A few trip photos, brief commentary

beautiful pictures Cil. Thanks for sharing. :clap_1:
I've been to Germany, but did not get to see the places you went to.

Cool, thanks for sharing

Wow ....just beautiful Cil, thanks so much for sharing :clap_1:

Cil, how did you go about planning your trip? You certainly covered a lot of ground. I've been wanting to go to Dubrovnik for 20 years now, ever since I had to make the travel arrangements for someone else who was going there. (Talk about being pea green with envy.)

I remember the first time I ever saw the Mediterannean Sea. I couldn't get over how gorgeously blue it was, almost like it was dyed that color. And I also couldn't get over thinking that as beautiful as it was, and as much as I marvelled about the depth of that blue, it was the WRONG color!! I'm so used to the turquoise and green of SoWal that I'm starting to think that that's the color all water should be. Oh dear. You can take the gull out of SoWal but you can't take the SoWal out of the gull.

Mermaid, in reference to planning your trip, have you ever checked out SlowTravel.com? Also the Fodors.com forums are great. Both have the latest and greatest info from recent travellers. I did most of my research there for our latest trip overseas, and it made all the difference in our experience. Deals, where to stay, what to see...helps to separate the ultra touristy things from the authentic places, at the very least. Just don't OVERplan, to allow for some spontaneous magic and fun....

Thanks Cil. You go on some really neat trips!

Mermaid, in reference to planning your trip, have you ever checked out SlowTravel.com? Also the Fodors.com forums are great. Both have the latest and greatest info from recent travellers. I did most of my research there for our latest trip overseas, and it made all the difference in our experience. Deals, where to stay, what to see...helps to separate the ultra touristy things from the authentic places, at the very least. Just don't OVERplan, to allow for some spontaneous magic and fun....

That's why I was asking Cil how she planned the trip. We've done a fair bit of European travel and when I'm in trip-planning mode, I post on Fodors and slowtrav all the time!! I'm very pesky when I go somewhere; I have to have all the details or I don't relax. I was wondering if Cil had any good tips because this trip was obviously well-organized and well-enjoyed. :clap_1:

what great views !

So Germany was beautiful and the Germans were friendly and helpful!

:scratch: This is funny Cil. My husband spent two weeks about 4 or 5 years ago in Ahaus, Germany for job training near the Amsterdam border and said the Germans were anything but friendly. He said all he and the other two guys he was training with over there got from them were weird stares as if they knew they were not one of them. He got some fair pictures though. Nothing as nice as the pictures you have posted though. Wonderful!

Wow! Great Pics

:clap_1: Those are just beautiful, sounds and looks like you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing. :clap_1:

Very cool! I want to learn more about the Dalmatian (Croatia) coast -looks like it might be a fun place to travel. Did you find it to be touristy or still relatively undiscovered?

Stunning photos, Cil! Thanks for sharing!

What a trip. When I travel, I usually plunk down in one place and stay there for a week or two. But your travels are tempting me...

Paula
We actually usually do it more your way, in 2004 we spent 21 days just in France. But there was so much going on in Europe this summer that we just had to cover more ground!
I am very familiar with SlowTravel but those folks tend to spend a wee bit more money than we usually do. We always backpack and stay in cheapo places HOWEVER there is always at least one splurge. (We saved this splurge for France, Mermaid. ;-)) The websites I visit are more along the lines of Eurotrip.com, which is great for cheap airfare.
And Mermaid, it did take some planning and emailing--I began planning it in late January. We flew from Hannover, Germany to Dubrovnik and from Split (Croatia) to Frankfurt but I used inexpensive European airlines for that.
Uncle Timmy
The Dalmatian coast has been touristed by Europeans for years and years, and Dubrovnik is quite well known (my husband went there in the 70's), but not too many Americans visited Croatia until fairly recently. It is definitely discovered by mainstream American tourists now, but I loved Hvar. We stayed at a nice apartment with lovely garden and AC for 60 euros per night for the 3 of us.
Scooterpolluter
It was World Cup, I think the Germans were on extra special behavior ;-)
In my experience, Europeans in general might have a different manner, some of them think we Americans smile way too much, which cracks me up.
But really the Germans were all so nice to us. Good food, too--I had not been to Germany since I was 23 and the food then seemed so heavy and overcooked--very different now, all kinds of stuff available.
Yes, we definitely did more than usual, but everything worked out, nothing went wrong, and we really had a good time.

Very cool! I want to learn more about the Dalmatian (Croatia) coast -looks like it might be a fun place to travel. Did you find it to be touristy or still relatively undiscovered?

Uncle Timmy, lucky13 lived in Croatia for a while; she might be a good resource for you!
Cil--beautiful photos! :clap_1:

Beautiful photos and great trip report! Thanks!

incredible! thanks for sharing your adventure.

Cil, these photos are beautiful! It looks like a great trip! :clap_1:

Since we're planning a trip in a few days, do you recommend traveler's checks, cash, charge card... which is the least expensive option since there are fees with each of these when converting to Euros. I assume the best option is amix of all 3, but what do you think of traveler's checks and charge cards for getting cash? We'll be near banks. We won't have a safe deposit box in the apartment we're renting. Advice most appreciated.

When we were in France we used our ATM card for cash withdrawls most of the time-and our AMEX . Banks use an intrabank exchange rate, so you usually get the best exchange at the ATM. One important thing to remember is that most banks have a per BUSINESS day limit on withdrawls-meaning that if you withdraw 600.00 US dollars on Friday, no more for you until Monday--
hope you have a great time-

Since we're planning a trip in a few days, do you recommend traveler's checks, cash, charge card... which is the least expensive option since there are fees with each of these when converting to Euros. I assume the best option is amix of all 3, but what do you think of traveler's checks and charge cards for getting cash? We'll be near banks. We won't have a safe deposit box in the apartment we're renting. Advice most appreciated.

1. Call your bank and let them know when you will be out of the country. Do NOT forget to do this!!
2. It is useful to have at least a few Euros in your pocket before you go; your bank will exchange for you for a small fee. $100 worth of Euros is nice.
3. Do NOT use your credit card to get cash--have you looked at the cash advance fees? They're close to usury.
4. Use your ATM card to withdraw cash as it's the most economical way to go and ATM are not hard to find.
5. Use your credit card abroad the same way you use it at home.
6. If you do not have a large daily ATM withdrawal allowance, have your bank increase it for the duration of your trip. We increase ours from a typical $200/day withdrawal to $500/day.
7. We haven't bothered with traveler's checks in years but I suppose they're as safe and trustworthy as they've always been.
8. Hope you have as nice a trip as Cil!!!

Pretty much what Mermaid said. Well done, Mermaid!

We usually don't bother notifying our bank when we go abroad, but then we've never bought travel insurance either.

We haven't used traveler's checks in over 10 years. We do use moneybelts and/or under-the-shirt pouches religiously.

We usually do get euros before we go, but it is absolutely impossible to do this here (learned this last Feb.) So we just waited until we were over there.

Cil, I really, really enjoyed your in-depth trip report. I felt like I was right there with you. The photo's were just beautiful!!!! Thank you so much for sharing.

Pretty much what Mermaid said. Well done, Mermaid!

We usually don't bother notifying our bank when we go abroad, but then we've never bought travel insurance either.

We haven't used traveler's checks in over 10 years. We do use moneybelts and/or under-the-shirt pouches religiously.

We usually do get euros before we go, but it is absolutely impossible to do this here (learned this last Feb.) So we just waited until we were over there.

I forgot to add about notifying your credit card holders as well. There have been several incidences (particulary in Italy but I have no idea why) in which people have tried to use their cards abroad and had them refused. I'm not the least bit fussy or over-anxious about details when I travel, but that's one thing I always do! I'd rather cover my bases when it comes to money matters and let my companies know I'll be using their cards--debit or credit--rather than having them err on the side of caution, thinking my cards have been stolen or hijacked.