Driving in Europe; It's Actually Easier, but. . . .
Driving in Europe is a challenge because we need to dump our brains out of American methods so that we can tap into the European way of directions.
In the United States, you get off the highway and go East, West, North or South. That doesn't work in Europe. You need to know the name of the next sizeable town (and sometimes the next one that is not so sizeable as well). Once you figure that out, it's easy, well, sort of.
Do not look for street signs to guide you to your destination. In Europe they can change on almost every block. Look for directional arrows. They are positioned everywhere but the way they position them is different than where they would be in the United States. Once you learn the system, it's much easier. Honest. There are directional arrows to everything--including schools, supermarkets, and neighborhood restaurants. If you have something near your house that has an arrow, it will help you find your way home. In Colomiers, France, it was an directional arrow to a McDonald's and a local restaurant called "La Florence" (yes, an Italian restaurant), that helped me find my way home.
In the US you really cannot get around without a GPS and I leave one for my home exchangers preset with my house location as "home". Unfortunately, many home exchangers do not provide these. The excuse is generally that they don't need them. They might not, but you do.
The real problem is street addresses that are not sign posted. There is no, for example, arrow to your house. This can end up in a frustrating mess if you are in a central city with a lot of one way streets. It can also end in a mess on rural roads if you are looking for an accommodation somewhere.
To end the entire joy of "getting lost in Europe" stories, AlteCocker finally spring for a GPS with all the European maps (West and East so Poland is covered for 2014). There is something to be said for learning how to navigate without one on a short trip to Europe so one knows where one has been but there is also something to be said for just not worrying about it anymore.
If she eventually wants to unload her European GPS in the US, AlteCocker is sure she will not have a difficult time. Her bet is that friends will be borrowing it forever.
In the United States, you get off the highway and go East, West, North or South. That doesn't work in Europe. You need to know the name of the next sizeable town (and sometimes the next one that is not so sizeable as well). Once you figure that out, it's easy, well, sort of.
Do not look for street signs to guide you to your destination. In Europe they can change on almost every block. Look for directional arrows. They are positioned everywhere but the way they position them is different than where they would be in the United States. Once you learn the system, it's much easier. Honest. There are directional arrows to everything--including schools, supermarkets, and neighborhood restaurants. If you have something near your house that has an arrow, it will help you find your way home. In Colomiers, France, it was an directional arrow to a McDonald's and a local restaurant called "La Florence" (yes, an Italian restaurant), that helped me find my way home.
In the US you really cannot get around without a GPS and I leave one for my home exchangers preset with my house location as "home". Unfortunately, many home exchangers do not provide these. The excuse is generally that they don't need them. They might not, but you do.
The real problem is street addresses that are not sign posted. There is no, for example, arrow to your house. This can end up in a frustrating mess if you are in a central city with a lot of one way streets. It can also end in a mess on rural roads if you are looking for an accommodation somewhere.
To end the entire joy of "getting lost in Europe" stories, AlteCocker finally spring for a GPS with all the European maps (West and East so Poland is covered for 2014). There is something to be said for learning how to navigate without one on a short trip to Europe so one knows where one has been but there is also something to be said for just not worrying about it anymore.
If she eventually wants to unload her European GPS in the US, AlteCocker is sure she will not have a difficult time. Her bet is that friends will be borrowing it forever.