Each weekend in a new country is a new lesson learned

PARIS – Sitting on a budget airline flight from Stockholm to Paris, drowsy from a lack of sleep and a large amount of time spent in transit, I listened to a man who sounds like he’s imitating the Swedish chef (Muppets, anyone?) and reminisce about my weekends spent country hopping.

This was the last weekend I spent traveling outside of France, and by now I have gotten the “doing a city in less than 48 hours” down to an art.

Like most other things done well, it takes a bit of preparation. As much as I love the idea of spontaneous buy-a-ticket-to-somewhere-an-hour-before-the-train-departs traveling, if you know you’re visiting a city ahead of time, you should really do some research about the place first. Otherwise, chances are you won’t take full advantage of your traveling experience.

Some people prefer to travel this way, not interested in learning or appreciating a town’s history or culture. They are happy just to add another mark to the tally of “how many European countries I’ve been wasted in.” These people are commonly referred to as “Euro trash.”

Don’t get me wrong, going out at night is usually a lot of fun, but if I’ve spent a substantial amount of Euros on a plane ride and somewhere to sleep, I’d like to remember the trip also.

Not interested in nursing a hangover in a hostel where I share a bedroom with four to six potential strangers, I like to buy a guide book ahead of time for the cities I visit.

My favorite kind of guide book pinpoints 10 or more top attractions in town. The research has been done for you, and since it would be near impossible to complete all then in a weekend, you can choose to do just your favorite activities.

The book should also have commonly used words or phrases in the country’s primary language. Depending on where you travel, this can be incredibly helpful, because hand gestures and facial expressions can only get you so far.

It’s easiest to travel with a group no bigger than four. That makes choosing restaurants and booking a place to stay simpler. Also, luggage needs to be kept to a minimum, no more than a back pack. You’ll probably be totting it around most of the time and you might need space for souvenirs.

Traveling can be exhausting and costly, but while I’m on this side of the pond, I should really take advantage of being able to fly one hour and find myself in a completely different culture where they speak another language. That is one thing I will definitely miss when I fly back to American in a week and a half.

Traveling around the United States, though substantially larger than Europe, just isn’t the same.

Flying between New Jersey and Indiana to and from school, is almost like changing countries. Lucky for me, I speak both their languages.