2012 Reflections and Learnings

With 2012 behind - here where I have been and what I learned from the year that was.

Traveled:
March - Paris / The Hague
April - Kenya
June - Tour of Texas
September - The Hague / Amsterdam / Brugge Belgium / Paris / Milan
October - Mosel River Valley Germany / Arnhem NL / Amsterdam
November - London / Rome
December - London / Vienna / Amsterdam

Learned:
1.  Enjoy Italian food in Italy.  Eat slow and a lot.
2.  Plan an "experience" for each trip - a concert, Octoberfest, guided tour, etc.  Something to do while you are there that's not just a museum.
3.  Backpacking is the way to go for a short weekend.
4.  When living in Europe on your own, ALWAYS have a flight booked somewhere.  No reason why you shouldn't.
5.  Try new food often.
6.  Stop in buidlings you pass all the time to find out what might be cool in them.
7.  Go out to watch your favorite game.
8.  If someone invites you to play a game or go somewhere, do it.
9.  Get up early when you travel and enjoy the city still asleep.
10.  Eat breakfast when you travel.
11.  Driving in the NL isn't so bad.  Germany is fun too. 
12.  Avoid any touristy thing that involves a red light district.  Even if Rick Steves says it's cool.  Just don't do it.
13.  Learn how to use the public transport in each new city first.  It saves you time and energy.
14.  Have a waterproof map.  And don't use your phone's GPS.
15.  Prioritize what you want to see, but don't be so inflexible that you miss out on what's right in front of you.
16.  Be aware of your surroundings.
17.  Tough situations are the best for meeting new people.  I'm looking at you Arnhem.
18.  Trust Rick Steves.  He's pretty dead on.
19.  Use airline miles for cities with no direct flights - same number of miles it costs to fly to cities with direct flights that are cheaper.
20.  Use hotels, not hostels if you are over the age of 25. 

Here's to a great 2013 travel year and many more gorgeous scenes like these below!