Sleeping in in Europe??

I keep mostly to my usual routine, which is not early at all. I typically travel when days are long, and to places where dinner is late. So I do go-go-go in a way, but not until I am good and ready, lol!
One's personal time clock is something that is very difficult to change--those of us who are not morning people are so often tagged as shiftless, but I hit my stride in evening, and that is unlikely to change if it has not by this age.

I pack as much into a day as possible while allowing for time to relax during the busy days. Sometimes I plan nothing because I want to explore. Travel is an investment of money and time, so when I'm in a place where there are things to see (as opposed to being on a cruise ship, for example), I tend to fill the days.

We generally get started in Europe a little earlier than at home just to experience places before the place really wakes up and comes to life. One the other hand, "...usually out the door at 5am on weekdays, while sleeping in on weekends means staying in bed until 6 or 7..." isn't exactly our cup of tea.

The older we become the more Gandhi makes sense. "There's more to life than increasing its speed".

I am not a morning person, but on vacation I make a point to get up and out of my hotel on most days by 9 am (which means I am usually up by 7:00 to have a leisurely cup of coffee and get ready...I travel solo so I don't have to worry about anyone else's time-frames.) I purposefully schedule some tickets before 10 am, definitely take early trains, and do not view my vacation as time to be sleeping in, though that may occur depending on what I did the day before, time I went to bed, and whether or not my back is acting the fool. I must say that the times I have been out and about at a really early hour like in Rome last April when I had a 7:30 ticket to tour the Vatican museum I was absolutely delighted with how empty the streets were, how peaceful and lovely, so I need to keep this in mind and do it more often. On the other hand, I have a friend who sleeps til noon every day of vacation and loves to be out late at night taking videos on his phone...to each their own!

I am a morning person so it's not unusual for me to be up and out at sunrise. Sometimes I have my coffee, go out for a walk around the neighborhood, then come back and get ready for the day. I love being out before everyone else is. I also like to be early at an attraction because I'm not a fan of crowds.
I'm not a late night person at all, and have no desire to do any late night activities, so after dinner I'm in for the night. It's what I do at home, so it's what I do when traveling as well.

typically my trips are short, 5-6 days, so I don't take any days "off" but on a longer trip, definitely I'd have some mornings of sitting around with my coffee and getting out closer to lunchtime.

Allan, this is one of those things that can drive you crazy if you and your travel companions are not on the same page. To me, there are two kinds of vacation: the low-stress beach/cruise/resort vacation, where it's all about relaxing; and the high stress (but good stress) of a touring Europe vacation. You just have to have the right mindset going in. Some people want to go to Europe to stay in fancy hotels and focus on eating and drinking. I want to see things I don't have at home. I just don't overdo it by cramming it all in, as you have to know your limitations.

I find little humor in what a person may consider to be early or late or how they choose to structure their day. Its their daily life and it works for them.

Myself I am an early morning person, normally getting up at 4am. That does not change on vacation, but I am not getting ready for the work day and taking care of a morning routine, so I'll enjoy just having a lazy morning.

2-3 week trip? That would be nice. None of my Europe trips have been more than 8 days. They have all been very go-go-go trips, though getting up in the morning has usually been in the 7-8 range. I like to walk around in the morning where we are and take a few photos before things get too busy.

If you are a morning person, then woo hoo. Good for you. I am not. I am a dyed in the wool night owl. At home I am rarely in bed before 2 am, unless I am ill. So being up and actually AT a site by 0800, having already dressed, breakfasted, and travelled? Yes, for me that is ridiculously early. Have I done it? Of course, but it's not easy. Because our days in Europe are busy, I'm usually tired enough to go to bed by midnight( which is early for me). But I also need time in the morning to get myself going. Which is one of the reasons we rarely do multi day group tours. We prefer to go at our own pace, which rarely means walking out of our hotel door before 0900.

Yeah, i wouldn't consider it sleeping in. I would just consider it sleeping.

I am also not worried about what time anyone else chooses to get up and out, either. Nor what time they come in in the evening / night / early morning

As long as you are on board with the preferences of any actual travel companion(s) and have worked out what you're going to do if you have differing preferences. Actual travel companions are the only ones whose preferences come into play/matter.

We maintain a busy schedule every day along the go-go-go model mentioned above. I am far from a morning person but wake earlier and get moving faster when traveling than anything remotely close to home time. The Dollars per Minute meter of a European trip cost is always running in the back of my mind. Likewise I always marvel at people who want a room with a view….sitting in the room looking out the window never occurred to me. Safe travels to all.

I have always wanted to be a morning person: alas, I am not. I envy you early risers. My night owl nature is constantly battling with my fear-of-missing-out when I travel.

We're in London now and sometimes our alarm is going off at 6am when breakfast starts at 7am, other times it's going off at 7am when breakfast starts at 8am. Even though we're both not morning people we wouldn't dream of sleeping in when we travel. Too much to see and do! I'll sleep in when I get home.

The simplest answer for me is "when is breakfast served?". We generally get to our hotel's breakfast when it opens for the morning and have a leisurely time waking up with coffee and whatever tastiness is on the menu. On rare occasions, there is a need to be out the door without having an easygoing breakfast, but mostly, it is our chance to fuel up (and get caffeinated) and discuss our plans for the day. As the first folks to arrive for breakfast, we're still out the door of the hotel before most other folks.

A good breakfast provides us the ability to then go-go-go all day.

Kayla--I am very much like you!

I don't care what anyone else does, unless they are traveling with me, lol. I am an early morning person, up by 4:30-5am and can never seem to sleep in. Once it is dark out, I am done for the night, so usually after dinner I am ready to hunker down. When I am awake though, even early in the morning, I like to be on the go. My last trip last month was with my daughter and one day we suggested going back to the hotel in the afternoon. For me, 5-10 minutes is good and then I am off again. So I was standing there ready to go, and she gave me "the look" and asked me if I ever sat still;) I remember doing an early morning walking tour in Prague that started at 7am, which was absolutely perfect! I love being out when everyone else is still sleeping, there is just something so serene about that to me.

It's a mixed bag. Normally, I get up later than average in part because I'm a light sleeper. I jealously try to grab every minute in the sack in the morning because it takes me a long time -- on average, an hour, but often quite a bit more than that -- to nod off at night.

However, I seem to tap some kind of a reservoir sometimes when I travel in Europe where I am able to get up in the morning without as much trouble as I do at home.

Like you, I prefer to push the envelope and see as much as possible when I travel. Every trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Heartiness, I've learned, is the No. 1 requisite of a good traveler.

Rick Steves humbled me about something he wrote in this book, On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to Kathmandu, his account of an epic 1978 trip along what was once known as the Overland trail. On two consecutive days in India, he got up at 4:30 a.m. so that he could see as much as possible. It would be hard for me to do that, even with my enthusiasm for travel. Rick's trip when he was only 23 years old was a six-country trip across a wide swath of Asia. With only a few hiccups, Rick was already a travel pro.

In normal life I get up early - 4:00 AM this morning. On vacation I might sleep in to 7. The wife would like to sleep to 10 but usually manages to get up by 8.

I get up at 5:30 am in normal life on a work day and sleep in to 7 or maybe 8 at the latest on a non-work day. There are only so many hours that I can sleep in a 24 hour period and that seems to be shrinking as I age. When I was a young 20 something I could easily sleep for 15 hours (when I wasn't working a 36 hour shift).

If I am traveling solo, I will shift the time of when I get up according to what I want to do. Some days I am up at 7. On those days I am ready to relax in my room by 8 pm. OR I might take a 90 minute rest in the afternoon and stay out longer. On days that I get up at 8 I stay out later. I don't typically get up earlier than that unless I have some type of tour scheduled or if it is a get on a train day.

When I travel with my usual companion, I shift my schedule by an hour. Getting up generally at 8 and sometimes 9. Maybe one out of 7 days I will have a day out that lasts longer than 12 or 13 hours and those day usually include a train ride which can be restful. But I can't manage touring that many hours every day.

I absolutely would not travel with someone that couldn't get moving by 9 am. Just wouldn't work. I am sure they would say the same about traveling with me though, so it is fair!

Before my accident when I was a hiker I always reminded myself of the maxim, "hike your own hike", and I've carried it over to travel as well. There's no correct or proper way to travel and we are all free to enjoy our travels as we please. I see no point in critiquing or criticizing someone else's style of traveling.

Strategy, favorite hack, best route, best airline, best experience, live like a local…..ad infinitum.
I guess spontaneous unscripted behaviors are out of style???

So what if it is... or isn't? Is it that travel can only be enjoyed if it's spontaneous & unscripted?

I don't plan out every moment and I'm not the go-go-go type. I like hotel rooms with a view, I want to be a little vacation lazy, and I thoroughly enjoy sitting out on some patio and watching the morning start around me. I'll have my list of places I'd like to see and if it strikes me, I'll go and mark it off the list. If not, well there's next time.

Depends on the schedule of the day. I really can't sleep in like I use to do. I like to get early trains to my next destination city so I have extra time to explore a little more. Most of the time it doesn't pay to get out too early if places or sights are not open. I do like to get out early if I want better photos. Hallstatt comes to mind. Getting out early gave me some great photos with no one on the lake and very few people on the streets.

On long extended vacations I build in rest days and maybe not sleep, but hang out in the hotel more and take some walks here and there.

If there will be lines where I am headed, I am up an at 'em.

I used to be go-go-go! Even our teenagers referred to our DisneyWorld vacation as “Disney Bootcamp”! (Hey, there were multiple waterparks and four Disney parks to cover, plus going to Cape Canaveral!)

So take that personality to Europe, and I didn’t go there to relax. Our first two trips were RS tours, so that set what time he had to be up and ready to go. We took full advantage of free time to do more. My time for resting was on the plane on the way home.

My first trip traveling solo in 2018, I didn’t stay out as late, so I ate breakfast around 7-7:30am and went out walking the cute lanes and taking photos. I agree with mikliz97; that it is a special, serene time-of-day, and I continue to treasure that time in each town.

Being retired, I have relaxed the pace because I’m in Europe for longer amounts of time. My next solo trip is a month long. I’ve eased up on scheduling early trains for this trip since I have much more time there, so I have a few places I will arrive at 1pm instead of 11am. Time to linger over a second cup of coffee.

I agree - this is definitely a topic to discuss with any traveling companions. At the very least, each have your own breakfast time, if needed.

I went through the same phases as Jean with my travel attitude, which has evolved over time.

I'm not a morning person, but my husband is. We give ourselves the first couple of days to sleep or not sleep as we get over jet lag. Then we are up and ready to go full steam ahead for the day, when it comes to any European travel. I get up earlier than normal, and we eat dinner later than he is accustomed, to get the most out of our experience.

I always seem to wake at 4am when I first arrive in Europe. I rarely ever sleep more than 6 hours and those first few days usually go to bed by 10 pm which would be 8am I think in Australia. My wife will crash and sleep 10 hours but not me.
I get up go for a walk which turns into a run. Usually back to HQ by 6.30 to 7.
After a few days I will stay up until 11pm so don't wake until 5am. That remains the normal pattern, my wife will usually sleep until 7am.
We are never in a hurry as we don't plan out a strict itinerary. We tend not to stay in the popular tourist hotspots so we can just go with the flow.

The topic idea came to me because I'm in Dunedin, Florida right now and the pace is so slow. Nobody is in a hurry, nobody seems to have an agenda, and each day revolves around when the Blue Jays play during Spring Training.

I'm up at my usual time but I've got nothing to do and nowhere to be as I'm not a beach goer or a shopper which seems to be what the tourists are doing when there is no game on. I'm having trouble adjusting to a relaxed vacation and it occurred to me that while I'm still working, vacation time is valuable; especially when I go as far as Europe with limited time to see everything I want to. Maybe in a few months when I retire and have more time I'll slow the pace of my European adventures, but this trip has made me realize that I treat a trip differently based on location.

This is a question for the night owls. If you are staying up until midnight or later, what exactly are you doing?
I am an early bird. I like the newness of the day before me and all the possibility's.
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One benefit we discovered accidentally by being a morning person is the lack of crowds to start the day. My wife is 5' tall and sees nothing but armpits in crowds. By getting an early start we can avoid some of that frustration. My wife does have her limits though, she's still in bed when I head out before sunrise to find that perfect photo.

This is a question for the night owls. If you are staying up until
midnight or later, what exactly are you doing?

Some things that may be better left unsaid, lol.
Dinner in some countries starts at 9 or even later. A leisurely dinner can take at least a couple hours. A nighttime walk can be as refreshing as a walk in the early morning. Gazing at the stars can be as nice as watching the rising sun.
Different strokes, folks--it's all good.

I'm a morning person, too, and usually I'm up by 6 am at the latest, with no need for an alarm. I get ready in a leisurely manner, as I do NOT like rushing in the morning, head down to breakfast and spend the day seeing as much as I can squeeze in.

After dinner, however, I'm usually done for the day and ready to head back for a quiet evening at the hotel to write, read or hang out in a wine bar. That doesn't mean I wouldn't plan things in the evening; especially when staying in a city. For example, in London, I'm going on two evening London Walks, have a few late dinners reserved, and of course, the Ceremony of the Keys, but usually the evenings are times of relaxation for me.

Allan, I think Florida (and other beach places) are different. I'm a go-go-go person generally but when I head for Naples, Florida every winter to visit my brother and SIL, it's one of the most relaxing vacations I have. I don't sleep in because quite frankly, I can't sleep much past 6 am (plus I love watching the sunrise from the bedroom lanai), but we generally limit activities to beach walking, shopping, eating out, and boating. One time, my brother, who is a pilot, flew us down to Key West and we spent the day there just walking around, but that's pretty much the extent of it. I consider it a time to escape the Duluth winter for a bit, spend time with family and recharge.

Allan

Maybe in a few months when I retire and have more time I'll slow the pace of my European adventures, but this trip has made me realize that I treat a trip differently based on location.

Exactly what I did when I was working. As a family we vacationed south of where you are now at a timeshare on an island. I relished the days of getting up whenever, going to the pool or beach and just sitting in a chair and relaxing. Picked up a fishing pole several times a week and just vegged out. Had conversations with other vacationers and enjoyed dinners and fun with the kids.

When I retired and I ventured to Europe to travel, it was quite different. Didn't really need to relax and veg out because I was retired and the pace of life wasn't as stressed and hurried as it was when I was working. You are so correct, not only is it the location you are based, but the lifestyle you are currently engaged day to day when not on vacation.

Yes, the pace in Florida and all over the south is slower. More so for locals than tourists. Some blame it on the heat. I think people are just more relaxed here when they aren't shivering their brains out.

Allan, as usual an interesting topic.
My husband is an early riser and I still struggle since my time clock is night owl. Even though for 28 years I had to be at work by 7:00 am, as soon as I retired I almost fell back into my natural routine. In the winter I will sleep till 8 but once Daylight Savings time occurs, I am up by 6 am. For this older person, life in the early am really is beautiful.
On vacation, we are up by 6, getting ready, eating a leisurely breakfast then out the door. Depending in the day, it is different times, never later than 9:00.
That said, we have had to cut our travel companions down considerably. After 3 European trips where my own sister wouldn’t get up for breakfast, then complaining later on she was hungry could we stop somewhere, we no longer travel together.
Also, our very best friends, from high school, who like to sleep in, don’t care anout breakfast, and do not actually go into a museum or Church etc, but wait outside for us, and don’t like to seperate, are regulated to cruises only.
We have one couple left, cousins, who thankfully have the same attitude as us and we travel together beautifully.

This is a question for the night owls. If you are staying up until midnight or later, what exactly are you doing.

I often wonder what people are doing at 5am!

I work from home with flexible hours. My peak work productivity time is usually afternoons, when my brain seems to be the sharpest. Before 12pm is for work meetings, exercise, housework, grocery shopping, appointments, etc. Most evenings I read.

There's tons of research indicating that a person's propensity to be a morning or night person is innate and often not easy to change - as evidenced by my multiple short-lived attempts to do so. I suppose we have night owls to thank for the snooze button!

I've said this before, but the conflict between opposite styles is one reason we've gravitated to tours. If the scheduled departure is set, then there are no arguments.

”Maybe in a few months when I retire and have more time I'll slow the pace of my European adventures, but this trip has made me realize that I treat a trip differently based on location.”

This is definitely our case. When we lived in the Seattle area, we took a 1-2 week break from the gray skies during the winter and went to Hawaii. We rarely had more than a couple activities planned; it was all about staying in a condo & enjoying the scenery of the island at a leisurely pace, beach time and going whale-watching.

When we went to Spain last month, we went with the “winter break” attitude vs. the summer “go, go” agenda, so I know we treat a trip differently based on time-of-year, also.

Time change makes a big difference in my to bed/to rise pattern on a 2-3 week trip. First half of the trip up significantly earlier than usual. Second half normal schedule (like wake up at around 7am). Maybe a sleep in or two in the mix, which is my body telling me to catch up from previous nights of poor sleep due to jet lag and time change.

My family ends up moving on about the same schedule, early to start, normal later, a sleep in or two. Teenager sometimes needs a longer sleep. In this case we let her catch extra Z's while we go to breakfast or get in a morning walk.

I rarely schedule a day where go go go requires out of bed and into action early. Sometimes an early train or flight. Or when cycle touring a particularly long day, scheduled ferry down the road, etc.

Oh, and also if the weather is very hot, I'll get up early and get going, particularly if cycle touring. I get anxious if not able to move around outside in a given day. So if it's going to be roasting at 11am, I'm motivated to get the wiggles out before breakfast.

I've said this before, but the conflict between opposite styles is one
reason we've gravitated to tours. If the scheduled departure is set,
then there are no arguments.

We've got a few friends that drop hints that they'd like to travel with us, but it's not hard to tell who it wouldn't work with and we'll tell them what it will be like with us. I'm going to be selfish on vacation and want to do things my way (and wife's way). I don't want to compromise and I'll tell them that. Better to be honest upfront. Like Stan says, we also will suggest a cruise or a tour so the schedule is set.

VAP, I really like this perspective you've shared :

I always reminded myself of the maxim, "hike your own hike", and I've carried it over to travel as well. There's no correct or proper way to travel and we are all free to enjoy our travels as we please. I see no point in critiquing or criticizing someone else's style of traveling.

And this very much hits the spot for me:

I like hotel rooms with a view, I want to be a little vacation lazy, and I thoroughly enjoy sitting out on some patio and watching the morning start around me.

(Although I might be watching the afternoon or the evening !)

Thanks for your thoughtful post.

I've said this before, but the conflict between opposite styles is the reason we've gravitated to tours. If the scheduled departure is set, then there are no arguments.

Or you could just travel solo like me! I rarely argue with myself, although if I do, I always win.

Dinner in some countries starts at 9 or even later. A leisurely dinner
can take at least a couple hours.

This has concerned for next Fall in Portugal. I don't want to live like a local when it comes to eating, I want to eat at 5, and I'm not eating sardines🤢, and my head will explode if I have to sit still for 2-3 hours in a restaurant. I'm sure I'll figure it out, we did in France and Italy. I guess what I'm saying is food is the least important part of a trip for me.

Allan, if you managed in Italy, I am sure you will be fine in Portugal (though I admit, the Portuguese cuisine is not my favorite). It is not a requirement to eat late, it just fits right into our usual routine--and someone asked what we are doing at night.

VAP, I really like this perspective you've shared... Thanks for your thoughtful post.

Kim,
Thanks, and you're welcome.

I'm usually up around 5 to have a coffee and read the paper before heading out to take grandchildren to school. Then I'm in bed by 9. (My wife adds 90-120 minutes to each of those times.) When we're in Europe, we both get up around 7-ish. At night we're up late either enjoying dinner or a show out or writing our daily blog (which we turn into a book upon returning home). It's not unusual to go to sleep after midnight. Apparently, the 8/9 hour time zone change works out for us.

I often wonder what people are doing at 5am!

There's tons of research indicating that a person's propensity to be a
morning or night person is innate and often not easy to change - as
evidenced by my multiple short-lived attempts to do so. I suppose we
have night owls to thank for the snooze button!

I often wonder if I'll change in retirement, but then again I often wonder if I want to. I'm a creature of habit and like it that way. It's not like I'm awake and doing nothing; 2 days a week I play hockey before work and 4 other days I'm at the gym.

On vacation, I get up early, get my steps in and find views of the sunrise. We usually have an activity at least in the morning and maybe back to the hotel at 3 or 4 for an hour or two. Then we go eat and wander afterwards for an hour or two before heading to the hotel about 9:00. Home or away, it's rinse and repeat with my favourite part of the day being the mornings.

If you are a morning person, then woo hoo. Good for you. I am not.

.

I find little humor in what a person may consider to be early or late
or how they choose to structure their day. Its their daily life and it
works for them.

For the posters thinking I'm critiquing others... no, I enjoy learning what makes others tick by asking questions.

When I retired in 2004, people asked me what I was going to do after retirement. My stock answers were: anything I want to, sleep till I wake up and never set an alarm. That last should be first after 52 years of having to get up at about 06:00 every dang school and work day. I'm on the "relaxing and laid back" end of the spectrum.

Of course, my normal waking times (roughly between 07:00 and 09:00) don't always allow enough time for me to get ready to leave the house for morning appointments, so I do have to wake up to my alarm occasionally. I try to schedule all appointments no earlier than 11:00, but that's not always possible.

In the context of travel, and especially on RS tours, I have to set an alarm daily and try to get to breakfast as early as possible. If on my own staying in a hotel or B&B with limited breakfast hours, I sometimes just do the basics to go down to breakfast, then go back to my room to get ready properly. I hate being rushed.

On most trips, I like to rent an apartment for at least part of the time. That way I can get up when I want or need to, get ready and move at my own pace for the rest of the day. I typically only need about 6-7 hours of sleep each night, no matter where I am. And my shortest trip to Europe was 3 weeks in 2018. Most are 4-6 weeks.

I'm definitely not a go-go-go person and limit my seeing and doing plans each day. Truth be told, I just like to be somewhere else, in a different culture, hearing a different language (or at least a different accent), shopping at a local grocery store, wandering the streets, watching the TV programs -- you get the idea. I should mention that my very first trip was in pre-Schengen, pre-cell phone 1977-78 and I was gone about 4 months, so I guess I was a slow traveler from the start.

That became even more true after I met a young Australian woman at a hostel in Arnhem. She was almost at the end of her gap year and her advice was to limit myself to one major site per day, with maybe a lesser one. Major was defined as a place of interest that requires a significant amount of time to take it all in and learn from it.

I can relate to the person who liked having a room with a view. My favorite view so far was from my 1st (European) floor apartment in Venice. I was there 5 nights. The building was on the Fondamente Nove near the Campo dei Gesuiti and faced the lagoon. My view was of Cemetery Island (Cimitero di San Michele de Venezia). One morning as I was having my coffee, I was able to look out my living room windows and watch a regatta pass by with all kinds of boats, including gondolas. I took a picture and sent it to a friend in WA. Her response was that she'd spend the whole time there just looking out the window. Yup!

We live in vacationland (beach, golf, etc) so we try to see as much as possible when we're gone and relax at home. Having said that, breaks are planned during each vacation day to sit and relax, knowing that too much on the go movement is tiring. Early is good because it's usually quieter, cooler, and less people are out.

I travel without a program. The day starts when it starts and ends when it ends. I try hard as H not to board a train before 8:00am.

My husband and I are both retired, naturally wake up at 4:00 or 5:00am, get lots of chores done early in the morning, and, when traveling, cannot stand to wait around for hours for a hotel or B&B breakfast --- a major reason why we rent apartments. He likes to walk around cities and towns in the early morning and I like to get to museums etc right when they open. We are not go-go-go at all, usually just doing one or two big things before having a long lunch (in Italy, where we love the food, not elsewhere). We do something or other after lunch, and then a very small dinner (more like a snack or sometimes streetfood), then early to bed. Our usual stay in Italy is 5 weeks, so we have time to do whatever we want, although I would pack in a bit more museum/church/art gallery each day than my husband can stand.

It's somewhat interesting that, in order to do away with the bad jetlag we used to have, we get ourselves four hours onto Italy time before we leave home, going to sleep earlier and earlier and waking up earlier and earlier. So, once in Italy, we are waking up at other people's more usual time at 7:00am or 8:00am. BUT, no matter what we do, within a very few days we are back to waking up at our own normal 4:00am or 5:00am. It's dark and quiet when we wake up, so it's not daylight or noise that is waking us up. We have never once been successful at doing a reverse anti-jetlag schedule for returning home, staying up later and later. And this is despite the strong allure of our being able to eat dinner in restaurants when Italians do! This tells me that, for us at least, it's pretty hard to change being a lark or night owl.

Allan, great topic. I had posted one somewhat recently about what to do early in the AM since I'm an early riser and most sites don't open til 09:00 or later. Cafes aren't even open til 07:30/08:00 (so it seems, I'll see!)

I get up every day between 04:30 and 05:00. At home, this is no matter what. When I sleep in I feel yucky. And I need my exercise, which I do first thing. But when I travel, I do want to keep my good 7-8 hours sleep so I will sleep in here and there if we are up late the night before (which happens occasionally for performances, special activities etc).

Since my relax time is reading a book or having a hot or cold beverage while watching the world or having conversation, or being in nature, I can get those times in Europe with the train travel, cafes and early morning hikes/walks. Otherwise, I really and truly love learning and doing anything, so I don't typically take a vacation to relax, I take a vacation to experience and make sure to build in some relax time.

Last time I was in Europe my kids were young and my husband and I couldn't just leave them alone in the hotel if we got up early. Now we can (they're 13 and 17 and we'll be there in June)!

But I agree with you - it's hard to find open places and things to do in the early am, so I plan to be use that time to do the RS "Walks" - getting in sight seeing and my exercise before breakfast. Or a hike if there's some nature nearby (I have the AllTrails app, you can find hiking trails anywhere in the world).

And I think this will work out great with my kids as I am go go go and they are no no no!

We can have a more relaxed schedule in their waking hours.

I just haven't figured out how to handle when I'm exhausted at 8pm and they are just hitting their stride! A few of our accommodations have separate rooms, so they can stay up late, while I do not have to...course I've also got a eye mask and ear plugs!