Leaping Hound Travel - Travel Notes

Black Lives Matter

4 Delightful Day Trips from Munich

11/13/2021

The Isar River, running through Munich

If you know us, you know we adore traveling by train in Europe. And while we love to spend enough time in the cities we visit that we get to know them well, not just rushing through, sometimes it's great to take a day trip by train and pop into another cool spot! One of the great things about Europe is that wherever you are, there are probably several fantastic additional cities you could visit for the day.

So let's say you're visiting Munich, a wonderful city with a fascinating history, great food, world-class museums, and beautiful architecture. (Perhaps you're joining us in June 2022, on our group tour of Germany, for example.) Where might you go for a delightful day trip, a quick jaunt by train? We've got four options to share!

1. Augsburg Augsburg is frequently overlooked as a day trip, and we think that's a mistake! This charming and walkable university town is only 45 minutes away from Munich. Its old town has a wonderful pedestrian-only shopping district filled with cute stores and restaurants. Plus the fantastic textiles museum is not to be missed--you can learn all about historic fashions, and see some stunning examples!

2. Tegernsee Lake Snow-capped mountains, dark green forests, clear blue sky, sparkling water... they say nothing in Bavaria is as Bavarian as the Tegernsee Valley. This is a perfect spot for a hike (there are both gentle and challenging options), a picnic, or a visit to an outdoor beer garden where you can sip a cold brew and look out over the lake. And it's a straightforward hour-and-twenty-minute train ride from Munich.

3. Salzburg, Austria An hour and a half away from Munich, Salzburg is an excellent day trip. It's a medium-sized city set in the Eastern Alps. For classical music enthusiasts, you can't go wrong with visits to Mozarts Geburtshaus: his childhood home has been turned into a lovely and thorough museum. It's also perfect for fans of The Sound of Music--after all, the real Von Trapps lived in Salzburg, and much of the 1965 movie was filmed here.

4. Neuschwanstein Castle Though it's a little complicated to reach, as there are no direct trains, it's worth visiting anyway. People flock to this pretty palace for fairytale scenes, sweeping vistas, and beauty that takes your breath away. It was commissioned by King Ludwig to honor the opera composer Richard Wagner, and was part of a 19th-century trend known as castle romanticism.

The Most Magical Tea Houses in Continental Europe

11/4/2021

The delicate scent of roasting tea leaves and fragrant herbs, the fluid arc of tea poured from pot to cup, the snap of a sweet treat as you take a bite... Discover the magical places where you can step out of time and experience something extraordinary.

We've created a guide to continental Europe's most magical tea houses, because tea--and magic!--are things we're passionate about. If you have signed up for our email list, you should have already received your copy. If you haven't, you can get your copy here!

And if you just now signed up and got re-directed here, welcome! Take a look around and get to know us. Your guide should be waiting in your inbox for you now.

Best and Worst Countries for LGBTQ Travelers

10/14/2021

Travel journalists Asher and Lyric Fergusson have created the 2021 LGBTQ+ Travel Safety Index, a ranked list of 150 countries. This list does a great job of boiling down the varying factors that contribute to the safety and security of LGBTQ+ travelers into a simple-to-follow guide. They measure everything from transgender legal protections, to same-sex marriage laws, to how people there answered the survey question "Is this a good place to live for gay or lesbian people?"

As tour operators and travel agents, this is something important to us, not just for our LGBTQ+ clients, but for our company as a whole. It's important to us that the tours we lead, the countries we visit, and the businesses we patronize, are all safe for all our clients, and do not compromise on the values we hold.

Thinking of planning your own trip abroad? Take a look at the Fergussons' index--it might just spark some new ideas! (Anyone up for a trip to Malta, perhaps?)

Random Cool Vacation Ideas

9/9/2021

We talk a lot about group tours (which are awesome!) but don't forget we can also arrange custom travel for your own personal vacations. And there are some REALLY COOL things we can do. Here's a random sample!
You could...

Enjoy a private dinner on the ancient city walls surrounding Dubrovnik, Croatia
Zipline through the jungle in Tulum, Mexico
Cruise around Antarctica and see penguins and seals in the wild
Get a private, insider's tour of Tokyo's best nightlife hot spots
Helicopter around the volcanoes of Hawaii

Do any of these sound good to you? Do you have your own cool ideas? Let's chat! You can fill out our travel interest form, or just shoot us an email any time. (We'll get back to you with almost alarming speed. :-) )

U.S. Passports...

8/9/2021

We're going abroad in November, for the first time since the pandemic, for a beach vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. When we booked the trip, we realized both our passports needed to be renewed. Before the pandemic, it took approximately 6 weeks to get a new or renewed U.S. passport. As of right now, the State Department is estimating wait times of 18 weeks--yep, three times longer than it was in 2019. This is due to both pandemic-related slowdowns and an unprecedented demand; people are eager to travel abroad!

Do you need a new or renewed passport? (Remember: your passport must be valid for at least six months AFTER your return from abroad.) Get one now! You can start at the State Department's passport application website. You can also look up the passport office nearest you.

Need your passport in a hurry? You can read through the State Department's list of services available based on need. You can also consider using a private service that specializing in expedited passports, though this could set you back an additional $60-$400 on top of the passport application fees. Services like Fedex "Rush My Passport" and Allstate Passports handle the work for you, to get you your passport sooner. (Though we should note we have not personally used these services and cannot personally vouch for them.)

When we got our passports renewed, we went to our local post office and it was a one-stop shop: we got our photos taken, filled out our applications, paid the fee, and paid to have them expedited. We also paid for rush shipping to and from the State Department. And, good news: USPS tracking says they arrive today!

Don't leave it to chance or luck, or hoping that the State Department's speed improves--get yours renewed now!

Liz's Packing List

5/13/2021

On the basis that sometimes it's more useful to see something highly specific and real than it is to see a document designed to cover all scenarios, I thought I'd share my personal packing list from my 2019 three-week trip to Europe. I was leading a group tour through Italy and Switzerland, then going to France and the Netherlands on a family trip.

carry-on (big purse):
Small accordion file [note-I use the two accordion files to keep group tour info organized]
Big accordion file
Macbook
Wallet
Passport
Phone
Glasses
shawl
medicine
journal
pens
European SIM cards

checked bag:
9 dresses
1 pair of leggings
1 black oversized cardigan
2 pairs jammie pants
2 jammie shirts
shorts for under dresses
underwear
socks
bras
makeup
moisturizer
contact lenses/solution/case
toothpaste/toothbrush
deodorant
small folding hairbrush
tampons/pads
laptop charger
phone charger
converter/adapter for outlets
Archer 2 [you can see more about Archer 2 here]

That's it! That's my list! Let me know if you have any questions about it, or what your personal travel packing lists are.

The Fires of Vesuvius

4/23/2021

I (Liz) just finished reading The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found by Mary Beard, and it was utterly fascinating. Beard is an English historian who has written numerous books described by the New Yorker as "learned but accessible." The Fires of Vesuvius details what we really know about life in ancient Pompeii in the decades before the 79 C.E. eruption.

She discusses everything from the layout of the streets, the bars and restaurants, murals and art, food (wine, cheese, fruit, bread, olive oil! yum! but also so much fermented fish sauce...), commerce, relationships, and more. She shares translations of graffiti in gladiators' barracks (people have been bragging about their sexual prowess for thousands of years, it seems), advertising slogans, and campaigns for political office.

Above all, the book drives home that the people of Pompeii were real, living, breathing human beings like ourselves; yet at the same time making clear that we can't assume things about their lives based on how we live our own. She cuts through the sometimes easy answers historians in the past have found, showing that they often say more about the historians themselves than the citizens of Pompeii, and clearly explains what we know and how we know it.

Having been to Pompeii, I loved that I was able to picture the places she was describing, though at the same time it made me ache to go back and see it again with fresh eyes. I know I'll be re-reading it before our next trip to Italy.

Interested? I highly recommend it.

Dying to see some ancient ruins in person? Come with us to Italy in January, 2022 for our 10-day trip, Pasta and Science! Through the end of April, anyone who registers will receive $200 off the cost of their program!

[FYI, if you buy the book using the link above, Leaping Hound Travel makes a small commission.]

Why You Should Go to Italy in January

4/4/2021

There are a lot of reasons to visit Italy, of course. But why, specifically, should you go in January? Read on and find out!

1. Lack of crowds January is the off-season for Italian tourism. This means sights that are typically so choked with people that it can be tough to even get close to them--like Rome's famous Trevi Fountain, for example--will now be approachable places where you can linger, admiring them, taking photos, relaxing. This also means public transport, like Rome's Metro, will be significantly emptier and easier to navigate.

2. Comfortable weather Italy's heat can be brutal in the summer. In January, the average high temperature in Florence and Rome is in the mid-50s: comfortable enough that you won't need more than a light jacket, cool enough to make you really relish a steaming cup of Italian coffee each morning.

3. Affordability Traveling in the off-season means some of the priciest parts of travel, like flights and hotels, are significantly less expensive than they are during the high season.

4. Availability Want to schedule a visit to St. Peter's Basilica or the Colosseum? With fewer visitors, places that require advance booking will have more times available for you to choose, and require less advance notice.

5. Shopping January is THE month to visit Italy if you're a shopaholic. The big semi-annual sales begin early in the month. You'll be able to score unbeatable deals on everything from shoes to clothes to luggage--even furniture, if you don't mind shipping it home.

Convinced? Come with us to Florence and Rome in January 2022.
Questions? Send an email our way--we'll get right back to you!

Travel Blog Spotlight: Exploring the Netherlands

7/11/2020

There are lots of great travel blogs out there. How do you choose what to read? We'd like to recommend some excellent Black travel bloggers, focusing on different themes each time. Today, check out three of our faves and their features on the Netherlands.

Hey! Dip Your Toes In: 31 Things to do in The Hague, Utrecht, and Rotterdam During the Winter

Eulanda & Omo Osagiede are married Londoners whose site features articles not just about travel, but also food, lifestyle, and important social issues (check out this recent post about being an ally to Black people).
We like this article because it features three cities we love that are often overlooked when people consider travel in the Netherlands, and focuses on a season that's not known for travel, either. One of our favorite recommendations:
"You can go crazy for fries at Frietwinkel and try their organic, award-winning fries with a plethora of toppings, like pumpkin ketchup. "

TravelEatSlay: 24 Hours in Amsterdam

TravelEatSlay is more than a travel blog. They sell adorable tees, tanks, and swimsuits, plus, as of June 2020, they created an extensive Black Travel Directory, a list of over 200 Black travel professionals, organized by location and type of company.
We like their 24-hour guide to Amsterdam because it's straightforward, filled with fun activities without being overstuffed, and really conveys a sense of fun. A sample bit of advice:
"Arriving at Amsterdam Centraal station, hop on one of the 24/7 free ferries crossing river IJ to North Amsterdam. Once on the other side, we stepped into an industrial area that has been transformed into a edgy, vibrant neighborhood."

An Unstoppable Journey: City Spotlight: Haarlem

Monique at An Unstoppable Journey is actually an American expat living in the Netherlands, so she has a fantastic collection of articles all about life in the Low Countries. She's also in the process of running 50 races in 50 countries before she turns 50 (!!!) so she has lots to share about running, too.
Haarlem is a delightful little city just outside of Amsterdam, and Monique digs into all that makes it wonderful. She highlights Teyler's Museum, a science museum dear to our own hearts, which is "famous for its extensive collection of prints and drawings from many of the old masters... as well as for its eclectic collection of fossils, minerals, scientific instruments, medals and coins."

Black Lives Matter.

6/18/2020

Black Lives Matter.

We recognize the reality, and centrality, of institutionalized racism and white supremacy in the United States (and other parts of the world). We support those protesting to demand that political leaders, and indeed every member of our society: acknowledge the systemic racism and injustice faced every day by people of color; and, take action to dismantle the levers of institutionalized white supremacy. Among others, we recommend statements on the nature of systemic racism such as this one from Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and the philosophy and goals of Black Lives Matter.

As a travel business, we also recognize the historical connections between tourism and institutionalized racism. Likewise, we acknowledge the ways in which tourism, particularly among those who come from nations with a history of imperialism (imperialist endeavors themselves both reflecting, and further contributing to, institutionalized racism and white supremacy) has perpetuated the objectification and othering of people of color. We are committed to fighting against the discourse and practices of what has been termed colonial tourism.

In addition, Leaping Hound Travel is committed to taking additional steps in support of Black lives, including:

Donating 10% of profits from all trips through 2022 to Black Lives Matter
Partnering with Black-owned vendors and companies whenever possible
Promoting and amplifying Black voices in the travel industry

-Liz & Adam,
Leaping Hound Travel Co-founders

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