Tag: Europe

Why Don’t You Need To Show Your Passport When Visiting Multiple European Countries?

When Sharon and I traveled to Austria, we flew from London and had a connection in Berlin before heading to Salzburg. I’ve been on international connecting flights before so I was expecting to “transit” in Germany, meaning I wouldn’t go through immigration control until we arrived in Austria. I was a bit surprised that the immigration booth was at the end of the jetway, before we could even enter the terminal. There was one line for EU and Schengen passengers and another line for everyone else. I had no idea what Schengen is but I knew it wasn’t me. I later found out that this is why we didn’t have to go through passport control when arriving in Austria, which was a bummer as we really wanted that passport stamp.

So what does Schengen mean anyway?

Continue reading “Why Don’t You Need To Show Your Passport When Visiting Multiple European Countries?”

Is This Bank Sexist?, When NOT To Go To A Hotel, Something For Free If You Use Mastercard, & More!

Happy Sunday to all of our travel friends, both near and far! Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.

Continue reading “Is This Bank Sexist?, When NOT To Go To A Hotel, Something For Free If You Use Mastercard, & More!”

Why Are So Many Airlines Going Bankrupt?

Over time, there have been plenty of airlines that have either merged with, or been taken over by others. People Express merged with Continental (which later got taken over by United). AmericaWest merged with U.S. Air (which was later taken over by American) TWA was also acquired by American, while Northwest Orient was taken over by Delta.

All of those, and more, came about relatively slowly, over the decades. Yet since 2017, years, several airlines, mainly European ones, have wound up declaring bankruptcy. Thomas Cook Airlines is just the latest in a long but very recent line of airline failures. Adria. Aigle Azur. Airberlin. Cobalt. Monarch. Wow. XL Airways.

It can lead you to ask the question: why are so many airlines going bankrupt? Welp, here’s an explanation:

Continue reading “Why Are So Many Airlines Going Bankrupt?”

Are These The 100 Most Interesting Places To Go and Things To Do In the Next 12 Months?

Sometimes when people travel, they have a set destination in mind. Other times they need a little inspiration – they may check out all those influencers on Instagram, or ask for advice and opinions on a travel themed Facebook like ours.

However, Wonderlust, a relatively new (less than 2 years old) aspirational online travel publication founded by Bob Guccione, Jr., could be the latest thing to potentially help with you the questions of, “Where should I go next?” and “What should I do?” They’ve just come out with their list of the 100 most interesting places to go (or as they describe it, the most “fascinating, absorbing, extraordinary, beautiful and sometimes startling places and suggestions of experiences to have.”) and although some of them definitely sound visit-worthy, others I’m just kind of scratching my head.

Continue reading “Are These The 100 Most Interesting Places To Go and Things To Do In the Next 12 Months?”

Traveling Internationally & Need Cash? Don’t Get Ripped Off By These ATMs

When Joe and I travel internationally, we rarely use cash anymore. There are very few places that are “cash only,” so we use credit cards for virtually all of our expenses, making sure that we use cards that don’t charge a foreign transaction fee.

However lots of people, for whatever their reasons, still like to pay cash, and many get their cash from local ATMs.

Unfortunately, there are bunches of ATMs, especially in Europe, that are rigged to take advantage of international travelers. Watch this:

Continue reading “Traveling Internationally & Need Cash? Don’t Get Ripped Off By These ATMs”