State Department Travel Advisories Issued – Texas Travel Alert

(KPEL-FM) If you haven't noticed, Texans are on the go for the summer travel season already. It usually kicks off about this time of year. Just as soon as the caps and gowns of graduation have landed from their post-graduation toss, a lot of folks will be hitting the road.

In Texas, we are very fortunate that our very large state is served by some very large airports. Just about any of those airports can get you from Texas to anywhere else in the world. A major travel destination for many Texans is Europe. However, if you have travel plans that carry you across the Atlantic this summer, you have reasons to pack a little extra caution in your suitcases.

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You're probably well aware of the travel advisories and flat-out "don't go" warnings posted for some Caribbean nations. That's usually what we think about when we hear the State Department has issued a travel advisory. The cautionary tales are usually for places where pickpockets and petty crimes run amok, or in the case of Mexico and Jamaica, more serious crimes have resulted in more stringent advisories.

That's why the most recent Level 2 Advisories published by the State Department caught us off guard. The two nations listed were not in the Caribbean but in Europe. Both nations have long been considered to be "safe" for Americans. In fact, I have visited both of these nations in the past six months and experienced no issues as an American traveler whatsoever.

Are There Any Travel Advisories Issued for European Countries?

Still, the U.S. State Department has reissued Level 2 Travel Advisories for both Germany and Spain. The advisory is posted for Germany because of potential terror threats. The same concerns are in Spain, too, but there is an additional concern over social unrest in that nation.

A Level 2 Advisory does not discourage travel, instead, it suggests that travellers in the advised area travel with an extra sense of caution. In the case of Spain and Germany, you're not advised to spend time in large groups or visit large public spaces with large crowds. It's also a good idea to be cognizant of local protests or significant holiday celebrations in those nations. Those events often lead to issues for travelers.

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I guess if you really need your German "fix," you could always pop in to one of the stores and shops around New Braunfels,  I bet they could hook you up with the best of their "wurst".  Or you could just go soak in a lazy river.