A whole long while back, I mentioned that I wanted to put together a guide of travel advice, and now I finally have. Hope this is helpful if you’re planning a trip to somewhere new!
Planning
Brain-dump a list of anything you want to see or do at your destination: recommendations from friends, your bucket list, suggestions from travel blogs and guidebooks. Then look up each location and write down opening days and hours as well as costs. Note that in certain countries, opening hours may be affected by religious, political, or seasonal holidays, so call to double-check if you can’t find this information online.
Sort activities by location and plan daily schedules and walking routes that seem to make sense. Check Tripadvisor for sample day itineraries (read reviews) and Rick Steves guidebooks, especially the self-guided walking tours. Once you trim out religious sites, restaurants, and night life, you will probably need less time than typical online itineraries suggest, just FYI. Remember to leave a few hours to get to the airport on your last day.
Plan day trips if relevant. Check train schedules and purchase tickets in advance when possible. Double-check location of train stations in relation to your hotel; some large cities have multiple stations.
Allow for wiggle room. Life happens. Better to relax and just be than give yourself a fever trying to tour two museums and a palace while fighting jet lag. As my mother reminds me, “Tofastoh merubah, lo tofastoh.”
About choosing accommodations: You might want a hotel room with microwave and refrigerator, if you aren’t eating most meals out. Call the hotel to confirm that EVERY room has one if advertised. Ask your rav how to kasher the microwave to make it usable.
Call credit card companies and your bank with travel dates so you don’t run into trouble using your cards while you’re away.
Packing
Food: Please note that officially the EU does NOT allow meat or dairy products in but as far as I know isn’t tough on enforcement. However, it is a possibility that your meat/dairy products may be confiscated so be sure to have a back-up plan and other proteins!
Some ideas: frozen microwave meals like Mendelsohn’s, shelf-stable microwave meals like Meal Mart’s, canned goods with flip-tabs, peanut butter, tuna packets, deli. (You can buy fruits, vegetables, and bottled water at your destination. Also, it would have been cool, not to mention helpful, to have the European “kosher list.”)
Shabbos food: If you have access to a kosher grocery like Pomegranate or Seasons, they can pack double-wrapped meals to heat in the microwave (or oven if you’ll have). These travel meals typically come with generous portions of a main dish and two sides and cost about $25-30 per meal as of this writing. We did this for Shabbos, heated two of them right before Shabbos, wrapped them in a towel, and had them after davening kabbolas Shabbos. We had a third meal to split, plus Friday night leftovers, which we ate at room temperature Shabbos day. The servings were really generous – we actually had Shabbos leftovers on Sunday!
Shabbos essentials to pack along: grape juice, kiddush cup, paper goods, challah or matzah, salt, havdalah set, electric candlesticks for Friday night (ask your rav if this is necessary), benchers, tablecloth.
Pack lots of Ziploc bags, disposable containers, and shopping bags for packing food for day trips.
Bring Lysol wipes to clean out the microwave and fridge before you use them.
Bring a money belt (yes!) to carry your ID, credit cards, and extra cash.
Remember:
Charger/adapter for phones, and check that appliances can handle European voltage
Sunglasses
Journals
Backpacks
Extra memory card for camera if you bring a separate camera
Binoculars
And – photocopy your passport. Leave one copy at home and one in your hotel safe.
Safety first:
Write down contact information for the American embassy/consulate and the Jewish community center/Chabad in each city you’ll be visiting. Also include the address, contact information, and check-in/check-out dates of each hotel you’ll be staying in. Print one copy of all this info to keep with you and leave one copy at home. Also print copies of your flight itineraries and leave one at home and one in your hotel safe.
Print copies of your daily schedule and keep one on each of you and one in your hotel room.
On the Ground
Scout your hotel for Shabbos shailos: automatic lights, electric lock on hotel room door, electric sliding doors to the hotel, fridge light.
Grab a subway map. European large cities have terrific public transportation.
Always have tissues and hand sanitizer with you when you’re out.
Try to go to shul on Shabbos. I have done this in Venice and Madrid (:-) ). We met the locals and other tourists from all over and you can’t beat the feeling of coming together with your people in a new place. Security is tight in most European cities and it is a good idea to visit the shul before Shabbos to show your passport to the security guard, or you may not be allowed in on Shabbos.
Take time to just savor being in a new place. People-watch. Shop for groceries in the local stores. Don’t be afraid to ditch part of your schedule and just meander around and bask in the fun of being abroad. Now whenever you hear about this place in the news or read about it in a book, you’ll know what it really looks and feels like.
What travel advice do you have?
