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Hashtag Banterzone posted:Any tips for an overplanner about to solo travel for the first time? . You should start a new google calendar and share it with goons. Oh and get data so that you can live post us in this thread!
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Aug 17, 2016 05:34
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Julio Cruz posted:If you're into modern art you absolutely have to go to the Pompidou Centre. There's also a load of really cool modern art/architecture dotted all over la Défense. echoing this
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Aug 17, 2016 05:36
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MagicCube posted:London, Paris, and Rome are all good choices although it's difficult to definitively say which is better for a first time traveller. Can't really make any clear recommendations without knowing what you're interested in because all three are great and have lots to offer. In terms of "easiest" for a first-timer it would probably be London, due to language, culture, food, etc. You wouldn't have much, if any, trouble in Paris or Rome with language or any of the other points though. I'm a huge roman history nerd so seeing Rome has a huge appeal, although English history is just as interesting so i wouldn't be just settling on London. Also getting to Pompeii from Rome looks pretty easy how hard would getting up to South Tyrol to visit otzi the iceman? I saw elsewhere in this thread something about international drivers licences through Triple A, would it be worth getting one if i am thinking about renting a car? (this would be for london, i know that driving in rome is a fools errand)
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Aug 17, 2016 11:51
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I saw elsewhere in this thread something about international drivers licences through Triple A, would it be worth getting one if i am thinking about renting a car? (this would be for london, i know that driving in rome is a fools errand)
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Aug 17, 2016 13:25
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sweek0 posted:Just don't drive in or around any major European city. And especially not directly between them, we have trains / cheap flights for that. Driving is only for visiting rural areas or small towns (e.g. a road trip along the Irish coast) or going around various cities in places with lovely public transport (e.g. the Balkans) and only works if you start and end at the same location.
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Aug 17, 2016 13:59
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cheese eats mouse, I was just in London for about five days and spent a bunch of time in Hackney Wick, it's real cool Ezekiel, as an alternative (or an extra) you could look at the Balkans, it's cheap as hell and there's a lot of cool poo poo here. I think at 30 you'll be fine to stay in hostels vv depends on what you're into  but fair call, it's definitely not the London Eye, Rule Britannia side of London. cem said they're staying with friends there though!
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Aug 17, 2016 14:41
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The Schwa posted:cheese eats mouse, I was just in London for about five days and spent a bunch of time in Hackney Wick, it's real cool
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Aug 17, 2016 15:59
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I'm a huge roman history nerd so seeing Rome has a huge appeal, although English history is just as interesting so i wouldn't be just settling on London. Also getting to Pompeii from Rome looks pretty easy how hard would getting up to South Tyrol to visit otzi the iceman? If you only have a week I would recommend skipping Sud Tirol, you'll spend a lot of time travelling, and between Rome and Pompeii you will easily have enough Roman history nerd stuff to keep you going for way over a week. Look up San Clemente church in Rome, it's not one of the super popular must sees in all tourist guides but it's one of the coolest places in Rome.
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Aug 17, 2016 17:15
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I'm a huge roman history nerd so seeing Rome has a huge appeal, although English history is just as interesting so i wouldn't be just settling on London. Also getting to Pompeii from Rome looks pretty easy how hard would getting up to South Tyrol to visit otzi the iceman? Sounds like Rome is probably the best bet for you then. Tons of stuff to do there and the outskirts like Ostia Antica, only an hour to Naples where you can see Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc. The trip up to Bolzano is fairly easy, but time consuming (4-5 hour train ride one way). I've never had an international drivers license while driving in Europe and didn't have any problems renting cars, but like was said, don't rent a car to drive in cities or to other cities with decent public transport connections.
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Aug 17, 2016 17:30
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The Schwa posted:cheese eats mouse, I was just in London for about five days and spent a bunch of time in Hackney Wick, it's real cool From what I've seen of their house it looks like a nice typical quant London home complete with garden and cat. I haven't see my friends in over a year so I'm very excited to see them, live like a local and see some cool poo poo. 
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Aug 17, 2016 17:37
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I'm a huge roman history nerd so seeing Rome has a huge appeal, although English history is just as interesting so i wouldn't be just settling on London. Also getting to Pompeii from Rome looks pretty easy how hard would getting up to South Tyrol to visit otzi the iceman? If you want a trip that's easy while still being really cool, go to London. It's a great city to visit, tons of history, museums, culture, etc. without being totally unfamiliar (careful crossing the street though). Rome, on the other hand, will blow you away. So much of the city is just literally living history, the poo poo is just everywhere. The language will be new (you'll be able to get by just fine in tourist areas though) and overall you will really feel like you've been someplace different. London, as great as it is, just doesn't tick that exotic box the way that Rome does.
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Aug 17, 2016 17:41
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I saw elsewhere in this thread something about international drivers licences through Triple A, would it be worth getting one if i am thinking about renting a car? (this would be for london, i know that driving in rome is a fools errand) You don't need a car in London. Even if you plan to go on a day trip, you can (probably in case of lovely southern railway) take the train.
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Aug 17, 2016 18:16
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So, going to London in a short while and my companion and I are real fans of fine dining. We'd like to go to several (exotic) restaurant options, but in a fine dining setting. Any cuisine is enjoyed by us (Asian, European, American, ... ). I've surfed around a bit and it is very difficult to find the 'best X cuisine' in London. For example, for Indian cuisine, the gymkhana appears often but also is sometimes not mentioned at all. Therefore, any particular recommendations or world-renowned places you guys know of?
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Aug 17, 2016 19:42
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Kalenden posted:So, going to London in a short while and my companion and I are real fans of fine dining. http://travel.michelin.co.uk/ekmps/shops/michelin1/resources/Other/gbi-2016-award-summary.pdf.pdf 
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Aug 17, 2016 20:16
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Try the Where to eat in London thread.
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Aug 17, 2016 20:21
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Wife and I just finished booking Airbnb places for our 12 day tour of the "big 4" in Italy for October! Now I'm looking for some suggestions for walking tours in Rome and Florence, hoping to see all the major sites. Any experience with these "skip the line" tours of the Vatican? What's the best way to tell I'm not just being ripped off?
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Aug 17, 2016 20:35
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umop apisdn posted:Wife and I just finished booking Airbnb places for our 12 day tour of the "big 4" in Italy for October! Now I'm looking for some suggestions for walking tours in Rome and Florence, hoping to see all the major sites. Any experience with these "skip the line" tours of the Vatican? What's the best way to tell I'm not just being ripped off? You don't need to book a tour to skip the line at the Vatican. Buy your tickets online, walk past everyone who's been in line for 2-3 hours, enter with zero hassle, and bam you're golden.
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Aug 17, 2016 21:47
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Ezekiel_980 posted:Also getting to Pompeii from Rome looks pretty easy how hard would getting up to South Tyrol to visit otzi the iceman? I lived in Bolzano for two years, behind the archaeological museum that houses Otzi. I walked by it everyday when I went to the market, yet never went in. I've been to Rome three times and to Ostia Antica and Pompeii once. I'm speaking as someone who doesn't care for mummies nor Roman history. Bolzano had the highest quality of life of all Italian cities when I lived there. The architecture and natural scenery are incredible, but it is so very boring. Like all of the Swiss and Austrian cities I have been to, save for Vienna.
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Aug 18, 2016 02:41
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Pablo Bluth posted:Try the Where to eat in London thread. Really helpful. Recommend going to Salt
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Aug 18, 2016 04:59
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Hollow Talk posted:http://travel.michelin.co.uk/ekmps/shops/michelin1/resources/Other/gbi-2016-award-summary.pdf.pdf Thanks! Still difficult to choose with so many choices so particular recommendations are still welcome though. Pablo Bluth posted:Try the Where to eat in London thread. Thank you! I've done so, but feel free to suggest here as well. caberham posted:Really helpful. Thank you. Do you mean Salt Whisky Bar? Any particular reason?
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Aug 18, 2016 07:44
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I saw elsewhere in this thread something about international drivers licences through Triple A, would it be worth getting one if i am thinking about renting a car? (this would be for london, i know that driving in rome is a fools errand) There's no such thing as an international drivers licence. The so-called "International Drivers Permit" is just a booklet that has translations of your existing licence into a few different languages, but doesn't actually give you any extra entitlement above what your existing licence covers. It can help grease the wheels if you're going to a non- English-speaking country, but a US licence is already valid for renting a car in the UK, so there's no need for an additional permit.
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Aug 18, 2016 11:26
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I have a business trip next month that will entail spending five days in Amsterdam from Monday to Friday, then have the weekend off for myself, then travel to Antwerp for four days for work again from Monday to Thursday. Afterwards, I have a four day weekend from Friday to Monday before flying back on Tuesday. So the questions I have: - Should I just spend the first weekend in Amsterdam, or try to go to Brussels or something? I will be working while over there the for the first five days, so I probably won't get to play tourist. - My company is paying for the hotel over the first weekend in Amsterdam. I usually travel with Hilton, but the Amsterdam Hilton is a bit to the south of the old town, but close to museums. Is this necessarily a negative? Are there places to go out drinking/eating around there? - Is Brussels even worth visiting? - Where should I go for the four days afterward? Never been to Switzerland, so looking at potentially going there. Should I bother with more time in Belgium? Luxembourg?
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Aug 18, 2016 15:55
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Sweevo posted:There's no such thing as an international drivers licence. The so-called "International Drivers Permit" is just a booklet that has translations of your existing licence into a few different languages, but doesn't actually give you any extra entitlement above what your existing licence covers. It can help grease the wheels if you're going to a non- English-speaking country, but a US licence is already valid for renting a car in the UK, so there's no need for an additional permit. Pretty much. It's a variation of something like this  It's way easier to rent a car in the EU with one of these. It's a cheap easy application and lasts for a year
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Aug 18, 2016 17:41
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Cheesemaster200 posted:I have a business trip next month that will entail spending five days in Amsterdam from Monday to Friday, then have the weekend off for myself, then travel to Antwerp for four days for work again from Monday to Thursday. Afterwards, I have a four day weekend from Friday to Monday before flying back on Tuesday. - There's plenty to do in Amsterdam. I live there though, so I'm biased. - It's not too bad. In the direct vicinity of the hotel there isn't much. Just across the canal you get a few lunch and dinner places and cafes, but it is probably nothing special. For something bigger you have several options. You can go a bit further to the Vondelpark for an afternoon beer, or walk a bit further north again to the Leidseplein, the prime area for overpriced touristy places to go out, or walk east to the Oude Pijp, which is where all the local hipsters go out and it's quite nice. Both Leidseplein and De Pijp are a 20 minute walk from the hotel, not too bad. - I would recommend Gent or Antwerpen or Bruges or Leuven over Brussels, but some people do like it. Expect mostly a bureaucrat & bankers city though, and French speakers... - Up to you, I guess. Switzerland is very expensive and a bit hard to get around, but there should be cheap flights from either Amsterdam or Eindhoven. You can make it an adventure and take the train but it takes a whole day. Luxembourg is small and a bit boring and a bit far from other cities in the area, but the landscape is nice. You can make it a trip through the Belgian Ardennes to see some of the landscape too though, and visit Dinant on the way.
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Aug 18, 2016 19:12
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As a solo male Canadian traveler, is it weird to go dance at a club in Europe on your own? Does it vary depending on where you are specifically?
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Aug 25, 2016 05:07
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ColdBlooded posted:As a solo male Canadian traveler, is it weird to go dance at a club in Europe on your own? Does it vary depending on where you are specifically? If people think it's weird, it's not like you'll see them again  also I think solo travel often means doing poo poo that other people think is weird, at least sometimes.
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Aug 26, 2016 16:40
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ColdBlooded posted:As a solo male Canadian traveler, is it weird to go dance at a club in Europe on your own? Does it vary depending on where you are specifically? It's not weird as long as you don't make it weird.
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Aug 26, 2016 16:52
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I've done it and I did not get killed by an angry mob of cultural norm enforcers. Hope this helps!
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Aug 26, 2016 17:31
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This might be specific to the Nordic countries, but if going dancing on your own bothers you (which it shouldn't, really), just find someone outside a club, tell them you're a foreigner, and ask them if there's a nice place nearby to unwind. Wham, you've likely made some friends for the night, and awkwardness has been averted.
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Aug 26, 2016 18:12
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Or stay in a hostel. You have to make a real effort to avoid going out drinking and dancing with other people then! But in my case I went on my own because I was picky and wanted to go to a specific club night that others didn't necessarily want to go to.
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Aug 26, 2016 21:15
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It is really loving hot in Belgium today christ
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Aug 27, 2016 19:29
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Hey all, I run a website about budget travel/backpacking in Europe called The Savvy Backpacker (http://thesavvybackpacker.com). I've been working on it for over five years and I'd love your overall feedback. What's good? What's bad? What would you, as a traveler, like to see? Anything would honestly help. Thanks!
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Aug 28, 2016 04:02
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Omits-Bagels posted:Hey all, I run a website about budget travel/backpacking in Europe called The Savvy Backpacker (http://thesavvybackpacker.com). I've been working on it for over five years and I'd love your overall feedback. What's good? What's bad? What would you, as a traveler, like to see? Anything would honestly help. Thanks! Haha you're a goon. I've been cheking your site on and off for a while now. It has some great stuff but I don't get the need for a whole page on 30 different types of sock. The backpacker stuff is good (hostels, cost of living etc). The hiking stuff not so much.
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Aug 28, 2016 07:15
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Brinner posted:Haha you're a goon. I've been cheking your site on and off for a while now. It has some great stuff but I don't get the need for a whole page on 30 different types of sock. The backpacker stuff is good (hostels, cost of living etc). The hiking stuff not so much. Why do you hate socks so much? What did they ever do to you? Yeah, it's a little overkill but there are a lot of passionate sock people out there.
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Aug 28, 2016 18:01
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Omits-Bagels posted:Why do you hate socks so much? What did they ever do to you? Yeah, it's a little overkill but there are a lot of passionate sock people out there. post your sock analytics OK my two cents: change the menu head "Travel Tech" on the left to "Phones and gadgets" or "Technology, phones and gadgets". I wanted advice on roaming plans, unlocked phones, etc. and I didn't realize it was part of a menu heading. I did a search to find some pages but Tips For Using A Cell Phone In Europe Without Spending A Lot Of Money (from 2011) appears much higher in the list than How To Use A Smartphone And Data Plans Abroad (a much better and more relevant page from 2014). I think we get phone questions quite often in here so it could be a pretty good page for you if it was more prominent. Overall I like the new look although I don't think I visited the site more than a couple of times after you first posted it here, I'm not really your target audience though. Keep it up and I hope it's paying off for you!
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Aug 28, 2016 18:45
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Any worthwhile day trips from lille? Roubaix?
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Aug 28, 2016 22:07
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I went against this thead's advice and saw 4 countries in 17 days during my Eurotrip: Greece, Italy, Austria, and Germany. This was my first trip to Europe, and it was absolutely amazing. In spite of the disclaimer at the start of the thread, I'd say doing multiple countries (really, cities) in a short amount of time is doable, as long as you plan ahead and understand that you're only going to see a tiny slice of things, and probably should avoid big touristy things that involve waiting hours and hours in line. My goal was mostly to hang out, try some local food and drinks, and see a few basic sights, not do the thorough touristy, see everything thing, so YMMV, depending on what you want to do. Since this thread was so useful to me in organizing the trip, I figured I'd post a few general and location-specific tips. General Tips - Plan as much of your transportation and lodgings ahead of time as possible. While yes, you can buy train and plane tickets last minute and book hotels at the counter, everything is more expensive and more confusing when you do it that way, and you're going to have to wait longer than you'd think. You also might not have access to reliable internet or a printer, which makes things a lot harder to organize on the spot. While I wanted to be flexible with this trip, the parts that were the smoothest and most relaxing were the parts we planned out ahead of time. - Trains are awesome. They can be a little confusing and overwhelming at times, but they're so much nicer than dealing with airlines. That being said, sometimes they're expensive. Try to figure out what special discounts are available; we almost blew like $100 per person on train tickets one day, until we found out that there was a special regional pass that would only be $25 for the two of us. - Overnight trains are a nice way to save a night in a hotel, but keep in mind that if your trip is too short, you probably won't get enough sleep. We had a 7 hour overnight leg of a train, which really only translated to about 5 hours of sleep with all the hustle of getting on and off the train. It was kind of miserable when we arrived at our hotel in the morning and couldn't check in yet, even though we were dead tired. - I was very glad that I got money in advance. Foreign ATM fees are really confusing unless you know what banks work with your bank and you happen to find their ATMs near wherever you're going. The fees from my local bank were comparable to the exchange rate I got in European ATMs anyway. Credit card acceptance was really hit or miss so having a wad of cash solved a lot of problems. If you're okay with carrying around large amounts of money, I recommend it. Try not to get 100 Euro notes, as most folks won't want to deal with them and they don't fit properly in your wallet. - On that note, I felt perfectly safe everywhere I went, be it big city, small countryside, train stations, or wherever else. I felt safer than I do in the states, to be honest. - I was planning on getting a European SIM, and this turned out to be more of a hassle than it was worth. It varied by country, but in a lot of spots, there weren't many places that carried SIM cards, and if they did, they were overpriced. On top of that, there are a lot less 24 hour stores in Europe, they have different holidays, and many things aren't open on the weekend, so it can be tricky to be in the right place at the right time to get a SIM if you're running around, trying to do other things too. By the end of it, I didn't bother getting a SIM in any country, which was kind of frustrating because hotel Wifi often sucked, and finding a coffee shop that had wifi was often a 30 minute+ endeavor. If you're going to move countries a lot and internet is important to you, I suggest figuring this out ahead of time. - You can download Google Maps ahead of time, however the downloaded maps typically don't have information about restaurants, stores, and hotels, so it's not always as useful as you'd think. Still, it's better than nothing. Download these before your trip, because again, hotel wifi sucks sometimes. Specific Places Greece (Crete) Crete was our favorite part of the whole trip, and we were lucky enough to have a friend there to show us around most of the time. Crete is not a common spot for American tourists, probably because it's a little harder to get to. It was worth it though. The beaches were gorgeous: perfect blue water that was super warm on the north coast. Every beach had an umbrella you could rent for a euros, and then an attendant that would bring you beers for one or two euros. Food there was amazing, different, and dirt-cheap. Our most expensive meal was 15 euro for two people, several drinks included. The people are all very friendly and speak great English. There was a very laid back attitude everywhere, which was a good thing, most of the time. Nothing was crowded, and it was the perfect place if you just wanted to sit on the beach and have drinks and excellent seafood all day long. Try the grilled octopus. Definitely check out Matala and Knossos. The only bad things were getting there (you typically have to fly to mainland Greece, then hop to Heraklion), and the hotel we stayed in, which on a more thorough investigation, seems to have been creating dummy accounts to give themselves better reviews. Italy (Florence) I wanted to go to Florence because of the unique Renaissance architecture, and I wasn't let down. The whole city just looks surreal, with miles and miles of amazing buildings in every direction. The pizza and pasta were amazing, and the countryside was gorgeous. When I told folks I was going to Florence, a lot of them kind of groaned, and I understand why. It's very touristy. There are just people everywhere, and restaurants and shops catering to people everywhere. We got a few local tips on places that weren't so touristy, and that was a nice escape. The Piazza Santo Spirito area felt more local and less crazy. We were only there for about two and a half days, and I think I would have gone a little bit crazy if we'd stayed there too much longer. We stayed in an AirBnB just south of the river, and that was a really good idea. I'm a science geek, so I really loved Museum Gallileo. We also checked out the little hillside town of Fiesole right next to Florence, which was a great spot for seeing Roman ruins and getting beautiful shots of the city. Austria (Salzburg) Austria was very pretty all around. Just great views of the mountains, great beer, and good food all around. Hohensalzburg Castle was a neat, medieval-looking castle. It's one of the more fortress type castles, not a palace. Check out Herrenchiemsee Palace for that, and awesome lake/mountain views. Also, go to Königssee for the lake tour, local food, pretty mountains, and nice hiking if you have time. If you have a car, take a drive up Roßfeld Panoramastrasse BGL. Germany (Munich) Munich is my kind of city. Great beer, good food, great parks, great transportation. Go find some beer gardens and drink. Go to the Englischer Garten (park), check out the surfers, and drink. Go to Flaucher Beach, check out the beer garden, and drink. You can also hit up the spots I mentioned that are near Salzburg, since the cities are pretty close to each other. Closing If anybody is going to any of these places anytime soon and wants more specific recommendations, hit me up and I can send you my list of things. All in all, I had a great time, and can't wait to go back.
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Aug 28, 2016 23:39
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Hey goons, I'm walking this soon: Map I hit rotterdam Oct 3rd. Expect to be in Budapest by new years. I've organised ocuch surfing as far as Bonn but if anyone wants to hang out with a crazy Tasmanian along the way or just laugh at me being miserable and cold send me a PM!
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Aug 28, 2016 23:58
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http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3714480
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Aug 29, 2016 00:08
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Yeah i was gonna post this but figured someone would do it for me. My water wheel barrow device isn't coming sadly. e: I should add this isnt the first time I've done this. The idea is the route follows Leigh Fermor's footsteps tracing the changes made to Europe after WWII. Not a novel concept in the slightest (search Nick Hunt) but seemed like a fun one and I needed a new hike. Anyway I'll stop making GBS threads up the thread. queef anxiety fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Aug 29, 2016 |
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Aug 29, 2016 00:39
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