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A couple questions for you fine people: I am in the process of planning a trip to Spain with my brother and a buddy. We're probably going from July 5-13 or so, spending two nights in Pamplona for the running, and the rest of the time in Barcelona. I did San Fermin a few years ago, so I know Pamplona enough, but I know absolutely nothing about Barcelona. Any recommendations on places to stay or things to do would be wonderful. Since I'm a bill paying adult now instead of lazy college grad like I was during my last trip, I've gotta keep it cheap, so we're looking at hostels most likely unless there's some kind of affordable apartment we could rent. I'm 27 and the other two are 25 and 26, if there's age restrictions on any recommendations for hostels. As far as sites, we're looking to mix partying with some cultural stuff as well during the day and plenty of beach time. I am also assuming that I don't need a railpass since it's all in country traveling, correct? I am also trying to confirm that these exact dates are ok for everyone, so that kind of hampers me for another day or two. But the main hang up I'm having now is trying to figure out how plan our flights. We're in Jersey, going to fly out of Newark. EWR to Barcelona round trip is about $200 cheaper than doing the round trip out of Pamplona. Is it totally insane to consider flying into Barca, taking a train out later in the week and then taking it back? Or should I one way it to Barca, train out to Pamplona, and then fly home out of there? My gut tells me that Pamplona is going to be chaos trying to get a cab and then fly out of there at the end of the festival (or beginning if we just one way it there first). Would this be correct?
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Jun 5, 2012 15:55
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THE MACHO MAN posted:A couple questions for you fine people: The closest major airport to Pamplona is probably Barcelona, so that makes sense to train back, unless you want to go to Madrid, in which case you should get an open jawed ticket (NYC -> Barca; Madrid -> NYC) which is usually not much, if at all, more expensive than a normal round-trip. Rail passes actually make the most sense if you're staying in a single country. Buying individual tickets is going to be cheaper though, since you look like you're just going across Catalonia and Basque country. I've never seen a hostel that had an age restriction < 30 years, although I'm sure they exist. Most youth hostels actually have no age limit and you'll see a lot of families with young kids in them in cities that aren't party-party-party. Probably not in Barcelona in the summer, though!
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Jun 5, 2012 16:54
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Bilbao has a pretty big airport that's probably easier to fly into if you're going to Pamplona.
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Jun 5, 2012 20:10
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With three people, and if you're only going to Pamplona for a few days, renting a car from Barca, parking it somewhere for the bull run and then driving it back might be cheaper than 3 train tickets.
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Jun 5, 2012 21:51
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I'm like the total opposite of a nightclub person, so which nightclub in Berlin should I go to? I figure that I'll be out of the country by the time people realize what a lovely dancer I am e: man I really blew my time in Amsterdam, it was just a rainy drunk Englishmen-filled shitfest for me. I want Berlin to be a fresh start over that disaster Laminator fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Jun 6, 2012 |
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Jun 6, 2012 00:29
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Laminator posted:I'm like the total opposite of a nightclub person, so which nightclub in Berlin should I go to? I figure that I'll be out of the country by the time people realize what a lovely dancer I am There actually is quite a large and diverse choice of nightclubs, and a lot of bars also double as nightclubs in the night. You can also find some unofficial parties, check flyers and magazines (Berlin 030 and Resident Advisor aren't bad). And don't worry, outside of crappy "upper class" venues no one gives a drat about the way you dance  Personally I can recommend the Berghain (a nightclub straight from a movie, playing techno in an old concrete power plant) or the Cassiopeia (down to earth club in an old train depot, plays lots of different music - funk, punk, reggae, indie, 80s, 90s, electro swing...). I've also heard good things about Magdalena (house and similar stuff), SO36 (same as Cassiopeia), Yaam (reggae club with a beach) and Club der Visionäre (electro club in a small old shipyard). Generally speaking, avoid the West and the city center and go to Friedrichshain or Kreuzberg in the East, there's tons of stuff to do. quote:e: man I really blew my time in Amsterdam, it was just a rainy drunk Englishmen-filled shitfest for me. I want Berlin to be a fresh start over that disaster Yeah that's quite Amsterdam nowadays unfortunately, loads of drunken douches from all over the world doing their bachelor parties in Amsterdam (Hurr Durr hookers and weed amirite  ). I've had better experiences in Spring or Autumn.
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Jun 6, 2012 11:03
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Chikimiki posted:And don't worry, outside of crappy "upper class" venues no one gives a drat about the way you dance What about shoes? My shoes are not so hot.
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Jun 6, 2012 16:38
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Hey guys, I've been in Paris since May 28 with my girlfriend and 2 friends, and for the first week we were in Grenelle. We already went to a large handful of museums (We had a 4 day Paris Museum Pass) and sights, went shopping at Champs Elysees and Havre Caumartin. Since June 4, we moved and are now staying in Belleville. We also already went to Versailles and walked around Pigalle & Montmart. We also ended up walking the streets for long segments of time in random directions to see what we could find (Thankfully there metro here owns and is everywhere). We are going to be here for another 4 days but we feel like we've seen a good amount of places and are running out of ideas. What we have left is going to the catacombs, finding the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore by the Notre Dame, and trying to get dinner at Le Relais de Venise. Any suggestions on where else to go? Or recommended restaurants, cafes, or bakeries? Also where would be a good place to get souvenirs from friends? Or are all the souvenir stores the same for the most part in terms of inventory?
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Jun 6, 2012 20:41
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Doc Hawkins posted:What about shoes? My shoes are not so hot. Same. Germany and especially Berlin is very relaxed for night clubs, they are more seen as bars with a dance floor than the contrary. Heck, since Berlin is the hipster capital of Europe you are more likely to be over- than underdressed.
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Jun 6, 2012 21:05
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photo kiosk of life posted:Hey guys, I've been in Paris since May 28 with my girlfriend and 2 friends, and for the first week we were in Grenelle. We already went to a large handful of museums (We had a 4 day Paris Museum Pass) and sights, went shopping at Champs Elysees and Havre Caumartin. Since June 4, we moved and are now staying in Belleville. We also already went to Versailles and walked around Pigalle & Montmart. We also ended up walking the streets for long segments of time in random directions to see what we could find (Thankfully there metro here owns and is everywhere). Shakespeare & Co is located on the south bank, right across from the square in front of the Notre Dame. (spoilered in case you want to find it yourself, finding things by yourself in a new city is half the fun). If it's a nice and sunny day, take a stroll along the Canal Saint-Martin (bring along some wine and bread for a nice lunch along the canal), or take a guided bike tour. Slightly suicidal in Paris, but if you get a good guide, he/she can really take you to some nice streets, neighborhoods and hidden courtyards. Stroll through Cours du Commerce Saint-André, a little but very nice 18th century street in Saint-Germain. While there, have dinner in Cafe Procope. Good food, and the cafe has been open since 1686. Also, Franklin chased some fine french tail there (probably while Jefferson was sitting next to him looking sternly), so that has to count for something. Or have dinner in Bistro 1900/Relais Odeon (same street, nicer restaurant). But most of all, just walk around, have a glass of wine, walk some more, drink some more, be a flâneur and enjoy Paris.
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Jun 6, 2012 21:57
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Chikimiki posted:There actually is quite a large and diverse choice of nightclubs, and a lot of bars also double as nightclubs in the night. You can also find some unofficial parties, check flyers and magazines (Berlin 030 and Resident Advisor aren't bad). Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Was going to go tonight with a dude I met on the Fat Tire tour, but on my way home the U bahn stopped a stop short of where I was going to transfer and the S line nearby skipped where I needed to go, too, so I had to walk back to my hostel 2km  Now I am tired Try to go out tomorrow night, I guess.Any suggestions for good German food in Berlin? Or any good currywurst places?
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Jun 6, 2012 22:15
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Laminator posted:Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Was going to go tonight with a dude I met on the Fat Tire tour, but on my way home the U bahn stopped a stop short of where I was going to transfer and the S line nearby skipped where I needed to go, too, so I had to walk back to my hostel 2km Ouch that sucks... I think you're allowed to take bikes into U- or S-Bahn in the evening, maybe using a rental bike it could also work? I never ate German in Berlin (not that I don't like it, but being German it just seems pointless when you got all that good international stuff around) so I'm not very knowledgeable on that subject, but I got some recommendations: - Zur letzten Instanz in Mitte, which is Berlin's oldest restaurant. It is quite good apparently but a bit touristy, had some famous clients such as Napoleon himself. - Schwarzwaldstuben (Mitte too) for south german food - Henne in Kreuzberg, some of the best roasted chicken in a nice tavern - Schneeweiß in Freidrichshain, modern south german food, stylish restaurant - Oderquelle (modern) and Schusterjunge (traditional) in Prenzlauer Berg. As for Currywurst, the most famous ones are Curry 36 in Kreuzberg (very crowded) and Konnopkes Imbiss in Prenzlauer Berg, but to be honest they all taste pretty much the same to me
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Jun 7, 2012 00:33
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Chikimiki posted:Ouch that sucks... I think you're allowed to take bikes into U- or S-Bahn in the evening, maybe using a rental bike it could also work? Yeah, I'm kind of regetting getting the WelcomePass because now I just want to bike around the city, but feel guilty about doing that because I dropped like 23 euros on the public transport pass. Might just get a bike rental anyway, gently caress it. Thanks for the suggestions, I've got those places marked for later today and tomorrow  Now to find a Fritz Cola...e: ah poo poo i think i have a stress fracture in my first metatarsal, walking hurts something bad Laminator fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Jun 7, 2012 |
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Jun 7, 2012 08:27
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Laminator posted:Yeah, I'm kind of regetting getting the WelcomePass because now I just want to bike around the city, but feel guilty about doing that because I dropped like 23 euros on the public transport pass. Might just get a bike rental anyway, gently caress it. Or some Club Maté! That stuff works wonders.
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Jun 7, 2012 08:30
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Hi thread! Just wanted to check if anyone had any advice about driving around France in an RV/campervan/whatever your country calls it. I'm going with my dad and his dad to follow the Tour de France, leaving in about two and a half weeks. Suggestions on places to park for the night, good stores that we'll need to know about, just general tips like that if anyone has them would be great. Thanks!
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Jun 9, 2012 13:42
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I have no experience with camper travel, but you should know that if you want to be up on the mountain for one of the two summit finishes you'd better be there a couple of days in advance.
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Jun 9, 2012 15:01
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Bastard posted:Shakespeare & Co is located on the south bank, right across from the square in front of the Notre Dame. (spoilered in case you want to find it yourself, finding things by yourself in a new city is half the fun). Thanks, found the bookstore and went to Cafe Procope! Planning to go to Canal Saint-Martin tomorrow for our last day and try to hit up Le Relais de Venise for dinner, unless you guys have anywhere else to recommend or advise against that place.
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Jun 9, 2012 18:29
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dshban posted:Hi thread! Just wanted to check if anyone had any advice about driving around France in an RV/campervan/whatever your country calls it. I'm going with my dad and his dad to follow the Tour de France, leaving in about two and a half weeks. Suggestions on places to park for the night, good stores that we'll need to know about, just general tips like that if anyone has them would be great. Thanks! Also check the cycling thread in SAS, there's a couple people there who have followed the tour.
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Jun 9, 2012 18:54
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Through great fortune, I'm going to Ireland at the end of August. I'm looking for some seasonal advice. It is my understanding that Ireland is gorgeous that time of year but there are more national parks and scenic routes than I have time for. What really stands out in the summer?
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Jun 10, 2012 06:06
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Radd McCool posted:Through great fortune, I'm going to Ireland at the end of August. I'm looking for some seasonal advice. It is my understanding that Ireland is gorgeous that time of year but there are more national parks and scenic routes than I have time for. What really stands out in the summer? go back to page 57 and start reading from here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3318901&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=57#post403902003
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Jun 10, 2012 11:27
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Soooo what's the big hubub with Krakow? It's cool, but not super amazing like some were making it out to be...
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Jun 13, 2012 00:11
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I'm going to spend some time in Paris & Madrid this summer & am pretty addicted to using maps on my iPhone 4 (AT&T) whenever I'm in new cities. AT&T's data roaming plans are outrageous, so I'm looking to go with jailbreaking & unlocking my phone, then getting a european sim-card with a prepaid data plan. Does anyone have any experience with this or easier ways of doing it? Free wifi is apparently hard to find, so most of the data for the maps would be coming over 3G, so just putting the phone in airplane mode/only using wifi doesn't seem to be an option.
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Jun 13, 2012 04:42
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Precache the whole city or buy a map.
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Jun 13, 2012 09:19
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Sgt. Cosgrove posted:I'm going to spend some time in Paris & Madrid this summer & am pretty addicted to using maps on my iPhone 4 (AT&T) whenever I'm in new cities. AT&T's data roaming plans are outrageous, so I'm looking to go with jailbreaking & unlocking my phone, then getting a european sim-card with a prepaid data plan. Does anyone have any experience with this or easier ways of doing it? Free wifi is apparently hard to find, so most of the data for the maps would be coming over 3G, so just putting the phone in airplane mode/only using wifi doesn't seem to be an option. There's free wifi in pretty much every Paris park and public library, though they're obviously not open all the time.
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Jun 13, 2012 12:54
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Laminator posted:Soooo what's the big hubub with Krakow? It's cool, but not super amazing like some were making it out to be... Personally I was expecting a pretty drab Soviet-bloc style city so I was blown away by the architecture. That cathedral in the main square is almost as ornate as St. Peter's in the Vatican. I also found a few cool skate shops and felt the graffiti in town was excellent, but that's my own personal thing. It seems to be pretty popular for stag nights so... what exactly were you expecting?
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Jun 13, 2012 13:05
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Laminator posted:Soooo what's the big hubub with Krakow? It's cool, but not super amazing like some were making it out to be... Is there really any sort of big hubbub? The historical centre is pretty alright, albeit not too large, other than that it's more or less a standard city.
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Jun 13, 2012 13:52
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Laminator posted:Soooo what's the big hubub with Krakow? It's cool, but not super amazing like some were making it out to be... That might have been me. I had a great couple of days there, but that was for a number of reasons, including catching the last date of Kanye's tour for €30. Sorry if I oversold it, but I still think it's a pretty sweet place.
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Jun 13, 2012 18:00
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oh don't get me wrong, it's a pretty neat town, but just from what I had read about it I was expecting Berlin 2.0 or something. I like it a lot, been having lots of fun here, eating some delicious perogi and zapiekanka and drinking lots of vodka.
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Jun 13, 2012 23:07
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I leave tomorrow for France!  Any last minute stuff I should remember before I go? My bags are 99% packed. I don't have to check any luggage. The last things I need to put in my small backpack are my laptop, phone, chargers for both, and a very small makeup bag (I'm bringing like, bare minimum makeup). I invested in one of the RedOxx SkyTrain bags as my "big" bag. This thread and the travel gear thread have been a huge help! Without both I would be bringing like 5 suitcases. Instead I'll be traveling light and traveling easy as a woman. Who knew?
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Jun 15, 2012 00:10
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I'm going to be in Austria for a couple of weeks next month and I think I can spare three days to visit Slovenia. Now, a few people have recommend me to visit Maribor, so the question would be, what would you pick if you only had three days to visit it? Maribor or the capital, Ljubljana?
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Jun 15, 2012 04:50
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Talas posted:I'm going to be in Austria for a couple of weeks next month and I think I can spare three days to visit Slovenia. Now, a few people have recommend me to visit Maribor, so the question would be, what would you pick if you only had three days to visit it? Maribor or the capital, Ljubljana? Ljubljana is one of the loveliest cities in Europe, while Maribor is one of the drabbest pits*. I'd spend all 3 days in Ljubljana and 0 in Maribor. *Not dirty/bad, just nothing to do and very small and not at all a European capital of culture. Saladman fucked around with this message at 10:09 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 07:46
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My girlfriend and I are inter-railing this Summer. We're planning on spending a few days each in: Zagreb, Ljubljana, Budapest, Bratislava, Brno, and Prague. After Prague, we've got ten days to get to Brussels for the train home. Any must sees in the above cities, or suggestions for our route back? We're also thinking about using airbnb a bit as it seems like they've got some nice places to stay. Do any goons have any experience with it? (Or any specific hostels/hotels that are good)
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Jun 15, 2012 19:32
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Has anyone been to the Crazy Horse in Paris? My wife really wants to go but I didn't bring anything nicer than nice jeans and a nice polo with me. I have read that they prefer non-jean pants and a jacket. Should I drop the money on new clothes or do people go in more casual clothes than the website implies?
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Jun 15, 2012 22:32
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All Too Much For Me posted:My girlfriend and I are inter-railing this Summer. How much time are you going to spend in Prague? If you want to do something besides the usual tourist stuff (Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, the works) and have an extra morning to spare, the Vietnamese market is pretty cool. It's quite far away from the city centre, but it's huge, open daily and they have a ton of restaurants where they serve good Vietnamese food. You can buy pretty much everything there and it's just an interesting place because it's the place where the life of the (significant) Vietnamese minority in Prague is centered. (They don't only sell stuff, but they also have their own school, temple, hotel, casinos there...) lucythenomad fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Jun 16, 2012 |
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Jun 16, 2012 00:27
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Saladman posted:Ljubljana is one of the loveliest cities in Europe, while Maribor is one of the drabbest pits*. I'd spend all 3 days in Ljubljana and 0 in Maribor.
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Jun 16, 2012 00:51
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lucythenomad posted:How much time are you going to spend in Prague? If you want to do something besides the usual tourist stuff (Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, the works) and have an extra morning to spare, the Vietnamese market is pretty cool. It's quite far away from the city centre, but it's huge, open daily and they have a ton of restaurants where they serve good Vietnamese food. You can buy pretty much everything there and it's just an interesting place because it's the place where the life of the (significant) Vietnamese minority in Prague is centered. (They don't only sell stuff, but they also have their own school, temple, hotel, casinos there...) Thanks, that's great. We're planning on spending 3 days in Prague and 4 in Brno.
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Jun 16, 2012 01:19
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I'd spend 4 days in Prague and 3 in Brno, to be honest. Or even 5 and 2, respectively. Granted, I've only been to Brno for two days, but there seems to be so much more to do in Prague than in Brno...
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Jun 16, 2012 01:40
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All Too Much For Me posted:My girlfriend and I are inter-railing this Summer. Depending on where you're from and when you will be able to travel around Europe again, I would maybe recommend a more varied choice of destinations. This seems like an overly detailed exploration of the ex-communist / Austro-Hungarian area.
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Jun 17, 2012 11:55
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Doctor Malaver posted:Depending on where you're from and when you will be able to travel around Europe again, I would maybe recommend a more varied choice of destinations. This seems like an overly detailed exploration of the ex-communist / Austro-Hungarian area. Sorry, I probably should have mentioned that this'll be after spending a fortnight in the French Alps, and will be followed by a return through Germany. We're both from the UK, and getting to Europe's no big deal. The main area that we wanted to visit that we're not visiting is Northern Europe; which we were avoiding to save money really.
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Jun 17, 2012 14:09
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It's OK then but still I'd suggest skipping Zagreb and probably Bratislava in favor of something different like a Croatian coastal town.
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Jun 17, 2012 17:21
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