Europe #2

Birmingham Travel Dad – we go where other bloggers dare not, all in the name of making your trip the best it can be. Those with weaker constitutions and delicate sensibilities should take note of the title of this post, and consider finding a charming cat video for diversion.

OK, for the rest of us: Most of the popular Euro destinations – the ones I’ve covered, at least – are decidedly First World. You can get anything over there that you can here; often a better version of it, at that. You may have to put up with an inconvenience or two, especially for medications: several Euro countries don’t sell basics like Advil in grocery stores. You have to find a pharmacy for those, and their pharmacies aren’t the 24 hour mini-supermarkets that ours are – theirs sell medications, and that’s it. Every reasonable town has at least one 24 hour pharmacy, but often it’s just one. Good luck finding it. Go ahead and bring your basics pills along from the US – obviously, your scripts, but also antacids and pain relievers and such. Still, if you forget something, your hotel will point you in the right direction to buy more.

The same cannot be said for toilet paper. This is, I’m afraid, a topic on which the US and Europe simply don’t see eye to eye. Before my Euro friends get on me, thinking I’m denigrating their view on the matter, let me state categorically that I understand their position. We just have different values, that’s all. We in the US appreciate comfort above all else. Euros prize stability and economy: not that their paper is cheap, but Euros have a cool head for Total Cost. Use less, spend less, and that requires a more rugged species of paper.

So, when you go to a nice hotel and the papier feels cheap – it’s probably not, you’re just comparing it to the US brands which have traded durability for that extra comfort. No point in asking the concierge for a more plush brand, it’s not available over there. But consider the flip side – when Euro’s come here, they shudder at how quickly our paper disintegrates during application. Low-grade, they suspect, when the opposite is probably true.

You can try to appreciate the qualities of fine Euro paper, on an intellectual level, but that’s unlikely to give your foundation any relief underway. No, you can’t get used to it in a week or two. You can try to buy the Euro-feel equivalent in the US before your trip, and acclimate yourself months in advance – sure, blow through a case of industrial quality Scotts. Euro brand will feel luxuriant after that.

You’re clearly not going to do that, though, unless you were on some mission of total emersion in Euro culture. Your best bet is to go right ahead and bring a few rolls of your favorite brand with you. Why not? It’s light weight, compacts pretty well, and as it’s used, you’re freeing up space for bringing things home. Go ahead, take a six pack. If I could bring a portable ice machine along with me, I’d do that, too. There are some things on which never the twain shall meet.