Schengen who?

Last year when we were planning our extended tour of Europe, I stumbled across the term "Schengen rules."  The what?  I had to Google "Schengen" to discover that the Schengen Agreement (named for the city in Luxembourg where the agreement was signed) "...allows unrestricted trade and common visa policy among member countries."  This saves the governments money by greatly reducing border controls, and makes it easy for Europeans to travel within Europe.  It also acts as immigration control by limiting the length of time non-Eropean Union (EU) passport holders can legally be anywhere within the whole Schengen area to 90 days in every 180 days.  Good for Europeans; annoying for Americans like me wanting an extended visit.

In the late 1980's, I remember stopping at the border for immigration control driving from Germany to the Netherlands.  My military ID was scrutinized, my car license plate number recorded.  I won't have to stop now, because Germany and the Netherlands are both Schengen countries.

26 countries are now in the Schengen area. But it's anything but simple to follow.  Most participating countries are in the European Union, but some, like Iceland and Norway, are outside the EU.  And not all of the EU nations participate; Ireland and the UK have opted out, yet others like Croatia have not opted out and may apply.  (See the full list of 26 Schengen Area Member States here.)  To further complicate matters, not all Schengen countries use the Euro for currency, and some countries that do have the Euro are not part of Schengen.

This all has to do with immigration, not money and not customs (which deals with things, not people.)

Schengen really wants our visits to be "short term" (so foreigners do not try to get jobs that should be had by Europeans).  You can parse up the 90 days however you want to, but the 90-days clock starts the moment your passport is stamped in a Schengen country.  The 90-days clock will reset 180 days later.

This is actually pretty generous when you compare immigration and visa restrictions of other countries.  For example, foreign visitors to the US can stay up to 90 days in one year without a visa.  Brazil, Argentina and Costa Rica all allow 90 days.  One cannot go to China or Russia at all without an advance visa.  Egypt requires a tourist visa which is valid only for 30 days.

It is technically possible to stay in Europe longer than 90 days without breaking the law, if you're willing to hop in and out of Schengen countries.  For example:

• Start in France for 30 days (the 90/180-day clock starts) = 60 Schengen days remain/150 days left to clock restart
• England (non-Schengen) 30 days = 60 Schengen days remain/120 days left to clock restart
• Spain 30 days = 60/90 
• Morocco (non-Schengen) 30 days = 60/60, etc. 

With careful planning and an accurate calendar count, a visitor could remain in Europe indefinitely, without a visa.  Granted, this is impractical, and expensive.

What happens to visitors who intentionally overstay?  Among the unpleasant possible consequences are an expensive fine, a visa record making it really, REALLY tough to get a visa later, deportation, and/or they may be barred from re-entry into any Schengen country for a period of 1-5 years.  There is no "standard" penalty; it all depends on the country and the mood of the border agent who catches the violator.

We began our European travels with 5 weeks in Ireland and the UK (non-Schengen countries), and the past 2 months in Schengen countries.  We haven't yet decided whether we will extend our time in Schengen Europe by spending more time in non-Schengen countries.  But if we do not, we must leave and stay out of the Schengen area until our 180-day clock re-starts, or else risk penalty for violating the 90-day rule.

I'm thinking that Croatia looks good this time of year...

How Not to Embarrass Yourself Whilst Getting Around the UK

It’s one thing to drive on the left ("wrong") side of the road; it’s quite another to add a manual transmission with the stick shift also on the “wrong” side.  Opting to  save our marriage, we elected other modes of travel in the UK, leaving the stress of a driving lesson for another visit.

We moved from Dublin across Ireland to Galway via bus. Bus is a popular mode of transport; they are clean, quiet, and generally reliable.  We also took the local bus from Galway to visit nearby towns. We found the local drivers to be helpful and friendly, and its easy to enjoy the countryside from high up in a bus.

Ferry across the Irish Sea

We left Ireland on an Irish Ferries high speed boat from Dublin, crossing the Irish Sea to land in Holyhead, Wales in under two hours.  

Holyhead was a pleasant surprise; we’d expected a peninsula empty but for an industrial-looking port and a couple of hotels.  What we found was a modern port and train station, an adorable town, and a gorgeous coastline uncrowded by tourists.  (By-the-way, Holyhead is on an island, attached to the rest of Wales by bridges.  We crossed one on a train the next day.)  Our inn was near enough to the port/train station to easily make our way on foot, even dragging our luggage.

Inside our carriage

Our introduction to VirginRail (“Virgin”, as in Richard Branson’s company -  it’s not just an airline!) was a 7-car train that departed Holyhead at 9 the next morning.  The station was as you’d imagine - have your ticket, look on the board for your train, drag your luggage to the right platform, wait for the train to arrive, get on the train.  The cars on our train were unmarked, so our reserved seat in “D” carriage was a mystery until Todd asked an employee.  This train’s “A” car was at the back end; “D” car was three ahead of it, with “H” being the First Class carriage located directly behind the engine.  Reserved seats were marked with a ticket tucked into the headrest; anybody on the train without a reserved seat could sit at any seat not marked with a Reserved ticket.**  We took advantage of this “open” seating rule five minutes into our journey, as our seats had no window, so we moved for a better view.  Also, at our train change, when a family with a fussy baby settled in directly across from us, we moved to another, quieter carriage.

Tram, Edinburgh

The train stopped at several stations on the way to Edinburgh, and our picturesque journey took about 5 hours.  There was a snack car where we purchased reasonably-priced (and surprisingly fresh and tasty) sandwiches, potato chips, fruit, cookie bars and bottled water.  Soft drinks, liquor, wine and beer were also available.  The train was comfortable, clean and bright, with roomy seats in three configurations (side-by-side forward-facing; side-by-side backward-facing; and tables with two seats forward facing and two across the table facing backward), uncrowded and quite pleasant.  Near the entrance to each car were shelves for our larger luggage, with overhead racks for smaller pieces as on an airplane.  (The gentleman seated across from us was on his way to cycle across Scotland; he told us you can store your bicycle at one end of the carriage.)  Our carriage also had a large, clean, full-room sized restroom, complete with an audio recording reminding visitors of toilet etiquette a la typical British humor.  Once in motion, 15 minutes of free wifi was available (after which you had to purchase wifi for the rest of the journey.)  

**Not all trains have open seating, as we discovered on another trip.  We didn't like our assigned, backward-facing seats.  Directly ahead of us was a table seating arrangement, empty.  We waited until one minute before departure time to move to the forward-facing table seats when, just then, you guessed it, a harried French family with two small children rushed into the carriage and angrily stared us down; we were clearly occupying their spot.  Oops.  Note to self: On TGV trains, assume that all seats are assigned and do not move to unoccupied seats until the train is in motion. 

Also of note, train stations in the UK are typically fabulous works of architecture and history, and I couldn't help but snap a few photos along our journey. 

Inside a tube station

Riding the Tube

London is a fabulous walking town, and the tube (underground metro rail) is a great way to get around, though there are also plenty of taxis.  We took one of the old-fashioned-looking black cabs, just for the ride.  But mostly we walked and took the tube.

Those with automobiles can drive from England to France through the Chunnel (that's the Channel Tunnel from the UK to France, under the English Channel), or take a ferry.  We had no car and opted for the train.

Our Eurostar train from London to Lille, France was a TGV (high speed train).  The international train station at King’s Cross/St. Pancras felt quite like an airport; ticket holders went through immigration and security, and we waited together for the announcement that our train could be boarded.  Once on our carriage, things felt a bit more formal than on the VirginRail train, but still roomy, clean, quiet and comfortable.  This train was fast - our journey to the continent sped by in under 90 minutes, and I fell asleep in the Chunnel.

So if you don't want to fly, trains, cars, public busses, inter-city rail, bicycles and boats are other options for getting around the UK.  I recommend trying them all!

London

Behind Todd, you can see tarps and scaffolding on Parliament

London Bridge really isn't falling down, but you might think it is based on the amount of construction equipment around it.

Its no secret that I believe London is one of the coolest cities in the world.  The first time I laid eyes on Big Ben overlooking the gothic spires of Parliament 10 years ago, London shot to the top of my Best Places list.  But this visit, I was a bit less enchanted with England's capital.

Not so attractive view from our apartment

First off, rents have escalated as demand has increased in an already expensive city; nothing in our price range was available anywhere near Westminster, where we have stayed before and wanted to be again. Where we ended up was, well, I won't say it was the least attractive neighborhood in London...  Alarmingly, wifi was absent in the building.  Worse, there were no nearby pubs to pop into for a neighborly pint.  Inconveniently, we had to hop on the DLR (extension of the tube) and change to the tube in order to get someplace we'd even want to walk around.  (Chalk that up to a lesson learned: stay in a place where, when you walk out the door, you're happy to be right there.)

Construction cranes

More cranes

More construction

Secondly, and most annoying, it seems half the city is torn up or under construction.  It was hard to frame a photograph free of building materials.  Many of our favorite strolls (including along the Themes between Tower Bridge and Parliament) were blocked by construction barriers.  Beautiful facades and historic edifices throughout the city were obscured by tarps and scaffolding.  A once gorgeous skyline was marred by dozens of huge cranes as old stone buildings were being replaced by towering, modern glass and metal structures.  Plus, there were a lot of tube station closures due to maintenance, further disrupting and eating precious time from our daily journeys.  Add to that the cacophony of construction-related noises everywhere you turn, and it sometimes became near drudgery to move around portions of the city.

Oh, I get that such construction indicates strong infrastructure and investment and jobs and booming economy, and I expect to encounter maintenance of centuries old structures, it was just a bit overwhelming that so much of it was happening throughout this grand city, all at once.


But, what was intact in London was very fine indeed!  The stunning British Museum is free to enter.  A gigantic and well endowed institution, we spent several hours in only the Egyptian and Greek history galleries, leaving most of the museum for future visits.  The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace, fantastically curved Regent Street, numerous pubs, Selfridges on Oxford Street, public gardens, and various corners around the city remain delightful, picturesque and blissfully free of construction.  Pubs and beer are abundant, numerous stately churches and cathedrals are available to visit, plus, the normal touristy spots (the London Eye, The Globe Theatre, Tower of London, etc.) are emphatically open for business.

So, overall, it's never bad to be in London.  But, next time I visit this wondrous city will be after many of those cranes have gone.

Crane skyline

This sign was EVERYWHERE!

Nice view! except for those cranes.

Inside the British Museum

The Mall

Random passengers on the Tube

Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

The partially completed skyscraper "The Shard"

Regent Street

Storm brewing outside Parliament

Go right now!

If you like to eat good food (and who doesn't?), stop what you're doing!  Hold everything!  Grab the nearest airplane/bus/train/boat/car/horse and go to The Old Barracks in Athenry, County Galway, Ireland right this minute!

The Old Barracks Restaurant

The Old Barracks is a charming, homey restaurant which is firstly a bakery.  So when you walk in through the yellow doorframe, you at once inhale the most wonderful aromas of baking cakes and breads, fragrant arabica coffee, tea, and melting chocolate.  You involuntarily linger here as you stroll toward the dining room, past the fresh artisan breads and rolls on wood shelfs to your left, and the colorful display of decadent desserts behind glass on your right.

The Dominican Priory

The restaurant is cozy and down-homey, complete with a fireplace, paned windows at the front overlooking the street, and large framed photographs of hens, pigs, cows and roosters along the walls, interspersed between shelves adorned with hand-painted teapots and other homey sundries.

The ancient priory and cemetery

The place is busy, and the service is good.  When we first walked in, a few minutes before lunchtime, half the tables were already occupied.  Before our lunch was served, there was a queue of knowing people, mostly school-uniformed teenagers, patiently waiting for a table.

Model of the original walled city of Athenry

After but a short wait, I was served the hands-down best vegetable soup I've ever tasted.  I tried to identify all of the flavors of this pureed delight, but picked out only the perfectly roasted medley of green beans, carrots, butternut squash and red peppers, before I didn't really care anymore what was in it, I just wanted more!  A variety of thickly sliced, dense, soft, brownbreads and a salad of small, bright green and flavorful wild leafs that might have just been plucked out of a field completed my lunch.

Todd cleaned his plate of the traditional Ploughman's lunch: meats, cheeses, eggs, salad, fruit and brown bread served on a traditional wood plate.

And, oh! the Banoffi!  Todd ordered our dessert: a thick graham crust drizzled with caramel, topped with sliced banana, thick whipped cream, and shaved dark chocolate.  I normally have one or two spoons full of dessert, but I kept up with Todd to the last bite of this one!

With our hunger completely satiated, we wandered around the darling village of Athenry, which claims to be the oldest still-standing medieval town in Ireland.  80% of the town's original wall built in the early 1200's still stands, as well as parts of five of its six original towers, a castle dating back to 1240, and the glorious ruins of an ancient Dominican priory founded in 1241.  A friendly volunteer at the Athenry Heritage Center happily recanted the town's history, and told us it is possible to follow the perimeter of the entire wall on foot, although parts of it are in people's backyards (!?!).  We started at the priory and walked one length of the ancient wall, where three large cows were sunning in what once would have been a water-filled moat.

Athenry and the best vegetable soup you'll ever have at The Old Barracks (and a castle.  A CASTLE!) are well worth the six-hour flight from the U.S., three hour trip from Dublin, and 20 minute bus ride from Galway.  Believe me.

Athenry Castle

Walls and tower near the Castle

Cows lounging near the ancient wall

The thing about Dublin...

I fell in love with Dublin in less than a week; I hadn't expected to.

If you believe the stereotypes, you might think Dublin is a quaint little village with more pubs than people, and they are mostly drunk and they sing Irish folk songs over their bland, potato-based pub food.  Admittedly, my prior exposure to Dublin was an episode of Travel Channel's The Layover, where Anthony Bourdain spent a somewhat dim, long weekend downing whisky and dark beer in Temple Bar.  Which wasn't much to go on.

In truth, the longer I was in Dublin, the more I learned (and mostly adored) about the city.  Here are 10 points that stay with me:

St. Patrick's Cathedral

First, the capital of Ireland is a big city.  Like over a half million people big.  But there are no skyscrapers.  In fact, most buildings are about the same height, at 4 or 5 floors high, lending to a low, nearly level skyline punctuated by church steeples, of which there are many.

Second, Dublin is a vastly popular destination, without a lot of rooms.  So if you are planning a visit, book far ahead of time.  (After many hours searching online with mostly "no availability" replies, I was worried we would have to sleep on a park bench when we arrived.  We finally did find suitable accommodations, but had to split our stay between two different apartments.)  Some tips about booking online are here in another post.

Third, Dublin is an international, modern metropolis, where people flock from around the globe.  I heard more Russian spoken than any language outside of English, but also plenty of French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Dutch, among others.

37 Dawson Street - very cool pub/restaurant

Fourth, the home of both Guinness and Jameson whisky, there is, as expected, a pub on every corner and three on each street between.  But there is no drinking outside.  Unlike New Orleans where rowdy imbibers are swigging in the streets, Dublin seems devoid of public drunkenness. Within the bars, people typically have good time without getting out of hand.  Better still, the music playing in the pubs is loud enough that patrons can sing along, yet low enough for them to carry on their conversations without shouting.

Fifth, beyond typical sounds of people living, Dublin sure is quiet.  Voices are heard at normal volumes; cars aren't tooting their horns; no helicopters are buzzing around; people don't yell; kids don't scream; dogs don't bark; even the trains are quiet.  Clangy, jarring, industrial noises just don't seem to happen in Dublin.  I don't know how they do it, but I like it!

Sixth, Dublin is a fantastically pedestrian city.  Sidewalks everywhere are filled with people milling about, and this was energizing to me every time I went out.  Landmarks and points of interest are quite near to one another, and it seems you can get from anywhere in the city center to anywhere else in 20 minutes or less on foot.  Around every corner is a visual delight, easily missed if you're zooming by in a car: an ivy covered arch; a stone bridge; a brightly painted door set in a rock wall; an ancient church; a curving street lined with colorful pubs and groups of laughing friends.

Seventh, no street in Dublin is very straight or very long.  Street names change at every intersection and curve.  Which made navigating the city hard at first - you can't look at a spot on a map and say, OK, lets find Golden Street and follow it four blocks to St. Patrick's, because the street that turns into Golden the block before St. Patrick's is called something else where you're standing right now.  And it's not always easy to find the name of the street where you're walking; blue street signs are typically posted on building walls, not on signposts or on the road, and some walls have no signs.

Eighth, we expected to have to search long and hard to find a good meal in Dublin, and then to pay dearly for it.  A highlight was the really excellent food, and at good prices.  In the US, I consider the mark of a decent restaurant one that puts as much effort into the vegetables and sides as the main dish.  In Dublin, everything on my plate, every time, was well planned, lovingly prepared with the freshest ingredients, deliciously flavored without too much salt, sauce or dressing, and beautifully presented.  From traditional Guinness Stew (OK, only Todd ate that, 'cause meat) to the best superfood salad I've ever had, hearty seafood chowder, excellent Italian, mild Moroccan, and Spanish tapas, Todd and I agree that the food bar has been set especially high by Dublin for the rest of our trip!

Ninth, as expected, all the Dubliners in our path were friendly, helpful, polite, welcoming, humorous, and genuinely nice.  Oddly, their use of the "F" word far exceeded my own.  Dubliners young and old bantered it about with such fervor and frequency that one might think it's not even a curse word.  In fact, in Ireland, "F" is such a mild and inoffensive expletive, it's said that even the nuns use it liberally.

Tenth, horses!  From our apartment window we saw a sign advertising "horse feed".  At first we laughed (who needs horse feed in the city, right?), but an hour later we were walking to lunch when a boy whizzed past us driving a horse-drawn cart.  Not the showy carriage type, but a 2-wheeled commuter cart.  Horses trotting past us was a regular occurrence during our stay.  Also, there are many horse drawn carriages of the tourist type.  Dubliners, too, favor the races (and betting the ponies).  More often than football (soccer), tennis or any other sport, pubs we walked into were showing horse races on the TV, both oval track races and steeplechase.

Is Dublin all roses and ponies?  Of course not; real life happens here.  But it's a city like no other, and these are some reasons why I dig Dublin, and why, in the words of The Terminator, I'll be back!

Bridge between Dublinia and Christ Church

A pony cart as seen from my apartment

The lawn outside Dublin Castle and Chester Beatty Library

These public bicycles are everywhere, and well ridden.

Christ Church Cathedral

Tiles, Christ Church Cathedral

Don't use VRBO

VRBO stinks if you're looking for a holiday rental.  

Todd and I spent hours searching for apartments on VRBO (also known as "HomeAway" and "Vacation Rental By Owner").  We submitted booking requests to 14 different properties in Virginia and Dublin that showed available on our preferred dates, only to be later notified that every single one of the properties was not available!  We finally ditched VRBO when we could not trust the site's availability calendar.      

One holiday home owner told me that she lists her rental property on three sites: VRBO, airbnb and flipkey.  When her property is booked via VRBO, the property availability calendar automatically updates to the other sites, but when it's booked via airbnb or flipkey, frustratingly, the VRBO site calendar does not update (thus tricking holiday-goers into believing they can book the place).  The home owner has inadvertently double-booked on a few occasions because of the VRBO calendaring snafu.  

I believe that's what was going on when I was searching.  We finally had success using both airbnb and flipkey.

VRBO didn't always deceptively show many (many many) more listings than they actually have.  In fact, in the past, we have booked several excellent holiday homes on the site over the years.  But that was before this go-round; before their competition sites became so well established, and VRBO fell behind the technology.

Until VRBO fixes their availability calendar, unless you have all the time in the world to endlessly surf the web making fruitless rental searches, and you masochistically enjoy having your hopes dashed time and again, you'll save yourself frustration by using other sites to find your holiday rental.