MM Sticker Found Under A Bus In Switzerland

[D_Eclipse9916]

+1 on the packing cubes/bags/etc.  Having a packing system makes it so much easier to move from place to place, compared say, my wife, who shoves everything in one bag with no organization and then has to explode the fucking thing into all 4 corners of the hotel room upon arrival to find anything.  Fuck.

:Triggered:

[.RJ]

please resubmit your comment in the form of a gif

[WRXtranceformed]

Can someone rename this the Travel Thread?

I'm headed to Chicago next week for work. Staying in the east side near the Navy Pier. Any must do/places to eat? I have a short list of seeing the Bean, walking around the pier, and possibly hitting Willis Tower. Going to skip the sky window experience as there seems to be a bar with similar views. I'd rather pay for a couple drinks than $25 to look out a window.

Go here if you want a bougie dinner:  https://www.joes.net/
Technically it's a three restaurant chain but their Chicago branch has served me some of the best meals of my life.  Also check out Lou Malnati's for the best Chicago deep dish (imo): https://www.loumalnatis.com/

You can actually order Lou's by mail, which I have done before, but it's definitely not the same

[ScottyB]

we were in Chicago last year about this time for a work conference. left GA in light pants and t-shirt, arrived in a bitter snow storm. pack your srs bzns winter stuff. we stayed at the Hyatt Magnificent Mile.

Malnati's deep dish is probably best deep dish from what i've heard. we did Pizzaria Uno because we would have died trying to walk further.

for non-deep dish though, we ate at Parlor Pizza Bar Wicker Park and holy shit it was a landmark moment for pizza consumption in my life. and their deserts are wild too.

everything food is $$$, maybe that's normal in DC too but our food budget was demolished in like 3 days.

did the bean and sky window...i wouldn't want to hit the sky window at the wrong hours. it was packed and super touristy but damn it really is an insane view and stepping out onto the glass is legit terrifying for a person like me who's scared of heights. if you're out to see stuff like the bean be aware if you have to piss there's basically no public restrooms except for the rail stations where you can get shanked. go to the nearest McD's, buy a $1 hot chocolate and consider it the toll to use the bathrooms.

[.RJ]

The only thing I have to add is the last time I was in Chicago for a wedding, we stayed in a trendy historic hotel near the bean that was open to tourist foot traffic. The whole place was mobbed with tourists the whole time, there wasnt any quiet space at all in the hotel, the rooftop bar was overrun with people and expensive drinks and the restaurants were perpetually overcrowded. 0/5 stars fuck that noise.

[G.Irish]

Traveling Internationally

-If at all possible, don't exchange a bunch of money before you leave. Travelex's business model is to swindle you. Do a small currency exchange outside of the terminal at the airport, if you need money for a cab or something. Otherwise, use your debit card to get local currency via ATM, that will get you the up to date exchange rate without currency exchanger thievery.

-Make sure you check the Visa regulations looonnggg before you leave. If you're going to Europe it's usually not a big deal, but some countries will not allow you to enter if your passport expires within 6 months (or some other arbitrary time period). You can get an expedited passport renewal via State Dept. but it's a big hassle. Also be aware some countries require you to pay a fee for a tourist visa. Turkey was a few dollars, but Argentina was over $100.

-Keep in mind you need to leave more time to get through security and everything at the airport. Often, international flights to the US have additional security screening. In some other countries the check-in and security process is far less efficient so try to be early.

-Pack a few essentials on your carry-on like some underwear, a shirt and basic toiletries in the event your bags don't arrive on time or get lost.

-Look up transportation from airport to your lodgings ahead of time, usually there are some pretty cost effective options that are several times cheaper than cabs.

Europe in particular

-I've never felt unsafe anywhere in Europe, cities like NY, DC, LA, etc. are far more dangerous. Worst thing I saw was heroine spoons near our hotel in Barcelona. Don't be too worried about crime, just keep your wallet in the front and try not to look like a clueless tourist. In general, don't get shitfaced in a foreign city.

-If you're trying to hit up a couple of touristy things in a day, factor in that eating at a restaurant can take a LOT longer than it does in the US, particularly Spain and Italy in my experience. So if you want to enjoy the fabulous cuisine some of those places have to offer, just factor in that it may take 2 hours or more.

-For a lot of Europeans breakfast means a pastry or some bread, and coffee. Even McDonalds in Italy was that way. And McDonalds is the only place that is gonna be open early in the morning. The solution is that if you're getting an early start, take a few snacks.

-If you're driving, don't fuck around, there's speed cameras everywhere.

-A lot of hotels will say they hi-speed wifi but that can mean a lot of different things. Small hostels and AirBNB might be a better bet if you need connectivity.

Everyone else covered phones pretty well. Depending on your provider just doing international roaming can be pretty cost-effective.

[JPolen01]

I plan to hit the Bean for sure. I'll be with people from work that live there so I won't be totally walking around aimlessly. I'm thinking I'll hit the bar on the 96th floor of the Willis Tower instead of the sky window. The view from 96 vs 103 can't be much different...
I'm staying in a super hipster hotel - Moxy Chicago. Rj may hate it or love it, I'm not sure.

[.RJ]

Worst thing I saw was heroine spoons near our hotel in Barcelona. 

Oh, the one right next to the hookers, right 

[Jake]

Mmmm okay so I had to pick between NASA Championships at Mid-Ohio or a trip to Germany for my 30th this September. Sorry Ohio, but friends/beer/cars in Germany sounds way more fun. Going to get my passport photo and apply for that tomorrow.

I've got an unlocked iPhone through Sprint - will have to see how it is to just get an international plan from them or do a local SIM sort of thing. Thankfully I'm going with friends who have been before (they go for Oktoberfest every year) so some logistics will be handled or helped by their presence.

[G.Irish]

I don't remember hookers, I do remember the nude beach tho. Oh, and the cop that got mad that I tried to take a picture of her Hannibal Lecter police dog.

---

Mmmm okay so I had to pick between NASA Championships at Mid-Ohio or a trip to Germany for my 30th this September. Sorry Ohio, but friends/beer/cars in Germany sounds way more fun. 

You going to the Ring???

[Jake]

Mmmm okay so I had to pick between NASA Championships at Mid-Ohio or a trip to Germany for my 30th this September. Sorry Ohio, but friends/beer/cars in Germany sounds way more fun. 

You going to the Ring???

YES. Need to figure out how to best do a Ring day. Not sure if friends will join me or if I'll fly in early and do it solo/with one of them. I've heard rental car companies pretty explicitly ban driving on it? And regardless, it may be more fun to rent a racecar to do it. Any tips there would be awesome.

[Apoc]

Rj may hate it or love it, I'm not sure.

Pretty good chance, since we know at least one person who wears joggers staying there.

Here are a few more things, now that I've slept off our afternoon out without our kid. 

I mentioned this earlier, but I'll elaborate on couchsurfing. My wife has never actually surfed, but we have met people from the website who list their profile as willing to "meet for coffee." No, it's not some secret swinger code, but it is people who live there that are interested in meeting new people. A couple in Paris invited us to their apartment; they had a big spread of fruit, cheese, and wine as well as a couple friends who came over to hang out. I brought a baseball with me as a souvenir and gave it to them - at least one or two of them had never even held a baseball. We drank, ate, and talked about what life was like in our respective countries. We also got the insider scoop from them on places to go/eat. I've surfed while flying solo and it's a fantastic way to travel cheap and meet locals. A dude in Toronto gave me the keys to his apartment while he was at work; this was after a night of scotch, weed, and burgers on his deck. I can neither confirm nor deny we also visited a gentlemen's club.

For credit card, check on your benefits for luggage replacement, travel delay compensation, and medical evacuation. Most of the travel themed cards have it, but check anyway. This way you get all the benefits of travel insurance without actually having to pay for it. Also, carry a second fee-free card in case the first gets compromised. We had a Visa chasing us around Japan for like 10 days because the FedEx overnight couldn't manage to deliver the replacement before we kept changing hotels.

Leave your passport locked in a hotel safe. You won't need it most places and losing it is a major pain in the ass. Carry a photocopy of it if you're worried about evidence of your citizenship.

US Dollars almost always work in a pinch. I usually have a few $20 bills as backup.

If you use a hiking backpack, put the rain cover on backwards (bundling the shoulder straps) and use straps to keep it in place if checking and/or out of sight. Property crime are usually ones of opportunity, so having everything bundled up (and zippers locked) means thieves move to an easier mark. 

Carry a few locks and cables to secure your luggage if you have to leave it somewhere. These can be cut, but again, you just don't want to be easiest target. The best use of these I've had to date is locking our stroller to a tree behind the grandstands at Monza.  https://amzn.to/2OurIDZ  https://amzn.to/2FvtAbA

If you have food allergies, print and laminate a few key phrases about it. I took a small card that had three different sentences in Korean, Khmer, and Vietnamese about my carrot allergy. This way you can show them the card when you order and not have to worry about if they understood you. I had native speakers at work translate the sentences for me, so they could impart the necessary level of urgency in the phrasing. You won't really get that with Google Translate. 

Download offline maps for your phone. Google Maps will still provide navigation directions if you have no signal, as long as the maps are downloaded. A large metropolitan area should be <200 mb.

Keep your head on a swivel and be aware of your surroundings. Europe is pretty safe, but burying your nose in your phone can make you a target for pickpockets.

[Ken]

Download offline maps for your phone. Google Maps will still provide navigation directions if you have no signal, as long as the maps are downloaded. A large metropolitan area should be <200 mb.

This is a really good one worth re-iterating.

[.RJ]

^ That's a good one. I typically dont sign up for international service or buy a SIM card and just rely on WiFi where available, I spend too much time looking at my phone otherwise (cue derecola's RJ then & now at the bar photo).

I dont hate hipster hotels, I just hate when they're a tourist attraction in itself which makes the experience of being there miserable.

[G.Irish]

Download offline maps for your phone. Google Maps will still provide navigation directions if you have no signal, as long as the maps are downloaded. A large metropolitan area should be <200 mb.

This is a really good one worth re-iterating.

Yes especially because in some parts of Europe the street signs are non-existent or very, very difficult to see.  Hell, it's the same in some parts of Latin America in my experience.

In Japan you absolutely can't find any address without a detailed map (I bought a paper one).

[Senor_Taylor]

This is all giving me so much anxiety.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[.RJ]

This is all giving me so much anxiety.

Just pretend you're in an e30 convertible, with your chest hair flowing in the summer breeze

[G.Irish]

Mmmm okay so I had to pick between NASA Championships at Mid-Ohio or a trip to Germany for my 30th this September. Sorry Ohio, but friends/beer/cars in Germany sounds way more fun. 

You going to the Ring???

YES. Need to figure out how to best do a Ring day. Not sure if friends will join me or if I'll fly in early and do it solo/with one of them. I've heard rental car companies pretty explicitly ban driving on it? And regardless, it may be more fun to rent a racecar to do it. Any tips there would be awesome.

Yeah I don't know how strict rental companies are with it, you'd have to search a bit to find a good answer there.  I would just rent a prepared track car.  Wouldn't want to have brake fade out there.

If you're just looking to do touristenfahrten laps, try to go on a weekday cause there'll be a lot less traffic, much shorter wait times to take another lap.  For the best experience see if you can sign up for a track day, but that does cost a lot more.  You can split the entry fee with another driver, then pay for as many laps in your track car as you want.

[Apoc]

Download offline maps for your phone. Google Maps will still provide navigation directions if you have no signal, as long as the maps are downloaded. A large metropolitan area should be <200 mb.

This is a really good one worth re-iterating.

Yes especially because in some parts of Europe the street signs are non-existent or very, very difficult to see.  Hell, it's the same in some parts of Latin America in my experience.

In Japan you absolutely can't find any address without a detailed map (I bought a paper one).

Oh, yeah. I can confirm Japan is literally the hardest to map/navigate. 

Here's what I carry when I'm out and about during the day. This all fits in my pockets or a small camera bag. 

- lightweight multitool; great for fixing a belt or cutting salami - https://amzn.to/2U2nJUY
- mylar emergency blanket; takes up almost no space and has saved my ass, like in a 50 deg rain at the USGP in Austin
- paper map of the area and a compass (usually on my wrist); you can get literally anywhere even if your phone dies
- moleskin adhesive cushion; prevents and/or treat blisters and hot spots from all the walking
- phone charger with adapter, as well as a small battery pack
- emergency toilet paper and a small package of wet wipes; sometimes bathrooms are just a hole in the concrete - https://amzn.to/2WuMBBQ
- water bottle
- hat
- sunglasses
- a calorie dense snack
- OTC painkillers

People have gotten by with a lot less and many of these things will go unused in a metropolitan area, but they just make life easier if you have them on hand when you need 'em. If you set it and forget it, you don't have to worry if you're backpacking in SE Asia or living the bougie lifestyle in western Europe. You've got the basics on hand, so you can weather minor inconveniences.

[G.Irish]

- emergency toilet paper and a small package of wet wipes; sometimes bathrooms are just a hole in the concrete - https://amzn.to/2WuMBBQ

Oh man, totally forgot about this. When RJ and I went to a Moto GP race at Jerez in Spain, there was literally not one, fucking, square of toilet paper or even paper towels anywhere at the circuit. Thank god I didn't need to do serious business while we were there.

Public bathrooms in the places in Europe I've gone have honestly been all over the map. Be prepared.