Getting Ready for Europe

As vacations go, this one is a biggie. I'll be in Europe for 3 weeks starting Sunday. The first part is business and the last 2 weeks and 2 days are pleasure. I've purchased Eurail passes for me and my wife, made hotel reservations, and purchased airline tickets. You would think that I'm ready to go. I would too except for these nagging worries about how are you going to get around, what are we going to eat, etc., etc.

I guess most travelers learn that it isn't really that hard to get where you want to go and there are hotel rooms where you are going. There really isn't a problem that a high limit on your credit card won't fix. In the back of my mind I know these things. As a matter of fact, if it were just me traveling, I would do the dumbass thing and just go.

The fact is that it is not only me traveling. My wife is going along and she does not deal with uncertanty while traveling. She deals with problems fine and is a real trooper when necessary, but don't push it. That is the main reason that I am doing everything I can to pin down details.

I have made train reservations for every possible trip. I think we are riding abound 15-18 different trains in 2 weeks. We, of course, have plane reservations and tomorrow I must schedule a shuttle to take my wife from the airport to the hotel when she arrives. With a little bit of luck, the whole thing should run like clockwork.

So where are we going? I have business near Frankfurt, Germany, so we start there. As soon as my business is done we move down to Zermatt in Switzerland. That is the area near the Matterhorn and other wonderful scenery. It is a very touristy area which doesn't speak well for our sense of adventure, but hey, we are blazing a lot of new ground here. After Zermatt we head for Venice for a few days and then Rome. We have done Rome before. It was such a mind blowing experience we must go back.

After Rome we are taking an overnight train back through Switzerland and Frankfurt to Assmannsomethingorother. This is an area near Frankfurt on the Main river. There is a castle or two and some hot springs in the area. We rest for a day there before heading home.

I will blog the trip here if I get a chance and an internet connection. I guess they have wi-fi in Europe. We'll see. If not, look for a killer picture post here and at my space at MSN. Just for practice, let me try to post a couple of Rome.



See ya.