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greazeball
Feb 4, 2003



The other thing that a lot of travelers forget is that, in addition to the size, Europe is generally slower than the States. I've lived in Europe for 7 years and I still have to remind myself occasionally to chill the gently caress out. Shops close at 6:30. Everything's closed on Sundays. Eating in a restaurant in under an hour is considered a huge rush. The pace of life is just different and people don't rush around nearly as much as in the States.

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sweek0
May 22, 2006

Let me fall out the window
With confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better
On a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets
But I lie about my past

greazeball posted:

The other thing that a lot of travelers forget is that, in addition to the size, Europe is generally slower than the States. I've lived in Europe for 7 years and I still have to remind myself occasionally to chill the gently caress out. Shops close at 6:30. Everything's closed on Sundays. Eating in a restaurant in under an hour is considered a huge rush. The pace of life is just different and people don't rush around nearly as much as in the States.
Pretty much - and the further south/east/rural you go the more this is true.

Hamclam
Jan 19, 2005

I got in one little fight and my mom got scared she said "You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air!"

Talas posted:

I just got an Eurail pass for Spain and France and only have 10 days to visit. I was planning in doing something like Madrid->Sevilla->Barcelona->Toulouse->Paris->Madrid, but now that I started doing some planning it looks ridiculous since apparently I can't reserve trains online with the pass.

Should I just skip Paris and visit something closer like Bordeaux->Bilbao or Marseille?

Skip Paris, we were just there and got into Barcelona today. Paris kind of sucked, people were rude, everything we tried to do either had giant lines or were just closed and we were constantly being hassled by venders and gypsies. The Louvre was pretty cool though...



Me and my girlfriend are travelling around for the next 4 weeks, in Barcelona right now for the next 3-4 days then going to Switzerland and then where ever the trains take us, probably Germany and Greece. If any other goons are travelling around Europe we'd love to come hang out with you and drink some cheap wine together!

Heres my Email Hamclam@hotmail.com we'll get in touch on the face books

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort

sweek0 posted:

Pretty much - and the further south/east/rural you go the more this is true.

The part about slower pace in general - yes. Working hours, not so much. Croatia is laid back, but in Zagreb shops close at 8, not 6.30 and a lot of stuff is open on Sunday - supermarkets, shopping malls, bars, bakeries, newspaper stands, fast food joints...

Bastard
Jul 13, 2001

We are each responsible for our own destiny.
What's with all the Paris hate? :(

Lady Gaza
Nov 20, 2008

Paris is a great city. Queues and vendors and touts will only be a problem if you just go to the really touristy bits. I was there recently and it was so nice, I really enjoyed wandering around the Latin quarter.

Hamclam
Jan 19, 2005

I got in one little fight and my mom got scared she said "You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air!"

Bastard posted:

What's with all the Paris hate? :(

People were rude, girlfriends camera got stolen, bunch of the places we tried to go were closed by the time we got there, people seemed to be constantly shoving eiffel tower trinkets in our faces or donations for the deaf papers. bunch of people told us to gently caress off when we refused to buy beer from them. Tried to have a picnic on a bench in a park by a fountain and were told that you cant eat here and had to leave.

One of those deaf people were trying to get money from us pretending to be deaf and when they finally left us alone i yelled back "hey wait!" and she turned back around. when she realized we had figured out her scam and that she wasnt really deaf she just gave me the finger.

Im sure there are alot of great things about paris but we just didnt really have any luck there and wont be going back.

Barcelona however is wonderful..

Bastard
Jul 13, 2001

We are each responsible for our own destiny.

Hamclam posted:

People were rude, girlfriends camera got stolen, bunch of the places we tried to go were closed by the time we got there, people seemed to be constantly shoving eiffel tower trinkets in our faces or donations for the deaf papers. bunch of people told us to gently caress off when we refused to buy beer from them. Tried to have a picnic on a bench in a park by a fountain and were told that you cant eat here and had to leave.

In all honesty, that all sounds like something you can encounter in any touristy section of a major city in any country.

But sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it, personally I love Paris.

blinkeve1826
Jul 26, 2005

WELCOME TO THE NEW DEATH

Bastard posted:

In all honesty, that all sounds like something you can encounter in any touristy section of a major city in any country.

But sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it, personally I love Paris.

On a similar note, for all the "Prague is soooooooooooo beautiful, you're gonna loooooooooove it" I got before I left, I'm finding Prague an eye-roll worthy mess of tourists and overpriced crap. I was told three days here wouldn't be enough, but I took a bike tour my first day and wandered around a little bit on my own and feel like that's it. After seeing all the major sights and different types of architechture, what is there? For the record, I hate most touristy stuff, have little interest in churches, and I hate museums--I simply don't like going to a new city to stand inside a building and look at stuff--but every other city (Barcelona, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden) has been interesting enough without either one, often from just doing/seeing things a bit off the beaten path (visiting the Jewish quarter in Girona was one of my favorite parts of being in/near Barcelona; Las Ramblas was my least favorite. I felt like I was in Times Square [not in a good way]). I went to the torture device museum yesterday, and while interesting enough it was so...I mean, is that Prague? Again, I felt like I was "doing" Prague wrong. I'll be going to Vysehrad today for a picnic with a friend, an opera tonight, and all of the Jewish sites tomorrow, but I have to be doing something wrong here because I'm bored with Prague already. Please share suggestions for interesting things to do or see that aren't museums and aren't horribly expensive, because I don't want to miss whatever it is that will show me how right everyone is and that Prague really is so awesome, etc.

Oh, and to make things harder, I keep kosher, so almost anything food-related is a no-go.

Saladman
Jan 12, 2010

Hamclam posted:

People were rude, girlfriends camera got stolen, bunch of the places we tried to go were closed by the time we got there, people seemed to be constantly shoving eiffel tower trinkets in our faces or donations for the deaf papers. bunch of people told us to gently caress off when we refused to buy beer from them. Tried to have a picnic on a bench in a park by a fountain and were told that you cant eat here and had to leave.

One of those deaf people were trying to get money from us pretending to be deaf and when they finally left us alone i yelled back "hey wait!" and she turned back around. when she realized we had figured out her scam and that she wasnt really deaf she just gave me the finger.

Im sure there are alot of great things about paris but we just didnt really have any luck there and wont be going back.

Barcelona however is wonderful..

It sounds like you just got unlucky in Paris. If I read that paragraph without knowing it was Paris, I would have actually said "it sounds like he went to Barcelona." In any case, European cities that get overrun by foreign tourists in the summer are a lot less fun, at least in my opinion, than they are in fall/spring (e.g. Paris, Barcelona, Rome).

greazeball
Feb 4, 2003



Doctor Malaver posted:

The part about slower pace in general - yes. Working hours, not so much. Croatia is laid back, but in Zagreb shops close at 8, not 6.30 and a lot of stuff is open on Sunday - supermarkets, shopping malls, bars, bakeries, newspaper stands, fast food joints...

Do shops close for lunch? Small shops close for summer holidays? Absolutely unheard of in the US and certain to make some people crazy.

Veetard
Mar 30, 2007

Frags posted:

I've just purchased a 2 month Eurail pass for the countries of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia/Montenegro (counted as one for the Eurail pass) and Romania. I'm going to be making my way up through Greece to Romania starting late July and ending in mid September.

I've already read some good suggestion on what to do in the Serbian city of Belgrade, but any suggestions of what to do in other parts of Serbia as well as in my other destination countries would be much appreciated.

My schedule is super flexible and I plan on staying in hostels and giving couchsurfing a shot.

I was just in that area, though I didn't go to Greece, and I agree with the other poster who said Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria is a nice place to go. Cool fortress (with a light show at night) and lots of hiking.

However, I would spend less time in Bucharest and more time in Sofia. I thought Sofia was a pretty fun city with lots of really good restaurants and bars--it just has kind of a cool vibe, if that makes sense. I stayed at Hostel Mostel (there's one in Veliko Tarnovo, as well, and I highly recommend it) and they offer a day trip to Rila Monastery, which I absolutely loved. And yes, there is a free walking tour of Sofia, which is pretty good.

I wanted to go to the Black Sea coast, but I ended up skipping it because it doesn't look very easy to go from Bulgaria to Romania over there. I couldn't find any information on, say, a bus from Varna to Constanta, although I think there might have been a ferry. I ended up just going from Veliko Tarnovo to Bucharest. There are a few daily direct trains, and since you have a rail pass you won't have deal with the craziness of needing to buy international tickets from some weird ticket office that isn't at the station and that might not even be open.

You'll hear tons of bullshit about Bucharest from other travelers who probably didn't even stop there, but it's not a bad city at all. I didn't find it very interesting, though, but maybe I just needed to spend more time there. If you want to go to a really awesome Romanian city, I recommend Cluj Napoca. It's really pretty and has some bad rear end bars. When I was there, they were having a free museum night, so the museums were open super late and, obviously, free.

Brasov, Sibiu, and Sighisoara in Transylvania are all very attractive places, but there's not much to do once you've had a look around--one day each is enough. There's a good museum in the tower in Sighisoara, plus you get a view of the city and it only costs about $3. Bran Castle (near Brasov) is nice, but it's way overrated (and overpriced) and full of huge annoying tour groups.

I also agree with the other poster who said to try to make your way to Sarajevo, as it's loving awesome and probably one of the most beautiful cities I've been to while backpacking in Eastern Europe. The great thing about EE is that the buses/trains are really, really cheap, so even if it's not covered on your rail pass it won't blow your budget. I don't know if you're actually planning to go to Montenegro at all, but the Bay of Kotor is stunning, and Budva and Ulcinj are good for partying.

If you've never been to Budapest, you might also consider adding it on if you have the time. It's easily accessible (6-7 hours by train) from both Belgrade and Cluj Napoca. I think I paid about $30 to go from Cluj to Budapest. There are night trains available from both locations. But yeah, Budapest is indescribably cool and definitely my favorite city.

Since I guess there aren't trains from Greece to Bulgaria, there is one from Thessaloniki to Skopje, Macedonia, and then there's a train from Skopje to Sofia. Macedonia is a great place, too, and ridiculously cheap.

That ended up being really long, but I hope it was a little bit helpful. I really enjoyed my time in that area and I'm sure you will, too.

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort

greazeball posted:

Do shops close for lunch? Small shops close for summer holidays? Absolutely unheard of in the US and certain to make some people crazy.

They don't close for lunch and very few really small shops will close for holidays. That's Zagreb - inland and deserted over summer. On the coast naturally nobody closes over summer holidays, that's when they work full steam, 7 days a week often until 9 or 10 pm. They might close in the off-season though.

tzz
May 15, 2005
COLD
In Spain it's a slowly dying custom, but it's still common. Just 10 years ago every shop would close from 14 to 17, with very few exceptions.

sweek0
May 22, 2006

Let me fall out the window
With confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better
On a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets
But I lie about my past

tzz posted:

In Spain it's a slowly dying custom, but it's still common. Just 10 years ago every shop would close from 14 to 17, with very few exceptions.

When I was in Normany last week it was still very much like that. Many places were even closed for Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and in one case even the Wednesday as well! I'm sure it's different in French cities though.
In the Netherlands there's a law that means that in most cities shops aren't allowed to be opened on Sundays/evenings except for one evening a week and one Sunday a month, something like that.

It's so nice to be in the UK and have all shops open all the time pretty much. Although very large stores are only allowed to be open on Sundays for a limited number of hours.

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004
Edit: doublepost

maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Mar 13, 2017

Saladman
Jan 12, 2010

GregNorc posted:

Is there a good map application for the iPhone that will help me get around London and/or Paris and does not require web access?

Navigon. It's ridiculously overpriced though, unless you're into pirating apps or have deep pockets. (It costs as much as/more than a stand-alone GPS.)

Modern Pragmatist
Aug 20, 2008

GregNorc posted:

Is there a good map application for the iPhone that will help me get around London and/or Paris and does not require web access?

I usually get the Lonely Planet iPhone app for the major cities that I visit. They are typically $5 and have offline map data (uses your GPS) as well as all other info that would be in a lonely planet guide.

HeroOfTheRevolution
Apr 26, 2008

Veetard posted:

Since I guess there aren't trains from Greece to Bulgaria, there is one from Thessaloniki to Skopje, Macedonia, and then there's a train from Skopje to Sofia. Macedonia is a great place, too, and ridiculously cheap.

Macedonia isn't actually all that cheap, but maybe that's just me living in Bulgaria speaking. Also there is no direct train travel between Bulgaria and Macedonia. There is a bus from Sofia to Skopje. Macedonia is worth visiting, especially Skopje and Ohrid.

You can take a bus from Thessaloniki to Blagoevgrad or Sofia twice daily, there's just no train service. Though with Greece falling apart right now even bus service might be tough to come by.

Sofia is still boring and kind of sucks though, but maybe it's just because I know it so well. If you want some cool souvenirs while you're there, there's a flea market near Nevsky Cathedral where people sell stuff from Communist times, like medals, bayonets, pieces of guns, chess sets, lighters... just about anything.

blinkeve1826 posted:

On a similar note, for all the "Prague is soooooooooooo beautiful, you're gonna loooooooooove it" I got before I left, I'm finding Prague an eye-roll worthy mess of tourists and overpriced crap. I was told three days here wouldn't be enough, but I took a bike tour my first day and wandered around a little bit on my own and feel like that's it. After seeing all the major sights and different types of architechture, what is there?

A friend of mine once described Prague as Disney World Eastern Europe, and I think that's about right. It's cool... for a little bit, then you realize how ridiculously touristy it is.

Magic Underwear
May 14, 2003


Young Orc

Veetard posted:

I was just in that area, though I didn't go to Greece, and I agree with the other poster who said Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria is a nice place to go. Cool fortress (with a light show at night) and lots of hiking.

However, I would spend less time in Bucharest and more time in Sofia. I thought Sofia was a pretty fun city with lots of really good restaurants and bars--it just has kind of a cool vibe, if that makes sense. I stayed at Hostel Mostel (there's one in Veliko Tarnovo, as well, and I highly recommend it) and they offer a day trip to Rila Monastery, which I absolutely loved. And yes, there is a free walking tour of Sofia, which is pretty good.

You'll hear tons of bullshit about Bucharest from other travelers who probably didn't even stop there, but it's not a bad city at all. I didn't find it very interesting, though, but maybe I just needed to spend more time there. If you want to go to a really awesome Romanian city, I recommend Cluj Napoca. It's really pretty and has some bad rear end bars. When I was there, they were having a free museum night, so the museums were open super late and, obviously, free.

If you've never been to Budapest, you might also consider adding it on if you have the time. It's easily accessible (6-7 hours by train) from both Belgrade and Cluj Napoca. I think I paid about $30 to go from Cluj to Budapest. There are night trains available from both locations. But yeah, Budapest is indescribably cool and definitely my favorite city.

Having just recently gone through Bulgaria, Romania, and Budapest I agree with most of your post. Definitely check out Veliko Tarnovo if only for a day. I had a really good time exploring Tsarevets castle, then I had an amazing sit-down meal where I over-ordered but still only spent 15 euro including tip. (it was called Shtastlivetsa, though the sign is in cyrillic so that doesn't help...)

I also agree about spending less time in Bucharest, but unlike you I harbor no positive opinions of Bucharest whatsoever. I spent two days there and felt that they were completely wasted. Spend your time in Brasov (amazing) and Cluj-Napoca instead.

I also liked Sofia, even though there isn't much there. I will second Hostel Mostel too, one of the best hostels that I've been in for facilities, amenities (free pasta and beer every night!), and atmosphere. I also loved the Rila Monastery tour.

Also backing you up on Budapest, I loved it (drat, we have very similar opinions, you and me). If you are in the area it is most definitely worth a visit.

Tying into what another poster was saying, I liked Budapest a hell of a lot more than Prague. Prague just doesn't have much going for it as far as I can tell. It's a nice city and all but I got bored very quickly.

Magic Underwear
May 14, 2003


Young Orc
As long as I'm posting, can anyone give me recommendations for Slovenia and Croatia? I just got in to Vienna (hoping it isn't as boring as Prague...) and would like to check out these countries before my trip ends in three weeks.

By chance, I read about the Skocjan Caves in Slovenia, which sound amazing. There are also a few towns on the coast that sound really nice.

My idea right now is to spend a night or two in Ljubljana, then head down to the coast, seeing the cave along the way. Spend a few nights in Piran (? or some other coastal city), but then things get more hazy. I don't really care about Zagreb, but what Croatian coast cities are best? The obvious ones are Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik. I've heard that Pula is nice but it seems like it would be a long trip.

Also, since I have a good bit of time, should I try to get to Sarajevo, too?

Last question: Slovenia and Croatia aren't that well known to American tourists, but am I going to get slammed by European tourists? I miss April, every place was empty...

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort

Magic Underwear posted:

My idea right now is to spend a night or two in Ljubljana, then head down to the coast, seeing the cave along the way. Spend a few nights in Piran (? or some other coastal city), but then things get more hazy. I don't really care about Zagreb, but what Croatian coast cities are best? The obvious ones are Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik. I've heard that Pula is nice but it seems like it would be a long trip.

Also, since I have a good bit of time, should I try to get to Sarajevo, too?

Last question: Slovenia and Croatia aren't that well known to American tourists, but am I going to get slammed by European tourists? I miss April, every place was empty...

Coastal Croatia is pretty crowded during summer. Not sure how it compares to Prague though. I go to the islands whenever I can, they are less crowded.

My advice would be not to stay more than a night in Piran, I admit I've never been there but I believe it's rather unremarkable. Instead go to Pula and then take a ferry to Zadar. Then you'll be close to Plitvice lakes, Split and some nice islands so you'll have plenty of options.

duralict
Sep 18, 2007

this isn't hug club at all

GregNorc posted:

Is there a good map application for the iPhone that will help me get around London and/or Paris and does not require web access?

There's a free app named simply "Europe" that is a street map of all of Europe. It doesn't label landmarks, metro stops etc., but the streets are all labeled, it shows pedestrian-only routes and it's very accurate. When you do have internet, it'll also show you your current location.

Loveline
Dec 30, 2005

I'm going, going back, back to Prague, Prague (sorry I had to).

But I was in Prague for about two months and 2006 and had a blast and I'm going back next week for a little over three weeks for a clinical selective with my medical school. I've done the touristy stuff (though a lot of my colleagues haven't) so I'm wondering where I could find a good source for hot clubs, bars etc.

Last time I was there I had avant guide which was amazing but that was published in '04 and already was semi-out of date in '06, so are there any other guide books that are highly recommended?

Modern Pragmatist
Aug 20, 2008

duralict posted:

There's a free app named simply "Europe" that is a street map of all of Europe. It doesn't label landmarks, metro stops etc., but the streets are all labeled, it shows pedestrian-only routes and it's very accurate. When you do have internet, it'll also show you your current location.

Shouldn't the current location be dependent upon the GPS unit, which is completely independent of internet connectivity?

semicolonsrock
Aug 26, 2009

chugga chugga chugga
I'm in Paris until August studying. Does any have recomendations for what to do which aren't the typical touristy stuff (which I already know about)? I.e.: clubs, cool places to walk around, w/e. Especially if your grasp of french is not very good (at least for now).

duralict
Sep 18, 2007

this isn't hug club at all

Modern Pragmatist posted:

Shouldn't the current location be dependent upon the GPS unit, which is completely independent of internet connectivity?

Hey man I didn't make the app, I just know I need internet to use the location mapping. Maybe it's different on iPhones (I'm using an iPod Touch).

Trotskard
Feb 16, 2011

semicolonsrock posted:

I'm in Paris until August studying. Does any have recomendations for what to do which aren't the typical touristy stuff (which I already know about)? I.e.: clubs, cool places to walk around, w/e. Especially if your grasp of french is not very good (at least for now).

Clubs : The Social Club, Rex Club, la Machine, le Showcase are all pretty neat places with generally cool acts. I also like the Batofar, but it really depends on the act (lots of drum'n'bass and hardcore techno nights, you might want to pass on that if that's not your thing). The Glaz'Art is also nice, don't hesitate to check out the program.

If you want to go have a drink and maybe eat, La Butte au Cailles is full of bars and restaurants. There's also a lot of bars around Place Monge. Those are students hang out spots, so even if your french is not that great, I think you'll manage.

As for a little promenade, I don't really know... I like the Jardin des Plantes, and the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle is pretty interesting. And there's a zoo (la Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes), which I also like.

Modern Pragmatist
Aug 20, 2008

duralict posted:

Hey man I didn't make the app, I just know I need internet to use the location mapping. Maybe it's different on iPhones (I'm using an iPod Touch).

Ah, that's exactly what it is. iPod Touch doesn't have GPS so yeah that would work great for this guy since he wants offline map data for cheap.

The Great Autismo!
Mar 3, 2007

by Fluffdaddy
Does anyone know if the civil service strikes in the UK are affecting the airports in Scotland? I'm flying into Edinburgh tonight and got an email from EasyJet saying there might be delays. Does anyone know anything about this or have a pulse on the situation?

Lady Gaza
Nov 20, 2008

goldboilermark posted:

Does anyone know if the civil service strikes in the UK are affecting the airports in Scotland? I'm flying into Edinburgh tonight and got an email from EasyJet saying there might be delays. Does anyone know anything about this or have a pulse on the situation?

Not sure if this has complete information but probably is worth a look.

http://www.j30strike.org/location/edinburgh/

Give Easyjet a call and turn up early for your flight.

Luuq
Nov 27, 2007
hurrikaani

Magic Underwear posted:

As long as I'm posting, can anyone give me recommendations for Slovenia

I'm in Mariboi now, after spending 2 nights in Ljubljana:

Ljubljana itself is small so you can see the most of it in 1 day, but 2 days should give you time the find the stuff that interests you. Go to the castle, the view is cool.

Then also try to get out of the city to Bled, it's really beautiful: http://www.google.si/search?q=bled&...iw=1280&bih=839 . It took 45minutes to drive there from Ljubljana with our local friends' car but most likely there is some sort of transport going there.

Close to Bled is the Triglav National Park, I can't remember what the name of the valley was we were in but it's equally amazing. It's the hiking trail in the upper right corner here : http://www.tnp.si/images/uploads/zemljevid_big2.jpg.

Mariboi has a festival called Lent going on biw which has given the student city a lot of more action than it normally has during the summer. It goes on for 2 weeks, maybe you might catch it. Otherwise this city is pretty dead, but it+s the second largest city but also has a lot of less tourists than Ljubljana so you might want to check it out.

Enjoy Slovenia, it's a very beautiful country with people who are one of the friendliest I've ever met. You will love it!

Doctor Malaver
May 23, 2007

Ce qui s'est passé t'a rendu plus fort
And also, it's Maribor, not Mariboi.

Veetard
Mar 30, 2007

HeroOfTheRevolution posted:

Macedonia isn't actually all that cheap, but maybe that's just me living in Bulgaria speaking. Also there is no direct train travel between Bulgaria and Macedonia. There is a bus from Sofia to Skopje. Macedonia is worth visiting, especially Skopje and Ohrid.

You can take a bus from Thessaloniki to Blagoevgrad or Sofia twice daily, there's just no train service. Though with Greece falling apart right now even bus service might be tough to come by.

Sofia is still boring and kind of sucks though, but maybe it's just because I know it so well. If you want some cool souvenirs while you're there, there's a flea market near Nevsky Cathedral where people sell stuff from Communist times, like medals, bayonets, pieces of guns, chess sets, lighters... just about anything.


A friend of mine once described Prague as Disney World Eastern Europe, and I think that's about right. It's cool... for a little bit, then you realize how ridiculously touristy it is.

Oh, poo poo! I thought it was a train. I actually took night trains from Skopje to Belgrade and Belgrade to Sofia, but other than that the buses were generally more convenient. I guess a rail pass would be worth it if you take a lot of night trains.

I thought Macedonia and Bulgaria were about the same level of cheapness, but maybe it just seemed that way because I was in Ohrid off season. I suppose the prices would go up in the summer like everywhere else, especially for accommodation.


Magic Underwear posted:


Tying into what another poster was saying, I liked Budapest a hell of a lot more than Prague. Prague just doesn't have much going for it as far as I can tell. It's a nice city and all but I got bored very quickly.

Pretty much every backpacker I've met likes Budapest about a hundred times more than Prague. Only old people like Prague better.

Veetard
Mar 30, 2007

Magic Underwear posted:

As long as I'm posting, can anyone give me recommendations for Slovenia and Croatia? I just got in to Vienna (hoping it isn't as boring as Prague...) and would like to check out these countries before my trip ends in three weeks.

By chance, I read about the Skocjan Caves in Slovenia, which sound amazing. There are also a few towns on the coast that sound really nice.

My idea right now is to spend a night or two in Ljubljana, then head down to the coast, seeing the cave along the way. Spend a few nights in Piran (? or some other coastal city), but then things get more hazy. I don't really care about Zagreb, but what Croatian coast cities are best? The obvious ones are Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik. I've heard that Pula is nice but it seems like it would be a long trip.

Also, since I have a good bit of time, should I try to get to Sarajevo, too?

Last question: Slovenia and Croatia aren't that well known to American tourists, but am I going to get slammed by European tourists? I miss April, every place was empty...

Sorry, Vienna is just as boring as Prague, only you have to pay a lot more to be bored. :D Slovenia is really a beautiful romantic fairy tale land and I didn't enjoy traveling there alone, but I only went to Ljubljana and Lake Bled.

As for Croatia, I think Zagreb is worth a day if you happen to go through there. It's small, but it has a cool vibe. Fulir Hostel is a great place to stay.

Like someone else said...coastal Croatia is going to be packed with tourists, especially Split and Dubrovnik. Split isn't very nice in my opinion, but the nightlife is loads of fun. It's somewhat comparable to Nice in France, only way less of a poo poo hole.

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004
Edit: doublepost

maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Mar 13, 2017

The Great Autismo!
Mar 3, 2007

by Fluffdaddy
It was only for one day, and there were no delays, in fact it was the quickest customs I have ever been through in my entire life. Of course, who flies into Edinburgh internationally? No one, so I guess that's why.

The Belgian
Oct 28, 2008
I'm going to London for the third time. I'm looking for suggestions on where to go, especially churches, museums and other cool historical stuff. I've already visited some of the more famous places like the British museum (although I'm planning to visit that again because you can just keep wandering in there). So far, I'm planning to visit the victoria and Albert museum. I've also been thinking about visiting Westminster cathedral (not abbey, already been there) if that's of any interest?

Rolled Cabbage
Sep 3, 2006

The Belgian posted:

I'm going to London for the third time. I'm looking for suggestions on where to go, especially churches, museums and other cool historical stuff. I've already visited some of the more famous places like the British museum (although I'm planning to visit that again because you can just keep wandering in there). So far, I'm planning to visit the victoria and Albert museum. I've also been thinking about visiting Westminster cathedral (not abbey, already been there) if that's of any interest?

You have to go in with the right frame of mind, but Dennis Sever's house is fantastic. I would recommend going to one of the night openings if you can. I went on Christmas Eve one year and it was amazing. Lambeth Palace also occasionally has exhibitions that are worth visting. If you have an interest in history or science I would also recommend visiting the Hunterian Museum or the Welcomme Institute. More London centric places are the Brunel Museum (the staff are awesome), the Museum of London Docklands and the Foundling Museum at Coram Fields. Soas' Brunei Gallery is nearby Coram and have interesting exhbitions if you like colonial, middle eastern, eastern or african history and art.

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maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004
Edit: doublepost

maskenfreiheit fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Mar 13, 2017

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