What we have learned in 41 days of travel

What we have learned in 41 days of travel.

By Jay

Please note that the following represents my personal opinion and is not intended to show any animus toward any country or its people and culture. We have nothing but the highest regard and appreciation for our privilege and opportunity to visit these countries and try to always respect the local norms and traditions. No animals were injured in the writing of this dialog.

Padua, Italy is still our favorite. The larger towns that we have visited are full of tourists and everything is expensive. There is a marked increase in the number of Asians traveling in Europe in recent years and far fewer Brits and Americans. Don't expect any theories or explanation here; just an unqualified observation.

Europeans smoke more than Americans and millennials have invented and employed every conceivable mechanism of transportation that does not require walking. The evening stroll is like walking across ten lanes in a bowling alley.

Currency has become more common with the advent of the Euro. Remember traveling with British Pounds, French Francs, German Marks and the Greek Drachma? And carrying and trying to negotiate payment with the American Express Travelers Checks? Well in this trip we have had to negotiate only four non-Euro countries and it's a hoot. Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hungary and Croatia don't use the Euro and the exchange rates are not simply converted. In Hungary we found it extremely important to count the zeroes on different bills and there are many risks in conducting cash transactions. The Croatian Kuna runs between six and seven to one U.S. dollar, not an easy divisor.

Tip from me: Use Visa card whenever and wherever possible and be sure to have the merchant record the sale in the local currency.

Well, having left Padua a few weeks ago, we have found our way to Zagreb, Croatia, which like Padua is a university town and students outnumber tourists by a good margin. Guess what we have learned about that… everything here is much cheaper than any other place we have been on this trip.

Note to travel file: look for university towns in future travel plans.

Students are notoriously poor and the merchants cater to a much more frugal economy. Zagreb has become our second most favorite destination. Of course Zagreb has many more positives than just low cost.  Croatia is beautiful in its people, culture and history.

My next writing is going to focus on history.

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