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How I’m Preparing for My First Trip to Europe

I’m flying to Europe for the first time at the end of this month. I’ve imagined traveling to Europe for basically my whole life, and I still can’t believe that I’m about to be there! When I grew up, we had au pairs. They were a perfect solution for our family, and I can’t imagine not having had them around when we were growing up.

They truly became a part of our family. So much so, that when I saw a great deal for round trip airfare to Frankfurt, Germany, I knew I had to go! I immediately texted one of our old au pairs asking if she would be willing to host me. It’s been nearly ten years since I’ve seen her, and we’ve both grown and changed a lot, but she immediately agreed to have me! So at the end of the month, I will be visiting her, her husband, and their two little boys in Frankfurt, Germany.

The first thing that I do whenever I book a trip is research. I read blog after blog and website after website trying to find as much information as I can about where I’m going, what I can expect, and what I need to do and see while I’m there. This trip is no different. I had 2 important things on my list that I wanted to try to do while in Frankfurt. I wanted to take a trip to Baden-Baden for a spa day, and I wanted to do another day trip to Luxembourg just because it was close and sounded cool!

I find it always helps to actually write everything out.

I did all my research and was prepared to take a train or a bus from Frankfurt to these places. With less than 3 weeks before my trip, I started looking into getting the train and bus tickets. I don’t know if I waited too long, or if this is normal, but the prices and trip durations that I found have absolutely shocked me. One route that I looked at, from Frankfurt to Strasbourg, was going to take nine hours and fifteen minutes, and it involved three transfers to get there. This is only 280ish kilometers (approximately 150 miles) from Frankfurt. They wanted to charge me 100EUR (more than $100) each way for this ridiculous bus ride. No, thank you!

So, there I was, less than three weeks out, realizing that I needed to rent a car and drive solo in a foreign country. Well, technically 2 foreign countries because I will be driving to Strasbourg for a day trip. I have about 2 weeks to learn everything I can about driving in a foreign country. How am I preparing for this, you ask? The internet!

Surprisingly, it’s much easier and less expensive for someone under the age of 25 to rent a car in Europe than I would’ve thought. In the past, I’ve looked into renting cars in the States, and there are virtually no rental car companies that will do it. If they do, you’re paying ridiculous rates to rent the car because you’re a “young driver.” The company that I’m going through, Europcar, is one of the biggest car rental companies in Europe, and they’ll rent to people as young as 18. Thanks to my research, I was able to find out that they will not only rent me a car, but they’ll rent me a car with an automatic transmission, which is super important because I can’t drive a stick. I also had to learn how rental car insurance works. Instead of going with insurance through the rental car company, I’ve decided to get insurance from an outside company, Allianz, for better coverage.

Itinerary Planning

Beyond figuring out how I’m going to be getting around in Europe, I’ve also started writing out itineraries and a budget. This is how my 8 day trip looks, as of right now. When I come home, I’ll have to put together an updated itinerary of how it all actually played out.

Day 1: Arrive in Frankfurt. Stay close to the city and check out local attractions.
Day 2: Drive to Luxembourg by way of Trier. Spend the night in Luxembourg!
Day 3: Drive home from Luxembourg, and stop to pick up rental car. Practice driving to get the hang of it.
Day 4: “Rest Day”. Not sure what I’ll be doing today. I’ll probably stay close to Frankfurt to get comfortable driving. Maybe a short drive to Wiesbaden?
Day 5: This is it, the big driving day! Drive from Wetzlar, Germany, to Strasbourg, France. Stop in Heidelberg for lunch and a bit of exploring. Spend the night in Strasbourg.
Day 6: Drive from Strasbourg to Baden-Baden. Wander around Baden-Baden, check out Lichtentaler Allee and Merkur Mountain, and have a spa day at Caracalla. Drive back to Frankfurt.
Day 7: “Rest Day”. Again, I’ll be staying closer to Frankfurt today. I’ll likely drive up to Cologne and check out another German city. Return the rental car by 7p.m.
Day 8: Fly Home!

Budget

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As a college student, I don’t have a ton of money to blow on a vacation. The biggest reason that I’m going is because I was able to find the airfare for such a reasonable price. Anything beyond that, I do a ton of research to make sure I’m getting the best prices and not spending too much money. Take the rental car insurance. The rental car company wanted me to pay an extra $70 for insurance through them. Their insurance would not cover nearly as much as the alternate insurance that I found for cheaper. Shopping around is super important, it’s how you find the best deals!

As I mentioned, a rental car (even with the young driver fee), is much more reasonable, in my opinion, in Europe than in the U.S. With that said, the rental car is still the biggest chunk of my budget. It’s another $50 for the rental car insurance, which I also think is fairly reasonable. I’d rather pay for it than have something happen and have to pay out of pocket, especially as it will be my first time renting a car, and my first time driving in another country.

Then, I’ve budgeted for my spa day at Caracalla Therme, which is incredibly affordable at $30 for a full day’s access to the bathing pools and sauna areas. It was recommended to me by a friend (thanks, Gussie!). It’ll be my one big “splurge” on the trip. I also set aside money for food and gas. Gas, I’ve learned, costs nearly double in Europe! Yikes.

Beyond that, I’ve also looked into little things I want to do in these places, such as taking the longest funicular railroad in Germany up Merkur Mountain to see the views of the Black Forest, and set aside money for that. In case you’re wondering, a funicular railroad is a train, specifically one on a mountainside, where the train is operated by cables with the ascending and descending cars counterbalanced.

Another thing that I’ve spent some time googling is the parking situations everywhere that I am going. The spa, for example, has a private lot that you need to pay to park in. So does the downtown area of Strasbourg. I have to be cognizant of the fact that parking is not always free, and that I need to have a plan for where I’ll be parking. The other thing I had to account for, when planning my budget, was a cell phone plan.

Initially, I wasn’t planning on getting a cell plan, and was going to rely on Wi-Fi. Once my plans changed to driving solo for nearly 600km, I’ve decided that I need to have a cell plan so that I can have access to things like Google Maps or Waze. And god forbid something goes wrong, I’ll be able to call someone no matter where I am, even if I don’t have Wi-Fi. So that was another important aspect I had to consider when figuring out how much everything was going to cost. Researching ahead of time and knowing how much things cost is the best way to travel, in my opinion.

What I’m Bringing With Me

I’m a notorious overpacker. And this will be the longest vacation I’ve taken in a long time, so I’m all but guaranteed to overpack.

One of the first things I do when planning any vacation is look at the weather averages for that location at the time I’ll be there. In November, Frankfurt’s average high is 48 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s average low is 39 degrees Fahrenheit. It rains, on average, nine days, every November. For December (because I’m traveling at the end of November, I feel it’s necessary to check both months), the weather shows an average high of 42 degrees, and a low of 35 degrees. Knowing this information helps me know what to pack. With this in mind, I have a tentative list of what I’m going to be bringing with me. This list will probably change a lot over the next two weeks, but for now, this is the plan.

Passport – Uh. Duh? I can’t go anywhere without my passport! It is the most important thing for me to bring. Along with my driver’s license and other forms of ID and paperwork.
Portable Charger – I cannot LIVE without this thing. I bought it for my trip to Orlando and it has changed my life. As long as I have this guy, I never have to worry about my phone dying.
Duffel Bag – Because I’m doing two overnights (one in Strasbourg and one in Luxembourg), I think it’s important to bring a smaller duffle bag that I can use on those days.
Car Charger – Now that I’m renting a car, I have to remember to bring a charger for my phone for the car. This way, I can run Google Maps without worrying about running down the battery on my phone. Another thing I might bring is a mount so that I can have the phone up in my line of sight instead of having to glance down at it for directions.
Travel Power Adapter – Wow. Most of the things on my, “I absolutely cannot forget this”- list are electronic related. This stuff is so important because I don’t want to get to Germany and realize I can’t charge anything.
A winter coat, gloves, scarf, and hat – Since the weather is going to be between 30 and 40 degrees while I’m there, winter clothing is important. Especially because I’ll be driving 600 kilometers solo, and if I break down somewhere, I want to make sure to be prepared for anything, weather-wise.
A swim suit for my spa day – Baden-Baden is famous for it’s thermal waters. The spa that I’m going to is one where they require that you wear a swimsuit in the bathing area, so it’s important to remember this! I will also be bringing a pair of flip-flops to wear in the locker rooms and showers at the spa. Along with swimsuits and flip-flops, I also need to research the protocol for towels. Their website is super vague, and as are reviews. I will have to call them and see if you have to bring your own towels in.
4 pairs of pants – If I’m going to be in Germany for 6 full days, I need plenty of clothes. That six days is not accounting for the days I’ll be traveling. If you add those in, it’s almost 9 days! However, if I pack four pairs of pants, I should have enough to last through the trip. This also doesn’t include the pair that I will be wearing on the plane.
One nice dress – Just in case I end up doing something a bit fancy, I want to be prepared with a cute dress. I’ll bring a pair of tights too, as it will probably be a bit chilly for bare legs!
8 blouses/tops – Again, packing for redundancy! 8 should be plenty, considering that I’ll need shirts for six full days, plus one day of travel. That leaves me one extra, and if you count the dress I’ll bring, that’s two extra days worth of outfits.
Shoes – Beyond the flip-flops I’m bringing for my spa day, I need to bring a few pairs of sensible shoes, as well. This is where I am least decided on what to bring. It’s incredibly weather-dependent. I think that I’ll probably bring a comfortable pair of heeled booties, and then possibly a pair of sneakers. However, if the weather is snowy, then the heels are out in favor of some more weather-proof shoes.
Treats – So, when Kerstin used to come visit us, she would bring Kinder Eggs, because we couldn’t get the good ones here. I want to return the favor for them! I did a lot of googling, and I’ve found that among the things you can’t get easily in Germany are, Hostess anything, AirHeads, PopTarts, Peeps, Cheetos, and more! So I’m going to pack a bunch of goodies in my suitcase, as their boys have probably never tried many of these things, and she and her husband might enjoy them too.
My Kindle – I’m not entirely sure what the protocol in German spas is. But since I’ll be going alone, if it’s an option, I’d love to bring my Kindle and soak in the pools. Beyond that, if I have my Kindle, I can sit and read in a restaurant instead of sitting on my phone the whole time. Same goes for when I’m in the airport or on the plane. It helps keep me busy and it won’t drain my phone battery. I don’t know where I would be without my Kindle! It comes everywhere with me.

Obviously, this list will be changing as I get closer to going on the trip. The weather for the week may be entirely different than the averages that I’m seeing listed for weather in November. I might need to pack completely different clothes! We’ll see. For now, this is my tentative packing list for Germany.

This is how I have prepared so far! Here’s hoping that with all this prep, my trip will be relatively smooth sailing. Two weeks away and I’ve pretty much nailed down my packing list, my budget, and my itinerary! Is there anything I’ve forgotten or that I need to consider? Let me know in the comments below!

Donut Digest

My first job was at a donut shop. We simply called it, “the donut shop,” despite it having a real name. It was a little mom-and-pop donut shop that was run by a family. I was one of the few employees who was not related to the family in some way. That job taught me a lot about life. But, more importantly, it taught me a lot about donuts.

When I worked at the shop, we had a policy. At the end of the day, if we had, say, 3 dozen or more donuts left over, we would call a church or charitable organization and they could come and collect them for a food pantry-type situation. However, if there were less than 3 dozen donuts left, it wasn’t worth having the church people drive over, as they came from pretty far away. These donuts were either going to be tossed, or they needed to be brought home by somebody.

I was raised in a family where you do not waste food. We once ordered lechon for a family gathering and had so much leftover pig. My Auntie almost fainted when we told her that we weren’t going to keep the whole thing. The next thing I know, my little Filipino Auntie is grabbing two big black garbage bags and sliding the pig carcass into them, preparing to shove it into the trunk of her car. She refused to let us waste that food.

That anecdote is one of many that I could tell on the topic of Filipinos not wasting food. But, not wasting food was something that was instilled in me from a young age. So the thought of dozens of donuts being tossed out each day? It was preposterous! Naturally, I brought them home pretty much every time it happened on my shift. My family had so many donuts in the year and a half that I worked there that I’m surprised anyone still has a stomach for them! Beyond that, we were allowed to eat the donuts (to an extent), while we worked. If we worked a morning shift, we could help ourselves to breakfast. If we worked a lunch shift, it meant donuts for lunch!

Because of this experience, I consider myself a donut connoisseur. I’ve tried so many different flavors of donuts, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you them all! I was on a trip earlier this year, and I realized, I tend to go get a donut whenever I’m traveling. I just gravitate towards donut shops, I guess. Then and there, I decided that that was going to be my goal. I want to try a donut from a mom-and-pop donut shop in each state, and beyond that, anywhere I go where they make donuts!

I tossed this idea out to my Mame, who I was with at the time, and she said, “Well, why don’t you write about each donut you try?” I brushed the idea off, because writing about my travels online was not anything I was considering at the time. Lo and behold, a month and a half later, here I am, starting my Donut Digest.

This compendium of donuts will consist of where I tried the donuts and a ranking of the donut shop on a scale from 1 to 10. As I try new donuts, I’ll update the Digest!

Best of the Best

Pinkbox Doughnuts – Las Vegas, NV

My poop emoji donut got a bit damaged on the drive home, oops! In the picture on the right, the cronut is the donut on the front left. The unicorn in the back was one of my favorites!

According to their website, Pinkbox was cited as the Best in Las Vegas in both 2017 and 2018. Pinkbox absolutely blew me away the first time I tried them, and honestly? They might be my number one donut shop of all time. When I go to Vegas, it’s one of the first places that I know I need to stop at!

Pinkbox is a bit different than a normal donut shop. When you walk in, they do have the typical donut shop display case. But, instead of the employees grabbing donuts out of the glass display cases, they only have one or two donuts on display. The rest of the donuts are stored on baking racks, and the employees grab them straight off of the racks instead of out of the display cases. As someone who frequents donut shops, I’d never seen a setup quite like that before and found it interesting!

Pinkbox does one of the best cronuts I’ve ever had. I’ve come to realize that many people do not know what a cronut is! I guess it’s something you only really know about if you’re very much enamored with donuts, as I am. A cronut is, you guessed it, a mix between a croissant and a donut! A.K.A. Heaven on earth! They’re probably one of my favorite foods. Pinkbox really outdoes themselves with their cronut, or, as they call it, a DoughCro. They also do really fun, cutesy donuts that are totally instagrammable! The first time I stopped there, I got a red velvet unicorn. The second time? It was a poop emoji donut!

Pinkbox, in my opinion, is the best of the best. If you ever stop in, you definitely need to grab a DoughCro!

Donut Digest Rating: 8 out of 10!

The Farmhouse Donuts and Decor – Sarasota, FL

Pictured: Farmer’s Sugar Toast, Sweet Squealing Pig, and Apple Pie. Not pictured: the cronut.

You just read me raving about the DoughCro at Pinkbox. Honestly, I thought that nothing would ever top that cronut. Until I spontaneously stopped into a tiny, just opened donut shop in Sarasota, FL. My Mame and I were driving down the road and I spotted a pretty banner on the side of a building advertising a newly opened donut shop. I immediately said, “OOH what’s that?” We both decided to check it out on our way back from lunch we were headed to. I am so glad we did. I have DREAMS about those donuts.

This place was super neat! There are 3 locations, one in Sarasota, one in Bradenton, and then one in Georgia! They sell custom and pre-made furniture, all of which is gorgeous! And they make donuts and sell coffee and other foods as well.

When you walk in, you grab a “menu”. Their menu is a piece of paper on which you can check off which donuts, drinks, or food items you want. Then, you bring it up to the counter and place your order. There were so many options that we had to try multiple donuts each despite being stuffed from lunch!

We decided to do a mini of the “Farmer’s Sugar Toast,” which was a donut topped with cinnamon sugar, maple, and marshmallow drizzle. It was out of this world. We also got a “Sweet Squealing Pig,” which was a maple, bacon, and salt donut! I’m not a huge maple bacon person (shocking, right?), but this one was pretty dang delicious! But, the pièce de résistance was the cronut.

Oh my LORD. This was the best cronut I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried many cronuts. They brought it out warmed up and covered in warm glaze, and I think I died and went to heaven.

Overall, this place ranks WAY up there on my list of best donut shops in the country! I cannot imagine a single donut tasting badly from this place! And the whole shop is adorable, with all of the furniture that they constructed on display. If you’re ever in Clayton, Georgia, or Sarasota or Bradenton, FL, it’s absolutely worth your time to stop in!

Donut Digest Rating: 9 out of 10.

NOLA Doughnuts – Portland, OR

A s’mores La’ssant and my doughnut bites.

Last year, I tried Blue Star Donuts in Portland, and was quite honestly a bit disappointed by them. They’ll be briefly mentioned in the Digest, but their donuts don’t warrant a lengthy mention. This year, I needed to try something new, and I stumbled across NOLA Doughnuts.

NOLA Doughnuts is located pretty much next door to Powell’s! If you’re visiting Portland, chances are you’re planning a trip to Powell’s. And if that’s the case, why not stop in at NOLA?! It’s a slippery slope, I’ll tell ya.

I wasn’t really hungry, yet I found myself devouring every bit of the entirely too much food that I ordered. Now, I’ve never been to New Orleans or had a proper beignet. NOLA Doughnuts claims to be authentic because they’re run by siblings born and raised in New Orleans. I can’t speak for how authentic they are, but I can vouch for how delicious they are!

While they do sell traditional beignets, I was drawn to their “specialty” item, which is the La’ssant. According to their website, a La’ssant is a square doughnut with “great complexity of flavor, a deep richness, and a delicate, crisp outer layer.” And you know what? Every word of that description rings true. I was drawn to the S’mores La’ssant, although I’m not a huge s’mores person typically. It definitely was the right call. It was covered in chocolate ganache, topped with marshmallow fluff that was somehow still melty, and a graham cracker cookie butter. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Holy smokes.

On top of that, I got a few Doughnut Bites, which were also fantastic! They weren’t too sweet, and they were the perfect size for a quick snack. You’ve heard me going on about my love for cronuts, but I think I have a new love for La’ssants. They’re both so delicious.

If you’re in Portland, you have to make some time to stop in at NOLA!

Donut Digest Rating: 9 out of 10

Daily Dozen Doughnut Company – Seattle, WA

Daily Dozen is located in Pike Place Market. I do a ton of research before I go anywhere. I always have a plan. My plans for the day that I arrived in Seattle had me dropping off my bags, and heading straight to Pike Place for a stop at Daily Dozen. But when I got to Pike Place Market, I wandered for a good half hour before I laid eyes on Daily Dozen! It’s a bit hidden.

When you walk into the main entrance of Pike Place, instead of walking towards your right, towards the flowers, you need to go LEFT, past the Pike Place Fish Co., then hook another left almost immediately. It will then be on your left hand side. It’s very disorienting to try and find if you’ve never been to Pike Place and you’re busy trying to see all that there is to see!

Daily Dozen is cash only. I knew that going in because of my extensive online research! There was virtually no line when I went, and I got a half a dozen, assorted. This place had ridiculously good Yelp reviews, and basically everywhere I looked online said that it was the place to stop while in Seattle.

As a donut connoisseur though, I was disappointed. The only one that stood out to me was the cinnamon sugar donut. If I ever went back, I would get a half dozen JUST cinnamon sugar.

I just wasn’t impressed with it overall! The sprinkle and powdered sugar donuts were dry. And they made a mess. If you’re a person who hates messy food, like I am, then you will not love this place. You order your donuts, and they grab a brown paper lunch bag. Then, they throw in plain fried donuts (if you’ve ordered cinnamon sugar), and take a big shaker and shake the cinnamon sugar right into your bag. Essentially “making” the donuts in front of you. The powdered sugar and sprinkle are already made and then thrown haphazardly into the bag, too. It’s pretty messy to try and eat, and I wasn’t really a fan of it.

Another thing to note about Daily Dozen is that there is VERY limited seating! So just be aware of that if you stop in. Would I go back? Yes. But I would only get the cinnamon sugar! Those were the one redeeming quality of this place!

Donut Digest Rating: 6 out of 10.

Doughnut Vault – Chicago, IL

As you can see in this image, the Doughnut Vault on Canal is so cute!

Time for some bias. Chicago has a GREAT donut scene. Two Chicago donut shops are making my “Best of the Best” list! Doughnut Vault has two locations, but I’ve personally only stopped in at one of them. One location on Canal, and one on Franklin. I’ve had Doughnut Vault many times, and it’s always delicious!

The location that I’ve been to, Canal Vault, is super cute and instagrammable! The donuts are a bit pricey, like all the food in Chicago is, but they’re delicious! The best days at work are the days when someone brings in a box from Doughnut Vault! Someone actually brought in a box this morning, and it made my whole day. It’s also nice because the Canal location is located right on my walk to work. Well worth a stop if you’re in the city.

Donut Digest Rating: 8 out of 10

Firecakes – Chicago, IL

Firecakes was one of the first Chicago donut chains that I tried. After I had them once, I was hooked. It was lucky that they weren’t easy for me to get to, it was a pain to walk up to their location, and it was annoying to take the train such a short distance. So I rarely got them.

Fate intervened. They opened a Firecakes location TWO BLOCKS from my office. And I got to eat them more often!

Firecakes does an amazing raised (yeast) donut. They use Valrhona chocolate on their donuts, and if you’ve never had that, it’s life-changing. It’s actually an item on my Christmas wishlist this year, because although I think it’s ridiculous to pay $13 for a thing of cocoa powder, I won’t stop someone else from buying it for me! The Valrhona chocolate donut is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, and everything else from Firecakes is amazing as well!

Donut Digest Rating: 8 out of 10

Honorable Mentions:

Blue Star Donut – Portland, OR

Donut Digest Rating: 4 out of 10

Voodoo Doughnut – I’ve seen them in Portland and Orlando!

Donut Digest Rating: 5 out of 10

Stan’s Donuts – Chicago, IL

Donut Digest Rating: 7 out of 10

Do-Rite Donuts – Chicago, IL

Donut Digest Rating: 7 out of 10

If you have suggestions for doughnuts or doughnut shops that I need to try, I would love to hear them! Drop a line here!

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Itinerary Planning

Day 1: Arrive in Frankfurt. Stay close to the city and check out local attractions.

Day 2: Drive to Luxembourg by way of Trier. Spend the night in Luxembourg!

Day 3: Drive home from Luxembourg, and stop to pick up rental car. Practice driving to get the hang of it.

Day 4: “Rest Day”. Not sure what I’ll be doing today. I’ll probably stay close to Frankfurt to get comfortable driving. Maybe a short drive to Wiesbaden?

Day 5: This is it, the big driving day! Drive from Wetzlar, Germany, to Strasbourg, France. Stop in Heidelberg for lunch and a bit of exploring. Spend the night in Strasbourg.

Day 6: Drive from Strasbourg to Baden-Baden. Wander around Baden-Baden, check out Lichtentaler Allee and Merkur Mountain, and have a spa day at Caracalla. Drive back to Frankfurt.

Day 7: “Rest Day”. Again, I’ll be staying closer to Frankfurt today. I’ll likely drive up to Cologne and check out another German city. Return the rental car by 7p.m.

Day 8: Fly Home!