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Entropist posted:A day trip is fine, it's just that some people decide to stay in Brussels over Ghent or Bruges and whyyy? I just want to see the Van Damme statue, they have one right dupersaurus posted:I just got the museum pass and that was fine for me. I was staying real close to Chatlet-Les Halles, and pretty much everything was well in walking distance. And even towards the end of my stay when my legs were saying "let's spend more time on the train", EUR1.40/ticket isn't bad. Granted, I'm also pretty fit, so your personal tolerances for walking may differ. Okay, it looks like that metro fare is fixed, regardless of what zone you are going to or from? If it's that cheap the visite card probably isn't worth it for me.
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Mar 30, 2015 19:07
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A card usually isn't worth it unless you travel around in the city a lot. I think it's 6 or 7 rides a day to make it worth it? I just bought a pack of 10 single tickets (there's a slight discount when you get 10) and it was easily the cheapest option. I think I ended up making about 3 or 4 rides a day, though I was there mostly for an event that I had to commute to.
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Mar 30, 2015 20:51
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I'll be in France for a couple weeks in May. I will be in Paris for one week, and I was going to stay a second week but now I am thinking of hopping a plane to Nice (and Monaco), Montpellier, Marseille, Ajaccio, or Geneva for four days instead. I am open to other suggestions, but I want to stay in French-speaking territory. Right now, Marseille and Geneva are both the most interesting to me. I've been to Paris several times before, and I am not looking for anything in particular besides seeing more of the French-speaking Europe. Any advice? Also, has anyone done a Franglish event? (http://www.franglish.eu/) It looks like and interesting experience.
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Mar 31, 2015 06:24
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WildeVinyl posted:I'll be in France for a couple weeks in May. I will be in Paris for one week, and I was going to stay a second week but now I am thinking of hopping a plane to Nice (and Monaco), Montpellier, Marseille, Ajaccio, or Geneva for four days instead. I am open to other suggestions, but I want to stay in French-speaking territory. Right now, Marseille and Geneva are both the most interesting to me. I've been to Paris several times before, and I am not looking for anything in particular besides seeing more of the French-speaking Europe. Any advice? Geneva is really not a very interesting city, and I say this as someone who's been living half an hour from Geneva for the past 6 years. If you like atmosphere I'd suggest Nice (and absolutely hit up Éze). If you want to go to some museums and see big churches I'd suggest Marseille (and make sure to do a day trip to the Calanques, e.g. go to Cassis and then walk to the Calanque d'en Vau).
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Mar 31, 2015 08:48
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Saladman posted:Geneva is really not a very interesting city, and I say this as someone who's been living half an hour from Geneva for the past 6 years. If you like atmosphere I'd suggest Nice (and absolutely hit up Éze). If you want to go to some museums and see big churches I'd suggest Marseille (and make sure to do a day trip to the Calanques, e.g. go to Cassis and then walk to the Calanque d'en Vau). Seconding the Geneva is a bit dull thing. If you want to see the United Nations building or can get tickets to see CERN then it is completely worth it, otherwise the city itself isn't that great.
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Mar 31, 2015 10:31
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In a couple of days I'll be travelling with a 11 hour layover in Istanbul. Given the timeframe I'd like to get out and see some sights, get lunch, and buy some small leather accessories like belts and watch straps. Does anyone know any spots that are particularly good for this sort of stuff and are relatively cheap and easy to get to/from the airport? I wish I had a few days to spend there but I got the last ticket as it is 
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Mar 31, 2015 21:39
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So, I'm going to be in Spain all May, and I think my apartment has satellite TV. Apparently Game of Thrones is going to be broadcast by Canal+ at the same time as in North America, and I was wondering if they show it with a Spanish dub, or with subtitles. Google is not being incredibly helpful.
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Mar 31, 2015 23:44
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I don't know about Spain, but in France for most recent shows you can select which audio you want playing, the original english version or the french dub. You can enable/disable subtitles too, but they're only available in french.
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Apr 1, 2015 08:24
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pylb posted:I don't know about Spain, but in France for most recent shows you can select which audio you want playing, the original english version or the french dub. You can enable/disable subtitles too, but they're only available in french. Same thing here in Italy, for satellite TV at least (and some shows on DTTV).
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Apr 1, 2015 08:37
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mobby_6kl posted:In a couple of days I'll be travelling with a 11 hour layover in Istanbul. Given the timeframe I'd like to get out and see some sights, get lunch, and buy some small leather accessories like belts and watch straps. Does anyone know any spots that are particularly good for this sort of stuff and are relatively cheap and easy to get to/from the airport? You can get to the Sultanahmet area within an hour. Take the Metro from the airport to Zeytinburnu, change to tram. It should be very doable to walk around for a few hours, see the sights and get back as long as it is daytime and the metro service runs. The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern are very close to each other, but it is a very touristy area and you probably won't find the best deals for leather. Then again, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Blue Mosque over shopping.
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Apr 1, 2015 09:34
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PT6A posted:So, I'm going to be in Spain all May, and I think my apartment has satellite TV. Apparently Game of Thrones is going to be broadcast by Canal+ at the same time as in North America, and I was wondering if they show it with a Spanish dub, or with subtitles. Google is not being incredibly helpful. Isn't canal+ pay tv? Are you sure that your apartment has a subscription?
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Apr 1, 2015 09:53
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elwood posted:Isn't canal+ pay tv? Are you sure that your apartment has a subscription? It specifies including satellite TV, but I suppose it might not have that channel. Is there free satellite TV in Europe?
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Apr 1, 2015 13:09
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PT6A posted:It specifies including satellite TV, but I suppose it might not have that channel. Is there free satellite TV in Europe? Yes, but it depends on the country. Germany for example broadcasts all major channels free to air all over europe (and parts of africa), the UK has a somewhat tight spotbeam with all major channels centred on the uk and ireland (but you can still get them easily in northern france, benelux and most of northern and western germany). I don't know about spain specifically but I guess they would also have free to air channels on sat.
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Apr 1, 2015 13:20
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Well, I guess I'll see when I get there, in that case. Not a huge deal either way.
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Apr 1, 2015 13:47
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WaryWarren posted:Take the S-Bahn (S 8) to Herrsching (end of the line) and walk approximately 2 km through the woods to the Andechs monastery/brewery. Will do Herrsching! The weather's been absolutely godawful*, so Starnberg doesn't sound like it'd be that great, but a walk is still justifiable if there's a monastic brewery at the end of it. *well okay, I actually like storms with 100 mph winds, but it has hosed poo poo up
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Apr 1, 2015 22:13
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Saladman posted:Amsterdam is really terrible for parking, though. Not that bad, just expensive. Don't do street parking just park in one of the big parking garages, there is a lot of available parking space there. €30-50 a day, €5-7 per hour but usually with a daily limit like €40. Probably not worth the effort for tourists but very doable.
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Apr 1, 2015 23:34
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WaryWarren posted:Take the S-Bahn (S 8) to Herrsching (end of the line) and walk approximately 2 km through the woods to the Andechs monastery/brewery. PlantHead posted:This is good advice. Thanks for these recommendations. My wife and I are going to Munich in late may and are starting to put loose plans together. Any additional recommendations for Munich, Zurich, or Milan [actually, Bergamo]?
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Apr 2, 2015 01:18
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I am planning on doing a solo trip for my first time in Europe September 19th - October 3rd. I have some extended family in London and plan on doing a few days there before hopping over to Amsterdam, then Munich, and then maybe Paris. I am going solo and plan on checking out Oktoberfest and many things beer related in Munich. Anyone have any advice for a solo 29 year old guy? Also I am looking into taking an overnight ferry from the UK to Amsterdam so I don't waste a day getting there. Has anyone done that? Namaste.
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Apr 2, 2015 19:01
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The ferry kinda sucks. Could take the Eurostar from London to Brussels and then the train from Brussels to Amsterdam? Or just fly there, it's really cheap with easyJet.
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Apr 2, 2015 19:18
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Yeah, the best way from London to Amsterdam is with one of the cheap airliners from one of those airports that are actually like an hour outside of London. I've never even tried the ferry, the Channel tunnel or Calais ferry are good options mainly if you want to bring a car. Unfortunately there's no direct train between the cities yet, but I heard there will be next year. Going by train is still the fastest option at about 4 hours, but it's also an expensive one. The ferry takes a whole day (or night) I think.
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Apr 2, 2015 21:44
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Yeah, planned for December 2016. It's a good alternative for flying (proposed price is 99 pounds for a return ticket). Wonder how they'll do the immigration part (since you need to go through a baggage / ID check before getting into the UK).
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Apr 2, 2015 21:58
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They must have solved that already for the Paris-London trains, but I've never been on those so I don't know how it works.
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Apr 2, 2015 22:03
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St Pancras is an "International" terminal so I assume all customs work is done there, going either way. I know for sure (from watching Great Continental Railway Journeys) that leaving St Pancras is higher security than boarding on a normal train, but it appears that once you're in Paris it's just a normal amount of train security.
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Apr 2, 2015 22:11
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Entropist posted:The ferry takes a whole day (or night) I think. The night ferry takes all night but I would be sleeping so that was kinda the idea. Ill look into flights. Thanks. Also curious about the whole Oktoberfest thing if anyone has done that. Danke.
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Apr 2, 2015 22:28
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I see. It can be a good option, I've never tried it. I did hear from some family members that it is often treated as a party boat by stag and hen parties and such things (a lot of those terrorize Amsterdam) so bring earplugs if you go that way!
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Apr 2, 2015 23:34
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Chinatown posted:The night ferry takes all night but I would be sleeping so that was kinda the idea. Oktoberfest / Der Wiesn is fun for a day, maybe 2 tops. Bring lots of Euros, and eat regularly. The coal roasted fish at the Fischer-Vroni (http://www.fischer-vroni.de/x/index.php/fischer_vroni_welcome_en.html ) is the loving best poo poo. I went a few years back and we did one day just in the tents, and came back 2 days later and just kinda chilled, wandered around, and ate and split a beer here and there. I might've liked day 2 better. I made a bet with my old man that I could drink 7 liters in 24 hours. I won. My brain and liver and probably society lost. Goooood times. Also, anyone in here know why a guy got offended when we offered to buy him a beer at the tents? We weren't belligerent at that point, and were just trying to make a new friend. It failed.
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Apr 3, 2015 00:32
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Chinatown posted:I am planning on doing a solo trip for my first time in Europe September 19th - October 3rd. I went to Oktoberfest a few years ago, lost all the friends I went with, met new ones. By the third day I never wanted to see another goddamn tankard of beer, a guy in lederhosen, or an Aussie chick in a terrible-quality $10 dirndl. I don't think I'd go back, but it was a good time. Not really sure I'd recommend it solo but that depends on your personality. It's really easy to meet people and just go up to their table, especially after 5-6 pm when everyone's drunk. Keep in mind that the tents close at 10pm or so. We got particularly hammered because we got there when the tents opened and started pounding beers. The first day, I remember we thought the German guys around us were pussies because we were on our 3rd beer when they were only at the end of their 1st. It turns out they were pacing themselves and had a solid strategy towards drunkenness. If you want to stay in a hotel or hostel, BOOK IT NOW because you don't want to stay in some loving tent city freezing your balls off. It is pretty cold at night in Munich at the end of September and everything else fills up. I had an apartment and we ended up with like 8 people in it, because 4 of them only had tents and hated it after the first night.
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Apr 3, 2015 01:29
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Saladman posted:I went to Oktoberfest a few years ago, lost all the friends I went with, met new ones. By the third day I never wanted to see another goddamn tankard of beer, a guy in lederhosen, or an Aussie chick in a terrible-quality $10 dirndl. I don't think I'd go back, but it was a good time. Not really sure I'd recommend it solo but that depends on your personality. It's really easy to meet people and just go up to their table, especially after 5-6 pm when everyone's drunk. Keep in mind that the tents close at 10pm or so. Thanks for the info. Sounds like fun considering I enjoy German beer and drinking till I can't see straight. I will start looking as hostels/hotels ASAP.  Do breweries in/around Munich do anything special for Oktoberfest? My only outside-Munich place I would like to visit is the Weihenstaphan Brewery. Chinatown fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Apr 3, 2015 |
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Apr 3, 2015 03:20
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Chinatown posted:Thanks for the info. Sounds like fun considering I enjoy German beer and drinking till I can't see straight. I will start looking as hostels/hotels ASAP. Yeah, but almost everything happens at Theresienwiese. The breweries and bars and etc stay open late though, so you can still do stuff after you get kicked out of the tents at 11. No idea about specifics. I ended up in a Lowenbrau brewery the first night of Octoberfest but it wasn't anything particularly unique.
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Apr 3, 2015 12:45
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I am sure this has been covered somewhere in the last 162 pages, but it may be worth adding to the OP: What is the generally agreed upon best way to handle converting from dollars to Euros? US Banks? European Banks? Airport currency exchanges? Just use my credit card everywhere? Where will I get the best rate/lowest conversion fees?
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Apr 3, 2015 22:35
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WildeVinyl posted:I am sure this has been covered somewhere in the last 162 pages, but it may be worth adding to the OP: I would get Euros from your bank beforehand. Otherwise use a bank atm at the airport (not to be confused with currency exchange like Forex, avoid that like the plague).
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Apr 3, 2015 22:51
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How are tickets actually checked in the German railway system? I've been a good boy and have been paying for my tickets, but there's no gate controls anywhere in Munich that I've seen so far, so what's to stop someone just walking straight onto a train with no ticket whatsoever?
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Apr 3, 2015 23:27
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Ofaloaf posted:How are tickets actually checked in the German railway system? I've been a good boy and have been paying for my tickets, but there's no gate controls anywhere in Munich that I've seen so far, so what's to stop someone just walking straight onto a train with no ticket whatsoever? I assume they check for them on the train
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Apr 3, 2015 23:46
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Yeah, they'll check your ticket on the train.
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Apr 4, 2015 03:41
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WildeVinyl posted:I am sure this has been covered somewhere in the last 162 pages, but it may be worth adding to the OP: Don't know about dollars, but I went from Greece to Serbia a couple of months ago and the exchange kiosk in Belgrade would give much better prices than the one in Athens. My bank didn't help with converting though, they specifically suggested I just convert at the airport.
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Apr 4, 2015 13:00
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WildeVinyl posted:I am sure this has been covered somewhere in the last 162 pages, but it may be worth adding to the OP: If you use ATMs, which are a perfectly reasonable option, make sure to get big stacks of cash at once, because most banks charge a hefty per-transaction fee. Found that one out after I'd been taking 40-60 euros out every day or two last time I was in Spain. Much better to get a bunch of money at once and then keep it somewhere safe.
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Apr 4, 2015 13:34
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The easiest thing, hands down, is withdrawing it from an ATM just make sure your bank knows you will be and withdraw the maximum because transaction fees
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Apr 4, 2015 14:12
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The ferry from london to amsterdam is pretty cool if you like ships and boats and stuff  , leaving the night before so you get some sleep is also awesome so you dont spend all day in Amsterdam with jet lag. I was planning on doing the rail and sail from London to Amsterdam this july since its about the same cost as a plane ticket for the day I was planning on travelling and I also like ships and trains.
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Apr 4, 2015 18:31
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Schwab doesn't charge fees for ATM use, and reimburses if the other bank charges, and at least in Italy and Spain the big banks also don't charge fees so you can withdraw at the Visa exchange rate. Pretty much the best way I know of other.
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Apr 5, 2015 10:19
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asur posted:Schwab doesn't charge fees for ATM use, and reimburses if the other bank charges, and at least in Italy and Spain the big banks also don't charge fees so you can withdraw at the Visa exchange rate. Pretty much the best way I know of other. Even international withdrawals? My bank is pretty good about not charging fees when I use an out-of-network ATM domestically, but holy gently caress does that ever go out the window once you step foot on foreign soil.
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Apr 5, 2015 17:09
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