Viktor decided early on in our trip planning that he didn’t want to be the translator for me 24/7 {see the packing list and travel guide we’ve chosen for our family trip to Europe}. That includes translation of language, cultural customs, time zones, and currencies.
Basically, Viktor wants to be the anti-tourist. So he made up little currency cards for everyone in the family. That way no one has to ask him to translate when we want to spend money.
On one side of the card there’s a currency chart of US dollars vs. the Euro, and monies in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary where we’ll be traveling.
On the back side is the address and phone number of the family apartment we’re staying in while in Warsaw.
I should be cool traveling solo, right? No problems at all.
Allison
Hello there! I'm Allison Czarnecki, founder + editor of Petit Elefant, a blog all about style on a budget for every part of your life: style / home / travel / family. I do a lot of how-to beauty + style tutorials, travel posts, easy recipes, home remodel projects, and cool DIY crafts you totally want to try. I'm super happily married (to a hot Polish immigrant) and am the mother of two kids, a daughter and son, all of whom are featured here on the regular. We live in the country but we're a little bit rock + roll. Welcome!
That’s a good idea, but I would’ve gone more general and rounded. The exchange rate is always changing, I guess your hubby better hope there isn’t a big change before now and then.
This is a great idea! I wish I had something like that when we went to Germany. Thanks for taking the time to share all your tips with us. I am a fan and I look forward to reading your posts!
This is actually a really good idea. I’m always driving my husband nuts when we travel to Greece with questions about the conversion of euros to dollars. It just seems easier than actually figuring it out myself. Maybe if I had a handy money card I wouldn’t have to bother him….wait….where’s the fun in that?
The cards are kind of awesome! What’s next? A card with translated phrases?
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Help! I can’t find anything!”
“How do I find the train station?”
“Where’s the police station? I’ve lost my child.”
“Has anyone seen Dracula lately?” (Seriously, you are near Dracula country. You should read The Historian before you go to Hungary. It can give you invaluable info, such as Buda & Pest are TWO cities, not one. And you might find Dracula!)
Allison, if you find him bring him to my house! He’s got those fangs that I love and he can keep me young forever.. hahahaha
Budapest has been one city from 1873, actually. :) But it is true that before that there was Buda, Pest and Óbuda (3 towns). And well before that there was Aquincum, which is the Roman name of the capital. (The nearest amphitheatre is just 2 minutes’ walk from our home, I live in the Óbuda part of the city.)
P.S. The biggest compliment you can get is being asked for directions! I love it when that happens
I am sure that if you were to get lost that there are plenty of people who speak English. You are going to love Warsaw. It is amazing. What I find so cool is that during the War the city was completely destroyed, but they were able to find the plans for the city and rebuild it exactly the way it was.
Oh Viktor! You remind me of my hubby :)
This definitely sounds like something he would do to keep me out of his hair….
I have been told many times to pick up that translation dictionary in the past conversations I didn’t get but half of.
Then once we got our Droids, translator was one of the first apps to go on my phone via his hand!
But I have to say Bosnian (Serbo-Croat) is a hard one to find on translation things.