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Berlin is a minimum of 2 full days, I'd say, but you can easily fill a week or even multiple weeks. A basic tour of Prague can be done in a day, and you wouldn't miss all that much, but again, you'd probably want to spend longer. I'd imagine after 3 days or so you'd exhaust touristy stuff to do (it's still a great party city though) Budapest is somewhat similar to Prague - possible in a day, best to give it a couple days. On the night before your last day, get far too drunk and spend your last day in the baths recovering, it was probably one of the most relaxing days we had.
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Dec 4, 2010 03:31
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duckmaster posted:I don't see anything particularly dodgy about https://www.livein-jobs.co.uk. It looks like they'll find you a job and the employer will pay them a commission (or give them a flat fee), without you forking out any cash - exactly the way it should be. I must admit the content of the https://www.livein-jobs.co.uk website doesn't seem dodgey, guess it's just the low frills presentation. And yeah I'm totally with you on the fact I'd have to be prepared to be a pain in their rear end about getting a job rather than sitting and waiting for the phone call. The site to it's credit does encourage a call to them a day because they are always updating their job lists. As to what I said about the rough idea I had about it seems realistic that I would have to expect to spend maybe up to the first month in the UK in a hostel (even whilst working), do you think that's reasonable? Guess I'm just trying to get a rough feel of what the best step by step plan would be. I did find a link to http://www.reed.co.uk/ which seems much more promising as far as office jobs go and the pay is a lot better than anything you'd get with the live-in pub jobs. And Gumtree seems to have some ridiculously cheap rooms to share (as in 40-60pounds a week) but as the majority want current working references that would lead me to believe job has to come before flat/room which brings me back to the it would seem logical to be the norm for people to have to be living out of a hostel for awhile whilst working first.
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Dec 4, 2010 10:01
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Cometa Rossa posted:This thread has helped a lot in planning my trip. The only thing I'm missing is a rough recommendation of how long each city is worth. The major ones will be Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Split and Zadar - how much should I give each one in an essentially unlimited schedule? Edit: otherwise here's what I would budget for a normal trip and taking into account travel time: Berlin: 1 week Prague: 4 days Budapest: 4 days Belgrade: 5 days Sarajevo: 4 days Split: 2 days Zadar: go to Dubrovnik instead for 2 days schoenfelder fucked around with this message at 10:49 on Dec 4, 2010 |
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Dec 4, 2010 10:46
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schoenfelder posted:Berlin: 1 week Yeah, something like that, unless you plan the trip in summer in which case Split and Zadar/Dubrovnik deserve more time.
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Dec 4, 2010 14:45
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thepokey posted:I must admit the content of the https://www.livein-jobs.co.uk website doesn't seem dodgey, guess it's just the low frills presentation. And yeah I'm totally with you on the fact I'd have to be prepared to be a pain in their rear end about getting a job rather than sitting and waiting for the phone call. The site to it's credit does encourage a call to them a day because they are always updating their job lists. Yes a month in hostels sounds reasonable. It is difficult though, since you'll probably only be able to afford to stay in a dorm, so there will be people coming and going all the time.. nightmare if you're working shifts. But when you move into your own room the saving you'll make in rent costs is almost like a payrise  Don't be too put off by work references. This is a slightly more modern way of saying "No DSS". The DSS, or the Department of Social Security, was the agency which administered benefits for the unemployed etc, so if you were in receipt of said benefits you were said to be "on DSS" (or a variant of that). The main problem landlords had with people on DSS was that the DSS paid a portion of the persons rent to the landlord, and since it was a government agency the payments were usually weeks/months behind. Some landlords hate this; although some landlords love it because it means the rent payments are absolutely guaranteed, even if they're always late. You might also see "No JSA" (Job Seekers Allowance) which means the same thing. Oh, and some of them say they want work references because they don't want Indian students, of which there are gazillions in London. Indian students are sterotypically thought to smell of curry and will completely rape the bandwidth allowance. I've lived with a couple of Indian students and they actually smelled quite nice, although they did completely rape the bandwidth allowance. As an immigrant you're a slight step above this, mainly because you can pay cash and you can put up a deposit. And you don't smell of curry. Just don't tell them you're Irish.
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Dec 4, 2010 17:33
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schoenfelder posted:"How long each city is worth" is tough to judge. Maybe you want to know how long it takes to see everything of importance and get a good idea of a city? Otherwise, Berlin is well worth one year, so is Belgrade imho, Sarajevo more like six months... see where this is going? But then again, with an unlimited schedule, maybe that's what you want to do... Yeah, just getting the main idea of it down from a visitor's perspective, I guess, and if we decide we want to experience a place in the way you say, we can. But that sounds great, thanks a lot for the advice.
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Dec 4, 2010 20:13
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OK, I've decided I'm going to Paris in January with some friends. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which arrondissement we'd want to stay in/avoid? Edit: I'm thinking this one because the reviews are decent and it's one of the cheapest (22€) but that all depends on how accessible the place is. Ziir fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Dec 4, 2010 |
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Dec 4, 2010 22:27
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Ziir posted:OK, I've decided I'm going to Paris in January with some friends. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which arrondissement we'd want to stay in/avoid? Well any of the ones that border the 1st will be in the best location. But you are likely to pay a bit more for that. Once you get out to the 17th, 18th and 19th I find that its getting a bit too far out for my liking (I like to be able to walk back to my room at the end of the day usually). I wouldnt go out any further than you are. We were looking at that one as well but ended up getting an apartment type place down near the bastille on the river for about 30 euros a night each. As for the places to avoid. Pigalle is the red light district between the 9th and 18th. Its probably where you'll find the more seedier things but then again some people like that nightlife and the interesting things about it. Its not a no-go area or anything as things like the Moulin Rouge are there. Does anyone want to confirm that I'm right in assuming all the really ghetto poor areas are in the suburbs of Paris and theres really nowhere you'd consider a no-go zone? Fists Up fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Dec 5, 2010 |
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Dec 5, 2010 01:17
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Ziir posted:OK, I've decided I'm going to Paris in January with some friends. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which arrondissement we'd want to stay in/avoid? Rent an apartment from somewhere like http://www.vrbo.com/. It's so much nicer than a hostel and if you have 4-5 of you, it won't really be any more expensive when you break it down, especially in low season (January). I pretty much always do this when I go on vacation with several people. e.g. http://www.vrbo.com/19978 is €700/week for 3 people, which breaks down into €33pp/day, and it's right next to Notre Dame. It's nicer than even a fancy hotel, and at 1/6th the price. Saladman fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Dec 5, 2010 |
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Dec 5, 2010 09:08
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Limastock posted:As for the 24th-26th, we will be in amsterdam during that period and i assume that is considered a big enough city to spend christmas in? Quoting from about a week ago, but it might be worth mentioning that Christmas in several European countries, including the Netherlands, lasts two days, and so many things will be closed on both the 25th and the 26th. Keep this in mind when planning anything
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Dec 5, 2010 20:44
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Someone want to tell me why the raileurope website is a load of crap and won't let me see anything for travelling in spain? We have a 6 day railpass. I know that to get to Madrid to Granada is possible as its stated on the Renfe website. I want to see if we can do Madrid > Cordoba > Granada as that might be quicker. However whenever I try to look up anything on the raileurope website it gives me poo poo quote:Schedules were not found. For longer journeys (more than 2 connections) it is sometimes necessary to break it down. Please check our interactive map to assist you. If you have checked your travel dates and tried dividing your itinerary no reservations may be available for that route or trains may be sold out. I've tried it for numerous places including madrid>barcelona and a whole heap of others. I really doubt that every single trip around spain has been booked out. What the hell is going on? Do I even need to book through this crap or can I go through a different site and state I have a pass? Its working for bookings in france which is odd.
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Dec 6, 2010 02:05
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Fists Up posted:Someone want to tell me why the raileurope website is a load of crap and won't let me see anything for travelling in spain? Eurail isn't worth it in Spain anyways. It is cheaper to just buy tickets at the station. Spain's rail site sucks worse than their economy. You probably don't need to make reservations anyways. Just do it at the station if it is required. [Edit] Search here http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml Omits-Bagels fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Dec 6, 2010 |
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Dec 6, 2010 05:13
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Alright so for New Year's me and about 15 other people will be in Berlin. Any recommendations for places to go? Also, I heard that you need to purchase tickets for some of the parties? Is this true?
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Dec 8, 2010 15:10
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Grenyarnia posted:Alright so for New Year's me and about 15 other people will be in Berlin. Any recommendations for places to go? Also, I heard that you need to purchase tickets for some of the parties? Is this true? Have you ever gone out to a bar or club on New Years? You usually need a ticket, or at least to pay a hefty cover. Sometimes these tickets include free drinks or what have you, too. I've never been in Berlin for New Years, but I suspect it's the same as just about anywhere.
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Dec 8, 2010 23:57
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Have you ever gone out to a bar or club on New Years? You usually need a ticket, or at least to pay a hefty cover. Sometimes these tickets include free drinks or what have you, too. I've never been in Berlin for New Years, but I suspect it's the same as just about anywhere. No this will be my first new years since I turned 21. I had no idea that was the norm though.
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Dec 9, 2010 02:47
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Alright, so we're just about ready to book flights for our 10 week European adventure, or so I thought. While looking for information on visas I found this: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/turkey I wouldn't be concerned if this weren't a government website, but the advice to exercise 'extreme' caution (more than any of our other destinations), the U.S issued warning about possible threats and the lovely list of recent attacks has been, well, a bit of a downer. Should I be legitimately concerned? We'd planned to come home via Istanbul after worming our way up western Turkey.
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Dec 9, 2010 10:00
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several wet dogs posted:I wouldn't be concerned if this weren't a government website, but the advice to exercise 'extreme' caution (more than any of our other destinations), the U.S issued warning about possible threats and the lovely list of recent attacks has been, well, a bit of a downer. Should I be legitimately concerned? We'd planned to come home via Istanbul after worming our way up western Turkey. I live in Bulgaria (though on the Macedonian side) and there really hasn't been much hysteria or anything about attacks in Turkey. Two of my colleagues went to Istanbul last week and had no problems, and others were there during the attack in Taksim Square. If you're going to be sticking to western Turkey (I assume Ankara and east to Istanbul in Anatolia, or do you mean Thracian Turkey in Europe?), then you should be fine.
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Dec 9, 2010 10:37
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:I live in Bulgaria (though on the Macedonian side) and there really hasn't been much hysteria or anything about attacks in Turkey. Two of my colleagues went to Istanbul last week and had no problems, and others were there during the attack in Taksim Square. If you're going to be sticking to western Turkey (I assume Ankara and east to Istanbul in Anatolia, or do you mean Thracian Turkey in Europe?), then you should be fine. We should be taking a ferry from the Greek Islands (haven't decided which one yet) to the Aegan or Mediterranean regions, and will work our way up from there, with possible detours to Pamukalle and Cappadocia (as far east as I'm comfortable going).
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Dec 9, 2010 11:02
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Grenyarnia posted:No this will be my first new years since I turned 21. I had no idea that was the norm though. New Years is a big money spinner for clubs and stuff so they will always charge for that one night because they can often be assured of a large turnout. This is for most cities. Personally I don't really like being in a club during NYE countdown (rather I go after). I think in Berlin the main fireworks and stuff are around the Brandenburg Gate? Might be cool to go there with the crowds. several wet dogs posted:That's good to hear, thank you. The general consensus seems to be "you'll be fine", but that website really caught me by surprise. I wasn't concerned at all before I found it! Turkey is fine. Those sites are generally over cautious. Hell the Australian one says to be very cautious in the USA. Risk of terror attacks etc but you wouldnt really say its a problem no? I think Spain, India, UAE, Turkey all have the same ratings so take that as you will. I wouldn't consider those places to be off the list (unless you are going to the areas which border Iraq etc.)
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Dec 9, 2010 11:38
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Sometimes governments issue travel warnings for political reasons, the same way they impose import tariffs. It's a good idea to check multiple sources instead of trusting a single government.
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Dec 9, 2010 14:59
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Fists Up posted:New Years is a big money spinner for clubs and stuff so they will always charge for that one night because they can often be assured of a large turnout. This is for most cities. Personally I don't really like being in a club during NYE countdown (rather I go after). I think in Berlin the main fireworks and stuff are around the Brandenburg Gate? Might be cool to go there with the crowds. Wow, I looked it up and they have a giant outdoor party there with like a million+ people. Sounds like a blast.
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Dec 9, 2010 15:07
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futurebot 2000 posted:Sometimes governments issue travel warnings for political reasons, the same way they impose import tariffs. It's a good idea to check multiple sources instead of trusting a single government. Less political and more liability reasons. Governments can be sued. several wet dogs posted:That's good to hear, thank you. The general consensus seems to be "you'll be fine", but that website really caught me by surprise. I wasn't concerned at all before I found it! Sounds good. You'll just miss Macedonia and Bulgaria, but there isn't much to see here anyways. Unless you'd be nearby on Valentine's Day and like wine, that is.
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Dec 9, 2010 17:44
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I'm going to amsterdam for two weeks from the 30th of December and I had a few questions. 1. Is using a credit card for purchases the best option? I've been looking for credit cards with no foreign transaction fees and I keep coming back to Capital one but I'm not sure if my credit is good enough. Anyone know of a better card? 2. Hostels are really expensive (100+euros/night) from the 31st of december to the 3rd or 4th of January. So my plan now is to rent an apartment with friends. Does anyone know of any good apartment renting sites?
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Dec 12, 2010 23:31
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Renting an apartment for a few days in Amsterdam will be ridiculously expensive. Have you looked at the neighbouring cities (Haarlem, Leiden, or Zaandam, for example) to see whether they have some remaining spots. Sure, they're about half an hour away by train, but at least you'll have a place to stay...
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Dec 13, 2010 00:37
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tyang209 posted:I'm going to amsterdam for two weeks from the 30th of December and I had a few questions. I think Cap One has the best credit card for international use. Although, you're only going to be in Europe for like a week so the amount of foreign transactions fees you rack up is going to be small (like $5).
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Dec 13, 2010 01:07
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tyang209 posted:1. Is using a credit card for purchases the best option? If you do use a credit card without a PIN (signature only) expect the Dutch to be confused, unless it's a place that deals with a lot of Americans. I didn't have my card rejected, but a couple clerks wanted to verify my signature or see my ID. So be sure to sign the back! And you need a PIN (or lots of coins) to use the kiosks at Dutch train stations. Finally, be sure to call your bank to let them know you'll be traveling and reduce the chance of them locking your account. Having multiple cards helps in this case as well.
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Dec 13, 2010 01:22
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Oh sorry I didn't clarify. I'm actually staying for about two weeks till January 12th. It's just that hostels are ridiculous for the days around New Years so I figure we might as well get an apartment which costs around 25-35 euros a night per person in amsterdam from checking websites like vrbo , crashpadder, and airbnb.
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Dec 13, 2010 01:22
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tyang209 posted:Oh sorry I didn't clarify. I'm actually staying for about two weeks till January 12th. It's just that hostels are ridiculous for the days around New Years so I figure we might as well get an apartment which costs around 25-35 euros a night per person in amsterdam from checking websites like vrbo , crashpadder, and airbnb. It looks like you've checked out the most popular apartment rental sites. I would start contacting the people now because I'm sure apartment are going quickly. I did a post about apartment rentals in Europe on my website: http://thesavvybackpacker.com/678/guide-to-short-term-apartment-rental-europe-great-way-live-like-local/ But yeah, with a few people an apartment rental is a great idea.
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Dec 13, 2010 01:49
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Just read through this whole thread for future planning and I just wanted to say thanks. I also wanted to say, its hilarious that everyone is getting robbed in Barcelona because I had friends who went all over Spain and that was the one place where everyone said they got hassled the most. In fact, a few friends if I recall the story correctly were staying in a hotel that was on the first floor. Which is to say the room was something like 8-12 feet off the ground level but they left a window ajar. They left for a few hours and when they returned, someone had somehow climbed up the wall (8-12 feet) and got in their room and basically stolen all their stuff. Fun times in Barcelona! Also a side question. I've had friends who have traveled all over the Europe but they were all white. The one asian guy I know when he was in Paris noticed a lot more people talking poo poo to him in French, although he simply chocked that up to the "stereotype" of rudeness, which is in fact kind of a fallacy since there are assholes in every city/country in the world. I don't think they realized he knew French quite well. What I'm asking is as an Asian person myself, is there any countries I guess I should be more 'wary' of? Obviously any major city in Europe is going to be your typical major progressive city and what not, but I was also considering doing a big lap through eastern europe and was just wondering if anyone had any experience with any sort of weird race issues? I myself am not concerned in the slightest but any sort of additional information on such stuff would be nice to know.
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Dec 13, 2010 09:07
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soggybagel posted:Also a side question. I've had friends who have traveled all over the Europe but they were all white. The one asian guy I know when he was in Paris noticed a lot more people talking poo poo to him in French, although he simply chocked that up to the "stereotype" of rudeness, which is in fact kind of a fallacy since there are assholes in every city/country in the world. I don't think they realized he knew French quite well. What I'm asking is as an Asian person myself, is there any countries I guess I should be more 'wary' of? In cosmopolitan Western Europe, there will be tons of Asian immigrants and seeing both Asian-American and native Asian tourists is pretty much the norm. In more remote areas like the Balkans you might get some weird looks and they'll immediately place you as a foreigner (though there are Chinese communities in the former Yugoslavia that have existed for 50 years and some recent immigrants, they're exceptions), but you really shouldn't have any problems beyond that. The only place I've heard of that is notoriously hostile to Asians is Russia, but they're notoriously hostile to just about anyone. Just be prepared to be considered Chinese in Europe, no matter how American your accent, passport, upbringing, and so on. 'American' is a nationality reserved for white Americans, black Americans are 'black' and Asian Americans are 'Chinese.' At least that's been my experience. To summarize, you probably won't have any problems at all. HeroOfTheRevolution fucked around with this message at 10:09 on Dec 13, 2010 |
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Dec 13, 2010 10:06
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soggybagel posted:Just read through this whole thread for future planning and I just wanted to say thanks. I also wanted to say, its hilarious that everyone is getting robbed in Barcelona because I had friends who went all over Spain and that was the one place where everyone said they got hassled the most. Russia is quite a racist place towards black people. Not sure about asian people. EDIT: That came out weird. Russians CAN be racist towards black people. So hopefully a person wouldn't experience it but they should be ready to expect it. Fists Up fucked around with this message at 13:04 on Dec 13, 2010 |
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Dec 13, 2010 12:58
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Yeah I figured as much. I'm not worried at all about it, just was wondering. And yeah Russia is pretty hilariously racist.
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Dec 13, 2010 18:58
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My 12th grade class went to Malta for a week from Smalltown!Germany and most of them got robbed blind. Did you know that you can't just leave a backpack with your wallet and passport on the beach while you go swimming? I asked them just what they were thinking, and they replied that "well, other people were around, I thought they'd watch it for me." I was so close to going "yeah, watch themselves/others walk off with it." I've heard a lot about Barcelona and other countries in the Mediterranean, but have had no problems myself. Seriously, I think common sense and a certain bearing go a long way. Don't leave your poo poo around, don't leave windows open, hide valuables, lock doors, be aware of your surroundings.
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Dec 13, 2010 19:32
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The window thing was a freak incident. The people who got in via window were either Jackie Chan doing some amazing acrobatics or they just brought a ladder. Either way, funny in retrospect, very loving annoying at the time!
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Dec 13, 2010 20:03
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So as of now I'm living in England studying for a year, right now it's our Winter break and I want to use these four weeks to travel. I was thinking about starting out small, within the U.K. and then branching out to Europe. However, the problem is that if I travel, it will be alone. My course of action was going to be: Edinburgh - 2 Days Dublin - 2 Days London - 2 Days Paris - 4 Days Munich - 4 Days Prague - 4 Days. I was thinking about going through http://www.neweuropetours.eu/ and basically following them as far as accommodation recommendations go as well as tours, basically sticking to the beaten path really. Also, I understand that I'm not spending much time in the U.K. compared to the other cities, that's mainly because I can take a weekend trip to any of those cities really. Anyways, I guess the question is, is traveling alone dangerous within these countries? I figure Prague would be the sketchiest one, which is a real shame because that and Munich are the two cities I want to visit the most. As far as getting around goes I have it fairly figured out, I'll take the train/bus/ferry around the U.K. then the Eurostar over to Paris and use a Eurail pass to get around France, Germany, Czech Republic.
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Dec 13, 2010 20:13
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Prague is basically tourist Disneyland. None of those cities are remotely dangerous to a person traveling alone unless you're a frail 16 year old shut in who has never left a gated community.
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Dec 13, 2010 20:27
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If you can make them weekend trips anyway, you might just want to cut out Dublin. It can be a pain to get to, and your time would probably better be spent with extra time in London or in somewhere else in central europe. New Europe is excellent, and you should go on their free tour the first day that you're in a city. It comes out cheap too, 5 euros seems to be the standard rate to tip the operator (make sure you do tip them or else they actually lose money on a tour - they have to pay a euro or two per head). I would imagine all of the hostel "recommendations" on their flyers are just paid ads - hostelworld is a much better resource.
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Dec 13, 2010 23:02
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Allia posted:My 12th grade class went to Malta for a week from Smalltown!Germany and most of them got robbed blind. Did you know that you can't just leave a backpack with your wallet and passport on the beach while you go swimming? Ive always wondered. What do you do with your stuff then? Do they have lockers at the beach? Pretty much always leave my poo poo lying around in Sydney. No problems 
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Dec 14, 2010 01:25
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Xanderg posted:So as of now I'm living in England studying for a year, right now it's our Winter break and I want to use these four weeks to travel. I was thinking about starting out small, within the U.K. and then branching out to Europe. However, the problem is that if I travel, it will be alone. My course of action was going to be: Use those extra days in London or Paris. You'll be fine traveling alone. I did it for like 6 weeks and I am just a wide-eyed Midwestern boy. New Europe tours can be good. The one I did in London was fine but I thought the Amsterdam one sucked (it all depends on the guide, though). One problem is that you can sometimes get in huge groups. I think we had something like 35 people in my group in London. Search out other guides on tripadvisor, too. London Walks has some excellent guides for 7 pounds and I found them to be better than the New Europe. And for accommodation, just go off hostelworld's ratings.
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Dec 14, 2010 03:55
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I really liked the Amsterdam New Europe tour, as well as the Berlin one. Though I have to imagine it depends entirely on the guide, as others have mentioned. They're only a few hours long and as cheap as you want them to be. I ended up tipping about 20 euro in Amsterdam (for two people) we liked the tour so much. I'd skip Dublin on a similar trip, too. You want to have more time in Ireland because Dublin is pretty boring and you really want the time to be able to at least take a bus tour to Newgrange and western Ireland, and maybe up to Belfast as well.
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Dec 14, 2010 10:26
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