International travel plans

[SKL]

We usually take one or two international trips per year (I, friends, and kids).  Our hope this summer is to go to Ukraine and Russia.  For the first time, I am feeling a little iffy about travel.  Tell me this is irrational.  This trip is really important to one of our party - she hopes to visit her parents' birthplace for the first time.

[skimomma]

We usually take one or two international trips per year (I, friends, and kids).  Our hope this summer is to go to Ukraine and Russia.  For the first time, I am feeling a little iffy about travel.  Tell me this is irrational.  This trip is really important to one of our party - she hopes to visit her parents' birthplace for the first time.

 

I do not know that I can tell you that you are irrational but we have travel plans coming up very soon to multiple places in Europe and have not even considered altering them.  We traveled to former Soviet countries last year just as things were heating up and also did not consider changing our plans.  To fear travel is letting the terrorists win.  At least that is my personal opinion.  

[Xahm]

I would love to do that trip! I've traveled there before and want to go back. If I were going I would just have several contingency plans, make sure I had plenty of ways to get my hands on cash if needed, and start really early on the visas. I say this as someone who was in France this past fall, but the rash of recent attacks has actually made me figure that since bad things could happen anywhere, we should always be as ready as possible, but we shouldn't bother trying to guess where the next one is happening. Just live life but know that at any moment, for any variety of reasons (terrorism, illness, accident, bad weather) things may get messed up and having a back up plan is a good idea. 

[Melinda in VT]

We're spending several weeks in Denmark this summer. You never know what's going to kill you. I'd hate to miss out on travel, only to die in a car crash on my way home from grocery shopping.

 

I don't consider myself a risk taker, but statically speaking, the risk of travel is still small.

[Amira]

I'd go, but I might not be the most rational person to ask since I'm moving to Saudi Arabia in a few months.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We are going to Germany.  I don't think you are being irrational.  Various thoughts crossed my mind, but hey anything can happen anywhere so...

[SparklyUnicorn]

My bigger worry is having people ask me political questions.  My plan is to tell them I'm Canadian.  :lol:

[Mbelle]

Yeah..I'm still sending one of my kids with a study group, but I do think about it every day.  

Did you see Rick Steve's comment:

https://www.facebook.com/ricksteves/photos/a.10151281817257745.486423.45052217744/10153807660602745/?type=3&theate

[Lanny]

We usually take one or two international trips per year (I, friends, and kids).  Our hope this summer is to go to Ukraine and Russia.  For the first time, I am feeling a little iffy about travel.  Tell me this is irrational.  This trip is really important to one of our party - she hopes to visit her parents' birthplace for the first time.

 

 

I don't know about Ukraine, but I suspect that you will be MUCH SAFER, in Russia, than you would be in Western Europe.  Be sure to register with the ACS (American Citizens Services unit) in the U.S. Embassy, in each country you visit.    Terrorism can happen anywhere, but what is going on now in Western Europe is unprecedented.  

[Miss Tick]

I'm currently traveling in Spain and I feel a much greater risk of missing a bus or getting on the wrong one than running into terrorists.

 

I had assumed the victims were a random group, perhaps I'm mistaken in that? If so, switching to a domestic trip heavy on the driving is (statistically) more dangerous I suppose.

 

Sometimes, though, being irrationally concerned can not be overcome by intentional rationality. My day-to-day irrational concerns while ON the trip run more to "did I just get on the wrong bus?" I try to counter that with repetitive self-speeches about why I haven't gone awry and Tums.

 

Ironically, reading some of your matter-of-fact parts about traveling with your girls was part of my inspiration for our current trip.

[Melissa in Australia]

My bigger worry is having people ask me political questions.  My plan is to tell them I'm Canadian.  :lol:

really great idea.

 

We in Australia are getting lots of news coverage about a crazy person trying for presidency in USA. I was in an optometrist  on Friday when an American preson came in to the reception area. ( remote little town way out in the middle of nowhere) everyone  ( receptionists, and other waiting people ) drilled her on what - in - the -earth -do -Americans - think- they- are -doing -voting -for -that -crazy !!! She replied that was why she was in Australia :lol:

[Aiden]

I'd go. Then again, I live in Athens, Greece, and honestly in a list containing the names Paris and Brussels, Athens kind of fits right in, if you know what I mean. So do some other cities that my husband has traveled to recently for work, and cities where friends live, and cities where we intend to visit over the course of the next couple of years. We won't let the terrorists stop us from living our lives, and since we can't predict where they'll strike next, it's not like we could travel at all (or even stay in the city where we live) and be certain we won't be there at the worst possible moment. So we take reasonable precautions, and we live our lives.

 

Be very aware of your surroundings when you travel. Have a large amount of cash easily accessible, possibly even on your person (though be careful not to show that it's there, and consider using a purse/bag/camera bag with discreet security features, like those found in Safepac bags). Register your trip with STEP; it won't help in the early moments of a crisis, but it'll at least let the embassy know to find you and check that you're ok, and it means that they'll notify you of any security alerts that come up. Pay attention to travel warnings about specific places--I tend to ignore the ones that cover entire continents, as that's just too general to be useful.

 

Take reasonable precautions, and enjoy your trip!

[Lanny]

With regard to Russia, I can only address Moscow.  We know a family whose oldest child has been studying there, for approximately 1 1/2 years. When I ask about her, she is fine.  I remember that she took the Trans SIberian Railroad and that as the distance from Moscow increased, there were fewer and fewer English speakers.  I'm not sure if she went by herself or with others on that trip.  Although there are occasional terrorist attacks in Russia, I believe they are less likely to happen, at this time, in Russia, than in Western Europe.  

 

We know another family that will be going overseas to work, in a yet to be determined country, for one year, before he retires. His wife called my wife yesterday. If he asks me, I am going to suggest, that depending upon the selection of countries available for him to choose from, that he try to stay in The Americas, or possibly Russia, but not work in Western Europe.  

 

One can probably travel in Western Europe and have a wonderful time, for the vast majority of people that will be the case, but the possibility of problems there is higher  than in other parts of the world at this time. Horrible things can happen, in the USA or anywhere in the world and if one is unlucky and is in the wrong place at the wrong time, their luck has run out.  

[Rachel]

I'd go, but I might not be the most rational person to ask since I'm moving to Saudi Arabia in a few months.

Please do a post on your experience! My uncle is there right now, he's been there just over a year and has another 6 months or so to go. It's been a bit of culture shock but he enjoys it. He hasn't wanted my aunt to visit though, he flies back to the US or they meet in Europe. I would love to hear a woman's perspective.

[importswim]

My family lives in Europe. It wouldn't stop me from traveling over to see them, though I don't think it's wrong that you're pausing to consider your options.

[SparklyUnicorn]

really great idea.

 

We in Australia are getting lots of news coverage about a crazy person trying for presidency in USA. I was in an optometrist  on Friday when an American preson came in to the reception area. ( remote little town way out in the middle of nowhere) everyone  ( receptionists, and other waiting people ) drilled her on what - in - the -earth -do -Americans - think- they- are -doing -voting -for -that -crazy !!! She replied that was why she was in Australia :lol:

 

I was there when our current president was running for his first term.  Sooo many people asked me about it.  I went to a big wine expo thing and people were literally swarming around me.  First off, while not shy exactly, I did not enjoy that.  But then the questions!  Oh good golly.  Do I think he'll win.  Do people like him.  Who am I voting for.  What do I think about him.  What about the other guy running.  That's right up there with talking religion for me.  I just generally do not do it.  Add that to the fact probably everyone there was at least buzzed from all the wine. 

 

So...I'm Canadian.  Yes, my crazy neighbors in the south...what are those knuckle heads up to.  LOL 

[SKL]

Ironically, reading some of your matter-of-fact parts about traveling with your girls was part of my inspiration for our current trip.

 

I'm glad I was an inspiration, and hope you are enjoying your trip.  :)

 

I'm really not a worrier.  But once in a while something gives me pause.

 

Turns out our upcoming trip might be canceled for other reasons, and we will probably plan something domestic.

[Mbelle]

Maybe it was the wine! LOL  One of my Aussie family members told my kids that "America is worse than N. Korea"  whereupon my children burst into laughter.   The other option I have found..since they actually know I'm not Canadian is to not respond.  I just do not answer the questions.  Smile and offer them another beer!  

[TechWife]

DH is going to Madrid and Amsterdam next month, and I am thinking about going with him. I am rethinking because if something were to happen to both of us, my son would be alone without parents or siblings. While DH frequently travels internationally, this would be the first time we travel internationally together and leave DS behind. It's one of those empty nest adjustments that I'm not quite sure I'm ready to make in light of this weeks attacks.  

[J-rap]

It sounds like this issue might be answered for you, but I'll just add that I wouldn't cancel my plans even in light of what's going on.  I continue to think that generally, safe traveling is more about how you travel rather than where you travel.  (Be respectful of the culture/country you are traveling in, don't do dumb things, blend in when you can, don't obviously stick out as an Americans, etc.)  Of course, random bad things do happen, but random bad things can happen anywhere.

 

However, I certainly remember when my kids were young and my feeling more nervous about traveling without them (which I didn't do often), in case the plane would crash leaving them all orphans, etc.  Certainly I was taking just as much (probably more) of a risk every time I drove on the busy freeway or snowy highways in our area, but traveling internationally usually feels more frivolous, so it might feel more like an unnecessary risk I guess.  Then again, many of the things we do are unnecessary risks, and without at least some, life would get pretty dull.  I suppose we each find our line of comfort.

 

I have traveled a lot and lived in the Middle East and Europe.

 

 

 

[madteaparty]

really great idea.

 

We in Australia are getting lots of news coverage about a crazy person trying for presidency in USA. I was in an optometrist on Friday when an American preson came in to the reception area. ( remote little town way out in the middle of nowhere) everyone ( receptionists, and other waiting people ) drilled her on what - in - the -earth -do -Americans - think- they- are -doing -voting -for -that -crazy !!! She replied that was why she was in Australia :lol:

I got lots of questions about ... That.... from other western volunteers in Europe this winter. I generally refuse to waste breath on ... That... and remind them of the equivalent crazy in their own country (national front in France etc). Every country has its own issues and I'm not spokesperson for mine. It would be like me approaching a random person in Australia and asking her to justify the boat pushback policy to me. Edited March 24, 2016 by madteaparty

[Penguin]

Ugh. I get grilled too often on American politics and policies. I usually try to change the subject.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Penguin

[Alice]

really great idea.

 

We in Australia are getting lots of news coverage about a crazy person trying for presidency in USA. I was in an optometrist  on Friday when an American preson came in to the reception area. ( remote little town way out in the middle of nowhere) everyone  ( receptionists, and other waiting people ) drilled her on what - in - the -earth -do -Americans - think- they- are -doing -voting -for -that -crazy !!! She replied that was why she was in Australia :lol:

 

For some reason the last time dh and I traveled internationally (to Italy, southern France and Amsterdam) people kept thinking we were Australian. We don't remotely have Australian accents so I'm not sure why they thought that. The only thing we could figure was that dh is Asian so people kept asking if he was from Japan or China and then they would ask if I was Australian. Because it's close to Japan and China? Who knows? But it was at the time right after the US invaded Iraq and there were a lot of protests in Italy while we were there so we were fine with letting people think we were Australian. :) 

 

We are traveling to Iceland and Paris in the fall. At this point we are not changing those plans. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

For some reason the last time dh and I traveled internationally (to Italy, southern France and Amsterdam) people kept thinking we were Australian. We don't remotely have Australian accents so I'm not sure why they thought that. The only thing we could figure was that dh is Asian so people kept asking if he was from Japan or China and then they would ask if I was Australian. Because it's close to Japan and China? Who knows? But it was at the time right after the US invaded Iraq and there were a lot of protests in Italy while we were there so we were fine with letting people think we were Australian. :)

 

We are traveling to Iceland and Paris in the fall. At this point we are not changing those plans. 

 

Oddly a lot of people can't tell the difference.  My BIL will sit there while we are watching TV and ask "Is that guy British or American?"  They can have the thickest British accent and he can't tell the difference. 

 

Most people don't notice I'm not German until they hear me talk.  And there have been instances where they still didn't notice and started talking to me.  One guy bent my ear off probably for an hour and didn't seem to notice I didn't speak German.  That was at a bar though.  LOL