The Prep
Planning for a six month road trip to foreign countries isn’t
as daunting as it seems. If they can plan for an astronaut to be in the space
station for twelve months, six months across the pond with convenience stores nearby shouldn't be a big deal.
Before deciding what to bring, we had to decide how to get
it there.
Way back when the idea of our trip was still in its infancy and vowing to never again book a long flight in coach class, we explored
the possibility of taking a re-positioning cruise from Florida to Europe. The fares
for a 12 or 14 day crossing were less than $2,000 per person. Not bad for two
weeks of room, board and transportation with no limits on luggage size or
weight (we do not travel lightly) and space to stretch. It was a great idea but the timing was all
wrong.
Enter Ms. Dorothea, our transportation wizard. When she had
her own business, she used her AMEX to pay for fees and permits and in doing
so, earned enough reward points for two round trip air fares. “Nope, I’m not going to fly. You can’t
get me to sit in a stinking, crowded, cramped, germ-infested cattle car for 7 hours. No,
absolutely not, never ever again!” “Not to worry honey, the tickets are for two
first class seats both over and back.” What a gal! She never ceases to amaze me!
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| 'Old Tumi' |
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| New Travel Pro |
Some or all of the preparations we made probably seem mundane but they're all part of Pee Wee's great adventure.
First and foremost is cat care. Fortunately, a friend of Dorothea's had a friend who needed a place to stay during the time we would be gone and was willing to "cat sit." Wow! What a relief. Boarding a cat for six months would have cost more than a few sardines.
Secondly, $$$$$$$$. Without the internet, it would be impossible to do what we were planning to do. The "Cloud", the copy keeper of passports, driver's license, and all things important, will be our portable filing cabinet. And, the advantages of electronic banking did away with the need for a personal secretary. Over the past several months, we have arranged to either have our bank do "Bill Pay" or set up auto debits for financial obligations. Additionally, moving funds from one institution to another is a snap. Some, offer no transaction fees for credit card charges or ATM debit withdrawals. They do charge a premium on top of the current exchange rate but it's not outrageous. Also, over the last 4 or 5 months we have been tracking foreign currency rates and have purchased Euros, Pounds and Swiss Francs when they were low. Thank you Yes, No, Maybe, Brexit! You have made the Pound Sterling a little more affordable than it was during our last two trips. And, since Switzerland's Franc is on par with the US Dollar, we'll be having more cheese fondue and chocolate than Weiner Schnitzel or Fish and Chips. Plus, I may have to stock up on German Spaten before getting to Budapest where a beer is 500 Hungarian Forint!
The Pack
O.K., we now know when, where and how we’re going to get
there and what we’ll use to carry our stuff. The next question. What stuff?
Except for Putin, Trump hasn’t made many friends in Europe. And,
not knowing if radical Europeans hate all Americans, we think
it better to blend in rather than stand out. No white “New Balance” walking
shoes, no fanny packs, no cowboy shirts or hats, no team athletic wear, no Jimmy Buffett
shirts and no white pointy hoods. We need to try and dress like Europeans, black,
black and more black. We are retirees who currently live in shorts, tees and
sandals - none of which even remotely resembles black or is suitable for January
in Poland. Bealls senior Tuesdays has been a regular weekly outing for us. O.K., how many outfits? Two weeks of dirty laundry impregnated with
various colognes and human scents in a closed, heated car pretty much sets the upper limit. Needless to say, visits
to ”lavanderies” are right up there in importance as visits to castles and
cathedrals. We don’t do laundry in the hotel bathroom sink. We tried that once and
cardboard underwear and socks makes for very long days. Besides, all of our underwear
are labeled with his and hers and day of the week monograms. Wearing Friday’s underwear
on Monday or visa versa causes unnecessary confusion and tension.
Consumables! How much? Here is some interesting trivia that even
Alex Trebek doesn’t know. One 7.6 oz tube of toothpaste will last 40 days; a
3.4 oz stick of deodorant, 53 days; a 12
oz bottle of shampoo, 70 days for two; a 7 oz bottle of aftershave, 66 days;
and a 10 oz can of shaving cream, 5 months and still counting. So, what’s
needed for 6 months???
And meds. Oh, the meds. “But honestly Mr./Ms. TSA person, we
are elderly Americans heavily medicated not “Mules.”
Then there are plug adapters for various European outlet shapes. Cables and locks to secure our luggage. Can’t forget the Applewatch, iPhone,
iPad, PC (a new Dell Note Pad replaces our 36”, 20 pound laptop), battery packs,
charging cords, an external memory drive and two 32 GB memory cards for 6,300+
pictures (about 35 per day).
With all of the “stuff,” we need to limit the weight so we have
enough reserve capacity to bring back 12 bottles of French wine!
We have pre-packed and repacked to evenly distribute the weight. And, things have been distributed across all of the luggage pieces in case one or more of our bags winds up in the Azores without us.
All the major pieces weigh in at around 50#, under the 70#
limit. I recently had a hernia repaired on my left side. I hope we haven’t
booked any long stays in elevator-less BnBs on the third floor as we have on previous trips.
If so, “Hello Dr. Janis, guess what?”
14 days and counting!
14 days and counting!
Ed and Dorothea
Other Photos
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOqkxcgLDUcMpTY1i3lkEyEemLp6abNndhnGAfD
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