Finding an open pharmacy on a weekend in Germany is an exercise in frustration. Photo \u00a9 2015 Aaron Saunders<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWe\u2019re not necessarily talking about prescription medications \u2013 though those are very important, too. Instead, we\u2019re talking about over-the-counter medications that you might rely on to cure headaches, heartburn, allergies, and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why do you want to stock up and bring these from home? A few reasons. First, you probably only know your drug of choice \u2013 say, Advil for headaches \u2013 by its commercial name: Advil. But in Europe, that drug might trade under a completely different name that you\u2019ve probably never heard of before. Trying to find the medication that works for you can be a real challenge in Europe if you don\u2019t know exactly what is in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other reason is more practical: pharmacies in Europe operate on odd hours, particularly in Germany, where they close around Noon on Saturdays and don\u2019t reopen until mid-morning on Monday. Need some fast heartburn relief on a Sunday afternoon in Nuremberg? Too bad: you\u2019re out of luck until Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We found ourselves in that situation once. And only once. When you need something and have no way of purchasing it, you learn really quickly to stock up on anything you might need long before you set out for the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business Cards<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Another great practical thing to bring with you on your river cruise is a personal or corporate business card. Why? It\u2019s a great way to give your contact information to newly-met friends, as opposed to scribbling it (probably illegibly) on a cocktail napkin after those Kir Royale\u2019s have kicked in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have a favorite thing you like to bring with you when you travel? Tell us about it by using the comment form below. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s face it: everyone forgets something when they travel \u2013 even experienced cruisers like us. However, there are some things that you should bring with you to get maximum enjoyment out of your river cruise \u2013 things that go beyond the usual toothbrush and passport. These are things we\u2019ve found to be immensely useful on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[319,72],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25095"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}