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Bollock Monkey posted:Where are you travelling from and what sort of tips are you after? Weather (likely to be a bit poo poo in all of those places)/activities/national holidays..? What do you like doing? We're coming from Florida; we've been to London before (May 2018), and this one is primarily to spend time in London with my dad, see some of the Christmas stuff, maybe do Highclere Castle (big Downton fans here), pubs, cocktails, etc. My wife would like to do Buckingham if possible. Pretty much the same sort of stuff in the other country, fully understanding that 3 days isn't nearly enough, we just want to tack on something and maybe see more markets or what not.
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Apr 12, 2024 00:40
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Omne posted:We're coming from Florida; we've been to London before (May 2018), and this one is primarily to spend time in London with my dad, see some of the Christmas stuff, maybe do Highclere Castle (big Downton fans here), pubs, cocktails, etc. My wife would like to do Buckingham if possible. Pretty much the same sort of stuff in the other country, fully understanding that 3 days isn't nearly enough, we just want to tack on something and maybe see more markets or what not. I think with limited time anywhere, hit one of the standard lists of attractions and pick which ones you're interested in, remembering that big European cities might feel busier/more crowded than you are possibly used to. London's public transport is fantastic, so you can always plot a route that will be cheaper and faster than getting taxis and things. Google Maps is useful, as is the Citymapper app (looks like they have Citymapper for Munich and Amsterdam now). For food and drink, you can't really go wrong. You could go somewhere like Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese or Cittie of York for proper traditional pub vibes. For cocktails, I'd consider using something like a Time Out list to make it easier to filter based on your preferred vibes, area, etc. Time Out is not a bad resource for finding fun and accessible tourist attractions and places to eat and drink. I haven't been to Amsterdam for a long time at this point, but it's a nice place to wander round on foot because the main centre is not huge. Vondelpark is nice for a stroll if the weather isn't too grim, and I always recommend the Tropenmuseum though it looks like it's had a rebrand so I hope the exhibitions are still cool. For food, Hap Hmmm always seems popular, and Moeders is fun. You should definitely try Indonesian food if you go to Amsterdam. The best rijsttafel place I've been to has now closed, but have a Google and see where's good now for it. Amsterdam has loads of great beer places (proeflokaalen). My favourites are Gollem's, Arendsnest and In de Wildeman. All are great for a cosy afternoon drink on a gloomy day. Kattenkabinet is a silly museum to pass an hour or so indoors. I have a hunch that Amsterdam or Munich will be better than London for Christmas markets. I used to live in London and always found them disappointing.
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Apr 12, 2024 09:28
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I've mentioned it before, but for Floridians do keep in mind that the weather in London and Amsterdam may well be cold and damp, if it's not straight up raining. It will be dark at about 5pm in November/December.
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Apr 12, 2024 09:59
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Amsterdam does not have any proper Christmas market. Do that in Munich.
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Apr 12, 2024 11:13
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Stupid Decisions posted:Unless you are staying very close to one of the London airports then take the train if doing London - Amsterdam . 4 hours city centre to city centre. Due to renovations in the station in Amsterdam, there will be no London-Amsterdam Eurostart starting June for (at least) the rest of the year. So that's definitely no Eurostar in the Christmas market season, and with the way these projects usually go, probably not until Spring 2025 either. And because Rotterdam can't accommodate passport controls in the little space they have, the train will run London to Brussels (and vice versa) only. You can get another high speed train from Brussels, but that's extra cost and transfer time that might make flying a more attractive option
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Apr 12, 2024 12:21
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Bollock Monkey posted:You should definitely try Indonesian food if you go to Amsterdam. The best rijsttafel place I've been to has now closed, but have a Google and see where's good now for it.
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Apr 12, 2024 13:03
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runawayturtles posted:So I'm trying to book that Stockholm to Copenhagen train for the end of May, and because our mid trip travel day happens to fall on a weekend, there are no direct tickets left, only longer routes with a bus in the middle for double the price? Is that typical? Can confirm there is some track work going on at the moment and nobody can order tickets for that route at the moment. A Swedish colleague at work was complaining that she couldn't book it even after calling the Swedish and Danish rail companies. Don't have any solution for you, but it's not just you. Neither company really offered any good advice.
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Apr 12, 2024 16:55
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EricBauman posted:Due to renovations in the station in Amsterdam, there will be no London-Amsterdam Eurostart starting June for (at least) the rest of the year. So that's definitely no Eurostar in the Christmas market season, and with the way these projects usually go, probably not until Spring 2025 either. That's not completely true: Eurostar will take you from London to Amsterdam as usual (in fact I'm booked to travel that way in August myself), but the trains going in the opposite direction won't be direct - so you'd board at Amsterdam as usual, travel to Brussels for the passport and luggage process, then join another Eurostar train for the Brussels-London leg of the trip. It'll add an extra hour or two to the journey, depending on when you travel. It's a little 'out there' but, as an alternative, I'd spend a little longer in Amsterdam, then take the overnight Amsterdam-Newcastle ferry instead, returning to London by train from Newcastle in the morning. Bollock Monkey posted:I have a hunch that Amsterdam or Munich will be better than London for Christmas markets. I used to live in London and always found them disappointing. Christmas markets are horrible & overcommercialised pretty much everywhere these days. Always made me laugh seeing the literal exact same stalls in Tuileries Garden as I had in Hyde Park!
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Apr 13, 2024 13:03
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so I could say that I finally figured out what this god damned cube is doing. Get well Lowtax.
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Went on a bike tour of Rome today, and our guide had all her poo poo stolen while showing us some stuff. She had her backpack on the ground at her feet in a not especially crowded area, and someone snatched it - even though we were both looking right at her, and the bag was at her feet. Pretty brazen! That was on literally the first stop, so we cancelled the tour, then had lunch, then the tour company called us back with a replacement guide. Biking around Rome was surprisingly safe feeling, and also fun except for the Medieval center was awful to bike in, and the Colosseum was awful to bike around. I think I’m permanently done with the medieval center for the rest of my life now, what an absolute awful poo poo show of people. Even the fairly large square in front of the pantheon was jam packed both times we went. Didn’t even dare walk to Trevi Fountain, although we were morbidly curious.
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Apr 13, 2024 14:21
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spincube posted:
Germany might still be good? Hanover a few years ago had some unique (seeming) stalls and they go all out building pine groves w/ beer garden in the street. Can confirm London markets are extremely mid
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Apr 13, 2024 15:49
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So I'm booking a trip for my fam around Italy & Greece stopping off in Portugal to see my pops at the end. Is there anything I need to do in the Athens airport on the way to Lisbon other than just get to the next plane? Not sure if we have to clear customs or do anything specific, want to make sure 1:10 layover is long enough.
Nur_Neerg fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Apr 13, 2024 |
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Apr 13, 2024 17:11
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Saladman posted:I think I’m permanently done with the medieval center for the rest of my life now, what an absolute awful poo poo show of people. Even the fairly large square in front of the pantheon was jam packed both times we went. Didn’t even dare walk to Trevi Fountain, although we were morbidly curious. Yikes. I am done with Rome and Florence forever, but my girlfriend has never been. And I bought tickets for a concert in early October that takes place in Ferrara. Can't even redirect our trip through Munich instead, because Oktoberfest will be happening in that timeframe as well.
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Apr 13, 2024 17:41
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Ferdinand Bardamu posted:Yikes. I am done with Rome and Florence forever, but my girlfriend has never been. And I bought tickets for a concert in early October that takes place in Ferrara. Can't even redirect our trip through Munich instead, because Oktoberfest will be happening in that timeframe as well. Yeah but Ferrara flies through Milan? Milan is not my favorite Italian city but it’s fine. It’s only Florence and Venice that are an absolute shithole. Rome is nice except for the medieval area and the Vatican… and even St Peter’s is insanely incredible despite being a tourist hellhole. Medieval Rome is out for me though, definitely never going back there unless it’s to very briefly point out "lol" and then leaving to a nicer part of Rome. Trastevere is great, just spent the whole afternoon and evening and also last night here. It’s crowded but not in the same kind of way. I haven’t actually been to Venice since I was a kid, but I find Florence unbearably awful so I can’t even imagine how bad Venice is. Maybe I’ll check it out next pandemic. Also some people enjoy Disneyland. I don’t personally get it, but for people who enjoy that then even Florence, Venice, and medieval Rome are probably great. I don’t mean to diss people who enjoy that, it’s just absolutely polar opposite what I would do by choice.
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Apr 13, 2024 21:17
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Nur_Neerg posted:So I'm booking a trip for my fam around Italy & Greece stopping off in Portugal to see my pops at the end. Is there anything I need to do in the Athens airport on the way to Lisbon other than just get to the next plane? Not sure if we have to clear customs or do anything specific, want to make sure 1:10 layover is long enough. Assuming you’re departing from Athens, not connecting, no there won’t be customs or anything. Just standard airport security checks. And p.s. there’s a very good loukumades stand in the airport. I liked the pistachio ones but can’t go wrong with anything with dark chocolate either.
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Apr 14, 2024 08:46
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Jean-Paul Shartre posted:Assuming you’re departing from Athens, not connecting, no there won’t be customs or anything. Just standard airport security checks. And p.s. there’s a very good loukumades stand in the airport. I liked the pistachio ones but can’t go wrong with anything with dark chocolate either. Flying through Athens from Mykonos to Lisbon. Does that change the math at all? Definitely gonna have to make time for pistachio sweets 
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Apr 16, 2024 08:34
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Does anyone know how's the EV charging situation in Scotland? I have a trip coming up next week and I ended up with a Polestar 2 because they had a deal and it was like half the price of a loving Aygo. I was super happy until I realized I've no idea what's it like there, and it's probably not like Norway or even Sweden. The distances aren't too large though so hopefully it'll be ok somehow. Also I don't have any specific requirements so I was looking at an itinerary like this, but if anyone has some cool ideas I could definitely mix it up. .JPG) (though I'm returning to Edi too) Strategic Tea posted:Germany might still be good? Hanover a few years ago had some unique (seeming) stalls and they go all out building pine groves w/ beer garden in the street. Yeah they're pretty good, I was in Dresden last year and Nurnberg a few years back (maybe before covid?), which was way bigger. But also yeah they're all kind of similar? Bratwurst, ham, Glühwein, etc etc. Worth it once or twice for the experience, or of course if you're just going out with your friends or family. Saladman posted:Yeah but Ferrara flies through Milan? Milan is not my favorite Italian city but it’s fine. It’s only Florence and Venice that are an absolute shithole. Rome is nice except for the medieval area and the Vatican… and even St Peter’s is insanely incredible despite being a tourist hellhole. Medieval Rome is out for me though, definitely never going back there unless it’s to very briefly point out "lol" and then leaving to a nicer part of Rome. Trastevere is great, just spent the whole afternoon and evening and also last night here. It’s crowded but not in the same kind of way. 
mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 10:39 on Apr 16, 2024 |
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Apr 16, 2024 10:36
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The best time to visit Venice is in January when it's freezing cold and fog comes in at night so thick you can't see the tops of the buildings. Then go down 2-3 random alleys and you'll get completely lost, nobody's around and it's really spooky.
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Apr 16, 2024 11:22
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mobby_6kl posted:Does anyone know how's the EV charging situation in Scotland? I have a trip coming up next week and I ended up with a Polestar 2 because they had a deal and it was like half the price of a loving Aygo. I was super happy until I realized I've no idea what's it like there, and it's probably not like Norway or even Sweden. The distances aren't too large though so hopefully it'll be ok somehow. https://chargeplacescotland.org/ should be helpful.
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Apr 16, 2024 11:33
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mobby_6kl posted:Does anyone know how's the EV charging situation in Scotland? I have a trip coming up next week and I ended up with a Polestar 2 because they had a deal and it was like half the price of a loving Aygo. I was super happy until I realized I've no idea what's it like there, and it's probably not like Norway or even Sweden. The distances aren't too large though so hopefully it'll be ok somehow. Yeah, probably it depends on when you went. I guess I'd just avoid it between like, Easter and late September. For EVs you can also use Tesla superchargers, just download the app in advance. There are charger stations in Ft William, Inverness, Dundee, three halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and one in Aviemore. For non-Tesla chargers, I find them using PlugShare and I have some badge that works in most of Europe that I can't remember the name of because I haven't used it in so long, as superchargers are increasingly ubiquitous. I think a lot of the newer charging stations built in the last couple years just let you use contactless card payment, so that you don't have to dick around with an app, which would be the benefit of them over using a SC. Just get lunch somewhere and your car will be full by the time you're done. It takes the tiniest bit of planning, but you travel enough here that I'm pretty confident you'll manage without being one of those idiots who has to get their rental electric towed to a charging station.
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Apr 16, 2024 16:36
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Like everyone else, my wife and I are doing Italy this fall. Rome -> Florence -> X. That X is ideally a town up north with good stuff to do, but mainly as an access point for a big full day hike in the Alps/Dolomites. We’ve got plenty of info on the first two stops (a ton in this thread), but would really love any advice on X. We’d be looking at coming from Florence, and spending 3 nights before heading back to fly out of Rome. Anyone have suggestions for northern towns that are great on their own as a destination, but have relatively easy day hike opportunity? Our two timeframes are either Sept 14-28, or Oct 12-26. Are we best served really trying to aim for Sept for the mountains, or will mid October still be great?
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Apr 16, 2024 16:53
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Torino, Milano, Genoa
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Apr 16, 2024 17:04
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Bergamo is also a quaint little city, close to the mountains and without all the traffic of Milano
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Apr 16, 2024 18:48
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So are Bolzano and Trento, where I used to knock about. I remember that most if not all of the huts in the Dolomites shut down by the end of September.
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Apr 16, 2024 19:40
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Nur_Neerg posted:Flying through Athens from Mykonos to Lisbon. Does that change the math at all? Definitely gonna have to make time for pistachio sweets It shouldn’t, as it’s Schengen > Schengen, but I’ve never connected through Athens so don’t quote me on that. Doom Rooster posted:Like everyone else, my wife and I are doing Italy this fall. Rome -> Florence -> X. That X is ideally a town up north with good stuff to do, but mainly as an access point for a big full day hike in the Alps/Dolomites. What they’ve ^^^ said. There’s also Aosta, if you want to be more in the mountains themselves, or crossing the border into Ticino and staying in Lugano or Bellinzona. If you want to be safer with the timeframe I’d aim September. The last two winters have been too warm and there hasn’t been much snow “low” in the Alps but I would still not be surprised if trails/access are closed by mid-October. Jean-Paul Shartre fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Apr 17, 2024 |
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Apr 17, 2024 06:55
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Doom Rooster posted:Like everyone else, my wife and I are doing Italy this fall. Rome -> Florence -> X. That X is ideally a town up north with good stuff to do, but mainly as an access point for a big full day hike in the Alps/Dolomites. 99% of the lifts close in late September or early October in the Alps, e.g. this one in Merano which has an lol URL: https://www.seilbahn-hochmuth.it/en/?how-to-write-a-thesis-for-research-paper=&cHash=4c82f097bdca776ae61387f65ff28238 ("How to write a thesis for research paper," lmao) You can still hike out of season, but it's harder since you have to go from the valley or - if you have a car - the highest accessible road (which is typically only a few hundred meters above the valley), and sometimes paths are effectively closed (e.g. seasonal bridges over torrents are removed) although it is quite rare to see a path completely inaccessible, unless there's snow. Signposts are sometimes taken down so pathfinding can be harder in later season. Trails never actually "close," like there's no legal prohibition from out of season hiking, but they do become harder and more dangerous. Lugano would be a good possibility, it's on a beautiful lake, easy to access by public transport, and it has a bunch of easy day hikes, either from the city itself (up San Salvatore or Monte Bre) or slightly further out and lift-assisted up Monte Tamaro and then walking however far along the ridge until you want to go down, either by foot or lift, depending on your fitness level. Switzerland is really pretty ideal for mountains by public transport. Italian mountains are... barely adequately accessible by public transport, and then only if you really do your research in advance.
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Apr 17, 2024 08:32
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Yeah, I didn't have a car when lived in that area. I would take the bus from Bolzano to Siusi (Alpe di Siusi, Schlern) or Vigo di Fassa (Val di Fassa, Vajolet). Both have cable cars that take you up.
Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Apr 17, 2024 |
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Apr 17, 2024 17:39
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Any favorite cafes/lunch/dinner spots people like in Copenhagen/Stockholm?
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Apr 25, 2024 15:05
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Residency Evil posted:Any favorite cafes/lunch/dinner spots people like in Copenhagen/Stockholm? We really liked this place for lunch when we were in Copenhagen last year. https://husmannsvinstue.dk
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Apr 25, 2024 15:57
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