Item left behind in Europe

The easiest may be to ask if you can send payment through PayPal, in order to reimburse the cost of shipping it back to you. Did you contact them? Do they have it?

Yep...call the hotel first. If it's gone, you're only out $114, so at least it's not as bad as losing a MacBook or something a lot more expensive (not fun to be sure but could be worse). I left a jacket at a hotel in Anaheim last year but didn't realize it until later that day in Santa Monica. I sure as heck wasn't going to drive all the way back, so I called (cleaning staff found it and turned it in at front desk) and arranged to have it mailed back to my house in Des Moines. I just gave them my credit card details and asked that they choose the least expensive shipping method (no overnight, next day air, second day, or anything else like that). It was less than $4...your cost would be more, but it should still be reasonable if choosing a cheaper method for shipping. Good luck!

Something else to consider...even if the hotel does find it, shipping parcels from Europe to North America is expensive. Even for something as small as a Kindle it could cost up to $50 for postage. It may not be worth it anyways.

I emailed the hotel, since the owner's English was pretty rudimentary, and I was afraid I would not be able to discuss the reimbursement details over the phone.
However, I have looked up shipping rates from Europe as you suggested, and I nearly fell out off my chair. The cheapest rate for a 1lb package was $87. So I think I will just say good-bye to the Kindle and try to be more careful next time.

Sophia, the post office is quite a bit cheaper than that for parcels to the US.

I don't know where you're looking but $87 is ridiculous. I checked Deutsche Post and their international partner, DHL, offers package delivery from Germany to the U.S., for something the size and weight of the Kindle for about 16 Euros. http://www.dhl.de/en/paket/privatkunden/international/paeckchen.html

Well, damn! I looked at UPS and FedEx sites, and they both have absurd rates. The DHL link you provided had a much better rate. I called the hotel and the owner said she would go to the post office on Monday and find out what it would cost to ship it. Thanks everyone for your replies.

About four years ago when we were on the airplane in Stockholm, my son realized he left a poster at our B&B. I called the woman who ran the place from the plane and asked her to please look for it. I told her if she mailed it to me, I would reimburse her. I got it about a week or so later. I was very impressed that she was willing to do that based only on my promise to pay her. I had about $40 worth of kroners left over, so I wrapped them up and sent them to her. It was a lot more than the postage, but I was happy to reward her for trusting me. The poster had no real monetary value, but lots of sentimental value and could not be replaced. My (now) daughter-in-law had it framed for my son's birthday, and he was thrilled.

The postal service will be a lot cheaper. I ship stuff to friends in the US quite often. It's never that much. BUT- when they send it to you, make sure they mark it on the green customs declaration as your own personal, used goods being returned. or you risk getting an import duty slapped on it.

Buy a Color Nook.

Don't they use them {e-book readers} in Europe? Yup, certainly in the UK. I was listening to a story the other day where the Which (like a British Consumer Reports) reporter was saying how many e-book readers she sees on the Tube now. I see them on the trains now too. It seems to me to be a draw between the I-Pad and Kindle, with Samsung Tab beginning a run.

And now for the conclusion to this saga... I asked the hotel proprietor to send me the Kindle, and she very graciously did so, without asking for reimbursement. The postage was 3.45 EUR. As an unrelated (well, somewhat related) note, my husband and I brought our Kindles and his iPad on our trip. We haven't seen a single other person in Germany with any kind of ebook reader. Don't they use them in Europe?