Europe Trip Recap: What We Learned

This was our first trip to Europe, and it came with plenty of lessons - some exciting, others we learned the hard way. Along the journey, we kept track of what we discovered so you could step into our shoes and benefit from our experiences. Instead of writing long explanations, I’ve organized everything into quick, practical bullet points grouped by category.

Planning

• ChatGPT - We used ChatGPT as our personal travel agent! Using prompts like these:
  • "Build me a two week itinerary exploring the best of these cities [insert cities]"
  • "Which routes should I make sure to take on the train to see the most scenic parts of the Alps?"
  • "I only have time for 3 of these 6 places while in [insert place], which should I prioritize and why?"
  • "What are the key things that I need to know before visiting [insert location]?"
  • "I want to experience authentic culture of [insert city or country] without any of the normal tourism, what do you recommend?"
• Avoiding Jet Lag - It's a 6-hour difference between our home and our destinations, but using Timeshifter helped us to avoid jet lag both going there and returning through it's circadian rhythm science uniquely tailored to each of our sleep patterns.
• Advanced Bookings - Certain places that we visited are very popular locations that we needed to book months in advance (Neuschwanstein Castle, Corrie Ten Boom House, Mozart String Quartet, and others), while most places we were able to walk right in (Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip, Prague Old Town Bridge Tower, and others).
• Finding Business Class Flights with Points - We used Roame.Travel to find direct business class flights to Europe (55,000 points each) and back to the US (75,000 points each). These flights also come with free Flagship Lounge Access, so we enjoyed the royal treatment and amazing food at the airports.

Transportation

• Flying Between Countries - Flying between European countries is as easy as (and cheaper) than flying between U.S. States. They also offer nice accommodations, like feeding you sandwiches on flights rather than snacks. 
• Train Travel - A popular mode of transportation in Europe is trains, but there are some key things to know:
  • Arrive Early - Some trains do not have a track assigned to them until 15 minutes before departure.
  • Changes Occur - If a train is given a track assignment far in advance, that can easily change, so make sure to monitor your train in real-time.
  • Use Google Maps - The best tool for monitoring train track assignments, arrival times, and walking directions to that landing platform is Google Maps.
• Taxis - Uber & Bolt were the two taxi services we found to be most prominent and easy-to-use. We chose based on who offered the cheaper route.
• e-Bikes & Scooters - Many cities offered e-Bikes & Scooters throughout the city that you could could scan with their app to activate, pay-per-minute, and drop off at designated locations. That was a fun, quick, easy, and cheap way to explore many cities.(Although, we did learn the hard was that scooters on cobblestone will leave you feeling quite shaken!)
• Navigation - Whether walking, biking, taking buses or subways, or just exploring, we found Apple Maps to be the best way to clearly navigate wherever we wanted to go with ease.

Money

• Know the Costs - Each city we visited had economic differences, which thankfully we knew going into it. Amsterdam is expensive because of its tourism culture, Krakow was the cheapest, Lucerne & Zurich were some of the highest costs because of their affluent culture. Wherever you're going, research the costs and conversion rates online in advance.
• Always Have Cash - 95% of places that we visited took credit cards, but there were a couple of times where we didn't have Euros on us and that was problematic, because of ATM issues.
• ATMs - There are ATMs throughout European Cities that will give you Euros, but it's not as easy as you think. This is why you should get Euros in advance and securely carry them with you wherever you're going. Here are two lessons we learned the hard way by not having enough Euros on us in a couple locations:
  • Exchange Rates - ATMs have a worse exchange rate.
  • ATM Networks - Not all ATMs work with the same debit networks. Thankfully, I had two different debit cards with me, because one ATM did not participate in the Chase Debit Network, but thankfully it did participate in the Citizens Bank Debit Network.
• Credit Cards - You should always use your credit cards whenever you can in Europe, because you're earning points there, just like you do here.
  • Foreign Transaction Fees - Make sure you're using a card with no foreign transaction fee (Like the Chase Sapphire or Capital One Venture cards)
  • Credit Networks - Both Visa & Mastercard are accepted anywhere cards are accepted. American Express was accepted in about 50% of the places that we went.
  • Currency Conversation - Whenever you make a purchase with your card, they give you the option of whether you want to pay in the local currency or in U.S. Dollars. Contrary to what you might think, you want to pay in the local currency, not in U.S. Dollars. That will allow your credit card to give you a better conversion rate than the over-the-counter rate. (Another thing we learned the hard way is that you have to change this setting in some of your apps, like Uber, to ensure you're not getting charged a worse conversion rate)
  • Digital Wallet - Most places offer tap-to-pay, but this is more than just a convenience to enjoy. Make sure to have your cards all loaded into your digital wallet. I only physically carried two cards with me - My Chase Sapphire (Visa) & Capital One Venture (Mastercard). My other credit & debit cards were loaded into my digital wallet. I used my American Express Card for some extra rewards thanks to it being loaded into my Apple Wallet, and thank goodness my Citizens Debit Card was loaded into my Digital Wallet, because that saved me from having to walk across town to a different ATM.
• Toilets & Water Are a Cost - Public bathrooms are often not free. I had to pay as much as 1 Euro to use the bathroom in many locations. Tap water (Still Water) will also be a higher charge anytime you order it at a restaurant.

Culture

• Navigating Language Barriers - Everywhere we went, expect Poland, was pretty English-friendly. Even in those places though, it was important to make sure people understood/defined the English words to make sure we had shared meaning. Google Lens was helpful in translating signs and writing and Chat GPT was helpful in not just translating, but also explaining menu options and signs. I am very excited for future trips that Apple has just released Live Translation on iOS26!
• Medicine - This was a big lesson that I learned the hard way... The U.S. and Europe have very different standards & access to medicine. Many of our over-the-counter medicines (Like Flonase & Melatonin) require both a doctor's examination and prescription. I developed sinus allergy issues as we traveled and really regretted that I did not pack more over-the-counter medication. It took me multiple days and a lot of searching to find what I needed.
• Know the Weather - We found out (The hard way) that Amsterdam often has unexpected spontaneous downpours of rain (Sometimes multiple times per day), and didn't have our umbrellas with us in some of those moments. We also learned that certain small-town lodging does not turn on their air conditioning units in August, even though they have them for warmer months.
• Timeframes are Later - In many places, most locals do not eat dinner until 7pm or later. You can either go earlier than that to beat the rush or wait to eat later if you want the non-tourist experience.

Travel with Confidence 

These are just a few of the many things that we learned along the way. I often find that people have an underlying fear or anxiety about traveling internationally & cross-culturally. Let me put you at ease by reassuring you that you'll be just fine. Especially in today's technology age you have a cell phone that will have cell service wherever you go, which means you can easily navigate any unknowns by using your phone to guide & direct you.

Although this is the last of my Europe Trip Recaps, I will always look back on Where We Went, What We Did, and What We Learned with an immense amount of gratitude for the amazing trip that we were able to take to celebrate our 10th Anniversary and do it totally free thanks to our points!