Whether or not a country in Europe is using the Euro can get a little complicated. All European Union member states, except Denmark and the United Kingdom, are required to join the euro when they satisfy the convergence criteria set out in the Maastricht treaty. There are economic benchmarks a country must meet in order [...]
European Countries Not in the Euro
June 1st, 2010 · No Comments
Tags: Money Tips
European Countries Using the Euro
May 25th, 2010 · No Comments
On our trip to Europe last year, we visited a lot of countries. We started in England, went to Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, then back up towards Scotland and finished back in England. During that time we used three (four if you count the Pounds from the Bank of Scotland separately from the ones from [...]
Tags: Money Tips
International Restaurant Tipping Guide
May 17th, 2010 · 1 Comment
On our month-long trip to Europe last year, we made stops in a lot of different countries with a lot of different tipping customs. We started in England, went to Ireland, then German, Switzerland, Italy, Scotland, and then back to England again. The United States custom of 15% for good service and 20% for great [...]
Tags: Money Tips
How do you Pronounce Eyjafjallajökull?
April 24th, 2010 · No Comments
Eyjafjallajökull is the name of the volcano on Iceland that shut down European airspace for about a week (see some amazing pictures from The Big Picture) and I bet you have no idea how to pronounce it. How do I know? I listened to the pronunciation about thirty times and I still can’t repeat it! [...]
Tags: Reference
Bed & Breakfasts vs. Hostels: Bacharach
January 18th, 2010 · 1 Comment
Whenever we go on vacation, we’re always looking to save a few dollars whenever we can. We will enjoy everything we want to enjoy, but on the other things we’ll try to minimize cost as much as possible. That’s why we bought International Student Identification Cards (ISIC) to get student prices at attractions and why [...]
Tags: Money Tips
First Slice of Pizza in Italy
January 6th, 2010 · 3 Comments
You know what I love the most about eating food in another country? It’s not that you get to taste the most authentic and delicious of food, you certainly do, but it’s the fact that you don’t have anything specific to do afterwards. There’s no rush to get the bill after you’ve eaten, there’s no [...]
Tags: Journey Notes
Traveling Abroad Phone Options: Skype
December 7th, 2009 · No Comments
While Martha and I were on our trip around Europe last summer, one of our concerns was how to call home to our parents during the month. We considered using phone cards or buying a cell phone, but our decision was made easier when I learned that I could use just use Skype abroad! Skype [...]
Tags: Travel Tips
Save Money with International Student ID Cards
October 30th, 2009 · 1 Comment
One of the classic college experiences is backpacking around Europe. It refers to the big hiking backpacks students would bring on these multi-week long treks around Europe where you could get a ton of culture without spending a ton of money. Frugality was the name of the game because students, in general, don’t have much [...]
Tags: Money Tips
The Macallan Distillery Tour
October 26th, 2009 · 4 Comments
After the Glenlivet Distillery Tour, we grabbed some lunch from a little shop called Fresh in Aberlour, and headed to our scheduled 2PM “Precious Tour” at The Macallan. The Macallan Distillery tour was very similar to other distillery tours, in part because the process of making whisky is mostly the same at every facility. You [...]
Tags: Journey Notes
Asien!
October 21st, 2009 · 1 Comment
We were in the train station at Munich/München when I saw this poster outside a travel agency. Something about it made me laugh, can you guess what that is? My wife got a good laugh and decided to mimic me.
Tags: Journey Notes

