First time to Europe

December 8, 2007 8:55 AM

Going to Germany!

My wife is going to Germany at the end of January. With Xmas coming up soon I am hoping to get her something she can use on her trip. She expressed some interest in this http://www.moleskines.com/klcn001-be.html
but it is to tailored to one location. She will be traveling around the area (possible to Switzerland) and is a photographer. An Ideas? This is her first trip to Europe and i would like her to have something that is useful for reference of for fun. It could be a gadget a book, anything really.

posted by slowtree to travel & transportation (2 comments total)

Problem is, those Moleskines are based on single cities. If she's traveling around the country/region, this will be mostly useless outside of the city it focuses on. IMO, you're better off getting her a blank Moleskine so she can write in it as a journal and paste in receipts, bus/train tickets, and other physical tidbits she receives along the way. Like a scrapbook!

You can also get her a good guide book on the country/region. Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, Frommer's -- do some research and select one that you think will best fit her style of travel.

How about a nice pair of photography gloves? It'll be cold.
posted by nitsuj at 9:03 AM on December 8, 2007

When you say she's a photographer, do you mean professionally, or amateur (i.e. there's plenty of stuff you could get her that she doesn't already have, in a wide range of prices)?

Anyhow, perhaps you could book her a night or two at a fancy hotel, assuming she'll be traveling on a tighter budget the rest of the time.

I think bags are always a good idea for travel gifts. Anything from suitcases, to camera bags, to messenger bags, to multi-purpose gadget bags. Is there a bag niche she doesn't have filled?

Does she have all the winter gear she'll need? This is another good one, there's always a nice winter thing to have that isn't totally necessary, but very nice to have. Maybe a nice sweater or scarf. I snooped around your other questions and it looks like you live in kentucky, so maybe you don't have so much cold weather experience. It can be hard to know exactly what works best in the cold if you're not used to it, and small design tweaks can make a big difference. I'd imagine if you go to a decent sporting goods store you can easily find someone who gets up into the mountains plenty to help you choose something just right for some of the cold weather your wife might encounter in Germany or switzerland. When she gets a chance to use that hat or jacket that has everything just right, she'll thank you.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 9:58 AM on December 8, 2007