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Munich has a couple pretty awesome palaces and there's definitely enough to do there for 3 days. Salzburg is beautiful but doesn't have that much there (as far as I'm aware) but it's probably good for 2 days' worth of tourism. Vienna I could easily spend a week there and not see everything I want to. There's also the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is maybe what you meant by Fussen. Trains are fine for your general idea. Even if there are flights between Munich and Vienna, they'd take longer than trains when you consider check in time, waiting for takeoff, security, getting to the airport, etc.
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Jan 16, 2014 08:42
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Amaterasu posted:Looking for advice on a trip to Austria with a stop in Southern Germany in mid October. The longest I can plan for is 11 days but 10 sounds better. We'd probably leave on Wednesday and return on Friday so we'd have the whole weekend to adjust back to CST before going to work on Monday. Of course you basically lose a whole day on each end of the trip just for actual travel. You'd probably find this book useful if you do decide on Munich: http://www.amazon.com/Steves-Snapshot-Munich-Bavaria-Salzburg/dp/1598806890 Munich does make sense because you are a very short train trip from Salzburg. There's a lot you can do in Munich, but Neuschwanstein is definitely a must as I'm sure you know. If you want a hassle free method and don't mind spending a bit more than what it would cost you on your own, I recommend New Europe Tours (http://www.newmunichtours.com/). You meet up in the train station, pay the tour guide, and they take care of everything. The tour guide we had, Jonathan, was very knowledgeable and led us all around the area outside the castle. We also went to Dachau with the same tour guide and it was also very informative. In Salzburg, you can walk around Old Town (Rick Steves offers a nice guided walk for this) and hike up to the fortress. There's museums and Mozart's birth place if you care about that at all. There are various tour companies that offer day trips to surrounding areas for hiking and sightseeing. For Vienna, I think our highlight was Schönbrunn Palace. If the weather cooperates, you can do the palace tour and then wander around the grounds for hours.
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Jan 16, 2014 15:51
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The Eisriesenwelt outside of Salzburg is pretty bizarre and fun. It's an ice cave way (way) up on the side of a mountain. Dress warm even if it's hot outside.
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Jan 16, 2014 16:01
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Thank y'all for the info and the help! Apparently I might be moving to Texas for a previous employer so this has put some kibosh on the Europe stuff for a bit...but they do have facilities in Europe and Poland...hmmm.
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Jan 16, 2014 16:55
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Sand Monster posted:For Vienna, I think our highlight was Schönbrunn Palace. If the weather cooperates, you can do the palace tour and then wander around the grounds for hours. I have to second this. I was there today and even in winter it was awesome. Summer would be even more impressive. Also you can go to the state opera for 3! Euro (standing tickets only.) They start selling standing tickets an hour and a half before the start so turn up 15-30 minutes before that and line up. You can then go tie your scarf around a rail on your balcony to reserve the spot (getting there earlier = a better spot) and spend the time getting a drink and exploring the public rooms of the Opera house. Saros fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Jan 16, 2014 |
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Jan 16, 2014 17:00
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We talked about Vienna a few months ago and I'll throw in that St. Stephen's has an unusually good audioguide. The church is kinda ehh, but I found that I learned a lot of history about Vienna and the Austrian empire in general by listening to the guide and seeing some of the important things that took place there in the cathedral.
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Jan 16, 2014 18:26
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emfive posted:The Eisriesenwelt outside of Salzburg is pretty bizarre and fun. It's an ice cave way (way) up on the side of a mountain. Dress warm even if it's hot outside. Thank you! That is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Deutsches Museum also sounds like a good bet. Sand Monster, thank you for the link. I didn't realize Dachau was near Munich. I would also be interested in their WWII tour of Munich as I'm a huge history buff. Has anyone been to the woods outside Vienna or Seegrotte?
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Jan 17, 2014 02:31
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Amaterasu posted:Thank you! That is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. If you want more hiking, maybe go up Untersberg outside of Salzburg (30 minutes or so by bus). You can start at the bottom or take a cable car up 2500 meters or so, and then hike around on fairly rugged trails. No equipment is required but you should be in decent shape and not afraid of heights. Depending on how far you go and what trail you take, you'll be straddling the Austria/Germany border and make several crossings. Budget 7-12 hours if you want to reach the peak from the upper cable car station. I don't know much about the woods near Vienna, but I should. I will check it out soon.
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Jan 17, 2014 10:42
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Anonymous Zebra posted:
That guy really worked hard to include every racist caricature he could think of, there's even a Native American (and also an alien and Santa for some reason).
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Jan 17, 2014 11:00
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Gatts posted:in Europe and Poland I bet this got a smirk from a few European readers. Kurtofan posted:That guy really worked hard to include every racist caricature he could think of, there's even a Native American (and also an alien and Santa for some reason). The reason was obviously to say "everybody under the sun (and beyond) is immigrating here" instead of "there are too many X immigrating here" where he would target only one race or nationality. Doctor Malaver fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Jan 17, 2014 |
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Jan 17, 2014 11:19
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Kurtofan posted:That guy really worked hard to include every racist caricature he could think of, there's even a Native American (and also an alien and Santa for some reason). Swiss work-ethic man. Doctor Malaver posted:The reason was obviously to say "everybody under the sun (and beyond) is immigrating here" instead of "there are too many X immigrating here" where he would target only one race or nationality. I know, but having lived in the US my whole life, this is the first place where I've seen major newspapers use the "buck-toothed yellow guy" Chinese caratiture in the 21st century, and refer to Indian people as a whole as "curry-eaters" in conversation. It's just funny, so I thought I'd share it.
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Jan 17, 2014 13:09
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It's not just a major newspaper, it's the largest political party in Switzerland.
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Jan 17, 2014 13:32
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Amaterasu posted:Sand Monster, thank you for the link. I didn't realize Dachau was near Munich. I would also be interested in their WWII tour of Munich as I'm a huge history buff. Yeah, short train ride and bus trip away. The tour is particularly helpful for this because otherwise you are wandering around on your own. For WWII history, you can visit the Eagle's Nest outside of Salzburg. I didn't get to go because the weather wouldn't cooperate.
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Jan 17, 2014 14:57
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DNova posted:If you want more hiking, maybe go up Untersberg outside of Salzburg (30 minutes or so by bus). You can start at the bottom or take a cable car up 2500 meters or so, and then hike around on fairly rugged trails. No equipment is required but you should be in decent shape and not afraid of heights. Depending on how far you go and what trail you take, you'll be straddling the Austria/Germany border and make several crossings. Budget 7-12 hours if you want to reach the peak from the upper cable car station. I'm in decent shape and go to the gym 5x a week but the main problem is where I live is very flat and at sea level. Things were interesting when we went hiking in Monteverde, Costa Rica, which is almost at the same altitude as Denver. I was constantly running out of breathe. We did lots of hiking of course but I felt like I was 70 years old, getting winded from any somewhat steep climb. I'm also quite afraid of heights so that's probably out. Anyone been to the Natural History Museum or Zoo in Vienna? I also love old churches so it looks like I'll have plenty to see on the trip.
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Jan 17, 2014 17:13
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No worries about the hiking, near Salzburg you barely find anything above 2000m, to get to the heights of 3000+ where you get problems breathing etc you need to go way into the central/western Alps. You should be perfectly fine. 
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Jan 17, 2014 18:14
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Does anyone have any advice for Turkey? I'll be in Istanbul for four days in a few months.
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Jan 18, 2014 19:50
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icecastle posted:Does anyone have any advice for Turkey? I'll be in Istanbul for four days in a few months. If there are lots of angry, shouting people in Taksim Square, go somewhere else. Otherwise, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Markets are awesome. Also, I'd recommend trying a hammam/traditional Turkish bath. The Cembelitas Hammam just next to the Grand Bazaar is really nice and not too expensive.
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Jan 18, 2014 23:42
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smilehigh posted:If there are lots of angry, shouting people in Taksim Square, go somewhere else. Thanks for the recommendations.
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Jan 21, 2014 09:06
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I'd like to go to London. From Germany so it's not a really big trip, just slightly. What kind of hotel can I expect for two persons, seven nights and a hotel budget of around 800 pounds? As well as that, anything I should make a point of checking out that isn't the obvious tourist attractions? I like British comedy, where do I go with that in mind?
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Jan 21, 2014 14:57
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Depends on when you want to go, but £100 a night, should get you a 4* somewhere in zone 1 like the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, but you can get a good hotel for way less than that. A tip to save you some money: read this
elwood fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jan 21, 2014 |
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Jan 21, 2014 16:07
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My Lovely Horse posted:I'd like to go to London. From Germany so it's not a really big trip, just slightly. What kind of hotel can I expect for two persons, seven nights and a hotel budget of around 800 pounds? If you're staying for 7 nights an apartment will be a lot nicer than a hotel IMHO. AirBnB has a ton of places in London. If you just prefer hotels, check out priceline.com and look under the express deal tab. My wife saved about £60/night in a 4 star Marriot in central London through them. It's a funny site because you don't really know exactly which hotel you're booking until you accept the offer but you'll see how many stars, the amenities and the guest rating. So it worked for her and I think it's worth considering in big cities when you're looking for 4 star and up.
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Jan 21, 2014 18:00
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So I've never been overseas and the girlfriend and I just booked a trip to the U.K. in late June. I was hoping for some general recommendations on what to see/do. We're flying into London and flying out of Dublin 13 days later. We also need to stop in Aberystwyth, Wales to visit her sister. So I'm thinking something like, driving north from London to Wales, staying a few days, driving into northern England for a few days, then onto Scotland for a few days, and finally back to Dublin. Is this a reasonable amount of time to see all three countries or will we feel rushed? I'm cool with spending only a day in each London and Dublin because a city is a city for all intensive purposes. I'd like to see some awesome scenery and go visit some cool little historical towns.
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Jan 23, 2014 18:51
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marsisol posted:So I've never been overseas and the girlfriend and I just booked a trip to the U.K. in late June. I was hoping for some general recommendations on what to see/do. That's a very rushed itinerary, even for me (I am usually ok with fast-pace tourism)
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Jan 23, 2014 18:56
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quote:We're flying into London and flying out of Dublin 13 days later. We also need to stop in Aberystwyth, Wales to visit her sister. So I'm thinking something like, driving north from London to Wales, staying a few days, driving into northern England for a few days, then onto Scotland for a few days, and finally back to Dublin. Is this a reasonable amount of time to see all three countries or will we feel rushed? quote:I'm cool with spending only a day in each London and Dublin because a city is a city for all intensive purposes. quote:I'd like to see some awesome scenery and go visit some cool little historical towns.
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Jan 23, 2014 19:51
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Check out Conwy and Caernarfon (sp?) castles in North Wales. That said you really really should try for more than 1 day in London/Dublin.
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Jan 23, 2014 20:09
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Thanks for the replies. How about 2 days in each of London and Wales and skipping Scotland all together? I'd like to check out the Lake District in England too.
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Jan 23, 2014 21:01
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If you look back a few months, there was somebody on here you said he found he was done with London after a day and a half, but I reckon the general consensus would be there's more to it than that. It's a place with over a thousand years of history, and it's now one of the great global cities, you could fill weeks with it. There's nothing wrong with scheduling just a day or two as a flying visit, just as long as it's because you want other locations to take priority and realise you won't "have done London". Would you prefer to take a stroll though some countryside and have a pint in a small pub or stroll though a significant museum? Pablo Bluth fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Jan 23, 2014 |
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Jan 23, 2014 21:48
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Pablo Bluth posted:If you look back a few months, there was somebody on here you said he found he was done with London after a day and a half That was me and I think another guy.
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Jan 23, 2014 22:31
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marsisol posted:We're flying into London and flying out of Dublin 13 days later. We also need to stop in Aberystwyth, Wales to visit her sister. So I'm thinking something like, driving north from London to Wales, staying a few days, driving into northern England for a few days, then onto Scotland for a few days, and finally back to Dublin. Is this a reasonable amount of time to see all three countries or will we feel rushed? I'm cool with spending only a day in each London and Dublin because a city is a city for all intensive purposes. I'd like to see some awesome scenery and go visit some cool little historical towns. to the poster: I don't think you'll want to rent a car. Not only does it sound like you'll mostly be going from city to city (in which case trains are easy), but lefthand drive is also somewhat disconcerting and roads in Europe are a LOT narrower than roads in the US. YMMV of course. Just make sure you don't have a car when you're going to London or Dublin. Trains in England are pretty expensive, but renting a car will almost certainly be more inconvenient and expensive, unless your girlfriend's sister is also accompanying you, in which case the car might be a decent idea except for London. Edit: "For all intents and purposes." Saladman fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Jan 23, 2014 |
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Jan 23, 2014 22:48
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Saladman posted:to the poster: I don't think you'll want to rent a car. Not only does it sound like you'll mostly be going from city to city (in which case trains are easy), but lefthand drive is also somewhat disconcerting and roads in Europe are a LOT narrower than roads in the US. YMMV of course. Just make sure you don't have a car when you're going to London or Dublin. Trains in England are pretty expensive, but renting a car will almost certainly be more inconvenient and expensive, unless your girlfriend's sister is also accompanying you, in which case the car might be a decent idea except for London.
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Jan 23, 2014 23:13
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DNova posted:That was me and I think another guy. Probably me! That said, if it's your first trip to Europe I would probably suggest spending more than a day in one of its major centres, for sure.
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Jan 24, 2014 02:15
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marsisol posted:Thanks for the replies. How about 2 days in each of London and Wales and skipping Scotland all together? I'd like to check out the Lake District in England too. For this trip a car might actually be better than a train but I think you can do it either way. It sounds like you want to see quite a bit of countryside. I'm not sure what the best thing to do but maybe this could be it: 3 nights in London - take time to recover from jetlag, don't rent a car during this time, rely solely on public transport Book a train (up to 12 weeks in advance) to Manchester. Will take just over 2 hours. Rent a car here. Might be best to do this at the airport? It has a rail station. Spend 9 nights driving around and looking at the countryside in Wales and possibly parts of North West England. If you are staying over in Aberystwyth then you could probably fit up to two other places for accommodation without it being overwhelmingly rushed, though I think just one would be ideal if you stick to North Wales. I spent a weeks holiday in a cottage in Llangollen just fine. Return the car in Manchester, fly to Dublin. There are also SailRail tickets from anywhere in the UK to Dublin available, though in this case you may want to rethink the car-renting-from-Manchester strategy. The ferry leaves from Holyhead. 2 nights in Dublin
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Jan 24, 2014 04:17
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Hello again everyone, im in Berlin 27 jan-2nd Feb. Anyone got some tips or recommendations for places to stay?
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Jan 24, 2014 17:32
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Airbnb would be my first thought
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Jan 24, 2014 17:49
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Saros posted:Hello again everyone, im in Berlin 27 jan-2nd Feb. Anyone got some tips or recommendations for places to stay? A goon here suggested PLUS Hostel and Hotel. My wife and I stayed in the Hotel and it did the trick for us. It is really close to the East Side Gallery, which I thought was really neat and some of the old east Berlin hipster/bar scene stuff (which I didn't care for but whatever).
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Jan 24, 2014 18:07
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I stayed in HostelOne80 in Alexanderplatz before moving into my apartment for a semester. It was pretty cool, and Alexanderplatz is pretty well-connected on Berlin's public transport system (The S5, S7 and S75 run from east to west, and the U5 goes way out in the east and the U2 can take you to the Sony Center. The 100 Bus line can get you to Unter den Linden and the Deutsches Historiches Museum and the DDR Museum and the Brandenburger Tor.) v Yeah, the S5/S7/S75 (which all go the same route from Westkreuz to Ostkreuz) connects with the S1/S2/S25 at Friedrichstraße. Friedrichstraße is pretty great in its own right (there's the Museum Island, and the Berliner Republik bar has a pretty interesting "stock market" gimmick; in the night, if more beers of one kind are bought, then that beer's price rises, and every hour there's a "stock market crash" and all beers are less than 2€ or so. HU is also pretty close by). Jerry Manderbilt fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Jan 24, 2014 |
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Jan 24, 2014 18:22
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Jerry Manderbilt posted:I stayed in HostelOne80 in Alexanderplatz before moving into my apartment for a semester. It was pretty cool, and Alexanderplatz is pretty well-connected on Berlin's public transport system (The S5, S7 and S75 run from east to west, and the U5 goes way out in the east and the U2 can take you to the Sony Center. Important point about picking a place that I learned during the week my wife and I were in Berlin last year. That S1, S2, S25, S5, S7, and S75 series of trains that basically run the same route are critical to picking a good place that is close to the stuff you will want to see. In my opinion, if it isn't near that series of routes, I wouldn't stay there.
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Jan 24, 2014 18:33
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Hostel wise, I liked "die fabrik" in Kreuzberg as a base for clubbing.
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Jan 25, 2014 01:47
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Im between health insurance plans now and wont have coverage when I go to bulgaria next month. Is it true they wont let me in without it? Are those companies that offer temporary international travel health insurance plans legit? Sorry if this is the wrong thread.
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Jan 25, 2014 12:06
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borodino posted:Im between health insurance plans now and wont have coverage when I go to bulgaria next month. Is it true they wont let me in without it? Are those companies that offer temporary international travel health insurance plans legit? Sorry if this is the wrong thread. I can't imagine that is the case unless you are talking about a long-term (6+ month) visa.
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Jan 25, 2014 12:20
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