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Not sure whether I should put this here or somewhere in TBB, but I'm probably going to Prague for a few days later this month to see the Kafka museum and do other bits of research on Kafka's Prague. Does anyone know of a good Kafka tour in Prague that isn't too expensive? Anything else in Prague that you folks would generally recommend seeing? Thanks.
Venomous fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Jan 7, 2017 |
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Jan 7, 2017 00:28
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the Prague beer museum is... well I didn't go to the museum part but I appreciated the bar The Mucha museum is small but nice, if you're into Mucha
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Jan 7, 2017 00:36
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Does anyone have a lot of experience around the Tuscan countryside and have some favorite suggestions? Particularly things that aren't in every Top 5 What To Do In Tuscany lists. I'll spend about 10 days there in mid-spring, and I've heard a billion times how lovely the countryside is, but I've only been to the major cities in the area or on the autostrada passing through. Interested in good food, little towns that aren't overwhelmed with tourists (i.e. San Gimignano), and fun little country roads to drive on. There are a million guidebooks about the area, but whatever's in Rick Steves and similar guidebooks is probably overwhelmingly touristy, although we'll be off the main tourist season. We'll have a car and don't plan on going to Pisa/Florence/any other major cities, and a little bit of me dies whenever I go to an old European town where every shop on the main street is selling shot glasses and t-shirts.
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Jan 13, 2017 23:13
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Does anyone have any advice on what to see/do/eat in Budapest? I'm going at the end of January. The Museum of Terror (about the various 20th century oppressive regimes) is closed. I know nothing about Hungarian history so I'd be interested in something similar. I was advised to try the Szechenyi Palmahaz (Szechenyi Palm House) but massages and swimsuits are not my thing at all. Also has anyone used either FoTxai or miniBud to get from the airport recently? I've looked at reviews and everyone says miniBud has got significantly less reliable since it changed hand a few months ago.
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Jan 14, 2017 13:51
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^ Hospital on the Rock is very cool, if you're interested in recent history. Tour of a hospital that was built into a cave system close to the Buda Castle during WW2. http://www.sziklakorhaz.eu/en We used a taxi from and public transport to the airport. Public transport was easy and cheap, I'd recommend it if you don't have too many bags.
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Jan 14, 2017 14:12
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Chocolate Milk posted:^ Hospital on the Rock is very cool, if you're interested in recent history. Tour of a hospital that was built into a cave system close to the Buda Castle during WW2. Hospital cave looks amazing, I'll definitely add it to the list. It's not so much the number of bags but the time of the flights that puts me off public transport, at least for arrival. I'd rather not blunder my way through numerous bus connections late at night in an unfamiliar place.
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Jan 14, 2017 18:11
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Also a very good reason not to take public transport! We were in much the same situation, and just used the airport taxi kiosk on arrival. Actually, I think that was Fotaxi? They were perfectly fine, the fare into the city is a flat rate, car/driver/etc were all good. Also recommend Free Budapest Walking Tours. We did their original tour on our first morning to get our bearings and get an idea of what we wanted to see more of, and the guide gave a really good and interesting rundown of Hungarian history at the start. http://www.triptobudapest.hu/
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Jan 14, 2017 23:17
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I think I'll just get into a Fotaxi taxi and not bother about booking anything in advance. Thanks for the Walking Tour recommendation - it was already something planned (especially as it's one of the few things available on a Monday!) but it's good to know it's worthwhile. I have my fingers crossed that it's only freezing on the day, and not double-digits below 
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Jan 15, 2017 00:35
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hackbunny fucked around with this message at 03:51 on Jul 2, 2020 |
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Jan 16, 2017 02:32
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That's awesome, thanks! I'd read through a few guidebooks' chapters on Tuscany and I probably only saw 20% of the things you mentioned. We'll be staying in Volterra for sure for 4 nights, while the other 5 are up in the air. I like towns still if they're a little touristy--I think I meant to say touristy as in huge tour buses arriving nonstop dumping people into the streets to see one street and one location and then bus out. Totally devoid of tourists is strange too, where the villages are quaint but all you can do is get a glass of table wine and a pizza at the single open restaurant in town. I went to Vaucluse in south of France a few years ago for a similar roadtrip and I was surprised at how devoid of tourists the area was, even towns like Lacoste (marquis de Sade's old haunt). We like art... except not for Renaissance italian art, where we've been overloaded by enjoying too much of Italy already and I don't think I can stand more paintings of a resplendent Jesus. Abandoned modern/semi-modern building sites is also a big hit for all of us. I'll see about sneaking into that park. We've always wanted to go to those cities destroyed by earthquakes in modern times too, but safety concerns always kept us from doing it. I've always felt like carrying a huge camera is a license to trespass. If you had to pick one base in addition to Volterra, where would you pick?
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Jan 16, 2017 09:38
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I went to Lucca. Ristorante Butterfly, the one Michelin starred restaurant back then was absolute trash and I can't believe they've kept their star. Antica Locanda di Sesto, which seems to be the restaurant front of a local farm/winery/cookery school blew my mind at half the price.
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Jan 16, 2017 15:07
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I'm putting together a Budapest ---> Moldova ---> Ukraine trip for the end of February. We're visiting friends in Moldova. Here's what I've got planned so far and I was wondering if people would add/delete anything to this itinerary. Budapest things on my list (3 days): Great Market Hall Chain Bridge Baths Jewish quarter and holocaust monument Moldova things on my list (5 days): Underground wineries (Cricova and Milestii Mici Visit to Soroca Visit to Transnistria Orheiul Vechi Ukraine things on my list (3 days): Chernobyl tour? Hang out in L'viv or Lavra or Chervnitsi for a day? El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Jan 16, 2017 |
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Jan 16, 2017 19:52
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^ If you didn't see my post above about Hospital in the Rock in Budapest, I recommend it again.  Also I should have recommended the ruined pubs to you and the poster above you. We only went to Szimpla Kert but had a really good time, it was a very atmospheric place to go for a drink. Lots of tourists but it seemed like a fair few locals too. Edit: While I'm in the thread, I'll be in Barcelona this weekend. We're staying by the Placa de Catalunya. Plans are to visit the Sagrada Familia (booked), Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, plus maybe Park Guell if we're still feeling like more Gaudi. Thinking we'll do one of the free walking tours around the Gothic Quarter, and also have an evening concert booked at the Palau de la Musica. Obviously a pretty full itinerary, but anyone have any comments/suggestions? Particularly for food options? Chocolate Milk fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Jan 16, 2017 |
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Jan 16, 2017 21:57
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As of right now I am flying into Paris on April 4th and flying out April 26th. I am looking into Eurail passes which have the youth tickets aged 12 to 27 but almost everything else I'm reading, including each country's train website, have the youth ages up to 25 or 26. If I get the Eurail pass is that something that is going to gently caress me over in some spots because I am 26 or does the Eurail pass essentially "override" whatever youth bracket thats been setup elsewhere?
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Jan 20, 2017 08:26
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Chocolate Milk posted:Edit: While I'm in the thread, I'll be in Barcelona this weekend. We're staying by the Placa de Catalunya. Plans are to visit the Sagrada Familia (booked), Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, plus maybe Park Guell if we're still feeling like more Gaudi. Thinking we'll do one of the free walking tours around the Gothic Quarter, and also have an evening concert booked at the Palau de la Musica. La Paradeta fish restaurant. You pick food (some still alive) from a huge counter and they weigh it in front of you and serve very soon. Quick, cheap and fun, and the food is great. It gets crowded tho.
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Jan 20, 2017 10:29
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punch drunk posted:As of right now I am flying into Paris on April 4th and flying out April 26th. I am looking into Eurail passes which have the youth tickets aged 12 to 27 but almost everything else I'm reading, including each country's train website, have the youth ages up to 25 or 26. If I get the Eurail pass is that something that is going to gently caress me over in some spots because I am 26 or does the Eurail pass essentially "override" whatever youth bracket thats been setup elsewhere? Yes, your Eurail pass will work fine at 26. You'll be on a Eurail ticket and not a local country's Youth ticket, it's just coincidental that they're nearly the same age cutoffs, it's not a related program. PS: if you're a European citizen (edit: or resident) you'll need to use Interrail instead. Saladman fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Jan 20, 2017 |
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Jan 20, 2017 18:09
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Saladman posted:Yes, your Eurail pass will work fine at 26. You'll be on a Eurail ticket and not a local country's Youth ticket, it's just coincidental that they're nearly the same age cutoffs, it's not a related program. All good, I'm American. Right now I'm thinking I'm going to be doing Paris->Some combo of cities in Belgium->Amsterdam and then maybe get over to Berlin. I've been looking into renting a car as the freedom to drive into the countryside/sleep in my car if the need should arise is pretty appealing. Rentals also seem pretty drat cheap unless I'm missing something (~$500). I drive stick currently and have experience driving vans and trucks around NYC so I don't think I would be that overwhelmed driving anywhere but maybe I'm wrong. This is compared to (~$300) for a 3 country Eurail pass for Benelux/France/Germany. From what I've been reading the Eurail pass seems to be kind of poo poo in France especially and theres probably going to be at least a few fees added on here and there. The only upsides I can see to the Eurail pass is the social aspect of the travel and possibly being able to get some rest while I'm doing it. Can anyone weigh in on this?
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Jan 21, 2017 01:56
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How many days do you have? Yeah driving is pretty fun as long as you aren't in the big cities trying to find parking. I never drove around Paris but I was driving from Italy to Switzerland and across Germany for work. Google maps is great and Europeans are polite drivers. Except for Italy. Cars are of course great when you are in the rural areas as you really have to stick to a train schedule Trains are fine as long as you travel light but cars are great value when you have another passenger
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Jan 21, 2017 02:01
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caberham posted:How many days do you have? I'm there 21 full days. Probably going to have another passenger for around half the trip.
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Jan 21, 2017 02:11
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Those are still some of the areas where public transport is the most reliable in Europe, even in smaller places. Not so sure about France, but in Flanders and the Netherlands you can get everywhere, and mostly in Germany too. There are still advantages to renting a car, but not in the cities, only in small towns and the countryside. I've done a bit of car holidaying in this area and to visit the cities it's always a big hassle to find suitable parking in an easily accessible location that's not closed at a time when you might want the car, and not ridiculously expensive. You also have to make sure you don't break any laws like the pollution free zone rules. Your French rental car won't have a German green sticker which is required to drive into many cities there, or a German rental car won't have the alcohol testing equipment or safety signs that are obligatory in France. Also I hope you have a recently updated GPS that knows which streets are one-way in which direction.
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Jan 21, 2017 03:57
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In Dutch cities (and the Belgian ones i've been to) finding parking is no issue, it just costs money. €35-45 a day in the city center of Amsterdam (~€20-35 in other cities). A set of 2 alcohol testers is less than €10 and widely available, also you can't be fined if you don't have them. I'd expect a rental to have the necessary safety equipment, if it doesn't have it that would cost another €13 (rear warning stop board and a high vis jacket). Public transportation comes with its own set of nuisances. I'd pick the car but then i hate public transportation. NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Jan 21, 2017 |
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Jan 21, 2017 14:32
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I think it really depends on your itinerary, the number of people you are traveling and your comfort level dealing with foreign roads. I mean worse comes worse you can just whip out your phone and rent a car. I thought I could handle my Vancouver vacation without a car but turns out I actually needed to rent one
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Jan 21, 2017 14:59
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If you're by yourself half the time, and if you haven't already been to the large or mid-sized cities in the areas you're visiting, don't rent a car. It'll be way more expensive when you factor in gas and French road tolls, parking is annoying (though not hard). Most of what you're doing seems to be visiting large cities, and driving on major highways in that part of Europe is not really a scenic drive. You can get a hostel bed for like €10-€15 almost everywhere so you're not saving that much money by car camping, the viability of which depends on what season you're traveling in (may-September?). And yeah parking can be crazy expensive. It's usually cheaper to not pay and hope you don't get a ticket, but some car rental companies gouge you on their "admin fee" for tickets, so a €15 ticket becomes €75 with their €60 handling fee, so I would not recommend trying that in a rental car. I definitely would not do it in q country that matches your plates (eg always pay for french parking in a french-plated car). Street parking usually has a short limit of a couple hours, making meter feeding annoying, and free unlimited parking is usually far from the places you actually want to go; if you have to take a 20 min bus ride to your parked car, why bother driving IMO. Many cities have free disk parking for a couple hours, but you have to go back then too and move your parking dial every couple hours too. I also much prefer driving, but in your case itll cost more and be less convenient. You could also just buy individual rail tickets instead of Interrail--honestly those rail cards are often not as good of a deal as people say unless you're doing a lot of long distance trips within the same country. Trains in Belgium are also ridiculously cheap for youth, although I can't remember if 25 or 26 is the age limit for their €5-to-anywhere tickets. Saladman fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Jan 21, 2017 |
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Jan 21, 2017 17:03
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Heading to Tallinn this coming Easter (being Norwegian, I've already looked up public holidays and such to be safe). Any tips on what to see/experience there, and places to eat? Not 100% on number of days yet, but I suspect at least 3-4 nights.
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Jan 24, 2017 13:52
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ulvir posted:Heading to Tallinn this coming Easter (being Norwegian, I've already looked up public holidays and such to be safe). Any tips on what to see/experience there, and places to eat? Not 100% on number of days yet, but I suspect at least 3-4 nights. The old town is neat, and there's good views from the top part with the big churches and whatnot. Haven't done any of the museums in the central city, but the maritime stuff in the Paks Margareeta tower (at one of the entrances into the old town) looks cool. If the weather is nice you can take a walk down the shore towards the west from the main harbour. First there's some old Soviet fortress, then an old Soviet prison that you used to be able to get into (not sure about right now), and then you get to Lennusadam, where there's a naval warfare museum. All of that area is still weirdly underdeveloped, I really liked its vibe. I can only offer vegan food recommendations, but V on Rataskaevu was fantastic, so I can't imagine the other Von Krahl restaurants next to it would disappoint either. Must Puudel is a fun hipster café at the southern edge of the old town: the food was good and the inner courtyard is super nice. And since you're Norwegian, everything everywhere will seem basically free to you.
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Jan 24, 2017 14:40
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Thanks a bunch!
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Jan 24, 2017 16:37
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caberham posted:Trains are fine as long as you travel light but cars are great value when you have another passenger This x 1000. If you've got someone with you, share the drive (and the expense), but if you're solo and don't have the lol backpack, take trains. On a recent trip to the German countryside, I stayed in a tiny village of 300 and they still had multiple daily trains to Hamburg ('cept on Sundays...) Unless you really love driving and/or cost isn't much of a factor and/or you're prone to impulse and just wanna go when ya wanna go. I get that too, as I've made cross country solo drives in the US even though I could've flown for cheaper/less time. The thrill of the road maaaaaaan
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Jan 27, 2017 19:44
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ulvir posted:Heading to Tallinn this coming Easter (being Norwegian, I've already looked up public holidays and such to be safe). Any tips on what to see/experience there, and places to eat? Not 100% on number of days yet, but I suspect at least 3-4 nights. If you're into art/architecture, consider visiting Kadriorg. There's the new(ish) museum of modern art Kumu (also featured more traditional art when I went a few years ago) and Peter the Great's baroque palace in the middle of the park. The park also features a couple of other museums (Google is your friend), but I haven't been to those. There's a good Italian restaurant, Taverna del Gallo Nero, on the western side of the park. The tower of Oleviste Church offers some great views as well. Some random thoughts: - Niguliste Church has some medieval art on display. - Rocca al Mare (an outdoor museum) is a bus trip away, but I've never been. - There's a museum of Soviet occupation, if that's something you're interested in. Restaurants: - Leib is very good. - Frank - they serve good burgers and delicious julep drinks (definitely order one of these). Try out the quintessential snack: fried dark bread with garlic. They often serve this with extra cloves of garlic which you can rub on the crispy bread for extra deliciousness (you will reek of garlic though, so beware).
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Jan 30, 2017 09:49
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Anyone have any information on taking a train from Prague to Cesky Krumlov? Is that even an option? Google Maps keeps telling me to take the RegioJet bus.
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Jan 30, 2017 15:50
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ulvir posted:Heading to Tallinn this coming Easter (being Norwegian, I've already looked up public holidays and such to be safe). Any tips on what to see/experience there, and places to eat? Not 100% on number of days yet, but I suspect at least 3-4 nights. I'll also be in Tallinn (and Helsinki, Riga & Stockholm) over Easter! Anybody have a recommendation on where to stay in Tallinn or Stockholm? Traveling with my wife and trying to book accommodation around $100 per night on average.
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Jan 30, 2017 17:40
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birds posted:Anyone have any information on taking a train from Prague to Cesky Krumlov? Is that even an option? Google Maps keeps telling me to take the RegioJet bus. There are trains, search for them here: https://www.cd.cz/eshop/ Praha instead of Prague for your origin.
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Jan 30, 2017 18:22
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birds posted:Anyone have any information on taking a train from Prague to Cesky Krumlov? Is that even an option? Google Maps keeps telling me to take the RegioJet bus. Don't know anything about this specific case, but for future reference, Rome2rio knows these sort of things better than Google Maps. https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Prague/%C4%8Cesk%C3%BD-Krumlov
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Jan 30, 2017 18:28
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I have a long weekend in Berlin in February coming up, staying in the Mitte area near the river. Never been to Germany before. Any tips on must-see's/food/beer/etc? We'll book in the Reichstag Dome.
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Feb 1, 2017 11:38
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Chocolate Milk posted:I have a long weekend in Berlin in February coming up, staying in the Mitte area near the river. Never been to Germany before. Any tips on must-see's/food/beer/etc? We'll book in the Reichstag Dome. Hang out in Prenzlauer Berg. Have a döner.
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Feb 1, 2017 18:44
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Has anyone been to the Lofoten islands in Norway? If so, what part would you say is the most convenient to stay for a general hiking/golf vacation? By one of the airports or? We will almost definitely be renting a car if it makes a difference even though the rental prices are insane - sounds like doing all public transport is pretty difficult.
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Feb 2, 2017 13:49
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It's not exactly a densely populated area, so yeah get a car. It is also Norway, the car proves are only the beginning. Just stay in town near where you fly in (or town of your choice if you fly to elsewhere in Norway and then drive to Lofoten, which may be cheaper and would also be the most scenic drive of your life, because Norway). Unless you're specifically planning to camp, there's no reason not to, and you'll have access to things like food that someone else head killed for you. If you have a car you wont ever be more than half an hour away from somewhere hike-worthy. Can't really speak for golf courses or where to find them, but I'd imagine those would be reachable from towns without too much difficulty as well. Also, go diving and/or fishing while you're there, because why would you be there and not?
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Feb 2, 2017 16:19
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Currency question for dollars to pounds since I'll be in London from March 9 -14. Am I better off waiting to get over there and pulling from an ATM? I have a Schwab international checking account with no fee for conversion and ATM fee reimbursement. Best I can find from an American bank is .10 over the current rate. It's going to be about $2,000 so I'd rather save myself a few hundred by waiting. I think I am I just want to make sure. I also don't trust Trump. cheese eats mouse fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Feb 2, 2017 |
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Feb 2, 2017 16:40
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Waci posted:Also, go diving and/or fishing while you're there, because why would you be there and not? Thanks, and yeah we definitely plan to, at least the fishing part. I think we will meet in Bodř and take the ferry over - the only unknown is whether we should rent the car in Bodř or wait until we get over there. The prices are slightly higher but when you're paying like 150 dollars a day for a car already, what's another 10 really. I wouldn't be averse to a longer drive, but I need to do more research on what the alternatives are I think. As for currency cheese eats mouse, usually I just use ATMs, or sometimes I get a small amount in advance from my bank (~100-200, maybe). I definitely wouldn't do it at the airport kiosk things.
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Feb 2, 2017 17:04
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yeah I eat rear end posted:Has anyone been to the Lofoten islands in Norway? If so, what part would you say is the most convenient to stay for a general hiking/golf vacation? By one of the airports or? We will almost definitely be renting a car if it makes a difference even though the rental prices are insane - sounds like doing all public transport is pretty difficult. Honestly, it's at most a 1-1,5hr drive from end-to-end there, and the golf course is, I believe, somewhere in the middle, so just stay wherever really, But if your vacation is mainly Lofoten, then don't stay in Bodø or the mainland since taking the ferry every day would be hella expensive. Don't forget to drink beer and eat tørrfisk in Henningsvær or to visit the viking museum at Hov. And yeah, in Lofoten (and most of rural Norway) you most definitely want a car. our public transport outside the big metropolitan areas seems to be mainly for school kids to get around to and fro 
ulvir fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Feb 3, 2017 |
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Feb 3, 2017 23:48
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And if you're going there in the summer, do bring a lightweight wind-/waterproof jacket. If it's windy it can get quite chilly even in midsummer.
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Feb 4, 2017 00:00
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