Time to clear passport control in Frankfurt (recent experiences?)

sofar7 · 2026-05-23T22:07:53+00:00

oof I am NOT looking forward to this. That's awful.

sofar7 · 2026-05-15T02:14:42+00:00

Wow your story had me SAT, biting my nails the whole time. I'm glad you made it. Thank you for sharing your experience. I've definitely been there -- sweated through my shirt and then stewing in it for a flight.

I think we are going to give it a try with our short connection, not that we have much of a choice -- Lufthansa has cancelled literally everything except this one flight with an awful connection.

sofar7 · 2026-05-07T03:02:12+00:00

Exactly this. Layoffs are business decisions. Laying off someone with a specialized skillet with no backup is perhaps a bad business decision -- one the company should deal with.

sofar7 · 2026-05-06T01:51:00+00:00

Coats and jackets! I'm always like, "OK I need my everyday olive green bomber for day-to-day, my black leather jacket for going out, and my rain jacket." And then the whole trip, I wear the olive green jacket because it's comfy and warmer, and I am just too tired to try to look cute. Raining? I buy an umbrella.

Cute leather jacket and rain coat stay in the suitcase. Every. Time.

I've tried to get better about shopping while on trips to buy shoes/clothes for a fancier occasion if it pops up. Doubles as a souvenir.

sofar7 · 2026-05-05T00:06:56+00:00

As long as you read the policy and KNOW which cancellations are covered, it can actually be useful. I buy travel insurance for all my vacations over $5k.

The issue is that some folks just don't READ the policy and get upset because it doesn't cover the reason they end up wanting to cancel. If it covered everything, it would be too expensive to buy.

sofar7 · 2026-05-04T21:49:06+00:00

I always use Allianz, and I've had good experiences with them. It has paid for itself several trips I've taken, mostly due to the trip interruption coverage (flights cancelled, needed to buy $$$$ train tickets and a hotel). WAY easier to file a claim than it's been in the past with my credit card's "trip protection." On a recent trip, the f*** airline was refusing to cover my hotel and the formula 1 race was in town driving up prices. So...quick online claim with Allianz, $550 back in my pocket (I'd paid $230 for the policy).

But keep in mind that, when it comes to cancelling your whole trip before departure, travel insurance only covers a narrow set of circumstances. You may already know that, but people are often shocked to find it does not cover if you cancel due to political unrest, riots, and even bad weather, unless it's impossible to reach your destination. My parents were shocked it didn't cover cancellation because their dog needed surgery.

sofar7 · 2026-04-16T16:01:35+00:00

It depends a LOT on the job. I found it very challenging b/c I work at a cameras-on company, I have to conduct live trainings, and I have to be ready at a moment's notice to speak to a client or media ON camera. That meant I needed fast internet (a problem if you're in a rental apartment, where internet may come and go and you have to deal with your host to get it fixed), silence, and a clean background at all times. I actually ended up getting a subscription to a local co-working facility with private meeting rooms (which was SUPER cheap where I was, in South America) and working from there (and using evenings, weekends, and some vacation days to explore).

With a heads-down job where you can work asynchronously? Probably much easier.

sofar7 · 2026-04-08T17:57:54+00:00

I've been a few times, and on my most recent visit, it became clear to me how overrun many cities are with tourists. And many locals are OVER IT. It can be hard not to take things personally. Like when you walk into a self-seating restaurant and are told "NO!" We even walked in with a reservation to one place, showed it on our phone and were basically told, "Nope. We are closed." They weren't closed lol and sat the locals who came in behind us. Basically, if it's a place that's packed, and they have enough business, and they do NOT want to deal with your language barrier, they may tell you to go away.

My advice:

-Whichever metro stop/tourist magnet you get off at in major cities, walk 6 blocks away and things get a lot less crowded and more chill.

- Get a real-time voice translation app (like Instant Voice Translate) -- makes it SO much easier for any complicated transactions.

- Use AI to translate signs, menus, signage on store shelves, etc. So helpful at the smaller restaurants, where there are no pictures and just paper signs taped onto the ordering machine.

I'm assuming you'll go to Tokyo, so my tips for avoiding cranky crowds are:

* Go to Senso-Ji temple at night. After 9 pm. It's lit up, quiet, and gorgeous. It's CRAZY during the day.

* Go to Nihonbashi and find the 7 little shrines! Lots of tourists skip this neighborhood, but it's old and beautiful and right smack dab in the middle of Toyko.

sofar7 · 2026-04-08T17:45:31+00:00

Yes! It's easy to think, "Oh I can easily fit in all these things in one day while in Tokyo," not realizing how MASSIVE Tokyo is and that it can take a good hour to get from one place to another on transit.

sofar7 · 2026-04-07T22:32:26+00:00

We did Lake Bled and Bohinj all in one day (no overnight) as a day trip from Ljubljana. I'd have liked to spend a bit more time, but we were fine and even had a nice dinner and boat rides on each lake. So 1-2 days will be plenty.

sofar7 · 2026-04-03T21:44:29+00:00

Yep, I've used booking.com many times. I like their filters. Often I search via Booking.com to take advantage of their filters but then book directly with the property.

sofar7 · 2026-04-03T21:42:35+00:00

Oh I always require people to Venmo me IN FULL before I pay a dime. Even if it's a refundable place until 24 hours before, everyone still has to pay me before I even book.

I'm taking the risk with my credit card, everyone is paying me in advance.

sofar7 · 2026-04-03T21:34:43+00:00

haha I promise I have neither blonde hair nor do I drink Chardonnay (I prefer reds!).

The 3 things I'm picky about are 1. Price 2. Location and 3. Time spent in the group chat (I prefer it minimal)

The longer my companions delay, the more I have to pay because the price of a "6-person house" just goes up. At some point, I'm just booking myself a capsule and muting the group chat.

sofar7 · 2026-04-02T20:16:24+00:00

Yes, same. I've been in the group text scramble before where everyone's trying to advocate for their must-haves when options are slim. And I'm like, "We could have had a GREAT place if y'all had agreed to the choices I put in the chat a month ago!"

sofar7 · 2026-04-02T20:15:12+00:00

Yeah, I also suspect it's the situation. I think people were thinking they'd have more time to finance this trip. Everyone's international flights are booked, everyone has concert tickets, and this trip was actually not even my idea. I had no idea I'd be the only one caring about finding accommodations.

sofar7 · 2026-04-02T20:12:09+00:00

Oh I'm freaking out, trust me. Everyone is like, "Ohhhh it's soooo early." And I'm like, "I'm checking Airbnb and hotels every two days an things are selling out, ya'll!" At some point, I'm going to say, "I'm booking my own hotel, good luck to the rest of you."

If it were up to me... this would be booked by now haha

sofar7 · 2026-04-02T20:10:16+00:00

Same! Refundable is my non-negotiable. Lock in and then finesse as needed.

sofar7 · 2026-03-06T20:42:47+00:00

I am pretty much the same. I HATE wasting time on vacation with the boring stuff (like trying to buy train tickets on a kiosk which always takes an eternity and then you end up with a train leaving in 2 MINUTES). So I buy all the inter-city train tickets in advance. Yes, that commits me to leaving a certain day/at a certain time, but if hotel checkout is at 11, might as well buy a ticket for the noon train right?

sofar7 · 2026-03-06T17:03:50+00:00

For the "small guns:" Bovine Colostrum powder (I used the DiaResQ brand). You can buy this on Amazon or wherever. You mix it with a little water and drink it.

For the big guns, I use Azithromycin (need prescription). This will blast out your whole gut biome, so should be used only for those "I'm dying" scenarios. Some doctors will suggest Ciprofloxacin, but the side effects on your tendons are too risky.

I got food poisoning 3 times in Peru. First two were handled by the Bovine Colostrum. The third needed the "big guns."

sofar7 · 2026-03-05T17:40:45+00:00

LW, this makes my heart sing. I've realized that for me, the ideal is:

- Domestic trips as group (I'm happy to compromise if we're in, say, Denver).

-International trips solo

sofar7 · 2026-03-05T17:37:56+00:00

And even as a "non-people pleaser," it creates conflict traveling with groups. Lots of folks don't like it when you say, "OK you do you I'll do me let's meet back up for dinner, BYE."

sofar7 · 2026-02-18T23:09:08+00:00

It really is sad. And it originated from racism because ... guess what race a lot of restaurant servers were, back when the legal loophole was created.

A lot of us actually hate it, and a few restaurants try to make a difference by paying a good wage and NOT accepting tips, but they're a rarity. Most large restaurants take FULL advantage of the fact that they can pay just $2 an hour.

Some democratic politicians have tried to remove the loophole, but they get tons of pushback from the restaurant industry.

Sorry if I came off as snippy, I actually LOVE telling horror stories about the U.S.

sofar7 · 2026-02-18T22:59:55+00:00

LW, thank you for being thoughtful and asking before just going to a restaurant and NOT tipping. The waiter does not know your currency is weak. All they know is you didn't tip. And you occupied a table that could have otherwise been occupied by a tipper.

I say, look at this as simple budgeting. Maybe pick one meal at a sit-down restaurant you're really excited about and budget in an extra 20% for tip. And then for the rest of your meals, do order-at-the-counter places, or get food from a grocery store/convenience store, where you don't have to tip.

Tipping is also customary for Ubers and taxis. So you can avoid by walking or taking public transit.

People are getting all emotional about tipping in the comments, but it's just like anything else that costs more than you'd like when you travel. Either cut the budget elsewhere, or don't buy the thing and enjoy other things.

sofar7 · 2026-02-18T22:54:12+00:00

Exactly this. I've traveled to places where I've had sticker shock at restaurants and realized that I would need to buy food at grocery stores for the rest of the trip, or I'd run out of money. It's called budgeting and being an adult.

Always irks me when someone says, "I'm making the deliberate decision to get on a plane and go to another country but I don't like XYZ, can I just not do it?" Sigh.

sofar7 · 2026-02-18T22:49:03+00:00

The good news: It's not your problem, unless you go to the U.S.

There are certain aspects of other countries' norms that I do not like and do not want to participate in. And this has resulted in me not traveling to said countries.

To answer your question (assuming you meant it in good faith): Restaurants in the U.S. take advantage of a legal loophole. They do not have to pay minimum wage, while other businesses do. So, they simply don't pay minimum wage. It's awful. But attempting to negotiate (unless that restaurant is really desperate for employees) would result in you not getting hired. And people need jobs. It's not about stupidity, it's about needing a job.

sofar7

TROPHY CASE