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Dear Fellow Travelers,
This month’s Eurozine is all about the weather. Let’s face it, temperatures soaring
into the 90’s (think heat wave of 2003 in Europe) or unrelenting 60 mile/hr winds
in southern France from the mistral are not exactly what you sign up for when you travel to Europe. However, since
we can’t control Mother Nature, our best strategy is to be prepared. In this issue
we include tips on how to make the most of your vacation despite the weather,
we offer recommendations for destinations that are fabulous regardless of weather,
and for fun, we list some idiomatic expressions related to weather in other languages
besides English. Remember, if you do get caught unexpectedly in a torrential downpour
in Switzerland, don’t forget that every cloud has a silver lining...you are in Switzerland on vacation in a torrential downpour.
Happy travels,
Kim Paschen and Marilee Taussig
Co-editors, Eurozine |
Untours Eurozine
March 2005
Visit us on the web at www.untours.com or call us at toll-free at 888-868-6871! |
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Ahhh Venice...the splendid beauty of this unique city is apparent even under
overcast skies. |
Top Ten Tips for combating the elements on your European vacation
10. Don’t forget to pack an umbrella. You never know when the sky is going to
open up.
9. Bring more than one pair of shoes. If you happen to forget tip #10 and you
become soaked, it may take a few days before your shoes dry out. There is nothing
worse than walking around with soggy sneakers! Bring an extra pair anyway since
you will probably be walking a lot more than usual and changing shoes from day
to day is easier on your feet.
8. Bring sunglasses or a hat to protect your eyes from the sun, even in Switzerland.
Gorgeous vistas will not seem nearly as brilliant when you are constantly having
to squint and shield your eyes from the sun. Plus, alpine heights and snow glare make a sunburn all too easy to acquire, without
noticing, since the temperatures are always cool on the peaks.
7. If you are traveling during the colder months of the year, alternate being
outside with being inside. Pop into a store for souvenirs. Explore a museum. Indulge
in a frothy beverage that will warm you to your toes. On the other hand, eating
a bowl of gelato, while tantalizingly delicious will only make you colder!
5. In hot weather, remember to keep hydrated. Always carry a bottle of water
with you. You’ll appreciate the pristine cloudless sky with the blazing Spanish
sun much more if you’re not dying of thirst.
4. If it’s cold where you will be traveling, you may want to invest in some silk
underwear. Thin, comfortable, easy to pack, and above all warm, this extra layer
really helps keep you insulated.
3. Layer, layer layer. This tip is important in any kind of weather and here’s
why. If you are out all day into the evening, the temperatures are going to fluctuate
quite a bit. A jacket or sweater might be too warm at high noon, but at 6pm, when
the sun starts to set, you’ll be happy you brought it. Also, hot weather is the
perfect time to sport sleeveless tops, but in many churches, you’ll have to cover
your shoulders to be let inside.
2. Be flexible and open to changing your schedule. Some days may be so gorgeous
you will almost have to picnic in a lush vineyard while others will require you to take immediate
shelter inside a museum. Fortunately there are more than enough rainy day activities
to keep you busy in Europe.
1. Don’t forget that traveling during the off-season when the weather may not
be perfect can save you hundreds of dollars and you’ll usually have fewer tourists to contend with. |
The streets of Amsterdam, covered in the most snow the city has seen in a very
long time, have an almost surreal quality to them. |
Ideal Untours for all kinds of weather by Kim Paschen
Having just returned from a wonderful Untour to Holland, during which time temperatures
generally hovered around 30°F and the Dutch experienced the most snow decades,
I started thinking about how weather can impact a vacation. As someone who gets
cold very easily, Holland, at this time of year, was not the ideal place for me
to vacation. However, I was determined to take advantage of every moment and was
not about to let freezing temperatures stop me from walks along the Leiden canals.
I bundled up (boots, hat, and gloves) and braved the cold, which actually wasn’t
so bad after a few minutes of walking, and made strategic stops in museums, shops,
and restaurants to warm up. In short, I didn’t let the weather dictate my vacation
plans. Sure, I could barely feel my legs at times from the cold, and naturally
I almost fell flat on my face from slipping on non-treated sidewalks that doubled
as ice skating rinks, but I took measures to work around these meteorological
‘inconveniences’ and ended up having a great time.
Obviously sunny days with temperatures in the 70’s are what we all hope for,
but these days can sometimes be few and far between. Fortunately, there are many
destinations for which you don’t need to have perfect weather to still have a
fantastic trip. Here are my favorite Untours locations that are great to visit
in any kind of weather.
Paris: In a city full of such a variety of museums, you could spend your entire time
indoors. The choice is yours! The convenient metro will take you just about anywhere
you wish to go and a walk along the Seine with Notre Dame before you and the Eiffel
Tower behind you is beautiful in any kind of weather.
Venice: The magnificent architecture and romantic canals of this enchanting city cannot
be diminished by bad weather. The city’s car-less streets, sometimes only a few
meters wide, encourage aimless wanderings. If you need a break from the elements,
slip inside a bacaro, an old-fashioned wine bar, where you will be treated to a large selection of
wines and cicheti, delicious snacks to munch on.
Prague: With such diverse neighborhoods including Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, and
Castle District not to mention a wealth of monuments and museums, you can appreciate
this city in any kind of weather. The dense bus, tram and metro network is easy
to use and will take you almost anywhere you wish to go.
Holland: Excellent museums aside, Dutch cities and towns are simply a pleasure to walk
through. This, coupled with Holland’s dense transportation network, ensures that
your exploration of the country will be relatively stress-free in any kind of
weather. As an added bonus, piping hot fries served in paper cones from street
vendors somehow make the cold and sleet seem not so bad.
Kim Paschen is co-Marketing Director at Untours. |
Sometimes all the dictionaries in the world can't help you with an idiomatic
expression! |
Idiomatic expressions that may go over your head
Idioms are no piece of cake. Literal translations just don’t work and you end
up not being able to make heads or tales of something that seems so obvious. Expressions
involving the weather are often used in an idiomatic way. Anglophones think nothing
of saying they are ‘under the weather’ or that they will ‘take a rain check’.
However, to someone who doesn’t speak English, these phrases are just plain nonsense.
This phenomenon doesn’t just happen in English though. Below are some expressions
from other languages involving the weather to rack your brains. Enjoy!
Dutch: "Wie boter op zijn hoofd heeft moet niet in de zon gaan staan." literally means
‘Don't stand in the sun if you've got butter on your head.’ and is similar to
the English phrase, ‘If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen’.
French: "un coup de foudre" literally translates into ‘lightening’ but is this expression
really means ‘to fall head over heels for someone’.
Italian: "tire la carretta" literally means 'to pull the little cart' but it translates into 'to slog though the every day
dirty work'.
German: "Ohrwurm" means 'ear worm' but it translates into 'a tune or melody that you
can't get out of your head'.
Czech: "boure ve sklenici vody.” literally means ‘a storm in a glass of water’ which
is akin to ‘a tempest in a teapot’.
Spanish: "en caliente y de repente" literally means ‘in heat and suddenly’ which is
another way of saying in English ‘Strike while the iron's hot’.
French: "faire la pluie et le beau temps" literally means ‘to make rain and good weather’
but it translates into ‘to rule the roost’.
German: "jemandem den Wind aus den Segeln nehmen" literally means 'to take the wind
out of somebody's sails' which, like in English, means to disappoint someone. |
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Ideal Untours accommodations
The apartments below are some of our favorites in programs that don't rely on
perfect weather to be great. Book one of them and take $100 off per person by
mentioning the Eurozine when you call. Offer expires April 1, 2005. New bookings only. |
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The Martyrs apartment, located in the 9th arrondissement on a street lined with shops, bakeries and
cafés, is truly a'Parisian's Paris'. With a metro close by, all of Paris is within
easy reach. This 1-bedroom apartment offers charm and comfort in a area where,
The New York Times claims, "there is no better place to rent an apartment and to pretend, even
for a brief time, to live in Paris". |
Conveniently located close to public transportation the bright Rembrandt loft apartment in picturesque Leiden provides an excellent home base for exploring all of Holland.
The supermarket, bakery and a bustling pedestrian-only street are just a few blocks
away and Leiden is only 10 minutes from the Hague and 30 minutes from Amsterdam
by train. This apartment was also recently renovated. |
Situated down an almost hidden alleyway, the San Rocco apartment in Venice is ideal for discovering this unique city on foot. This one bedroom
accommodation is close to art filled churches as well as lively squares. In addition,
the apartment opens onto a private courtyard furnished with a table and chairs-the
perfect place for dining and relaxing. |
Just steps away from the Charles Bridge, Kampa 2, the lovely studio apartment housed in a building designed by the famous architect
Diezenhofer, is well situated to explore all of Prague. The one bedroom apartment
has everything you need to be comfortable during your stay. |
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Idyll, Ltd.
415 E. Jasper Street
Media, PA 19063
www.untours.com
P. 888-868-6871
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