Tips

  • Tips

    Finding, Buying, & Selling a RV in Germany

    August 17, 2016 - By 

    We sure learned a lot after searching, buying, registering, driving, and living in a RV in Germany and throughout Europe, and then advertising, selling, and transferring the RV when we finished the journey.  I hope the information below helps anyone interested in embarking on an epic road trip in Europe. But first, here are the must-do’s before leaving the U.S.: Know how to drive a manual transmission vehicle.  Chris and I had already broken the American stereotype by having previously owned manual transmission cars–Yay! Most vehicles (including RVs) in Europe are manual transmission.  I certainly didn’t see any automatic options when…

  • Tips

    Getting A Long Stay Visa For Europe

    August 15, 2016 - By 

    I made an ignorant American mistake.  I assumed that with my U.S. passport, I could travel all throughout Europe visa-free, hassle-free, for as long as I wanted.  It was the last part where I was oh so very wrong. Exactly two weeks before our departure to Berlin, Chris discovered that Americans can only travel throughout the Schengen Area (26 European countries with a common visa policy) visa-free for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.  Once the 90 days are up, they would need to exit the Schengen Area (to let’s say the UK, or even Africa) and wait at least another 90…

  • Tips

    Our Must-Haves

    January 14, 2016 - By 

    We’ve found ourselves gratefully jotting down tips from other travelers and sharing these tips with friends and other travelers we meet during our adventures.  Rather than trying to recall our favorite services or phone applications (apps) from memory, I’m going to lay out all our favorite money tools, apps, services, and websites here.  These are more than just our favorite tools; I can’t imagine traveling without them!  Thanks to all the modern technology of the 21st century, traveling has become a piece of cake.  Sort of.   Plastic Money My go-to credit card for international travel is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.  Many…

  • Tips

    Five Months of Stuff for Southeast Asia

    April 3, 2014 - By 

    I’ve been asked about what I’ve packed more than once, so I figure it might make a good blog post.  It’s also nice documentation for any future insurance claims (knock on wood). 😉 When one leaves their home for five months and decides to live out of a backpack (albeit a rather substantial one), what does one bring along?  Some advice I’ve heard more than once is to lay out everything you think you might need, only pack half of it and bring twice as much money.  With 50 liter packs we can bring a lot, but we can’t bring…