Jim and I have driven many cars in many countries without incident so we really didn’t think too deeply about how a mechanical difficulty might bring our jolly explorations to a screeching halt and cause 30 minutes of tense feelings bordering on panic.

We had rented a beautiful large Mercedes and were looking forward to a comfortable drive.  Of course, we added our extra insurance and confirmed what kind of fuel we should put into the car before we left the rental agency.  As usual before we drove off the lot, we located the windshield wipers, turn signals and emergency brake and played with the radio and GPS to make sure we knew how to operate them.  These are the minimum any diligent rental car driver should do at all times.

Here we were, tootling along enjoying the countryside as we pulled away from yet another castle, when Jim noticed that the car was stalling while we were on the road.  First he pulled off the road and restarted the car and headed out again thinking it was a fluke.  When it happened again a minute later, he pulled off the road again and checked the gas.  Full tank.

This is where I piped up with….. "Maybe we need to use the emergency number and call the rental agency for a tow"?  But Jim wasn’t ready yet for that extreme.  He told me to pull out the car manual.

What we didn’t anticipate was the German language only manual for the car.  You can picture my dismay at the fact that the manual we needed to read was far above my utilitarian collage semester German. 

Naturally like any good English speaking person, I ransacked the glove box, sure that I would find an English translation.  I know……. very American of me…….. and of course, no such luck was to be found there.

So, paging through the German manual, I concentrated on the tiny symbols that were supposed to correspond to the incredibly intricate and complicated control board behind the steering wheel.  To me the control board seemed as impossible to read as one I might find on a 757 Airliner.  The weird circular symbol was unfamiliar to me, but I finally found a picture of it in the manual. Next to the symbol was some German car-speak I couldn’t read, except for one word….. Parkung……. and the light-bulb finally went on in my head.

I asked Jim if there was any way that he could be inadvertently pressing the parking brake lever while he was driving.  I had seen other cars where this automatically makes the car engine turn off as a safety feature. 

We decided to try to drive the car one more time.  Fortunately, this time I noticed that the large “P” would blink for a short second on the control board before going away and a second later, the car engine stalled.  We stopped the car, turned it off, set the brake and started over, making sure that all brakes were disengaged before we drove off. 

This time, Jim made sure he didn’t inadvertently hit the parking lever (which was in a really inconvenient location on this Mercedes!)  It literally stuck out from the steering wheel waiting for you to accidentally brush it.

Voila!  This fixed the problem.  No more stalling on the road!  You would never see two people more relieved than us.

But…… this experience has made me aware that if you plan to rent a car in a foreign country, be sure to obtain a list of automobile related words as well as words related to breaking down and a translation for the dashboard symbols.  The best place to get them would probably be the internet, and if you know exactly what make and model the rental car will be, you can even get an English language manual before you go!  Remember, guide-books also usually provide breakdown related words in their “need to know” sections.  This is extremely useful, but they won’t be specific to your model car. 

Be prepared because it won’t be fun to find yourself stranded by the road in a foreign country without a clue about how your car works.  Take my word for it!  

After coming back from our France trip a few days ago, I found myself dwelling on the effects of two great travel issues.   Water and Bathrooms………..

These are two really important aspects of travel and I as most people have obsessed over both while traveling, and I think I have learned a few really important things about both.

First let’s tackle water.  You can NEVER drink enough of it!  I can tell you, I LOVE to have a glass or two of wine on the long flight from the US to the Europe and even though I know that is the worst thing you can do when trying to prevent jet lag (the wine causes dehydration and headaches), I simply can’t make myself turn down the opportunity.  If you are stronger willed than I, then definitely turn down that beer or wine, because you will feel ten times better when you land. 

Absent that will however…… be sure to take on a medium to large size bottle of water onto the plane for each person in your group and drink that water religiously during the flight.  Yes, I know that you’ll have to wade your way through the sleeping passenger legs to get to the airplane toilet, but you’ll be rewarded for you pains in the end!

Once we have arrived and are busy visiting sites, don’t let down your water diligence.  My husband and I always carry two small bottles of water in my carry-all, this way if we can’t find time to sit at a café, we don’t get parched along the way, especially if we are traveling in warm weather.  Be sure to order a bottle of no-gas water every time you stop to eat also (actually we order a small one even if we are stopping at a café for coffee or a glass of wine). 

Unfortunately, this leads to the second big travel issue.  The toilets!  

I have had the misfortune to use some really strange toilets, the worst of which are holes in the ground that you hover over (usually found at public toilets and train stations).  Avoid those toilet locations unless really desperate and pray you don’t have sandals on!   I recently encountered one of these at the train station in Vernazza, Italy and it was the most disgusting, filthy experience I’ve had in a while. 

My recommendation is to use the facilities at the museums, castles, and other sites you might be visiting.  They are generally cleaner, more modern and less crowded. Be sure to take advantage of those opportunities as much as possible or you might regret it!

 My second choice is visiting the toilet at a café or restaurant.

Toilets at a café or restaurant happen to be a favorite for my husband since he is a more adaptable on this issue than I am.  Most toilets at restaurants are co-ed.  Jim has told me of the many times he has been standing using the urinal facilities only to see a woman walk behind him and enter a stall.  He doesn’t find this a problem, but just the idea keeps me from venturing into those particular toilets. 

I have though, many times, washed my hands at the communal sink with strange men, even though the actual toilet facilities are separate.  As an American, this never stops being strange to me.  If co-ed is no issue for you, then definitely go for it!

One more thing…….. ALWAYS carry change with you to the toilet.  In many countries, the toilets will cost you to enter.  In Europe it can be a Euro or two to open the lock on the stall, and sometimes there will be a restroom attendant who will expect you to pay her.  Americans are usually non-plussed about this particular requirement and often find themselves running around panicked if they have no change on them, asking merchants for change for their bills.  Don’t let yourself get into that situation!  Hoard your change! 

Be sure to keep up your diligence on both of these issues because lacking enough hydration can make your body feel off and your head splitting, and crazy toilet situations can leave you with travel memories you really could have lived without!       

OK,  by now you probably think that I’m some strange person obsessed with organization, but let me tell you……  

A little (well… maybe more than a little!) planning before you travel will make your trip much more enjoyable once you’re there!

Take this Loire Valley trip for instance.  To make my life easier, I took the most direct route to planning and bought a book about France road trips called Back Roads France published by DK Eyewitness Travel.  This saved me days on the internet searching for interesting places to visit and presented a well composed scenic route to follow with castles, cathedrals, wineries, quaint villages and lots of other recommendations for entertainment. 

When I had my list of places we wanted to visit (i.e. castles, wineries, restaurants etc.) ready, I researched the current opening hours on the internet for these places so that Jim and I wouldn’t show up to find them closed!  I also noted their location on the map and the telephone number in case we had problems finding them.  Nothing is more stressful than driving willy-nilly around an area hoping to wherever you are visiting either lost or wondering if it is open.  It can ruin a driving trip (and a relationship!) 

Since we only needed the ten pages of the book that discussed the “Centre” part of the Loire Valley (called the Valley of the Kings), I copied these pages to take with us on our trip.  There isn’t any reason to take the extra weight of the whole book.   I have found that I always end up being the pack-horse on our trips.  Umbrellas, guidebooks, cameras, water bottles and anything else we might need for the day go into my carry-all.  I’m not sure how that evolved, but Jim has very cleverly avoided carrying any of these things on any of our trips!  So, a few printer pages turn out to be much more manageable than a few guidebooks.

Most guide books come with pages that have all the Road Signs for that country listed along with pictures of what they look like along with important phrases for the road in that language like “Where is the gas station!”  I print these also and plan to have them at my fingertips while we drive. 

I learned that lesson the hard way when Jim and I ended up on a half-finished road in the forests of the Czech Republic with road workers laughing at us as we turned around in front of them.  We were at a dead-end in the middle of nowhere.  When we finally reached the point where we had entered the road originally, there was a large “Road Closed” symbol that I had neglected to read correctly.

Since I continue to be the navigator (with the help now of GPS in the car) I wanted to brush up on my  long unused college French.   I have found that the best way to do this is by using Rossetta Stone, Language-Learning Software.  It’s fun and easy to use and I found that it didn’t take long at all to spruce up my French.   Now I can embarrass myself and my husband with confidence when I try to actually speak it! 

So, we continue to plan and prepare so that we can actually enjoy being in the moment when we are in lovely France.