Posted by Over the Holidays, I traveled to Germany again, this time with Lee. We visited my family for a week, and then met up with friends from London in Munich for five days. The four of us rented an apartment using AirBnB.
I was hesitant at first- aside from the fact that I feel uneasy about the “sharing economy”, I was also worried as an IBD patient. Would we find a place where I didn’t have to share the bathroom with everyone? Quiet, so I could get a good night’s sleep, but close enough to downtown? Close to grocery shopping, and bakeries?
In short: We did. We found a spacious apartment that had two bathrooms, and enough privacy for everyone. It was close to everything, but in a quiet little side street, and while you’ll always hear people in a multi-apartment house, the neighbors were incredibly considerate.
Why Air BnB can be a good thing for IBD travelers:
-privacy. Yes, in a hotel room, you can put a “don’t disturb” sign on the door and they leave you be, but you’ll hear the cleaning crews. In the apartment, I did not have to worry about housekeeping etc.
-a fully equipped kitchen. Granted, we barely used it, but if you are on a special diet, can only tolerate certain foods, or don’t want to disrupt your eating routine too much, having access to a kitchen is important.
-access to washer and dryer. Whether you’ve had an accident, sweated through your clothes in a fever or don’t want to pack too much stuff, it was handy to have a washer and dryer inside the apartment. Careful though: Euro washers can take a loooong time, a program can easily run for two hours.
– a bedroom to retreat in. When you’re traveling in a group, it’s often hard to say “hey I need some rest.” To me, renting an apartment together was a good solution- people could retreat to re-charge and rest, while still having the feeling of being with your friends.
-a bedroom to spread out in. Things I had brought: My heating blanket, soft bed socks, my meds, different pairs of shoes, purses etc, etc.
-a local person. This was a big source of reassurance for me. Granted, I don’t have a language barrier (I don’t have a problem understanding Bavarian, it’s not that hard people!), but I still didn’t know where stores were, which restaurants (of the many in that area) to go to, and in case of an emergency, which doctors to go to. Our host was not in the apartment with us, but was incredibly responsive whenever we messaged him.
The Morbus Crohnicles 