Holiday pictures are both beautiful memories of unforgettable moments and an ideal way to use them creatively. While in many households the pictures are forgotten after a short time, there are a variety of original options to stage them or to lovingly store them. To ensure that your holiday pictures don’t rot on your smartphone or camera in the future, we have collected a few nice ideas for using your photos in this article.

Photo calendar and travel diary

If you always want to keep your holiday pictures within reach, a photo calendar or a travel diary is primarily suitable. The photo calendar can be equipped with pictures of a wide variety of trips, so that they always fit the respective day and season. With the help of a travel diary, on the other hand, it is possible to relive the journey again and again through the pictures and share the moments together.

Change of seasons with picture frames

Similar to the photo calendar, picture frames also have the potential to adapt the atmosphere in the room to the respective season by deliberately changing the pictures. With the help of a rotating gallery of the most beautiful holiday pictures, there is always the right spatial mood. In addition, the picture frames can also be visually selected according to the current season. While pictures of the last beach holiday are ideal in summer, pictures of winter, for example of snow-capped mountains, create the right ambience. To save yourself unnecessary effort, it is important to rely on picture frames that can be easily replaced. Alternatively, there are now digital picture frames. With these, it is possible to make a pre-selection of images suitable for the season, which are then automatically displayed in rotation.

Personalized Gifts

Holiday pictures, on the other hand, are a good way to give a gift to dear friends or family. Whether personalized photo calendars, mugs or even puzzles – any gifts are not only unique, but also a great opportunity to share past travel experiences and bring joy to others.

Wall collages and photo walls

Nowadays, thanks to the use of modern technology, it is possible to use the most beautiful holiday pictures even expansively. Unique wall collages or entire photo walls from your own holiday pictures can be created in numerous sizes and formats and are a great alternative to small photo frames. In addition, they make it possible to furnish entire walls creatively and aesthetically, giving the room a special charm.

Digital slideshows and screensavers

Holiday pictures can also be used for digital slide shows or as a screensaver for the computer or even TV. These dynamic presentations are also a great way to share travel memories with friends and family while brightening up your home. To ensure the necessary variety, the duration of the slideshow is important. For example, it is important to make sure that an image is displayed for between five and 15 minutes before a new one appears.

Conclusion – Holiday pictures offer a wide range of creative options

If you want to store or even present your holiday pictures in the best possible way, there are numerous ways to do so. Nevertheless, it is always important to remember that the way in which the holiday pictures are used should depend entirely on personal preference and furnishing style. With a little creativity and sensitivity, the holiday pictures can not only be stored, but stylishly integrated into everyday life.

The beautiful peaks of the Alps or the breathtaking mountains of the Pyrenees attract numerous holidaymakers every year. To ensure that you are sufficiently equipped for hikes or long walks at high altitudes and valleys, you should put together your luggage carefully. We provide you with the appropriate checklists and tips for this.

The right clothing for a mountain holiday

If you don’t just go to the mountains to unwind and spend a wellness holiday there, you need suitable outdoor clothing. Which pieces absolutely belong in your luggage depends on the respective season. In principle, however, you should take these items of clothing with you:

• Breathable underwear with a perfect fit and high freedom of movement
• Long and short hiking pants with practical pockets
• Short-sleeved hiking shirt for warm days
• Long-sleeved hiking shirt for cooler weather or sun protection
• A softshell jacket that protects against wind and moisture
• Possibly a rain jacket with a waterproof surface.

In addition, it can be useful to pack a cardigan even in summer. As soon as the sun disappears behind the clouds, it quickly gets cool high up in the mountains. For example, cardigans can be used to regulate heat exchange, because the practical parts can be worn open or closed as well as an additional layer under the jacket. If you’re out in the mountains in spring, autumn or winter, you’ll need extra layers to keep you warm. Thermal underwear and fleece jackets are then the order of the day. Gloves, headbands and hats may also be necessary.

Robust footwear in the right size

In addition to a neat outfit, you need shoes that can withstand the demands of the mountains. They should have a profiled sole and consist of a robust upper material. It is best to impregnate the shoes before the trip so that they repel moisture. Also, break in your footwear before your holiday so you can make sure it fits properly. Suitable hiking socks and insoles have an effect on comfort. Again, you can experiment a little in advance. Merino wool socks are a suitable choice because they are breathable and keep you warm.

Note: Suitable footwear is essential for a safe step. Your toes should still have a little room in the front. At the back, the heel must sit firmly. Also, pay attention to where you go. It is best to stick to marked hiking trails and always be attentive. Do not underestimate the dangers and always check the weather forecast before a longer hike.

Small first-aid kit for the mountains

For the mountain holiday, pack everything you would otherwise put in your first-aid kit. These include painkillers, plasters, wound dressings and a wound healing ointment. The following products should also be taken with you for a mountain or hiking holiday:

• Awning: At high altitudes, UV radiation is particularly strong. Take plenty of sunscreen and a lip balm stick with UV protection.
• Blister plasters: Painful blisters can spoil any view, no matter how beautiful. The best way to get none in the first place is to choose the right footwear. If it does happen, you can help yourself with blister plasters. They protect the bladder and relieve the pain a little.
• Insect repellent: Especially in the summer months, you have to expect mosquito bites. Therefore, pack an appropriate protective spray. This should definitely contain the active ingredients DEET or Icaridin.

Extra luggage for multi-day hikes

Of course, the optimal luggage composition depends on how you will spend your holiday in the mountains. For example, if you plan to hike from hut to hut and sleep or even camp in a different accommodation every night, you will need additional equipment:

• Hand wash: This allows you to quickly wash your clothes on the go, so you don’t have to carry around as much.
• Small Gas Stove: Those who hike diligently consume a lot of calories. With a gas stove, you can prepare hot meals even in the wilderness. For hiking, there are particularly small and light models.
• Tent: It is important to have a low weight, after all, you have to carry the tent around with you. In summer, a tarp may be the better and lighter solution.
• Sleeping pad: This means that the floor no longer feels so cold and uneven.
• Sleeping bag: It keeps you cosy and warm at night when camping or in hiker’s huts. Be sure to buy a model in the right temperature range.

Note: Wild camping is prohibited in Germany and many other European countries. However, in Norway or Sweden, it is allowed as long as you follow certain rules and do not stay in one place for more than one or two nights. The exact provisions can be found in the so-called
“Everyman’s Right” of the respective country
.

If you are planning a holiday trip, you have many places to go these days. From travel agencies to classic tour operators and booking portals as well as holiday deal portals, there is a huge selection of options to find the next dream holiday.

With this article, we would like to introduce you to a still quite young, independent holiday deal portal. Urlaubsfritzen is a travel portal that searches for holiday deals with all well-known tour operators and presents the best ones on their website. When selecting deals, the portal focuses on
package tours
for hotels with good to very good ratings. Because all too often, cheap hotels are not necessarily the best and most beautiful hotels. Thanks to these criteria, holiday enthusiasts want to ensure that the next holiday will actually be a dream holiday.

The maxim of Urlaubsfritzen

For the selection of holiday deals for package tours, the portal proceeds according to the maxim “quality before quantity”. Therefore, all travel offers are hand-selected. The deal offer includes classic 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels with the usual catering packages such as breakfast, half and full board as well as all-inclusive hotels. In addition, the Urlaubsfritzen have developed their own data-based hotel rating score as a further quality feature. This serves as the basis for the so-called Urlaubsfritzen Hotelaward, which was presented for the first time in 2020 in the categories Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The range of package tours

The portal has prepared its offer of package tours via a menu structure according to the classic travel countries in such a way that you can quickly and easily be inspired in your search for a holiday deal. The offer includes popular destinations on the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, the Greek Islands, North Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. Almost all offers in the area of package tours also have a travel calendar, where the offer prices for the deal are displayed for all months in which the hotel can be booked. According to Urlaubsfritzen, this is updated regularly.

In addition, there is a helpful climate overview for each package tour presented at Urlaubsfritzen with the monthly temperatures, average hours of sunshine per day and the water temperatures, should the hotel be located by the sea.

Hotel search as an extended offer

In addition to the classic package tours, the Urlaubsfritzen also offer a hotel search on their portal. According to the portal, the hotel database currently includes about 11,000 selected hotels in Europe. As in the area of package tours, these hotels are selected on the basis of review data. In this way, the holiday enthusiasts want to make sure that you can book every hotel presented here without hesitation and have a nice hotel stay. A filter search makes it easier to find a hotel here.

Range of flights and cruises as well as last minute travel deals

On Urlaubsfritzen you will also find offers for cruises. However, this offer is currently still very limited, but according to the portal operators, it will be successively expanded. The aviation sector also has potential for expansion. In the area of last minute offers, the holiday fritzen are working on a new concept. It remains to be seen what this concept will look like and when it will be released.

Holiday Fritzen Conclusion

The range of package tours seems interesting and conclusive. According to the founders, there are some projects that will not only enhance the overall offer, but also expand it. We are curious to see how the holiday deal portal will continue.

When packing for a trip, contact lens wearers are often faced with the question of whether they should take their contact lenses or their glasses with them. After all, the smooth replacement requires a lot of effort and a certain standard of hygiene, which is not always so easy to guarantee on vacation. Both options have their own advantages and disadvantages, which should be weighed up depending on the destination, activities and personal preferences. We have looked at some of them and summarized them to help you decide.

Travelling with contact lenses

If you already use them, you already know what’s coming, because the advantages of contact lenses are obvious. They offer a natural and unrestricted view, as they rest directly on the surface of the eye and can be used in everyday life without hindrance. They also allow activities such as swimming, sports or outdoor adventures without restricting movement, thus guaranteeing planning with slightly fewer obstacles. Surfing or diving can also be done with contact lenses – particularly soft lenses work well here. However, they should be disposed of immediately after the water visit if water and the bacteria in it have cheated under the lens. If you’re on a winter holiday, you also benefit from not having to deal with fogged up lenses – and can wear snow protection goggles without any inconvenience.

However, as mentioned at the beginning, contact lenses require thorough hygiene. For example, if you don’t always have direct access to running water to guarantee clean hands, you risk infections in the worst case. Long flights, air-conditioned or heated environments, or dusty places can also cause dryness and irritation – especially if the lenses are worn for long periods of time. Something you certainly don’t want to have to struggle with on vacation. In addition to the more than enough spare lenses, contact lens fluid and storage containers in your luggage, there should also be drops of moisture.

The glasses with you on holiday

With their simple putting on and taking off, glasses require much less elaborate care and hygiene than contact lenses. As a natural barrier between the eyes and the environment, they also protect – which can be particularly beneficial in dry or dusty air and reduce eye irritation. And they are versatile! In changing light conditions, when reading or doing activities, they can be easily removed. In extremely sunny environments, prescription sunglasses also provide reliable vision from intense sunlight and protect against sunburn and possible photokeratitis (which is basically the equivalent of sunburn of the eyes!). In quite windy environments, on the other hand, they protect against the penetration of tiny particles such as sand or dust.

Compared to lenses, however, they offer a much more limited view – which can be annoying on vacation, especially with beautiful panoramic views. In addition, some activities are restricted. Especially during sports or outdoor activities, glasses can quickly become uncomfortable or slip. And: they are much more susceptible to loss or damage, which can quickly become problematic when traveling if replacements are not readily available.

Which visual aid is better when?

As is so often the case, the decision between contact lenses and glasses when traveling depends on individual needs. For those who are looking for clear vision without restrictions and can comply with the necessary hygiene measures, contact lenses are still worthwhile. However, glasses come up trumps with much less maintenance and can be the smart choice, especially for holidays in the countryside. They offer more protection and comfort in some situations, but the opposite in others due to slipping or fogging. It is always advisable to consider both options and choose based on the itinerary, desired activities and preferences. Either way, we recommend having both spare lenses and glasses as a backup in your luggage to be equipped for all eventualities. No matter which option is chosen, suddenly finding yourself without a clear view on vacation is catastrophic in both cases.

In this day and age, planning and booking a holiday has never been easier. With a few clicks, you can explore destinations, compare prices, and make reservations. However, the number of holiday scams is also increasing.

Unscrupulous individuals and organized scam gangs have found creative ways to exploit unsuspecting tourists. But there are ways you can protect yourself against it.

Possible travel scams and how to protect yourself against them

Fake booking websites

One of the most common forms of digital travel fraud is the creation of fake booking websites. These sites mimic real travel booking platforms, making it difficult for unsuspecting travelers to recognize them as fake.

Cybercriminals often lure their victims with attractive offers, heavily discounted prices, and tempting vacation packages. They manipulate you to the point that you make a payment, but do not deliver the promised reservations or accommodations; in the end, you are left without accommodation and without money.

To protect yourself, always check the authenticity of a website by clicking on secure connections (HTTPS; key symbol in front of the URL in the address bar). If it is a website that is previously unknown to you, read reviews beforehand and make sure that the website is affiliated with reputable travel associations or organizations .

In addition, you can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network), as some providers have integrated the function of warning you about malicious websites and blocking them.

In addition, you can send your IP address with an online VPN and your data encrypted through a VPN tunnel. A VPN is therefore a good, universal tool for more privacy and security on the net.

Phishing and identity theft

Phishing is a technique used by cybercriminals to obtain personal information such as credit card details and other sensitive data.

In the context of travel fraud, the cybercriminals can send emails or SMS pretending to be from well-known airlines, hotels, or travel agencies. These messages often ask users to update their personal information or make an immediate payment to secure their bookings.

If you become a victim of such an attack, it can lead to identity theft and financial losses.

Therefore, never open links or attachments in email or SMS that come from an unknown sender. Even with supposedly known senders, you should be extremely careful and, if in doubt, contact the company or person and find out whether the message is authentic.

Holiday rental scams

The advent of platforms like Airbnb, which connect travelers with vacation rental homeowners, has opened up new opportunities for scammers. Fraudulent advertisements, fake photos and non-existent accommodations are now the order of the day.

Unsuspecting travelers book these accommodations, only to find out at their destination that they have been scammed. Some scammers even pretend to be owners and demand advance payments.

How to protect yourself: Use reputable rental platforms with reliable verification procedures and user reviews. Avoid upfront payments in the sense of bank transfers or payments outside of a platform, and be wary of offers that seem too good to be true.

If in doubt, communicate directly with the owners or managers, ask for additional photos or information, and verify the existence of the property through independent sources.

Social media scams

Cybercriminals create fake social media accounts and lure users with dreamy vacation photos and enticing promotional offers. They require prepayment for exclusive offers or holiday packages and disappear once payment is made.

In addition, social media is also used to collect personal information about people’s travel plans, which can then be used for targeted scams or break-ins.

Research and verify the authenticity of social media accounts before engaging with them. Be careful when it comes to sharing detailed travel plans or personal information about yourself publicly.