But now that the (absentee) voting is done, the question becomes: How to observe the election from Copenhagen? Right now I can think of three ways about it:

Option one: Tune out, then tune in on November 7

I’ll be visiting Copenhagen’s many sights with a group of other American travel writers on Tuesday, November 6. Certainly the subject will come up, but our attention will be happily focused on Nyhavn, the National Gallery and the city’s palaces.

We’ll be gleefully six hours ahead of any action back home. Even tuning in at midnight will mean that almost no polls will have closed. (Indiana and parts of Kentucky close at 6 PM EST, but those states aren’t really nail-biters.) I might as well go to sleep at a normal hour, and wake up refreshed to find out about the results. Yeah, right…

Option two: Stay up all night in a bar

A drastically different option would be to pull an all-nighter in a local bar that’s showing the event. Perhaps it will be the hotel’s bar, or we will undoubtedly hear about spots in Copenhagen to watch the event. This would surely attract visiting Americans, as well as interested Danes and travelers from other parts of the world who are likewise wound up about the election.

I find this option, in theory, to be quite attractive. It’s always fun to watch big events with others, allowing your energies to build. All of that waiting (and all of that commentary) goes down a bit easier with a few beers and new-found friends. And, hey, if things go south for you, you’re already in a bar!

The reality, of course, can be less ideal. If the election is mostly decided when major swing states in the east close (Florida at 7 p.m., Ohio at 7:30 p.m.), we’d find out in Copenhagen around 1 a.m. That’s doable… but what if it’s close in those states? What about western swing states? This thing could go late in the US, which means it could go really late in Europe.

And, of course, there’s that 9 a.m. airberlin flight we’ll be catching to Vienna the next morning.

Option three: Early to bed, early to rise

The last, and perhaps most responsible, option is to go to sleep early-ish, and wake up early (say, at 5 a.m.) to figure out what happened, or even catch the tail-end of the event itself.

This sounds perfectly reasonable, but is it possible to fall asleep early on election night? Maybe for some, but as a political junkie, I’m pretty sure that even if I do fall asleep, I’m certain to wake up at 3 a.m. knowing that I could turn on the TV and see the first big results coming in.

Or a messy mix of all three

What will most likely happen, of course, is a big, messy mix of all three. I’ll probably intend to go to sleep early, but first grab a beer with some of my traveling companions. This will lead to “just one more” before the first results come in. Despite the excitement around those first numbers, I’ll force myself to sleep, only to wake up a few hours later in the middle of the night, flip on the TV and half-dream about Wolf Blitzer for the next few hours.

When you factor in a 7 a.m. trip to the airport, it sounds a bit grim. But, hey, even if we’re all exhausted, it will be over. If “my guy” wins, it will be a happy, relieved exhaustion. If he doesn’t, well, I’ll be headed to Vienna.

I guess traveling during an election has its benefits after all.

Are you watching the election from abroad?

If you’re traveling or living abroad and excited about the election, how do you plan to watch it? Will it be an all-nighter, a middle-of-the-night wake-up, or a wait-and-see? Tell us about your plans in the comments section.

The post How to watch the US election results while traveling in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Just this summer the euro hit an all-time high of $1.60, while the overwhelming strength of the pound introduced the budget traveler’s nightmare of $6 Cokes in London.

My, how times have changed.

As of this morning (October 22, 2008), the euro is worth $1.28 and the British pound is down to $1.62. Say what?

To put this sudden drop in exchange rates in context, the euro has not been this low since November 2006, and many economists expect it to decrease further in coming months.

While today’s euro exchange rate isn’t as low as the currency’s record low against the dollar, the stronger dollar does offer immediate relief to American tourists abroad, as well as a bit of happy economic news in an otherwise chaotic economic climate.

Tell us: How strong will it get?

How much stronger do you think the dollar will become during the next year?  Will a stronger dollar influence your decision to take a trip to Europe? We’d love to hear from our fellow Cheapos. Please add your comments below!

Photo from davidrcichon.com.

The post Want Some Good News? Here comes the dollar! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It took Amazon three years to develop the reader, which is either a sign of intense dedication or a little too much YouTubin’ distraction, but we’ll give them three cheers for bringing this product to market. After all, this little reader could be a blessing to travelers, allowing us to travel with all of our favorite books with minimal effort.

Kindle Pros: It doesn’t need to hook up to your computer; downloading a book takes about a minute and occurs wirelessly via Sprint without an additional charge (the fee is part of the $9.99); the screen has schnazzy techology that lets you read it with ease in direct sunlight; it has a long battery life and generates very little heat, so you can let the sun burn your thighs at the beach rather than the Kindle.

Kindle Kons: It costs $399…that’s a lotta kash; it lets you subscribe to around 300 blogs, too, but only if you pay a couple bucks extra per month. Hmmmm, aren’t blogs usually, well, free?

The post Kindle Krazy: Groovy E-Book Reader for Travelers or Just a Pricey Gadget? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

France

The rail strike entered its third day on Friday. The BBC reports a slight increase in the number of trains and metros running across the country, and a significant decrease in the number of workers participating in the strike.

Only 200 of 700 TGV trains across the country are running.

In Paris, the Metro is running with delays, although two lines are not running at all. One third of the city’s buses are not running.

Rail workers voted to continue the strike over the weekend, although support seems to be thinning.

Germany

On Friday, the second day of passenger rail strikes has affected millions of commuters’ journeys. 3,000 workers have walked out since the strike began.

The BBC reports that suburban and inter-city transportation is hit the hardest, with most intra-city transportation systems running smoothly.

The strike is set to end at 1 AM Saturday morning. The union, however, is threatening to strike again over Christmas and New Years holidays if conditions aren’t met.

We wish our friends and fellow Cheapos in France and Germany good luck with their commutes. See you on Monday!

The post Friday Strike Update: France, Germany Still Striking appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here’s the latest on the European rail strikes:

France Rail Strike

Day Two of strikes, affecting national trains, regional trains, and metro. Strikes expected to continue into tomorrow (Friday).

The French government announced Thursday that the rail unions are willing to negotiate.

150 national TGV trains (out of 700) ran on Thursday, which is better than the 90 that ran Wednesday.

6 out of 16 Paris Metro lines were out of service on Thursday. (There seems to be a little light at the end of the metro tunnel.)

German Rail Strike

On Thursday, passenger train drivers joined a larger rail strike begun Wednesday for higher wages and better working conditions in Germany.

Deutsche Bahn (German National Railways) calls the strike the biggest in its history.

“Heavily reduced” services have meant that the number of trains running is cut in half in most places, leaving travelers and commuters in a bind.

Service delays in Berlin (20-40 minutes) on commuter lines.

Service expected to resume Saturday morning.

To be continued tomorrow… (hopefully with happier news on the transportation front!)

The post Strike Update: France and Germany Subway & Rail appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

photograph courtesy of Tom Meyers

Hint: It ain’t in Scandinavia.

Gratuitous question: How happy is this crew?

The post Mystery Photo: Identify the Fountain appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Mystery photo! In which city, listed on EuroCheapo, did we snap this photo? Answer.

Hint: After snappin’, we did some snackin’ on reasonably-priced rotisserie chicken. De-lish.

Another hint: Note the blue socks and Birkenstocks. This man fits right in. More examples.

The post Mystery photo: Name that EuroCheapo City appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Recognizing that the public might not be immediately inclined to follow the rules, the government has added some muscular penalties—anyone caught smoking in a public space will be fined €68. Failure to pay this fine within 45 days will raise the fine to €180. The law makes a one year exception for restaurants and nightclubs.

Ireland was the first country in Europe to introduce strict anti-smoking laws, passing a measure in 2004. Sweden, Italy, Malta, Belgium, Norway, and Spain have all followed suit. For a look at European smoking laws in comparison, see this BBC overview.

According to a European Union public health statement reported in today’s Libération, 80% of Europeans surveyed are in favor of banning smoking in all public places. Regarding smoking in bars and cafes, however, attitudes in France at least are less clear-cut. Among French smokers, a majority (55%) are in favor of banning smoking in restaurants, while an even larger majority (63%) are opposed to prohibiting smoking in bars.

During our last trip to Paris in December, our friends expressed disbelief that the law would be effective. Wouldn’t the French simply smoke in spite of the ban? This conversation, it should be noted, occurred over a Gauloises, outside a restaurant.

“Apparently,” our friend added, “this restaurant has already imposed the ban.”

The post France Clears the Air With A New Smoking Ban appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.