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tourgon posted:
No, you sure won't, so I hope the primary purpose of this trip is to deposit a car in Athens, and not to sightsee, unless for some reason you three want to spend five times as much money driving as EasyJet would cost for 3 tickets. Roussillon, Lacoste, and Menerbes are cool little towns in the hills of Provence ~1hr from Avignon. Roussillon is probably the most interesting, but it'll be crowded in summer. There are some other really neat places in that area, including one that reminded me of Minas Tirith from LotR, but I can't remember its name. Aix is a more common destination in that area, but tbqh I think Aix is boring and devoid of culture but other people really seem to like it. Avignon is pretty neat, if you want to hit a more major city that everyone's heard of. You'll be driving by Tarquinia just north of Rome, and I thought that was a cool little village too. (And much better than staying in some soulless suburb of Rome for a night.)
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Jun 13, 2011 14:40
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tourgon posted:Me and two friends will be doing a road trip through Europe starting from the UK on the 17th of June and getting to Greece on the 26th-27th. Our itinerary at the moment looks something like this Just east of Marseille (which was a fun town, btw, I liked it) is Cassis where you can hike out onto their mini-fjords known as "Les Calanques" 
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Jun 13, 2011 15:13
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Hey Tourgon, Thanks for all the help with the Greece trip. By chance are you a native Greek speaker? I tried to PM you but you don't have them. Would you be willing to help me out in email with a small translation?
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Jun 13, 2011 15:15
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Can we talk about Belgium again? I spent half a day in Bruges, and it was awful. What is supposed to be the redeeming factor there? Brussels has a much cooler square in the Grand Place, and Ghent had a neat castle. What the gently caress does Bruges have that attracts so many loving tourists? Bruges is neck and neck with Bucharest for the worst European city I've been in.
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Jun 13, 2011 16:02
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Pretty old architechture and canals, I guess? I've not been but was planning to do so until the snow in 09 hosed Eurostar royally. I have heard awful things from a friend though, about how it's an overpriced tourist-trap. Plus BEST FILM "I know I'm awake, but I feel like I'm in a dream"
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Jun 13, 2011 16:20
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tourgon posted:Me and two friends will be doing a road trip through Europe. You can make the whole trip much more interesting by not using the highways while in France. You can find lots of quaint little villages and towns where you can enjoy a good lunch or a drink during your trip. Use the D roads and see some great countryside! It'll save you some toll (péage) money as well and you'll actually see something of the country.
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Jun 13, 2011 16:25
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How is a fairytale town not somebody's loving thing?
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Jun 13, 2011 16:30
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How long do you think it would take to drive from Zurich to Berlin at a fairly reasonable/unrushed rate? about 2 days?
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Jun 13, 2011 16:48
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unixbeard posted:How long do you think it would take to drive from Zurich to Berlin at a fairly reasonable/unrushed rate? about 2 days? You could do it in a day, it's only 900 km. If you have two days you can stop and take the night off in a town halfway there, and then drive on comfortably the next day. Edit: It all depends on the car you're driving too. You can easily do 170 km/h in all comfort if your car is suited for it. The Autobahn is made for this kind of driving. EricBauman fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 16:55
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Rojkir posted:You can make the whole trip much more interesting by not using the highways while in France. You can find lots of quaint little villages and towns where you can enjoy a good lunch or a drink during your trip. Use the D roads and see some great countryside! I'm seconding this very much. You say you want to concentrate on rural areas, but somehow your itinerary is basically all big cities. You can start getting ideas on sites like these (they are several) : http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en http://www.france-voyage.com/travel-guide/villages-panorama_1.htm Also, the Michelin Green Guides are your friends, but i don't know if they're available everywhere. anTK fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 17:05
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edit: gotta refresh the page before I post. edit2 for some actual content: Roadtrip guy, since you're driving and have already been to Paris it might be an idea to skip it altogheter. It's a traffic nightmare and the region isn't very interesting since it's all very Paris focused. For example, this means lots of empty villages because the whole village works (and mostly lives during the week) in Paris. Rojkir fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Jun 13, 2011 |
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Jun 13, 2011 17:14
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Off chance that anyone knows specifically, but I'm going on holiday next weekend in Manche (Montpinchon specifically), in Normandy. We've a 9am train from London to Calais on Saturday, returning on Tuesday, where we're picking up a car and doing the four hour drive across, stopping for lunch at Honfleur on the way as I hear that's a nice break. I'd like to see Mont St Michel and one or two D-Day beaches but apart from that, any recommendations? I'm not really interested in going to museums or seeing the tapestry, or other artifacts etc. I especially like food stuff, or small French towns, beautiful countryside, and the like. Any suggestions? Especially for the evening time! We'll have a car so we're free to drive wherever.
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Jun 13, 2011 17:24
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I have a staggeringly stupid question for this thread. I'm trying to organise a business visa to Germany for a business trip with my academic co-supervisor. The company he works for does not allow one to travel for personal reasons before, during or after a company-approved trip. This is bullshit and I am trying to organise a little side-trip to Berlin after my main business is concluded without the company's approval since my rear end in a top hat boss won't consider the very well thought-out plan I laid in front of him for my after-visit trip (which will be paid for in its entirety by me, by the way). Anyway, it is devolving into a ghastly nightmare which may or may not result in me being in deep poo poo when I get back. Be that as it may, I have my appointment with the German consulate in less than two weeks time and I intend to be prepared for any eventuality. Now, I understand from some Schengen visa faq that if one intends to travel for touristy purposes after business, one needs to provide proof of this along with the normal proof of business trip documents. I intend to go to Berlin over a weekend and perhaps a few days after that to visit my girlfriend and her family. Would a letter from my girlfriend's mum (a German citizen in good standing) be enough for proof of the fact that I would in fact be staying with them for a couple of days? Thanks in advance.
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Jun 13, 2011 18:28
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Phaeoacremonium posted:I have a staggeringly stupid question for this thread. I'm trying to organise a business visa to Germany for a business trip with my academic co-supervisor. The company he works for does not allow one to travel for personal reasons before, during or after a company-approved trip. This is bullshit and I am trying to organise a little side-trip to Berlin after my main business is concluded without the company's approval since my rear end in a top hat boss won't consider the very well thought-out plan I laid in front of him for my after-visit trip (which will be paid for in its entirety by me, by the way). Anyway, it is devolving into a ghastly nightmare which may or may not result in me being in deep poo poo when I get back. Be that as it may, I have my appointment with the German consulate in less than two weeks time and I intend to be prepared for any eventuality. Most of the times it would. Depends on where you're from, whether you've travelled to the Schengen area before, whether or not you've got ties that would bring you back to wherever your from, whether or not you've got enough money to take care of yourself. Too many factors really. Call ahead to the consulate to be sure. They can tell you. They can probably even give you the more or less exact wording such a statement from your girlfriend's parents would have to be in. The answer to questions like this is always going to be 'call the consulate'. It's their job to know.
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Jun 13, 2011 18:41
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Phaeoacremonium posted:I have a staggeringly stupid question for this thread. I'm trying to organise a business visa to Germany for a business trip with my academic co-supervisor. The company he works for does not allow one to travel for personal reasons before, during or after a company-approved trip. This is bullshit and I am trying to organise a little side-trip to Berlin after my main business is concluded without the company's approval since my rear end in a top hat boss won't consider the very well thought-out plan I laid in front of him for my after-visit trip (which will be paid for in its entirety by me, by the way). Anyway, it is devolving into a ghastly nightmare which may or may not result in me being in deep poo poo when I get back. Be that as it may, I have my appointment with the German consulate in less than two weeks time and I intend to be prepared for any eventuality. Are you American? Because I don't even think you would need a visa at all then unless you're going there for longer than three months.
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Jun 13, 2011 18:43
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EricBauman posted:Most of the times it would. Depends on where you're from, whether you've travelled to the Schengen area before, whether or not you've got ties that would bring you back to wherever your from, whether or not you've got enough money to take care of yourself. Too many factors really. Call ahead to the consulate to be sure. They can tell you. They can probably even give you the more or less exact wording such a statement from your girlfriend's parents would have to be in. Thanks, I will do just that in the morning. I'm South African and have travelled to the Schengen area before (but that was for an exchange program back in 1999). Hopefully the Consulate in Cape Town will be able to sort me out.
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Jun 13, 2011 19:51
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EricBauman posted:You could do it in a day, it's only 900 km. If you have two days you can stop and take the night off in a town halfway there, and then drive on comfortably the next day. Hmm. I will probably rent a car as I am moving from Zurich to Berlin and have some stuff that is not easily shipped (guitar, bike). Since none of the rental places let you return a van in a different country I'll probably get a station wagon or something. I have to do some dancing around handing over my apartment so I'd probably leave Zürich in the afternoon and stop for the night somewhere, maybe Stuttgart or Nümberg. Do you have any idea how much to estimate for fuel for the trip? For like a 1.8L station wagon?
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Jun 13, 2011 19:53
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unixbeard posted:Hmm. I will probably rent a car as I am moving from Zurich to Berlin and have some stuff that is not easily shipped (guitar, bike). Since none of the rental places let you return a van in a different country I'll probably get a station wagon or something. I have to do some dancing around handing over my apartment so I'd probably leave Zürich in the afternoon and stop for the night somewhere, maybe Stuttgart or Nümberg. Do you have any idea how much to estimate for fuel for the trip? For like a 1.8L station wagon? That sounds like you could comfortably make it. Do call ahead for accommodation, though. I didn't last weekend and there happened to be opera festivals everywhere in central Germany. We had to sleep in a smudgy motorway motel, instead of heading out into the bustling night life of whatever town we would end up in, like we intended to do. I don't know about fuel, I've never owned a station wagon. And I don't really pay attention to these kinds of things. I'll go to a gas station when I need to and just pay whatever a full tank of gas costs, because what else can you do?
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Jun 13, 2011 20:01
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Yeah I was wondering if I should book the accomodation, I will be sure to, thanks. I'm trying to work out the most cost effective way to move. The other option is to post my stuff to relatives in Berlin. DHL rates aren't too bad so it would probably be around 500CHF to post most of my stuff, but then I'd still have my guitar & bike. I don't need my bike as its pretty crap, I'll find out how much shipping the guitar would be. Renting a car would be about 700 CHF for 2 days, plus fuel plus a hotel for one night. I am thinking the costs will probably be about the same either way
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Jun 13, 2011 20:37
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Saladman posted:Roussillon, Lacoste, and Menerbes are cool little towns in the hills of Provence ~1hr from Avignon. Roussillon is probably the most interesting, but it'll be crowded in summer. There are some other really neat places in that area, including one that reminded me of Minas Tirith from LotR, but I can't remember its name. Aix is a more common destination in that area, but tbqh I think Aix is boring and devoid of culture but other people really seem to like it. Avignon is pretty neat, if you want to hit a more major city that everyone's heard of. Thanks for the suggestions, these towns look really nice... we'll definitely drive a bit in these hills of Provence. Rojkir posted:You can make the whole trip much more interesting by not using the highways while in France. You can find lots of quaint little villages and towns where you can enjoy a good lunch or a drink during your trip. Use the D roads and see some great countryside! We'll do this, I agree it's much more interesting and economical this way. Thanks for the other suggestions too everyone. Goodpancakes posted:Hey Tourgon, Thanks for all the help with the Greece trip. By chance are you a native Greek speaker? I tried to PM you but you don't have them. Would you be willing to help me out in email with a small translation? Yeah sure if it's small... send me an e-mail to abirostone at hotmail dot com.
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Jun 14, 2011 04:25
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I know it was a page back but Ryan Air has never caused me any trouble and I've flown with them several times to many different locations for the super super cheap. Also how can anyone not love Brugges? Just for a day its a magical little fairy tale city! Oh well to each his own. Here is a question : Via Ryan air, I can fly to Rhodes and take a ferry to Turkey. Has anyone done this before? I've never really taken a ferry anywhere. I don't know much about Rhodes except that it's about a 1 hour ferry ride to Turkey. The city I can't recall right now. It just seems the cheapest way to get to Turkey for me.
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Jun 14, 2011 13:22
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Can I walk around drinking a bottle of beer in Belgium? This is important.
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Jun 14, 2011 17:04
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Ziir posted:Can I walk around drinking a bottle of beer in Belgium? This is important. Not sure about Belgium, i'm sure you can in Germany and don't try it in the Netherlands (you will be arrested). This is one of those funny cultural things that changes as soon as you cross the border.
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Jun 14, 2011 18:13
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Ziir posted:Can I walk around drinking a bottle of beer in Belgium? This is important. I've done it countless times when I lived there and i've had no problems at all, dont know if its illegal though. Then again thats the best thing about Belgium so...
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Jun 14, 2011 20:36
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Going to Stockholm and Gotland end of the month. I think I have Stockholm down but should I rent a bike/scooter to see the other parts of Gotland? I am staying in Visby.
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Jun 15, 2011 05:58
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I strongly recommend renting a bicycle to visit other parts of Gotland. Visby is very Unesco cute, but the other parts of Gotland are beautiful (especially the flowers), quaint, and not as touristy. If there's any way that camping could be on your agenda, Sweden of course has right of access so you can bike along and pitch a tent where you like. If you can't camp, just get a map of the island and pick out a few of the little crosses symbolizing ruined churches to visit; the combination of well-preserved ruins and utter solitude made for one of my best ancient-stuff experiences. I didn't make it to Fårö island due to time constraint when I was on Gotland, so I may've missed out a little.
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Jun 15, 2011 16:35
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Ziir posted:Can I walk around drinking a bottle of beer in Belgium? This is important. Well I didn't see much (only the homeless) people do this so I didn't try this. Actually I only drank one beer in the entire eight hours I was there. drat it. Traveling alone is so much better, or at least with max one other person. After that you've got to accommodate for too much.
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Jun 15, 2011 22:56
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Mortley posted:I strongly recommend renting a bicycle to visit other parts of Gotland. Visby is very Unesco cute, but the other parts of Gotland are beautiful (especially the flowers), quaint, and not as touristy. If there's any way that camping could be on your agenda, Sweden of course has right of access so you can bike along and pitch a tent where you like. If you can't camp, just get a map of the island and pick out a few of the little crosses symbolizing ruined churches to visit; the combination of well-preserved ruins and utter solitude made for one of my best ancient-stuff experiences. I really appreciate the answer, this sounds right up my alley. Can you recommend anything else specific about the island? Restaurants, sites outside of Visby?
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Jun 16, 2011 21:59
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kri kri posted:I really appreciate the answer, this sounds right up my alley. Can you recommend anything else specific about the island? Restaurants, sites outside of Visby? Restaurants, my buddy and I did Sweden so cheap that we cooked almost every meal on our camp stove. Any of the restaurants we ate at were too studenty to be memorable, and they would've been in Visby. There ain't much outside of that town. While in Visby, we found a place with some fantastic cured meat that we took on our mini bicycle tour, but I can't recall where that was. Kappelshamn had the most scenic small bay with a lighthouse and the worst mosquitoes. Don't miss Fårö or you'll probably regret it too. Its dialect, climate, and terrain are nontrivially different than the island proper, which is crazy because it's so small. My favorite sites were the fields of flowers and tiny, ancient (some originally pagan and 3rd century) ruined churches, and those kinds of things are best discovered on your own.  (Plus I can't remember well enough to say where they are.)There's a caveat: I was there in May, a little before the tourist high season starts, but you're going to be there after mid June. You may not find the roads as uncrowded, but I think there still won't be many people doing a tour of dozens of miles. One final thought: Fårö is pronounced Foroo with a rolled R and the locals won't understand if you call it "pharaoh" like us I couldn't get too specific because I don't remember it all. But if you have any more questions, I have a google mail address at marty 1 fifty nine 6 (with all numerals instead of words).
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Jun 16, 2011 23:16
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Edit: doublepost
maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Mar 13, 2017 |
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Jun 17, 2011 02:11
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Are there overnight trains from Nice to Venice anymore? Everywhere I search seems to indicated that this was discontinued a couple years ago, and now the only option is an all-day affair with 2+ connections. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place.
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Jun 17, 2011 08:14
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GregNorc posted:Anyone have any suggestions on power adapters? (Going to UK and France) Just go to Walmart and pick up one of those all in one travel adapters because the sockets in UK and France are different.
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Jun 17, 2011 10:28
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GregNorc posted:Anyone have any suggestions on power adapters? (Going to UK and France) Do you mean "adapts" (changes plug only) or "converts" (changes the power too)? Macbooks work on all power supplies, as do nearly all computers and most electronics except for game systems and some battery chargers, so you should only need a plug adaptor. You'll either have to get a multiple adaptor or two separate ones, since the UK and France are vastly different http://www.amazon.com/All-One-Travel-Power-Adapter/dp/B000YN01X4/ref=pd_sbs_misc_3), but if you're going for a long time, or plan on going back to the UK or Europe for extended periods of time, buy two separate adaptors, as the "all-in-ones" are horrible wall warts. All single-plug adaptors are more or less the same, just buy the cheapest.
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Jun 17, 2011 10:29
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What's the cheapest way to get from London to Brussels?
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Jun 17, 2011 10:29
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Ziir posted:What's the cheapest way to get from London to Brussels? Eurostar, most likely. And it's quicker and nicer too. I love the Eurostar. (Even if I'm still raging at how badly they hosed up during SNOWPOCALYPSE 2010)
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Jun 17, 2011 10:50
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Neris posted:Eurostar, most likely. And it's quicker and nicer too. I love the Eurostar. (Even if I'm still raging at how badly they hosed up during SNOWPOCALYPSE 2010) Yeah this is the only thing I see. Was hoping for some kind of cheaper Ryanair flight or something.
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Jun 17, 2011 10:56
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Well, maybe, but when you factor in price of getting to the airport on the train and all the extra time you'll have to spend checking in, plus probably horribly flying hours and landing and not being able to bring any shampoo/liquids on the plane, and then landing in another airport, having to get from that airport to your destination and ughhhhh. I so hate airports.
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Jun 17, 2011 11:09
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Ziir posted:Yeah this is the only thing I see. Was hoping for some kind of cheaper Ryanair flight or something. Coach. Eurostar on June 29th (just a random date) is £56. National Express is £25. It takes about seven hours. It's also worth bearing in mind that the £56 Eurostar leaves at 6.20am, before the tube opens - so you'll need to get a bus/taxi to St Pancras. The coaches leave at the much more civilised times of 8am, 10am and 2pm. edit: https://www.eurolines.co.uk duckmaster fucked around with this message at 13:04 on Jun 17, 2011 |
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Jun 17, 2011 12:54
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Real men just buy a European power adapter and jimmy the British sockets so they'll accept it. You just need something plastic to stick in the bottom part (like a coffee stirrer) and then plug the Euro adapter in on top. I'd give you a link but I'm phone posting. It's not nearly as dodgy as it sounds, I swear!
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Jun 17, 2011 13:19
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duckmaster posted:Coach. Eurostar on June 29th (just a random date) is £56. National Express is £25. A friend is flying into London for a conference in July and has some extra time at the end so we're trying to figure something out. Right now the tentative plan is that I fly into London during the week via Ryanair and just mooch off of her free/paid for hotel room and we go sightseeing and then she wants to go to Brussels after it's over, so that's why I'm asking. I'm not sure if she needs to get back to London to fly out or not (don't think she's bought her flights yet, so I told her to check if she can just fly out of Dusseldorf cause it'd be better I think). Surely there must be some kind of cheap boat that we could take from the tip of England into Belgium too, can't we? If we can just get into Belgium then we could just buy a Go Pass 10 and make our way to a train station and visit Brugge for a day and then continue onto Brussels and then to where I live. e: Looks like this idea won't work without a car. A quick search tells me there's a ferry from Ramsgate (UK) to Oostend (B) but you need a car to get on the boat. Guess we'll just go the Eurostar. Ziir fucked around with this message at 13:39 on Jun 17, 2011 |
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Jun 17, 2011 13:33
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