Rudy's Rules for Travel: Life Lessons from Around the Globe

by Mary K. Jensen

Most honeymoons, Mary knows, do not start this way. Lying outside on the sloping attic roof in Edinburgh, listening to the soft snores of her groom, she realizes that Rudy’s number one rule, “adapt," once again reigns.

Rudy’s Rules for Travel takes you across the twentieth-century globe with intrepid, frugal Rudy and his spouse Mary, a catastrophic thinker seeking comfort. Whether stalled in a Spanish car tunnel, stranded atop a runaway elephant, or held at rifle-point at a Soviet border, Rudy has a rule for every occasion―for example, “Relax, some kind stranger will appear.” Mary, meanwhile, has her deep breathing and her own commandment: “Expect the worst.”

The two are a picture of contrast. As Mary was being born, Rudy was a new American citizen flying US Air Force missions over his homeland, Germany. His father was a seaman, hers an accountant. And when this marriage of opposites goes traveling, their stories combine laugh-out-loud humor with poignant lessons from the odyssey of a World War II veteran. So start packing―you’ll want to join these two.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Adult

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2018

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable narrative about a couple with opposing viewpoints traveling the world. Her view of traveling was very much on the cautious side but Rudy's Rules and enthusiasm compelled her to go way out of her comfort zones but she's now glad they had such amazing experiences.

A good-hearted story with appealing characters will keep readers turning the pages, and perhaps finding a tear in their eyes at the end.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital reading copy.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jensen and her late husband, WWII veteran Rudy, have diametrically opposite personalities, but the combination makes for excellent travel stories. Jensen’s travel memoir highlights her husband’s list of rules he developed for travel, and over the course of their marriage and global adventures, he teaches her how to apply those rules to all things in life. The tales span from side-splittingly hilarious to utterly heartbreaking. All showcase the spectrum of the human condition and highlight Rule #11: “Relax - Some kind stranger will appear.” Throughout, readers are introduced to Rudy’s adventuresome spirit and absolute optimism. The book journeys from Scotland to Mexico, Egypt to Indonesia. The stories have the effect of teaching readers not necessarily about the places themselves, but rather how to live life to the fullest. “We don’t travel to have comfort...we can have comfort at home. And we don’t travel to meet Americans. We can meet Americans at home.” Traveling, according to Rudy, is for learning about a new culture and meeting people from that culture. To do that, you must “ride with locals, not tourists.” In Oaxaca, for example, the Jensens, eating at a tiny local taqueria, get swept up in a crowd headed to celebrate Holy Thursday in an unplanned local tradition. They would have missed the opportunity to participate in the ceremony if they had gone to the recommended tourist destinations, and indeed Jensen looked up “to see tourists in the two restaurants above us … straining to see, to understand what has happened on the streets below. I see what they had missed.” Other stories are laugh out loud funny, such as when the Jensens had to decide between one of two death-trap modes of transportation in Puerto Escondido. When in Egypt, the Jensens are faced with one of the most heartbreaking experiences of their travels, yet it also shows the generosity of people in a community when a family’s cow is killed by a car. The cow is the only thing they own and the villagers are trying to collect items from their own limited provisions to help. [118-119] Not a lot of time is spent at any given location in each section. Instead, readers are taken to many places, each vividly but briefly described. In this way, Jensen is able to provide many examples for how Rudy’s Rules apply to a variety of scenarios.

Bonus points for feminist presses!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Jensen's biography of her vacation life with her older husband, Rudy. His rules include, adapt, have a travel bucket list, prioritize that bucket list: save USA travel for last, because you know the language, you'll find flush toilets, stairs/ramps/handrails every where you go. If you're young, be more adventurous before other places become too hard). Is a country dangerous now? It might be more so in the future! Camp, meet the people, do their things, do it all cheaply! Trust that you can find kind strangers everywhere.

(Implied, but not spelled out) Work in education so that you can have 2-4 weeks to travel in the summer. Kids are never mentioned. Seems like it was just Mary and Rudy.

[Jenn Mattson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was unexpected and lovely - I loved the reminders that one should seize the moment - in this case to travel - because you never know, as well as the reminder that totally different people can still have successful relationships. I have a lot of respect for Mary’s fortitude: Rudy would have done me in many times. But he provided a lot of fabulous opportunities for her to learn and experience life. I always like to think of myself as adventurous, but I am definitely more of a nervous, cautious person, and I had a lot of sympathy for Mary as she is thrust into some very uncomfortable situations (I think the New Zealand camping trip would have killed me!), but what great adventures she was able to have!

[Priscilla]

I got about halfway through this and I realized I was not as entertained as the author assumed I would be. I just wasn't connected to the stories, I didn't think it was all that funny, and I always get nervous by the traveling method of "well, let's see what happens!" instead of doing some planning. So I stopped reading it.

[Van Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book. I am not sure I would be brave enough to follow all of Rudy’s Rules, but it was fun to read about their adventures. I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys traveling, but I think people who don’t travel should especially read it. If you don’t travel, you are missing out on life.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful tribute to the author's husband and their very adventurous travels around the world. I was moved by her description of his love of travel right up to the end of his life. Quite enjoyable. Recommended by Linda Prince

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet, adventurous book. I love travel and I love reading about new and old places and people.
Advice about prioritizing your bucket list: save Hawaii and American travel for your later years. There are elevators, handrails, banisters, easy access to food, medicine, etc.
“You May wonder about going to politically unstable places. Well, there are two ways of looking at them: one, they are dangerous now. Two, they may be more dangerous later.” ...”you’ll never be younger. And you’ll probably never be healthier. You’ve just got to grab that brass ring when it comes by.” Thanks, Rudy!

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really interesting as a world traveler to read about someone going to politically dangerous countries. All in the name of adventure!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, I was Mary but by the end I was Rudy. I just loved Rudy's free spirit. The way he embraced all of the locations that he and Mary visited with an "hakuna matata" attitude was great.

Example is when the first place that they traveled was Mexico City and Rudy thought he was speaking fluent Spanish. He asked about the location of the bathroom and had the waiters at the restaurant thinking he was inquiring about riding horses.

The rest of the book just got better and better. Rudy's way of traveling is much better. He shows that if you really want to learn the culture of the place you are visiting that you need to stray from the main stream "tourist" attractions and take a bus with the locals. So pack a bag and take a vacation per Rudy's Rules for Travel.

[Marijke Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Newly-finished book. This is a fun read. A memoir of sorts focused on the traveling exploits of one married couple whose traveling preferences could not be more different. Rudy, who travels for adventure on the cheap and with an affinity for the local thrill and his wife, Mary, who travels for comfort and pampering with an affinity for security and safe footing. In her graceful way, Mary tells how Rudy’s relentless spirit takes them around the globe, coaxing her out of her comfort zones and gradually working his own way back to some of the most difficult places from his own history. And learning that that kind of indomitable spirit never quite leaves you. Some trips bring out the humorous. And others, the poignant. In a return to the location of her husband’s WWII air station in England, where almost all of his fellow airmen took off on a mission they never returned from, she observes:

In other places we go sightseeing together; here Rudy goes soul-searching alone. p 161 (Tibenham England airfield)

But even after they are long past careening around the globe in crowded buses, rickshaws and elderly planes and have learned to travel in the relative safety of the American continent, she is still learning to understand her husband’s life philosophy - one he wanted her to own at least a part of before he left:

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely, in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “WOW, what a ride!” p. 190

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not often do I give a book 4 stars. And even now, just finishing this book (that I started last night and read off and on through the day - it's a very quick read) I'm thinking how much I enjoyed this tender love story.

Mrs. Jensen writes in a way that brings you right into the narrative. Her sense of humor, her ability to just "go-with-the-flow" in spite of trepidation, her willingness to experience things that make her husband happy - all of this makes for an engrossing story that made me laugh out loud, and then in time, blink back the tears.

What an astonishing and amazing marriage they had, filled with astonishing and amazing experiences. They both came across as decent and kind people who gathered friends wherever they were.

I loved that the book was clean. I loved her portrayal of two very real people. And I would love to learn more about the two of them. This is one book I highly recommend.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title says, each story is about another travel experience made unique and memorable by following Rudy's Rules for Travel. Mary talks about having to step way out of her comfort zone on many occasions and how their experiences are far more than the average tourist. She explains the lasting effects of war on an individual, their relationships, and their future with kindness and love. And she proves that her time with Rudy made her braver than she ever thought she could be.

I loved this book! I wish I could be more like them, daring, courageous, willing to step outside the traditional form of travel. I'm a bit jealous they got to experience so much of the Real world, most of which I will probably never see. And I was touched by the compassion, love, and understanding she feels for her husband as they revisit his war time experiences. I would recommend this book to anyone with a little bit of wanderlust floating through their veins. And even those without it.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much more then I counted on when requesting it from Netgalley. I figured it would be a armchair travel guide. Instead I got a beautiful love story, both int he physical kind and well as a love for the beauty of our world. This was really a fun book to read as you get first hand accounts of the life and travel of Rudy and Mary. Rudy and Mary are complete opposites who are totally in love. When the book starts out we go along with the couple on their honeymoon and travel with them throughout their lives together. We get travel all over the world and their first hand accounts on the places they visits. Mary is more reserved and Rudy brings her out of her comfort zone at every stop of their travels.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com and chose to leave this review.

[Lindsay Bragg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it when non-fiction is so colorful it reads like fiction and that's exactly what this does. Mary shares the highlight reel of a lifetime of travel--all of the adventures and missteps. It's inspiring and also panic-inducing. I have so much left to do. I've been traveling all wrong. CAN one even travel like this anymore? Did I miss my opportunity?

Told in short vignettes, it never gets boring. Definitely wander-lust inducing.

The end was a bit weird. It felt both sad and supernatural. I don't know how to tell the story differently, but it was off-putting to me to have a fun story end so sadly and seemingly abruptly. I suppose that's life, but it's not what I seek out in my reading adventures.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Rudy's Rules for Travel for my library summer book bingo. I anticipated it would go in the "about travel" square, but it ended up in the "made you cry or laugh out loud" square because it did both. This is a really sweet book about travel, marriage and loss. I loved how Rudy constantly stretched Mary's comfort zone, and I fell in love with his irrepressible spirit, just as everyone who came across him seemed to do. Mary captures him with so much affection, but she is just as important a character because if she were not such a monumentally good sport, very little in the book would have come to pass. Delightful armchair travel reading while planning your next adventure.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

This piece of non-fiction leaves much to be desired. It doesn't really get into the bulk of anything seemingly "real" until the last 40 or so pages. By that time, I was far too bored with the book to care that much about the wear and tear of real life and dying. The problem is that the chapters are too short, and there is far, far too much telling rather than showing. These countries are unique, but we get the bare minimum when it came to description or even stories of their travels. Every time a chapter would begin to get exciting, it would cut off and go to the next country.

The novel started in the wrong place, Mexico was a boring chapter to begin this novel.

[Denise Chojnacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes you on a journey around the world with two people who are complete opposites when it comes to travel. One completely free spirit and another who likes things controlled. The chapters were concise and gave you a good flavor for the area and the reasons for the visit without overwhelming with a ton of detail. It was sprinkled with humor throughout and told from the "controlled" voice. The ending was not what I expected but some of the experiences she had were really cool and a wonderful connection with a reminder to relax and enjoy the ride.

[Geri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read, especially because we love to travel. i enjoyed her writing style.
, and she kept me engaged. However, there were many times where I felt like I was left hanging at the end of a chapter. I would love to have had her delve a little more into the hows and whys and the repercussions of the experience. Especially when they revisit places that had highly impacted their lives in the past. Kind of want to give it 4- for that reason. I was left feeling like there was so much more to the story that needed to be told.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this travel memoir of Mary and Rudy Jensen. Rudy lived life to the fullest and loved to travel. He had certain rules, like use public transport and eat away from the tourist spots. I love that he would research and study the history of places and then would make friends with anyone, even trying to speak the language. Mary likes a plan, so the two had wonderful adventures all over the world.
This was a nice book and it made me smile. I would give this a pg rating with nothing objectionable.

[Ives Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised to say that, overall, I still loved it.

I say that because though I'm not big on memoirs, and this particular one wasn't all that spectacular and had a hard time keeping my attention, it did feed my wanderlust, and it did have its touching and humorous moments; it moved me so much that I had to copy down the rules bestowed upon the readers by the wonderful writer, so I may print it out and carry it with me for when I travel soon.

[Annajune · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a from memoir of travel stories. That's all it is. No biography stuff, just tales from travel in an era mostly before cell phones and trip advisor. Told from Mary's (Rudy's wife) point of view. They traveled all over the world and had some cool experiences. The general rules are no tour groups, no resort hotels. You want to see the country as the people who live there do. Travel with them and eat with them. It was a very fun read!

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband often tells me that my love language is travel, he is probably right. I love just about everything about traveling even reading stories about others travels. This memoir was right up my alley. I enjoyed reading the stories of years of the Jensen's travels. The stories of adventure, finding family, and even just exploring something new were heartwarming and made me wish I had a chance to vacation with Rudy.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading about travel to foreign lands before the fall of the Berlin Wall helps one to realize how different travel in Europe is now. Rudy wanted to see everything and do more. he believed that if travel to a foreign country was considered dangerous by some, it was better to go now because it just might be worse in the future. Some of the rules make lots of sense, like keep packing light and don't buy extra large souvenirs. This book was an enjoyable read for anyone who likes to travel.

[Shelley Gingrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary and her husband Rudy are far apart in age and in travel desires. Mary longs for lovely hotels but Rudy has other ideas. His Rules for Travel will make you wonder, make you rethink your own idea of the perfect trip, but most of all, his Rules lead to escapades that will make you laugh.
I am glad the author shared her adventures with us. My ideal travel lies somewhere between Rudy's and Mary's.

[Jerry Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adapt is a great first rule to travel. I found that I have similar travel rules to Rudy and Tracy similar to Mary. Maybe that’s why we have had a great travel life already and hope to continue enjoying travel together. We found cruising earlier than Rudy and Mary. I love being able to sample countries without having to unpack and pack as often. Amazing adventures they took into Soviet Bloc countries. Great read.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, fast read. It was funny to read their different travel styles and Rudy’s way of travel was hard for me! I couldn’t do it, even though I do agree with some of his “rules” and think really seeing a place is hard to do if you don’t really get into the culture and meet locals and do things beyond cruise ships and excursions. The most poetic part was near the end, as they age and how travel changes with age. Getting old is hard!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes me want to travel more (which I want to do anyway). I do want someone who can teach me all the ins and outs of wherever it is that I am though. This book had funny moments, moments that made you cringe, and moments that made you want to cry. I wish I had more of the storylines of some of the people they traveled with. I bet they would make a good book too.

[Jenna Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I LOVED this book! The travel details were so much fun, and I couldn't get enough of the subtle humor present at times. The relationship between Rudy and Mary is so incredibly sweet. I often read a book and immediately want to visit the location described. This book gave me a dozen places to add to my travel bucket list, and some very wise rules to go along!

[Dena Moes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet, engaging travel memoir takes your around the world with wild, adventurous Rudy and his wife Mary. Her writing is a love letter to him and to the world he showed her over their decades long marriage. Harkens back to earlier times, pre-cell phone and GPS, when traveling meant wandering into the unknown, and using the resources of kind strangers that come along.