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Traveling In Europe By Train

Have you ever decided to do something while traveling and then wondered if that was a good decision?

Recently, I planned a trip for my family to travel around Europe by train. We planned on visiting four countries during our vacation. After considering the pros and cons of renting a car or traveling by train, train travel stood out as the best choice for us. I have traveled by train in Europe without my family in the past and really enjoyed it, but that was years ago. What if traveling with a family was more difficult? What if I didn’t remember how to do it or screwed up and got on the wrong train or off at the wrong destination and lead my family astray? These questions swirled around in my mind.

Because we were going to several different destinations, I decided to purchase Eurail passes for each of us. Eurail offers quite a few options for passes, so you can pick the best-fitting one based on how many countries you will visit and how many days you want to travel. We purchased the Eurail Select Pass, which worked perfectly with our itinerary because it would allow us to travel throughout 4 bordering countries of our choice. Next, I looked at all of the train departure times and made reservations on the trains that required a reservation. I also downloaded the Eurail “Rail Planner” app on my phone. This app gave me access to rail schedules, made it easy to locate train stations, displayed city maps, and much more. We were well prepared before we left for Europe.

Salzburg Train Station — Waiting at the train platform in Salzburg, Austria

Once we arrived in Europe, we walked to the train station that was located right at the airport. By looking at the train arrival/departure monitors, we could see which track our train would come in on, as well as the exact time it was scheduled to depart. All we had to do was head to the platform and wait for the train. Once we loaded our luggage on the train, we were able to relax and enjoy the ride. After a long night of sitting cooped up on an airplane, it felt so nice to be on the train; we could get up and walk around as much as we wanted or enjoy the comfortable train seats. And the views out the windows were a great way to acclimate ourselves to our current location.

Train Travel in Europe — Enjoying the big windows and roomy seats on the train after a cramped overnight flight.

My family embraced riding on the train. Our teenagers were excited to discover that the “the train was just like the trains used in the Harry Potter movies.” They loved that there was a food car on most of the trains as well, and that we were served a meal on the long train rides. Traveling in Europe by train with my family was just as good as it had been when I traveled alone. The extensive rail network in Europe made it simple to transfer from one destination to the next, and getting on and off the train was much easier than I remembered. There was no reason for me to be worried at all and I will definitely plan to travel by train in Europe again.

If the ease, comfort, and convenience of train travel appeals to you, let us know and we can help you arrange rail tickets and passes for your next vacation. Witte Travel & Tours is the only agency in West Michigan that has a direct link to Rail Europe’s reservation system, so we can process rail passes quickly while avoiding costly shipping fees.

What has been your experience with traveling by train? Share your stories with us on Facebook, or let us know what you think in the comments!

Witte Travel Guide: Using Your Smartphone Abroad

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[col2_last]These days, we rely on our smartphones for just about everything. They function as a computer, an MP3 player, a camera, and a GPS. We need them to make calls, send emails and text messages, update social media, take and share photos of our trips, and navigate foreign cities. The very thought of being disconnected from all of that can be slightly terrifying, especially while traveling to a new place. However, the fear of unwanted roaming fees, data charges, and connectivity issues often leads people to leave their phones at home or in their hotel room. But there’s good news — it doesn’t have to be that way. First of all, you probably will not actually need your phone or the internet as much as you might think. Consider this opportunity to “unplug” while you travel as an invitation to experience the world vividly again, with all of your senses and attention intact. Lift your eyes from your screen so that you can see new skylines and vast landscapes as they are, and not as they appear through an Instagram filter. Put away your phone so that you can free your hands to feel the textures of ancient castles or crumbling ruins or faraway seas. Take off your headphones, and pause to listen to the conversations around you in languages you don’t understand. Liberate yourself from the compulsive need to read every email, Facebook notification, and text message the moment that you receive it, and marvel at the fact that life carries on anyway. All of that being said, there is also joy in sharing your travel experiences with others back home. And there is peace in knowing that you can be reached if there’s an emergency at home or at work, or in letting your loved ones know that you made it safely to your destination. So if you’re not quite prepared to go completely offline during your next trip, here are a few tips to help you stay connected without breaking the bank.[/col2_last]
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International Phone Plans

For some people, adding international service to an existing phone plan is an appealing strategy for keeping in touch while traveling. First, think about how you might use your phone during your trip. Will you be making or receiving a lot of phone calls? Do you need to be reachable at all times? Do you require regular access to your email? If so, you might consider signing up for an international plan with your service provider. Although you can still make calls, text, or use the internet without one, the “pay-as-you-go” prices and roaming charges can get really expensive. An international plan can help cut down on some of those costs, and may be a more economical choice. Check with your service provider to learn more about what international plans they offer, and then simply cancel international service once you return home.

On the other hand, if you can be more flexible about when and how you can be reached on your phone while traveling, there are lots of alternative options that allow you to use your smartphone abroad for free or at a significantly lower cost.

Use Airplane Mode + WiFi

Before your international flight takes off, make sure that you put your mobile device on Airplane Mode. Activating the Airplane Mode setting disables the device’s signal transmitting functionality, and prevents the device from making or receiving calls, using text messaging, or accessing the internet without a WiFi connection. This ensures that you can still access your camera, music, games, podcasts, and other content downloaded onto your phone without having to worry about roaming charges!

Activating Airplane Mode (sometimes called Flight Mode or Offline Mode) is very simple to do. On most devices, you’ll find it in your Settings menu. If you need help, a quick Google search can yield detailed instructions for Android phones, iPhones, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, etc. If you’re still not sure how to switch on Airplane Mode and how to turn WiFi on/off, just ask your cell phone provider to show you, or send me an email and I would be glad to help!

Accessing the Internet / Finding WiFi

In many countries, it is fairly easy to find WiFi—often for free. Once you are connected to a WiFi network, you can use the internet to check your email, upload pictures to social media, and even make phone calls!

Here are a few things that you should know about using WiFi when traveling:

Many hotels, restaurants, cafes, shops, bars, and even gas stations offer WiFi, although you may need to ask for a password in order to log on.

WiFi isn’t always free. For example, some hotels may charge you to use WiFi, so don’t hesitate to ask about the policy if you’re not sure. Other places may limit the amount of time that you can use WiFi for free (often 30-60 minutes), with the option to pay for continued access.

If you plan to sit at a café or a restaurant to take advantage of free WiFi, it is polite to purchase a beverage or a snack in return. Besides, sipping a local beer or munching on a croissant while checking your email and observing the culture around you is a great way to spend an hour in a foreign place!

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[col2]Apps to Keep You Connected

As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of applications (apps) out there to help you stay connected while traveling, and these are some of my favorites. A couple of things to keep in mind:

All of these apps are free to download and to use, although some of them offer premium features for a small cost.

All of these apps require a WiFi connection to use.

It’s a good idea to download any new apps onto your device before you leave home, when you don’t have to worry about limited bandwidth.

All of these apps can only be used to communicate with other people who also use that app. (Skype is the exception to this rule, but I’ll get to that…)

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Skype

Compatible Devices: Most computers, smartphones, and tablets

Features: Voice calling, video-chatting, instant messaging, file-sharing

Pros: It’s free to communicate with other Skype users, but you can also use Skype to make international calls or send text messages to any mobile phone or landline worldwide at a very, very low cost. Pay-as-you-go rates using Skype Credit are just pennies per minute, or you can buy a one-month subscription for $0.60-$3.00 to get unlimited calling at even better rates.

Even if you don’t anticipate making phone calls during your trip, I highly recommend that you buy $5 of Skype Credit just in case—it never expires, so if you don’t end up needing it then you haven’t lost anything, but you can save a lot of money if you do have to make an unexpected international call.

Here’s an example: During a recent trip to Denmark, I was having problems using my debit and credit cards even though I had notified my bank that I would be traveling. I had to call the number on the back of my card, and then I was transferred to several different departments and put on hold multiple times while they tried to figure out what the problem was. The entire call took at least 30 minutes, and pay-as-you-go rates for international calls on my normal cell phone plan cost about $3/minute. On top of being stranded in Denmark with no access to my money, I could have been charged $90 for that necessary phone call, but instead I paid less than $1 using Skype.

Cons: The quality of voice calls and video chats isn’t always great, especially if you have a low wireless signal or if you are using a public WiFi network.

iMessage / Facetime

Compatible Devices: iPhones and iPads only

Features: Voice calling, video-chatting, instant messaging, photo-sharing

Pros: If you have an iPhone, then chances are that you already have and use iMessage – it’s the built-in app that you use to send/receive text messages. You can continue to use it while traveling abroad, as long as you are messaging another iMessage user. If you can’t remember which of your friends and family have iPhones, don’t worry—there’s an easy way to tell. You may have noticed that some of your conversations appear in blue text bubbles, and others appear in green text bubbles. If your message appears in a blue text bubble, you are sending an iMessage to another iPhone user (free). If your message is in a green text bubble, then you are sending an SMS text message and you may be charged accordingly. (Another benefit to turning on Airplane Mode– SMS messages will simply fail to send, so you won’t be charged.)

Similarly, FaceTime is the built-in videochat app on iPhones and iPads, and you can also use it for voice-only calls. To find out if the person you are trying to reach also has an iPhone, open up your phone’s Contacts and pull up their name. If that person has an iPhone, you’ll see a FaceTime option underneath their phone number.

Check out this helpful Triphackr article for more information and instructions for using your iPhone abroad.

Cons: You’re limited to using iMessage and FaceTime only with other iPhone users.

Compatible Devices: Most smartphones

Features: Text messaging, photo-sharing, voice calling

Pros: This is just another option for sending free text messages. You can message other WhatsApp users on any smartphone.

Cons: It’s still catching on, so the people that you wish to contact may not have it installed on their phones yet.

Facebook Messenger / Video

Compatible Devices: Facebook Messenger—any computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Facebook Video—computers only.

Features: Instant messaging, voice-only chat, video chat

Pros: Facebook Messenger has been around for a while now, and is a reliable way to send text messages to other Facebook users on any device. Recently, Facebook has added video chat and voice calling to their messaging feature, and although it doesn’t offer anything new that you can’t get from Skype or FaceTime, the benefit to using Facebook is that you can reach anyone with a Facebook account—which is a lot of people.

Cons: Facebook Video is not my favorite way to video chat or call people when I’m traveling abroad. Because those features are fairly new, there are still some bugs to work out. For one thing, although you can use your phone to send text messages to your friends using Facebook Messenger, the video and call features only work on a computer—and only if you use certain internet browsers (Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera). You also have to set up the video feature, which means that your Facebook friends also need to have it set up before you can video chat with them.

“What do I need to do in order to use my phone during my trip?” is one of the most frequently-asked-questions that we get on a daily basis. As technology advances more and more every day, WiFi availability continues to improve worldwide and international communication becomes easier. But, as the options grow and vary, it can be tricky to stay on top of the latest developments. My favorite resource is Rick Steves’ Travel Tips: Phones & Technology. He offers lots of really great suggestions for internet calling and messaging, smartphone travel apps, and internet security for travelers. Although his information is geared towards European travel, much of what he says can apply to just about anywhere.

We want to hear your favorite tips and tricks for staying in touch while traveling– Share your ideas with us in the comments or on Facebook, and if you have any other questions about using technology and smartphones while traveling, let us know!

Fundraising is Key to a Great Student Tour

As featured in the 2015-2016 issue of the NTA Student Trip Planner

A tour operator has provided a great itinerary, the logistics are falling into place, and students are getting excited and encouraging their friends to sign up for the big trip. Now for the tricky part: fundraising…view the rest of the story

Do’s & Don’ts for a Perfect Performance Tour

In early March, I had the pleasure of joining the University of South Dakota Chamber Singers during their concert tour of Germany and Austria. This was my first time traveling with a choir, and since I was primarily there to watch and learn, I compiled a list of a few things to keep in mind when preparing for a European performance tour.

in salzburg — The group posing with the statue of Mozart in Salzburg, the city where he was born.

DO: Appoint a “Luggage Crew” to load/unload luggage, music stands, instruments, etc.

The Singers had pre-assigned a crew of about six people who were in charge of loading and unloading luggage. This really expedited the process – rather than everyone standing around and waiting for their chance to grab only their suitcase from the bus, we waited in our seats while the crew unloaded everything. Two people were also pre-appointed to retrieve and distribute hotel room numbers and keys. Once all of the suitcases were lined up on the sidewalk, we could just grab our bags and go. This efficient system allowed all 60 of us to get checked into a hotel within ten minutes!

DO: Expect to do a lot of walking. (But DON’T wear brand new shoes, unless you want blisters.)

In the United States, we get accustomed to driving everywhere and pulling into a parking lot right in front of our destination. But Europe was built long before tour buses and motorcoaches came into existence, and many old city centers and small towns are still only accessible by walking along narrow, cobblestone streets. Considering the distances that we covered during walking tours, while independently exploring cities, and en route to concert venues, we easily averaged at least 3-5 miles each day.

To avoid blisters, aching arches, and swollen ankles, be sure to bring along good shoes. Not necessarily new shoes– but comfortable shoes that are already “broken in”.

DON’T: Forget to pack warm clothes that can be worn for performances, if you are traveling during any time of the year other than summer.

The churches and cathedrals that had been selected as concert venues for our tour were breathtaking, and unlike anything I have ever seen in the United States. They had been chosen for their symbiotic relationship to the music that the Singers had come to perform. Their soaring ceilings and vast stone interiors had been purposefully designed centuries ago specifically to showcase the works of Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and other Baroque and Classical composers of the day. Likewise, these same compositions were often inspired by and written for these venues.

However, although these elements are aesthetically and acoustically ideal for a venue, they also predate modern central heating systems and, in early March, they make for perpetually cold concert environments. The Singers always looked very sharp in their concert dress, but they must have been freezing. They were troopers though, and never once complained, but I was trying not to shiver despite wearing long pants, a sweater, and a jacket. During their final concert at the Kollegienkirche in Salzburg, the women were encouraged to wear black pants underneath their skirts and a scarf around their shoulders, which seemed to help a little.

Kollegiankirche, Salzburg — The Kollegienkirche was beautiful, but a little cold– notice the audience bundled up in their coats and hats!

So unless you plan to travel during the warm summer months, you may consider packing some long underwear or fleece leggings to wear underneath your concert attire, and perhaps ask the women to invest in a simple black cardigan or shawl that can be worn during particularly chilly performances.

DO: Give impromptu performances whenever it’s appropriate (and after obtaining permission).

After Dinner or Tours: Monique, our tour manager, would frequently invite the Singers to sing a song or two after finishing dinner at the hotel or upon completing a walking tour or museum visit, as a way of thanking the servers and guides. These songs were always very appreciated and well-received.

Outside of Performance Venues: We had a little extra time before rehearsal began at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, so the Singers assembled in front of the church and sang for the audience of passers-by that quickly gathered to listen. It was a great way to promote their concert later that evening, and the onlookers really enjoyed the spontaneous performance.

stephensdom — Not pictured: The small crowd that had gathered behind me to watch the Singers’ lively performance of “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired” in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, where they gave a concert later that evening.

At Meaningful Sites: The Singers were able to pay tribute to Bruckner in the chapel above his grave at the Abbey of St. Florian, and let their voices ring throughout the ornate Haydn Hall. Such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities were some of the tour highlights for these music students.

For me, the most powerful moment on the tour was when we were leaving the Buchenwald concentration camp. We had stopped for a visit to Buchenwald on our way to Leipzig, and spent a couple of hours quietly roaming among the foundations where overcrowded dormitories and ominous crematoriums once stood, and viewing the black-and-white photo exhibit on display in the museum there. The Singers were denied permission to sing a memorial song on the grounds, so instead they sang on the bus as we drove away. Their hauntingly beautiful rendition of Biebl’s Ave Maria gave me chills as we rode down the winding roads lined with beech trees that, only decades before, had been the site of such sadness and despair. My mind recalled the images that I had just seen of liberated prisoners—hardly more than wide-eyed skeletons—walking past these very trees on their way towards freedom, and the Singers’ soaring vocals carrying that hopeful melody made it a reverent, moving experience.

DON’T: Leave your umbrella at home!

This may seem like a no-brainer, but even though I consider myself an experienced traveler, it somehow never occurs to me to pack an umbrella. After yet another long Michigan winter, I think I was too optimistic about the weather we’d encounter while in Europe. Sure enough, our first few days were beautiful– sunny and spring-like– but then on Wednesday morning, we woke up to a light but persistent drizzle that lasted throughout the day. Most of the group members had remembered to bring their umbrellas, and our bus driver Rein had a few tucked away to lend to people, but I was reminded to add “Umbrella” to my mental checklist the next time I pack my suitcase.

DO: Ask someone to be the tour photographer.

If you have any non-performers traveling with you, ask them to be in charge of taking pictures during your trip! Taking photos is a great way to remember all of the amazing things that happened, and sharing them on social media allows your friends and family back home to follow your tour from afar.

Some of the Singers taking a selfie with our tour guide in Vienna.

With all of the excitement and activities that go on during a tour, there’s not always time to pause and pull out your camera—especially during a performance. On the other hand, if you spend the entire trip peering through a lens because you’re worried about missing a photo op, you’ll miss out on actually experiencing everything first-hand. By appointing a couple of people to take pictures, you can relax and enjoy each moment as it happens, reassured by the knowledge that all of the memorable ones are being properly captured and preserved.

Furthermore, if you have a very large group, you may find that assigning a couple of tour photographers will save you time during museum visits or walking tours. Instead of holding up a guided tour through Haydn’s house just so that 20 people can take the exact same picture of his wig, your one or two designated photographers can be entrusted to thoroughly document the experience for everyone. Plus, it reduces the risk of anyone getting lost or missing out on interesting information from the tour guide, simply because they were still in the previous room Instagramming a marble bust of J.S. Bach.

Lastly, be sure to encourage your photographers to post their work on your group’s social media pages for everyone to enjoy!

We would really love to see your tour photos too! Tag @WittePerformanceTours on Facebook or @WitteTravel on Instagram to share your experiences with us.

To purchase the USD Chamber Singers’ CD on iTunes, click here: Yours In Song (2013)

Give the Gift of Multi-Generational Family Vacation

Witte Travel & Tours In the News

As featured in the April 2015 issue of Grand Rapids Magazine

HEADQUARTERED IN GRAND RAPIDS, West Michigan’s premier travel company, Witte Travel & Tours, has been helping people explore the world since 1975. According to Karen Chircop, who co-owns the company with Bruce Klein-Wassink and Nate Barendse, one of the most popular travel trends today is multigenerational family vacations…view the rest of the story

Witte Travel & Tours In the News

As featured in the November 2014 issue of Grand Rapids Magazine

WHETHER YOUR TRAVEL ASPIRATIONS lean toward an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, cruising the rivers and oceans of the world, tracing ancestral roots through small European towns with your family, or walking in the footsteps of Jesus, Witte Travel & Tours has you completely covered….view the rest of the story

Witte Travel & Tours In the News

As featured in the November 2014 issue of Grand Rapids Magazine
WHETHER YOUR TRAVEL ASPIRATIONS lean toward an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, cruising the rivers and oceans of the world, tracing ancestral roots through small European towns with your family, or walking in the footsteps of Jesus, Witte Travel & Tours has you completely covered….view the rest of the story

Performing in Germany

Germany promises to be a top performance destination for Witte’s 2015 season and also looking ahead to 2016 and 2017. When music educators think of destinations that include opportunities to “Follow the Footsteps” of great composers, perhaps the first places that come to mind are Salzburg, Vienna and Prague. When visiting those marvelous cities, there are reminders of Mozart, Haydn, Dvořák and many other great composers in virtually every church.

Knowing of our shared interest in music history, my colleague Keith Cole recently gave me the book, In Mozart’s Footsteps: A Travel Guide for Music Lovers by Harrison James Wignall. I knew that the young Mozart had performed all over Europe, but until I read this book, I didn’t quite realize that from the age of five until the last year of his life at age 35, Mozart toured nine European countries and performed or passed through over 200 European cities— more than 22 cities just in Germany! Wow!—and this was in the days when travel was far less comfortable than it is today in our Witte motorcoaches.

While I am not suggesting that anyone tries to plan an itinerary around Mozart’s exhaustive performing tours, many of the cities Mozart performed in are wonderful places to include in a performance tour itinerary. Adding a music history component to a concert tour enriches the experience.

Performing in Germany? Consider a visit to some of these cities with a rich music history

Bonn—In the first leg of Mozart’s “Great Western” tour of 1763-66, the Mozart family stopped briefly here en route to Paris. However, Bonn is of far greater interest to music lovers because of Beethoven. While in Bonn, a visit to the Beethoven-Haus Museum is a must. In addition to being Beethoven’s birthplace, the museum also contains the largest Beethoven collection in the world.

Heidelberg—On July 25, 1763, Mozart played the organ at the Heilig-Geist Church. This church and the beautiful city of Heidelberg are still well worth a visit.

Leipzig—In May 1789, Mozart improvised “without compensation” to a large audience at the Thomaskirche (often referred to as the Bach Church). Leipzig (with reason) is very proud of its musical heritage. Johann Sebastian Bach worked here for decades as the director of the famous St. Thomas Boychoir, still world renowned as one of the best boy choirs in Germany (and all of Europe). Other composers who lived and worked in Leipzig included Felix Mendelssohn, Robert and Clara Schumann and Richard Wagner. The three music-themed museums in Leipzig feature Bach, Mendelssohn and the Schumanns.

Other cities in this area of Germany were also home to famous composers including—

Halle—George Friedrich Handel was born here in 1685. Because of this, the city is often referred to as “The Handel City”. The Handel House Museum celebrates the composer’s life and works through its exhibits and musical events.

Weimer—In addition to its importance as an early 20th century center of design and architecture, the composer Franz Liszt spent part of his life here, documented in the Liszt House.
While visiting the towns and cities where great composers lived, worked and performed, we will also create wonderful experiences for your groups. A performance tour can include a variety of experiences including—

Singing as a guest choir for a morning worship service or Mass.
Short, informal daytime performances in the historic churches.
Full concerts—often in smaller towns where there is more opportunity to interact with local audiences.

Depending on school schedules, many German schools and communities are very interested in having exchange concerts with American performing groups. In the late spring and summer, town squares often have outdoor stages. This makes Germany a wonderful destination for band performances. And—if all of this hasn’t convinced you—there are beautiful castles, villages along the great rivers, spectacular scenery in the Bavarian Alps and much more. All of our Group Tour Specialists have had extensive travel in Germany and two of them are fluent in German (Kristina Choura and Whitney Korstange). Any of us would love to talk to you about planning your next tour!

by Jane Larson
Manager, Performance Tours – Retired

We Travel Too!

At Witte, we are passionate about travel. It’s more than just our business, it’s also our favorite hobby. And when we’re not in the office planning your next vacation or organizing customized group tours, well… we travel too!

So as 2014 comes to a close, we took a moment to reflect on all of the extraordinary places that we’ve visited this past year, and we came up with quite a list.

Here’s where some of us have been this year (and no, airport layovers don’t count!):

Africa

Kenya

Tanzania

Asia

Cambodia

Israel

Jordan

Vietnam

Europe

Albania

Austria

Bosnia/Herzegovina

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

England

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Kosovo

Lithuania

Macedonia

Montenegro

Northern Ireland

Norway

Scotland

Slovenia

Sweden

Switzerland

The Netherlands

Turkey

North America

Bahamas

Canada

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Jamaica

Mexico

Nova Scotia

Puerto Rico

St. Martin

US Virgin Islands

Turks and Caicos

We’ve had a great year, and we hope that you did too. Here’s to the travel adventures that lie ahead in 2015!

Did you travel anywhere in 2014? Share your stories with us in the comments, or tell us about it on Facebook!