WalkWithErica

I generally consider the flight day to be Day 0. On Day 0, I arrived in Munich, got the rental car, and drove to Innsbruck. What I did learn is that taking a later flight into Europe and only having to make it through 4 hours of the day before bedtime, is a lot easier on the jetlag than taking an early flight and then having to stay up allll day to force getting onto the new time zone. Now I know. Take the flight that lands at around 4pm.

In fact, I arrived at SFO, my departure airport, without a rental car or any accommodation at all booked for my travel. I got the rental car while in the lounge at SFO and my longer 4-day stay in Val Gardenia while waiting for my rental car in Munich. It wasn’t until I landed to decide how long I felt I could safely stay up driving that I made the call to drive straight to Innsbruck (a destination that’s been pinned on my Google Maps for some time now). This is why I travel during shoulder season. Last-minute travel and deals are still possible.

I landed and made the two-hour drive from Munich to Innsbruck straight away so that I could wake up and immediately explore. I stayed at Parkhotel. It was very comfy, had onsite parking, a solid breakfast, and was easy to get to. Plus the view was nice, though there wasn’t much time to enjoy it.

Side notes — you do need an international driver’s license to drive with your U.S. license in Austria, Italy, and Slovenia (but not in Germany or Netherlands, my other countries of travel). Get it from AAA. I got mine the day before my travel. It cost some $35 bucks for the license and the photo. All done at AAA. Both Austria and Slovenia require vignettes to drive on their motorways. As of now, Austria has a sticker that you place on the windshield and Slovenia has an electronic vignette only. In Italy, you pay tolls with cash – or, even better – tap to pay.