Question: With airlines asking you to put carry-ons on the scale to make sure they’re under 8 kg, do you find your packing list still works the same?
Answer: I pack the same as always. I find, in practice, it’s the dimensions, not the weight, that are the determining factor. I do carry on all my luggage whenever I can. If necessary I wear my coat and sweater and put my heavy electronic gear (laptop, camera, etc.) in my day pack. That leaves my “one piece of luggage” quite light and tight. If I fail the test, I’ll check my bags. I pack light not just to “carry it on” but to be mobile while in Europe.
Question: If the overhead compartments are full, will airlines make you check your bag? (British Air made me check a carry-on bag, as Heathrow now has a one-item rule.)
Answer: Yes, but I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t find a place to fit my bag. I used to hurry onto the plane fearing there would be no room in the overhead lockers. Now I relax at the gate until the very end. This lets me stroll on board without a long line and sit wherever I like, knowing definitively which seats are available. About Heathrow’s one-bag rule: My last time through London they actually told me to cram my day bag into my other bag, just to get past the check-in person. They admitted, after that…no one cares.
Question: What’s a “post 9/11-sized Swiss Army Knife” you mentioned? I can’t even get a little 1 1/4-inch Swiss Army pen knife through security.
Answer: I bury my 2.5-inch knife in my toiletries kit and they have never noticed it. If they do, I’m ready to loose it. I think the USA is realizing “zero tolerance” may get you elected…but in practice it’s pretty silly.
Question: As opposed to bad traits, are there any particular American attributes that Europeans find charming or refreshing?
Answer: Europeans are charmed by the casual friendliness that comes naturally to us Americans. My French friends can’t believe how friendly perfect strangers are to me and vice versa when I meet fans of my books or TV shows on the streets of Europe. I think they are charmed by (and a bit envious of) this.
Question: What brand of shirts do you wear in your travels? They never seem wrinkled.
Answer: No special secrets here. I don’t buy special gear from travel catalogs or travel stores…just Nordstroms, REI, and Eddie Bauer. I just checked — and all my shirts are 100% cotton except for one which is 60% cotton/40% polyester.
Question: Has Jackie ever been anywhere in Europe by herself, like her brother Andy? Does she plan to do the same trip that you and Andy took with one of her friends when she graduates from high school?
Answer: Seventeen-year-old Jackie just finished 11th grade. Next week she flies to Morocco with a program from her high school. After a week in Rabat, she’ll live in a humble village (no iPod, cell phone, laptop, or communication with home) for three weeks. She’ll be immersed in Moroccan village life (with no indoor plumbing, she stresses), putting her French to work, and learning how to live without all the material comforts rich suburban teens take for granted. She, her mom, and I are all excited about this personal challenge for her. She’s scheming to take a trip to Southeast Asia with a girlfriend after high school graduation next year. Meanwhile, Andy is well into his second year as an assistant tour guide for us in Europe.
Thanks for the questions.
Rick, You and readers may find the adventures of my friend interesting. Craig is the traveler of TravelVice.com and maintains it as a blog of his adventures. He’s a fulltime backpacker for over 18 months now. He is the ultimate traveler when it comes to going like a local and packing extremely light through the Caribbean, central and South America and now in southeast Asia.
More on Heathrow’s one carry on bag limit: Enforcement is at security screening which Americans must pass through during transfers. As you point out, all they seem to care about is that you’re putting only one bag through the x-ray machine. The screeners are strict about making the limit but allow some creativity. My wife was carrying a big fabric bag with books, knitting, etc,; and I put my day pack into it; more than half still poking above the bag. That let my wife carry her laptop bag. Once through no one in the terminal or on our connecting flight cared about the one bag rule and it was amusing to see how many additional carry-on bags appeared.
Rick, Thank you for doing what you do. How do you keep from losing perspective of the inexperienced traveler who needs to pack lightly and spend frugally? It seems the fact you have a production staff in tow would prevent that possibility.
Thanks for Q. and A. time. Hope you’re staying well and having fun this trip. More happy travels!
Hey Rick, thanks for the Q. & A. I find these not only extremely helpful and informative but very fun to read too!
By traveling in a RV and not staying in hotels and eating in restaurants, we didn’t have to put up with bellhops and waiters. In Europe a clerk in a bakery or a grocery store is thrilled to meet an American, a waiter or bellhop is thrilled to get a tip. In 9 trips in 25 years, and 968 nights in Europe, we have found only a couple of times that we heard negative comments about Americans. But we almost never spent time in hotels and restaurants, and never in nightclubs, bars, movies, and any of that other nonsense. In France alone there are 12,000 campgrounds with 1,000,000 campsites. In Paris, almost in sight of the Eiffel, and on the Seine there is a very nice campground that holds at 5,000 people. We stayed there many times. I don’t recommend it for you, but for us the RV is the only way to travel. We are not campers at all, we just love the convenience.Paris Campground
long time viewer but disapointed when i read how you sneak a knife aboard an airplane. it may be clever but it’s dumb! be a big spender…buy one when you get off the plane. think about it…how many of your readers will try it now? just what we need on the planes…more knives. talk about being “silly”!
In Sept we are going to Rome for 4 days, 3 days in between we are trying to decided where to go, and then a house boat in Venice for 7 days. What would you recomend for the 3 day in the middle? (Cinqueterra, Lake district, Dolomites?) Should we rent or car or use the train systems? My husband want a car but from reading your book I am thinking train. Thank you
Rick, I have used your books for many years now and, of course, have seen a few changes. You are just maturing like all of us, but you seem to succeed in keeping your freshness. I think one reason is that you are transparent: you sneak a knife on board and tell us. Maybe not the wisest thing to do, but you are not ashamed of yourself. I appreciate that! I also appreciate that you have opinions and don’t mind stating them. In spite of your success, you don’t seem to make the “bottom line” your guide. Thanks!!
Thanks for the Q & A’s, they are always fun and educational.
Rick, Matt Beall, our son, is good friends with Andy! (We enjoyed taking him to dinner last year!) Actually Matt leaves this Sunday (the 24th) for summer school on the Notre Dame campus in London for 6 weeks. Afterwards my husband and I plan to meet him a tour around a bit….we are thinking about Germany / Switzerland / and or Austria. We will only have about ten days. Are there any special events you can recommend from Aug 3 to the 14th in any of these countries. We’ve been reading your books so we have some good clues….thank you for any help you can give us. You mentioned Andy was in Europe this summer….is there any chance we might run into him??? Thank you for all you do for those of us who seldom get these worldly opportunities! Carolyn Beall ( aka Matt’s mom)
Does Anne always travel with you?
Rick, I’ve used your books many times in my travels to Europe. Recently, I ordered a DVD on Italy and enjoyed it greatly. However, I am very disappointed to see your comments on how you manage to break the rules on carrying a knife on board. These rules are there to help protect us. Are they fool proof, no. But having lost a friend in 9/11 and having visited the memorial in Lockerbie, I have no problem doing what the airlines ask of me. A few rules is nothing compared to what others lost. You are widely known and highly respected. You have used your pulpit to remind us that we Americans are a little “spoiled.” Aren’t you doing the same thing?
I think I will start sneaking in a Swiss knife on board too. If Rick can get away with it, why not the rest of us?
Dear Rick, We just returned from a 3 week trip to Europe combined with a 10 day cruise, so we had to take two large pieces of luggage. (We studied several of your books on planning and on the countries that we saw, and they really helped us!) We are a middle aged couple, and going wherever there were several stairs (train stations) nearly killed us when we couldn’t find help. Why are there no elevators or escalators to help go under the trains to the other sides, or down to to the trains from the upper levels? We couldn’t travel light because of the cruise and stopped in a few countries on the tail end. It was very difficult. Any suggestions in the future?
Hi Rick, My father is a concentration camp survivor who is still alive and in his seventies today. In the 1950’s he was in a concentration camp on an island called “Goli Otok” in Croatia near the island of Rab, Croatia. My father and I would very much like to visit “Goli Otok” with you personally – whenever you have the time. Either this year or next year. I noticed that your “Best of Eastern Europe in 17 Days” tour has a day stop at the Island of Rab, Croatia. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks, Dan
Rick modestly didn’t mention his own packs that he sells, but I and my friend swear by ours. They contract to fit in the airline box and then expand, if needed, after the flight. Never a check-in delay, and the walk to and from bus stations, lodging etc. is never a problem. Weighing about thirteen pounds loaded we have used them extensively, including as backpacks (they have a waist strap) between B&Bs in England and Ireland without a ‘sherpa’. Don’t leave home without one. (They go nicely with our Chaco sandals which is our only footwear ever.) Thanks, Rick.
When will you be going back to Stresa?
Because I use a wheelchair, I’ve become an avid “armchair” traveler with you to Europe. It’s not as fun as being there in person, but the zillions of stairs, buses and trains that require stepping high, and curbs without ramps/cuts, keep my husband and me stateside for our roamings. Are there places in Europe that have become even somewhat wheelchair friendly these days?
I saw your coment about your daughter’s trip to Morocco. My daughter spent a summer in Meknes a few years ago on a full-immersion arabic deal. We were worried, but the whole thing turned out extremely well. She told us that the people she met were (with very, very few exceptions) pleasant and extremely curious as to why an American would come to spend three months there. She and her group members were invited into peple’s homes many times and enjoyed them all. I hope your daughter has the same experience. We still have some of the gifts from the souk and my daughter still tells stories about the visit to the public baths. Good Luck!
I did not like your knife comment at all…not at all responsible…follow the rules!!
Please, more knife comments to counteract the nation of sheep we are becoming. Not likely that a terrorist is going to read the post and think, “Hide a knife in my toiletries kit? Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Rick is a terrorist.
For Sue and her husband with the two large suitcases: it isn’t necessary to take any more luggage on a cruise than on other trips. The key is to pack pieces of clothing and accessories that “mix and match”. My husband and I love river cruises and particularly enjoyed a fourteen-day one in 2005 from St. Petersburg to Moscow and a nine-day trip on the Yangtze from Shanghai to Chongqing in 2006. On both we took only one carry-on suitcase each. We found we got by fine with three pair of pants each, plus a nice wrinkle-resistant jacket for my husband and the “basic black dress” for me. After both cruises we spent more time in each country and were happy we didn’t have to drag big bags around.
People, get over your complaints about Rick sneaking a knife onto a plane. People did it for decades before 2001. Regardless of your personal views, life did not necessarily change that day for everyone else. I will certainly not be afraid to fly on a plane knowing someone might have a knife stashed in their bag. Talk about being “silly.”
Thank you for questions and answers and having fun this trip.