Metal Markers, and Electric Plugs

Throughout Europe they sell little metal (maybe 1 inch by 2 inches) “markers” that have a picture and the name of a town, or a place of interest. These are supposed to indicate that the owner has hiked to that place, and then attached the little marker to his walking stick. I didn’t walk to all these places, but have purchased about 70 to 75 of these markers at the town or place identified on the marker. I didn’t buy a bunch of these markers in one place, I bought them at the place indicated. Since they cost about $2 or $3 each, they cost more than all the canes and the sticks in the collection.

Electric power throughout Europe is 220 Volt, but plugs are usually different in this country and that. England’s plug is about 2 inches square and 1 inch thick, with three large flat prongs, and there is a fuse inside the plug. The German plug is 1 inch in diameter, and about 2 inches long, has two round prongs with the “ground” built into the plug itself. The French plugs are similar in shape, but you must have the proper adapter, since the “ground” is built in the receptacle, not the plug. Italy uses a three prong plug, but they are in a different arrangement, than the German and French plugs.

At the Tivoli, Italy, campground, a man nearby gave us a plug into which we plugged the San Marino plug, into which we plugged the German plug, then we plugged the whole thing into the Italian receptacle, and that worked.

Years ago, we never knew what electric plug to expect at the 605 nights in 406 camp “spots” in the twenty-five countries we have spent the night in our RV. It wasn’t unusual to see a half-dozen RVs or trailers plugged into the same group of receptacles, each with a “Christmas Tree” of two or three plugs and extensions to solve the electrical puzzles. If we needed a different plug, often the campsite would loan, rent, or sell one. At times our electric cord had to be rewired before we could hook up for the night, then it had to be rewired before the next night. At one place in France, nothing would work except to twist our bare wires with theirs, but that worked.

By 1985 all campsites were supposed to have the 2” by 5” blue, ground fault plug, but not all had them, even in 1995. Only about 10 different plugs remain in our collection, and we don’t remember how many we used from time to time.