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Saladman posted:For Germany, there's Neuschwanstein, which is mandatory for any castle tour... although, Neuschwanstein is a palace and not really a castle, so I guess it depends on whether you're interested in the military aspect of castles or not. Heidelberg has some awesome castle ruins above the town. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a really unique medieval town with a killer wall around it. Germany isn't really known for its food for good reasons, although it's tasty, so it has British food beat. Bavaria (i.e. Munich) has relatively distinctive food, but I don't think anyone would recommend going to Germany for its food, particularly since it's not all that distinct from what you can get in America. A bratwurst or pretzel in Munich is nearly identical to what you'd get at a fair in Atlanta. It's a lot of potato, chicken, sausage, and pickled vegetables. It's delicious but you only need about 2 meals to absorb 90% of Bavarian cooking knowledge. You're like totally wrong about Bayrisch cooking/food. Also, that fischbroetchen is like super north-german, they're eaten all around the north see/baltic. Bavarian food comes in a lot of varieties, the rost bratwurst itself is mostly from north bavaria (franconia) and thuringia, not the rest of bavaria. In munich you get weisswurst, which are a special kind of boiled sausage you eat with sweet mustard. Here's a list of some regional dishes: Kaiserschmarrn (also really Austrian) Kaesespaetzle (also austrian) Weisswurst+Brezn Kasspressknoedel Germknoedel Dampfnudel Schweinbraten Hax'n Leberkaese Obatzta Prinzregentorte The reality is that most German food is super blue collar and working class, so it's not a fancy, exciting thing. That being said, a lot of the food is a far cry from being lovely and menial, and if you spend some money to go to an upper end traditional restaurant it's really delicious and well done. While it's not super exciting and exotic, I'd probably say that a few Bavarian dishes are probably my favourite things to eat.
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Mar 24, 2012 14:52
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The Viper posted:I never understood the bad rap that German food gets. You can eat really well for very reasonable amounts. Also, the base quality of the ingredients is usually high. It's mostly because of the N. American media, and general perceptions of what europeans are like, such as: Italy: Amazing food and opera singers France: Everyone looks like a model, expensive clothes, romantic, food British: Classy tea drinkers Germany: Former nazis, nice cars and people obsessed with rules Prettymuch all of this is wrong, and Germany just gets the slim end of things because of perceptions. Germany is probably my favourite country europe (west sweden owns hard though), but I've had the nice side of things living in Munich and Berlin. Everyone who thinks France/Italy are the high points of europe can go gently caress themselves and have their wallet stolen.
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Mar 24, 2012 19:55
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DracoArgentum posted:Another question, we are planning to go for about 20 days. If we're planning to stay in hostels and eat at moderate restaurants what sort of budget should we be considering? Would $100 a day be enough? Don't go to Switzerland if this is your budget, you will have to spend a lot more. If you're in the other countries you listed it's super doable.
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Mar 25, 2012 07:49
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Elendil004 posted:Im a US Citizen with a US passport, if I have a half day layover in England (Heathrow) but that's not my final destination, can I leave the airport and check out the city for a few hours? I have heard that it might not be possible which would suck. Define half day. If it's 6+ hours that might be ok, but anything less than that is iffy. You can take the subway to anywhere in the city from heathrow, so it's easy enough to get around.
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Mar 29, 2012 23:40
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Miftan posted:I'm flying to Amsterdam on August 27th for a trip of undetermined length. I know about the 90 day thing and I'm planning on being there somewhere between a month and two months. I've bought a one way ticket and will come back whenever. Warning: Oktoberfest is only in Munich and is in the latter half of September, not October. Also reserve your accommodation ahead of time (literally now), because the whole city is crazy for those few weeks. If you're into history there's a shitload of it, but where to go depends on what sort. The welsh border is great if you're into castles/middle ages, but terrible for modern stuff, Berlin has lots of WWII/Cold War but nothing older than 1800s ish, etc.
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Mar 31, 2012 20:16
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Gold and a Pager posted:http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de/ would be even cheaper, but it can be a little sketchy/unreliable. Mitfahrgelegenheit is usually pretty good, especially for shorter trips within one state (going from Muenchen to Nuernburg or whatever). However there can be some pretty iffy times when you wonder why you didn't spring just a bit more for a train ticket, like when you're ripping through Thuringia with a former army dude who doesn't give a gently caress about going 200km/h and is bullshitting with his buddies on a hands free at the same time.
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Apr 17, 2012 11:34
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Akion posted:Ok, so I just found out this morning that my company might be willing to send me to work in Germany for a while (probably up to one year). I'd still be employed/paid by a US company in US dollars, I'd just be living/working in Germany (mostly working from home probably). Yeah, do it, and if you can live in Berlin so you pay next to nothing for housing and living. The main issue might be taxes, but I'm sure if your company has experience with this they should probably help take care of it and sort you out. Health insurance is over 100euro a month for foreigners, but maybe your company will help with that as well? I don't really know how getting the residence permit will work for you (that might be tricky), but if your company has done this before then they know what to do. Allow me to give you more reasons why Germany owns: - Public transit is pretty drat good (trains all around the country, every city has good busses and subways) - The weather isn't super terrible (like it's not great but it's generally really nice in the summer/fall) - Lots of cool/fun stuff to do (clubs, concerts, outdoor stuff, whatever) - Beer is cheap and really good - Centrally located in europe to travel around
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Apr 25, 2012 21:56
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Akion posted:I actually spent a month out there last year, definitely loved it. I'm looking at Köln right now as it's within an hour of my major customer who is in Gießen. You need european health insurance to get a residence permit in the EU
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Apr 26, 2012 13:30
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PlantHead posted:My advice would be to go early in the morning and have a beer and stand more of a chance of getting a seat (and avoiding the drunken, puking that happens later on) Was'n owns, you should probably go, there's less lines and fewer drunken tourists.
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May 3, 2012 11:39
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Cjones posted:I'm party Swedish so I'll probably end up with a bit of a burn. Do you not honestly know how to dress yourself?
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May 4, 2012 16:14
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Cjones posted:Sorry, I had a friend who went last year and made a big deal about how differently people dress but after looking at some photos from the university I think he was over-exaggerating it a bit. Where are you from? If you're from the UK poo poo is exactly the same on the continent as it is there, you have stylish people and not stylish people, as long as you have some style you'll be fine. If you're from the US it's also not different, just look at what JCrew is putting out, plain chinos+nice shirts always goes great anywhere in the summer. Loafers+Chinos+Lacoste tennis shirts is basically the thing that every central Italian wears all summer, so heh. Clothes and style are so globalized now it's all pretty similar, I'm from Canada and live in Germany and I've been asked numerous times if I'm a Swede because apparently my clothes+haircut seem to give that impression. There are a lot of mens clothing items that are universally worn across the western world, these being jeans, chinos, polo shirts, dress shirts and tshirts. Europeans tend to wear slimmer, tighter clothes, but if you have these standard things you'll blend in fine.
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May 5, 2012 01:28
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Akion posted:Anyone got any good suggestions for Expat health insurance? I'm planning on at least 1-2 years assuming my residence permit is approved. I'm with Techniker Krankenkasse, they're ok I guess. Lots of people I know have AOK as their provider as well.
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May 24, 2012 12:59
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Schwarbage posted:I'm in Berlin now with the next three days free to travel where I want. Any really fun things to do in the city or within day-trip range? I've already seen most of the historical stuff and the zoo. Sundays at Berghain are awesome and a great thing to do in Berlin during the summer.
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May 27, 2012 14:22
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corkskroo posted:drat, did I eat some germknoedel when I visited my Viennese grandparents as a little kid. I was all up in that!! Germknoedel is like a delicious form of stomach concrete, and probably among the weirdest/worst lunches I've ever had when skiing (germnknoedel+weissbier makes your stomach into a gassy brick).
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Jun 3, 2012 14:13
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DracoArgentum posted:Perhaps a bit off topic, but I've been reading about dos and don'ts of some European countries and noticed white sneakers coming up in the don't column a lot, also sneakers and white socks. I was curious if anyone knows why. Why white sneakers? Are black sneakers okay then? Or black socks? As an American where sneakers are the accepted standard for travel it just seems...well foreign. Shitloads of people have like white adidas or onitsukas or something, not just plain old all white no-name tennis shoes. Nobody really gives a poo poo how you look, and if you put any effort into your appearance at all you'll blend in just fine. It's basically all about a slim fit polo/tshirt, slim cut jeans and chucks or vintage runners in europe (most people are slim).
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Jun 23, 2012 01:31
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teddust posted:What's the best site to use for getting rail routes in Europe, specifically in France, Switzerland, and Italy? I've been using http://www.raileurope.com for planning, but it seems to have some issues. For example looking for a train from CDG airport to Rennes doesn't come up with any trains until over 2 hours after my 10 AM start time, while I can easily find trains leaving from Paris before then (and I'm sure it doesn't take 2 hours to get from CDG to Paris). Find the site of the national company and do everything through there for each country.
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Jun 26, 2012 20:19
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Mikey Purp posted:I'll be headed to Paris in early September and was wondering if anyone knew of any good places to visit for European (especially French) craft beer? Go to belgium
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Jun 27, 2012 15:35
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Miftan posted:I'm going on a trip to Europe from Israel for an undetermined amount of time so I haven't bought a return ticket. How much trouble is this likely to cause me at boarder patrol? Is there a chance I'll get denied entry? No, most likely not, just say you have a plan to leave within 3 months if asked. The airport routine is generally just asking your final destination and purpose of travel, not anything else unless you look strange/really suspicious. Israeli security/border stuff was a nightmare, I've never been asked so many intrusive questions in my life. "Do you know any arabs?, do you speak arabic?, why did you come here?, why are you going to jordan?, do you have any issues with the state of israel?" The whole thing was pretty intense, and I'm a nice white guy from Canada. By comparison you'll most likely think there is no security at all in european airports.
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Jul 4, 2012 13:37
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Jenkl posted:How likely is it that a friend and I will be able to walk into a major European city in mid August and have no trouble finding a decent hostel to stay at? We're trying to figure out if we really need to commit to our accommodations far in advance - ideally we can not and thus have more flexibility in our travel. Depends on the city, and what your standards are. It will be pretty easy to find a clean/safe place to stay in Scandinavia, Germany or Switzerland, but it will be a lot harder in Portugal, Italy or Spain. Unless you're going for over a month just book ahead of time and save the headache.
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Jul 5, 2012 19:48
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greazeball posted:Like where? I have never seen a car being towed anywhere I've lived or visited in Europe. Have I just missed it? once when i was in prague I saw them use some sort of crane-truck to actually hoist and move an incorrectly parked car
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Aug 6, 2012 21:25
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Macdeo Lurjtux posted:I'm planning a trip to Amsterdam for Mardi Gras in February, I realize they probably don't celebrate much but I like to do something every year for it. I figured Amsterdam would be a good fit because A. it's when the city is cheapest and B. as a canal city I've heard it's breathtaking in the winter snows. Go to cologne with a few friends for Karneval, it's a week of drinking, costumes and parties.
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Sep 2, 2012 17:36
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Limastock posted:I did rail from zurich->munich->prague->berlin->amsterdam->paris during december and january and it was perfectly fine. The people there know how to deal with snow, our taxi drivers were drifting in mercedes benzes like it was a daily thing in Berlin (and it was). Never had one delay the entire time on the rails too. Everything was efficient and ran like clock work. Walking from the Berlin hbf to Alex is ridiculous, almost all the sbahns running through those stops go directly between them.
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Oct 9, 2012 06:39
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Omits-Bagels posted:Is Berlin in Mid-November a dumb idea? My wife and I are wanting to plan a 4-5 day vacation that is (fairly) near to Paris. It looks like an interesting city and we've both never been. it's a good time, as there's no longer the summer tourists so you can actually go to clubs. Also all the museums are less crowded and still good, so highly worth it.
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Oct 22, 2012 17:33
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Because this thread is old and it needs refreshing and we have averted the mayan apocalypse I am going to make a new, super awesome OP for 2013. What does it need besides local translations for chickencheese (kaesehuenchen)?
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Dec 23, 2012 09:15
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HookShot posted:It'd be really cool if there was a small guide for all the major cities (or countries) of Europe for trips of various days (1-3, 5-7, 7-14). maybe just general well known/cool poo poo to do in each area? As someone who's lived in Munich, I can tell you that there is so loving much to do in bavaria a guide like that would be absolutely insane
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Dec 24, 2012 04:33
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Dana Mania posted:Anyone? Berlin has an absolute shitload of stuff to see. I think there are around 150 "museums," and around 10-20 of those are absolutely amazing. If you like WWII and cold war stuff you can explore all over and see cool poo poo like war memorials, old bunkers, nazi ruins and whatever else, there are also some really cool housing complexes from decades ago that are absolutely amazing in terms of architectural design. You can eat fairly cheaply here if you like food, for one person you can easily do very good diners for 100-200 euro including wine (I am assuming by "liking food" you mean that you like really good eating), and there are 2 Michelin starred restaurants here which offer vegetarian tasting menus if you're vegetarian (I am and so I love this).
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Apr 1, 2013 23:38
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madey posted:Thanks for the advice. I cannot believe i had not heard of airbnb before, I ended up getting a similar apartment to LaserWashes suggestion for around two thirds of the price. I hadn't even considered an apartment before but they seem a much better deal. SO looking forward to Prague now. AirBNB is the best, but you should learn how to use it (how searches work and whatnot). I can usually find great places for like 30 euro a night, and I've used it all over Europe. I've had no really bad experiences, and some great hosts who've bought me groceries, driven me around and taken me out for drinks.
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Oct 19, 2013 02:59
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Hadlock posted:I'm in Prague, but I have to meet a friend in Nuremberg for lunch on Friday, and then another friend for lunch on Saturday in Speyer (south of Frankfurt).. I should be ok to his this, right? This is doable but dumb. I know there's a direct Prague-Munich bus, but maybe it stops (or there's a variation which does) in Nuernburg. From Nuernburg you can hop on the direct ICE to Frankfurt a.M., then from there catch a train to Speyer. There's probably a cheaper option for the trains, but I'm not going to  that up right now.
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Jul 11, 2014 07:05
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elbkaida posted:Did you book a ticket for this? If not, try to do that right now! I think online has to be a day or two in advance or something. It can be kind of tricky to get spots on popular days (all summer, especially weekends), because last year they implemented new fire safety rules which reduced the number of people and required at least a few days notice. My Bundestag staff ID card (for a MdB Mitarbeiter) lets me go nearly everywhere besides the roof, you have to book that like 5 days in advance, and even then you can't be sure of spots for your visitor groups.
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Jul 16, 2014 04:23
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Paper Clip Death posted:Hi guys. I was thinking of doing a walking/hiking trip in Central Europe. The grand idea is to stroll leisurely along riverbanks and gentle slopes while admiring the views, having a few beers and preferably not dying of exhaustion. I'm not exactly in great shape, but I do love walking. Having never been on a trip like this before, I'm interested in the practicalities: Germany is so loving populated that finding an obtrusive place (aka where the police/ordungsamt won't bother you) to tent/sleep could be tricky. I'd recommend going on a cycling trip. Seriously. There's a lot of infrastructure along larger rivers like the rhein, mosel and donau (and even the Inn if you're willing to get fit), in addition to areas like the north German coast. You can cruise around on your bicycle (which also holds your gear), stopping every 30min-hour at each little town, and generally taking in the scenery and enjoying what's about. This also makes it easier to get from A-B, and as these sort of holidays are quite popular you'll see many people doing the same things and there are plenty of shops to help out if something breaks and you don't know how to fix it. Probably the premier destinations for these trips are the bodensee (on the border of Germany, Austria and Switzerland), where there are plenty of tourist towns surrounding the lake, lots of nice scenery and a lot of history in the area, or the Donau, where you can start in southeast Germany and go all the way down to Budapest, seeing many major, important cities (you could theoretically continue even further).
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Aug 15, 2014 21:07
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actionjackson posted:Hello, switzerland is expensive, and you'll go through a lot of tunnels Instead, consider going from Innsbruck, which is cool enough in it's own way, down through Bozen and Verona. Bozen is very nice, and south Tirol is quite scenic, and there is some very nice hiking in the dolomites. I feel verona is often overlooked, and outside of the summer crush is fairly low-key compared to florence and venice, although there is still a lot to see.
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Apr 12, 2017 23:52
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Kalenden posted:A couple of questions about Stockholm. mathias dahlgren, choose your flavour: matbaren(*), rutabaga, or restaurant mathias dahlgren (**); I like matbaren otherwise there is a fairly good food scene, although nothing on the level of London/Tokyo/HK/Paris/NYC
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May 17, 2017 23:29
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