I am pretty sure I know the answer to this one, based on old experience, but maybe things have changed. We are thinking of packing a soft sided cooler, so we can pack picnic lunches for some days (in the car.) Has anyone ever seen ice available for sale (Germany, Austria, Italy)? It wasn't really sold in the past, but it's been 15 years since my last visit.
And- if not ice, then what else to keep our stuff cold? My parents and I half-joked about me putting snow in when I found it in the alps.
At a lot of gas stations in Germany you can buy ice in plastic bags just like you can in the US. This was "introduced" to Germans around maybe 8 years ago.
Well if you had to, use the cold soda or frozen something as sustitute ice??
We ran into the same challenge, with the added requirement of keeping insulin cool. Solutions include supermarkets that sell fresh fish (most of the larger ones) will give you ice, as will some bars. Buy sorbet at the supermarket, then eat/drink it when it's done.
Or, rent a VW campervan at Deutsche Reisemobile in Munich or Frankfurt or Dusseldorf or Hamburg or Berlin, and use the on-board refrigerator! http://www.drm.de/
Thank you! I will look and see what I can find. : )
We took a plastic ice pack, 16oz size, called a "Polar Pack" It was blue, and sealed, and could be put in a freezer over night, and then lasted most of the day in a soft sided cooler...at least until lunch time. We asked the owners of the B&B's all over Ireland if they would put it in their freezer over night, and no one turned us down. Not as messy as ice cubes, no water to drain, and worked wonderful! We packed it in our checked luggage, on the way over, because we were sure it wouldn't go thru security in a carry on because it was liquid at the time. LOL!
