Travel is . . .

. . . Addictive

Yes, travel can become a way of life. When your work takes you on the road with great regularity you live by a concept of either time to plan or pack for a trip, unpack and recover from a trip. or think down the road to the next travels on your dance card. Your normal life -- visits with friends, doctor's appointments and chores around the house -- often get put on hold. But while it is a way of life that many people can't understand, it is a perfectly normal way of life for those of us who enjoy the nomadic existence.

A friend visted this weekend, a friend who had also been in Germany with me earlier this month. We discussed our various tours and experiences in Germany and looked ahead to next year's Society of American Travel Writer's convention in New Zealand. We got a kick out of planning a year ahead of time what we'll do when to get to the other side of the world.

New Zealand is an ambitious trip, long hours of flight time and a long, long away from home. (When it is noon on the East Coast it is 5 AM the next day in New Zealand.)

I suppose we are travel junkies who can't seem to keep away from airports and travel plans.

I know many people think this work is glamorous and exciting. Getting to an airport at 5:30 AM isn't either, nor is dragging heavy suitcases through train aisles or winding up in the last room a hotel has to offer and the offering is poor at best. It's not fun to find out there's a mechanical problem, the plane is late or the crew has worked too many hours. It is unpleasant to discover the restaurant is closed, room service will take two hours or water will be shut off until noon.

These all happen, but so does life. While it may be simpler to sit home and watch mindless television, leaving your comfort zone for other vistas can be a wonderful existence. And people are traveling - when was the last time you saw empty seats on a plane?

Travel is what I do, it's not life-altering or will it impact mankind. It will, however, broaden my experiences and allow me to share these experiences with readers. In the process, I hope to convince others to head for the train, bus, cruiseship or airport and enjoy the mind-expanding joy of visiting new places and seeing new sites.

But a cautionary statement. Watch out! It can be addictive.

Travel is . . .

. . . A sense of history.

And the recent launch of Cunard's Queen Elizabeth is a case in point.

Consider the first Queen Elizabeth was introduced in 1938. The second ship, known as QE2, debuted in 1967. In early October the third vessel to bear the name came on line. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth was 12 years old, and present, when her mother named the first liner, she named the second as well as the most recent. I think that's wonderful. Talk about a sense of continuity!

These are incredible ships. I have only seen photos so far of the naming ceremony and of the vessel itself, but Queen Elizabeth - Her Majesty and the vessel - look marvelous. I have sailed aboard QE2 and Queen Mary and was onboard Queen Victoria when she was named in Southampton Harbor. I will visit Queen Elizabeth in January and am already looking forward to it.

I know the cache of these vessels and the Cunard name. Sailing aboard these ships are not merely transAtlantic crossings or cruises, they are experiences.

I lectured aboard QE2 to Brits about the British-accented islands of Barbados and the Bahamas in the early 1990s. At the time I had published guidebooks to Caribbean and Atlantic islands. It was a far-less electronically sophisticated time - no powerpoint, for example.

My husband used a slide carousal and I cued him to change the slides. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. My audience was immensely supportive and the ship's staff amazing. The ship itself was wonderful. I loved the elegance of the ship, tea time, the concept of dressing to the nines for dinner and the lovely Harrod's deparment store on board.

It was a sea-going experience I won't forget and the sense of continuity and history England's monarch has lent to the new ship, is a wonderful bonus.

Long live the Queen!

Travel is . . .

. . .Consistency

For quite a few years now, South Florida has been the site of an annual boat show . I don't mean the kind where you choose a boat you want to own.

No, these boat shows are a parade of lovely new cruise ships joining an existing fleet of vessels and offering the newest, largest, most exotic, (supply you own superlatives, they'll all fit) amenities at sea. Really, it is a competitive business and in-room amenities, variety of eating venues and entertainment offerings are a sea-going version of the can-you-top-this concept.

Earlier this year Silversea Cruises launched the elegant Silver Spirit and last summer Norwegian Cruise Lines debuted Epic, a wonderful new ship with wall-to-wall entertainment. In mid-November top-drawer Seabourn Cruises will introduce the intimate and gracious Seabourn Sojourn and a few days later Royal Caribbean shows off its new Allure of the Seas, a sister to the popular and year-old Oasis of the Seas. A few weeks ago the venerable Cunard Line introduced its third ship with the regal name and majesty of Queen Elizabeth.

More are scheduled to sail from Port Everglades and Port of Miami later this year, but it's a parade that, as a cruise writer and a cruise aficionado, warms my heart.

I strongly believe a cruise vacation is the easiest means of travel. It is a way of seeing the world without schlepping through security and customs at airports, flying long hours and dragging luggage in and out of hotels. On a cruise you unpack once, and voila! That's it.

And while the basic cruise and meals is all-inclusive, a per-person, per-day fee for tips is added to your bill at the end of the cruise. It is still an great value.

So while I wait to review this new generation of ships, let me tell you "I love a parade."

Travel is . . .

...NOT about fear.

I arrived in Germany three weeks ago. A couple of hours later I took a train from Frankfurt to Hamburg. After an all-night flight and a four-hour train ride, I was grateful to get into my room, my tub and my bed in that order.

I slept for about two hours and turned on TV. BBC World informed me that the U.S. State Department had issued a travel advisory for Germany, France and the UK based on possible terrorist attacks and that the terrorist cell was located in, drum roll please, Hamburg. I knew that the news would make the Sunday morning talk shows, so I hooked up by trusty laptop and emailed friends and family that I was fine and would be careful. Within a few hours one of my sons had responded, "when are you flying home."

I didn't leave. I didn't feel fear. I have a rather fatalistic outlook that what will happen will happen, and while I don't take risks, I do try to be cautious. Obviously, while I enjoyed my more than two weeks in Germany and the UK, (I am saving France for the next trip,) I got home all in one piece. In the mean time I toured some fascinating places in Europe.

Frankly, the concept of bed bugs frightens me more.

About a month or so ago I met a woman in the Atlanta airport. It was a Saturday evening and while we waited for our flight to Fort Lauderdale she told me about her business. She is an account manager for a line of medical-related products and carries something called Organic Avenger Natural Bed-Bug Killer. Any travelers to any city these days has heard about the threat - and bed-bugs aren't only in low-rent hotels. Properties at all price points have been infested and I have seen stories about the bugs on television in four different cities in recent months..

My new friend sent me a sample of a small aerosol spray the kills the bugs without staining bedding or using harmful chemicals.

It's a wonderful insurance policy and I am delighted to have it. So far, those little rascals haven't been on my dance card, but I am fearful. I am very afraid.

But travel in general, no. Not really.

Travel is . . .

. . . Often completely unexpected.

It's the totally out-of-the-blue situation that pops up every now and then. It's an OMG moment and extremely unusual, like unexpectedly running into your college roomate in Switzerland.

I purchased an Ipod before leaving for Europe. All my kids and grandkids have them and I love music and had hours of travel time ahead of me, so I bought one for myself. It took my 10-year-old grandson seemingly seconds to program it. He paused only to ask for my credit card number.

The Ipod was exactly what I wanted and was wonderful company on the flight to Frankfurt.

I used it on several long bus tours in Germany only to find I was providing entertainment for my fellow travelers. No one ever told me that singing along to your music is an embarassment. I found out when I heard everyone on the bus laughing and discovered it was me they were laughing at!

The lesson learned? Singing isn't part of my skill set, and tapping my fingers might be a better choice.

I evidently did not pack it when leaving Leipzig for Frankfurt. At the Steigenberger Hotel at the Frankfurt Airport I completely unpacked. No Ipod. I was frantic and called the Leipzig Westin and was connected to a wonderful employee who checked her records and sure enough, an Ipod had been found in my room. I explained that I was going to London but would be back at the Steigenberger on Sunday. Not only did she find it, but packaged it carefully in bubble wrap and corrugated paper, and when I returned to the airport hotel it was waiting for me.

Serendipity? You betcha! Would that happen in your home town? Would an MP3 player be found and returned so promptly and graciously? I'm not sure.

I thanked my new found friend at the Westin, and flew home with my favorite music in my ears.

Only this time I didn't sing along.

Travel is . . .

. . . . A hard habit to break.

Sometimes that break is forced upon us: Maybe it's a job change, sickness or surgery, or loss of a loved one. Any life-altering experience will prompt a change in habits.

Short version: I had a back problem, had surgery, recovered and hit the road in August after a three month break. In the process I neglected this blog but it is good to be back. And I am really back.

Literally.

I just returned from two-and-a-half weeks in Germany and a weekend in London to visit a grandson going to school there. I went to Germany for a Society of American Travel Writers Convention in Dresden and Leipzig.

Before the convention I spent five days in Hamburg. The trip entrailed four train and four plane rides, three boat excursions including an exciting sail on the River Weser from Hamburg to Bremerhaven. It was a culturally and historically interesting time and included visiting the new Beatles Square in Hamburg, exciting and memorable emigration museums in Bremerhaven and Hamburg, the regal Dresden Museum or a tiny town named Markneukirchen - the Music Town - in a corner where Bavaria, Bohemia and Germany meet in the former GDR. The townsfolk have made musical instruments since the 1670s and we had the opportunity to interview a 50-something violin-maker who continues the process.

My mind is still reeling, but the trip - though tiring - provided terrific information. Seeing my SATW friends - and the collegial feeling we share - was fun, and now it is time to put things in perspective.

I hope to do that soon, and I will share some of these experiences in the next few days.

As I said to my dry cleaner this morning, it was a wonderful trip, but it's good to be back home.