josephina

We just got back from Europe, covering Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Czesky Krumlov, Durnstein, and Vienna. While I'm sure where we stayed and ate in those cities would be of interest to some people, I feel that relating the problems/solutions we encountered would be of far greater value. I have asked for a lot of help from the members on this forum over the past few months, and I hope that a smidgen of my information can be of some help to others.

To that end, this posting will cover these topics in this order:

1) Excel worksheet as travel organization survival tool

2) TravelSimShop MultiCountry SIM Card

3) SNCF: To Prem/Print or not to Prem/Print

4) CDGVAL: CDG's Transport System

5) Sheraton CDG

6) IAmsterdam vs GVB Pass plus Museumkaart in Amsterdam

7) General Amsterdam observations: Our hotel, restaurants, etc

8) "Cooking With Class" in Paris

9) Les Ombres in the Branley Museum

10) Prague Grand Hotel Bohemia/Otel

11) Durnstein restaurant
recommendation: Hotel Schloss Durnstein

12) Durnstein/Vienna Transport

13) Luggage redux

14) General Vienna observations: our hotel, restaurants, etc.

15) Philadelphia Customs/Entry

josephina

<b> 1)<u> Using an Excel Workbook as the Trip Organizer </u></b>

I admit it. I'm an organization freak. In the past, I've made color itinerary calendars, compiled detailed binders with only relevant pages of guidebooks, internet site downloads and forum entries, resized maps, etc. I had not, however, ever run our trips as I routinely run so much of our lives--in Excel.

This trip's permutations changed my thinking. As soon as we added the seventh person, the sixth flight and the eighth hotel to our plans this summer, I thought, &quot;Whoa--I gotta get a handle on the variables, fast.&quot;

I researched into some sort of handheld (already have SIM-ready cell phones, so was not in particular dire need to upgrade those...see next topic).

Eventually, I decided a needed a longer time for the learning curve associated with buying any new device, and I went to the oldy but goody...an Excel workbook.

My most important page was a listing of all the flights with fields for exactly WHO in the party was flying WHERE and WHEN with all confirmation numbers, etc. Did similarly with hotels, made one page of contact info/passport numbers for all members of the party and then added a page of important websites.

I uploaded all that into a gmail account so that our entire travel contingent could edit if there were any changes.

In the meantime, using an ancient Avery label software program (postcard size--four to a page)mail merge, I was able to print out an excellent, easy-to-read visual--hey, some of us are OLD!!!-- of all flights and all hotels for every member of our party, making sure to print on both sides of the page.

Some members of the party only wanted his/her own itinerary; others wanted the master plan. Didn't matter--a simple data sort made individualized printing pretty easy.

In 3-ring binders, I grouped the printed information into plastic sheet protectors, something that made flipping through each person's info pretty easy.

Everyone got color copies of passports,tickets, credit cards, etc and made their own decisions whether to keep in the binder or place for safekeeping elsewhere.

I also uploaded all this information into my gmail account so in case of emergencies we could download.

Yes, this process took a few hours. Was this worth it? Yes, yes, yes. After my first printing, I had three hotel cancellations, one person cancellation, two persons with major itinerary changes, and so on. A couple of entries into the master Excel spreadsheet and everyone could correct their &quot;label&quot; pages rather easily.

We had lost luggage (see last topic) and providing the airline with reliable info was ultra simple.

So yes, I'm going to get a handheld for next major trip but I'm also going to keep my Excel system.

I will post next on the TravelSim when I have a a few minutes to spare. In the meantime, I thank all of you who so generously gave your time and advice to me and others.

josephina

<b> 2. <u>TravelSimShop's TravelSim card for cell phones </u> </b>

Ok, here was our situation: too many places with too little time. We simply were going to way too many countries without time or availability of internet connection. I owned three
almost identical cell phones waiting for SIM cards, but I had no luxury of time to shop for a local SIM in each country. I also needed to keep in touch with two other parties on the trip most of the time.

With the TravelSim card purchased at www.travelsimshop.com, I was able to get three cell numbers at 29 Euros a pop with 10 E credit each before we left, and at the end of the trip could give one phone/SIM to my daughter as she was leaving for school in the Middle East, from which she planned on visiting probably six or more other countries.

The SIMS/numbers are good in almost all (if not all) of the countries we planned and she plans to visit. They are Estonian numbers, and the whole system works sort of like a combo SIM and ringback card.

Did this work? Yes and no.

I used a lot of foul language while dialing. The SIMS didn't quite mesh with our old but still useful mini cell phones, requiring extra steps to dial out. I swear two of the phones &quot;switched&quot; numbers at the end of the trip. One never had an idea of how much time would be on the phone in the next village, let alone next country, because the agreements with each phone company varied.

But did the SIMS serve my purpose in purchasing them? Well, yes. We could SMS very well and we almost always had decent phone service. And at the end of the trip,my daughter was able to call us from the gate in Vienna, on the landing strip at her destination, and in her dorm room without ever having to find a phone booth or a phone store.

The true value came when her dorm internet was not operational for her first two days, so the phone was in many ways a mom/pa worrysaver until she got her Skype in action.

The SIM numbers do not expire. I will be able to use the time left on my next trip without any hassle. I may not want to, though. I hate the time lag needed when dialing out.

So I'm not quite recommending these SIMs, but I reluctantly must admit that they served my exact needs on this trip.

josephina

<b>3. <u>The SNCF and Me--Prems/Printing/Insurance </u></b>

God Bless Morgan. His hard work in telling all of us how to print out Franch rail tickets has facilitated several of our family trips, especially since I detest waiting in line at SNCF boutiques to pick up tickets. And I always fear that my credit card between &quot;purchase&quot; and &quot;pick up&quot; will have been discontintued or something. When faced with the option of printing ahead or buying SNCF ticket insurance, I always turn down the insurance option, delighting in the control of a file I can repetedly print at will.

Disaster. By the end of this trip, six of seven people traveling were struck by rather serious illnesses, and all of us had unfortunate problems with immediate family members not
on the trip. Our travel plans had to change several times, and overall, my PREMs were useless.

I was able to get a decent if not cheap fare on Thalys with a less convenient train, but I had to stand in line at the CDG SNCF boutique (more on that) again anyway.

I might consider ticket insurance in the future rather than printing.

Then again, maybe not.

josephina

<b> 4. <u>Sheraton CDG and Terminal 2 Area </u></b>
Four of us were the advance party on this trip. TWo of our party members were terribly ill, so I cancelled the initial portion of our trip to Belgium and booked last minute two rooms at the CDG Sheraton where the ill members could collapse. I was still a bit worried about finding it. You can imagine our delight to exit the CDGVAL at Terminal Two, going up an escalator to exit and there, wonder of wonders, was the in-the-terminal entrance to the Sheraton, a veritable oasis for our sick ones.

We were immediately checked into our rooms at 10:30 in the morning. Beddy-bye for the ill members (aka, &quot;the sickies&quot. The two healthies went for a quick bite at Paul's stand right outside the Sheraton entrance, then descended to the floor below to pick up our Thalys tickets in the SNCF office. Long line! The automatic billeteries for the RER were broken, so we waited in a short line next door for the Ile de France tickets. The healthies bought aller/retour tickets for the day's exploration and bought their and the sickies' tickets for the next day's journey to Gare du Nord (around 8 or so Euros) to begin our journey north on the Thalys train. I looked longingly at the SNCF track--we could have been on that within one hour of our landing had illness not changed so many plans.

After going up the escalator again to the Sheraton to check on the sickies, the healthies descended two floors to the tracks to head into town. It was great to be the FIRST persons on the RER B--we felt as though we could watch the pickpockets rather than the reverse. If you're trying for a train at the Gare du Nord from the CDG Sheraton, please allow at least 30 minutes.

We didn't buy any food/drink at the Sheraton. Pricey. There was a little fast food shop on the middle level at Terminal 2/Sheraton area that had decent drinks/beer/food takeout and that was enough for our sickies' needs. The healthies, of course, were happy munching on the Ile de St. Louis at La Reine Blanche, one of our stand-bys.

josephina

<b> 6. <u> IAmsterdam vs GVB Pass plus Museumkaart in Amsterdam </u></b>

On the trip north to Amsterdam via Thalys, I went over my cost analysis one more time. I would be able to do a heck of a lot with the IAmsterdam card--free admission at almost all the museums I'd want to see, discounted or free canal tour, discounted bike rentals/tours, plus free transportation. It would not be cheap, though, to buy for 72 hours. For my youngest and me, the cost would be 103.

A simple GVB pass would give me 72 hours of tram for around 13.50 Euro per person, or a combined 27 Euros for the two of us. If I bought the Museumkarrt, the combined purchase would still end up signficantly cheaper (47.49 Euro total for the two of us) than the IAmsterdam, plus would allow me to skip lines. There were no canal trip discounts, etc, though

Then I looked at the ill members of our crew and thought, &quot;What am I thinking? We'll be lucky if we get two of these persons out of bed in 72 hours.&quot; So we as soon as we arrived at Central Station in Amsterdam, I walked across the street and bought all of us the 72-hour GVB pass. No IAmsterdam card and no Museumkaart.

It may have been our single best decision of the trip. In the end, the only things all of us really, really wanted to see were the Anne Frank House(not covered by any pass), the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. We arrived early or late enough that lines weren't that much of a problem. Some of us wanted to vary it a bit--one wanted a canal tour and another wanted the Heinecken museum (how do you say &quot;rip off&quot; in Dutch?). Had we invested in the IAmsterdam, I'm sure we would have gone along with each other's &quot;extra&quot; excursions because darn it,we had paid good money, etc. As it was, it was easy to express druthers if one had to pay more for the choice.

Our sickies, by the way, used the GVB card more than the healthies. They considered it a godsend. Tram transport in Amsterdam is so good that they could explore the city easily without expending much energy. Walk two blocks, hop a tram, walk two blocks, hop a tram.

We needed no taxi at any time for our hotel. Tram transport started at 6-6:30 a.m. and we made our return train easily.

josephina

<b> 7. <u> General Observations about Amsterdam: Environment, Hotel, Restaurants </u></b>

We will go back with even the most travel-resistent members of our family. This is a fun and unique city that speaks English everywhere. No language barrier at all. Lots of tourists but even more people truly living in this city. No-brainer transport.

Shopping is not a passion for most of our travel party, so it was ironic to find that almost all did it because the shopping areas were so continguous and fun to walk through and prices in this city were reasonable (not cheap--just reasonable). One daughter was able to buy her H&amp;M heart out.

Food was reasonable. Beer/wine was reasonable. Lodging was expensive. Transport was cheap.

We liked it that the sounds of the city was the sound of a throng--people talking in the Dam--and the bells of the trams and the ching-ching of the bikes as opposed to the sounds of engines. Air was clean. Bikes and trams are very, very good things, even if one's life is in constant peril from waves of bikers.

As to lodging, I ended up making reservations at the <b> Marriott</b> Amsterdam because I got a decent last-minute price for the type of accommodation. Lobby was cramped, rooms and beds and bathrooms were great. Location was pretty darn good--lots of lines meet at Leidersplein across the street.

We didn't eat anything at the hotel because there was no need. Our first night we ate close to the Ann Frank house at <b> Cafe Restaurant de Reiger</b>, Nieuwe Leliestraat 34 Telephone: 020-623-9617 Fantastic mussels.

The next night the concierge recommended <b>Lucius</b>, Spuistraat 247, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1012 Telephone:020-624-1831 The seafood platters were stunning.

Because we liked that general area for choice of restaurants, the next night we wandered in nearby to <b> Luden </b>, Spuistraat 304, Amsterdam Telephone: 020-622-8979 Quite good.

All three restaurants had good food, but all three were consistent in that we were surrounded by smoke and had spotty service. I had read somewhere that service in Holland starts with energy and diminishes over the course of the meal. I would agree with the assessment, something noticable at breakfast and lunch too, although it was never bad (restaurant service in my own hometown leaves much more to be desired!).

We did get to eat good FFs on the run, and we intend to go back someday to order a rice meal. I drank a ton of Palm, the local amber ale, and was quite content.

josephina

<b>8. <u>&quot;Cooking with Class--Cooking class in Montmartre area of Paris </u> </b>

Here are the vitals:
Eric Fraudeau
21 rue Custine Paris, 75018 France
Phone: +33 (0)6 87 86 81 75
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.cooknwithclass.com

We met up with more members of our travel gang in Paris. Several had never seen Paris and wanted to visit sites that my daughters and I did not care to visit. I thought a cooking class would be fun.

Eric, I think, has been committing no-nos and has been posting his own reviews on Fodors. No matter--I couldn't get in other classes in August, so it was just as well I saw his self review there. It wasn't cheap: 120 E pp for a market visit, a class, and the meal. But we totally loved it. We met him at 9:30 at the Jules Joffrin stop (Montmartre), accompanied him with some other Americans to the local market, had a no-stress, comfy, sit-around-the-table chopping class, stopped for a wine break, ate and then chatted. We were supposed to have left at 1:30, but we didn't leave until around 3. My girls were so enthusiastic about the experience that they created a new name on Fodors and posted a review right away.

As he had promised the class, we returned home to find emailed recipes for the day's class.

josephina

<b> 9. <u> Les Ombres in the Branley Museum </u> </b>

The health of our travel team continued its bizarre course. One member got better, one member got worse, and two became ill. I started reading the fine print of our travel insurance for emergency evacuation.

Nevertheless, five of us made it to our reservation at the new Les Ombres, even if circumstances didn't allow us to visit the museum.

Was it worth it? I'd go back if I could get a better table. We were lucky to have gotten any reservation, so the mid-room table by the waitstation wasn't exactly a hardship. The window roof allows a full if somewhat distorted view of the Eiffel Tower, and it was great to see the area's apartment complexes in &quot;surround&quot;.

Service was good, but not up to Jules Verne standards, although since I haven't eaten at JV in six years, I should not be comparing the two.

None of us liked the fact that wine was poured into stemless glasses. The experience was akin to drinking out of jelly glasses.

It was around $130.00 per person averaging three courses and one-two glasses of wine. Not that bad, considering the view.

josephina

<b> 10. <u> Prague's Grand Hotel Bohemia and the Otel booking service</u></b>

We were meeting with other travel companions in Prague. I was going back and forth, back and forth on finding a good hotel for the luxury-lover in the group without breaking the comparably plebian budgets of the rest of us. I ended up with a $225 per double, twin-bed room rate at the Grand Hotel Bohemia, great location!, that included a buffet breakfast by booking with Otel. It was so much cheaper than the hotel's rate and other booking rates that I was leery. You have to prepay and download a voucher, but it WAS refundable up to four days before the stay. Did we get bad rooms? Well, in our immediate circle, one ended up with a huge twin and the other ended up with a smaller one, but even the smaller room was nice.

I will look for Otel deals from here on in.

josephina

<b> 11. <u> Durnstein restaurant
recommendation: Hotel Schloss Durnstein </u></b>

We stayed at the <b>Romantik Richard Lowenherz</b> in Durnstein. Our rooms were old but nice, and their restaurant had a lovely terrace view of the Danube.

However, near the end of town was the <b>Hotel Schloss Durnstein </b>, Durnstein 2, Durnstein A3601, Austria. We did a quick check of their menu at the end of our day's travel and hussled home to change into decent clothing. Our effort paid off. For around 49 Euro we enjoyed a fabulous tasting menu. I ordered a wine pairing, which worked out well because we really weren't up for drinking that day, and four of us shared each glass to test how well the pairings worked. We thought this meal was a bargain--service and food was superior to our meal at Les Ombres just the week before, and the view of the sun setting over the Danube certainly came close to a sparkling Eiffel Tower.

josephina

<b> 12. <u> Durnstein/Vienna Transport </u></b>

One of my biggest worries when planning this trip was the need to make a fast connection between Durnstein and Vienna for the air departure of one of my children. I explored every possible train option, some of which involved a taxi over to Krems first, etc. In the end, I should never had worried. Fodors poster Charles III was right: no matter what way we chose, it would take no more than two hours and he also said the locals would have strong opinions.

The discussion with the locals did go on for some time. Finally one person took us aside and said, &quot;Skip the hassle. There's four of you, for goodness sakes. The taxi will cost no more than 105 Euros, max, and you'll have no luggage hauling.&quot; My husband, exhausted from talking to everyone, jumped on that idea.

Trip time to the Vienna Hilton (see luggage below for reason to stop there)? ONE HOUR. Cost? 80 Euro plus a 10 Euro tip.

Christina

wow, what a lot of work, I'm sure that will be of great help to a lot of people. I've been interested in the Grand Hotel Bohemia in Prague, but never found a competitive rate, so that's a good tip.

One comment on your PREMs issue -- it appears you are American, so I don't believe their insurance would cover you anyway. Did you read the insurance terms? I don't think it does, and getting payment isn't that simple, anyway (even if you are European, if you just don't take your train you have to prove a lot to get refunded).

However, since you say you had trip insurance anyway, isn't that what it's supposed to be for?

josephina

<b> 13. <u>Luggage Redux </u></b>

We are normally &quot;carry-on&quot; people, but we knew we would have to check luggage this time. Daughter was departing from our trip end in Vienna for semester abroad with necessary clothes and equipment. We explored luggage forwarding service to Vienna or to her ultimate destination. Cost was pricey, but I was a fan in that every single step of the luggage's journey would be personally monitored.

Daughter did not want to cost us more money plus she was having problems returning home in time from an internship to repack everything in time for the forwarding process.

So she and my husband checked three items of luggage, two for her and one for him. She kept one roll-on with medications and her &quot;vacation&quot; clothes with her, plus took her computer on board. They were flying in First Class and had PRIORITY tags all over the checked luggage.

Two pieces of luggage made it to CDG. One went astray (we eventually found out it had been misdirected to C-V-G---Cincinnati).

Stuck between connections, we assigned a friend back home to deal with the airlines, telling them to send it to our final hotel of the trip in Vienna. And yes, this is also where the EXCEL spreadsheet gave her the info she needed with which to help us.

In fact, I had booked at the Vienna Hilton precisely for this eventuality. If had chosen to go with forwarding the luggage, I was counting on having the luggage go there for pick-up after our interim trip. When we decided not to forward, I kept the reservation precisely for the eventuality of lost luggage--I figured that any initial lost luggage would have time to get there and that the Hilton would be on top of the situation. They were.

The luggage was at the Hilton when we arrived. My daughter was able to change clothes, give us all her trip dirty laundry to take home in another suitcase, and we set out for the airport. We were going to take the CAT across the street (another reason I had booked this hotel), but the reception manager said, &quot;If all of you are going out, just take the taxi. It's less than a half hour away and will cost less than your CAT fare to/back.&quot; Our taxi took 17 minutes--I kid you not--and cost around 25 Euros. We were there about 1/2 before the check-in agent window for the flight opened. Also, we were happy to find out the timing for the crack-of-dawn flight the rest of us would take two days later.

josephina

<b>14. <u> General Vienna observations: Vienna Hilton Am Stadpark, two restaurants, transport, etc. </u></b>

As a person who rarely stays in chains, I find it amusing in one trip in for the first time in all our European experiences, we stayed in one Marriot, one Sheraton, and one Hilton. The <b>Hilton Am Stadpark</b> is just outside the Ringstrasse, across from the CAT terminal, right next to the Stadpark. I'd call it an ugly location, and the hotel is certainly not charming. It's designed for conferences, and it's facilities certainly serve that. But I'm not negative on the hotel. The front desk was super efficient. Our bathroom was tiny but well designed. Our deluxe twin room (one daughter roomed with husband and me) was spacious with a wonderful view overlooking the city. There was a lounge chair in the room that I'd love to have brought back with me. Circumstances made us spend more money inside the hotel on food and drink than we would normally do, and the service and snacks in the lobby was excellent.

We were in dire need of internet connection and a computer, and the business center's 12 Euro cost for two hours did not seem unreasonable to us. Coming out of the center, we spied the breakfast buffet. It was so extensive, and we were bordering on lunch anyway, that we just went for it.

We ate dinner nearby both nights.

<b>Indochine 21</b> is a French/Vietnamese restaurant with an upscale clientele.
1., Stubenring 18
Tel. 513 76 60
Fax 513 76 60-16
U3, Tram 1,2: Stubentor
www.indochine.at

It's interesting that afterward, all of us felt that while the food was good, the spices could have been stronger.

For our last night, the concierge suggested <b>Dubrovnik</b>, a Croation restaurant down the street.
Am Heumarkt 5
Innere Stadt (Inner City)
Transportation U-Bahn: U-4, Stadtpark
Phone 01/713-7102
It was really good and compared to Indochine, inexpensive. We had eaten similar foods throughout the Czech Republic, although none were as well cooked as this place. We were served by the charming owner and someone we suspect is his grandson, and we felt totally at home. What a great way to end our trip.

As to touring the city,we were exhausted at the end of the trip (health was still an issue), so we just weren't in our usual museum mode. We decided to buy a one-day transport pass (5.50 Euro pp) and test out the transportation in Vienna. We liked it! We did trams, little buses and the Underground just for fun. However, the best parts of the city are so concentrated, that peddle power is enough. Our last day was hot but not humid, and we were content to wander the pedestrian areas, working our way from the Opera into Stephenplatz and then outward again, stopping frequently to rehydrate at good people-watching cafes.

Our daughter, a person who had never like horses, had not heard of the Lippanzers, so we wandered down to that area to show her the outside displays. Once she stepped inside the museum shop, she wanted to visit the entire area, so that was our one &quot;cultural&quot; visit for the day. We loved it.

lucy_d

WOW! What valuable information and tips! Thanks so much for sharing with us!

josephina

As always, Christina, you are on the money. I seriously thought that I couldn't get money back since I hadn't filed a claim right away. I was so deep into doctors, cancelling and rebooking arrangements that I didn't have time to do anything before we left (which was three days later as it was). Today I received a notice from my agent offering assistance should I need to file a claim. Yeah!!!

And thanks for reassuring me that I couldn't have done anything with the Prems insurance anyway. I LOVE printing those things out.

Ironically, I only bought the trip insurance because I was worried that my parents would become seriously ill while we were gone. I hadn't a clue that all of us who were travelling--a &quot;healthy as horses&quot; gang if there ever was one--would fall prey to an entire spectrum of conditions, illnesses and events. I'll make sure to post my experience in filing the claim.

annhig

hi, josephina,

thanks fro taking the trouble to post this report in such and informative way.

I've never thought of using Excel like this, but I'll certainly be giving it a go next time.

our next trip, i hope, will be a round trip from Prague to Czesky Krumlov, Melk, Vienna, Krakow, and Dresden.

any information you have that might be helpful would be very gratefully received.

regards, ann

josephina

Hi Ann: A part of our trip was an organized biking trip, something I would like to write about in a separate posting. For right now, I'll offer that the itinerary was from Prague to Czesky Krumlov, to somewhere in a forest in Austria, to Durnstein. We saw Melk Abbey and I was totally blown away.

One of our biking guides has fallen totally in love with Krakow--she hates the wall-to-wall tourists in Prague now, and she feels that Krakow will fall victim pretty soon, so your timing is great.

Again, I'll do a separate summary of the biking trip by the end of the week.

annhig

hi, josephina,

thanks so much for the reply. I'll look out for the bike report.

regards, ann