Travel Odds and Ends

Whenever I land Europe, I can’t help but have the Beatles loop in my head. Born in 1971, my earliest memories of Euro travel are tinged with the holdover from the late-Beatles era fashion and design. I wouldn’t hear the actual music until years later – no Beatles were played in our household – but the link in my mind makes it seem like Abbey Road was playing on the airport speakers whenever we landed in Hamburg.

It still seems that way – again, it’s an old association I’ve made, but strengthened by a few factors, including the remnants of 70’s design aesthetic, often in architecture that’s slowly being replaced, and noticeably in the color schemes and fonts on airport signage: earthy greens and yellows, frequently. And when you land in Europe, chances are dawn is just breaking: Here Comes the Sun, indeed.

Anyway, in the olden days, you might try to put a mixed tape/cd together for the trip. I suppose today it would be a digital playlist on your phone that you sync with the car radio. That assumes your rental can handle that, and it probably can: I’ll do it for my upcoming trip, but it won’t hurt to have a back-up CD, too. Nor should you be wary of the radio: sure, if you don’t speak the language fluently, you won’t pick up on what the DJ is saying. But they play hits just like we do here, and you may end up hearing one repeatedly that becomes the theme song for the trip.

You can also do the usual trippy activities to pass the time while driving, touring, or visiting museums. Scavenger hunts are always popular, but tamp them down a bit, this should be play, not work. The usual US road trip stuff – cows, bands, Hawaii license plates – can be replaced by local flavor items. Windmills (5 points for new, 25 points for old), castles, Finnish license plates, you name it. In Normandy, one year, we searched days for the elusive dovecoat (found them eventually, they’re only in the north, but nobody told us that). Set a team goal, as opposed to an individual competition, we don’t want anyone getting out of joint because they lost.

Scavenger hunts work in cities, too; I bought these hunt guides for my last trip, but they turned out to be a little too much effort for small kids. I got some good tips, though. In Venice, look for lions, the city symbol. Florence uses fleur-de-lit as theirs. Though kids will find their own occupation, for ours, it was chasing pigeons. Whatever works, right, but knowing the city symbol of wherever you’re visiting will add just that much more.

Finally: Pick a theme food, for your kids to follow. You don’t want every meal to be the same, but have one thing that you can compare from place to place. In Barcelona we had the Barcelona Bomba at every tappas joint we tried – please, don’t laugh, we are well aware that the Barcelona Bomba is strictly a tourist food, but it’s just an appetizer, no harm done. In Italy? You’ll have multiple gelatos. Have the kids compare and contrast after each. Germany? Regions have different style sausages, give each a shot. France? There’s a crepe within 10 minutes of wherever you are, no matter where you are. You get the picture. I don’t think this is a small thing, btw. You’re justifying the $10,000 you’re spending on broadening your little dears’ horizon, and learning discernment goes along with that. If you have them compare different things – pizza Napoli vs. spaghetti prima vera – personal preference takes over. But if they compare Schnitzel A vs. Schnitzel B, well, then you’ll have to do a comparison between the two similar products. “I liked A because the breading was crispier”. That’s a step towards refinement.