Travel

Costs total $135 for a new passport. (You will need 2 separate checks)

• Set up an appointment in advance with a local library.

• Pottstown Library <==(Read this site carefully for all the specific requirements, regardless of where you go)

• Boyertown Library (reportedly the easiest location)

OR you can use the USPS (post office)

OR AAA (Members only)

• From when your application is received, it can take up to 8 weeks

• Rule of Thumb: Apply by Thanksgiving of the fall before our trip

For a COMPLETE explanation of the summary above, visit this site.

• 🛂 While Germany is considered extremely safe by all measured statistics, travel wallets to hide under clothing that hang around the neck($6) or fit around the waist($12) foil pickpockets and block RFID scanners can add security & peace of mind.

• 📋 Here is my packing list, including recommendations & some links

• 👗My wife, an experienced international traveler, created this list for young ladies

• 🧳I grew up watching PBS with travel guru, Rick Steves, who agrees with me that packing light is the best strategy. Watch this short video (and maybe this LONG video). Ignore the part about a travel adapter for Britain (unless you go there in the future)

At the check-in desk

• 🛂 You may need to hand over your passport temporarily

• Keep your passport handy (in an easily-accessed pocket) from the time you arrive at the airport until you clear customs in Germany

• If you check a bag, they will give you a check-bag ticket. They will usually stick this to the back of your passport for safe-keeping & put your printed boarding pass inside your passport

• 🥾At the Security (TSA) checkpoint, you may have to remove & scan your shoes & belt (especially if they have metal on them)

• 📱💻All tech devices may have to be unbagged & scanned separately, maybe turned on also

• 💧"3-1-1" Any liquids (including toiletries) must be in 100ml (3oz.) containers (or smaller), and all must fit into a quart-sized clear plastic bag

• 💊Medications (& baby food) are separate from the 3-1-1 regulations. Watch this for specifics

• 🥪SOLID FOOD is allowed, any separate sauces, dips, yogurts, etc. must fit into your single 1-qt plastic bag

• ⚔️No sword-canes allowed in the passenger cabin (give it a twist at home)

5.Jun: Meet at 2:45pm

• 🥪 PACK DINNER to eat when we get to JFK. (Keep it modest in size & non-irritating. Airplane restrooms are not ideal for an uncomfortable restroom visit)

• 🚐 Bus from PGHS to JFK (depart at 3:00 - arrive ~6pm)

• Solid foods are permitted through security, non-solids like yogurt, dip, salad dressing, etc. must go with toiletries, in 3oz. bottles & fit in your single 1qt. plastic bag.

• 🛫 Flight: JFK-Frankfurt (🇺🇸 depart 9:55pm - (Fly 7hrs 45min) - land 10:40am🇩🇪) 

• On board, we will get another late dinner, sleep overnight, and get a modest breakfast. 

• We are welcome to bring our own food on board.

26.Jun: Pickup at PGHS 3:30pm

• 🛬 Flight: Frankfurt-JFK (🇩🇪 depart 8:35am - (Fly 8hrs 35min) - land 11:10am🇺🇸)

• On board, we get lunch & a snack

• Retrieve check bags

• Clear customs

• 🚐 Bus to PGHS (depart ~12:30 - arrive ~3:30pm)

🎧 In-Flight entertainment systems currently require a wired headphone connection (Bluetooth earbuds (Airpods) will not connect.) You can get a cheap wired set, or get a Bluetooth adapter like this one, or go all out with active noise cancelling headphones that you can also use with a wired jack and to get sound in both ears, you will probably need an adapter like this dual prong to single jack adapter.

• 🛌Leading up to departure, go to bed an hour earlier each day for several days to combat jetlag

• 🍱Even though it's included in our ticket price, it might be best to have your last meal in the US at the airport on arrival, then save your food from the on-board dinner (likely served after 10pm on board) to eat with breakfast. This will help your internal clock reset to local time.

• 🚿When we arrive in Germany, you will be tired. Take a shower & change into clean clothes to refresh yourself

• ⚠️IMPORTANT!!! DO NOT TAKE A NAP!!!⚠️STAY UP until bedtime (it's OK to go to bed a couple hours earlier than usual)

• 🏡🔙 Coming back home will be less problematic as compared to transitioning to Germany. Eat all the airplane food whenever you like. Our first day home will just be a few hours longer than usual. Again, ⚠️DO NOT TAKE A NAP!!!⚠️ Stay up until an early bedtime 

• 🪙 ALWAYS carry two 1€ coins in case you need the public WC (either for entry, or to pay the attendant)

• 🚾 For a thorough explanation, watch this video from Feli

• 🚽 Faustregel (~rule of thumb), always go before you leave home/school (Bluey has a cute term for this)

🕘 Germany will be 6 hours ahead. I call home at 9pm Sommerzeit (3pm EDT)

🧸 Bear in mind, you will be in Germany to experience Germany, not to be on your phone in a different place. Keep phone usage to a minimum. You will be back home soon enough.

🛜 Calls over Wi-Fi services like WhatsApp, Facetime, Google Meet, etc. are free. Calls that use cell service in Germany can be quite costly.

🔌 If you use public USB-charging ports, it's a good idea to use a simple device like this to prevent personal data theft.

10-14 days before departure

• Make color-scans of your passport's photo page & barcode (last page) and ad the following:

• Take pictures of both sides of any credit/debit cards; make sure the customer service numbers are clearly visible

  • For quick reference, you may want to copy & use this template.

• Print 3 copies: 1 copy for Herr Donovan, 1 copy for yourself, 1 copy for your parents (copies of cards are a MUST for your parents)

• Alert the companies issuing the cards that you will be using them in Germany, Austria, & Switzerland (fastest on website/phone app)

• Get presents for host family members. Check the Gift-Giving section for more info.

2 days before

• Take a photo of everything laid out before being packed, and another once packed in your bag

• ROLL your clothes when you pack to minimize wrinkles

• In your carry-on, pack the following

  • ALL meds (in original prescription bottles if applicable)

  • ALL batteries (including built-in battery-powered devices)

  • Liquid toiletries in 3oz. or less bottles, packed in a 1-qt. plastic bag

  • Change of underclothes

  • Re-usable water bottle (fill after security checkpoint)

  • Pack a "Seat-bag" with everything you want in your seat, e.g. meds, headphones, bluetooth adapter, cords, journal, water, snacks, (eliminates going in check-bag mid-flight)

Day before

• Make a practice departure - put everything in the car, and start driving to PGHS

  • Realize what you forgot to pack NOW instead of when you leave  for real

Day of

• Wear comfy clothes in layers (planes get chilly)

• Put your passport in your easiest pocket to access (you may place it in your carry-on once on board)

• On iPhones, text your flight number to yourself to see live updates

⚠️Current⚠️

• US: 120V at 60Hz. vs. ⚠️Germany: 230V at 50Hz (🚨⚠️If your device is not rated to handle 230 volts, it will probably break⚠️🚨)

Do I need a voltage converter?

• Most electronics (laptops, phone chargers, cameras) only need a cheap plug adapter

• Read the fine print! If it says...

  • 100-240V, 50/60Hz, use only a cheap plug adapter(2 for $8) OR leave your phone charger brick at home & get an economical plug adapter with 2x USB-A ports ($5 ea.)

  • 120V, 60Hz, use an expensive voltage converter(~$31), OR get something like this hairdryer compatible with German current(<$20) & use a cheap plug adapter only

What about Switzerland?

• Schuko plugs fit securely into German outlets but will NOT fit in Swiss outlets, because Swiss plugs are flat hexagons with 2 round prongs (ground is a third prong forming a flat triangle)

• "Type C" Euro-plugs are supposed to fit both, but they are not very stable in standard German Schuko plugs.

• I will be using a power bank for the brief time we are in Switzerland, but if you want to share this with your roommates, it's an economical solution for charging 4 devices (2x USB-A & 2x USB-C)

Considerations

Long-standing tradition says that GAPPers should bring their hosts presents that represent our community, our state, our culture, and our country. Ideally, each member of the host family could receive a small gift from their guest GAPPer.

• 🎁Gifts need not be expensive (keychains, fridge magnets, X-mas ornaments, T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, wall-hangings, etc.)

• 🧳As they must be carried in our luggage, gifts should not be overly large/heavy. Whatever space/weight is taken up in your luggage on the way there can be occupied with souvenirs on the way home

💡Pro-Tip: You can order items online; you don't actually have to visit the stadium, bookstore, PA-Dutch market, or Amish homestead

💡Ideas

🍭Food: Sealed, shelf-stable foods not common in Germany can make good gifts. Good BBQ sauce is impossible to find there. (Hershey or M&M/Mars products are common in Germany, a mix of the dry ingredients in your favorite family dessert recipe might make for a good gift and a fun family project. Make sure to convert the baking temperature to celsius!)

• • Although I enjoy Tastykakes, which do represent local food culture, for whatever reason, Germans have historically been very cool in their response to them, so I recommend other options

📚Books: Germans place high value on books, and they are compact, so I like to include a book among my gifts

🔑⛓️Sports memorabilia: Local professional sports memorabilia (Philadelphia Union, Eagles, Flyers, 76ers, Phillies, etc.)

Local/National Culture: Anything related to PA-Dutch is often well-received