Map-time
By familiarizing myself with where we were headed, I hoped it would help the nerves of being in a new place. I wanted to be able to recognize things and be able to orient myself. Studying maps before we went was one of the most useful things I did since I like having a rough idea of where in the world I am!
We purchased all the Streetwise maps we could get; Paris, Munich, and Rome. These maps are wonderful because they are laminated so you can draw on them with erasable markers, we marked our hotels. They also don’t rip and you don’t get angry at them while trying to fold them back up! We also downloaded some Google Maps, if you do this ahead of time they work like you actually have reception!
Paris
Our hotel was close to the Eiffel Tower so that was the first thing I focused on. Then I moved on to the main streets around our hotel, where the Seine was, directions of the trains, roads that cross the river, and locations of the big museums in relation to the river. Once you know those you can usually get around by just glancing at your map rather than walking around with it out at all times.
Beaune
If you hit a big wall, turn around. Otherwise just wander, you’ll never be lost in this small, walled in city.
Lauterbrunnen
Learning our little town was simple, there is really only the one road that goes right through the middle. The important parts here were learning the various trains, funiculars, cable cars, other cities, and hikes. We picked where we wanted to go in advance and learned everything we could about the cities we wanted to visit and how to travel in between them. It’s also fun to learn the various mountains around you, so you’ll know what you’re looking at!
Munich
Munich is very large, the old part of town is within a large circle, which for the most part, we stayed inside. The trains in Munich are very helpful and easy to use, we just wanted to make sure we knew where we were going and how to transfer.
Venice
It's pretty difficult to get lost on an Island. The biggest issue we ran into was turning down dead ends, which can still end up being pretty and worth your while. We realized that we just needed to know how to get to our hotel from the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square.
Cinque Terre
A string a five cities, none of which are very big… not so hard to navigate. Knowing the directions of the trains meant we were able to get to any of the cities, as long as we remembered where the station was when we got off. I also made sure I knew where all the hikes were. Other than that, I just wanted to wander. The tiny walks between buildings are lovely and since they are all on a hill, they are usually very scenic.
Rome
Rome was, for me, much more difficult to understand than Paris. The streets all turned in weird directions, there are tall obelisks and domes everywhere that end up looking the same, and then all of a sudden we end up at the Trevi Fountain with no idea how we got there. Rome looks different at all angles, Google Maps is a friend, and we couldn't feel embarrassed having the maps out constantly, Rome is large, we didn’t want to waste energy walking in the completely wrong direction.
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