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Julio Cruz posted:Also unless you want to set foot on every single island you only need to be there for a couple of days. You could do Venezia, Murano and the Lido in two and that's basically everything that's worth seeing. You saw everything worth seeing in Venice in 2 days? I've spent 6 days there total and I felt like I just scratched the surface. It's obviously subjective, but I thought there was lots to see and do in Venice and spent many hours just getting lost and wandering around. I loved all the churches, museums, and little nooks. I feel like I could probably spend another week or two there and be totally content. Same with Rome actually. I think maybe I just love Italy too much, but I had a hell of a time there. MagicCube fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Feb 18, 2016 |
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Feb 18, 2016 05:30
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Yeah, there is a huge amount of monumental poo poo and museums to visit there. I easily spent 5 days there and it could have been longer, though I was staying with someone who lived there.
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Feb 18, 2016 10:10
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I'm thinking about spending 7-12 days in Europe in early march. Been thinking about flying into Italy and then maybe train to Switzerland. Maybe a couple of days in Milan, then train to Tirano and then a couple of rides on trains to the glacier. Seems like a good idea? Could I squeeze in another Italian city at the same time?
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Feb 18, 2016 23:30
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I agree with the Saladman, re: driving in Italy. I drove frequently between Bolzano and cities to the south (as far as Tuscany), in an ancient Fiat Punto. Even on Friday night, the traffic on the Autostrada going to Bologna was laughably light (compare it to the western suburbs of Chicago to the Loop). Some people speed, some don't; maintaining a consistent speed seems to be a problem though. People don't tailgate, they go around you as quickly as possible in the left lane. Unlike in the US, lollygagging in the left lane is very uncommon and will get you killed. I also drove from Bolzano to as far away as Austria and Slovenia, through the Dolomites. Traffic is only a concern on weekends, especially during the ski season (Cortina, San Candido).
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Feb 19, 2016 02:39
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spog posted:I'm thinking about spending 7-12 days in Europe in early march. Have you ever been to europe before? I would stick to 2 cities max if you haven't. Use some of the extra time for a daytime excursion trip
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Feb 19, 2016 05:35
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caberham posted:Driving on Italian highways is very intense. Tail gate like race car drivers and speed like autobahn - even when there are speed limits. If you are traveling with your dad, I would drive. You can go to way more rural places. But I would not drive to interlaken because returning a rental car cross border gets prohibitively expensive. Either train to Interlaken and take public transportation or rent locally. But if you do rent locally, remember to pay for the highway pass. Switzerland gets expensive in no time so I advise public transportation. You can drive to Switzerland and drive back to Italy, but Interlaken is like the middle of the country and adds up quite a bit of travel time for 15 day trip. You are kind of pressed for time to visit 3 Italian places within 15 days. Saladman posted:
Thanks for the advice. I think we're going to go to Rome - Venice - Interlaken. Probably not renting a car. We want to take trains between these cities if possible - is that a good idea? Any advice in regards to that?
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Feb 19, 2016 06:19
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Thanks for the advice. I think we're going to go to Rome - Venice - Interlaken. Probably not renting a car. We want to take trains between these cities if possible - is that a good idea? Any advice in regards to that? Just be aware that to get from Venice to Interlaken you're going to have to take like six different trains probably.
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Feb 19, 2016 08:05
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Thanks for the advice. I think we're going to go to Rome - Venice - Interlaken. Probably not renting a car. We want to take trains between these cities if possible - is that a good idea? Any advice in regards to that? I mean: 
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Feb 19, 2016 08:24
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HookShot posted:Just be aware that to get from Venice to Interlaken you're going to have to take like six different trains probably. I say just fly to Berne and take a bus. Interlaken is only 57 km away. Or spend more time in Italy
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Feb 19, 2016 08:42
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Thanks for the advice. I think we're going to go to Rome - Venice - Interlaken. Probably not renting a car. We want to take trains between these cities if possible - is that a good idea? Any advice in regards to that? Why do you want to go to Interlaken? It's not that different from the Dolomiti which Venice is very close to though you'd need to rent a car as it's not very train friendly. Also visit Florence as that city is amazing.
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Feb 19, 2016 10:14
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caberham posted:I say just fly to Berne and take a bus. Interlaken is only 57 km away. Or spend more time in Italy Yeah, or fly from Venice to Basel on EasyJet and then take the train in. It's a little further by train, but Bern's airport is tiny and there aren't any direct flights (and when there are, they're often pricier than the cost of the train differential to Zurich or Basel airports). Spending the whole time in Italy isn't a bad idea either though, either the Dolomites (which might be quite different from what you want), or by spending it at the Italian lakes like Como/Maggiore/Garda which offer similar charm to Interlaken but which are more convenient to where you'll already be. NB that Como the town itself is not very interesting and has a poor view on both the lake and the mountains. George Clooney got robbed by buying there instead of in Varenna or Bellagio. E: and Lago d'Iseo. Someone always comes up and mentions that when the other three larger lakes get mentioned.
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Feb 19, 2016 10:49
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Seconding Varenna, I liked it more than Como and Bellagio because it's more laidback and quiet. Italy, Europe is awesome (to visit)
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Feb 19, 2016 12:30
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caberham posted:I say just fly to Berne and take a bus. Interlaken is only 57 km away. Or spend more time in Italy Yeah agreed.
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Feb 19, 2016 18:19
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If you were doing a single-day drive around the Tuscan countryside, as part of a longer stay in Florence, what 2-3 towns would you visit?
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Feb 19, 2016 18:22
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caberham posted:Have you ever been to europe before? I did 8 days in Brussels last year. There isn't 8 days of stuff to do in Brussels. EDIT: wondering if anyone has done the trains and got any experience to share spog fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Feb 19, 2016 |
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Feb 19, 2016 19:06
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asur posted:Why do you want to go to Interlaken? It's not that different from the Dolomiti which Venice is very close to though you'd need to rent a car as it's not very train friendly. Also visit Florence as that city is amazing. Again, this is my dad's plan for my family's two week trip to Europe. He's super psyched about the mountains near the Lauterbrunnen area, which is near Interlaken. I don't know how it compares to the Italian alps. They'd probably love Florence, but I just don't think there's time for it, even if we stop there on the train from Rome to Venice. Fortunately, like I said I'll be backpacking before and after they visit so I can go back. Saladman posted:Yeah, or fly from Venice to Basel on EasyJet and then take the train in. It's a little further by train, but Bern's airport is tiny and there aren't any direct flights (and when there are, they're often pricier than the cost of the train differential to Zurich or Basel airports). Interesting. I don't think any of us know enough about the Italian Alps yet. I think my dad was sold on Lauterbrunnen because "it sounds like Yosemite" and apparently there's easy transport everywhere via lifts and such. Ramrod Hotshot fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Feb 19, 2016 |
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Feb 19, 2016 19:19
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Interesting. I don't think any of us know enough about the Italian Alps yet. I think my dad was sold on Lauterbrunnen because "it sounds like Yosemite" and apparently there's easy transport everywhere via lifts and such. If he wants to go up the lifts to the top of mountains, then Switzerland beats Italy hands down. The Interlaken area is also super lovely so you're not going wrong by going there, it's just not as convenient to Venice and it's a lot more expensive. For instance, the train that goes from Lauterbrunnen to Jungfraujoch is around $200 per person and it takes about an hour up and an hour down. The jungfraubahn is the most expensive "lift" to the top of a mountain in Switzerland, but still expect to pay $70-$100 pp for the others. If your dad's heart is set on it and he's paying, then go for it. It'll be fun and stunning. I'd also recommend the Trift Glacier lift which is pretty close by (maybe an hour by bus?) and Piz Gloria is just there too (20 minutes from Interlaken maybe). There are some sort of neat underground waterfalls a couple kilometers away from the bottom lift to Piz Gloria on the same valley too. Worth stopping at if you're going to Piz Gloria. Saladman fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Feb 19, 2016 |
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Feb 19, 2016 19:51
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I have a layover in Moscow for 11 hours coming up next month. I'd like to leave the airport for at least a few of those. Do I need a travel visa? Looks like I'm okay (just under the 12 hour layover limit), but will they actually let me leave the airport?
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Feb 21, 2016 00:31
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If you want to enter Russia you need whatever authorization is required for people of your nationality.
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Feb 21, 2016 05:44
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Normal Person posted:I have a layover in Moscow for 11 hours coming up next month. I'd like to leave the airport for at least a few of those. Do I need a travel visa? Looks like I'm okay (just under the 12 hour layover limit), but will they actually let me leave the airport? I had a similar situation in China, ~7 hour layover with no visa, after much hand wringing, the let me in to the country. China is not Russia, however. The airline won't let you leave the ground without a temp visa clearance, however. So you ought to be ok to enter. No guarantees, you may end up sucking down cheap russian vodka from the airport if they don't let you in. Having an official ($250 USD?) russian travel visa would pretty much guarantee entry, though.
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Feb 21, 2016 06:05
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Tell me about Stockholm/Copenhagen! Considering a short trip in mid-late June probably for 7-10 days and for some reason checking out those two cities is appealing to me a lot right now. How are these cities for a mid-late 20s guy having a great time travelling alone or possibly with one friend? And at that time of year? What are some things I would definitely want to check out? Any interesting day trips? Primarily interested in just wandering/city exploring, checking out cool architecture. Outdoor activities are of great appeal so any beautiful parks/spots in the cities or cool day trips for short hikes. Definitely into checking out a few interesting museums - currently know nothing about museums in either city. Also like checking out local food/drinks/nightlife. Much more in the relaxed hangout vibe type of places than clubbing, etc. I'm aware that these are generally expensive cities, but is it easy to do a good amount of cool stuff without spending a ton of money?
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Feb 24, 2016 16:11
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Joose Caboose posted:Tell me about Stockholm/Copenhagen! Considering a short trip in mid-late June probably for 7-10 days and for some reason checking out those two cities is appealing to me a lot right now. How are these cities for a mid-late 20s guy having a great time travelling alone or possibly with one friend? And at that time of year? What are some things I would definitely want to check out? Any interesting day trips? Copenhagen is a ton of fun, although food and accomodation are quite expensive, especially in the city center. If you're there for more than a couple days, rent a bike. It's cheaper than public transport and the best way to see the city. There's always a cheap-ish shawarma place nearby if you need food on a budget. Alchohol is expensive, but you can just do what all the Danes do in summer and drink in the parks! Public drinking is legal here. Things that I usually show visitors, in no particular order: The botanical gardens are very pretty, have an enormous iron greenhouse and FREE Cisternerne, a giant underground water reservoir that's been turned into an art exhibition. There's a park almost directly across the road from it that might interest you. Christiania - The "free state" inside Copenhagen, a bunch of parkland and old army barracks that were taken over by hippies in the 60's. It's still nominally independent, and you can find insane diy art-houses, a street of weed vendors (don't buy the pre-rolled joints, they are rear end), as well as live music on the weekends. Glyptoteket is an eclectic collection of sculpture, paintings egyptian mummies and whatever else the Carlsberg Beer heir thought was cool. The building itself is a really bizarre architectural mish-mash too, fun times. Other stuff most people want to see are the parliament, Nationalmuseet (vikings), Tivoli and the roundtower. For outdoors stuff, there are some really nice parks and outdoor areas (H.C. Ørsted park, Dyrehaven, the canals around the inner city). For anything that could conceivably be called "hiking", you're going to have to visit Sweden. For local cafes and stuff, I would suggest exploring the Frederiksberg/Nørrebro neighbourhoods, close to the canals. They are gentrified/gentrifying respectively and have a pretty active nightlife. Lots of fun stuff in the inner city too, but it can be a bit of a tourist trap in places. For day trips, I would recommend taking the train to Helsingør, a very pretty coast city. Check out Kronborg (Hamlet's castle) and the pedestrian streets. You can also take a short trip across the channel to Malmø, the Edit: Regarding The Danes, everybody speaks english, even if some are too shy to say anything. People here are generally very polite to visitors. They are also very reserved, but will suddenly become your best friend after a couple beers. This is normal behaviour! Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Feb 24, 2016 |
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Feb 24, 2016 17:28
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Joose Caboose posted:Tell me about Stockholm/Copenhagen! Considering a short trip in mid-late June probably for 7-10 days and for some reason checking out those two cities is appealing to me a lot right now. How are these cities for a mid-late 20s guy having a great time travelling alone or possibly with one friend? And at that time of year? What are some things I would definitely want to check out? Any interesting day trips? For Stockholm, that time of year is generally good weather, but a few smaller businesses may be closed/on holiday. Note that June 25th is Midsummer, and more than just smaller places will be closed and many of the locals will have fled into the woods. If the weather is good, the archipelago has excellent day trip potential in the form of small villages in a very beautiful environment. Tyresta national park is also very nearby, small by national park standards but good for short hikes. Drinking isn't as cheap as in Copenhagen, but if you're not going clubbing, it could be worse and you can have a good time on a reasonable budget. Museum-wise, the Vasa museum is great if you have any interest in maritime history. The museum's built around the eponymous ship, but has a fair amount of stuff on seafaring in the Baltic and on marine archaeology in general. The Nobel Museum is an interesting, smaller museum on the Nobel Prize as well as on the various laureates. The national museum has a general overview of Swedish history from stone age to late 20th century, with noticeable focus on the cool (ie viking) bits. Not a bad place to spend a few hours, but don't expect something the size of the British Museum or the Smithsonian museums. Hours, not days. The royal palace/treasury/armoury contain what the name suggests, and can and should be treated as one (a ticket to one will either include or substantially discount entry to the others), and are worth seeing if you're interested at looking at dead monarchs' cool stuff (or at living monarch's cool stuff). The three combined are see-able within a day. There's a plenty of other (mostly but not exclusively) smaller museums, but those get a bit more specific in what they offer. There's a liquor museum, and ABBA museum, various art museums (old or not-old), Nordiska Museet (Swedish life and culture, exhibitions vary, topics can be quite specific (ie, "sugar in Sweden in the 70s", as opposed to "history")), an army museum... None of the museums are huge multi-day (or even all-day) affairs, were listed in personal order of preference rather than based on anything objective. Adjust for interests. The old town is interesting, but can at times be touristy. Many of the government or otherwise Important buildings (current and historical) are either in or around there, and may of the bars are not traps. The area immediately to the north is the central (business, but also otherwise, with all that entails) district, while the next island to the south has convenient bar/restaurant density.
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Feb 24, 2016 18:52
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SurgicalOntologist posted:If you were doing a single-day drive around the Tuscan countryside, as part of a longer stay in Florence, what 2-3 towns would you visit? I did a one day bus trip that stopped in Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. We really enjoyed Siena and I'd recommend that. San Gimignano was a cool hill town but it was 99% tourists so didn't really have a local feel. Pisa was awful and I don't recommend it even if you want to check off the leaning tower box.
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Feb 24, 2016 20:03
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Anyone know about Swiss trains? Specifically rhb.ch Want to take a day trip from Tirano - St Moritz and back to enjoy the view. Read that i should book seats on the left of the carriage.....but I can't tell the direction of travel on their website! Do I book seat 31on the outward journey and the reverse on the return? Or should it be seat 25? 
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Feb 24, 2016 21:54
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Strange to see people talking about the Scandinavian countries and things being quite expensive. It's going to be very expensive compared to pretty much everywhere else in the world. While in Stockholm go out into the archipelago on a nice day. Sodermalm has tons of nice places to check out, and just avoid Normalm, the shopping district, entirely.
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Feb 24, 2016 21:54
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spog posted:Anyone know about Swiss trains? I don't see any info other than the direction isn't guaranteed anyway. You might have better luck booking through the national rail service, have you already tried them? http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holida...ess_landingpage They do packages and stuff and you can probably call someone up and get the reservation you want or at least get your questions answered. They're usually pretty nice to tourists and many of the staff (in general but especially on the phones) speak excellent English.
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Feb 24, 2016 22:06
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greazeball posted:I don't see any info other than the direction isn't guaranteed anyway. (Suppose I can assume that the carriage numbers start at '1' at the front of the train and 10 at the back and work it out from there, with crossed fingers. I did look at SBB, but they seem to be train+hotel packages for the snow journey and I only want to spend a day there (else it gets too pricey). I;m coming up from Milan so Tirano seems a good point to get on the train and St Moritz a good point to go there and back again. rhb.ch seemed to be the place to book a train on. Seems like a sensible plan to you?
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Feb 24, 2016 22:34
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Seems like an OK plan although I'm not really familiar with that part of the country yet. I'm pretty sure the prices are set centrally so I'd still give a call to the SBB office and explain what you want and see what they propose. There might be a different, roundabout way to get back to Milan that would also be nice, for example. As far as the wagon numbering, I think (really, this is pure conjecture) it depends on the origin of the train, did it originate in Tirano or did it originate in St Moritz and now it's returning? Another question for the SBB people. Seriously though, make them work! Train tickets are loving expensive here!
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Feb 24, 2016 22:44
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Fruits of the sea posted:Edit: Regarding The Danes, everybody speaks english, even if some are too shy to say anything. People here are generally very polite to visitors. They are also very reserved, but will suddenly become your best friend after a couple beers. This is normal behaviour! So what is the best way to transition to speaking English in Scandinavia? I know pretty much all the younger people speak English fluently but it feels rude to just start speaking English? But asking them if they speak English also seems kinda silly because of course they do. I look Danish so people always start conversations in Danish and I feel awkward trying to change it to English. I'm hoping to go back to Denmark this year and maybe see the rest of the Scandinavian countries.
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Feb 25, 2016 05:21
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flynt posted:So what is the best way to transition to speaking English in Scandinavia? I know pretty much all the younger people speak English fluently but it feels rude to just start speaking English? But asking them if they speak English also seems kinda silly because of course they do. I look Danish so people always start conversations in Danish and I feel awkward trying to change it to English. I'm hoping to go back to Denmark this year and maybe see the rest of the Scandinavian countries. "Sorry, I don't speak Danish". Or learn how to say it in the local language to sound less douchey, but honestly no one really cares. Like everywhere, people will be super happy if you make a modicum of an effort to learn basic words in their language but no one is going to shun you if you go "excuse me, do you speak English?" and then ask your question.
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Feb 25, 2016 05:37
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HookShot posted:"Sorry, I don't speak Danish". Or learn how to say it in the local language to sound less douchey, but honestly no one really cares. Thanks, I'm probably just overthinking things but part of it is I feel like I am super terrible at pronouncing other languages. Like I tried learning basic phrases in German and anytime I tried them in Germany people would just give me blank looks until I started talking in English. I just don't want to come across like an entitled tourist 
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Feb 25, 2016 06:17
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flynt posted:Thanks, I'm probably just overthinking things but part of it is I feel like I am super terrible at pronouncing other languages. Like I tried learning basic phrases in German and anytime I tried them in Germany people would just give me blank looks until I started talking in English. I just don't want to come across like an entitled tourist If you try, and they give you a blank look and you switch to English, they will understand that you tried, and that's more than 95% of tourists do, so you're all good.
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Feb 25, 2016 06:36
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Non verbal language helps a ton. You know how sometimes you ask people to take a picture of you? It's kind of like that - Don't walk up behind people asking for help. Give people space and a visual cue, if they have a gently caress off don't talk to me face then find the next person. Don't chase people like a missionary Before I say anything I do the slight head bow and give the apologetic smile. When people do engage I just slow down, use key words and a lot of hand motions. You can try using another language, but you better be good enough for basic tourist speech. I think it's way more annoying to ask for something in a language and then not understanding the response. Saying polite words definitely helps, but do that stuff afterwards.
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Feb 25, 2016 07:32
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If you can get a native to help you say it smoothly and confidently, "Sorry, I don't speak ____" will get a smile out of almost anybody. Otherwise like HookShot said, just switch to english, it isn't a big deal. So "Tut mir leid, ich spreche kein deutsch" in German or "Undskyld, jeg taler ikke dansk" in Danish. I looked up the phonetic pronounciation of the Danish phrase below, although I would recommend practicing it with a friendly Dane first: Undskyld, jeg taler ikke dansk = On'skil, ya'ee tailor 'eek'eh dahnsk
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Feb 25, 2016 07:42
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Fruits of the sea posted:
That's a blank stare guarantee right there
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Feb 25, 2016 08:50
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Hah, yeah I was a little optimistic when I said a Danish coach was "recommended". It is a ridiculous language.
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Feb 25, 2016 09:03
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Fruits of the sea posted:Hah, yeah I was a little optimistic when I said a Danish coach was "recommended". It is a ridiculous language. It's not ridiculous  Here in Finland we have a saying that speaking Danish is just like speaking Swedish - except having a hot potatoe in your mouth at the same time.
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Feb 25, 2016 12:12
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spog posted:(Suppose I can assume that the carriage numbers start at '1' at the front of the train and 10 at the back and work it out from there, with crossed fingers. I wouldn't worry too much. The train will probably not be that busy, so you can probably change seats as you like. RHB.ch is the local train company and is run by the mother company SBB so either will be fine to buy tickets from.
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Feb 25, 2016 12:39
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nissu posted:It's not ridiculous Incidentally, it's easier to get Danish pronounciation right when you are drunk. Coincidence?
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Feb 25, 2016 16:35
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