Slow Travel: Retired and Loving It! A New “How to” Guide for Retirees Visiting Europe

By Lynn Michelsohn and Larry Michelsohn

Does your retirement plan include travel?

Let Lynn and Larry Michelsohn help you enjoy a relaxed, fun-filled summer in Europe. Their lighthearted retirement travel guide shows you how to . . .

~ Choose countries that sound interesting—places you’ve always wanted to visit.

~ Travel by ship, plane, train, bus, tram, taxi—no driving on the wrong side of the road required.

~ Settle into a European city for a week or a month. Get to know the place and its people better than is possible on a whirlwind tour.

~ String together a few month-long stays in different cities. Why not? You’re retired. Your time is your own.

~ Stay in rented apartments—so easy to arrange using the Internet.

~ Cook for yourself—and sample as much or as little of the “native cuisine” as you dare.

~ Live like locals as far as is conveniently possible and as frugally as you need to.

~ Look for sufficient adventure to spice things up—enough, but not too much—find whatever level of challenge suits you.

Let SLOW TRAVEL—RETIRED AND LOVING IT! inspire you to plan your own Slow Travel adventure.

Larry and Lynn say, “Slow Travel makes a summer in Europe easier and less expensive than you think. If we can do it, almost anyone can!”

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to Slow Travel

Chapter 1. Where in the World Is . . . ?
(Choosing a destination)

Chapter 2. An Arm and a Leg?
(Costs, finding freebies)

Chapter 3. Ready, Willing, and Able.
(Getting ready, passports, visas)

Chapter 4. What to Take?
(Clothes, equipment, supplies)

Chapter 5. Home Sweet Temporary Home.
(Accommodations)

Chapter 6. Can I Drink the Water?
(Tap water, bottled water)

Chapter 7. Eating our Way through Europe, Part 1: Buying groceries

(Foods, grocery stores, markets)

Chapter 8. Money, Money, Money.
(Cash, credit cards)

Chapter 9. Habla . . . Sprechen Sie . . . Parlez- vous . . . English?
(Language)

Chapter 10. There and Back Again.
(Crossing the Pond)

Chapter 11. Trains, Planes, Trams, and Trolleys.
(Transportation in Europe)

Chapter 12. Attitudes—Pro and Con.
(What do Europeans think?)

Chapter 13. We’re Here, Now What?
(Tours, tourist information, tourist services)
Chapter 14. Popular Entertainment.
(Music, sports, TV, movies, the Internet)
Chapter 15. Highbrow Entertainment.
(Opera, concerts, theater)

Chapter 16. Is That All?
(Museums, sporting activities, family research)

Chapter 17. Getting To Know You . . .
(Meeting locals and fellow travelers)

Chapter 18. Eating Our Way Through Europe, Part 2: Eating Out.
(Restaurants, street food)

Chapter 19. Wet Your Whistle.
(Bars, pubs, alcohol)

Chapter 20. Shop Till You Drop.
(Stores, products, business hours, souvenirs)

Chapter 21. An Apple a Day . . .
(Health)

Chapter 22. Stay in Touch.
(Phones, the Internet, snail mail, newspapers)
Chapter 23. . . . And the Law Won.
(Laws, drugs, police, crime, terrorism)

Chapter 24. And Did I Mention?
(Time, measures, restrooms, tipping)
Chapter 25. Slow Travel—How to Relax and See the World.
(You can do it!)

Isn’t a whole summer in Europe too hard? Isn't it too expensive? No! Not if you prepare well, remain flexible in your plans and expectations, live reasonably, and maintain a sense of humor. Why not give it a try?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynn Michelsohn
• Release date: Mar 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370227105

Lynn Michelsohn

Travel, history, and folklore often come together in Lynn Michelsohn's books. Ghost stories associated with particular historical locations especially interest her, as do fascinating characters and quirky facts about places she loves--the South Carolina Lowcountry, the American Southwest, and the Galapagos Islands. A Message from the Author: I write for three reasons. First of all, it's fun. Secondly, it keeps my brain alive and functioning as I learn new things. Finally, and probably most importantly, it keeps me out of my sons' hair (I just know I could run their lives, if only they would let me!). Several years ago, I closed my long-time New Mexico practice in clinical and forensic psychology to devote more time to writing--and beachcombing. My husband, a former attorney, and I now divide our time between Santa Fe and Hutchinson Island, Florida, where our two adult sons visit us regularly (but not often enough). Wow! This writing (and beachcombing) is really great! I recommend it to all of you who have ever thought about starting that memoir or article or novel. Kindle makes publishing incredibly easy, and who knows, you might even sell a few hundred thousand copies (I haven't yet)! After years of living in Roswell with its sometimes offbeat attractions and history--the Roswell Incident, for example--writing "Roswell, Your Travel Guide to the UFO Capital of the World!" gave me the chance to share these interests with visitors to the Land of Enchantment. Next I wrote a book about a distinctly different region, one I have loved since my childhood spent knee-deep in the marshes and saltwater creeks of the South Carolina coast. "Tales from Brookgreen: Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry" recounts stories from Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina's popular tourist attraction near Myrtle Beach. I am happy to see that the three shorter collections of tales from this longer work are quite popular on Kindle: "Lowcountry Ghosts," "Gullah Ghosts," and "Crab Boy's Ghost." Recently I released two new short collections, "Lowcountry Hurricanes" and "Lowcountry Confederates" in a new series called "More Tales from Brookgreen." I hope to add more lowcountry ghost stories and folktales to the series soon. Did you know that Herman Melville, of "Moby-Dick" fame, wrote a series of articles describing the Galapagos Islands? Neither did I until recently. I've had fun putting Melville's articles together with wonderful photographs taken by my son Moses in the Galapagos Islands, and writing introductory material to create a book for the modern visitor to the place Melville referred to as "The Encantadas." We call the book "In the Galapagos Islands with Herman Melville" and hope this glimpse into the "Enchanted Isles," written over 150 years ago, will enrich the visits of today's travelers. I've also put two shorter ebooks from it on Kindle that feature even more of Moses' great photos: "Galapagos Islands Birds" and "Galapagos Islands Landscapes." Recently I've gotten interested in researching the famous New Mexico outlaw Billy the Kid, especially the time he spent in Santa Fe. Did you know that more movies have been made about him over the years than about ANY OTHER individual? I have already completed one short book, "Billy the Kid's Jail," and one longer book, "Billy the Kid in Santa Fe, Book One: Young Billy." It is the first in a non-fiction trilogy exploring Santa Fe of the 1870s and 1880s and the time Billy spent there. I'm currently working on "Book Two: Outlaw Billy," describing his stay in the Santa Fe jail during the winter of 1880-1881. It's hard to avoid detouring into writing more about Santa Fe itself as I often get lost in reading local newspapers from that era. So many fascinating details!

Book preview

Baby Boomers Retirement Travel Series

Slow Travel

Retired and Loving It!

A New How to Guide

for Retirees Visiting Europe

Lynn Michelsohn

and

Larry Michelsohn

Cleanan Press, Inc.

Roswell, New Mexico

USA

Copyright © 2017 Lynn Michelsohn and Larry Michelsohn

Table of Contents

Title Page

Introduction to Slow Travel

1. Where in the World Is . . . ?

Choosing a destination.

2. An Arm and a Leg?

Costs, finding freebies.

3. Ready, Willing, and Able.

Getting ready, passports, visas.

4. What to Take?

Clothes, equipment, supplies.

5. Home Sweet Temporary Home.

Accommodations.

6. Can I Drink the Water?

Tap water, bottled water.

7. Eating our Way through Europe, Part 1: Buying Groceries.

Foods, grocery stores, markets.

8. Money, Money, Money.

Cash, credit and debit cards.

9. Habla . . . Sprechen Sie . . . Parlez-vous . . . English?

Language.

10. There and Back Again.

Crossing the Pond.

11. Trains, Planes, Trams, Trolleys.

Transportation in Europe.

12. Attitudes—Pro and Con.

What do Europeans think?

13. We’re Here, Now What?

Tours, tourist information, services.

14. Popular Entertainment.

Music, sports, TV, movies, the Internet.

15. Highbrow Entertainment.

Opera, concerts, theater.

16. Is That All?

Museums, battlefields, family history.

17. Getting To Know You . . .

Meeting locals and fellow travelers.

18. Eating Our Way through Europe, Part 2: Eating Out.

Restaurants, street food.

19. Wet Your Whistle.

Bars, pubs, alcohol.

20. Shop Till You Drop.

Stores, products, hours, souvenirs.

21. An Apple a Day . . .

Health.

22. Stay in Touch.

Phones, the Internet, mail, news.

23. . . . And the Law Won.

Laws, drugs, crime, terrorism.

24. And Did I Mention?

Time, measures, restrooms, tipping.

25. Slow Travel—How to Relax and See the World.

You can do it!

Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Extended Copyright and Disclaimer

Other Books by the Authors

Introduction

Do you want to travel the world?

Why not do it! We did.

We’re a retired Baby Boomer couple, happy to be healthy and in good shape. Well, reasonably good shape. Well … sort of good shape.

We are also fortunate in having had two well-paying professional careers—psychology and law. But we have always valued our free time and family activities more than money, so we didn’t amass great fortunes. We consider ourselves frugal, although some of our relatives prefer the word cheap.

After putting two children through college—and one of them through law school—we decided to fulfill our long-time dream of spending a relaxing summer in Europe, just getting to know the place.

If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium package tours didn’t appeal to us. Certainly that type of travel has its place. It can be nice to have someone else take care of everything while you just enjoy. But to get to know a place, and maybe some of its people, you need to LIVE there for a while.

A permanent move to a foreign country requires a major commitment. Instead, we chose something less drastic—Slow Travel—settling into a place for a week or a month at a time to experience something different from our familiar surroundings without making life-shaking changes.

Of course, a week or a month only sparks a glimmer of real understanding, whether it be of a city or of a country. But the limits of time require compromises . . .

As retirees with few time constraints, we figured that as long as we were expending the money and effort to get to Europe, we might as well stay a while. Two months? Four months? Why not six months? One month here, one month there—think of all the places we could see, even with our Slow Travel approach!

And so our retiree adventure began. We have now spent our third summer in Europe, enjoying (almost) every minute.

We choose countries that sound interesting and relatively safe, and where a good number of people speak English, at least in the tourist areas. We travel by ship, plane, train, and other public transportation, and stay in apartments rented through Airbnb—all easy to arrange using the Internet.

Our Principles

◊ We put ourselves in positions to learn about new, or relatively new, places and their inhabitants.

◊ We settle in for fairly long periods of time—a week or a month. We want to see a variety of localities without getting caught up in a whirlwind tour. A month in each location generally seems ideal to us. This allows us to get to know the area at a leisurely pace but avoids too many hours spent on planes or trains—or more likely, waiting in train stations and airports—and also reduces the effort of arranging for too many places to stay.

◊ We continue many of our usual daily pursuits—reading, writing, cooking, exercising, playing guitar, watching movies, chatting on Facebook. We just do them in a different setting, with a few additional activities thrown in.

◊ We live as much like locals as we find conveniently possible, but don’t pass up experiences just because they seem touristy. That usually means they are interesting or fun.

◊ We live reasonably frugally, but don’t deny ourselves things we really enjoy. We’ll (probably) only live (here) once! The only absolutely necessary expenses beyond those we encounter living in the US come from tickets to get where we’re going and places to stay once we’ve gotten there. At home or abroad, we still have to eat, right?

◊ We look for enough adventure to spice things up—a little, but not too much. Pushing our boundaries staves off boredom, but each person has his or her own level of tolerance for new and exciting.

◊ We don’t wear ourselves out. We want our Slow Travel to be fun, not exhausting. We definitely don’t want it to feel like a chore—Tour one more magnificent cathedral? Really? Maybe next time . . .

At the urging of friends, we created this series of books explaining our way of experiencing the world. This first book in the series lays out the how to—or how not to—aspects of the gentle adventure we call Slow Travel. Subsequent books chronicle our experiences putting Slow Travel principles into practice. These lighthearted travel memoirs come from correspondence with friends and relatives back home during our travels.

We hope you enjoy our books. And we hope they inspire you to try Slow Travel for yourself.

Going to Europe for a summer sounds hard. It really isn’t if you prepare well, remain flexible in your plans and expectations, and maintain a sense of humor. It’s easier and less expensive than you think—if we can do it, almost anyone can!

We almost always prefer Slow Travel, but you might only want to try it occasionally, or perhaps just for that once in a lifetime summer. Whatever works for you . . .

Does Slow Travel sound appealing?

Want to know more?

Let’s get started.

Europe

Chapter 1.

Where in the World Is . . . ?

Choosing a destination

What interests you? Have you always wanted to see the sun rise at Stonehenge or learn to make authentic Spanish paella? Hike the Italian Alps or spend Halloween in Dracula’s castle? Guide a dog- sled across Lapland or sketch the Acropolis? Whatever it is, go for it! If not now, when?

Any new experiences usually interest us, rather than specific ones, therefore the exact location of our Slow Travel doesn’t matter. It’s almost all new to us.

Most of the time,