Driving in Italy

Ok, I must admit, I probably didn't think out the whole driving in Italy thing very well. Renting a car in Rome and driving south to Pompeii, then Sorrento, then over to Positano, and finally back to Rome wasn't one of my better plans.

A few thoughts...

Agressive drivers - It is definitely every man/woman/child for him/herself. There is more weaving and winding than a drunk snake in the Arizona desert.

Scooters and motorcycles - What a total pain in the butt! Apparently if you are 14 you can buy a scooter and drive it. No license, no classes, nothing. Oh, but they do wear helmets. It is shear madness having scores of scooters weave in and out of cars, on sidewalks, anywhere, just to get ahead of the cars and busses. Madness, I tell you.

I thought I saw it all while in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Two adults, a child sandwiched between them, and a carrying a propane tank on a rinky-dink scooter. Nope, two adults, two children (one of which was standing!), several backpacks and packages dangling in the wind. Wow!

Blinkers - I'm not sure why, but it seems that most folks have no idea how to turn off a blinker (let alone turn one on!). Maybe the car manufacturers here have yet to perfect the automatic blinker shut off thing when you turn a corner.

Chuck's comment after we returned the car....I'm glad that's over and now we can take a taxi.

A Non-smokers guide to European Travel

Have you figured out that those little cancer sticks drive me nuts? Honestly, I have no tolerance for it. It's one thing to choose to poison your body, but it's another thing to subject me to your secondhand smoke and thus poisoning me. I have a sensitive nose, so I can smell it from across the room, if someone in the car ahead of me is smoking (windows up or down), on your breath and your clothes.

I knew the whole smoking issue would be problematic for me in Europe. Some cities were better than others. Here's the skinny.

Czech Republic (Prague) - not too bad. There are separate designated smoking sections in restaurants. Smoking is everywhere on the streets.

Austria (Vienna and Salzburg) - terrible. You can smoke everywhere. There are no designated non-smoking sections in restaurants. You'll have to fend for yourself. Vienna was probably the worst city in terms of smoke in restaurants, on the pedestrian walkways and overall attitude. I think non-smokers are in the minority in Vienna. Cig butts everywhere!

Germany (Munich) - not too bad. The Germans were a little more respectful when it came to smoking, unlike Vienna. You cannot smoke indoors at restaurants, so that's where we sat. It would have been nice to sit outside with the breeze, but I didn't order a side of ashtray with my meal. I saw more people walking, jogging, biking than I did smoking.

Germany (Berlin) - not too bad. No smoking indoor at restaurants. It was very pleasant. I didn't notice many people smoking near the tourist areas.

Switzerland (Lucerne) - could have been better. Several restaurants did not allow smoking indoors, but allowed it on the outdoor patios. Other restaurants allowed smoking indoors and outdoors (we did not eat at those places). Most of the indoor seating was opened up to the outdoors, so if the wind was blowing the right way, you got smoked out anyway.

Germany (Trier and Mainz) -not too bad. Although, we were walking around early in the morning and on the road traveling in the afternoon, so I can't give a truly accurate assessment.

Germany (Cologne) - yuck. Not only was Cologne dirty, there were tons of smokers on the pedestrian areas....and the air quality in our hotel room was poor, so we could smell cig smoke coming from somewhere within the bowels of the hotel or outside near the 'fresh' air intake!

Netherlands (Amsterdam) - could have been better. You can smoke everywhere. Some restaurants have a designated non smoking area, but it's not mandated by law, so it's hit or miss.
Here's a link to the country summary.