Holly's Terrific Traveling Tips

Welcome all to Holly's final blog post during her 2012 Munich stay! Holly is presenting to you all today:

HOLLY'S TERRIFIC TRAVELING TIPS!

1) Bring your own food! Yes it's allowed! As long as it's not in liquid or paste form, bring whatever you'd like. Apples, bananas, energy bars, cookies, candy, pretzels... the possibilities are endless and the best part: you know what's in your food and you don't have to touch airline entrees!

2) Know how to kill boredom! Let's face it, bringing a book is fun and all, but it doesn't take away that feeling of being in an airport or airplane. Movies are good too if you have decent battery life on your computer or iPhone/iPod, but personally I suggest anything pencil and paper oriented. Crosswords, word searches, sudoku, nonograms, coloring books, anything that will stimulate your mind with more than just your eyes.

3) Sleep? What's that? Here's another thing that most people don't do: sleep enough. This is especially difficult before and during long flights. If you can't get enough sleep beforehand, and I know it is difficult, don't fortify yourself with coffee or sugar. Take little walks around the airport or airplane to get blood flowing or get yourself some whole nuts or dried fruits to snack on. Or, if you want to try to sleep, bring your own pillow! No one cares. I can't sleep on moving objects but it does help me to feel relaxed.

4) Carry-ons are great! Sure, they're a bit annoying sometimes, but think about it: feel like your checked-in bag is over the weight limit? Your carry-on bags have no weight restrictions (probably because no one wants to carry 50lbs. of stuff) so this means you can pack to your heart's content... as long as it all fits in the required size dimensions. Plus, you're only carrying it from place to place... the rest of the time it's on the ground or in the air.

5) Patience is more than a virtue. It's a way of life. It's the way to help the time pass smoothly. Anxiety can be a problem for some people, but stressing about something you can't control will only make things worse. Just take a deep breath and relax. Everything will be fine.

6) Airsickness can be avoided. If you're truly prone to it, take a Benadryl or Dramamine beforehand. Otherwise, just don't eat within two-three hours of take-off. And before that time, eat something with pro-biotics like yogurt and possibly pre-biotics like oatmeal. Avoid eating or drinking on the plane. Long flight? Desperate? Nibble, and I mean nibble, on crackers or pretzels (both contain baking soda which helps the tummy) and sip, yes I mean sip, water.

7) Stretch! Even if you want to stay seated, just push your legs out a bit and stretch your arms. It will prevent you from knotting up.

That's all I've got for today! I have to leave around 6:30am tomorrow morning, a change in my schedule because of when my host father leaves to go to the airport. It's almost 11:30pm here and I have to get up at 4:30am or so! I have to get some rest!

The Squishables Trio will relay travel information when we return home!