Top Ten

Maybe you were expecting the ten best sights/experiences in Europe between 1 and 16 May with J. and H. Guess again.
10. So, you can either watch where you are walking on the cobbled streets trying to avoid a turned ankle OR you can gaze upwards and the glorious spires and steeples, but not both.
9. By all means, listen to the flight attendants when they tell you to check for all your personal belongings before deplaning, or you might leave your jacket rolled up in a ball against the back of your seat, where you yourself placed it to support your back during an AMS to MSP flight. The airlines pillows are about the size of a pincushion.
8. Be choosy about what you go to see -- you cannot see it all in three days in any city. Of course, it is hard to choose what to see and what to leave out, because you do not know everything that is there.
7. Take the time to write notes each day, no matter how tired you are, so you can identify the locations on the photos later, or you will spend hours arguing with your travel companions about where the statue was.
6. Or, wait a number of weeks after your return to identify photos. Then, you can label each one "Europe --2008, miscellaneous." Because, really, who will care?
5. Or, wait a number of weeks and then make up locations and titles. Because, really, who will know? Well, your travelling companions, but they have their own photos and why would they be looking at yours?
4. "Schnitzel" means "a slice of" or "a cut from" so a slice of apple could be a schitzel, too. Usually a weiner schnitzel is made of veal sliced thinly, pounded flat, breaded and deepfried. Or it could be pork or chicken. Actually, they could probably serve you anything and call it schnitzel.
3. Do the "air-o-bics" exercises they show on the video screens embedded in the back of the seat in front of you. These exercises are to help prevent deep vein thrombosis. In any case, you do them. Only the kids on board will be doing them with you, but you'll get some attention -- they look cool the air-o-bics. And you, too.
2. Watch out for bikes on bike lanes adjacent to and looking just like sidewalk. They have serious cyclists and they have the right of way in their lanes.
1. When the tour book's ad identifies the pace of your tour as "comfortable to leisurely" don"t believe them.
-1. Fly first class some time in your life, just to see what it's like.
-2. Eastern European chefs really like meat and potatoes. I didn't see one grain of rice. Vegetables seemed a little scarce also.
-3. Get to Europe (or whatever place is your dream destination) as soon as possible in your lifetime. If you leave it too late, and discover how much you love it, the opportunity to return may be difficult to orchestrate.
-4. I should have thought this through before saying "top ten" because after I got down to 1, where was there to go? The last three items were not minuses.

It's taken me a week since our return to sort things out in my head (which is still rather overloaded) and these were just a few of the things that floated to the top when I began typing.