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<p>Coureur, I meant American style plugs as in INSTALLED in the walls. That is why I recommended one plug and a multiple plug extension. </p>
<p>As far as guests leaving them behind for other travelers, I just experienced the opposite. The hotel staff complained that Americans developed the nasty habit of taking them, and that a policy of asking for a 10 euros deposit did not make a difference. They were happy to point me to the hardware stored where I bought one for 4 or 5 euros.</p>
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<p>I do not have a technical explanation, but I can confirm it happened to me as well. The solution was identical for all devices (Motorola RAZR, Ipad, Iphone) and pretty simple. Not sure what caused the problem in the first place, but it was universal. </p>
<p>All I had to do was full resets and the devices started charging again.</p>
<p>What is a “full reset”? Is that taking out the battery and putting it back in again?</p>
<p>I was just researching European flat irons and discovered that Switzerland has its own standard. No problem with getting a plug adaptor, but can anyone confirm that no converter is needed in Switzerland? (It’s 230 volts, so would seem okay.)</p>
<p>^^I went to Switzerland last year, and the only unique or extra conversion I can recall was for the currency, not the electricity.</p>
<p>Switzerland, no converter. Like everywhere else. You just need a wide variety of adaptors. 3 prong, two prong, Swiss prong etc.</p>
<p>As an aside, my dad broke the toilet first time he visited. Didn’t know how to operate. He broke my window blinds as well. What we take for granted doesn’t transfer across borders. Be prepared is my motto as well and take care.</p>
<p>I don’t know why, but flat irons do not travel well from the US abroad. When my daughter studied abroad she purchased a flat iron at a local store to use while there. It has finally worn out and she plans to buy a new one for the UK as she travels there every month for work. Everything else works fine while traveling, but not the flat iron.</p>
<p>My niece is a hair dresser and when they travel for events, they never take their US flat irons. Even with the converter and transformer, flat irons seem to blow out in Europe. I have spoken to more women that have destroyed their expensive US flat irons in Europe!</p>
<p>^And evidently in Asia, too. Mine was a dual voltage but just to be safe I used a convertor and it still broke. What it started doing was the heat would cycle on and off over and over again, so that it never really got hot enough to use ever again.</p>
<p>H says it could be due to the so called line frequency, 60 hz in the US vs 50 hz used in Europe. Usually it does not matter, but for certain ectronic devices it could be important:</p>
<p>[Utility</a> frequency](<a href=“http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_frequency]Utility”>Utility frequency - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Hubby just gave me a long lecture on why it might matter for a newer flat iron, complete with diagrams, but I am not going to even try to type it here. :)</p>
<p>missypie, no worries - you iPhone charger will be fine.</p>
<p>Went and checked my iron: 120 V, 60 Hz. Not 50/60 Hz. A-ha!</p>
<p>While I was fussing with the iron, hubby did some googling and says that this is a prertty accurate description of power issues in Europe:</p>
<p>[Electricity</a> in Europe: Travel Voltage Fundamentals.](<a href=“Error 404. Enjoy-Europe.com.”>Electric Differences in Europe. 220 volts and 50 Hz.)</p>
<p>Please read it. The author has some very good points about converters.</p>
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Just assume anything with a heating element or motor isn’t going to work in Europe without a voltage converter (as opposed to the plug adapter) and even then it’s a possibility it might not because of the frequency if it’s an AC motor. If one brings a converter for something like a hair dryer or iron one needs to make sure the power output (watts) of the converter is adequate for the item. Heating elements use a lot of power and draw a lot of current so you need to be careful on this point. You’re better off leaving things like hair dryers, irons, electric toothbrushes, etc. at home unless it specifically states it’ll work at the higher voltage and at 50hz. </p>
<p>Things with plugin adapters, which actually convert AC to DC, that state they can handle the voltage are usually okay. The device itself, i.e. the laptop, cell phone, camera battery charger, etc. actually operates off of DC rather than AC - that’s why the adapter is changing the AC to DC.</p>
<p>A number of European hotels solve the hair dryer issue by having one in the bathroom already that can be used and some other hotels actually have a 110vac outlet in the bathroom marked for use by hair dryers from the USA but I’d still leave it home. If a hair dryer’s a must you can always ask the hotel desk if they have one you can borrow.</p>
<p>More important - are you going to Switzerland? Sounds like fun - I like Switzerland.</p>
<p>A few trips to Europe ago, we actually bought a flat iron and hair dryer. But the flat iron is a cheap one that works fine with my short, fine hair, but not so well with the girls’ thick, long, curly hair. I was going to invest in a better one until I read that it still wouldn’t work in Switzerland. And now I don’t know whether the flat iron that I bought in Spain will even work in Switzerland.</p>
<p>If you look at the instructions for US flat irons, they specifically say not to use outside of the US. </p>
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<p>LOL.</p>
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<p>For the cell phone, it was indeed removing the battery. For the apple products, it was pressing the Apple toggle button at the same time as powering up the device. </p>
<p>PS Also, regarding my suggestion to carry a single adaptor plus a strip power, remember that is only for items that come with universal chargers. As other have said, this will not work for items that directly plug in the power outlet with an AC/DC converter. </p>
<p>In our last trip in Europe, my parents bought a flat iron and a clothes steamer at a local store. The latter must have been the most used device during the trip!</p>
<p>At a lot of hotels in Europe, power to the room is cut off when you are not in the room. You have to put your room key in a special slot near the door for the lights to work at all, and they all turn off shortly after you remove the key.</p>
<p>It can be really annoying when trying to charge your phone/laptop while down at breakfast.</p>
<p>Just returned from Italy, and we charged our iPhone 4 plus Blackberry using only an adapter. No need for a converter. </p>
<p>As for flatirons, Croc makes a full-size one that can be used in Europe with a converter. I have a Croc mini travel iron that works on 110/220 and requires only an adapter, which I have been happy with but it may not work well on very curly hair.</p>