When it comes to visiting a place on holiday, there are a lot of factors that make one place more or less desirable. Perhaps you’re a gastronome and want to sample the local cuisines at their most authentic. You may be a historian and fancy the opportunity to see the very places where pivotal moments went down. You may just be someone who loves beautiful scenery, which is not lacking in this world.

Whatever it is you crave, the chances are that Europe is at an advantage in providing it. With the continent closely connected in a political and transport sense, Europe is a place where you can hop from country to country. In each stop along the way, you will find each place has its own unique character. Europe has been a hub of population and travel for many centuries and, as such, has accrued a lot of culture and history.

Due to the gifts nature has bestowed, major European cities and holiday destinations are easy to reach in a number of ways. Perhaps the most rewarding way to see these is by river. One could argue for hours over which is the best European river cruise. Everyone will have their own opinion, and plenty of reasons to back it up. One thing is for sure, at the end of the conversation you’ll be struck with wanderlust.

River cruises are such a special way to see Europe because rivers played such a pivotal part in its history. As with anywhere else, towns and cities grew up around these, and in Europe they became home to such eras as the Renaissance.

Its modern history and the further-off periods have seen war, peace and industrial development. All of this has created cities with art, architecture and culture that must be seen.

A trip along the Danube, for example, will take you through such delights as Vienna, Budapest and Munich. The former two were once major centers of European power and although this has receded, the history remains. Spectacular views, sumptuous cuisine and wines. And if you visit at the right time, the chance to sample Munich’s famous Oktoberfest. All in all, it’s a trip of a lifetime.

Perhaps, though, your wanderlust will take you further West, to the delights of the Seine and the Rhone, from which you can see France and Spain. Trips to Paris are never wasted, and there’s much to see in Provence, a region that people visit once and then decide to move there. With Barcelona a short train ride away, you can experience some of Europe’s most unforgettable cities.

With the Rhine and the Mosel available too, you can see less talked about gems. The castles and cathedrals of Luxembourg, Nuremburg and Prague are all more than worth a visit. You’ll be well advised to pack extra film for your camera or a spare memory card for your phone. You certainly won’t run out of things to photograph, eat or visit.

In short, Europe is home to many countries, languages and ways of life. In one week or fortnight, you can take in enough for several holidays and you’ll still have more to save for your next trip. What more could a voyager ask for?

As far as style and fashion are concerned, traveling isn’t what it used to be. Once upon a time, men used to dress up in classic vest-and-black-tie suits or take their tuxedos along airplanes and trains. They would bring along leather gloves, hats, canes and bowties and they wouldn’t have been caught stepping inside a means of transportation without their shoes being mirror-like polished. But times have changed and now we favor the casual and laidback style no matter if we get away for the weekend or plan a short business trip.

Travel fashion for men evolved and transformed together with the times. Men are packing light and they learned how to travel in full comfort, they became savvy of trends and travel accessories and they found a way of being practical without trading style for utilitarianism. In our contemporary times, packing light and being fashionable translates into using more and more messenger bags – the perfect hybrid between the sports bag, the weekender, the backpack, the duffle bag and the carry-on roller suitcase. Let’s see 12 reasons why you should definitely rely on one when you make a short business trip!

The Messenger Bag Is Your Answer to Functionality Needs

Everything is in the details and the quality of your chosen bag. Usually, messenger bags for men are crafted in leather or sport a combination of leather and canvas to meet your traveling, packing and styling needs. Experts recommend you to use a leather messenger bag as it is highly practical:

• It is resilient to carrying, moving and handling around planes, cars or trains

• It is safe for your belongings which need to stay safe and protected from mechanical impact

• It doesn’t let rain reach inside

• It doesn’t get damaged by stains or dust

If you are on a two-day business trip, your stylish leather messenger is the perfect companion to help you carry paperwork, your laptop, some hygiene products, and a small family of gadgets and a set of changes for the next day.

The Messenger Bag is an Answer to Your Styling Needs

If you have to pack light and not carry a roller suitcase for two days, the messenger bag is way more preferable than a duffle bag or a nylon hand bag. Imagine the following situation: you pass through the airport check out doors dragging a sports bag or a military duffle bag and you shake hands with the guy waiting for you there. He may be just a regular employee of the company you are about to visit, but he may be your direct contact, business partner or client. You will never take back that first impression.

It doesn’t matter if you are an employee, your own company’s CEO or a freelancer meeting a potential project partner: the way you look will speak volumes, but fortunately, your messenger bag will be your international goodwill and style ambassador.

• You can travel with a perfectly neat and tight leather messenger bag or you can sport a vintage canvas-leather one to match your bohemian and free style.

• A good business bag is usually somber, darker in color and not flashy, pompous or sporting many adornments. Metallic clasps and discrete metal finishing is pretty much all you need.

• You can work well with black, browns, grey or navy blue – and the combinations between them.

• A leather-canvas bag is a good choice if you don’t want to look too uptight and buttoned-up but classy nonetheless.

The Messenger Bag is an Answer to Your Traveling Needs

A short trip doesn’t always involve just work and no fun. Even if you are on the clock, you surely can find some time to go out to dinner with your colleagues, client, business partners and so on or find a few hours to visit the city you traveled to, go to a show or walk the streets taking pictures or doing some shopping. The perfection of the messenger bag is that it helps you to pack light and looks insanely well not only with business suits, but casual outfits as well.

• It can help you blend in among tourists, carrying around your camera, papers, wallet and gadgets, leaving room for souvenirs or gifts.

• It offers you freedom of movement

• It works great with sneakers, boots, T-shirts, gingham shirts, colored clothes and so on.

• No matter how well you stuff it with objects or paperwork, it will still fit perfectly inside the hand-luggage compartment of the airplane (unless you get some shopping frenzy and need an extra luggage to bring back home everything you bought).

A good messenger bag fits all men’s ages and personal styles. It is versatile, trendy, casual chic and practical, turning you into a man of high taste and vision.

It’s been said that if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail. Traveling with kids requires a lot of preparation. You have to get clothing, grooming products, and comfort items for the whole household, all of which goes on top of determining an itinerary, finding a good deal on hotels, and planning a route.

In the middle of all that, there is an endless list of things that can go wrong, no matter how well you’ve prepared in other areas. Make sure you give careful consideration to as many potential disasters as you can, without burdening yourself with excess baggage–mentally or physically.

A Wrecked Car…

Nobody wants to think about this possibility, but according to one legal practice with extensive auto accident experience, there are 6.2 million automobile crashes reported to police every year. If you’ve never been involved in one yourself, you may feel like it won’t happen to you. But it might, and if it happens when you’re on vacation, it can be incredibly disruptive if you aren’t prepared–even if no one is hurt.

What do you do when you’re hundreds of miles from home on your Idaho vacation and your vehicle has been so heavily damaged that it can’t be driven? Will you have the financial resources to secure another means of travel? It’s important to discuss these issues with your insurance agent before you travel and to consider automobile club coverage that can help get you back on the road.

…Or Wrecked Plans

When most people think of vacation problems, they think of the 1980’s movie National Lampoon’s Vacation, in which a cross-country trip from Chicago to L.A. turns into disaster when the destination theme park is closed for repairs.

It’s unlikely to happen to you, but it’s certainly worthwhile to review your planned venues for fun and togetherness in order to make sure everything you expect will be available. This is especially important with natural attractions like Yellowstone National Park, which has experienced partial closures over the years due to active forest fires.

Construction, renovation, weather issues, and safety concerns can all shutter famous attractions. Check news outlets and the sites’ web presence before assuming you’ll be able to walk or drive right in.

Illness Outbreaks

With the hectic schedule, new foods, and exposure to lots of people, it’s very easy to get sick while traveling. Local allergens can attack you, leaving you sneezing and coughing. A stomach virus or food poisoning could hit the whole family.

Check things out before you travel. Make sure you know where the nearest emergency room is for each city where you’ll spend the night, and if you’re finding hotels day by day, make sure you can use hospital-finding features on your phone.

But you should also be prepared to treat illnesses without professional help. Bring over-the-counter allergy medications, fever reducers, and upset-stomach products along–even if no one is sick when you leave home. And stock up on kids’ electrolyte solutions and gentle foods like crackers so that you can avoid a midnight trip to the store in a strange town.

There is a spectrum of travel styles that ranges from the minute-by-minute planner whose day is ruined if they miss one turn, to the free-and-easy sojourner who just lets the chips fall where they may. Somewhere in the happy medium is the best place to be, but one thing that can’t be left to chance or whims is your preparation for potential travel problems. Make plans for how to deal with the most likely problems so that they don’t ruin your treasured family time.