Julie

Hi! We'll be going to several cities, including Amsterdam (wooden clogs?), Warsaw, Krakow, Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Paris, and FINALLY London...phew, I'm exhausted already. Anyhow, is it practical to buys lots of things when you're trying to travel light? Is shipping items back to the U.S. practical or really expensive and what do you do if something arrives broken? Are there any good quality things (i.e. crystal)that are a better deal in Europe or can you find the same things sold somewhere here. Also, can you negotiate on the prices or do they mostly stay fixed these days? Thanks for any info!

Arizona

From experience we suggest the answer to your question is: buy what appeals to you at the moment and put those trinkets on your memory shelf. You aren't going to save any meaningful money by shopping in Europe vs. in the U.S. Shipping charges can be horrendous and the arrival chancey. Prices in shops are fixed; so are the high sales taxes. If you buy any big-ticket items, present the sales slips at customs on the way out and get a refund of the VAT (value added tax). Only in Turkey, and in the bazaars there only, is bargaining expected (it's a cultural game, and they are disappointed if you do not play). Suggestions: Amsterdam (buy on the street...usually at flower stalls...what are called klompen (wooden shoes...also sold in terra cotta for planters); Warsaw and Krakow (some nice blown glass items...usually a beautiful blue; carved wooden animals... in Krakow, go to the Sukkenice, the town central market); Vienna...everything is horrendously expensive; Munich (carved wooden articles); Zurich...like Vienna, awfully expensive; Paris...same; London...whatever strikes you. Buy for yourself...forget about others if you are traveling light. Almost anything you can buy there can be bought here at lower cost, without danger of breakage or loss, and at a lower tax add-on. Once upon a time and long ago, a trip to Europe was an excuse to load up. Those days are gone.

Julie

Thanks Arizona!
You have obviously travelled quite a bit. Thank you for the advice, the info is great!!!

anne

I always see so many things I know we'd enjoy - but don't want to carry them home! But everything that we have gotten has such special memories, and has brought much pleasure here at home. Light and packable things are soaps and other toiletries from France, which do cost alot more here. My husband has really enjoyed the ties he's brought home, and I like scarves. His Swiss army knife cost a bit less over there, and it was fun to get it in Zurich.There are some beautiful and unique Christmas ornaments that we found in Vienna....and that's all of the small easily packable things I can remember!

Donna

This is a good question! You have to be aware, first of all, that it's a world economy these days and the most prosperous countries take advantage of cheap labor elsewhere to product their products. Did you know that American companies commission "souvenir" production in countries where labor is cheap, and ship those products overseas for unknowing Amerian tourists to purchase and pay duty on? I am NOT alleging a conspiracy. It's just good old American "free enterprise" in action. Also, contrary to the "trade deficit" we are always hearing about, Swiss watches (especially Rolex and Swatch), Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks, English procelain, Irish Crystal, French Copperware, and any European brand expresso machine, all have substantially lower prices stateside (particularly in consideration of the exchange rates) and are not subject to Customs. Go to Kitchen Etc.! It all depends on what you mean by "souvenir". If you have something particular in mind, it's smart to price-shop stateside before you depart. One must take great care in ascertaining, these days, that a product is actually authentic and a product of the native land in which you are shopping. We were astonished, for example, (perhaps naively) to discover when, in the Black Forest, that most of the cuckoo clocks (when turned over) were produced in China or other places besides the Black Forest. Go figure. And, I would be embarrased to tell you what I paid for a genuine Swiss Fondue ensemble in Switzerland, and where (and the price) I saw it after returning home. Best advice is - if you see something you love, and it will remind you of your adventures there, and the price is not more outrageous than you can stand, buy it. Anything that reminds you of a fabulous experience is a wonderful thing to have and well worth the price.

Julie

Thanks for the info...Wow, Donna, you really gave me a lot to think about. And I had been thinking about a cuckoo clock too, so your experiences really hit home. I'll think carefully about some purchases now that I know what to look for, I guess I could always make another trip in the future if I decide not to buy certain things this time around!!!

s.fowler

I think the distinction is being made here between souvenirs, which imply small, perhaps less expensive items and SHOPPING, which with the global economy really has become fairly equalized. My habit is to look for small [in size and weight] things that will remind me of wonderful times. For example in Czech Republic you can get garnet jewelry [use the state store for this in Prague] -- not "cheap", but small and certainly less than diamonds! In Hungary embroidered table runners or napkins would be small. My husband has ties now from all over Europe. He wore the one he bought in Pecs, Hungary yesterday! So I am concurring with those who hold "souvenirs" are for remembering, not as a substitute for the shopping we can do at home. On the other hand if you do see something you want BUY IT!!! There is this silver bracelet in Roskilde, Denmark that I can still see after 20 years.....

Arizona

Remember an old Alec Guinness film, "The Lavendar Hill Mob"? The one where they heisted a truck full of gold bars and cast them into tiny Eiffel Towers?
Well, a sailor and his girl went to see that film about 47 or so years ago. When posted overseas, he found a tiny Eiffel Tower statuette and sent it to his girl with a question: would she marry him? She said yes, he ordered the ring through Sears' overseas catalog, they were married within the year, and that little statuette sits on our bedroom knickknack shelf to this day. So buy with your heart, buy it for yourself, and never look back and wonder why you didn't do it. As Nike says: Just Do It.

Mike

My goal is to buy small items that will bring images of my journey back home with me. A few years ago I visited a cathedral in Avignon, France. At their souvenir shop I found a set a small inexpensive coasters, each with a photo of the artwork that decorated the floors, walls and ceilings of that ancient structure. Now, each time I set a glass of Bordeaux on a coaster I'm reminded of those breathtaking murals and tiles.

Glenn

Julie, I agree that if you find something special buy it when you see it. There are things you can buy in Europe cheaper,from the respected area, ie crystal and some other such speciality items. I can recommend a clock maker in the Black Forest for you. When we bought a clock on our last trip, I did not want a factory clock from the house of 10,000 clocks in the tourist towns. It was not what I wanted to associate with the clock & the trip. We found a family run clock shop where they make all the clocks by hand. We met the family and got a tour of the shop, we actually were able to design the clock we wanted and the charateristics of it. We then had it shipped home. The memories associated with the clock are priceless. If you would like info on the shop, please let me know. Have a good trip !

Joanna

I agree that it's better to buy something useful than souvenirs per se. For example, I'm earring mad and last time in Italy I bought gorgeous 18k and 24k gold Etruscan style earrings. I don't know anywhere else in the world that I could buy such items, and at reasonable cost. I also bought some pottery that is useful in the kitchen such as olive oil/vinegar dispensers, but nothing too big or heavy that I can't carry. If you mix a souvenir type item with something you can use and it's something you can't get at home, then it's worth it.

Jan M

I agree - buy memories, not consumer items. My choice is jewellery with semi precious stones. I find out what is mined in the country (get a lapidiary book from the public library) and buy something with the local stone in it. Another light weight thing is prints of local scenes, local buildings etc, which you can frame and hang once you get home. If you want something too big to be practical, consider the idea of posting home some of your clothes (you probably brought too much anyway) and fitting the item into the space you make. That way, you run less risk of losing the thing you bought.

My warning as a very experienced traveller - if you see something you love, buy it there and then, because you probably won't find it in the next town. If you find the same thing everywhere, it's probably mass produced by cheap asian labour, not authentic. And stay out of big souvenir shops for the same reason - buy things in small towns and at local markets.

jenny

A great place to buy souvenirs is the small shops at galleries and museums, where you can buy reproductions of the art works you just saw. Some of them are tacky, but often by paying a little more, you can get something good. I also buy local guidebooks in English for special places I have visited, and they bring back great memories. The main thing with the photographs you take is to get them printed quickly and immediately buy an album. be ruthless with the ones which are out of focus and repetitive, and put captions on them before you forget what they are. I also consult the guidebooks when writing the captions, and add a bit of detail on dates etc. People say my photo albums of trips are the greatest, but for me they are the best souvenir of all, because they are personal records.

Monica

I like to buy gold charms/pendents of places I've been to. I have the Acropolis, a turkish mosque, the Italian "boot", the Eiffel tower, etc... I buy ceramics for kitchen use or for my office. I buy postcards of views that I can't get with my camera or if the weather was bad when I took my pictures. I also like to buy small prints. It's always fun to look back at my photos and souvenirs.

cindy

I have had purchases shipped home from stores and have had no problems. I put the items on my credit so that they would be insured. I agree with one of the above posters, if I know what I think I might buy from a particular area, I check prices at home first. I purchased Waterford crystal in Ireland and paid 1/2 price as I would here. I had the store package and ship it, and it arrived about a month later. Even with the shipping costs, I still saved over 1/3 of the price. I made sure I spent the minimum so they deducted the VAT off the price and I didn't have to deal with the paperwork. I also purchased a cuckoo clock and the store recommended shipping it for me as these clocks should not go in a plane (not sure why, but it had something to do with the mechanisms inside). I travel light also and have found this to be an easy way to get stuff home. I have also shipped things myself from the post office, a bit of a hassle and I've never had a problem with things not arriving or being broken. I second the comment about buying something when you see it and like it. There are a few items that I didn't get at the time for whatever reason and I really regret it. Jewelry is easy to carry, as are small prints and both are available anywhere. And yes, check the stickers - I bought a beautiful lace table runner in Germany and got to the hotel and realized it was made in China. Not that there is anything wrong with China lace, but I can easily get it at home for the same price. I know others will disagree - but I think shopping is part of the fun in Europe!

Christina

I just wanted to add a few comments that you
might consider, as I differ in opinion from the previous post.
First, most CC DO NOT cover purchases abroad
for problems the way they do in the US; a lot of
people assume they do, but they don't--check with
your CC on this. Second, I also bought Waterford
crystal in Ireland and it was a really dumb decision--
you can buy this as cheap (or even cheaper) in the
US, if you know where to shop (go to a discount store,
not a standard expensive dept. store). I did not get
the same things I ordered, one was broken and it
tooks MONTHS of my time to get compensation and
acknowledgment of this from the store I bought it
from (NOT a dive), even though I had purchased
insurance from them. I had to finally write to and
complain to the Irish Consumer Affairs Dept. (or
something like that) to get resolution. Funny how as
soon as the official govt. agency got involved, I
managed to get the broken items replaced, whereas
my letters when unanswered. I will never buy any-
thing abroad again that cannot be carried with me
(well, don't think I will--but I'm not a big shopper,
anyway). Generally I have found that nothing is
cheaper in Europe due to higher cost of living and
taxes; the shipping costs to US for foreign goods
don't really add on that much to the expense. Just
buy items that you like that mean a lot to you--don't
buy with the eye that you are doing discount
shopping for standard items (i.e., French perfume)
that you can buy in US.

Bob Ricks

One method not mentioned is to go into a local department store or grocery store and look for unique items that the locals actually use.....wine glassess, coasters, wine openers, etc. Buy there and use them when you get home. Nothing is a real bargain. We did find some great deals in the crystal area of Germany and in Sweden at Oreefors, but you really need to buy for want and not a bargain. We have never had any problems shipping home. All have arrived as promised.

Cheryl Z.

Hi - after reading thecomments already posted, I believe I agree with "arizona" in general the most.
We have shipped things home: a cuckoo clock from Switzerland (arrived promptly), plates from Germany (took a LOOONG time, andmuch follow up on my end) and a chandelier from that little island off Venice which started out as a "free" boat ride! (also took a long time and required follow up on our end.) Last year in Italy, my husband thought he could get a good deal on Armani suits - no way! But ended up finding something comparable which he really liked but much cheaper. You just have to go with your feelings - you may never get to these places again. Everything you get will bring back memories. Just don't assume you're going to get a good deal, or do better than here in the US. Just enjoy the experience, and as that other msg said -
just do it!

Julie

A big THANKS to everybody for their fantastic suggestions! I now have a plan on what type of things I want to look for to remind me of my trip.

Erika

While I don't like to shop here in the U.S. - somehow shopping for dish detergent etc is not very exciting! - I love to shop overseas. In addition to all the jewelry, handbags, linens, pottery etc that I have purchased (and loved throughout the years), I always try to purchase a cassette tape of some of the music I hear. In Portugal, I bought some great Fado, in Australia some neat Australian songs, in Germany, some great traditional music etc. I play the cassettes in my car and the memories return. I also try to find some "flea" markets and generally find some unusual item that is not found here in the U.S. I have also brought back some of the unusual coins and had them put onto a "charm" bracelet, of sorts. Just some thoughts.....Erika