A New Way to Tour Berlin’s Top Tourist Attraction

The remains of the iconic landmark that split East and West Germany for nearly three decades are all but gone, but that hasn’t stopped tourists from traveling thousands of miles to Berlin to see where it once stood. If you have plans to visit the Berlin Wall in the near future you might be surprised by what is waiting for you at the site. Gone are the old tattered maps and guidebooks illustrating the wall’s memorials. They have been replaced with a new multimedia guide offering individualized walking tours connecting the key points where the 103-mile-long wall once stood. Visitors … Continue reading →

The Gift of Luggage

Two years ago my mom bought me new luggage for Christmas. Initially I told her that my current set still had a few good years left in it and tried to talk her out of the purchase. Looking back I am so glad that she went with her gut and got it for me. The bags she gifted me with are lighter, stronger and better designed to handle traveling with kids. What’s more, they include 360-degree swivel wheels, which I find to be invaluable when you are carrying a kid with one arm and dragging your luggage with the other. … Continue reading →

Last-Minute Gifts for Those Fighting the “Black Bag War”

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog entitled “Black Bag War.” It was an ode to the millions of airline passengers forced to huddle around luggage carousels and decipher which of the hundreds of rotating black suitcases rightfully belonged to them. In the 20 months or so since I wrote that piece luggage manufacturers have expanded their color palettes and now offer a wide variety of products in funky styles and colors. Now you can buy a wardrobe of luggage to fit your particular lifestyle and mix and match as needed. What’s more, if you are still searching … Continue reading →

Losing Your Car Keys—The Problem With Smart Keys

If you own a new car then you are likely familiar with smart keys, which are equipped with a computer chip. Do you own a set? If you do then you may agree that these so-called smart keys aren’t very smart at all. Then again, perhaps I am the one who needs a shot of intelligence (or at the very least an injection of memory enhancers). I have found that if you lose a smart key it will cost you— a LOT! Luckily I am not the only miffed about having to shell out big bucks to get a replacement. … Continue reading →

Checking In At A Pod

Have you checked into a Westin Hotel lately? If you have then you may have noticed something a bit different in the lobby—gone are the traditional massive check-in counters. Out with the old and in with the new… check-in pods. What’s a pod? Hotels define them as smaller work areas that take less space and let employees provide more personable service. Basically, they look like circular stands equipped with state-of-the-art-razor-thin computer monitors. With cash transactions becoming almost obsolete hotels have designed these pods—or open desks–because security is no longer the concern it once was. Each pods is individually manned and … Continue reading →

Cool Gadgets for the Road

Traveling today has never been easier. With new gadgets that can do just about everything, you will find long road trips are more adventurous, quieter, happier, and all-around better. To give you an idea of some of the cool gadgets now on the market, I have done some research for you. For starters, have you ever been in a plane, desperately trying to finish a report for an important meeting only to have a talker next to you or a crying baby that is sitting directly in front of you? Unfortunately, this happens but with the NoiseBuster headphones, you can … Continue reading →

Travel Gadget For Kids–The Review

Regular readers of my blogs know that I am a mother of a toddler, someone who travels quite a bit, and a self-professed “sucker for new products.” So when I see a new product that says it is made “especially for the traveling toddler,” I figure the manufacturer is speaking directly to me. Such is the case with the “Seat Chiller.” The “Seat Chiller” is exactly that—a product specifically designed to “chill” your child’s car seat on a hot day. Okay, so I live in Wisconsin, where you can count on one hand the number of days that the mercury … Continue reading →

Travel Gadget Product Review

I am a sucker for travel gadgets. (Truthfully, I am a sucker for any product that claims to make life easier.) It is dangerous for me to watch television late at night—a time when most channels air infomercials advertising the latest and greatest must-have items. I have gotten to the point where I don’t automatically grab the phone and start dialing (yes, I have made progress), but there was an item featured on TV the other night that I was convinced was worth a phone call. I ended up mustering enough willpower to avoid calling and instead headed to my … Continue reading →

“Your” Favorite Travel Accessories

The Place: My living room. The Time: A Sunday night get-together with friends and family. The Result: This Blog. What started out as an innocent question: “What is your favorite travel accessory?” could actually turn into a weekly feature here. I got so many responses (from the ordinary to the “are-you-sure-that-qualifies-as-an-accessory”) that I have decided to group them by manufacturers. That way if you are interested in purchasing the products you won’t have to make multiple Internet searches. So brace yourself. Here are the first items in my series “Favorite Travel Accessories.” Magellan’s Travelon 14” Wheeled Carry-On with ViewThru Panels. … Continue reading →

Travel Gadget–Bag Tracker

Did you know that more than three million bags are lost in transit every year? And that many more are left in hotels, taxis, and restaurants? It’s the reason up-scale luggage manufacturer, Tumi, has created a program that helps reunite its customers with their lost Tumi bags. I first heard about the complimentary program when I was looking to purchase a new suitcase. Tumi luggage is not cheap. Prices range from $185 for a backpack to more than $700 for the large suitcase with wheels that I was eyeing. The bags are well made and come with a decent warranty. … Continue reading →