What I’ve learned about traveling to Europe so far

My first taste of traveling, even domestically, didn’t come until my late 20s. I promised myself after my first trip to New York that it wouldn’t be my last. I’ve been back several times since — and I’ve long been certain that NYC is the greatest city in the world.

My first taste of international travel, true international travel, didn’t come until last week.

With a group called the Oklahoma Ambassadors of Music, my wife and stepdaughter and I were afforded the opportunity to tour Europe with a concert band, jazz band and choir. We have been to London and Paris thus far, and this blog post comes to you from the Swiss mountains, Crans Montana.

Is this place even real? Look at how beautiful it is.

I’ll write about our time in London and Paris soon. But in this post, I wanted to write about what I’ve learned so far on the trip about international travel.

It is important to me to be a good traveler and not an ‘ugly American.’ For those of you not aware of the term, it characterizes the type of person (often American) who moans and gripes about every little inconvenience they encounter in a world, a culture that isn’t theirs.

Demonstrably privileged behavior might be another way to describe it.

But for the sake of transparency, here’s what I have learned so far. All of this is known to any experienced traveler, but for any of you new to it:

• Pack light. Lighter than you think. I kept it to one suitcase and still think I could have packed lighter. Again, even lighter than you think.
• Most hotels won’t have the type of AC we’ve come to expect. Many places don’t even have any air circulation. That’s ok. We brought some awesome chargeable fans. There’s no affiliate here, lol. Not yet at least. These fans are terrific: Quick to charge, and they have solid blowing power.
• Drink copious amounts of water, especially ahead of the trip. It will help with jet lag. Yes, I was very tired after our first night in London, but that was the worst of it. Staying hydrated helps to keep the body from presenting any other symptoms beyond sleepiness (muscle cramping, headaches, etc.)
• Most folks speak English, but they dig it if you’ll at least try to use the language. Here are a couple French phrases beyond ‘bonjour’ and ‘au revoir’ to learn:
  • Je voudrais (zhe voo-DRAY) and then whatever you’d like to order. (“I would like”)
  • Puis je avoir (pwee zhe uh-VWAH) and then what you’d like to order. (“Can I have”)
  • Ou est les toilettes? (You can figure this one out.) — but listen for a response that includes ‘a gauche’ or ‘a droit’ (the former being to the left and the latter to the right). ‘Tout droit’ is straight ahead.

And if nothing else, go for a laugh and say, “J’en peux plus!” which essentially means, “Calgon take me away! I can’t take it anymore!” To pronounce it, say zhahn poo ploo.

The most important thing is to ‘adapt and adjust,’ and carry a spirit of adventure and kindness wherever you go.

More soon. We’re off to Montreux for the day, and as a jazz fan, this is a big deal!