European Travel This or That: A Fun Guide to Destinations, Food and Culture

Airbnb or hotel? Train, plane, or rental car? Tip or no tip? In this episode, we play a rapid-fire game of This or That - debating the best (and worst) ways to travel around Europe. As two Americans living in the Netherlands, we’ve got opinions and stories from real life on the road. We cover everything from public transit and shoulder season to drinking tap water and what to wear in churches. It’s fast, fun and full of travel wisdom.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hello and welcome back. I'm Lisa. And I'm Erin. And this is the Getaway Podcast. I know it's not Friday for listeners, but happy Friday. It's exciting. It's been a long week. It's been a long week. And we are getting ready for Easter. We're going to be decorating the house, putting up our Easter tree this weekend. And it's finally feeling like spring.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

It's like 20 degrees tomorrow, I think.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Yeah, it's really, really nice. And yeah, I'm going to get outside and work in the yard and like start to sort of wake up from a long winter's nap. I'm ready. But today we're going to shake it up a little bit on the podcast. We're going to play a little game. Okay. You ready? I'm ready. Let's play this or that. Okay. Of which you prefer, why? Yada yada yada.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

All right. Should we just dive in? Dive in. Airbnb or hotel? Hotel.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

I love Airbnbs and it works best for us. But I love the idea of a hotel where you don't have to clean, you don't have to think about anything. Everything's just right there.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Yeah. See, that was a little complicated for me because I like to unpack. And you can do that on an Airbnb when you I mean you can at a hotel, but usually what we do is stay at an Airbnb for longer periods of time, right? So that we can have the kitchen, we can cook, we have the space, and we're also all together as opposed to being in two separate hotel rooms. And Airbnbs tend to be better with the four-legged friend as well. But that said, when we stay at a hotel, it's usually for like in transit one way or the other, or for somewhere for just a night or two, because usually Airbnbs tend to be two plus minimums, two nights or more for a minimum. But I always look forward to a hotel. I mean, I just the not having to like clean up, having somebody that's gonna make your bed, having like the restaurant and the bar downstairs, people to ask questions, like all of that really, really is a convenience that you kind of miss if you're only in Airbnb's, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:03

No, I I agree with that. I I guess I say hotels because sometimes we'll do a splurge. And those are the nice ones. Those are the ones that I look forward to, especially.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Yeah, but we always stay, I mean, we don't go less than four stars. So we're not staying in dumps ever. And um, there are so many options for really nice or decent at least hotels that allow dogs that it makes it really nice and easy. I agree. So Airbnb has made in some of the big cities in Europe, has made restrictions on how many Airbnbs there can be. So I feel like that might be something that's kind of dissipating a bit in the big cities, but you can still find them in the smaller cities and outside and the outskirts of these big cities. So you kind of just have to dig around a little bit more to figure out where you want to be and what the options are.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

I will say I got on a TikTok algorithm of Airbnb nightmares. We've never really had an Airbnb. We've had some dirty places that we didn't love, so we left and we had a place that seemed weird because my name is Franz. It's pronounced Franz.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Well, you got to tell the whole story.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

He was a clock fixer and he c he worked right upstairs from our Airbnb, but he worked from like midnight to 6 a.m. in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

Right above my room. But but when we met him, he said, We're like, Oh, hi, you know, I'm Lisa, she's Aaron. And he's like, he sticks his head out hand out and says, Um, I'm it wasn't Franz. No, Hans? It was something like that. And um, and he goes, But in English, it's Hans. And we both look at each other and are trying so hard not to just crack up because it was like, well, in German it's Hans, but in English, it's Hans.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

I nearly died. It was a tiny, tiny, tiny village in Switzerland. And it was lovely.

SPEAKER_02 3:52

And his house was lovely for what we needed it for. Yeah, it worked as long as you didn't mind it quickly crack all night long. Uh anyway, moving on. Okay, drive, train, or fly. I mean, I'm gonna say car because, well, A, it's better for Rex. But B, it's nice to see the countryside and sort of drive and like there's a lot to be told about a country and an area by the rest stops.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

The rest stops in Europe, well, not all of Europe, the rest stops, our first experience with European restaurants was in Italy. And they are like a fine dining experience. They have the best paninis, they have pizza. It's it's chaotic and stressful, especially the first few years, but it is the best food. It's it's just as good as food as going to a restaurant. And then we've we found that Austria has very good rest stop food.

unknown 4:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

So wait, but going back to Italy for a second, the the chaos is an understanding the process, right? Because you you have to go if you're getting something from behind the counter, you have to go choose what you want, remember the name, go and pay for everything, and then go back and actually give them your receipt so that they bring you your food. So if you don't know that going in, you're kind of lost in space.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

And in the summer, especially, it is packed. Yeah. So not only are you lost in space, you you can't figure out where to go, what to do, especially if you don't live in Italy or know have a grasp on the language at all, which we didn't for the first year and a half. You don't know how to say the words. And they're in a hurry. And everybody's in a hurry. But that said, best rest stops in the world. All right, your choice? My choice, I like to drive because I like the rest stops. I like being able to go at our own pace. I like being able to stop wherever we want. I like having a car at every destination we're at. So we have no constraints. Uh the con to that is sometimes if you're staying in a bigger city, figure out parking. We carry a big uh luggage box on top of our car. And in France, especially, parking lots are very low. So it uh because they're all underground. So it's you gotta plan ahead a little bit, but I would definitely say drive.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Okay. And then train is definitely, you know, it's hard with Rex. So we don't train like far, far. We you know, stick to within that we just like an hour radius of where we are. We'll train it. Um, but there are a lot of benefits to train. It it tends to be a little bit less expensive depending on what country you're in. And obviously you can just relax and don't have to think about anything. The things to be aware of on the train is there have been a bit of an increase in luggage theft. So um so you have to be careful of that. Either keep an eye on them. I've seen people now having those um little bike locks, rope locks, yeah, and they do it to the pool um so that their luggage is safe. Um but the the drawback, I guess, I think with flying and train is what you just said that you don't have a car once you're there, and depending on where you are, you might need one. But there are some other options for that with the car sharing, and you can rent a car if you have an international driver's license in most countries.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Yeah, I will say most places don't check for an international driver's license, but it's easy to get cheap, just have them because there are some places like Poland that it's just non-negotiable. Right.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

And like you said, it's easy. You can go to like triple A in the US and it's like 20 bucks or something. Yeah, it's yeah, and you get it on the spot. Um, all right, so that sort of covers there's pros and cons to each, but car would be my my main.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

What I will say, if we didn't have a dog living in Europe with Ryanair and EasyJet, you can get to places like you went to Poland from Italy for like 14 euro.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

Round trip.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Yeah, you can get you can get to places all over Europe really cheap.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

Very cheap.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Um, okay, you ready? Yep. Winter or summer travel? Summer. I love Europe in the winter. I do tend to get stressed out about road conditions because it's very mountainous and icy. I would say winter because I love the Christmas vibe. I you really prefer winter over like our I mean maybe it's just I've been spoiled now trying to adapt the European lifestyle and take one month vacations that a month at the sea is like there's nothing better.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Yeah, see, yeah. I mean I don't I love them both, but but I love Christmas.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

And I love cold.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

So that said, do you think that spring or fall is better than winter and summer?

SPEAKER_02 8:49

I think spring and fall are both a little bit better just because they're going to be easier to travel. Like it's less crowded, it's a little bit less expensive if you're coming from far. It's easier to pack. Um, it's easier to sort of navigate. Like you don't have to worry about ice, you don't have to worry about snow, you don't have to worry about extreme heat. So probably that's the best time to travel. And I think definitely if you're going to the big cities, those times are gonna allow you more flexibility in where you go, how you go, how much leeway you have in planning. Um and they're great too. I mean, the the colors in fall is fantastic, and the flowers in spring is fantastic. It's just for me, it's just a vibe.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

I get it. I get it. I don't really have a I think the glory of living here is is we're here in spring and fall. So I don't really have a preference over any season and far as far as that goes. Um, all right, it's my turn or your turn?

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Yours.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

All right, tip or no tips.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Well, no tip. In most of Europe, you are not expected to tip. If you want to pay in cash or you have like a pocket full of change and you want to throw something on the table, like great, that's lovely. But you certainly don't need to leave the typical American tip, except for the Czech Republic, who is pretty adamant on a it's not, it's still not the same. I think it's 10%. Um, but you can double check online before you go just to make sure that that's right. But the main countries in mainland Europe do not expect a tip at all.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

I will say that is true, except what I will say is we have come into many places where we ate in a tourist area, and they straight out put the tip bill in front of you and and there's a tip option, and they say, which tip do you want to leave? And they really try to pressure you.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

And more times than not, there's a service fee already included in your bill, which will be like two or three euro a person. So that covers that. So yeah, just if if you're in a tourist area and they're asking, just be aware of the fact that you do not you're not expected to do it. They're thinking that you're an American that doesn't know what the customs are in the place that you're at, basically.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

I I've got another one just to add on to that. Ice or no ice.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Well, I'm not the right person for that because I don't care one way or the other. Usually I want things warmer than colder.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

You should just be prepared.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Ice isn't like a common thing in drinks here. Um okay, this is something we didn't know, but we learned very, very quickly. Shoulders or knees.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Um one of my favorite things here is to go into old churches, just not for the religious aspect, but just because it's beautiful and just knowing, knowing like the historical stuff that happened there and like all the people that came before me that were in there. I just it's just stepping back in time. But you're you can't show your knees or your shoulders in most churches in Europe.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Sometimes you can show your knees, but um, my sister and I were in Paris in um Sakuracour, and there were people going in that were wearing, I mean, virtually bathing suits. I mean, it was hot, don't get me wrong. But they were wearing like virtually virtual bathing suits. I mean, barely covered. And they would wait in line for an hour or two and get to the front and be turned away because they didn't have anything to make themselves appropriate under church standards. You know, I wear sundresses, I always have my shoulders out in summer, and so just make sure you have like some sort of wrap, you have some sort of cover-up, um, and that your shorts are in decent length. I mean, that you're not going to be, I mean, they they just want it to be respectful. Because it is disappointing if you like want to go into a church and you don't have anything with you, because they they will either ask you to leave or not let you in. Okay. Dollars or euros. So we have been told that it's always you should always pick your home currency. So if it if it asks you if you want it to be in dollars or euros, you should choose dollars. You won't get the fee, the conversion fee from your bank at home. Um, so yeah, so that's the thing. And like I have no idea that it made a difference, but um, but apparently it does. So yeah, so always choose your home denomination.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Now, I will say some things to be aware of in in Italy, they do have a lot of the same thing America has with the scanner scams. So just kind of and France. And France, yeah. So uh we always try to go inside a bank to use the ATM, which is not always a hundred percent. We you've been ripped off.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

I was ripped off in Lille. Weren't you in Alba too? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

So I've I fortunately have not had a problem, but so we tend to not use the ones that are outdoors. Well, we're gonna get to cash and card. So while we'll just segue right into cash or card, because I I also want to point out another thing about the Netherlands. It's the only place I've really we've experienced this outside of Amsterdam. It's nearly impossible to buy anything.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Like if you don't have a Dutch bank.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

If you don't have a Dutch bank account. Like some of the bigger grocery stores would allow you to use your American Visa MasterCard, but just keep that in mind if you're like in a small, like in Rotterdam or in Leiden or Harlem, that some places won't take your credit card.

SPEAKER_02 14:19

And then it just kind of depends on where you are in Europe of whether or not it's card or cash. I mean, the Christmas markets, a lot of Belgium, Germany, like they only Austria only accept cash. And and some of the smaller little like mom and pop places will only accept cash. Um, when, like Aaron said, in the Netherlands and in much of Scandinavia, it's cards only. Like it there'll be you walk in and there'll be a sign that says no cash allowed. So just be prepared for both, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Um water, tap or bottled. I'm gonna I'm gonna say bottled just because it's ingrained in my head from living in America. But there's nowhere we've traveled in Europe that the water hasn't been safe to drink out of the sink. Oh, I I am gonna take that back. We stayed in Sardinia in a non-potable area. Oh, yeah. So we couldn't even brush our teeth. It was like it was on the beach, but it was not it was not a town or anything. It was just houses.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

But they did sell wine and water bottles. Um, one thing that I do really love, which is especially in Italy, but there's a few here and there's some in France, but where it's uh public water fountains, like for dogs and people everywhere. So you can just carry around a refillable bottle and then use the public fountains. And you know, like I said, they're all over the cities and really, really easy to get fresh clean drinking water.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Italian drinking water is so clean and good. Switzerland is clean and good. In the Netherlands, it's considered a human right to have free and clean drinking water everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Um water is not always they don't always give you tap in restaurants, though. So they will usually ask you if you want uh still or with gas. And so, and you're usually charged for that. But it's and it could be tap, but it's not for it's in a bottle, so they call it bottled water. Um, but it's not, you know, it's not bananas, it's three euros at the most. All right. Sit-down meals or street food? Depends where you are. Because Italy, I want to sit down, I want to have like a long, lovely lunch on the sea or in the city or in the piazza. But in the Netherlands, like the French fries and the the street food is great. In Denmark, Denmark, the street food is great. So I think that it really just kind of depends where you are. The street food is supposed to be great in Portugal too.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yeah, and Spain.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

And Spain, yeah. But like I think France and Italy, aside from a crep, I want to sit down and eat.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Yes, but in France you can go to a pâtisserie or boulangerie and get something and and and be portable. So I think France is just good either way.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Yeah. But if I'm gonna eat in France, if I have like one choice of one meal, I want to like sit down and not have like a sandwich or something, you know? Fair or a quiche.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

For me, a sit-down meal every time. I'd like to have a drink, I like to have a glass of wine, I like to course.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

Eat all day is the plan that you should have. Okay. So where do you stay? Touristy center or in a local, like more sort of family neighborhood?

SPEAKER_00 17:31

I prefer local neighborhoods. I like and I I think maybe it's because we live here, so it's not like uh such a big trip when we go to places, but I like to go into places now that we've never been or even where we have been and and live like a local and see what it would be like to live there and and be more a local than a tourist, I think.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Well, and you like to do something really specific in neighborhoods, grocery stores.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

Oh, I do. I do. I love to go to all the grocery stores, and you don't get those in the center. France and the UK have the best giant grocery stores. Switzerland has the coolest grocery stores to go to with stuff that you haven't seen before.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

But I'm the exact opposite. I'd rather go to like three little like mom and poppy stores and get stuff than go to one. I like a I like a big giant just to see like what the setup is and what they value, like what has the most aisles in a certain country or a certain area. But I like I like smaller places.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

But what about tourist spots versus local neighborhoods?

SPEAKER_02 18:30

Well, it would be local neighborhood for sure, because I like to well, Rex has a lot to do with it. Um, but also I just I don't love crowds. Like I'd rather I'd rather be somewhere where I can walk in and do everything and just be a little bit outside, a little bit quieter, find sort of the little places off the beaten path um as opposed to the most obvious.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

And you get more space there. All right. So uh skip the line or wait it out. Well, you know, why would you wait it out when you can skip the line? Always skip the line. Might cost a little extra, but always skip the line.

SPEAKER_02 19:05

But that requires a few things, right? It is a little bit more, but you also just need to plan ahead. But your time is money, right? Especially if you are on a limited schedule and in a city for just a few days. You don't want to spend two hours waiting to get into the Anne Frank House or the Vatican.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Oh, but I will say that now that Notre Dame is open, you have to have tickets. You can't get in to see it without tickets, but they don't let you buy in advance. They open the tickets 48 hours in advance. So it's like a luck of the draw.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

Um, but yeah, I mean, there's no hesitation in me at all to like skip the line. Skip the line. Skip the line, skip the line. It's it's will just make your whole experience so much smoother and so much easier.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Well, because it's like it's like Disneyland. Like you don't want to go only ride three rides. Right. Because you're standing in line.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Yeah, your memory should not be standing in line, sweating your face off because you You're just and there because there's no protection. There's no sun protection, depending on where you are. There's loads of people. And it's it's not fun.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

One more. We've got time for one more.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

All right, one more.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

English or try the local language. Before I moved here, I would have just always just said exclusively English. But I I think now after living here, we try to learn like the base words, like thank you, please. So I would I would always say have have a few words of the local language, no matter how little, no matter how bad you are at them, because you'll get so much more respect from the people that live there. And they'll try even harder to communicate with you if they don't speak English.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

And you'll be amazed at how terrible your pronunciation is once they tell you how to actually say the word, which is which is quite humbling.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Well, they still do that in Italy. And we lived there for seven years. And they still, when I try to speak Italian, which I think I'm really good at, they still don't understand what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Anyway, it's just it makes your trip, I think, more fun too, because it makes the locals more apt to engage with you and to ask you questions and to start a conversation. And, you know, you're also just being respectful of their that you're on their land, right? I mean, that you're trying to trying to learn from them and trying to, you know, appreciate their culture and language.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

All right. Well, thanks for listening. Make sure to check out our website, www.thegetawayswithaz.com.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

And thanks for subscribing, share with your friends, all that good stuff. And we'll see you next time. Bye. Thanks, buddy.