All posts filed under: Features

Karlsruhe Zoo – Is It A Park With A Zoo Or A Zoo With A Park?

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After driving around in circles for what seemed hours (but was only a few minutes), we found a parking garage and parked. Phew! Glad that was over..We’d been following our friend through the modern and very clean city of Karlsruhe – trying not to lose him, while at the same time making sure we were not running red lights or breaking the law! (Karlsruhe is located 50km south of Heidelberg) For a city this large it was strange to see plenty of parked cars by the side of the road but few people actually walking about. Street after street of parked cars, but there was no inclination that there could possibly be a park – let alone a zoo in this neighbourhood. Once we’d parked the car, we came out of the underground garage into a large open plaza surrounded by buildings. On the far side were a few trees and off we went towards them – still wondering how they’ve managed to hide a zoo in the middle of the city. We got to …

TravelBloggers.ca

Dress for the Fest – Oktoberfest!

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A few months back, Gail and I were telling her BFF about our trip to Germany and our Oktoberfest experience when she said: “Let’s get dressed in the German outfits and go to Oktoberfest in Kitchener this year!” Having gone to Oktoberfest in Stuttgart, it was seeming kind of odd that we’d travelled some 5,000+ kilometres to Germany, but had never bothered to drive an hour up the highway to visit Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario for Oktoberfest – especially since it’s said to be Canada’s best Bavarian Festival! Gail & I looked at each other…and thought, hmmm not a bad idea, but we’re not German – wouldn’t we be insulting them if we bought authentic Bavarian outfits and went to Oktoberfest as frauds? What to do!? … Google it (of course)! After a bit of quick research we found that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with dressing up as Bavarians – quite the opposite in fact! Information we found indicated that lots of people get in the spirit and “fake it ‘til they make it” at Oktoberfest – …

TravelBloggers.ca

Our Top Ten Packing Tips For 2013

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Have a packing list – that will pretty much eliminate any chance of forgetting something. Leave your list inside your suitcase when you get home and empty it (that will save you time every time you travel!). Roll your clothes – it helps eliminate wrinkles and actually saves space in your suitcase Use plastic reusable bags for liquids in your suitcase (you just never know when a bottle will leak) and smaller items like socks and underwear (that way if your case is opened for a search it’s less likely any of your items will fly all over the airport floor).

7 Air-Travel Tips for Summer, Or Any Other Time of the Year

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Many individuals assume the busiest time to travel is the Christmas and Thanksgiving holiday seasons, but in actual fact, the greatest number of people travel during the summer season – from the mid-July to the beginning of September. Tens of millions of people will be on vacation, enjoying their summer getaways before school is back in session and the weather gets cooler for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Since summer’s not over yet here are some tips to help travellers remain safe and enjoy their well-earned vacation time. 1. Choose Your Travel Dates Wisely Flying on a Thursday or Friday during the summer months will be the most crowded, and probably the most expensive. That being the case, seats are more likely to be filled – especially the coveted ones by the windows and bulkhead. If you’re heading to the Caribbean or southern U.S. there’s greater chance of tropical storms, and the likelihood of travel delays. Try to book departures on mid-week days to lessen the chance of disruptions and save on costs. …

VerbalizeIt, travelbloggers.ca

Lost in Translation? VerbalizeIt – A Traveller’s Best Friend

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I don’t know about you, but whenever we travel to parts unknown where languages are even less known, I tend to get a little freaked out by the possibilities of getting lost and no one understanding us … or the potential of Iain doing something crazy and offending someone! Soooo the first thing I do is concentrate on learning two key phrases … “Do you speak English?” and “I’m not with him!” I know, I know, there are better uses of a key phrase, but it’s a starting place. Having had opportunity to travel abroad  on a number of occasions where language was a barrier, we admit that it made us a little uneasy. And while there’s no perfect answer to the dilemma there are coming to be more and more technological advantages to help the monolingual traveller (not monolingual? Don’t stop reading, there’s more for you later on).

TravelBloggers.ca

Heading Off On A Trip? Don’t Forget To Do These 8 Things BEFORE You Leave Home

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Whether you’re planning a long or a short trip – planning on hitting the road or taking to the skies we have a travel checklist you should look at before you go… 1. Make it easy for friends and family to reach you. Leave your mobile phone number and an email address with a trusted neighbor, friend or relative. You could also include your vacation destination phone number/email address 2. Make your home look like its being lived in. Use timers to turn on/off lights around your home, leave a radio on, and ask a neighbour to use your garbage bins as well as their own on garbage collection day. Ask a friend or relative (hire someone if you have to) to mow your lawn while you’re away. Nothing says “I’m not home” more than long grass or a driveway that hasn’t been cleared 5 days after a snowfall.