about i ounces this Gadget called a Micron a cd has 4,000 words in each of five languages a English French German Spanish and italian. It has a letter display that can hold up to is characters. A. If you need to Tell a cab Driver that you want to go to the Hospital quickly it will provide you with Quot Hospital rapid Quot Quot Krank Enhaus Schnell Quot Hospital rapid Quot or Quot Ospedale if you Are unable to pronounce the words you can hold up the Little computer and show it to someone. Like All cot neuter translators a there Are at least six portable models already in the Field a there Are drawbacks the Gadget translates words literally if you try to translate a word that has More than one meaning in English a and More than one translation in a foreign language a you May not get the one you want. Also it cannot decline or conjugate verbs or put in accents so you will not always get the proper verb form or spelling. The gadgets also contains a 10-digit calculator and a clock that will give you the time in 128 cities worldwide. The calculator will do conversions for three currencies of your choosing once you have entered Exchange rates for them. Travellers pack at least one Towel. european hotels have them Quot you. Just never know Quot says itt director. Haugen. A ,. A you can to gel about hoping to find. Washcloths though. Quot they re an american phenomenon not a european one say writer Bottoms. Some hotels May have. Washcloths he says but generally those hotels where people carry their own Luggage Don . A Pillow and Blanket. Although cumbersome they certainly make taking naps in cars buses and trains a lot More comfortable having your own Pillow also can make sleeping in hotels especially if you find european pillows too hard or too soft or if. You re allergic to toiletries. Luxury hotels will have those tiny plastic containers of shampoo it conditioner and mouthwash tiny bars of soap and even tiny shoe shining kits still you would t want to leave Home without these essentials. In the interest of travelling Light however you should consider getting travel size items or transferring your usual stuff into tiny plastic containers. A basically when travelling you should t try to do without something that you use. Ail the time at Home a blow dryers hair curlers razors Etc. Most of these items Are also available . Meticulous people might also want to take a travel Iron. A. A a a a a travel clock. This is another item. That s often forgotten until you re in a hotel that does t provide Wake up service. Travel clocks come As Small As matchboxes these Days so they Don t take up much room a. A a. A a a electric water boiler or Healing Coil. This Falls into the category of things that Are real Nice to have when travelling. V Andrew Stangel who conducts Art history Tours for Anie Picans in Europe swears by them Quot they re wonderful to make Tea or a instant Oatmeal for Many hotels of. All Price ranges in the United. Kingdom though have electric Coffee pots in each room along with bags of instant Coffee,.tea, milk and sugar. A a. A the key to travelling is to travel Light it s just so much easier and More fun if you Don t have big heavy suitcases to lug around bring Only those clothes that you honestly plan on wearing and mix and match things Wash and Wear clothes Are helpful too. Quot ask americans we tend to overpack Quot says Stangel who admits to having once packed six shirts for a three Day weekend. Quot we have a Good and healthy penchant for being clean but. A. Americans also Quot tend to bring a lot of Dressy clothes Quot esp Caily when travelling to Italy says Naples recreation assistant Myers. Quot you Don t need a whole wardrobe Quot she says. Quot if you re going to a fancy restaurant you la probably want to Wear a coat and tie. Otherwise that kind of clothes Isnit writers Gary Miller in Naples. Italy and Amy Geiszler Jones in the u k contributed to this report. Stars and stripes travel Europe May 22, 1991
