Next Thursday I am leaving on a two-week tour through Europe. My traveling companion? My dad! We plan to visit Hungary, Poland (where my grandparents grew up), Austria, Switzerland and Germany for Oktoberfest. Nothing like drinking a few beers with your dad in Germany!

I am really looking forward to the quality time with my dad. I have been very fortunate to have a close relationship with him, and this trip is something we have always wanted to do. I can’t believe the time is already here! Planning, etc. for the trip feels like just yesterday, and I can’t believe that a week from today we will be in Budapest!

Over the course of two weeks, we will be roadtripping. Landing in Budapest on September 12 via Malev Hungarian Airlines, we will spend a day there, then fly to Berlin on the 13th. After 2 days in Berlin, we are picking up a rental car and heading to Warsaw. From Warsaw to Krakow, where we will reconnect with my dad’s aunt who lives just outside the city. While in Poland, we will also visit Czestochowa and Auschwitz. Then it is off to Austria with stops in Vienna and Salzburg. Back to Germany, this time to Munich, for Oktoberfest (I hope I can keep up!). There will, of course, be stops all along the way as driving will afford us the luxury to control our own timetable. After Munich, it is a quick trip to Zurich and then back to Berlin for the return journey home. Whew, I’m getting excited, but a little tired, just thinking about it!

As a teenager, my dad and his brothers spent a few months touring Europe with his mother, and he has always wanted to take me around to the places he saw. I spent 3 months studying in London, and when I mistakenly booked a trip to Edinburgh for a month after all my friends, it was my dad to the rescue again, flying out to join me. That was a much shorter trip, but we had an awesome time, so I am definitely looking forward to this trip! At the end of my studies, my mom, dad and grandmother joined me for trips around England and Italy. After traveling solo or with strangers (who become friends over the course of the trip) so much recently, it will be great to have a trusted traveling companion. Look out for lots of stories and reviews in upcoming blogs and GT issues.

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and PR executive

As Hurricane Gustav approached the Louisiana coast, I thought back to how lucky I was to have spent several days in the beautiful city of New Orleans just a few months before Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005. I really enjoyed my time there and consider myself fortunate enough to have seen the great city before devastation hit.

Laurie was attending a convention for her job and I joined her for some days of relaxation. Her work days were over by mid-afternoon, which gave us plenty of time to check out the city. In the mornings, I usually roamed around on my own, basically walking a different direction every day.

We stayed about a mile away from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. This is a spectacular facility (hosting about 95 conventions a year) spanning 10.5 city blocks along the waterfront. It is not simply spacious. It is beautiful and well run.

During the mornings, I checked out the French Quarter, the SuperDome, the lakefront art area and Harrah’s Casino. It was odd to see the French Quarter early in the day, when the wild crowds were not everywhere partying.

Together, we took a couple tours; one was a tour of hauntings. I am not a real believer in the supernatural, but this was an outstanding tour. I learned the origins of “graveyard shift” and “dead ringer”. Of course, some say it is simply folklore, good for naive tourists. Either way, it sounded plausible and was interesting,

The tour also pointed out the home of New Orleans royalty, Archie and Olivia Manning. Archie was a star quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in the early years in the 70s. Despite the team being horrible, Archie was excellent and the fans still love him (and his sons Peyton and Eli, current NFL star quarterbacks).

One of the best parts of our trip was after one of the tours. We decided to walk back to the hotel. We underestimated the distance, but we got to see so many great sites. We were very tired, but it was worth it.

Laurie was determined to eat some authentic New Orleans food, eschewing our cabbie’s suggestion of Harrah’s buffet. She eventually did find some good down-home cooking. Inspired by her, I even had a bowl of turtle soup (tastes like chicken).

We had our fortune told by some hipster in the Riverwalk Marketplace. I gave him no hints and I am not a believer, but I have to say he nailed some really oddball things in my life (past and future). Again, believe or not, but it was interesting.

We jammed quite a lot into those several days, and yet it was so relaxing (the Big Easy?). We really felt we experienced New Orleans. As the events of the last few years have unfolded, I feel horrible for the citizens of New Orleans, who have gone through so much. I also look back fondly at the wonderful times I had there.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

I was reminded today that good things come in threes. I heard from two respected and qualified industry friends who had been searching for the “right” position, that they had indeed landed one. Both are very qualified in their areas of expertise, and it pleases me that they were able to find two terrific jobs.

Maureen O’Crowley, formerly of the Korea National Tourism Organization, left her position in the Los Angeles office about six months ago. She has a wealth of tourism information with a concentration on Korea, as she spent many years living in Seoul. Maureen will be returning to Seoul in an exciting position with Seoul Tourism Marketing.

Marcy Schackne was a marketing executive at Travelpro for many years and left her position there about the same time. Marcy has just been appointed as the marketing director of Heys Luggage, an upscale luggage brand targeted toward movers and shakers who travel frequently.

So, I don’t know who will be the third, but it is great to see these travel professionals landing the kind of positions that they were searching for!

-Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

The Olympics are over. The opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular. There was plenty of great competition and drama all throughout the Olympics. While I am usually apathetic towards the Olympics, I do find myself now looking forward to the future, the 2016 Olympics, which I predict will be held in my hometown, Chicago.

As I wrote in the May 2008 issue of Global Traveler magazine (back issues are still available), the 2016 Olympics would really showcase the ascension of Chicago to world-class status. During the reign of Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago has evolved from a gritty city where things got done to a beautiful, smoothly functioning city where things are always happening. Chicago would be the perfect place for the event in 2016.

Of course, as a publication distributor, the Olympics would present a logistical nightmare beyond imagination for me. Several regular city events, like Jazz Fest, Venetian Night, etc. already wreak havoc with distribution. The Taste of Chicago is a 10-day traffic jam, which requires our distribution crews to reroute and reschedule their usual deliveries. Still, these events are part of the fabric of Chicago, and my inconvenience is a small price to pay.

The Olympics would make all of these other events look minor in comparison. Of course, my logistical headaches would be astronomical, but I am willing to make that sacrifice for the good of the city.

I do think it would only be fitting to bring softball back to the Olympics for 2016. As it stands now, softball (and baseball) will not be part of the 2012 event, but could be voted back for 2016. Chicago would be the perfect place to see softball reinstated.

If I may take a step further, I would like to see 16-inch slow-pitch softball be at least a demonstration sport. This is Chicago’s very own. It is a game of skill and strategy. Some may scoff at this version of softball (Fran), but I maintain that it is the most enjoyable and competitive version of the game. There is true beauty in this game.

I guarantee that if Chicago gets the Olympics, there will be plenty of television features on our pizza, beer, sausage, etc. They will highlight the Sears Tower, Water Tower Place, Navy Pier and Millennium Park. Oprah, Richard Roeper and Jim Belushi will scramble for the spotlight. However, if they really want to showcase the heart and soul of Chicago, softball must take its rightful place with the other sports.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

One of the things that always surprises me on my travels abroad are the large amounts of stray dogs and cats running around major foreign cities. I saw the most in Santiago, Chile, where people do not pay for pets, they just take one off the streets. There are upwards of thousands of strays in that city. I also noticed many strays in Italy (particularly cats in Rome) and in India. In some cities, the wandering animals have also included chickens, cows, goats and more.

I must admit that as a child, I had an intense phobia of cats. As a teenager, when pet cats were keeping me from babysitting jobs and friends’ houses, I decided I needed to get over my fear. I went to the local SPCA and bought a pet cat. Today, I am not as scared of them, but I am still wary of some. I also have a dog. I like animals. With that being said, I am equally surprised at the willingness of tourists to pet and play with the stray dogs and cats in these cities. Personally, I stay far away. I’m sure most of them are nice and lonely, but I don’t want to come across the mean ones. Not to mention all the diseases wild, stray animals can pick up - rabies, mange, etc. Call me cynical, call me mean, but I prefer to keep my distance. I am sure I am not the only one to share that sentiment.

The reason these cities have such a problem with strays is because they do not have (or they don’t have very effective ones) systems or societies intact to help these animals, like the Humane Society or the SPCA. Many times I have found myself wondering why more established animal organizations have not gone into some of these foreign cities and tried to help control the strays and take care of the sick animals. I am sure there is A LOT of red tape to get through, but I wish something could be done to help all these animals. I am sure there are many initiatives going on worldwide to help the animals that I am just not aware of, so if you know about them, please tell me - I’d love to know!

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and public relations executive