#ulmon

Open Street Maps verblüffen immer wieder!

Wenn ich auf Reisen bin, verlasse ich mich schon seit mehreren Jahren auf Open Street Maps. Perfekt in Szene gesetzt sind diese für mich in “City Maps to Go” für das iPhone. Die App macht Karten aus Papier nahezu überflüssig und schafft es immer wieder mich zu verblüffen.

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wanderlust: a strong desire or impulse to travel and explore the world.

coming back from a lovely trip to europe, there are many things to share. this trip was originally to celebrate the completion of my master's last year, but a new job and moving took over my summer. so though a year late, it was well worth the wait. this trip took much planning and research, and i thought i would start off with some of the things that helped ease the stress of planning and traveling.

1) our travel buddy rick steves - everyone needs a good companion while they are traveling. his books are the real deal but it doesn't even end there. his website and (free) podcasts are very helpful. like every good companion, he was there through the whole way providing advice, guidance, and humor. if you really read through his books, he adds his own quirky humor. yes, his books are expensive. and yes, i brought a rick steves book for each stop on the trip. i bought two of his books (Paris and Rome) but with a Groupon for amazon so each book was only $5. the rest? i checked out from the library.

here is a picture of rick while we were dining in paris. (okay, not really)

2) iPhone apps - in particular, i used the Ulmon 2go apps. they have Paris2Go, Rome2Go, London2Go as well as other European and US cities. each app is was $0.99 until a week or two ago when they raised the price to $1.99. i was lucky enough to snatch 'em for $0.99 but $1.99 is still a steal for what it offers. each city app includes offline maps, metro maps, information on top sights, and more. the biggest plus for me was the offline maps, allowing users to have a handy map without having to have internet access. not only do you have to carry, unfold, refold a paper map...you don't have a big tourist target on your back when you are standing on a street corner trying to figure out where you are. (while you may still have a target, this app makes it slightly smaller.)

3) packing list - there are plenty of good iPhone apps for packing and to-do lists but i tend to go the old fashion route on this one. this Knock Knock packing list has not failed me for the past 4+ years. whether it was a weekend trip or a 3 week long trip, this list always makes packing easy.