laundry?
 

This is a silly topic, but I like to plan everything for our trip. We are driving through Bavaria/Switzerland/Austria for 2 weeks with our teenage boys. We will have to wash clothes somewhere along the way! Do some of the smaller towns have laundromats, or will we have to wait until we're in a larger city? I know we'll have to do some sink washing, but there's nothing like a washing machine for teenage boys' clothes, if you know what I mean! Any advise on this practical matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Kate, I hesitate to reply because my info is kind of dated and changes do ocurr rapidly. However, for whatever it is worth. I lived in southern Germany near Stuttgart in 1993 and laundromats were definitely not as prevalent as they are here in the US. Especially in the smaller towns which there are many. I really had to hunt down someone to do my business shirts and when I did find one, it wasn't cheap. However, cost is secondary for your purposes. What is your alternative? Pack twice as much clothes? I think your chances of finding one is much better in the larger cities. I am almost certain you can find one. Small towns will be real iffy. I would recommend inquiring at whatever hotel you stay at for what is available. With very few exceptions, don't even think about asking the hotel to do it. That's real expensive and you would probably not be worse of just buying new stuff along the way. <BR> <BR>You could probably find one in a larger city by consulting the yellow pages of a phone book or by asking the locals if you are proficient in the language. And if you see one, by chance, you may not want to pass it up. However, plan on using up the good part of a morning or afternoon. <BR> <BR>I've done laundry a few times on trips to France, and the difficulty was figuring out how to use the machines and the time it took. But it can be done. <BR> <BR>There were other posters asking the same question for Paris recently. You may want to see if you can find those posts. Good luck.

Kate, I hesitate to reply because my info is kind of dated and changes do ocurr rapidly. However, for whatever it is worth. I lived in southern Germany near Stuttgart in 1993 and laundromats were definitely not as prevalent as they are here in the US. Especially in the smaller towns which there are many. I really had to hunt down someone to do my business shirts and when I did find one, it wasn't cheap. However, cost is secondary for your purposes. What is your alternative? Pack twice as much clothes? I think your chances of finding one is much better in the larger cities. I am almost certain you can find one. Small towns will be real iffy. I would recommend inquiring at whatever hotel you stay at for what is available. With very few exceptions, don't even think about asking the hotel to do it. That's real expensive and you would probably not be worse of just buying new stuff along the way. <BR> <BR>You could probably find one in a larger city by consulting the yellow pages of a phone book or by asking the locals if you are proficient in the language. And if you see one, by chance, you may not want to pass it up. However, plan on using up the good part of a morning or afternoon. <BR> <BR>I've done laundry a few times on trips to France, and the difficulty was figuring out how to use the machines and the time it took. But it can be done. <BR> <BR>There were other posters asking the same question for Paris recently. You may want to see if you can find those posts. Good luck.

I don't consider it a silly topic. Laundry enperiences can be very interesting and enlightning. Last year we had a lot of difficulty finding a laundromat in Germany/Austria. We finally did find one in Vienna -- but we looked in a lot of small towns with no success. The one in Vienna seemed to be very well known -- but little used while we were washing there. In planning our return this year, we have checked about the small town where we are spending 4 days in Austria, and have been told that there is none. We are going to look in on a few camp grounds -- my wife thinks there should be some there. If anyone knows laundromat locatations -- please provide specifics -- we also are interested. Mainly near Garmish and Wolfgangsee, Austria.

It is not easy to find a laudry in Europe. When we were in Paris, I finally found one, and it took me over an hour to figure out how to use it. No one was around, and when you can find someone they don't speak English. Think of another solution. Trust me

<BR>If you find yourself in Interlaken, Switzerland, there's a little laundry just a few blocks away from the Hotel Bellevue where we usually stay. Reasonable and if I remember correctly ready same or next day. We've also found laundrys in Paris. But they're hard to find, don't plan on finding self-service ones. And make sure you're clear about when clothes ready - in Portugal recently, we tried to find a laundry; no self service, all took at least three days. It's just easier to bring the right kind of clothing and wash at night yourself in your hotel room. Put your teenagers to work!! And point out to them that the local people in whatever area you're in, are probably still washing the old fashioned way themselves. And as stated above, don't use the hotel services unless your're rich and desparate!

Kate, I've never been to Europe so I can't speak from experience, but I am leaving in 2 days for Switzerland, Austria and Germany myself! I am planning on doing my laundry myself in our room (atleast the socks, underwear and pajamas). On www.footloosetravel.com, they sell travel accessories where I purchased a travel laundry kit for $10 complete with 5 packets of woolite, a sink stopper, and a compact, retractable clothes line with suction cups on the ends! I know this isn't the ideal way to launder for sure, but atleast I know I'm covered and it won't cost me money or eat into my daytime activities. I can let you know how well it works when I return in 2 weeks!