I am in Europe for a few days (almost 2 weeks, really), and as usual, there are some petite observations.
In Austria, a lot of people smoke. You almost forget how it used to be, but a trip here has reminded me of smoking in restaurants and bars. Oh joy. I guess I will not wear this Sweater again on this trip.
There are two types of trips:
- Those that over schedule you: every minute of every day is planned. Of course, reality settles in, and some appointments will shift or be missed. These trips are hectic, often 5 countries in 4 days, no more than one night in a hotel, and guaranteed chaos.
- Those that spread it out too much: Plans change, schedules don’t align, and you find yourself with some downtime. I honestly don’t mind this, because I often can be super productive in these times. Often without internet access, being time shifted so that there is little overlap with the home country. It can be a good thing.
Of course, regardless of the type of trip scheduled, the local team will feel like they failed you if they don’t keep every minute packed.
In all my years of travel I have yet to find a sure fire way to quash jet lag. This time, I was up for 36 hours, and slept great my first night. I felt great the first day. Then last night I was tossing and turning until well past 2:00AM. GRRRRRRR. Alcohol, melatonin, sleeping aids. All tried over the years, and all failed.
Good food though. I usually push to eat local specialties and (usually) am surprised. Here in Austria and Germany, I will eat much meat.
I rarely get to do any real sightseeing. I try to enjoy the weekends, but often I am so frazzled that I collapse in my hotel and just do work. This weekend will be an exception. I will be in London, and I will do some walking around. I have never spent any real time here, just flown in, and then headed north or west depending on the trip.
Shopping. I am not a big shopper. Not much into the kitsch, and souvenirs. I don;t have kids, so no demand to carry stuff back.
Well, it is almost Bier time, and I believe tonight we will be eating schnitzel. Yummy
