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Also don't be surprised if people in Paris especially reply to your French with English. It's not really to be insulting, chances are they just want to help you out/practice their English, but it can get annoying, especially if you're there to practice your French. Hell, I'm a native French speaker and sometimes I'll be having a conversation with a server or someone in French no problems, they'll hear me speak to my husband in English and then they'll continue our conversation in English. You're probably less likely to have this problem outside of Paris/really touristy areas. And to be fair people do this in basically every country ever, but for some reason people really like to complain that the French do it more than anyone else, so fair warning.
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Apr 20, 2012 14:08
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HookShot posted:Also don't be surprised if people in Paris especially reply to your French with English. It's not really to be insulting, chances are they just want to help you out/practice their English, but it can get annoying, especially if you're there to practice your French. Yeah. I went to St. Martin last year (French side) and at a sidewalk cafe the waiter wanted to speak English with me. I explained in French that I wanted to practice my French (nicely) and after that we spoke French, so I figure I'll just do the same and maybe some people will cooperate. I will def check out Marseille and Avignon, thanks for the suggestions!
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Apr 20, 2012 20:28
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Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:Yeah. I went to St. Martin last year (French side) and at a sidewalk cafe the waiter wanted to speak English with me. I explained in French that I wanted to practice my French (nicely) and after that we spoke French, so I figure I'll just do the same and maybe some people will cooperate. It's also worth noting that, if they want to practice English, it's selfish on your part to not indulge them. If you're going to speak with them for an extended period of time, you should speak both your own language and the language you want to practice at separate times, as a courtesy to the person you're speaking with. Think about it with the positions reversed: if a French-speaking visitor were speaking to you in your home country, you would want to practice your French presumably, but they might want to practice their English. I'm sure you'd appreciate it if they let you practice your French. The only warning I'd give about this is: don't switch languages from sentence to sentence. If you can, establish a period to speak only French, and then another to speak only English.
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Apr 20, 2012 21:11
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I'm going to be in Budapest for the next week - can anyone recommend any non-fancy traditional hungarian food providing restaurants? I've been googling but I don't think most of the good places have much of an internet presence. I love hungarian food but it,s hard to dig the good places out from among the tourist traps. Recommendations for interesting day trips also gratefully received. We're planning to hit the city centre tomorrow and end up in the central market hall because it is awesome - so much good paprika! Seriously, I travelled light with the plan of stocking up on good paprika and other hard to get things, like tarhonya.
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Apr 22, 2012 21:17
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So I have read through this whole thread and found a bunch of useful stuff, but I figure it wont hurt to post my itinerary and see what you goons think. I have decided to go with the girlfriend for the first time to Europe. We are planning on staying roughly 3 weeks, and are going to see 3 cities. Jun 22-27: Paris Jun 28-Jul 3: Barcelona Jul 3-10: Amsterdam We are going to take a night train from Paris to Barça, and then a flight to Amsterdam. Also, train on the 10th to Paris since our flight leaves from there. I would like to know some things that we can do in these cities or its close surroundings since we are going to stay roughly 6 days in each. I will be doing the key sights such as Louvre and Van Gogh, but for example, can I spend a day in Brussels while I'm staying in Amsterdam? Since I am going with the girl, I would also like to know some cafés/bars/restaurants or any other thing that I could take her which would be romantic (this mainly in Paris). Another thing, I've heard from local Dutch people that they believe the coffee shops wont be closing down even though a law has been passed that disallows them, is this true? Though I am not going exclusively for the weed I certainly would be disappointed if they were indeed closed. Oh, and why do all hostels in Paris suck rear end? High priced/lots of complaints, whats up with that? It was the hardest place to book.
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Apr 23, 2012 18:02
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professor muthafukkah posted:Another thing, I've heard from local Dutch people that they believe the coffee shops wont be closing down even though a law has been passed that disallows them, is this true? Though I am not going exclusively for the weed I certainly would be disappointed if they were indeed closed. The new rule was supposed to come into effect in june in the south of the country, and was initially scheduled to be implemented somewhere in 2013 for the rest of the country. However the government coalition that wanted to implement these changes lost their majority on Saturday. For now it looks like they will stay open. If they end up closing anyway it won't be anytime soon.
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Apr 23, 2012 18:09
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professor muthafukkah posted:Another thing, I've heard from local Dutch people that they believe the coffee shops wont be closing down even though a law has been passed that disallows them, is this true? Though I am not going exclusively for the weed I certainly would be disappointed if they were indeed closed. I've heard the same thing, and after doing quite a bit of research on the situation, it appears that right now the law in question only affects the southern provinces (as of May 1st, pushed back from January 1st already) until January 1, 2013, at which point it will affect the entire country. At that point, things get murkier. Amsterdam, for obvious reasons, wants to keep on keepin' on, so although it might not be fully legal, I believe they will try to do everything possible to keep them open to foreigners at a city level. Like you, I'm not going there just for the weed, but on the other hand, I might have picked a different city to fly in and out of if not for the weed.
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Apr 23, 2012 18:37
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Pookah posted:I'm going to be in Budapest for the next week - can anyone recommend any non-fancy traditional hungarian food providing restaurants? I've been googling but I don't think most of the good places have much of an internet presence. I love hungarian food but it,s hard to dig the good places out from among the tourist traps. My gf and I went to this place: http://www.aranyhordovendeglo.hu/ it's in the most touristy area you could imagine, but the food was very delicious and the price was very good (might have been the good exchange rate at the time, i'm not sure).
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Apr 23, 2012 19:58
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professor muthafukkah posted:Oh, and why do all hostels in Paris suck rear end? High priced/lots of complaints, whats up with that? It was the hardest place to book. Accommodation in Paris is pretty bad or expensive in general since they can be. "They" keep cracking down on 'illegal' short-term apartment rentals. I recently looked again for this summer and found getting a place on VRBO or similar much harder than it was even a couple years ago. On that note, since you're going with your girlfriend, if you have money I would recommend renting an apartment on VRBO or HomeAway (or if you don't have money, Airbnb). It's going to be way nicer than any hotel, and it'll be about halfway between the price of a hostel and the price of a hotel. It might be pretty hard to find a place in June, but worth a shot for Barca and Amsterdam. I wouldn't bother trying for Paris though.
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Apr 23, 2012 20:43
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I need some advice on booking a flight using miles. I'm hoping to visit multiple cities in Europe, and I have ~102,000 miles from British Airways. I'm hoping to spend most of the time visiting a friend in Jülich, but would also like to spend a few days each in Berlin, Prague, and Amsterdam, in no particular order, and preferably traveling by train. So, where should I fly in and out of? I've heard there's a big tax for flying into LHR, which I think is a BA hub, so I'm wondering how easy it might be to transfer my miles to another airline that would fly directly to one of the cities I want to visit, or if there is a better option I'm not aware of. Please help! I have no idea what I'm doing.
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Apr 24, 2012 01:39
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Kilted Yaksman posted:I need some advice on booking a flight using miles. I'm hoping to visit multiple cities in Europe, and I have ~102,000 miles from British Airways. I'm hoping to spend most of the time visiting a friend in Jülich, but would also like to spend a few days each in Berlin, Prague, and Amsterdam, in no particular order, and preferably traveling by train. So, where should I fly in and out of? I've heard there's a big tax for flying into LHR, which I think is a BA hub, so I'm wondering how easy it might be to transfer my miles to another airline that would fly directly to one of the cities I want to visit, or if there is a better option I'm not aware of. Please help! I have no idea what I'm doing. Looks like your options for European airlines include: - Air Berlin - American Airlines (I'm assuming you're American) - Finnair - Iberia - Aer Lingus - Alitalia Personally, I'd try flying to Paris and take the train to Aachen, then a regional train to Julich. Try booking a flight to the cities these airlines fly to, and chances are it'll give you their flights. Or you can call them. I had to call Qantas to book my JAL flight because it didn't show up on the online search. HookShot fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Apr 24, 2012 |
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Apr 24, 2012 06:55
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I need some quick and dirty accomodation advice. I'm going to Valencia for a conference in June and have booked my flights so that I have the weekend after the conference to hang around. Now, I may be moving on elsewhere that weekend, but I'd like to book some cheap accomodation in Valencia in advance in case I decide to stay (and also for visa purposes tbh). Can anyone recommend some backpackers hostels or similar?
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Apr 24, 2012 10:10
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HookShot posted:BA is part of OneWorld, so you can use your points to book flights on any OW airlines that fly to Europe. You will book through BA, but your actual flight will be on a different airline. I did this with my Qantas points to book a flight with JAL.
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Apr 24, 2012 10:28
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Phaeoacremonium posted:I need some quick and dirty accomodation advice. I'm going to Valencia for a conference in June and have booked my flights so that I have the weekend after the conference to hang around. Now, I may be moving on elsewhere that weekend, but I'd like to book some cheap accomodation in Valencia in advance in case I decide to stay (and also for visa purposes tbh). Can anyone recommend some backpackers hostels or similar? I stayed in Hilux Hostel and it was really cool. Right in the middle of the old city. Had a really funky vibe to it, each of the rooms have a different theme (we were in the spice room - which was literally filled with jars of spices lining the walls. It had good reviews online, that's why we ended up booking it. Think they had lots of opportunities for free walking tours, bar hopping etc. if you're that way inclined. The staff spoke English as well.
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Apr 24, 2012 11:09
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PaoFerro posted:I stayed in Hilux Hostel and it was really cool. Right in the middle of the old city. Had a really funky vibe to it, each of the rooms have a different theme (we were in the spice room - which was literally filled with jars of spices lining the walls. It had good reviews online, that's why we ended up booking it. Think they had lots of opportunities for free walking tours, bar hopping etc. if you're that way inclined. The staff spoke English as well. Awesome, I had a look and I think I might go for it. It is pretty affordable too.
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Apr 24, 2012 11:57
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professor muthafukkah posted:but for example, can I spend a day in Brussels while I'm staying in Amsterdam? That might be a bit far. Brussels is almost in the middle of Amsterdam-Paris, if you want to spend a day there just go back to Paris a day earlier and get of the train in Brussels. Having said that, I don;t see any real important reason to want to visit Brussels.
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Apr 24, 2012 13:10
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Anyone have recommendations for a good hostel in Prague?
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Apr 24, 2012 15:02
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professor muthafukkah posted:So I have read through this whole thread and found a bunch of useful stuff, but I figure it wont hurt to post my itinerary and see what you goons think. As mentioned before, Paris hostels are crap. I'm not sure why as the city is the top tourist destination in the world. But there are only a handful of hostels and they all get pretty crappy reviews. I'm sure it has to do with the super high housing prices. I stayed here: http://www.aloha.fr/ and the place was ok. I mean, I've stayed in worse places but it was still near the bottom of the list. Don't expect much peace but I'm sure it is fine if you just want a place to sleep. But honestly, you should really look at airbnb.com. I actually work with an apartment rental company in Paris but I booked a place for my parents through airbnb. You can actually find some pretty nice places for a reasonable price on the site. Look at it this way, you're going to pay probably 65-80€/night in a hostel (for the two of you) and you're still going to be in a room with 4-10 other people. But through AirBnB you can get a private apt. (so you have have the sex and stuff) for anywhere between 45-100€/night. Take this place for example: http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/39396, I found this after looking for like 5 minutes. It is in a cool area and you'll feel much more like a "local".
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Apr 24, 2012 16:24
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Thank you for the suggestions guys. I am going to look into booking an apartment, the one you linked is actually cheaper than the hostel that I had already booked! What about those cafés/restaurants and bars/nightclubs? I am checking out Rough Guides for some suggestions but it would also be nice to see what some goons who have been there have to say. Thanks! ninja edit: for either Paris, Barcelona or Amsterdam. edit: Here's another question, I was reading and for Paris, it says that the metro and buses stop working at 1:30am and that it's practically impossible to get a cab after midnight. Is this true? If it is, how am I supposed to get back to my hostel after a night of partying? professor muthafukkah fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Apr 24, 2012 |
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Apr 24, 2012 18:38
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Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely give them a call. I wasn't finding much info about booking through partners when I searched their website, so that'll probably be easier.HookShot posted:Personally, I'd try flying to Paris and take the train to Aachen, then a regional train to Julich.
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Apr 24, 2012 18:59
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Pookah posted:I'm going to be in Budapest for the next week - can anyone recommend any non-fancy traditional hungarian food providing restaurants? I've been googling but I don't think most of the good places have much of an internet presence. I love hungarian food but it,s hard to dig the good places out from among the tourist traps. http://www.zoldkapuvendeglo.hu/english-menu-zold-kapu-vendeglo/ Day trip to Esztergom and Visegrad.
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Apr 24, 2012 20:35
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professor muthafukkah posted:edit: Here's another question, I was reading and for Paris, it says that the metro and buses stop working at 1:30am and that it's practically impossible to get a cab after midnight. Is this true? If it is, how am I supposed to get back to my hostel after a night of partying? Walk, or call a cab company. However I don't know about "practically impossible"--maybe compared to NYC or London. You're likely to randomly find a cab if you're in central Paris and go to a main street, it just might take a few minutes.
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Apr 24, 2012 21:53
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I will be in Paris for about 10 days with my girlfriend and she was keen on going to an opera (yawn). I thought about maybe taking a train to Brussels and seeing a rendition of Handel's Orlando at La Monnaie, then heading home to Paris later that night. Is this a ridiculous idea?
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Apr 25, 2012 03:51
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Saladman posted:Walk, or call a cab company. However I don't know about "practically impossible"--maybe compared to NYC or London. You're likely to randomly find a cab if you're in central Paris and go to a main street, it just might take a few minutes. Ok, how dangerous is it to walk around in Paris after midnight? I know it depends on the area so I'll just go ahead and say that I'll be staying in the 13th arrondissement. And what about these cab companies, will they understand English? I mean I speak a bit of French but I am not sure enough to get through a call with a cab company.
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Apr 25, 2012 06:15
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DirtyDirt posted:I will be in Paris for about 10 days with my girlfriend and she was keen on going to an opera (yawn). I thought about maybe taking a train to Brussels and seeing a rendition of Handel's Orlando at La Monnaie, then heading home to Paris later that night. Is this a ridiculous idea? I think the train is only 90 minutes or so, so it's not ridiculous. You might as well stay the night in Brussels or go see Bruges or something. Why do you have to spend 10 straight nights in Paris? There's lots of other places nearby to check out.
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Apr 25, 2012 09:09
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PaoFerro posted:I think the train is only 90 minutes or so, so it's not ridiculous. You might as well stay the night in Brussels or go see Bruges or something. Why do you have to spend 10 straight nights in Paris? There's lots of other places nearby to check out. It's going to be a problem that the high speed train doesn't run after 9 or 10 or something. Paris is pretty safe to walk, you just have to keep an eye out for pickpockets, but this is mainly during the day as they kind of need crowds of naive tourists. I've cycled some in Paris too, so that's also a viable option. Otherwise just get a cab. Millions of tourists can manage to stay alive and get home every year, so you'll be alright as well.
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Apr 25, 2012 09:29
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professor muthafukkah posted:Ok, how dangerous is it to walk around in Paris after midnight? I know it depends on the area so I'll just go ahead and say that I'll be staying in the 13th arrondissement. And what about these cab companies, will they understand English? I mean I speak a bit of French but I am not sure enough to get through a call with a cab company. Basically all of the arrondissements are pretty safe (probably like walking around in Manhattan--although I've never seen crime stats for Paris). Most of the urban decay in France is in the suburbs, so it's basically the opposite of the US. I've never called a cab company in Paris, but I would bet the dispatchers will speak English even if the driver doesn't.
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Apr 25, 2012 10:06
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Keep a note with the address of your hotel in your wallet. Then if the cab driver doesn't speak English you can always just show him the address.
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Apr 25, 2012 11:14
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Kilted Yaksman posted:Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely give them a call. I wasn't finding much info about booking through partners when I searched their website, so that'll probably be easier. Even though Berlin and Julich are in the same country, they're on opposite sides of it. You're looking at a 2 hour train ride from Paris on the Thalys, whereas it's probably closer to 5-6 from Berlin. And yeah walking around Paris at night is fine. At the limit stay away from Montparnasse (18eme), but that's about it. Also, don't assume dispatchers at taxi companies speak English, not in France. However, "un taxi [your location] s'il vous plait" will be understood and they'll send you a cab. They'll get the fact that you don't speak english.
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Apr 25, 2012 18:41
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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). Anyone have experience with this? Am I better off starting an A/T thread? I spent a month in Germany last September and rather enjoyed it. I have several customers out there, as well as a handful of friends. I don't speak German (but intend to learn), but pretty much everyone I ran into out there spoke English, so it's not like I'd be screwed my first month till I at least learned enough to not look like a complete idiot. Help me, Goons.
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Apr 25, 2012 21:29
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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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Landsknecht posted: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. 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. I'm not sure how taxes or health insurance would work. I'd be an employee of a US company, being paid in US dollars to a US bank account. I have US health insurance, so I don't know if that covers out there? One thing I read said it should be ok, but others didn't.
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Apr 26, 2012 01:54
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I'm going to be spending a week in Amsterdam and I am very very interested in getting out of the city to see some more rural non-touristy areas. I am interested mainly in seeing iconic dutch villages and landscapes and staying at an inn/bed and breakfast. Can any knowledgeable folks make a recommendation for a 2 day trip outside of the city? Being able to bike would be plus. Thanks 
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Apr 26, 2012 07:28
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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. Cologne is like 100 miles from Gießen, so it would be quite a commute if you had to do it everyday. I would only recommend that commute if you had a car. Don't live in Gießen though. Cologne is great. Not nearly as cheap as Berlin (rent could be like 5-600 euros a month for a single, cheaper if you lived with other people/not in the center) but there is always lots to do. Not sure how txes would work, but the two countries have a pension scheme agreement so that you wouldn't pay into the German one and could continue contributing to SS.
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Apr 26, 2012 07:43
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Gold and a Pager posted:Cologne is like 100 miles from Gießen, so it would be quite a commute if you had to do it everyday. I would only recommend that commute if you had a car. Don't live in Gießen though. I'd probably travel to Gießen once/twice a week at most. I'll likely be travelling around most of Europe developing new business, but right now that is where my largest customer is. On the question of Taxes. It appears I'd be paying German and US taxes on my income and then just get the excess back at the end of the year? How do I even pay the German taxes if my money never (technically) enters Germany? Honor system?
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Apr 26, 2012 13:19
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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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Landsknecht posted:You need european health insurance to get a residence permit in the EU So basically something like these guys? https://www.dkv.com How does the taxation work? I'm seeing conflicting accounts of whether I am/am not liable for German taxes or US taxes? Do I report income to the German government or? My company has no permanent presence in Germany, and I'd be the only employee over there, if that helps. The most common theme seems to be that I pay both, then just get a big credit back at the end of the year from the US Gubment?
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Apr 26, 2012 16:11
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Landsknecht posted:You need european health insurance to get a residence permit in the EU You can get an exemption from this if you have valid US insurance. I do this, for instance. It wasn't even very hard to prove (basically just a copy of my insurance card and a list of what and how much I am covered for 'out of network' providers). E: Looks like the exemption law may have changed since Jan 1, 2009. I last lived in Germany in 2007, so I don't know about it anymore. I currently live in Switzerland and still get the exemption for my Schengen residence permit. http://www.justlanded.com/english/Germany/Germany-Guide/Health/Health-insurance Saladman fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Apr 26, 2012 |
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Apr 26, 2012 16:15
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the black husserl posted:I am interested mainly in seeing iconic dutch villages and landscapes and staying at an inn/bed and breakfast. Can any knowledgeable folks make a recommendation for a 2 day trip outside of the city? Being able to bike would be plus. Thanks There is literally nowhere in the Netherlands you can't bike. The question is how good of a cyclist are you, how far do you think you can comfortably go in a day? Would you like to trek around on a bike or just go somewhere, rent a bike there, have a tour and go back to the B&B? You can rent a bicycle at pretty much every train station for €3 a day (€10 to make your subscription initially). Kinderdijk (near Rotterdam) and de Zaanseschans (near Zaandam) are both iconic Dutch sights, very pretty and you can make nice cycle tours near them. Just beware that the locations themselves are absolute tourist traps. This question also (sort of) came up a couple pages back where someone wanted to bike from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. Without further parameters i would plan 1 day each around Zaanscheschans and Kinderdijk. If you are a strong cyclist maybe you can cycle around the Ijsselmeer (afsluitdijk is pretty killer against a north sea headwind though). Cycling over the dams, dikes and bridges of the Islands in Zeeland is also very nice, pretty views from the bridges and dams to the Islands. Lots of rare birds as well.
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Apr 26, 2012 19:16
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NihilismNow posted:This question also (sort of) came up a couple pages back where someone wanted to bike from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. Without further parameters i would plan 1 day each around Zaanscheschans and Kinderdijk. If you are a strong cyclist maybe you can cycle around the Ijsselmeer (afsluitdijk is pretty killer against a north sea headwind though). Cycling over the dams, dikes and bridges of the Islands in Zeeland is also very nice, pretty views from the bridges and dams to the Islands. Lots of rare birds as well. You must mean around Markermeer (145km), around Ijsselmeer is not even doable for most trained cyclists (in a single day). Around Markermeer would give you a day full of iconic Dutch sites though. Centers of Monnikendam, Edam, Volendam, Hoorn and Muiden and everything else is just wind, dykes and marshes, it's glorious
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Apr 26, 2012 19:24
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