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Kolta posted:I'm done in Prague. Sorry we couldn't meet up. It's been a crazy couple days. Prague is amazing though. I was in Prague the last couple days too. So loving hot and humid. Looked for like two hours to find an air conditioned café; finally wound up in a Starbucks next to parliament. I found an insane number of pubs, not so much on the coffeeshops though!
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Jun 18, 2013 22:50
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Kolta posted:Now I'm headed to Berlin for a few days. Any suggestions on museums. Like, must see ones. Pergamon. They're likely still renovating, so it's a little harder than usual to find the entrance. Other than the Pergamon altar and the Babylonian gates in the adjoining museum, I thought the biggest attraction was the Roman market gate and the room they've built around it. It is pretty much like you're really there. Even with the tourists, because they would have been there even in 0AD.
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Jun 18, 2013 22:56
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spacebrospiff posted:US. And I have a Verizon phone I feel like replacing so maybe just use wifi? I heard wifi is pretty prevalent in the cities. I'm trying to decide whether I should just get the international calling plan for verizon for the month or get a phone in europe. I think it would be cheaper just to keep my phone. Just got back from my trip (maybe a quick writeup later when my body figures out what timezone it's in) and one of the biggest surprises to me was the total lack of free wifi everywhere we went. I wasn't staring at my phone all day as we walked around, but there were a few times I was really trying to get online and I would walk half a mile through a busy shopping/eating/business area without finding anything I could use. Even pay options weren't that great. Also some Verizon phones will work in Europe, they just need to have both antennas. We had some sort of android phone that worked. I don't remember what the data charge was exactly, but I think it ended up costing about $100 for the data charges over 11 days, which included a lot of mapping when we were driving between cities, as well as using it to book hostels/hotels, as well as random searches. Texts are 50 cents out, 5 cents incoming, which isn't bad, considering that you probably won't be sending much out, and at least won't get raped in charges when friends from home forget you're gone and text you.
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Jun 19, 2013 03:06
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Unrestricted wifi isn't exactly rare, but it's not really common enough that you're likely to find it walking at random. Just like in the US the best way to find it is by asking in cafes (and bars at night), most of them of any particular size will have it. Also McDonald's and Starbucks are usually free hotspots (although not in certain countries, like Italy).
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Jun 19, 2013 03:20
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Kase Im Licht posted:Also some Verizon phones will work in Europe, they just need to have both antennas. We had some sort of android phone that worked. I don't remember what the data charge was exactly, but I think it ended up costing about $100 for the data charges over 11 days, Verizon is $25/100MB for international use as long as you add it to your plan before you go. I am not sure which of their phones do GSM, but you can check on their website. I have a Verizon Galaxy S3 and it works on GSM. Edit: Here's a link to Verizon's page for US customers wanting to find out if their phone will work internationally http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/tripplanner/tripplannercontroller Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 04:04
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Are there any entertaining folklore, myths or conspiracy theories concerning Barcelona?
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Jun 19, 2013 04:05
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Thanks to the goon who recommended Le Meurice in Paris! Went for breakfast (brunch?), blew my drat mind. That dining room is incredible. Also, what's the deal with tipping? It seems to be included on the bill at restaurants in Paris, but I add a tip anyway. Edit: Also, I was looking into tours of Versailles. Every single private tour company was booked solid all month.  What's a good comprehensive/informative tour? Or is it better to go in by myself with a guidebook?
Lieutenant Dan fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 09:54
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Help trapped in Berlin Tegel airport for another six hours. Unexpected layover. No air conditioning What do Help!
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Jun 19, 2013 10:36
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Insane Totoro posted:Help trapped in Berlin Tegel airport for another six hours. Weep, or take a bus into Berlin. Tegel is a colossal shithole, and its replacement is taking forever to loving build. Also, you picked like the one day on the Northern European calendar when it's sweaty-balls hot. Best I can recommend is the only decent chairs in the whole goddamn airport, which are in the Starbucks on the upper deck. You can always ask someone if there's an airplane observation deck that's open to transfer passengers. Sorry.
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Jun 19, 2013 11:02
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Thanks to the goon who recommended Le Meurice in Paris! Went for breakfast (brunch?), blew my drat mind. That dining room is incredible. Glad you enjoyed it, I've never been myself (way too expensive ) but it's a "classic". Tipping is included in France, but a lot of people will still add a ~10% tip unless the service was lackluster or just adequate. Basically if you feel like the server did a good job and didn't just go through the motions you're encouraged to leave a little something.
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Jun 19, 2013 12:45
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Me and a friend are planning to do Ibiza in early August. Please tell me more about the place... We are ok financially (can't stay in the best places but can still do ok) so where should we look to stay on the island? Our main aim is to party very much and unwind. Any tips for Ibiza newbies? Things to watch out for or things that must be done? Most of the research I did just gives you a list of all the big clubs and hotels and that's about it, I want to know more, what would make the stay even better. Of course we're down to see the non-party areas of the Island too, so please tell me everything I need to know! We're going to be two Mid - Late 20's guys going there for the first time Thanks.
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Jun 19, 2013 14:35
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Kolta posted:Now I'm headed to Berlin for a few days. Any suggestions on museums. Like, must see ones. Spend two hours in the DDR museum. Worth the time and money. We thought a general bike tour through fat tire was worth the money because it tied together all the millions of sights that Berlin has without having to do it by yourself and feeling obligated to go inside each. We used it as an "introduction" to figure out what we wanted to revisit. LaserWash fucked around with this message at 14:47 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 14:40
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I loved the fat bike tour, also. Ps go clubbing
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Jun 19, 2013 17:15
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Today we found our hostel, went to this amazing Indian restaurant and visited the topography of horror museum. Tomorrow is a full day and were are definitely hitting up that DDR museum.
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Jun 19, 2013 19:22
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Junior G-man posted:Tegel is a colossal shithole,
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Jun 19, 2013 20:18
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Tegel feels like a real small town airport that serves a city of 50,000. I mean, it is great if you're coming or going, but if you need to spend any extended amount of time there you're going to be bored shitless.
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Jun 19, 2013 20:24
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Am I trying to fit in too much if I want to go Amsterdam - Gent - Cologne - Berlin - Prague - Munich - Berne - Paris in 25 days? It gives me about 3 days in each place and I've tried to keep distances between the places short so travel doesn't take up too much time. Or is there a better way to do it? I fly into Amsterdam and out of Paris and have my heart set on going to Gent, Berlin and Berne but am happy to change the other destinations.
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Jun 20, 2013 05:52
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Weatherproof posted:Am I trying to fit in too much if I want to go Amsterdam - Gent - Cologne - Berlin - Prague - Munich - Berne - Paris in 25 days? It gives me about 3 days in each place and I've tried to keep distances between the places short so travel doesn't take up too much time. Yes. You're going to want to spend at least a week each in Paris and Berlin and a bit less in Munich. What exactly is it you want to see in Ghent and Bern, though? They're not exactly popular tourist destinations (someone correct me if I'm wrong).
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Jun 20, 2013 07:56
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Ghent is awesome but you can do it in two days.
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Jun 20, 2013 08:28
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Weatherproof posted:Am I trying to fit in too much if I want to go Amsterdam - Gent - Cologne - Berlin - Prague - Munich - Berne - Paris in 25 days? It gives me about 3 days in each place and I've tried to keep distances between the places short so travel doesn't take up too much time. Bern is nice but all the sights can be seen in about four hours unless you really want to see the Paul Klee museum as well, in which case you need like 6 hours. It's also really far out of the way from any of your other cities on the itinerary. I would definitely leave it out unless you know someone you're visiting there.
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Jun 20, 2013 08:56
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Thanks guys, I've changed it around and am now thinking of doing Amsterdam (4 nights) -> Berlin (6 nights) -> Prague (4 nights) -> Bern (5 nights) -> Nice (3 nights) -> Paris (3 nights). I realise I could/should probably cut out Nice in favour of more time in Paris but I'd like to mix it up a bit with not so many big cities. Does that seem a bit more reasonable? Octy posted:Yes. You're going to want to spend at least a week each in Paris and Berlin and a bit less in Munich. What exactly is it you want to see in Ghent and Bern, though? They're not exactly popular tourist destinations (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Saladman posted:Bern is nice but all the sights can be seen in about four hours unless you really want to see the Paul Klee museum as well, in which case you need like 6 hours. It's also really far out of the way from any of your other cities on the itinerary. I would definitely leave it out unless you know someone you're visiting there. When I say Bern I really mean the Bernese highlands, these are a popular spot right? I didn't just make it up? From my research it seemed to be the best place to base yourself for exploring the alps. I'm planning on staying in Interlaken and doing things like hiking around the mountains, taking the Jungfraujoch train and taking other day trips to other mountains and stuff. Basically I just really want to have a Swiss alps experience, it just looks too drat pretty and is probably the part of the trip I'm looking forward to the most. 5 nights isn't too long for it is it? Any more suggestions for this area would be cool too! Ghent just appealed to me as a quaint little town that you could bike around, I'll have to do it next time though! Weatherproof fucked around with this message at 09:46 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 09:42
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Weatherproof posted:
Bring your swimming trunks as well as your hiking boots and go for a swim at Interlaken in the lake, also jump in the river and float through the city of Bern, preferably in a rubber ring. There is a lot to see in Switzerland as long as you don't just stay in Bern, Bern is pretty but a bit dull. Around Thun and Interlaken is some great hiking and some stunning scenery but pretty much anywhere in the the Alps will be beautiful. The towns along the Aare - Solothurn, Biel, Aarburg (huge castle) are pretty and worth some time if you are near them. What are you interested in seeing?
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Jun 20, 2013 10:04
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Anyone in Zurich? If I hit up the main train station, which trams should I take to get to Ramada Hotel City Zurich?
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Jun 20, 2013 11:04
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PlantHead posted:Bring your swimming trunks as well as your hiking boots and go for a swim at Interlaken in the lake, also jump in the river and float through the city of Bern, preferably in a rubber ring. Sounds great! Looks like all those places are doable as a day trip from Interlaken which is awesome! I could combine the city of Bern with one of them too as a daytrip I imagine? It might be kinda shallow of me but to be honest the main reason I want to go to Switzerland is to explore the alps. I'm keen to see anything else in the area that's worth seeing (the city of Bern actually does look pretty cool!) but the priority is definitely exploring the alps - I wasn't really planning on spending much time in Bern (or any other city).  My plan was to be based out of Interlaken and then just go on day hikes in the surrounding areas. Will this work or is there a better place to base myself out of? Are the any routes you can do in under a day that you'd recommend in the area?
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Jun 20, 2013 11:24
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Weatherproof posted:Thanks guys, I've changed it around and am now thinking of doing Amsterdam (4 nights) -> Berlin (6 nights) -> Prague (4 nights) -> Bern (5 nights) -> Nice (3 nights) -> Paris (3 nights). I realise I could/should probably cut out Nice in favour of more time in Paris but I'd like to mix it up a bit with not so many big cities. Does that seem a bit more reasonable? I enjoyed Nice a lot. The French Riviera is gorgeous, but make sure one of the days in Nice you head over to Monaco. It only takes 20 minutes by trains and Monaco is great. Be prepared for a ton of uphill walking though. It's all worth it though because the views in Monaco are spectacular.
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Jun 20, 2013 11:27
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E: Somehow missed the Sweden thread - my q is better suited there
The Gasmask fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 11:49
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Octy posted:Yes. You're going to want to spend at least a week each in Paris and Berlin and a bit less in Munich. What exactly is it you want to see in Ghent and Bern, though? They're not exactly popular tourist destinations (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I disagree with this, I was in Europe this April and went to both Berlin and Munich and I thought that Munich was way better. I understand that these sorts of things are 100% opinion based but my 2 cents would be to spend more time in Munich than Berlin and definitely, DEFINITELY go watch the surfers on the river in Munich, that poo poo is some of the most hilarious fun I had for the whole trip. You could also cut down the time you spend in Berlin because it is extremely easy to get around to see things, I have never seen such a comprehensive bike path network. Just hire a bike (its pretty cheap) and you can see the Basilica (I forget the name), Museum Island, The Reichstag, Brandenburg gate and the really amazing park lands behind it in 2 days, one for the museums and one for everything else. The Wall is a little more out of the way, but like everywhere in that part of the world, public transport is really good. In regards to cutting out Nice in favor of Paris, I would say that it looks fine the way you have it. I found that Paris, while good fun was just a big city like all others in the world, albeit one with good tourist attractions. When I went I didn't go to Nice, but I did get out of Paris for a day or so to go to Orleans and I found the change of pace really nice, the train rides are great to if you enjoy scenery. Whichever way you do it though, I'm sure it will be loving awesome.
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Jun 20, 2013 12:29
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Ulysiss posted:I disagree with this, I was in Europe this April and went to both Berlin and Munich and I thought that Munich was way better. I understand that these sorts of things are 100% opinion based but my 2 cents would be to spend more time in Munich than Berlin and definitely, DEFINITELY go watch the surfers on the river in Munich, that poo poo is some of the most hilarious fun I had for the whole trip. Hey, I was only pandering to popular opinion. I absolutely loved Munich in the three days I was there. I woke up to snow on my second day and it was just absolutely beautiful. The Munich Residenz is great and so is the Englischer Garten.
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Jun 20, 2013 13:13
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Weatherproof posted:Sounds great! Looks like all those places are doable as a day trip from Interlaken which is awesome! I could combine the city of Bern with one of them too as a daytrip I imagine? http://www.wanderland.ch/en/hiking-in-switzerland.html Will give you much more information than I ever could about routes and times. Interlaken is a good base, if you haven't decided also have a look at Luzern or Chur but you won't go wrong with wherever you pick.
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Jun 20, 2013 15:23
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Kolta posted:Anyone in Zurich? If I hit up the main train station, which trams should I take to get to Ramada Hotel City Zurich? I'm not in Zurich, but this seems like the best connection:  I got it off the SBB website, you can enter any addresses in Switzerland and it will give you connections via public transport, the app is pretty sweet too (although it doesn't save search results so take screenshots if you don't want to waste time/data).
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Jun 20, 2013 16:01
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Junior G-man posted:Weep, or take a bus into Berlin. gently caress rear end poo poo whore titties. There was a second floor? I thought there was only a first floor. With a Starbucks? Dammit! Is Tegel some kind of lovely ex Soviet airport?
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Jun 20, 2013 16:56
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Why do I have to show my passport and fill out a form when buying a bottle of water in the airport in Germany?
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Jun 20, 2013 17:46
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Sand Monster posted:Why do I have to show my passport and fill out a form when buying a bottle of water in the airport in Germany? Duty free regulations I think?
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Jun 20, 2013 19:42
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Holy construction batman! Said every tourist in Berlin. Also! Thanks for the info on the connections for Zurich!
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Jun 20, 2013 21:02
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Kolta posted:Holy construction batman! Said every tourist in Berlin. Just for completeness: The SBB website is for all of Switzerland and takes it's info from http://www.zvv.ch/en/ which is specific to Zürich.
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Jun 21, 2013 11:15
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Sand Monster posted:Why do I have to show my passport and fill out a form when buying a bottle of water in the airport in Germany? I think it's pretty standard to have to show your boarding pass if you're buying stuff in the duty-free area? The passport business I've never heard of before; could maybe be to do with the whole idiotic no-more-than-125ml-in-a-clear-container bullshit they've got going on? In case you wanted to blow up your flight with Evian?
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Jun 21, 2013 14:33
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Junior G-man posted:I think it's pretty standard to have to show your boarding pass if you're buying stuff in the duty-free area? Could be for either, I suppose. It was after I cleared security and right outside of the gate, so I assumed it operates the same way it does in the U.S. in that once I'm through security I could just buy any type of liquid. But it's probably related to duty but I thought that was only for the stores that were specifically labeled as such. I also find it ironic that I don't have to take my shoes off when going through security for a flight from Europe to the United States, but I do when flying within the United States, when the only time that an explosive contained in a shoe was attempted to be used to destroy a plane was on a flight from Europe to the United States.
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Jun 21, 2013 14:56
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Sand Monster posted:I also find it ironic that I don't have to take my shoes off when going through security for a flight from Europe to the United States, but I do when flying within the United States, when the only time that an explosive contained in a shoe was attempted to be used to destroy a plane was on a flight from Europe to the United States.
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Jun 21, 2013 20:06
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The best thing is when Canadians, who don't have to take their shoes off at security if they're not going to America, get confused and do it anyway. It all starts with one person who has gone to America and thinks for some reason you have to do it in Canada. Then all the other Canadians in the line take their shoes off as well, thinking that maybe they have to do it, and they don't want to hold up the line, until you get to the one guy that knows you don't have to and everyone stops doing it again for a while. I've seen this happen so many times and it never gets less funny.
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Jun 21, 2013 20:17
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Junior G-man posted:I think it's pretty standard to have to show your boarding pass if you're buying stuff in the duty-free area? That's probably it. I bought chocolate in the duty-free area in Munich airport without having to show either my boarding pass or passport. In fact, I don't think I've ever had to show my boarding pass at any duty-free shop even when buying liquids.
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Jun 22, 2013 00:59
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