I know a little German....
Posted on 04/27/2019 12:51:28 PM PDT by ak267
LOL, you women are on your own.
The Czech Republic uses the same plug as the rest of Europe (except the UK), you can pick up an adapter at your local wal-mart, drug store, or order it off of amazon. You can also pay ten prices at the airport.
Most of the rest of the stuff on this thread is best ignored. Register with the U.S. consulate? Are you kidding me? They’re going to laugh if you walk in there for some other reason than losing your passport. It’s Europe, you’re not hitchhiking through Eritrea and Sudan. Don’t pack a lot of cash with you, there are plenty of ATM’s and credit cards are taken everywhere. Packing light is always a good habit, but be aware that it can get cold even in the summer in central/eastern europe. They’ve got great beer, the people generally like Americans, and the women are beautiful. What’s not to like?
Please add:
1. Advise your credit card company of the dates and location of travel.
2. Purchase a medical kit appropriate to the country.
I’m surprised it’s the 21st century, well into the digital age and we have to remember [cue the shrieking liberals] CLIMATE CHANGE...lol...
and nobody has mentioned a solar charger...who needs a wall plug, adapter, convertor or even a room to bring it to for that matter...
I have one, keep it on the dash and I always have a charger for the cell phone when I leave the house. My Samsung seems to be picky, I haven’t found one yet that works, except the power brick I have to charge at the wall outlet or the 110V wall wart charger it came with...
https://www.toptenreviews.com/mobile/accessories/best-solar-phone-chargers/
I Got mine at a yard sale for a couple of bucks, works fine, thinking about a bigger one though, it’s not all that great. Still, works to top off the battery in the phone or tablet when I need to, no wall plug needed.
When I went to Germany the internet was 20 years in the future, our band went to the 1st International Band Festival in Vienna. I took a walk when we landed in Amsterdam, found something that looked lie a hardware store, walked in with the power cord to my electric shaver, and using mostly sign language, the guy behind the counter, with a big grin, handed me the adapter I needed.
He seemed to be very pleased that all this pointing and gesticulating had resulted in finding on his first try, exactly what I wanted. Of course, I let him know I was pleased too.
I knew about 6 words in German, enough to say good morning and thanks, and probably enough to get myself in trouble...and it cost about a buck if I remember correctly...
Don’t drink the water, on average most european water at that time had already been drunk at least 3 times...before we left they told us drink cokes or beer...well actually they didn’t say beer, we figured that one out ourselves, being incredibly, amazingly intelligent high school guys...and yeah the beer was good...no, I didn’t fall down the stairs...
The water is usually what causes that day or two of mad dashes to the bathroom...and you better know how to find out where it is...quick...I think it’s called Montezuma’s revenge...basically, you’re not immune to the bacteria in their water. They are.
Bismuth Sulphate seems to be the best treatment, also known as Pepto Bismol...the tablet form is small and easily packed.
Thanks for the tip.
Your band must have been on some pretty good s(tuff). Surprised you remember anything about the trip.
Amsterdam is in Holland, not Germany. They speak Dutch, not German. (They also universally were fluent in English.) If you had tried English instead of German, you might have had a nice chat).
I know a little German....
Notice the outlet is NEMA 5-15, the same type common in US household. The thing with these “adapters” is they do not change voltage, they just adapt the US plug to EU outlet. Check the doohickey you plan to plug in. Nearly all power supplies for computers and batter chargers are “universal” and will run on any voltage. Things like hairdryers will NOT run on the different voltage.
I like these adapters because they are cheap, they are small, and the “not USB” one has no electrical parts inside to break. I travel for business, so have laptop computer. I use the laptop USB ports to keep the phone charged.
FWIW, the polarization and “3rd prong” are there to prevent electrocution if your appliance has an insulation failure inside. Double insulated appliances lack the third prong, and provide safety with, tada, double insulation instead of safety grounding.
‘FWIW, the polarization and “3rd prong” are there to prevent electrocution if your appliance has an insulation failure inside. Double insulated appliances lack the third prong, and provide safety with, tada, double insulation instead of safety grounding.’
Overkill, in my opinion. Just don’t do dumb things with power cords and you’ll be fine. I think most people on this forum understand that, although I would agree that the general public is probably quite stupid, overall.
My experience was that people in Belgium and Netherlands spoke a combination of Dutch, German, French and English.
I have great admiration for their language abilities.
Thanks for the advice.
I’ll do a little sightseeing (their tram/subway system looks convenient and great) but my main purpose is for a curling tournament.
Found a nice little hotel nearby a subway stop and the curling club. Got a great deal with airfare and hotel for only $750 (great bargains in the winter when it’s out of the tourist season).
If you can make the day trip to Cesky Krumlov, that is worth it.
I think in the smaller countries where the languages are not spoken outside of the native country, there is a lot of motivation to learn English in order to compete in the job market.
Train travel is cheap. It only cost me about $30 for a several hour train ride along the Danube from Prague to Budapest, Hungary.
I stayed in my own room in backpacker hotels or hostels for about $20 per night.
When I travel, I use a backpack rather than a suitcase. Much easier, especially on public transit.
OK you got me it was actually dutch...and I did try English, one of the very few phrases in DUTCH I did know was how to ask if a person spoke English...Nope, no English or very little...
Same as when we stayed overnight in someone’s home. In some smaller towns they didn’t have enough hotels for 120 people, especially if 2 bands were in the area, so people volunteered to take some of us in for the night. The family I stayed with knew about as much English as my Dutch...it was interesting...ummmm where’s the bathroom?...fortunately they showed us around 1st thing. Very nice people.
I know Amsterdam is in Holland, I didn’t say it wasn’t. We toured Germany, Holland Switzerland and Austria for 3 weeks, initially landed in Amsterdam. The actual band festival was held in an ancient concert hall in Vienna. Which is in Austria...since you insist on nitpicking...
I wasn’t on anything at all, except a beer now and then, I remember every bit of it. And yes, just one at a time.
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