We had some good guesses last week, but no one got the answer to the trivia! The location was Brussels, Belgium. Now on to this week’s trivia…

In what city was this photo taken?
Good luck everyone!
-Hans

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Each year the company Mercer ranks the quality of life of over 200 cities around the world. Factors used to determine the rankings are based on many things. Necessities like infrastructure, law enforcement, health care, and schools systems are looked at closely, as are recreational activities, which include access to theaters, sports activities, parks, and shops. are also ranked. Even local climate is ranked. This is a lot of criteria, so the mean city of the report is New York.

This year, European cities dominate the list, taking 8 of the top 10 places. Vienna, Austria took the number one rank from Zurich, which held the position last year. The highest ranked American city was Honolulu, at number 29. Canadian cities did better placing three in the top 20. The lowest ranking city on the list was Baghdad.If you want to learn a little more about how these cities were ranked, check out the Mercer website.

20. Stockholm, Sweden
19. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
18. Melbourne, Australia
16. Berlin, Germany
16. Ottawa, Canada
15. Toronto, Canada
14. Brussels, Belgium
13. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
12. Wellington, New Zealand
11. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Sydney, Australia
9. Bern, Switzerland
8. Frankfurt, Germany
7. Munich, Germany
6. Düsseldorf, Germany
4. Auckland, New Zealand
4. Vancouver, Canada
3. Geneva, Switzerland
2. Zürich, Switzerland
1. Vienna, Austria

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Eating healthy on your vacation is not always the easiest thing to do. When staying in cities known for their fabulous cuisine, it is nearly impossible to ignore the open air markets, chocolate filled windows and quaint restaurants. One suggestion that I feel was most valuable, was to stock up on power food like trail mix and granola. Snacking on oats throughout the day will give you the energy you need to keep moving throughout Europe’s finest cities, and is a healthy alternative to stopping at random street corners for lunches. Now I’m not saying that you should avoid the street food, but if you’re trying to stay healthy and save money, this can help.

Another way watch your intake is to prepare your own meals. While this is not really optimal for big dinners, it can be perfect for breakfast, or better yet, lunch. In France for example, you can buy a baguette and some cheese for under 5 euros. Grab a blanket and a bottle of wine for a romantic afternoon picnic. Not only will you be able to monitor what kind of food you’re eating, but you will be saving money so that when you do splurge, it won’t seem all that bad.

Another suggestion I’ve heard is to ask locals where the good deals are. They can often point you to places that would have gone otherwise unnoticed. Many times, these hints will lead you to the best deals in the city. Mention, you’re looking for healthy alternatives and you will be surprised at what you can find, and you may even make some new friends on your next European vacation.

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While we had some interesting guesses last week, the winner was Evan, who knew that the photo was taken in Sydney, Australia, and the giraffes were featured in it because it was taken from the zoo.  Anyway, here is this week’s image, good luck everyone!
Q: In what city was this photo taken?
Hint: This European city has hosted Star Wars: The Exhibition
Answers will be posted next week!

Good Luck,
-Hans

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Today’s Earth Day celebrations seem more relative than ever. Here are five simple steps to making your car more fuel efficient.

1. Inflate Your Tires
I can’t stress this enough. Remember as a kid when you used to ride your bike to the beach/park/store? When those tires were flat, you knew it, because it took twice as much work to move yourself! In a 2007 study by the US Department of Energy, it was found that the cost of under inflated tires in the US was substantial- more than 1.25 billion gallons of gas (yes, billions). Check them every time you fill your tank, and save money by getting better gas mileage. You should be able to find the proper inflation numbers in your owners manual, inside the drivers side door when it’s open, or inside the gas cap.

2. Use Proper Oil
Many people are under the impression that you should use different kinds of oil for different seasons. While this may be true for some vehicles under certain conditions, studies suggest that you might just be able to improve your gas mileage by 1-2% simply by using the recommended grade.

3. Stay Tuned
Keeping your car in tune can help in a big way. By simply changing the spark plugs and spark plug wires, you will be able to see a noticeable difference in gas mileage.
You can do it yourself, or bring your car to your local mechanic. If you do bring it in, have them run a diagnostic on your car, to see what else you may be able to fix. Something like a broken oxygen sensor can seriously impair your ability to get good gas mileage.

4. Get Rid of Excess Baggage
What’s in your trunk or back seat? I really need to take my own advice on this one. Mine is filled with clothes for good will, lots of tools, a snowboard, snowboard boots, a winter coat, a blanket, two jacks, and a spare tire. Sans the blanket and maybe jacket, it can all go. My spare tire doesn’t have any air in it anyway.

5. American Idle
Most of us don’t take the time to turn off the car when idling. Turning off your car if you’re going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds will help save gas in a well tuned car. Think about this next time you take someone to the store for a couple things, and you’re relaxing in the car with the A/C on. If you can put your windows down instead of cranking the A/C, that’s going to help too.

Have a helpful Earth Day hint? Leave a comment and let us know!

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In an order to promote the electric car, many of the world’s top car manufactures have agreed on a standard plug that will be used for charging the batteries of electric vehicles. Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Fiat, Toyota, and Mitsubishi are just some of the companies who have already signed on, and it is expected to become the industry standard. The final design of the plug was released today in Hanover, Germany, and uses a 400 volt supply. The plug will give all electric cars the ability to be recharged in a matter of minutes at stations all over the world.

This is good news for anyone thinking about buying an electric car. Not only will it be more cost effective for the car companies to outfit gas stations with electric power supplies, but you know you will be able to travel with your car into other countries as well. The idea is that charging your car will be no more time consuming or tedious than with a gas powered car, which is a concept that many EV (electric vehicle) owners will like.

The image of the electric car has not always been positive, however many people in the auto industry are excited about facing a new design challenge that is more eco-friendly. Cars produce much of the world’s carbon emissions, so for many, this is a step that is long overdue. With the spike in last years gas prices, many people were already seeking alternate forms of transportation, and the EV took the spotlight again. It seems this time, it may be permanent.

One would guess that if companies of this size have made this commitment, that affordable, reliable EV’s may be in your driveway sooner than imagined!

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Congratulations to Leeroy Jenkins who knew that the image in last week’s travel trivia was located in Warsaw, Poland. For this week’s image, we take a different turn with a two part question…

What is this the name of this capital city, and why are there giraffes in this photo?

As always, answers will be posted later next week. Good luck!
-Hans

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Auto Europe is proud to present our new series of multimedia presentations. For the past 3 months, we have been working on creating music, gathering images, writing scripts, and recording voice overs for our series of travel shorts. Here’s an example of what we have been doing.

Feel free to check our more of our destination travel videos.

Have an idea that you feel we could expand upon? Maybe there’s a destination, festival, or event you know of in Europe that warrants it’s own video! Leave a comment and let us know!

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Berlin is a great city to visit. There are ample activities for the whole family. The city is home to over 150 museums and 50 theaters, 3 major opera houses, and countless music festivals. It is a city rich in culture and history, and offers access to the area, serving as a travel and transport hub to Eastern Europe.

One important element of the city is the Berlin Zoological Garden. It  is the oldest and most popular  zoo in Germany attracting over 3 million visitors each year. It is home to around 14,000 animals. One of the most famous residents is Knut,  a 3 year old Polar bear who was born at the Zoo in 2006. Whatever your stance on Zoo’s are, here’s a piece of advice everyone can take to heart. Do not jump into the polar bear habitat during feeding time.  Someone actually did this recently. As you can imagine, it did not go over well. She was bitten and mauled several times before on lookers could pull her to safety. Thankfully, she’s okay, but faces trespassing charges.

With all there is to do in this great city, jumping into a polar bear habitat is probably not going to be found in any guide book. Whatever you decide to do on your next vacation in Germany, you can always turn to Auto Europe, for your car rental needs.  Just remember to not feet the bears.

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WOW! After no guesses from anyone the previous week, we had four people submit correct answers to the latest Travel Trivia! Congratulations to Fionna, Damien, Sheila, Lorri who all knew that Barcelona is filled with many buildings that were designed by Anton Gaudi, including the Familia Sagrada, which was pictured. For this weeks trivia we travel into Eastern Europe…

Q. In what capital city is this Castle found?

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