|
Saladman posted:When you factor in time getting to/from both airports, it's probably the same speed (or slower than) taking a train. Was thinking about bussing Barcelona->Zaragoza->Mardid, with a couple of days in the middle. Bus is about 3 hours, which I guess is about how long it'd take to fly Barcelona->Madrid. Might grab some direct flights then. Vueling of Spanair? Price is the same on the surface...
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 10:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:36 |
|
|
NoSpoon posted:What you've said is basically what I was thinking - was just worried I'd totally miss the real Spain (eg if you come to New Zealand and spend some time in Auckland and some in Wellington you're kinda missing the point). Barca and Madrid are really not all that bad for a rough idea of Spain. Normally I'd say Granada is a must-see, but I'd much rather spend 3 days in each of Madrid and Barcelona than try to split it 3 ways. Anything between Barcelona and Madrid is definitely not worth it given your schedule. Valencia is nice, but not worth giving up a day on an already rushed schedule.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 12:16
|
|
|
x
Chippay fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Apr 25, 2017 |
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 04:29
|
|
|
enki42 posted:Barca and Madrid are really not all that bad for a rough idea of Spain. Normally I'd say Granada is a must-see, but I'd much rather spend 3 days in each of Madrid and Barcelona than try to split it 3 ways. Booked some flights on Spanair (free checked baggage!) from Barcelona to Madrid.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 07:34
|
|
|
King Nothing posted:Is there a good source for digital maps of Europe? Like what you'd get if you bought a folding map in a store but in PDF form. I found this: There's always OpenStreetMap, but as the name implies it's just a street map. Free to use though, and very comprehensive. e: you can export it to PDF as well
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 15:36
|
|
|
Chippay posted:Is it pretty much impossible to backpack Western Europe as a 17 year old? I'll be going with an 18 year old friend, but I keep hearing about how it's an awful idea to go before you turn 18 because hotels and hostels will turn you away. Hostels will either refuse to take under-18 year olds, only take them if they are with a parent or guardian (i.e. a proper "adult", not someone who turned 18 the day before) or only take them if they are with any 18 year old. For the ones that will take an under-18 year old, some (if not most) of them will require the under-18 year old to stay in a private room, not a dorm. The reasoning behind all this is to do with their insurance policy, not because they hate under-18s. You may also have trouble getting travel and health insurance, or at least probably pay more for it. If something goes badly wrong and you need a thousand bucks RIGHT NOW you don't stand any chance in hell of getting it from your bank. You will have trouble in some countries buying alcohol and cigarettes (in every country except France, basically), trouble in most countries getting into nightclubs, and trouble in Holland buying weed. Once you turn 18 all these problems vanish! Plus, if you wait till you're 18 you've got another few months to save up more cash so it'll be even better! If you really want to do it I suppose it's possible but seems a bit daft to me. Comedy answer: Find a hostel with a creche.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 17:43
|
|
|
duckmaster posted:You will have trouble in some countries buying alcohol and cigarettes (in every country except France, basically), trouble in most countries getting into nightclubs, and trouble in Holland buying weed. On the Balkans/Eastern Europe you don't have such problems - as a minor you can buy whatever you want and get wherever you want unless you look 12.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 18:14
|
|
|
Doctor Malaver posted:On the Balkans/Eastern Europe you don't have such problems - as a minor you can buy whatever you want and get wherever you want unless you look 12. 16 is the drinking age in most of continental Europe for wine/beer. I've never been carded in a bar in Europe, so I have no idea about that. It might be 18 but if you try 3 bars you'll probably get into 2 of them, in any country in Europe. That's all guesswork, but the worst that can happen is they tell you 'no.' Re hostel: Can you just have your friend check you both in? Just have her/him get a room for two, and have you be elsewhere (e.g. outside) and come back later. This works in hotels, anyway; I've never tried it in a hostel. Maybe someone else knows.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 18:43
|
|
|
Ireland is 18, but a lot of places set an arbitrary age at 21 to keep out the newly minted drinkers who get piss drunk and make a mess of the bar. Usually it's up to the bouncer to decide how strict he wants to be with that rule. I believe it's the same in the UK. 18 to get into bars or buy booze, 21 at some establishments, and 16 to drink in a private residence On the other hand, 14 year olds can get into clubs and drink in Bosnia without any problems.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 19:14
|
|
|
I'm taking a cruise in September that will be leaving out of Barcelona and visiting Monaco, Florence, Rome, Naples, Messina, Palma de Mallorca and Marseilles. I am planning on leaving a few days earlier in order to see more sites in Spain. The itinerary doesn't afford me any more than a single day in any one location, so seeing all of a place like Rome is definitely out, but I've never been to the mediterranean before and I'd like to catch as many highlights as possible. I'm most interested in architecture, museums, picturesque scenery and being outdoors. That's not to say that I'm not open to doing things that fall outside of those categories, I've found some of the most rewarding things in life and in travel especially can be taking a diversion from the expected. Can anyone recommend sites to see in any of the travel locations, or any recommendations as to what would be a good itinerary to follow during my extra days in Spain? I've already read the thread on Rome extensively and I think I have a pretty decent idea of how to fill my day there, so I'm mainly focused on finding out about the other ports of call. SheepNameKiller fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jul 21, 2010 |
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 19:47
|
|
|
What is the weather like in Central Europe in early spring? I'm trying to decide when to go, but April keeps coming up as a strong possibility. I prefer temperatures in the mid 50s or so, which is probably what the weather would be like here in the states at that time. Is spring in bloom then? I want to see green!
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2010 22:43
|
|
|
Doctor Malavar posted:On the Balkans/Eastern Europe you don't have such problems - as a minor you can buy whatever you want and get wherever you want unless you look 12. He said Western Europe though... Saladman posted:16 is the drinking age in most of continental Europe for wine/beer. I've never been carded in a bar in Europe, so I have no idea about that. It might be 18 but if you try 3 bars you'll probably get into 2 of them, in any country in Europe. That's all guesswork, but the worst that can happen is they tell you 'no.' This is true but if you're going out with a group of guys (and more importantly, girls) from a hostel then the entire group is unlikely to agree to wander around trying random bars just so the 17 year old can get in. It's very quickly going to turn into a case of, "gently caress you, I got mine". Even your 18 year old friend might take on this mentality, especially after a few beers, a taste of independence and more girls than he's ever seen in his life. God I miss backpacking*. Saladman posted:Re hostel: Can you just have your friend check you both in? Just have her/him get a room for two, and have you be elsewhere (e.g. outside) and come back later. This works in hotels, anyway; I've never tried it in a hostel. Maybe someone else knows. This might work but they may not give the second key to the first guy. If you're planning on staying in private rooms for your entire stay then you're going to run out of money FAST. If you're staying in dorms there is no absolute guarantee that you'll both be in the same room, so if you've only got a key for one room you're kind of hosed. * girls
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2010 00:01
|
|
|
Hey, thanks everyone for the replies about the hostel thing. I've gotten a few suggestions about just booking a hotel, but all were from people who haven't actually backpacked in years. About how much are some the cheapest hotels in Europe? I've had figures of 60 euros thrown at me but I'm not really finding those prices on travel sites. As a sidenote, is 18 old enough to book a hotel in Europe?
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2010 08:42
|
|
|
Chippay posted:Hey, thanks everyone for the replies about the hostel thing. The cheaper hotels will cost about that but they'll be outside the city centre (generally near airports and industrial areas) and you'll only get the cheap rates on weekdays AND if you book in advance. However, these sites are good for last minute deals in more central hotels, in the UK at least: https://www.lastminute.com https://www.laterooms.com It's a dangerous game to play though, because you might find yourself unable to find a cheap room and you'll be wandering around with all your bags looking for somewhere. I worked front desk (reception and night audit) in a hotel in central London and I'd always get foreign backpackers wandering in asking if they could have a room for £30. The answer was always no. Chippay posted:As a sidenote, is 18 old enough to book a hotel in Europe? Yes. But in most places you will need a credit card, or at the very least a debit card. They may also pre-authorise the debit card for the room cost + a bit more (i.e. if you trash the room and run off), which means all that money is frozen in your account. It's up to the bank to unfreeze it and that could take weeks, which isn't so good when you're a poor backpacker.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2010 14:30
|
|
|
Chippay posted:Hey, thanks everyone for the replies about the hostel thing. Hostels aren't expensive at all, depending what you want. I'm in poland (Krakow) RIGHT NOW (it's too loving hot to be outside so I decided to post). My hostel costs like 20 Euros per night, for a single person room, including breakfast. You can get good hostels for like 5 euros a night here (if you share a room with 11 other people). I'm 19 and travelling solo, 18 should be fine. That being said, last year I went to the london (with a friend of the same age) and hostels cost like 35 per night for a shared room, no breakfast, and everything was more expensive. Short answer: come to eastern europe, everything is cheaper and just as good as western europe (no it isn't but it's still pretty good, way better than most american cities).
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2010 16:26
|
|
|
Sand Monster posted:What is the weather like in Central Europe in early spring? I'm trying to decide when to go, but April keeps coming up as a strong possibility. I prefer temperatures in the mid 50s or so, which is probably what the weather would be like here in the states at that time. Is spring in bloom then? I want to see green! Could you be more specific about where? Central Europe is a big place (especially if you're the Lithuanian guy I met who insisted that Vilnius was the geographical center of Europe). It has continental weather so it can be unsettled here (Geneva) around April but there will be some nice days and it should be 50-60ish. You can check weather history here: http://www.wunderground.com/
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2010 21:06
|
|
|
duckmaster posted:The cheaper hotels will cost about that but they'll be outside the city centre (generally near airports and industrial areas) and you'll only get the cheap rates on weekdays AND if you book in advance. Thanks a lot man. I'll definitely check out those sites. And yeah, the debit/credit card thing might be a problem, since I'm not particularly wealthy. Landsknecht posted:Hostels aren't expensive at all, depending what you want. I'm in poland (Krakow) RIGHT NOW (it's too loving hot to be outside so I decided to post). My hostel costs like 20 Euros per night, for a single person room, including breakfast. You can get good hostels for like 5 euros a night here (if you share a room with 11 other people). I'm 19 and travelling solo, 18 should be fine. I mostly asked because I'll be with a friend and two people can share a single hotel room, but two people can't share a bed in a hostel. I'm assuming English is a lot less widespread in Eastern Europe? Chippay fucked around with this message at 05:12 on Jul 23, 2010 |
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2010 05:10
|
|
|
Chippay posted:I mostly asked because I'll be with a friend and two people can share a single hotel room, but two people can't share a bed in a hostel. Only amongst the older generations. Generally anyone in their 20s or younger will be able to speak at least some English in Eastern Europe. It isn't a hard rule but English speakers are not particularly difficult to come by anywhere in Europe. A lot of the television and stuff is in English; imagine watching Telemundo all day with English subtitles, eventually you'd pick up some Spanish just by osmosis.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2010 06:08
|
|
|
And while Russian and/or German were the only languages taught at schools in previous generations, now students have a choice and a lot of them see English as their ticket to money and success.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2010 07:36
|
|
|
HeroOfTheRevolution posted:It isn't a hard rule but English speakers are not particularly difficult to come by anywhere in Europe.  HeroOfTheRevolution posted:A lot of the television and stuff is in English; imagine watching Telemundo all day with English subtitles, eventually you'd pick up some Spanish just by osmosis. That's true but not all countries use subtitles, many use dubbing. People from subtitling countries in general speak better English.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2010 09:17
|
|
|
Does anyone know how residency works vis-a-vee the rail passes? I've lived in Germany for the past 10 months but only one a 1 year visa, as a student. Can I declare my residency as American and then have, say, a German Rail Pass shipped from America? There seems to be some confusion regarding that sometimes you are considered a resident if you live in Europe for more than 6 months
|
|
#
?
Jul 25, 2010 21:11
|
|
|
HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Only amongst the older generations. Generally anyone in their 20s or younger will be able to speak at least some English in Eastern Europe. It isn't a hard rule but English speakers are not particularly difficult to come by anywhere in Europe. A lot of the television and stuff is in English; imagine watching Telemundo all day with English subtitles, eventually you'd pick up some Spanish just by osmosis. Well that's a bit of a relief. Are there any countries in Eastern Europe you really liked? I've looked into Russia, but getting a visa seems like too much effort to put in on a backpacking trip.
|
|
#
?
Jul 25, 2010 23:42
|
|
|
Pizer posted:Does anyone know how residency works vis-a-vee the rail passes? As far as I know, they only ship to US addresses. Just put your US address there and have someone ship it over. I've done it before for a friend when he was in Germany and it worked fine. He had it shipped to my address and I forwarded it to him. By the way, just to warn anyone, if you buy from Eurail.com, your bank might charge you a $9 international transaction fee, even though they CLEARLY state on their site that they have a "US fulfillment center" and that their Netherlands side of the business doesn't do any direct business with customers. I have a support ticket in with them as well as Bank of America right now trying to sort this out, so if anyone has had a similar experience, let me know.
|
|
#
?
Jul 25, 2010 23:59
|
|
|
Doctor Malaver posted:Guggenheim museum in Bilbao? Pamplona is also near San Sebastian and they don't have bull runs all the time but I'm sure it's worth checking out anyway. I would not recommend Pamplona outside of San Fermin, it is awesome during San Fermin, but outside that 2 week period I have heard there is nothing to do and the city is nothing special.
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2010 16:26
|
|
|
OhSnap posted:I'm heading to Rome at the beginning of September, and I love history, art and touristy things in general. So far I've got the Lonely Planet guide to tell me everything, but if any of you have any suggestions for other cool things in Rome to do besides the obvious, definitely mention it as well as some nice places to stop for food. I'm there for a week, I'm staying right by the Roma Termini. I guess it's kind of obvious, but hang out near the Trevi and go to Piazza Nazvona at night. Just watch out for gypsies!!!
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2010 16:01
|
|
|
Doctor Malaver posted: 27% 
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2010 20:10
|
|
|
This thread is amazing! My fiance and I are planning a potential trip to Denmark as our honeymoon next summer. We're planning on spending a week to a week and a half there. I read over the thread (and admittedly I'm European country location retarded) and I didn't see anyone posting about Denmark specifically. The friend that's helping us make this happen suggested that we either fly in to or out of Amsterdam. We will have bikes to travel with, and of course the trains. Help a sister out- what would be some suggestions for places to see/things to do between those two places or in that general vicinity.
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2010 02:48
|
|
|
Just to get this out of the way first because for whatver reasons, and I'm not saying you have, but quite a few Americans seem to have a bit of a difficulty with the Netherlands and Denmark. You know that Amsterdam is in the Netherlands and not in Denmark right?
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2010 19:51
|
|
|
There's a nighttrain between Amsterdam and Copenhagen ( http://www.eurail.com/eurail-hotel-city-nightline ) but it'll probably take 14-16 hours and be about as expensive as a plane ticket.
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2010 00:58
|
|
|
Once every five years SAIL Amsterdam is held, the largest festival in the world centered around old ships and maritime history. From the 19th to the 23rd of august it's here again. If you like huge historical ships, just spending time on the water and European history it's a good time. It'll probably be hard to get a hotel in that time, but if you're still looking to fill a couple days in your European vacation it's worth trying.  
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2010 10:17
|
|
|
The Norwegian tourist industry has been whining to the media this summer - shitloads of hotels are empty etc. due to nobody traveling to Norway. They simply can not fathom why tourists won't come with their amazing bargain deals of 200$ per night. Yeah hopefully they will "get it" by next year..
|
|
#
?
Aug 2, 2010 15:07
|
|
|
Eldjarn posted:The Norwegian tourist industry has been whining to the media this summer - shitloads of hotels are empty etc. due to nobody traveling to Norway. They simply can not fathom why tourists won't come with their amazing bargain deals of 200$ per night.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 08:14
|
|
|
LIVING IN LONDON! A friend and I will be arriving in London around November with the intention of living and working there for about a year. This will be the first time either of us has moved out of home into a place not provided by employers, and I'm pretty excited by the idea of living with my best friend in one of the greatest cities in the world. What I want to know is - what's the cheapest area to rent in that's fairly central and high-density? I know gently caress-all about London's geography and if I wanted to live in the suburbs I'd go back to Australia. Oh, and also - what's tthe working situation like for Australians at the moment? I have Irish citizenship but my friend is just a wretched Aussie. When we get there we'll both have about ten to fifteen thousand AUD to set ourselves up (were originally planning much more extensive travel).
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 15:19
|
|
|
freebooter posted:LIVING IN LONDON! A friend and I will be arriving in London around November with the intention of living and working there for about a year. This will be the first time either of us has moved out of home into a place not provided by employers, and I'm pretty excited by the idea of living with my best friend in one of the greatest cities in the world. Cheapest areas are probably south of the river. Central London is stupidly expensive and not the best place to live, as it's so busy and you get sod all for your money. If you live a bit further from central you can get a decent place, and still get into town in a short amount of time. The Tube has a zone system, and for example I live in the north, Zone 2 and am about 20 minutes from the centre. Basically the further out you go the further your money goes. A few years ago I lived in Camden (north) which is a busy and trendy place and I paid about £520 a month for a doublebed room in a 4-bed flat. Now you'd probably pay more, say £600 for that. Obviously it'll differ if there's just two of you. Living with more people tends to bring the cost down a bit. I'm living a bit north of Camden now with my girlfriend and I'm paying a bit more than before but we have the flat to ourselves, though it's a one-bed so not as big a place. I can't say too much about the work situation, but you'll find that a lot of Australians do bar work. Or hairdressing. Also I've encountered a few doing temp work for agencies and such. Try this thread for more specific info: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3032504&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 It's an England thread but mainly populated by Londoners.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 17:22
|
|
|
freebooter posted:Oh, and also - what's tthe working situation like for Australians at the moment? I have Irish citizenship but my friend is just a wretched Aussie. Just to clarify, do you mean "How hard is it for Australians with all the necessary visas to find work?" or "What does my friend who doesn't have a British/EU citizenship need to do in order to be able to work legally?"
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2010 18:21
|
|
|
The second one. Browsing rental websites I just found a two-bedroom flat for 225 pounds a week in Greenwich, a stone's throw south of that big dome thing. That was in just a couple of hours; given an actual full-time week in London I should be able to do pretty well I hope.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2010 04:05
|
|
|
Sai posted:Once every five years SAIL Amsterdam is held, the largest festival in the world centered around old ships and maritime history. From the 19th to the 23rd of august it's here again. If you like huge historical ships, just spending time on the water and European history it's a good time. It'll probably be hard to get a hotel in that time, but if you're still looking to fill a couple days in your European vacation it's worth trying. Oh HELL yes! I'm in Amsterdam on the 22nd! So I already asked this in the Dutch thread, but can anyone recommend me things to do, places to stay, and awesome events in the following cities? Sunday, August 22: Amsterdam Monday, August 23: Groningen Tuesday, August 24: Groningen Wednesday, August 25: Den Haag Thursday, August 26: Den Haag Friday, August 27: Antwerpen Saturday, August 28: Antwerpen Sunday, August 29: Gent Monday, August 30: Brugge Tuesday, August 31: Brugge Wednesday, September 1: Maastricht Thursday, September 2: Maastricht Liface fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Aug 8, 2010 |
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2010 21:04
|
|
|
I might have gotten away with making a new thread with this, but since we have a Europe megathread I think I'll try here first. To make a long story short, I’ve been looking for a new job with my current company and I’ve been considering taking a position overseas. I can make money hand over fist doing pretty much exactly what I’m doing here stateside and much of that money will be tax exempt. My company has positions available all over the world. Many of those jobs are available in places I would never consider relocating to (the Middle East) but there are some available in some parts of the world I’ve love to visit. One of those jobs is located in Belgium, specifically in the city of Mons, and I’m rather enthusiastic about it. I’m not new to living in Europe. I was born in Germany back when the wall was still up and I spent a few years of my childhood there, but I’ve never lived there on my own terms before and I’ve never visited Belgium before. Now, if I do get this job my company will help me get settled, namely with helping me find appropriate living accommodations, but I’m still not familiar with what life in Belgium would be like. I was wondering if anyone here familiar with life in Belgium could tell me what to expect if I decide to relocate there?
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 08:36
|
|
|
I moved from the States to Europe almost 7 years ago (first to Ireland, then to Switzerland) and other than the language, things are the same but slower. It's tough to eat lunch in a sit-down restaurant in under an hour. If you order a big TV or a refrigerator it might take over a week for delivery. Shops close at 6pm and don't open on Sunday. If you aren't somebody who always has to get everything done now now now, and can adjust to the opening times then that's basically it. You'll have to do without a few of your favorite things, especially various ethnic foods (why are good burritos so hard to find in Europe?) but if you moved across the country you'd have to find new favorite restaurants, new game shops, new organic food markets, etc. anyway. You might also have to adjust to 4-6 weeks holiday but I'm guessing you've prepared yourself for that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 09:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 23:36 |
|
|
greazeball posted:You'll have to do without a few of your favorite things, especially various ethnic foods (why are good burritos so hard to find in Europe?) but if you moved across the country you'd have to find new favorite restaurants, new game shops, new organic food markets, etc. anyway. You might also have to adjust to 4-6 weeks holiday but I'm guessing you've prepared yourself for that. Yeah, I've read somewhere that the best Mexican food in Europe is barely average compared to what you can get in America. That sucks. Still, I heard that there are some killer places to eat in Belgium, especially if you like Italian. So there are no Wal-Mart type establishments in that part of the world, eh? That's certainly not a deal killer, but it would be lame to lose that degree of convienience. Then again, I'm a third shift worker so I'm used to taking advantage of things like that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 09:48
|
|