Bear Park - Bern

Lower Bern

 This pizza was sooo good.

Bern is a hill wrapped by the river Aare almost like a moat around a castle. The main part of Bern is up a steep hill and the hostel we were staying at in in the lower part of Bern by the river.

Lac Leman - Leman Lake

Yes, that's my camera in the reflection!

Flew on Easy Jet from Brussels to Geneva and took the train to Bern. Lac Leman was on the way there. This beautiful lake reminded me why someone named a town near Clearlake CA after a Swiss city. The view of the lake must have reminded them of home.

It's interesting to note that if you fly into Geneva Airport and happen to be staying around Geneva, there's a machine in the airport that will give you a voucher for in-town travel to your hotel or wherever you're headed. If you click last link I gave you, you'll even see a picture of the machine so you'll know what you're looking for.  Pretty thoughtful!

"With effect from January 2008, you can pick up a free ticket for public transport from the machine in the baggage collection area at the Arrival level. This Unireso ticket, offered by Genève Aéroport, allows you to use public transport in Geneva free for a period of 80 minutes."

Easy Jet, by the way was pretty enjoyable. With the low price, our expectations weren't too high and so we were not disappointed. Really, it was a fairly smooth trip. I did notice that since the seating isn't assigned, everyone lines up as early as possible. With us I don't think it made too much difference and plus, it was a short flight.

Hotel Bloom - Brussels

View from the hotel window.
Let's just say it rained often here.

Downtown Brussels

Internet While Abroad

Use the internet to search for lodging, sights, reviews and stay in touch with family.

Cantillon Brewery

Cantillon Brewery

I think old machinery is interesting.

The Hague - Den Haag

 Binnenhof and Mauritshuis

Mauritshuis

those gifts can break your back

Gifts, gifts, gifts! Many have suffered from carrying that perfect gift thousands of miles for weeks and have the spinal damage to prove it. We should not neglect our family and friends but try to find gifts which do not weigh us down. International postage can be high, but many countries have a special book rate which allows book shipment at a relatively cheap cost. Find a book then write a special note, poem, or draw in the book making it a distinct and unique gift. Then ship it directly to the person you would like to receive the gift. A postcard, once mailed, is a gift you do not have to trudge across numerous borders. Your back will thank me for this advice. Please, comment and share any ideas you might have!

oh the burden of gifts

Another great way to travel light is to bring a couple gifts which are slightly larger and greater in number than the gifts you intend to bring home. Your bag will feel heavy and full with a couple bottles of local wine/local history books/regional gifts in it. When these gifts are given to other travelers or locals, you will notice your pack quickly lightening with each new friendship. Replace these gifts with smaller and lighter gifts for yourself or a family member back home. This will lighten your bag and create more room at the same time. Please, feel free to comment as you wish and happy traveling!

the weight of literature

Books are one of the many items required for your trip. Rather than 5 or 6 travel/phrase books look for one or two books which combine several countries or regions. Additionally, instead of 5 or 6 phrase books bring one which encompasses a large collection of languages. Rather than 15 pounds of literature in your backpack, you can significantly reduce this weight by bringing only the few books necessary. Even consider using a razor blade to surgically remove the undesired parts. Why carry around literature on countries you will not visit and languages you will not use? Please feel free to comment and post any travel suggestions you might have.

tips for medication while travelling

This safety tip is one to guard us from mistakes made by ourselves and the airlines. If you take prescription medication contact your doctor requesting an extra refill months before departing. Pack the prescriptions separately, one in your carry-on and one in your checked luggage. If your checked luggage gets lost you still have medication while the airline recovers your luggage. If you misplace the one in your carry-on, then just dig in your checked bag until you find a full prescription. Basically, never shall the two bottles of medication meet. This will not only guard your health, but keep you safe from attempting to get a prescription in a land where you might not speak the tongue and or where pharmaceuticals are not exactly the same as your home country. Consider doing the same with prescription glasses. Please, comment if you would like and travel safe.

saftey wallet

Carry a safety wallet. What is that you ask? It’s basically a decoy wallet given out at the bequest of a thief.  I have never been robbed, but I use an old wallet containing an expired credit card, an expired passport, the local currency I was planning to spend in the next couple of hours, and about 20USD (or your home currency). Hopefully, the thief will see the cards/cash and run away quickly not realizing the documentation is expired until far away. I will gladly sacrifice 20 dollars and old wallet keeping current documentation, and myself safe. Please feel free to comment and provide any feedback you like.

being safe while being abroad

I must preface this by saying as a person who studies abroad twice in college, once in graduate school and has had about 10 long trips to foreign, never have I had a problem with my personal safety. I have actually been in the collapsing Soviet Union and was never robbed using my wits to guide me. Safety is an issue for many travelers as there are professionals who rely upon irrational foreigners to pay their rent.

As somebody who has never been robbed I must admit to meeting many travelers who have. Most of the conversations start with “it was late at night and I was drinking with a beautiful woman…”, and so on. A friend of mine was robbed at 3AM after a long night of drinking under a bridge in Leningrad (yes now St. P) by strangers he thought friends. Although I feel bad for him, honestly what did he expect? The first tip is simple, be smart and if the party seems to be too good, secondary motives exist. Be guided by wise choices and avoid situations you would not participate in at home. I never met anybody who said they got robbed at 2PM after an operatic performance at a church in the center of town. Please feel free to comment, suggestions, and or provide feedback as you like.