What to Bring on a Trip: Kids Perspective

Whenever anybody goes on a trip, the first thing that they think about is clothes and of course, money and passports. Our family was going to be staying in Italy for three months so the first thing we, the kids,  thought of was: Entertainment

For us the main entertainment is of course the traveling, but what about when we have down time? For this specific time we brought four main things to do:

The first thing that we brought was card games/deck building games. We brought three of them in a card box so we could fit dominion along. Our personal favorites include: Love letter, Dominion, Guillotine, Curses, Farkle.

The second thing we brought was Kindles to read on. Everyone in our family enjoys reading so we of course brought an easy way to read books on long travels.

The third thing we brought was DS and iPads. What kid doesn't love video games? Although we don't get to use them that often due to not having enough adapters.

The last thing that we brought was the main thing that none of us like to do. Can you guess what it is? That's right (if you guessed correct. If not.. well,you're wrong). It's homework. Our parents didn't want us to fall behind in our schooling so we brought along workbooks and online passwords for the textbooks. We try as hard as we can to keep up with the lessons as we can. The main problem with that is we were using our school emails to communicate and they took those away so we cant rely on those. But otherwise, our homework and study habits have stayed under control.

Garbage is Funny

When we arrived in Italy the first thing we were shown in our apartment was the trash bags.  Italy has a system of recycling that I have never seen before.  It is quite tricky at first.  Yet after awhile I wonder why we don't do this in the U.S.

Okay so they have this nifty chart that lists how you are supposed to throw things away and then you have to coordinate the type of trash with the color and type of bag.

Okay are you confused?  Yes so were we.

It has gotten quite funny though as you stand in front of the 6 different containers and wonder where do you throw away a band aid.  We have had several times where we have voted where things should go.

Also you get fined if they find you are putting the trash in the wrong place and you can only have one bag a week.  Well we have 6 of us and so we are trying to figure out how to manage this.  We thought we would try to put some in our neighbors various trash cans (It is just one man living next door), but when we went to check our can was already half full before we put anything in it.

You see our neighbors (other random people) had already thought of this.  We laughed and then wondered how we would manage such a task as garbage.  I think the idea to separate out the trash and recycle is a great idea, but maybe a policy that is in place for bigger families (maybe they already have this and I just don't know about it yet.) I know Italians have this down and it is like second nature for them, perhaps we will have it become second nature to us as well.

Driving in Europe: Austria Edition

Here’s where I provide my own cautionary tale so others don’t have to make the same mistake I did. This past weekend, we decided to set out for Salzburg Austria (as, undoubtedly, you will have figured out by the plethora of blog posts about Austria that you’ll be seeing in the next few days).

In getting our preparations together, we planned our route, our place to stay, and all of our activities. We had everything covered…everything except for one thing. And it could have been avoided if we did a simple search online for “Driving in Austria”. So without further ado, the highs and lows of driving in Austria. We’ll start with the low, because pretty much everything else was a high:

The Autobahn Vignette

In the US, we pay for tolls on the road as we drive. Lanes that require a sticker are clearly marked. This is not the case in Austria. Driving from Italy through the Brenner Pass (which is amazing) and just past Innsbruck, the Austria Autobahn requires a sticker, called a Vignette, to drive the roads. It’s a basic sticker that costs 8 Euro for 10 days. Not pricey at all. The problem is, it isn’t terribly clear that you need one, unless you’re fluent in German, of course. I only happened upon it searching information about a location we hoped to visit. The penalty for not having a sticker is steep: 120 Euro steep ($156). It took me 2 days to figure it out too (so 240 Euro steep for me).  The way they catch you? Cameras. Or at least, you hope they catch you with cameras, because if a cop pulls you over, they can demand 200 Euro in cash on the spot, plus the ticket you will get in the mail later. I can be grateful that I probably only have 1 or 2 pictures coming in the mail, and that the police didn’t notice my naivete. Apparently, the Vignette is also required in Switzerland, Slovenia, and Germany, among others.

Now on to the high points…

Side of the Road Wonders

Driving across country in the US usually reveals side of the road rest stops and deserted gas stations. However, in Europe, rest stops and deserted gas stations are replaced with deserted castles and rest “villages”. The drive from Italy to Austria also includes trips through the Dolomites and Alps. Plenty of side of the road photo ops, or if you’re like us, out the window photo ops.

 

Driving (and Drivers) on the Autobahn

If you listen to Rick Steves, you’ll avoid the Autobahn because he makes it into a hair-raising experience. If you’re like me, however, you’ll look forward to every chance to use the Autobahn, because you’ll find the best drivers in the world on it. I’m not kidding either. The rules are simple, if you’re slow, stay in the right lane. If you’re slow in the left lane, you get over. If you don’t get over, you deserve to be honked at or at least have lights flashed at you. And the best part, everyone gets it. Not once did I mutter out loud my usual rants in the car while driving in the US: “Get out of the way!” “Why are you going so slow” or, most importantly, “At least go the SPEED LIMIT!” (any one who has driven in the Midwest will appreciate that one). Even better, trucks are not allowed in the fast lane! The Autobahn is a perfect system where fast drivers can enjoy their freedom in the left lane and slow drivers can do whatever it is they do in the right.

Speaking of drivers, there’s one peculiar thing missing from the Autobahn that we regularly see on US Freeways: Skid marks. That’s right, I didn’t see one skid mark (and broken light fragments were curiously absent as well). Either the Austrians reallyknow how to clean a highway, or people are more attentive while driving. I suspect it’s the latter.

No Speed Limit

This is a bit of a myth, there are speed limits on the Autobahn, but there are also stretches where the speed limit isn’t restricted. In fact, instead of having signs that indicate the new speed limit, the signs indicate when the old speed limit is over. My GPS told me that those “no speed limit” stretches had a limit of 130 km/hr, but I can tell you that I had cars pushing me much faster than that…What can I say, when in Rome (or Austria)…

Stop Lights

Now this doesn’t have anything to do with the Autobahn, but Curls and I noticed something very efficient about traffic lights in Austria. Green lights begin to blink when they’re about to go to yellow, and even better, the light turns yellow when it’s going from red to green (just like in races). There’s no guessing, you know when to start revving your engine (and believe me, everyone does on the yellow light). Curls and I both agreed that the US should adopt this as soon as humanly possible.

Gas prices and Cost

I put this under the good side of driving despite the fact that you pay 1.29-1.59 Euro per liter (not per gallon). Cars here have much better gas mileage than in the US. For example, we drove from the Treviso Italy area to Salzburg (5 hours of driving) on a half tank of gas (which is about Euro 40). I don’t care how you slice the gallons to liters ratio, that kind of mileage and price is unheard of in the US.  Also, another highlight of Austria is gas is much cheaper there. 1.29 in Salzburg vs. 1.59 in Treviso.

In the end, the cost to drive from Treviso to Salzburg was 18 Euro in tolls and a tank of gas (about 70 Euro). For 6 people, that’s much better than taking the train.

 

Overall, driving the Autobahn was more than a bucket list thing, it was invigorating. It would’ve been even better had I done a little homework about the Vignettes beforehand.

Mozart and Mozart Balls: Salzburg is Mozart Crazy!

In Austria people are crazy about Mozart...and even crazier about Mozart balls. Mozart balls are creamy chocolate delight with a flavorsome inside. They have Mozart balls in all different packages. But Mozart balls are very expensive in the main stores. If you go to the market near the cathedral they sell Mozart balls 3 for 10 Euros. But if you go to a Hofer (which is Aldi in the US), you can get a packet of 10 for 3 Euros. Personally, I think the Mozart balls are delicious. They're not overrated just because they have Mozart on them. My younger brother wanted them so bad on the way there he was singing about Mozart balls. My brother thought Mozart balls make the world go round.  

Of course, there is more to Salzburg than Mozart balls. The old town is breathtaking.  There are so many places you can see. My favorite is the Mozart house. I love the Mozart house because it has some of his personal things. They had his wallet, his violin when he was 6, his personal pictures, and even a piece of his hair! 

Laundry

This is something that I worried about before we came to Europe.  I was told that they don't use dryers.  I even changed my kids' wardrobes to easy dry materials just because of this.  A family of 6 with no dryer, yep that would be tricky.

Okay, so the logistics.  We have a washer in our apartment.  Thank you host University.  However, it takes time to wash.

Now when I say time I mean 2 hours to wash one load.  Yep, 2 hours and my neighbor tells me it takes her 3 hours so I guess I am lucky for 2 hours.

The first time I did a load of laundry I thought I had done something wrong.  I don't read Italian washer settings that well and thought I had just read it wrong.  However, when I checked with the office because no way could it take 2 hours, they told me that was about right.

We must plan to do laundry now and I think I have figured it out.  I do one load in the morning and one load at night when we go to bed.  The washers are smaller here as well.

Okay now on to the I want.  I want a dryer.  Yep, we hang our laundry out to dry.  Well, this would be okay with just 2 people, but with a family of 6 it can get tricky.  Plus it has rained almost everyday we have been here.

We have learned to dry on our deck and in our apartment.  One time we had two loads hanging in our apartment with a fan on.  In the sun outside it takes about 4 hours to dry in the apartment on a rainy day about 12 hours.

 Yep to get a load done it can take about 14 hours total.  I want a dryer.  I can go to the next town over and I can dry a load for about $6, but the budget girl that I am knows we will only do this if I have to.

Chef C told me he doesn't like to wear rough clothes.  A dryer makes clothes soft and fluffy.  Chef C is my laundry guy.  He helps me hang the laundry and fold it.  Chef C did say though he likes folding laundry better in Italy because it is already in half on the line all he has to do is fold it one more time and done.  We will adjust to crunchy clothes.

Hellbrunn Palace: An Amazingly Wet Experience

Of all the places we visited in Salzburg, Austria, my favorite sight was Hellbrunn Palace. After seeing so many serious (yet enjoyable) places, Hellbrunn was surprisingly fun. 

The Hellbrunn Palace was built for Salzburg's Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems. He used the place as a summer palace and as a way to entertain and house parties for the guests, especially those who had what they referred to as the "trendy illness": Melancholy. 

The whole site is today is a nice break from the normal site seeing in Salzburg—the tour guides make sure you get your money’s worth, especially with the trick fountains.  Now you might think, “Oh this is just like a water park where you can play in fountains coming up from the ground.” Not with these fountains. The tour guide controls the water to spray unsuspecting tourists. My advice? If the ground is wet where you’re walking, then protect your camera!

Another piece of advice, pay close attention to the parts of the tour where the sites are the most beautiful. It’s an easy trap: Tourists whip out their cameras and snap pictures while the tour guide turns on the fountains unnoticed! Here's one where the tour guide set me and my brothers up. She said to pay close attention to the mechanical show in front of us (a song from Mozart's Don Giovanni), and while we were paying attention, she blasted us. You'll notice that I planned ahead and wore my rain jacket!

Not to worry though, the guides usually save their hijinks for unsuspecting kids, rather than adults with expensive cameras.  My siblings and I were the only ones that wanted to get wet in our tour group so at each station, the tour guide targeted us!

Overall the experience was amazing, even if we did end up drying off for the next hour.

On Agriturisme and the Best Italian we have EVER eaten

Before coming to Italy, we had heard about the Agriturisme--the farm homes that rent out rooms and feed their visitors with homemade goodness straight from their farms. On Thursday night, we had our first taste of an Agriturismo, and it was even better than we were expecting. A little place only a few minutes away from the small town we're living in, our Host University paid for us to enjoy a dinner there. 

Over the next 3 hours, we enjoyed every possible bit of Italian goodness from homemade gnocchi, to grilled vegetables, the best meat you could imagine, and a semi-freddo pastry that has no equal in the U.S. Needless to say, eating Italian in the US will never be good enough again! 

We didn't get many pictures since we were too busy enjoying the food. In fact, Curls kept telling me to take pictures of the boys with their food, but every time I'd stop eating to take a picture, it was usually too late. So here's the best I could get: