Travel hacks and advice

[summit]

Taking the train from FRA? Is it part of your Luftwaffe ticket

[riser4]

Sorry, I can't resist. I refer to Lufthansa as Luftwaffe. It's a dumb joke from when I was probably 12. I am stunted.

[old goat]

In the past I've had great coffee in Europe. This last trip--mostly Germany but also France and Belgium every place had those machines where you press a button and whatever coffee drink you want comes out. Acceptable but not stellar.

[summit]

1 euro espresso pulls were the norm every time I was there.

Drip coffee is a new world thing. Euros do like their "americanos" and nespressos. You can buy all the nespresso packets you want.

[NBABUCKS1]

yeah tough to get drip in the eurozone and asia (only places i've visited). Like zzz said i'm a quantity guy (I drink half caf to keep caffeine amount regulated at home) , so I go for the americano.

[alpinevibes]

Any tips for flying to Africa for cheap from the East coast?

Even driving to NYC to fly Kenya air or some of the others shows nothing going off peak in January. Can fly to Japan Direct for cheaper.

Are you going to Kenya or somewhere else? We just flew miles last year to Portugal and then bought $100/seat RyanAir seats down to Morocco in March. We flew United from Aspen to Nairobi and back from Mozambique to Aspen in 2017 for 90,000 miles each, R/T. Mileage costs have surely increased, but it's not a bad way to go if you have time to plan. Otherwise, look for cheaper flights to Dubai, Doha or Istanbul as they are major hubs for Asia/Africa flights. Houston-Lagos is a big transit line for United and others, if you could get a cheap flight to IAH and then from Lagos to your destination, though Lagos airport can be a bit of a shitshow.

[californiagrown]

In Yurp you can’t throw a rock without hitting a cheap coffee. I love the espresso vending machines you can find

Ive been to yurp a handful of times, and it sure is nice to have a pickmeup in my bag on the taxi/bus/train/car ride, or trying to navigate a quick airport layover or public transport on a tight schedule in a foriegn language, or in my hotel room before i go out, etc.The viva is for emergencies where you are crashing/have crashed and need something stat so you can function and get through the next hour, not meant to be a replacement for real coffee when real coffee is readily available.

And for me personally, if i am not getting really good coffee, i will always just pick the cheapest/quickest version of coffee. If its less than really good, i am strictly in it for the drug effect.


My other travel "hack" is commonly known, but making the majority of your clothing wool will let you bring less clothes. Even underwear and socks- just bring a shampoo bottle of detergent and wash a pair in the sink each night to let dry a day or two and then repeat. Wool clothing will really cut down on the amount of clothes needed and/or the laundry you need to do.

[Foggy_Goggles]

How do you heat the water to make the emergency coffee? Seriously. Are you just mixing it cold. If so, I'd suggest chocolate cover espresso beans

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[skaredshtles]

<snip> I'd suggest chocolate cover espresso beans

[riser4]

Ive been to yurp a handful of times, and it sure is nice to have a pickmeup in my bag on the taxi/bus/train/car ride, or trying to navigate a quick airport layover or public transport on a tight schedule in a foriegn language, or in my hotel room before i go out, etc.The viva is for emergencies where you are crashing/have crashed and need something stat so you can function and get through the next hour, not meant to be a replacement for real coffee when real coffee is readily available.

And for me personally, if i am not getting really good coffee, i will always just pick the cheapest/quickest version of coffee. If its less than really good, i am strictly in it for the drug effect.


My other travel "hack" is commonly known, but making the majority of your clothing wool will let you bring less clothes. Even underwear and socks- just bring a shampoo bottle of detergent and wash a pair in the sink each night to let dry a day or two and then repeat. Wool clothing will really cut down on the amount of clothes needed and/or the laundry you need to do.

I'm super lazy. For me, not owning wool already, this is a lot of work. I'd rather pack five days worth and hit up the laundry once on a ten day trip. I never was into ultralight backpacking either, so maybe there's a connection. However, yes, I can see how this would be a space saver and it's a good tip. It's definitely good if you are not going to be able to arrange easy access to a laundry place.

[californiagrown]

How do you heat the water to make the emergency coffee? Seriously. Are you just mixing it cold. If so, I'd suggest chocolate cover espresso beans

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

yep. pour into whatever water you have available. I have a pavlovian response to the taste/smell of coffee (like many folks) so i prefer coffee for my caffeine... caffeine pills would be even more convenient though if coffee isnt your jam.

Chocolate doesnt travel well, the beans take up too much space compared to a viva packet or two, etc. If thats your preferred method and you make it work easily, go for it though.

[muted reborn]

Hot tip - after they change your gate twice, on the third time they change it - don't presume that change must be YOUR flight, be sure to check it's not some other flight to the same location. United let us onto this wrong flight and I had a nice kerfufful trying to see why our seats were taken. Backing out of a plane being loaded with my kids sucks and is a well deserved walk of shame. Also, sorry to the guy I repeatedly hit in the face with my 30 pound pack as I was kerfuffulling about. I was a travel gaper this weekend, what can I say.

[m2711c]

that’s uniteds fuckup, not yours.

[muted reborn]

that's not what the wife told me, ha.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Yeah, but it's also. I'm annoyingly friendly to staff and always ask the flight attendent on the plane, "we are going to Geneva right?".

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[The AD]

The viva is for emergencies

FYI, Starbucks' instant coffee is called Via, not Viva. It's not great, but it sure is convenient.

[californiagrown]

I'm super lazy. For me, not owning wool already, this is a lot of work. I'd rather pack five days worth and hit up the laundry once on a ten day trip. I never was into ultralight backpacking either, so maybe there's a connection. However, yes, I can see how this would be a space saver and it's a good tip. It's definitely good if you are not going to be able to arrange easy access to a laundry place.

Haha ironically, i went the wool route BECAUSE im super lazy lol. Well, some would say lazy, i might say efficient. Like any wardrobe, the key is to build it up over time so you dont break the bank up front, but then if you bought quality, its cheaper over the lifespan.

[rudy]

Yeah, but it's also. I'm annoyingly friendly to staff and always ask the flight attendent on the plane, "we are going to Geneva right?".

But it sounds like in this case the anser would have been "yes, we are going to Geneva"

[El Chupacabra]

We used to bring a little bottle of woolite for sink laundry. Switched to the sheet type laundry detergent - lighter, smaller, no leak possible. Just tear off a little bit for a sink load.

Wool isn't needed for quick drying. I bring synthetic button shirts (travel clothes, kind of like hiking or fishing clothes but blend in anywhere), hiking shorts and pants, and usual underwear and socks. Synthetics don't wrinkle so no ironing needed. And wicking, so nice in hot climate.

For sink laundry, wring out whatever is durable enough to wring, then lay it flat on a towel. Roll up the towel with shirt (or whatever item) inside, and twist wring the towel, hard. This forces out most of the water into the towel, and clothes will be dry overnight. Get more towels from housekeeping or the pool area. Hang clothes on hangers in the path of the heater or A/C airflow. This method works even for cotton socks, they just take a little longer - short ankle height socks have less material than longer, and dry faster.

[zion zig zag]

The good thing about wool vs synthetic is smell. I can wear a wool t shirt for several days with no smell.


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[The AD]

I'm definitely sold on merino wool long underwear. Polypropylene gets stinky so fast in comparison. The downside is definitely the cost.

[zion zig zag]

The good thing about wool vs synthetic is smell. I can wear a wool t shirt for several days with no smell.


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[californiagrown]

The good thing about wool vs synthetic is smell. I can wear a wool t shirt for several days with no smell.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

yep. wool dries slower, doesnt wick as well and is more fragile than synthetics. But synthetics, through some petroleum magic, manage to magnify and multiply stank... while wool mutes and mitigates stank. Sure you would do a small load of laundry every night to keep your synthetics smelling aight, but who wants to do that? I prefer to ski, eat, drink, be merry and then pass the fuck out only to wake up with clothes smelling none the worse.

good tip on the sheet detergent though, didnt know about that.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> Polypropylene gets stinky so fast in comparison.

But if you're traveling to Europe... does this even matter?

[Danno]

yeah, the idea that wool saves space and time because you can wash it daily is weird to me. Synthetics are easier to wash and dry. Wool saves space and time because it doesn't stink and can be worn more days in a row before washing. At least that is how it works for me.