I planned a last minute transatlantic cruise from New York to Southampton, England and was super happy to pack my new Waldlaufer Nora sandals in Bronze because the color is a great neutral (surprisingly) to pair well with so many outfits and an easy shoe to pack.

As I’ve posted before, I’m now a super fan of Waldlaufer, a German shoe brand, because of the comfort and style as well as the fact that they have a great selection of size 11 (EU 42) shoes available in the US.  If you are in Europe, they are easier to find. In the US, you can look for a specialty shoe boutique like Benjamin Lovell Shoes in Philadelphia or go online at the Waldlaufer site to ship directly to you for your next trip.

The Waldlaufer spring/summer collection had a good amount of new and tempting shoes to pick from (yes, in size 11) but I was traveling and needed a very flexible shoe to deal with this particular trip.  I chose the Nora Ginger Bronze due to the excellent sole for walking, Velcro straps for flexibility and cute buckle feature. When they arrived at my house, they were nicer than the online photos so I was quite happy.  The fit was good and the straps adjustable for whatever size your feet might be today. The wedge heel is just enough to go above my normal flat and make them a good day to night shoe. Walking on the cruise ship carpets is easy but walking around Bruges with cobblestones and all day in London is another story.  The sole of the shoe was great to handle the uneven surfaces and provide a comfortable walking experience.

Now particular to me as I get older and in the range of TMI – I don’t use salt normally so when traveling, especially on cruise ships, my feet tend to swell to Fred Flintstone proportions (I met others dealing with the same) due to the salty foods so having the flexibility to adjust both the upper strap for width and back strap around my ankle was so important. High temperatures will also affect me (aging isn’t fun). I’ve been on prior trips where I ended up in the emergency room with swollen feet and puffy ankles afraid as my feet barely fit in my shoes and hurt to walk. An expensive ER bill cleared me to fly and the doctor told me it was probably a combination of all the foods I don’t normally eat – salt, gluten and wine.  Each can retain water and cause puffy ankles in some people (no need to see the yucky photos of my puffy feet, so enjoy the view of Bruges instead).

A girl can only walk so far in flip flops which obviously provides space but not much support.  Other sandals with ankle straps tend to not only leave marks but hurt. Sneakers are tough in my experience even with compression socks. So having both the space for my feet and the support and comfort were wonderful with the Waldlaufer Nora Ginger sandal (my swollen feet were happy). To understand how wide the top Velcro can go – it can be as wide as European “G” which is quite generous.  And for those with narrow feet, this sandal can work for you too.  Did I mention it was the perfect travel sandal?  For me, it really was on this trip as I wore them more than the other shoes I made space for in my suitcase.  Now I know I can ditch those other shoes as this is a versatile travel shoe for summer travel.

With respect to what clothes to wear – I wore jeans, dress pants and a dress and each time the shoes matched well and were very comfortable for walking, stairs and even dancing. The bronze color is nice alternative to black sandals and the buckle was a distinctive feature that makes the sandal cute and sandals really should be cute in my opinion.  You have a new travel ready pedicure so why not showcase your toes in the cute sandals.  The Waldlaufer Nora sandal is available in black too but the summer is about color so go for the Nora sandal in bronze!

Thank you Waldlaufer for providing me the Nora sandal to wear on my cruise vacation.  All opinions are mine – my feet are happy so I’m happy with these shoes.  If my feet weren’t happy, I’d tell you.