European Travel Tips

Living in Switzerland

2006-12-01T03:14:00.000-06:00

Interesting link about unique things about living in Switzerland:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~terry/english/surprising.switzerland.html

Expat Sites

2006-08-27T04:49:00.000-05:00

http://www.expatexchange.com/
http://www.realpostreports.com/

Conversions

2006-06-22T18:02:00.000-05:00

Currency: Oanda

Temperature and Distance: Convert This

Dress Size Convertor: 85b (and more for the ladies!)

Shoe Size Convertor: Zappos

For all your conversion needs: OnlineConversion.com

Buying books in Europe

2006-06-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

Amazon Germany
DHL Packstation (interesting way to receive packages)

Expats in Italy hints on where to buy books in English in Italy

Transportation options in Europe

2006-06-17T03:05:00.000-05:00

Rental Cars:
http://www.renaultusa.com/TravelPartners.asp
http://www.autoeurope.com/buyback.cfm

Train Pass:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/common/how_pass_works.htm

Bringing a pet into European countries

2006-06-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

All EU Countries:

Regulation 998 for the European Union
Microchipping: the microchip must meet the ISO standard (International Organization for Standardization) Annex A, 2.1, ISO # 11785 (website: www.iso.ch). For your information, the HomeAgain microchip from AKC Companion Animal Recovery and the AVID-Eurochip, are manufactured in compliance with Annex A, 2.1, ISO # 11785 and meet the requirements. If your pet will be identified through a microchip which is not in compliance with Anex A, 2.1, ISO # 1785, you can bring your own reader or transponder. (from the Netherlands' site)

Austria
Bringing Domestic Pets into Austria
Require:

Identification Papers - Issued by an official, licensed veterinarian in which is stated that, in accordance to the recommendations of laboratory manufacturers, the animal has been vaccinated against rabies (with an inactivated vaccine containing a coefficient of at least an international antigen, WHO Standard,) or as the case may be, the animal has received a renewed rabies vaccination.
Vetinary Certificate - Each individual animal must have a veterinary certificate as specified by the decision concluded by the Commission 2004/203/EG). This certificate must be completed in German or English by an official licensed veterinarian and, when necessary, certified by a responsible authority.
Marked - Every animal must be marked either with a clear and recognizable tattoo or with a microchip.
Titration - When bringing in dogs, cats and ferrets originating from a third country not subject to the regulations mentioned, one must present a veterinary certificate confirming the determination of titer. Determination of titer must be conducted as follows: Titration of neutralized antibodies in a sample of at least 0.5 IE/ml taken by an authorized veterinarian at least thirty days following the vaccination and three months prior to bringing in the animal. This procedure need not be repeated in a domestic pet receiving a renewed vaccination within the designated time intervals.
Re-entry - In the case of an animal re-entering the country, the animal must have identification papers (vaccination passport with expiration dated July 2005 at the latest, or domestic pet certificate) in which the antibody titration is recorded. The time limit of three months is not valid for the re-entry of a domestic pet whose passport reveals that the titration shows positive results before this animal has left EU territory.

Form: Vetinary Certificate

Germany
Pet animals entering the European Union

identified by a clearly visible tattoo or by a transponder and
be accompanied by a document proving there is an effective vaccination protection against rabies (inactivated vaccine with an efficiency of at least one international antigen unit according to WHO standard, period of validity of the vaccination protection according to the information of the manufacturer).
Form 998 issued by a registered official vet and accompanied by supporting documentation such as a vaccination certificate or the result of the blood test.

Form: Form 998 German

Italy
INSTRUCTION FOR PASSENGER ENTERING ITALY WITH PETS

mandatory to obtain a European Community veterinary certificate
the issue date on the certificate should not exceed 30 days prior the departure date
identifiable by a clearly readable tattoo or an electronic identification system (transponder/microchip), which provides the pet owner’s name and address
Have a valid vaccination against rabies
For animals coming specifically from the United States it is not necessary to subject the animals to the Rabies serological test.
Also mandatory - •A muzzle and a leash for dogs in public places and public transportation

Form: Embassy of Italy Forms (download Form 998 in Italian into Word document)

Netherlands
Travel with Pets To/Through the Netherlands

Veterinary Certificate (see above link for details of required information on certificate; no particular form is necessary as long as it contains this information; can be in English)
Microchip
Rabies vaccination. The United States and Canada are both included in Annex II EC regulation 998/2003, which means that both countries are considered low risk regions for rabies. Therefore no rabies serological test is required.

Form:

Switzerland
SFVO Dogs
United States - "D" Country without urban rabies without a permit:

No permit is required for the import and re-import from countries free from urban rabies – see below list of countries with /without urban rabies – provided that the animals are vaccinated against rabies at least 30 days but not more than 12 months before border crossing. For animals re-vaccinated in regular intervals not exceeding 12 months the 30 day’s waiting period is not applicable.

Novels set in Europe (mostly historical fiction)

2006-06-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

Ones I've read:
Italy
Lucrezia Borgia: A Novel, John Faunce : Currently reading; good so far!

England
The Other Boleyn Girl, Phillipa Gregory
The Queen's Fool, Phillipa Gregory
The Virgin's Lover, Phillipa Gregory

France
The Virgin Blue, Tracy Chevalier
Almost French, Sarah Turnbull

Netherlands
Girl With a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier

Ones on my must read list:
The Agony and the Ecstasy : A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo, Irving Stone (Italy)
The Miracles of Santo Fico: A Novel, Dennis L. Smith
Katherine, Phillipa Gregory

Traveling with a pet

2006-06-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

Taking a dog on an airplane:
American Airline's regulations

Federal Regulations require written certification from the customer that dogs/cats have been offered food and water within 4 hours (with the specific time noted) before delivery to the carrier. This certification must be securely attached to the outside of the kennel so that it may be easily noticed and read and have the customer's signature with the date and time it was signed.

Feeding and watering instructions for a 24-hour period must also be provided. Instructions of "No food or water" are not acceptable unless directed by the attending veterinarian.

Traveling with a dog on the train in Germany (in German): Notes for taking along dog
Translation through Babel Fish

For dogs liable to pay (in the transportation container as hand baggage to be transported cannot) the same prices of transportation as for are raised debtors of children from 6 to under 15 years.
This regulation applies both to the standard price and to the savings prices.
* The taking along of small dogs (up to the size of a hauskatze) in the transport container is free.
* Larger dogs are anzuleinen and must a muzzle carry. Blind leading dogs and Begleithunde of severely disabled humans are excluded from the muzzle obligation.
* With international journeys the child price of transportation 2 is fundamental for dogs. To pay class.
* To night train connections special conditions apply.
* For dogs no seat reservations can be transacted.
* To CityNightLine special conditions apply.
* To the railways special conditions apply for autocourse.

Shopping flights / hotels / cars

2006-06-06T21:19:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite sites for shopping the travel basics are:

SideStep: Find the best bargains
from multiple travel sites. With one search!
Trip Advisor: Hotels are ranked by reviewers. Great way to get inside scoop if a hotel is worth staying at or not.
Better Bidding: Before even thinking of booking through Priceline or Hotwire, get the inside scoop on what you might be getting.
Seat Guru: Trying to decide between two flights? Already booked and wondering where you should sit? Seat Guru gives the inside story of where to sit or where to avoid sitting.
Love my seat: Similar to Seat Guru; the inside scoop on where to sit

Internet Options

2006-06-05T17:27:00.000-05:00

Internet Options:
Internet Point Chain (Italy only)
Easy Internet Cafe (England)
Mail Boxes, Etc. (locations throughout Europe)

Other Options:
libraries

Translating

2006-06-05T00:18:00.000-05:00

Google Language Tools
Specifically helpful when finding a site only in a foreign language - add

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=

to the front of it.

Babelfish Translation (similar to Google's)

Neither Google nor Babelfish are particularly accurate, although good starting points.

For translating or understanding a particular word or phrase, Word Reference is a great site.

Map Programs for Europe

2006-06-04T17:10:00.000-05:00

My favorite program for mapping routes in Europe has become ViaMichelin. It not only provides you driving directions from one destination to another (allowing you to choose between quickest and shortest route), but also calcuates the toll and fuel costs. You can also calculate how long it will take to get somewhere by walking or by bike - very handy in many European cities where driving is less of a necessity.

Google Maps is a great way to zoom in on a location and see satellite pictures of where you are headed. While they also provide directions, they tend to offer more "scenic routes," and their routes take longer than necessary.

http://map.search.ch is Switzerland's own map program. With satellite photos, you can select to see what is nearby your destination of choice, including trains, buses, cafes, cinemas, gas stations and more.

Money, money, money

2006-06-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

Best currency exchange site: XE.com

The foreign transaction fee - more to come...

Trains in Europe

2006-06-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

Germany - die Bahn
Italy - Trenitalia
Swizerland - Swiss train tickets
France - voyages-sncf.com

Swiss Travel System options

Site that discusses train travel in all of Europe - Seat 61

Travel Message Boards

2006-06-04T13:44:00.000-05:00

BootsnAll Travel Community

Slow Travel Talk