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HooKars posted:Anybody in the Prague area right now? I'm supposed to be there Wednesday - Sunday and I'm curious if everything is looking a-okay now or if I should reroute myself elsewhere due to the flooding? It's been raining most of the afternoon again, and apparently it will continue until Tuesday and can result in more flooding. I wouldn't cancel any plans over it though, so far it was mostly just an inconvenience in Prague, while some other places got properly hosed up.
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Jun 10, 2013 00:59
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Kolta posted:Heading to Prague Sunday. Can't wait! Slovakia is great and all but I need a change of scenery. Anyone wanna grab a beer? How long are you going to be staying? I might not be available on Sunday but I'd be up for it during the week.
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Jun 12, 2013 00:37
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Kolta posted:Me and my fiancé will be there until Thursday. Then we're heading to Berlin. Pm me. Sorry, I don't have PM. But my email's mobby.6kl at gmail so... just let me know.
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Jun 15, 2013 15:31
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I'll be in Riga for a day, what are some of the fun things to see/do that aren't necessarily super touristy? Any particular bars to hit at night? I'll be staying in the town center on Valnu Iela st. Also, does anyone know how strict is Air Baltic about the carry on size and weight? I have a standard 21" (? it fits in those test racks) bag that wasn't a problem on a BA flight, but since they want the camera and laptop to be in the bag, it's bulging quite a bit past the 20cm thickness limit and is probably way overweight. Nobody at BA cared, but since these guys would be itching to charge me 60EUR/bag, I suspect they might be paying attention 
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Oct 6, 2013 00:23
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In a couple of days I'll be travelling with a 11 hour layover in Istanbul. Given the timeframe I'd like to get out and see some sights, get lunch, and buy some small leather accessories like belts and watch straps. Does anyone know any spots that are particularly good for this sort of stuff and are relatively cheap and easy to get to/from the airport? I wish I had a few days to spend there but I got the last ticket as it is
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Mar 31, 2015 21:39
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Saladman posted:Tourism and Travel: The How Can I Benefit Financially From a Terrorist Attack? Edition Struensee posted:Anyone have last minute tips on Prague?
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Mar 23, 2016 11:20
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^^^ I'd just buy a local sim at each place too. Usually they're basically free, as in you get the purchase value in credit. Struensee posted:mobby_6kl you haven't got PMs.  You can email me at mobby.6kl@gmail.com. Kutna Hora is nice. A bit closer is Karlstejn. Between these and all the stuff Prague you should probably have enough for your short stay.As for the bars, some people like Lokal, it's not super divy but an interesting experience. There was a more sketchy one I used to go to right in the center somewhere but I don't remember what it was called  I like the atmosphere of underground rock clubs like Kain but they're really all over the place so you can safely go anywhere that doesn't look too expensive and get an authentic experience.
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Mar 24, 2016 11:25
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I'll have a couple of hours to waste in Frankfurt this Monday, I think I'll just catch up on sleep. Speyer, Mannheim and especially Heidelberg are all close enough and pretty cool. The technical museum in Speyer is worth a day almost by itself.
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Apr 29, 2016 09:21
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ulvir posted:well I'm glad you aren't being rude or aggressive about it or presume I'm actually in favour of renting a car in the first place (i explicitly said I'm gonna dissuade it in favour of public transport). I probably wouldn't rent a car just to go from Florence to Venice but it could still be massively more convenient (and possibly cheaper!) than public transport depending on what you want to do and where, so don't dismiss the possibility completely.
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Jun 2, 2016 16:24
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Or Barcelona, while you still can!
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Oct 24, 2017 20:34
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Czech Republic is still on Korunas so exchanges are all over the place. I'd definitely recommend sticking to ATMs unless you can get to one of the non-scammy exchanges (the airport one is a ripoff unsurprisingly). In the center these ones is pretty decent IIRC: https://www.google.com/maps/place/E...4702!4d14.42669 https://www.google.com/maps/place/e...12!4d14.4188368 Most ATMs seem to offer a choice of banknotes when withdrawing but it wouldn't hurt to pick odd amounts.
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Dec 9, 2017 09:46
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I'll second the Hohenzollern castle. It's pretty nice as far as castles go, though nothing mindblowing if you've seen hundreds european castles before. There's also a neat palace in Ludwigsburg. Otherwise yea, Stuttgart got bombed to poo poo and although it's perfectly pleasant as a modern city, but not much tourist value as far as I could see though there are probably going to be many Christmas markets this time.
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Dec 12, 2017 12:07
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Bundled hotel breakfasts are the main thing standing in the way of getting my full per diem $$$ so gently caress 'em. In terms of actual quality I never had any issues with them though, like what the hell do you expect? Just get a few of the tiny tubs of nutella and be happy.
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Dec 16, 2017 02:52
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How anal are the customs at the Munich airport? I'll be flying in with some computer parts for personal use of course but I'm wondering if I'd have to pay VAT on them if they try to shake me down. I'll just have a backpack and probably a plastic bag with some snacks and souvenirs.
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Dec 31, 2017 09:38
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Saladman posted:Not at all. Just walk through the « nothing to declare » exit after baggage claim and you’re good to go. Applies to any airport in Europe. I have never even heard an anecdote of anyone getting a spot check at customs in Europe.
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Jan 1, 2018 07:51
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Northern Norway, good idea in mid-August? Wizzair has a new flight to Tromso and although the departure airport is a bit out of the way, why the hell not since I'm not getting a real GTFO vacation this year probably. Thinking of spending a day or two there and then setting out to Nordkapp. E: probably a week max, due to scheduling conflicts E2: Unless I can't get my vacation approved or something changes, I'm fuckin going. Convinced a friend to go along so splitting car/gas and hotels wouldn't be too bad at all. E3: fuuck Norway just announced they're considering mandatory quarantine for me and will decide on Friday while the best flight is on Monday lol E4: Yep 10 day quarantine on arrival. I can still cancel the car reservation but not the gimbal I ordered for my camera mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Aug 6, 2020 |
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Aug 3, 2020 13:21
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Saladman posted:If you do end up doing this, do a trip report at some point. I've been casually planning a Norway roadtrip as my next 'big trip', whenever that can be, and I was thinking of taking around 25 days to go from Stavanger to Tromsø and back. I was looking into it and Nordkapp seems kind of lame except as "to say you've been there" kind of thing, and otherwise not worth the drive from Tromsø (9 hrs each way) — and that the time would be better spent on say, Senja island. Also it's not even the northernmost point of continental Europe, as it's on an island, and besides that there's a more northern point a few km away, but that's not connected by road. I've been to the Southernmost point of the Eastern hemisphere so there's that aspect but you're probably right about Nordkapp, it's way the gently caress out there. The thought was also that it could be more about the journey then the destination (+also potentially check in in Sweden, Finland and Russia) but I haven't researched if that's really the best use of time up there. I've heard about Senja before though so maybe that'd be better. Anyway, since our government stopped giving a poo poo about covid I instead booked two weeks in Spain during October. Might as well get the roni while sitting on the beach instead of at the lovely mall. Thinking about just chilling on the beach for a few days and then doing a roadtrip around southern Spain and/or Portugal. No ideas about specific destinations so far. Also lol Spain has comically cheap car rates. Last time in Barcelona I rented an Audi A4 for 3 days for like 30EUR. There was no catch then but this is nuts  Even the not so ridiculous compact cars are like 50EUR for 2 weeks. I guess it's better than paying for their parking but then there's the wear and tear. Cicero posted:Our Airbnb in Naxos was the top half of a duplex, the bottom half was a nice old couple who lives there with a dog. The dog running around was like the best part of the trip for the kids (my son and his friend), he was very friendly and would follow us to the beach (only like ~100m away). Are there any good ways to search for hotels and the like that have on-site pets? Because that would be dope.
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Sep 3, 2020 18:35
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Thanks, always great to hear someone with local experience. I wasn't thinking about a roadtrip in the winter, just checking out the northern lights and the reindeer and what not for a few days. A friend of mine spent a week or so driving around the south and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward. Sucks about the slow roads, I can certainly stick to the speed limit if necessary but fines for 1 over are a pain in the rear end.
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Sep 4, 2020 17:30
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cerious posted:Just got back from a weeklong road trip in Iceland. It was a lot of fun. It seems COVID is over for people there, I was the only one wearing a mask at all at indoor spaces (except for the Costco employees). They've been cutting back on where you can even get a COVID test outside of Reykjavik since they don't even need them. Anyways, how was it otherwise? Did you do the usual ring tour? Anyone been to Iceland during October? I like that it's off-season and historically it doesn't seem to be that much rainier than othe months, but I've no idea how that feels to be there in practice. Somethimg like +3C and drizzling is like the most miserable weather we have here in late fall/winter. MagicCube posted:Thanks all for the suggestions on Austria and Slovenia. Much appreciated! As far as I know, there isn't much Nazi poo poo up tpqt the eagles nest, but you should get a great view. And/or you can visit Koenigsee nearby. It's a lovely location and if you have a few hours to spare, there's a boat tour. Salzburg is close by too. Hallsatatt was pretty much empty in July. It's certainly lovely but having seen a ton of cute European villages, not particularly mind-blowing. mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Aug 12, 2021 |
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Aug 12, 2021 20:23
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cerious posted:Actually I didn't do the ring tour. Initially when I was planning the trip there were the 1-day quarantine restrictions in place, so it would have been really tight trying to squeeze the whole ring road into a 6-7 day trip. They lifted it by the time I went, so I then had an extra day, but it was still nice to be able to go a little slower. Thanks! I just went yolo and just got the tickets for October 2nd. Daylight should be still ok at the beginning of the month, so as long as it's not raining 24/7 I hope to have enough time to hit the ring road and and maybe the golden circle once we're back. Good suggestion with the Westfjords, that's something I haven't even considered. Also wizzair had a flight to Malta 10 hours after I'll return from this so I bought that too for 18EUR lol. Never been there either and this should give me a chance to warm up at least.
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Aug 13, 2021 20:51
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cerious posted:If I were you I'd skip the golden circle completely and spend more time on the ring road. It's basically just alright, I think the reason it gets a lot of attention is that it's very close and accessible from the capital, so people with shorter itineraries can still visit some areas of it. They're still great places but I think if you do it after the ring road you'll be slightly underwhelmed. We liked it but if we had to rank all the places we went to, that one would've been the lowest. Thanks, that's kind of why I wanted to leave it for the end, but if it's lame then it's definitely better to spend more time elsewhere!
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Aug 17, 2021 21:56
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Entropist posted:Don't count on it. The universities are about to open without restrictions while many kids are unvaccinated and this will trigger an Nth wave. And after the previous big outbreak caused by reopening night clubs, that'll be the first thing they cancel. By November, we'll be just prior to wave N+2 and the clubs wilo be open again greazeball posted:Traveling between the states and Europe last week gave me flashbacks to doing research for my masters thesis and always feeling like I had reached the end of my search queries but that there was some obvious paper that I was going to be called out for not finding. Just constantly going between the airlines, airports, border control, ICE, CDC, Swiss Federal Office of Public Health until we ran out of energy and said I guess we don't need to get a test if we're vaccinated? But you might still need to be quarantined or tested depending on where you came from. There are these categories A, B, C and D but the definitions change constantly. You can check the map using this link which gets you 404. And you'll need an arrival form. And also a different arrival form if you came by airplane. Or maybe not if you're just transiting, but you'll have to study the definition of transit to see if you qualify.
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Aug 26, 2021 21:54
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Any ideas what to do around Zell am See in Austria this time of year? I'll be there this weekend with my parents. Already been up to Grossglockner , though it's still an option, and Koenigsee, Salzburg and Hallsatatt are possibilities on the way there/back. So I mean more in the immediate surrounding. For coins, you could also melt them down and make something cool I suppose mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Sep 1, 2021 |
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Sep 1, 2021 15:12
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MagicCube posted:Just got back from 4 days in that area and I thought Hallstatt was just alright (and a pain to get to without a car). It's lovely from a distance, but once in the town it felt far too crowded and touristy for such a small town. I'm sure there must be more authentic small towns in the area, but I have no clue where they might be. I thought the salt mines were interesting though. The ice cave is a great idea though, this is the first time I'm hearing about it despite talking about the itinerary with the friends or just googling stuff. Drone posted:I didn't do any travelling within the EU so far during the various lockdowns and whatnot, but I assume going from one European country to another via car doesn't mandate any kind of weird quarantines or anything, right? At most just a test + proof of full vaccination?
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Sep 3, 2021 21:54
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Croatia is pretty drat far from the UK, so keep that in mind since you'll have to do it in a Land Rover. Everyone except Germany has paid highways which are a ripoff since you have to buy a 10-day or more pass to drive even 15 minutes, and avoiding the paid parts can cost you a lot of time. So it could be better to just fly there is what I'm saying. I just drove through Germany and Austria in a $500 car with a giant skull on the hood and nobody cared to check it. However a few years ago a friend got pulled over at the border crossing and had all his paperwork checked, so YMMV. BTW, there's another cool site near Zell am See, the Krimml waterfalls which are the tallest in Europe IIRC 
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Sep 6, 2021 22:29
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Iceland in October trip report: Awesome! Only 2 days out of 10 turned out to be lovely, one of which was the last day and didn't really matter and the other was just rainy afternoon. 10 days is pretty reasonable to do the ring road with some diversions (we drove just over 2k kms). Definitely made me want to come back spend more time in some areas now that I know what's what. It's expensive but not insanely so, averaged around 70 EUR/night for 2 in guesthouses and hotels, 10 for fast food type of lunch. Mostly cooked something for dinner. E: in terms of corona, they were very strict at the airport and checked vaccination, test results, AND arrival form. But after that nobody gave a poo poo and we were the only ones wearing respirators indoors. mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 13:20 on Oct 15, 2021 |
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Oct 14, 2021 21:49
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Saladman posted:Thanks all, looks like car it is. So many online resources really seem committed to a backpacker audience, although since we'd be 4 people even on a backpacker's budget a car is probably cheaper. My wife still also always expects that every other country has public transport as comprehensive, regular, and organized as Switzerland's, so our social contract dictates that I at least attempt to see how buses and trains work (or don't work) any time we go anywhere before I can rent a car with her seal of approval. I just bought the Bradt and DK guides for Montenegro and Croatia respectively - looks like there's a new one coming out for Bosnia soon, and I imagine those are among the rare countries where using a guidebook that is 5 or 10 years out of date would actually make a difference. Presumably / hopefully landmines are not so much of a thing anymore for hiking, at least not anywhere close to signed paths. What time of year are you planning on going? Croatia is super touristy in the summer so I've avoided it so far. But this year I was planning on going to on a big road trip through the region (mainly for Romania though) and we put together a map with some PoIs. Not super detailed in the Balkans but might be helpful. https://goo.gl/maps/37ctAwgZqTY6CirC9 I'd imagine public transport is somewhat functional but just get a car if there are 4 of you. It'll be cheaper than Swiss public transport probably 
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Dec 6, 2021 11:22
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I'm going to Naples for this weekend, does it make sense or rent a car there? Not for the city itself as much as the stuff around like the volcano, coastal villages and what not. My experience from Sicily is that public transport isn't great but no idea about this area. mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Jan 26, 2022 |
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Jan 26, 2022 16:03
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Thanks everyone! The cars are cheap enough that I was considering getting one just in case but when I saw the street we're staying on... nope, not parking there lol. Any particularly good places for pizza? I've been informed that pizza in Bari and Sicily isn't the real deal so I want to see what's up.
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Jan 27, 2022 17:57
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webmeister posted:We went to this place and it was outstanding: Any idea what's up with these leather jackets sold on the streets?  Feel like the real thing on first touch but even if they're fake and only last a season that's still ridiculously cheap. And I don't see how it could be just a scam since they're selling it out of shops.
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Jan 29, 2022 09:43
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Sorry about your lovely weather, but that's Iceland for you We went in October and it was perfect, only 2 days were impacted by some heavy rains. If you were stuck in Reykjavik I'd definitely suggest you go back. As for the prices, they were certainly expensive for my eastern european rear end, but it's not that much more than western europe I think. Here's our complete expense list for 10 days / persons inclding an airplane rental. Without it, it's under a grand.  The €80-100 guesthouses are pretty barebones but always perfectly clean and comfortable. The very cheap ones are a bit rougher, but the one at the end had a hot tub A Yaris is perfectly fine if you're not going offroad; we did the ring road so it wasn't necessary. The major savings here are from bringing some food in the extra luggage and shopping in Bonus instead of eating in restaurants. Any reasonably nice restaurants will gently caress you up pretty quickly. But you can get hot dogs and kebabs at reasonable prices and supermakets aren't that much worse than europe.
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Mar 2, 2022 01:30
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Saladman posted:I think the only museum we went to was the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjörður (Akureyri region) which was surprisingly great. We got 1 day of rain out of 10 days on the ring road + 2 in Reykjavik though.
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Mar 2, 2022 22:17
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Never been pickpocketed (even in Barcelona!) but then I don't hang our much in places where that might happen. If you're really paranoid, you could try one of those hidden money belts that goes under your shirt and keep everything but some pocket cash there. I used it a few times when in places like South Africa but ended up being more worried about it falling off or getting stabbed for its content.
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Apr 22, 2022 10:13
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Sometimes you can find significant savings by flying from/to a different aiport, a few days ago I bought some tickets to Sri Lanka from Kraow, even though it's 500km away from me. But I can get a train ticket for like $15 and will save over $700 so... that said it's almost certainly not going to happen with a transatlantic flight to Frankfurt vs Copenhagen. Re. scammy ATMs, check out this video (and other videos on that channel about tourist scams in europe): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdYhm__yMQY
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Apr 24, 2022 19:27
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Pookah posted:Just a general note that the cost of renting a car pretty much anywhere in Europe has increased a hell of a lot in the last couple of years. My brother came back from the US to Ireland last month, and they were planning to rent a car, but it was just impossibly expensive Amsterdam sounds like a nightmare but overall I think having a car on vacation is very handy even in Europe. Sure you can get almost anywhere with public transport but a car gives you a lot more flexibility outside of urban areas.
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Apr 29, 2022 12:11
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I'll have two substantial layovers in Dublin so I'll be free to walk around for most of the day. Any pro tips? Is there such a thing as Irish fast/street food?
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May 4, 2022 13:16
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Bollock Monkey posted:They are mad on doughnuts! Awesome suggestions, thanks!  This is six loving twenty so you aren't kidding about Dublin terms but yolo right It was very nice outside today so I just walked around mostly but kntbr way back there should be plenty of time for the museums as well.
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May 4, 2022 21:46
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Just came in to post this. Never looked at it as a sensible option but now this is pretty decent. The problem of course is that accommodation in western Europe for three months will still bankrupt you.
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May 10, 2022 16:27
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Saladman posted:So since the weather is nice next week, my wife and I thought we would go to the French coast up in Normandy and enjoy the weather. It looks like everyone else had the same idea but they booked it in advance regardless of the weather forecast; there's like not even a single hotel available within 50 km of the coast, the entire stretch of the French coast from Brest to Dunkirk. Like literally not even one. The only AirBnBs available are either hot garbage for €1200/night, or from hosts that have a horrifically bad response rate. It's actually the craziest I've ever seen hotels and AirBnB for such a wide region of a country -- like even in August you can always find something one week before you want to travel. You weren't kidding, it seems that everything is hosed now. I almost bougth some Ryanair tickets to Bologna for June 1st but according to booking, 97% is already sold out. The cheapest option is like €100 /night which I guess isn't expensive expensive, but considering I just got back from a  trip to New York I was hoping for something that would let my account relax a little. Looking at september, there are nice B&Bs for less than half of this. I guess I can always do a road trip and camp or sleep in the car. Oh wait, gas is $2/liter lol gently caress you.
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May 21, 2022 17:08
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Cheese Thief posted:Any cool festivals this summer? My plans thus far, with the help of this amazing thread, is a week in Rome, then a week in Marsala for a yoga retreat. Now my latest idea is the Untold EDM fest in Transylvania, which is conveniently timed in regard to my itinerary. I guess I could visit count Dracula’s castle.  Busy Bee posted:I went to Italy a couple of months ago and I was just notified from the car rental agency I used that I received two tickets - both for entering a zone that I should not have entered. I'm assuming it was meant for the people who lived there.
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Jun 8, 2022 11:25
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