|
Octy posted:Oh, oh! Go to the Munich Residenz. Yeah, it's another palace, but if you've got to go to any palace in Germany, choose this one. It's big and beautiful and it has something like 120 rooms open to the public. They're not empty either. You should also go to the Englischer Garten which is the German equivalent of Hyde Park except better. I will be in Munich from the 10th of July until the 15th. I am leaning towards the Residenz, one of the Pinakotheks and a day trip to Regensburg. I highly recommend the Englischer Garten as well. Make sure to enter the park from the south end, the first meadow you encounter is the nudist sunbathing area. I don't need to go to the Hofbrauhaus again (there's one in Rosemont next to Toby Keith's Kick 'em in the Turban Steakhouse!!!) and want to make it to the Augustiner Braustuben and the Hirschgarten. Does any goon know where Fassbinder filmed this scene in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zx23kZOoh0 I'm leaning towards Augustiner Keller. I already know where this great man is buried and where the Italian restaurant is that was Hitler's favorite place to eat lunch in Munich.
|
#
¿
Jun 25, 2013 06:34
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 7, 2024 11:43 |
|
|
Insane Totoro posted:I don't mind paying for bottled water. I just don't get why they won't bring me ice cubes. Why is that? Is it really that unheard of? I went to Auschwitz in May 2012 and was able to get an English language tour of Auschwitz I and II. According to the camp's website: quote:The entry to the Auschwitz I site will be exclusively on a guided, group basis from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the period from April 1 to October 31, 2013. This not apply to the grounds of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau. I remember arriving at the visitor center around 9:30 and seeing people being separated by language, waiting for the first (10 AM) tour of the day. Our tour guide, funny old Polish lady, led us on a bus over the Auschwitz II and gave us a whirlwind tour of the larger camp as well (tour of I was quite brief too, unfortunately). When our tour was over, I stayed at II for a few hours on my own. I was able to better experience the camp without being prodded around with disgusting, boorish, middle aged British men during their stag party. I agree about Krakow's underratedness as well. Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter, is also worth seeing. I was able to find the Jewish orphanage that my great-grandparents lived in before being adopted by Polish Catholics. The food is top notch (stuffed Goose necks) and so cheap. I also recommend doing laundry at the Frania Cafe. Laundry facilities are in the back with a nice cafe in the front. The employees were attractive young ladies insistent on giving me the student discount. Le sigh.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 8, 2013 19:05
|
|
|
Anarkii posted:Talking about Venice, I'll be there for 2 nights in October. If there was one restaurant I shouldn't miss in Venice, what would be it? I've mostly heard bad things about the food scene in Venice, compared to say Tuscany or even Rome. But surely, there's some local authentic place worth visiting? +1. I've never been to Venice but since I'll be working in Bolzano for the next seven months, I will probably make it there at least once. Does anyone have any kind words to say about Genova? My supervisor is from near there and heartily recommends it. Is it a mix between a busy port and Nice?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 3, 2013 17:20
|
|
|
If you do follow the advice to go from Munich to Prague (or vice versa), make sure to take the bus over the train. This is counter-intuitive to most travel in Europe but in this case makes sense. You can buy train tickets in advance from this site (http://www.cd.cz/eshop). A quick query yields a price of 500 Czech Koruna (approx. 19 euros) for a one-way ticket. You can buy tickets in advance for the bus through DB Bahn, which are usually 29 euros for a one-way ticket. The bus trip is four and a half hours, while by train is six plus hours. Re: Prague, I spent 5 days in Prague in June 2012 and it felt like an eternity. You can cover the castle quarter in a day. The Old Town/Jewish Quarter can chew up another day. After that... Be prepared for many annoying American and British (stag parties) tourists, especially in June. Exhibit A, I caught a snippet on the local news of a video of an American tourist climbing the Astronomical clock in the Old Town Square. Part of the clock was destroyed as a result. Prague is the only place in Europe where I felt more than slightly annoyed by the masses. I've been to Rome, Paris, Florence and Berlin in peak season as well. I did find a cheap (55 euro) room in Praha 1 (Stare Mesto), which was only a five minute walk away from the square. Food and beer is cheap, make sure to drink at U Zlateho Tygra (At the Golden Tiger). This is a classic Czech pub that is surrounded by luxury restaurants with attractive, young waitresses. Here you will find gruff, mustachioed men and a lackluster menu. Apparently Vaclav Havel brought Bill Clinton here, where Bill felt obliged to play his saxophone. Maybe a Prague resident (or a fellow Goon) would tell me that the place is crap, but I like to maintain the belief that this is what Prague was like before the Curtain fell and when the ticky-tack shops were non-existent. I would definitely try to squeeze in either Berlin or Vienna, with Berlin edging out Vienna by a country mile. Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Oct 22, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Oct 22, 2013 21:39
|
|
|
Anarkii posted:I was kinda surprised that access to the pantheon isn't more restricted. You don't need to buy any tickets. People were sitting next to the columns drinking beer. Instead of being a museum or anything, it's just an active cathedral of sorts. Which is great for the current generation of tourists I guess, but I wonder if that won't hasten its ruin. Huh, every time I have eaten gelato or drank near a site, I have gotten yelled at. It's also great to get the head shake/tsk tsk tsk for drinking in public by well-heeled tourists with three shopping bags in each hand. Happened this weekend to us near the Vienna Opera House. The Pantheon came in handy in August when a series of thunderstorms struck. When I entered, I was greeted to a free performance by a local choir.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 6, 2013 08:56
|
|
|
Perhaps watch some Romanian New Wave films, like The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, for a good idea.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2013 16:28
|
|
|
Jerry Manderbilt posted:This is probably a dumb question, but I'm going to Stockholm in about a week. Is it too far south to see the Northern Lights? Yes, I saw them when I was visiting my family there years ago. I've also seen them from Wisconsin and Michigan in the States, which are at a much further south latitude than Stockholm.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 2, 2013 20:36
|
|
|
At that time and in those locales, I would say that you could wait until the last minute (e.g., book the room in Dresden while in Berlin). If you were to go to a small city (e.g., Bolzano) with only one decent hostel, I would book as soon as possible to be on the safe side. I haven't done the hostel thing in a dozen years, just going off of what my friends here tell me.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 14, 2013 23:25
|
|
|
Out of Italy, Germany and Switzerland, you would have the most issues with English in Italy because reasons. I don't know about the Swiss Alps but this winter, the Dolomites here have seen snow totals not heard of since the mid 1950's. I am curious as to when the Alpi di Siusi will be snowfree.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 22, 2014 14:17
|
|
|
gaan kak posted:Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I definitely don't want to burn out, so we are cutting out some stops: Bolzano goon here. I posted this in the Munich/Salzburg thread. Basically, by taking either the cable cars, buses, trains or a combination of any three modes can get you to most of South Tyrol within 60-90 minutes from Bolzano. I, myself, haven't been to the Otzi Museum yet, even though I can see the back of it from my bedroom window. I guess it's one of those rainy day things.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 2, 2014 22:00
|
|
|
Also, if you to go to Trieste (Friuli) be advised that there is no train service between Italy and Slovenia. I believe there is a way to get to Ljubljana, for example, but it involves multiple modes of transport. I'd hope/guess that there are buses that would take you from Italy to Croatia in the general direction of Sarajevo.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 12, 2014 10:21
|
|
|
Heh, I'm going to watch the USA-Germany match here in Bolzano. 
|
|
#
¿
Jun 1, 2014 00:00
|
|
|
I am in Istanbul all of next week. I am staying in Sultanahmet, about 500 meters from Hagia Sophia. I have never been before, so I will hit up the usual spots (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Cistern, Taksim, Galata, İstiklal Avenue). So, where are the best places to smoke hash? Boat tours? Places to buy a leather jacket/boots? Grazie mille.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 10, 2014 23:31
|
|
|
I work in research in northern Italy and can attest to the social frustrations that others have posted here about living in Europe. I have made plans in the past with my closest friend here (colleague/flatmate) for a nordic skiing trek up to a month in advance. Both times he had to cancel the week of the trip. I usually end up going to other cities on the weekends and don't mind going to concerts on my own. I left my university in the U.S. having made friends (in just my department) from Nepal, Israel and Poland. I included them into my social life, invited them to dinner and to go hiking on the weekends. They often complained about how hard it was to find a flat in the U.S. (not hard at all!), whereas I can't afford or even find a room in the city where my work is located. So I now have a 35-50 minute commute on a lovely regional train. La dolce vita. EDIT: I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet but I remember there being a thread in this subforum started by an American goon who was moving to Switzerland. He was hired by ETH Zurich and inquired about all of the required necessities in moving to Switzerland. Perhaps it could converted into a general Swiss thread. Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Feb 12, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2015 12:51
|
|
|
*
Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Feb 15, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2015 13:38
|
|
|
Mikl posted:North-East, about 50 km inland from Venice. I work in Bolzano and live in Trento. I actually had someone send me a message on Skype yesterday morning to meet for a drink later in the day. I message him back a time later in the day, to which he responds that he has business to attend to all night long. This is not the first time that this has happened. I have long ago started utilizing italianhandgesture.jpg: 
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2015 10:31
|
|
|
Ofaloaf posted:I'm landing in Munich on Tuesday for a little over a week's stay with some relatives in Vaterstetten, in the metro area. I'm alright with stuff to do in Munich proper, but the tour books in general seem kinda bad about stuff to do in the towns around Munich. Is Starnberg an alright place? Herrsching? I live in rural-ish Michigan and would quite like to visit and just chill in a Bavarian approximation of that for a day, but these tourist books I've been looking at don't seem to have many entries for "nice town for a walk, but not much going on", and the relatives I'm visiting only moved to Germany a year ago, so they're still figuring things out a bit. Take the S-Bahn (S 8) to Herrsching (end of the line) and walk approximately 2 km through the woods to the Andechs monastery/brewery.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2015 09:08
|
|
|
Also, as a U.S. citizen living abroad, it is a major pain in the rear end to try and open an account, even in Italy due to FATCA. Obviously, the thrust behind this is to prevent people from hoarding money in places such as Switzerland and the Caymans. But these people know the loopholes and people like me get the shaft. Only two countries to my knowledge goes after its own citizens and taxes them when they live abroad, Eritrea (!?!?) and the U.S.  
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2015 09:10
|
|
|
Doctor Malaver posted:You're more likely to be beaten or robbed or get a roach-infested room in Rome or Milan than in Ljubljana or Krakow but go ahead and tell us more about your ideas and concerns about central / eastern Europe. Would you prefer a bed or do you want to sleep in a ditch like locals? Is electricity important to you? This. When I first moved to Bolzano, my German and Italian flatmates asked me where I wanted to travel to first. I said Budapest. They stated that they would never travel to Croatia, Hungary or Poland because they believe the people to be racist and homophobic. Then they proceed to tell me, not more than an hour later, that a former work colleague where we all work was severely beaten (along with his boyfriend) for being gay in public. This occurred very near the main piazza on a Saturday night when the streets are filled with people and not a soul intervened. They left the flat two weeks later to go on a 10 day jaunt around Sicily. Sicily is a part of a country where a violent homophobic attack happened to a friend of theirs' not five minutes from home, but they do not include it on their list of banned countries. But beautiful Budapest, Split, Krakow, Poznan... no, I heard that they are unevolved cavemen that club women and African immigrants over the head.  Poland, for my money, is the cheapest and best option for me in Europe. I was in Krakow in 2012 and spent most of my time there drinking coffee at cafes, wandering through the many, many Catholic cathedrals and eating stuffed goose necks in Kazimierz. The only downside to Krakow were the stag parties. A group of middle-aged British men nearly ruined our tour of Auschwitz. Who the hell goes there as part of stag party? Poznan is quite well preserved as well. Even Warsaw is worth visiting for a few days. Quite a lot of greenspace there, something like 40 percent of the total land area is greenspace, tops in Europe. Budapest is quite lovely as well, beautiful architecture and women and interesting night life. Unfortunately, the ruin bars have been found out and are quite touristic. Similar to Prague, where you have a cathedral and castle on top of a hill overlooking the river and city center. Budapest is one city where you definitely have to use public transportation. The subway tunnels are either burrowed extremely deep into the earth or in the case of the oldest one, the line is buried only a few meters below the surface. This is the line that will take you to the Opera House as well as the famous baths and Heroes' Square. Least importantly, I ended up taking a photo from near the Danube looking both at the main (?) cathedral and looked at the window of a restaurant next to me. Dennis Quaid and son eating sushi. It was from around this vantage point:  So, I guess any trip to Budapest isn't complete without taking a photo here and bumping into an A-lister.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2015 17:02
|
|
|
Fragrag posted:I'm in Verona and will be heading to Treviso tomorrow. The connection I looked up will involve a 40 minute wait at Venice Mestre Staton for a 20 minute trip to Treviso Central, are there sny alternative methods to reach Treviso? I believe your only other option by train would involve a layover in Vicenza instead of Mestre. I see that the wait in Vicenza is around 20-25 minutes on Trenitalia's website. Every Italian will tell you that Mestre is a place of poo poo. But you are there for only 40 minutes, so no worries.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 13, 2015 12:15
|
|
|
Cheesemaster200 posted:Anyone have a good hotel in Krakow near the old town? Looking for a place for me and my girlfriend. We are open to hostels, so long as they have private rooms. I stayed at Hotel Wawel back in June 2012. I believe that we paid €55-60 for a very nice, spacious room. It is positioned in the southern part of the Stare Miasto, so you are pretty much equidistant from the Castle/Kazimierz and the central square. Also, there are bubushkas (especially at the entrance of the train station) in most crowded areas of the city that sell the giant pseudo-pizza things for dirt cheap. Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 11:57 on Jul 20, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 20, 2015 11:54
|
|
|
I returned yesterday from a one-week holiday in Istanbul. Unfortunately, my hotel was in Sultanahmet and I spent my evenings drinking beer in Taksim/Beyoğlu and making the 30 minute walk back. There were no signs of protest in the park/square, just people going about their daily business. I already opted out of a trip there last November, due to the assault on three U.S. Naval officers at the ferry port in Eminönü. I seriously regret that decision now, due to the sweltering weather and obscene crowds.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 18, 2015 17:05
|
|
|
As an American, I must agree that every European airline I have personally flown (Wizz!, Lufthansa, Air Berlin, SAS, even Easy Jet) kicks the poo poo out of the American counterparts that I know (American, United, US Airways, Southwest, Spirit). If you can book tickets well in advance (4-6+ months) and/or travel in late fall thru early spring, you can easily afford most any Euro carriers. I plan on returning to Stockholm for Christmas with my family there, $480 round-trip on SAS from O'Hare to Arlanda. Incredible. Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Sep 3, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Sep 3, 2015 14:25
|
|
|
I am 6'3" (190 cm) tall and also short-waisted. I flew home for Christmas from Munich to Chicago and back again on New Year's. I was in Economy class and didn't have any issues with my legroom. The flight to Chicago was dominated by old, fat 'Sconnies returning home from their vacations, only to stuff two cabin bags for each person into the overhead compartments. By the time I boarded, I had to stuff my very full laptop bag/backpack under the seat in front of me. Still more legroom than one of those ancient 767s American flies to Paris or Rome. Also, Munich's airport is the nicest I have been to in either the U.S. or the EU. It even has a Christmas market that you can chug brule at before your flight!
|
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2015 13:45
|
|
|
Yeah, Chinatown, there is a wooded area near the tents where you can bang all the frauleins and pass out. Also, you may just find MH370 there.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 1, 2015 01:54
|
|
|
When I lived in Italy for three years, I was glad to be there during the proliferation of the selfie stick. Since I mostly traveled alone, I would always get asked to take pictures of couples with their smartfoans. I had to muster all of my decency to only emit a soft sigh or jokingly ask for six euros fifty cents for the service.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2015 20:01
|
|
|
Hey fellow Sox fan, I was in Riga in August. I ate at Lido a few times. The clientele seemed to be a mix of tourists and locals. It has a cafeteria style layout with hearty Latvian food and they make their own beers. I was surprised at seeing three different, large outdoor restaurants with a rockabilly theme in the old town. Also, the American bros on the bridge next to the Freedom Monument spitting their PUA/Roosh V bullshit on the pretty local women. Pretty gross to me. The art noveau buildings east of the old town are incredible though, despite all the annoyances in the touristic areas. Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Oct 17, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2015 02:38
|
|
|
No time for an effortpost and just off of the top of my head, that itinerary seem very crowded (8 locales in 21 days). Istanbul and Rome are easily a 7 day stay each, while the French Riviera is not the easiest place to travel to. Venice is the pits, I don't see the charm in it but maybe you do. I just spent 2.5 years living in northern Italy and my recommendations would favor Padua, Verona and Bologna/Ravenna over Venice.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2015 18:59
|
|
|
Yeah, I agree with Entropist. I had the chance to go to Luxembourg for work three separate times last year. Even the people that I interacted with at the EU complex were apologizing to me about how boring it is. My meal allowance was 25 euro and it was difficult to find a meal with a couple of drinks that didn't exceed that amount. The cheapest places to stay are near the train station (like everywhere else). A ravine cuts off this part of the city from the high/old town. The bridge that traverses the ravine has some nice photo opportunities. There is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, a network of underground fortifications, which may not be exciting. But other than that? 
Ferdinand Bardamu fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Oct 20, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2015 23:46
|
|
|
surrender posted:I wish I had done the same in Stockholm, especially because there's only one laundromat in the entire city. I ended up having to wash underwear in my hotel room's sink. Ha! I went to that place on a Saturday morning five minutes after opening. Every washer was already occupied but the nice old woman who manages it helped me from the beginning to end. The Stockholm card is a great deal, like you said.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 27, 2015 03:41
|
|
|
Junius posted:I'm heading to the UK (from Australia) in early October next year for my brother's wedding. As I'm leaving my husband at home with the kids, I can only be away for two weeks and would like some advice on the ideas I've had for travel so far. Junius, if you have never been to Italy, I would recommend staying far, far away from Bolzano. I just spent 2.5 years living there, AMA! I actually lived in a flat where my bedroom window looked across a courtyard to the archaeology museum. I asked my flatmates and work colleagues (those in the Mummies Institute) about the museum and said to go only if I was bored on a rainy day. The best aspect of Bolzano is its close proximity to the Dolomites and Italian Alps. You will see many Italian and German tourists there to hike/ski/cycle. South Tyrol was a part of Austria before WWI and Alpe di Siusi is a special place for Germanic people to vacation at. I would strongly suggest seeing any other Italian city first, even Venice. Bolzano is also incredibly expensive, even in October. You would be able to find a decent room in Bologna or Firenze for much less money, plus you would have so much more to look at. Ravenna is a day trip from Bologna, which contains eight (!) UNESCO World Heritage sites. Sicily is incredible in its own right and worthy of a multi-week stay. The best preserved Greek ruins in the world are there (Agrigento). Unless you really, really love archaeology and Ötzi, I would suggest elsewhere.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 5, 2015 17:18
|
|
|
Verona and Innsbruck are about the same distance from Bolzano, however they don't serve many destinations. Verona's airport used to have direct flights to Paris, but Wiki tells me otherwise. Also, no flights to Italy, save for Rome Fiumicino. Using the motorways is quite expensive in Italy and Austria, I would suggest taking the train (2 hours from either Verona or Innsbruck). The one time I traveled from Bolzano to Paris, I ended up flying from Milan Malpensa (three hours by train). I think most trains from Venice to Bolzano have one changeover, in Verona. Look for the EuroCity train that goes from Venice to Munich. Also, you have to take a bus/taxi from Marco Polo (VCE) to the train station in Mestre (ugly industrial city) if this is your choice.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 9, 2015 21:46
|
|
|
Entropist posted:My friends who lived in Bolzano usually used Milan Bergamo because it has many cheap flights, but they hated the airport and the convoluted public transportation route to get there. Heh, yeah, I was going to mention Bergamo in my previous post. I flew to Vilnius from there. Three trains from Bolzano, one to Verona, one to Treviglio and the last to Bergamo. Then a 15 minute bus ride to the airport. I woke up at 6, left on a train at 650 AM, arrived at the airport at 13.30 for my 16.00 flight, arrived in Vilnius at 19.30 local time, checked in and strolled to the city center by 21. All of my colleagues stated that Bolzano is the most isolated city in all of Western Europe. It's not that hard to believe when you look at a population density or night time light map of Europe.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 10, 2015 05:44
|
|
|
BgRdMchne posted:Where do the American and other English speaking ex-pats hang out and what can an American do for fun when he's not looking at museums and ruins and architecture and poo poo? Campo de' Fiori and Piazza Navona, although it is hard to find the locals most anywhere in Rome, especially during the summer. Eat some of the best food you will ever eat, drink, people watch, take a bike ride along the Appian Way, wander around the small side streets without looking at the hotel map or your phone, use your imagination, etc.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 10, 2015 08:02
|
|
|
asur posted:1. Most people stay in either Beyoglu around Taksim or Sultanahmet. Beyoglu is where the nightlife is and Sultanahmet is where the vast majority of tourist sites are. I stayed in Sultanahmet and had no issue getting back after a late night, either walking or cab, but if I had to do it again would probably stay in Beyoglu just to avoid that. This. I stayed in Sultanahmet last August when I was there. I have a friend who lived there for three years, so I was introduced to and hung out with his friends each night in Taksim. If I would do it all over again, I would stay there (Beyoglu). A lot of young people, especially college students (universities are near there), drinking outside. Sultanahmet is boring at night, mostly middle-aged couples eating overpriced tourist dinners. Going from Sultanahment to Beyoglu, I used the tram to cross over, then used a funicular to go up the hill on the other side. Instanbul, like Rome, is a city of seven hills. Be prepared for hiking up and down streets. Ortakoy is a neat little area near the Bosphorus bridge. You can take the aforementioned tram towards Taksim and transfer to a bus there. Everyone does speak English; in the bazaars, you will see sellers who also speak Italian, French, Arabic, German, etc. Incredible.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 9, 2015 18:41
|
|
|
BgRdMchne posted:Wow! Pisa is a really lovely place. The cathedral is more of a carnival than a church. In the afternoon it's open to tourists for one hour and there must have been a dozen tour groups in there at once. It was loud and camera flashes were going off constantly The votive candles were electric. The tower and everything around it were rip offs, €18 to climb it and extra each for the baptistery, cemetery, and museum. The food's been bad and there's dog poo poo everywhere. venice won't be much of an improvement lol. at least you aren't going there during the summer.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 13, 2015 21:48
|
|
|
You may go to Germany/Austria/Northern Italy if you want to experience the Christmas markets, even after Christmas itself. I know that the city I lived in in Italy, Trento, served brule/mulled wine until the first weekend of March. Otherwise, going to any major city in December/January/February is a great experience, especially when comparing it to past experiences during the summer months. Some of my favorite memories of living in Italy were going to Florence one year and Rome the other for my birthday (early Feb.) and just wandering around drinking beer/wine chased by coffee and stumbling in and out of churches/other historical sites. Incredible. 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2015 06:37
|
|
|
No kidding. They missed out on Miniatur Wunderland, fools!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2016 02:50
|
|
|
Another +1 for blablacar. I used it extensively when I lived in Bolzano and Trento. Much cheaper and easier to travel to, say Munich, on the weekends if you can find a doable option. The long distance train between Verona and Munich is the worst I have experienced in all of Western Europe. Very slow passage up through the Brenner Pass (they are in the process of building a very, very long train tunnel between Austria and Italy) on older trains and always, always oversold. Even before the refugees would board to try to sneak into Austria from Italy, there would be dozens of people waiting in each vestibule for the next empty seat. This was mainly in Austria, where people with a OBB transit pass can board any class (?) of train. In Italy, my Sudtirol pass only permitted me to board Regionale trains. Those trains reeked of piss, are sometimes air conditioned and sometimes heated. The difference in train quality when transferring in Brennero was made quite clear. Blablacar, on the other hand, was great. Usually my driver would be a chatty Italian guy travelling to Munich for the weekend to visit his girlfriend. We would joke about Germans and the strange Italians that lived in Sudtirol.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 11, 2016 21:34
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 7, 2024 11:43 |
|
|
I agree with the Saladman, re: driving in Italy. I drove frequently between Bolzano and cities to the south (as far as Tuscany), in an ancient Fiat Punto. Even on Friday night, the traffic on the Autostrada going to Bologna was laughably light (compare it to the western suburbs of Chicago to the Loop). Some people speed, some don't; maintaining a consistent speed seems to be a problem though. People don't tailgate, they go around you as quickly as possible in the left lane. Unlike in the US, lollygagging in the left lane is very uncommon and will get you killed. I also drove from Bolzano to as far away as Austria and Slovenia, through the Dolomites. Traffic is only a concern on weekends, especially during the ski season (Cortina, San Candido).
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2016 02:39
|
|