Floods Close Paris Museums, Metro Stops

If you plan to visit Paris, this may not be the best weekend. According to a report on the BBC, the Louvre Museum and the d'Orsay Museum have been closed because of flooding, and so have two Metro stations near the university. I have been watching some of the French Open tennis matches, and people are often heavily bundled sitting under umbrellas. Floods are also affecting Germany and other European countries.

Unfortunately spring flooding is a common problem in Europe, and if you schedule a trip at that time you may have to deal with floods. There isn't much you can do about it--I'm not sure even travel insurance would cover such cases, which could be considered "acts of God."

France has also been affected recently by strikes, which can also have a huge impact on travel plans. In the United States travellers have been dealing with unusually long lines at airport security. Again, there isn't much you can do about these problems other than cultivating patience.

While I'm not sure there actually are more climate and travel hassles than there were 20 or so years ago, we certainly are hearing a lot more about them in the media.