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Gold and a Pager posted:I'm going on vacation to Madrid for the next two weeks, but if you want to meet up for a beer from the 23rd of July onward, PM me (you're still going to be in Cologne, right?) Ahh, lucky bastard. Have a good time! I'll be in Cologne for sure till the end of July. I may move down to Frankfurt or Karlsruhe thereafter but haven't really decided. PM me and we'll set something up!
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Jul 9, 2012 07:46
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Gat posted:This quickest way from Belgium to England will probably be the Eurostar when considering the lengthy check-in and travel time between the airports and the city. Eurostar can be quite expensive though Eurostar is a bit expensive. Megabus seems right up my alley, especially if I can cach one that drives all night and not really miss any time. I've never traveled in Europe so this might seem like a stupid question but England is an island. Is the whole journey on one bus via under the sea tunnels or do you have to switch to a ferry or something?
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Jul 9, 2012 11:19
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You either switch to a ferry or get on a freight train through the tunnel. You will not be able to sleep all the way there due to UK Customs.
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Jul 9, 2012 12:00
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Jeoh posted:You either switch to a ferry or get on a freight train through the tunnel. You will not be able to sleep all the way there due to UK Customs. Megabus.com says 8 hours. Should be more than enough time to sleep even with switching and customs. Thanks.
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Jul 9, 2012 15:19
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Eurolines will probably be a bit more comfortable, is a bit quicker, and operates from Ghent. Depending on the day, it might not be much more expensive than Megabus, especially considering the additional travel to Brussels. For example, on the 30th August Eurolines can cost €25, while the Megabus is £20. You need to shop around and see whats best. For both companies it is possible to get a figure below £/€10. Megabus's Brussels coach stand is near to the central station. They seem to use the ferry to cross the channel. It take 2 hours (without stops) to get to Calais from Brussels, and then the ferry will take an hour. From Dover it takes another 2 hours without stops. The other 3 hours will come from waiting at the terminal, customs, and I assume some rest stops. They only operate at two times, one leaving at 00:20, the other at 11:10 which stops at Boulogne on the way. Megabus charges a 50p booking fee. Their coaches should have wifi. Eurolines' Ghent will depart from Dampoort Station, and will use either the eurotunnel shuttle during the day, or a ferry during the night. I don't remember having to get off the coach at all when I went through the shuttle, the coach just drives straight in and you can stay on it. It will only take 30 minutes, so there isn't much to do, except go to the toilet. They operate at 08:00, 12:15, 14:40, 22:45 and 23:15. The 14:40 and 23:00 services are "Plus" services which have free wi-fi and more leg room. In either case when you reach immigration you will have to get out with your luggage.
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Jul 9, 2012 20:23
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My dad is English - I am American, can I apply for British citizenship?
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Jul 9, 2012 20:51
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Mad Wack posted:My dad is English - I am American, can I apply for British citizenship? Edit: Probably http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/othernationality/Britishcitizenship/bornoverseas/ nozz fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Jul 9, 2012 |
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Jul 9, 2012 21:02
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Gat posted:Eurolines will probably be a bit more comfortable, is a bit quicker, and operates from Ghent. Depending on the day, it might not be much more expensive than Megabus, especially considering the additional travel to Brussels. For example, on the 30th August Eurolines can cost €25, while the Megabus is £20. You need to shop around and see whats best. For both companies it is possible to get a figure below £/€10. Wow, this is great. I'm not sure when I'll be leaving Belgium since I'm mostly winging it for this entire trip. I'll probably book it a couple of days in advance at most though. Is that a big deal or is the 3 day/same day booking not that big a price difference? I will definitely shop around though, thanks for both those tips!
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Jul 9, 2012 21:07
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It will vary by how busy that particular coach is, all you can do keep checking and watch the prices rise. With megabus there is a real risk of their being no tickets available, right now there isn't any free until Wednesday where they are priced at £27, the max seems to be about £30-£40. But fares are not significantly cheaper a few days after this either, you need to be thinking a couple of weeks in advance. Eurolines will probably still sell some for the next day since they have many more coaches, the max price seems to be €52, €74 during the Olympics. Its not until after the Olympics that prices calm down. (With Eurolines I have been looking at 26+ prices, if you are 25 or younger there is a discount). Actually stepping back a bit a lot of these prices are much higher than usual around the Olympics so its hard to say whether there would be a saving usually. These are still cheaper than the £127 for a Eurostar ticket (incl. domestic train to Brussels) for tomorrow. Interestingly flights from Antwerp are only €69 tomorrow (this also their lowest price), this also is cheaper than any flights from Brussels tomorrow, but they can start at around £30 it seems. I think £30 for 2 day away travel is pretty good though! It's a long way by coach, and if you can book a few weeks away it can be much less than that.
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Jul 9, 2012 21:47
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(Cross posting this from a thread that didn't get any responses) I may be getting the chance to spend between a week and a month in Bucharest for my job. Obviously on work days I won't be able to do much travelling outside of the city but I'll have between one and several weekends (and maybe a couple of extra vacation days) to spend seeing things. I'm generally not interested in drinking or dancing, but I love historical stuff of nearly all stripes, but especially military (forts, battlefields) or classical (Roman or Greek ruins, any tribal burials, etc). I also like to try local cuisine. Are there any sights that are must see that wouldn't be too hard to get to without a car for someone who has a bad knee? Any restaurants that are solid within the city itself? Anything else that an American should be aware of?
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Jul 13, 2012 23:33
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Awesome thread. I leave on Monday for a two and a half week trip to the following places: Edinburgh, Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, and Amsterdam. I've been to 'Burgh and Amsterdam previously, so any suggestions for the other three cities would be great. Though, thanks to this thread, I will definitely be hitting up the KattenKabinet in Amsterdam.  My more specific question is this: Is Barcelona as awful as I hear it is for pick-pockets and crime in general?
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Jul 14, 2012 04:36
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spinst posted:Awesome thread. Rome: The entire center of the city is awesome. St Peter's is stunning even if you're not Christian. Don't think anything is 'too touristy'--it's all awesome. I thought the inside of the coliseum was kind of a letdown, but the coliseum ticket gets you into the Roman forum ruins too so it's ok. Berlin: Pergamon museum is one of the neatest museums I've ever seen. Egyptian Museum is terrible unless you really like Egyptian stuff. Checkpoint Charlie is great if you're interested in the Cold War. The Zoo is stunning and enormous if you like animals. Barcelona: Only if you're walking down Las Ramblas at night while drunk or look like a really easy target. I'd keep my wallet in my front pocket but other than that it's probably safer than most American cities. As far as sights/sites I don't remember much unique besides Sagrada Familia, but the whole city has a nice atmosphere for food and drinking.
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Jul 14, 2012 06:54
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Saladman posted:Berlin: Pergamon museum is one of the neatest museums I've ever seen. Egyptian Museum is terrible unless you really like Egyptian stuff. Checkpoint Charlie is great if you're interested in the Cold War. The Zoo is stunning and enormous if you like animals. Eh, I'd recommend Bernauer Straße over Checkpoint Charlie for Cold War stuff, CC is just a touristy mess in my opinion. DDR Museum is also kinda neat for discovering the GDR.
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Jul 14, 2012 10:01
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I'm planning a 2-weeks trip in Ireland in august, I'm curious to hear some recommendations. I'm thinking staying 1 week in Dublin, then seeing some of the landscapes.
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Jul 15, 2012 20:29
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Sir Gladu posted:I'm planning a 2-weeks trip in Ireland in august, I'm curious to hear some recommendations. I'm thinking staying 1 week in Dublin, then seeing some of the landscapes. I'm going to be in Ireland in September/October. Reposting something from earlier in the thread for your convenience: quote:DINGLE, DINGLE, DINGLE.
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Jul 15, 2012 21:10
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That it is  (That's my post)But yeah, the west coast is where it's at, in my opinion. Galways is also a lovely town, and you can go to Connemara and see the moores and plenty of ocean along there as well, I just don't have any specific recommendations about it. Cobh is a gorgeous little town just south of Cork which you have to take the ferry to get to, very picturesque and near enough to a major city to make it worth the trip.
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Jul 16, 2012 00:19
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Saladman posted:Rome: The entire center of the city is awesome. St Peter's is stunning even if you're not Christian. Don't think anything is 'too touristy'--it's all awesome. I thought the inside of the coliseum was kind of a letdown, but the coliseum ticket gets you into the Roman forum ruins too so it's ok. Thanks. Good to hear about Barcelona. I'm a girl, so I have to carry all the things in a purse, but I will just use my smaller crossbody one. I wasn't terribly worried about it, but I read some crazy stories on the internet.
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Jul 16, 2012 04:44
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Neris posted:Cobh is a gorgeous little town just south of Cork which you have to take the ferry to get to, very picturesque and near enough to a major city to make it worth the trip. go east and you can just drive  don't stay up around Galway, come down the coast to Kerry  Valentia Harbour by Brian Clayton, on Flickr and then Cork,  Barleycove by Brian Clayton, on Flickr and then you can head back to Dublin via Waterford. You'd see the majority of the country that way. I should do up some posts on nice drives in the Cork/Kerry area, that's basically how I like to spend my weekends. What sort of thing are you after - seafood, music, castles/forts, nice drives, pubs etc?
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Jul 16, 2012 22:40
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Thanks Miftan and Nerris for the info, I'll make sure to pass by there.derfel_ie posted:What sort of thing are you after - seafood, music, castles/forts, nice drives, pubs etc? In Dublin, nice pubs, historic sites and landmarks. In the small towns, landscapes, the sea, if theres nice castles/forts to see, yeah that too.
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Jul 16, 2012 22:57
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spinst posted:Awesome thread. For Berlin I would recommend the Fat Tire bike tour, it's pretty awesome. Be sure to check out the big segment of the Berlin Wall too, you can take the U- or S-Bahn to the Ostbahnhof, then go south to the river and head east. The area around the big wall segment is pretty cool too, south of the river is Burgermeister (the hamburger stand in a former public toilet), Suicide Circus is in that area, etc. If you search through the thread there was a lot of recommendations for Berlin, and they were all really good.
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Jul 17, 2012 00:28
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On the places to visit while in Ireland topic - consider Glendalough. It's a lovely glacier-formed valley in Co. Wicklow, about 30 miles from Dublin. It's sort of in two parts, near part is a ruined 6th century monastery with a beautiful 10th century round tower for hiding from Vikings, other part is a 3 mile walk through wonderful woods to a long abandoned mine.  Perfect for a long day out in the lovely countryside. Seconding Kerry, Cobh and Galway Pookah fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Jul 17, 2012 |
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Jul 17, 2012 18:21
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I'm looking at a student visa to study in the EU as a US citizen, and it looks like I need to book my flight before I apply for the visa, does that sound right? It makes me nervous plunking down that money without the visa in my hand, feels like a catch-22. e: Schengen area if that matters. Is there a better thread for this? Arnold of Soissons fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Jul 17, 2012 |
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Jul 17, 2012 21:29
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Arnold of Soissons posted:I'm looking at a student visa to study in the EU as a US citizen, and it looks like I need to book my flight before I apply for the visa, does that sound right? It makes me nervous plunking down that money without the visa in my hand, feels like a catch-22. I've applied for two Schengen visas, and neither time did I need my ticket purchased beforehand. Also you can still go there even if you don't have your visa yet--you just can't collect your country's visa in the country you're going to. I.e. if you go to Germany, you'll have to go to [closest foreign capital] to pick up your visa once it's finally ready, which also requires you requesting your paperwork be moved. I had to do this the second time; it was a huge pain in the rear end. (Two visas were Germany and Switzerland; Germany took like 2 weeks, Switzerland took 4 months and I had to get the visa in Paris, two weeks after I'd arrived-but-pretended-not-to-have-arrived.)
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Jul 17, 2012 21:36
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Arnold of Soissons posted:I'm looking at a student visa to study in the EU as a US citizen, and it looks like I need to book my flight before I apply for the visa, does that sound right? It makes me nervous plunking down that money without the visa in my hand, feels like a catch-22. I would be interested in hearing more about this, since everything I've looked up on the subject seems to be contradicting. How would I go about getting a student visa for the EU? Job visas are REALLY hard to get if you don't have a very specialised job or make a ton of money.
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Jul 17, 2012 23:15
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Miftan posted:I would be interested in hearing more about this, since everything I've looked up on the subject seems to be contradicting. How would I go about getting a student visa for the EU? Job visas are REALLY hard to get if you don't have a very specialised job or make a ton of money. In regards to the original question, being required to book a flight before being eligible for a student visa sounds stupid and as such I guess that it is wrong, but I wouldn't promise it as immigration rules can be a clusterfuck, especially in some countries.
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Jul 17, 2012 23:33
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Miftan posted:I would be interested in hearing more about this, since everything I've looked up on the subject seems to be contradicting. How would I go about getting a student visa for the EU? Job visas are REALLY hard to get if you don't have a very specialised job or make a ton of money. The first step to getting a student visa is getting accepted to a university. No offense, but I'm way too burnt out on this stuff to give you a detailed run down tonight. I can go into this in more detail later, but the concept is pretty simple and everyplace has an official website that will give you at least the broad strokes. kissekatt posted:There isn't (afaik) such a thing as a visa for the EU, all visas are handled on a national level, although there are some common frame works like the Schengen agreement. If you want to work in France you need to look up getting a job visa in France, want to study in Denmark you need to look up a student visa in Denmark and so on. The form asks for your date of arrival and first state of contact, which I won't really know 100% until I book the flight. I'm going to the Consulate tomorrow and I'm just going to go in with those blank and hope they don't mind. I'm probably stressing out about nothing, again.
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Jul 18, 2012 00:59
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Arnold of Soissons posted:The first step to getting a student visa is getting accepted to a university. Then you put an estimate. You don't have to arrive exactly on the day that your visa is good for, you just have to arrive -after- the day your visa is valid for*. So if classes start September 22 or something, request your visa from September 1 2012 or whatever. They'll tell you this at the consulate though, so it's not really a big deal. *and if you're an American citizen / other visa-waiver citizen, you can arrive probably arrive before too, but they might get pissed at you.
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Jul 18, 2012 07:57
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Going to Munich for a job interview. How does getting to the town proper look from the airport? Any tips on using the public transport?
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Jul 18, 2012 08:46
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Mokotow posted:Going to Munich for a job interview. How does getting to the town proper look from the airport? Any tips on using the public transport? There's a 30 minute S-Bahn connection between the airport and the city. Check on Google maps where the nearest station to your interview is then get a schedule from https://www.db.de The south of the city is a bit annoying to reach from the airport though, you might want to get a Taxi if time is more important to you than money. But you can still get pretty much anywhere in Munich in an hour from the airport. peak debt fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Jul 18, 2012 |
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Jul 18, 2012 10:32
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Arnold of Soissons posted:The form asks for your date of arrival and first state of contact, which I won't really know 100% until I book the flight. I'm going to the Consulate tomorrow and I'm just going to go in with those blank and hope they don't mind. I'm probably stressing out about nothing, again. Let me preface this by saying that my experience is mainly in business and tourism visa and I barely assisted Americans back when I did this for a job, but what they will probably tell you is that you have to have a flight reservation rather than a booking. This was the line when I worked in a (Dutch) consular office, and it's supposed to be the same Schengen-wide. But possibly they don't care about the return flight that much for student visas/Americans.
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Jul 18, 2012 13:28
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Mokotow posted:Going to Munich for a job interview. How does getting to the town proper look from the airport? Any tips on using the public transport? S-Bahn/U-Bahn will take you pretty much anywhere, if you don't mind potentially walking a bit once you get off at your stop. As the other poster said, take a taxi if you can't walk far or don't have the time to wait for transfers.
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Jul 18, 2012 17:48
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Saladman posted:Then you put an estimate. You don't have to arrive exactly on the day that your visa is good for, you just have to arrive -after- the day your visa is valid for*. So if classes start September 22 or something, request your visa from September 1 2012 or whatever. They'll tell you this at the consulate though, so it's not really a big deal. That's exactly what happened. I told her when I was planning on getting there and she just put down a date two weeks before that. Much freaking out about nothing. Sometimes you see something you didn't expect on a visa form and it throws you off the tracks, though, you know? Anyway she said we should have our visas in the mail by the end of next week, so all is well and I'm incredibly excited.
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Jul 18, 2012 23:54
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I'm travelling to Europe for the months of September and October. I’ll be arriving at Paris and leaving from Madrid; apart from that, I still don´t have any planned schedule. My mom (a seasoned traveler) recommended buying a Eurail pass so I could start at Paris and then travel all the way down to Italy, then take a cheap flight to Madrid. Questions: How feasible is this in terms of time? Would it be better if I just take cheap flights and only use trains for regional travel?
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Jul 21, 2012 19:13
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I am planning to travel in the Balkans for most of August. Does anyone have experience with the Balkan Flexipass? Is it worth it or is there a cheaper way to travel? I was thinking about taking as many night trains as possible, so I could just sleep in the train and save some cash for accommodation- or are sleeping cars not included in the price? Also thought about couch surfing but haven't had any experiences with it yet. What's cool to see in Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia-Montenegro? Also thought about Greece and Turkey, but I'm not sure there will be enough time (that's why I'm considering the Flexipass, so I can spontaneously decide where to go.)
lucythenomad fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Jul 21, 2012 |
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Jul 21, 2012 21:37
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DoctorPresident posted:Questions: How feasible is this in terms of time? Would it be better if I just take cheap flights and only use trains for regional travel? Depends on how long legs are you planning on doing. If you're going, for example, from Paris to Rome, flying might be the best idea, but if you're planning on stopping in more than one place on the way, trains will probably be faster (and compared to the cheapest available flights, more expensive) than flying. Remember that train stations are usually closer to cities than airports are, and the process of getting on a train takes much less time than going through airport security. Even if you're doing a reasonably long distance (like Paris-Marseille), a train would take at most a couple of hours more, assuming no delays at airports.
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Jul 22, 2012 01:52
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DoctorPresident posted:Questions: How feasible is this in terms of time? Would it be better if I just take cheap flights and only use trains for regional travel? We were travelling around North-Italy last summer and used trains to get from Milan-Bergamo-Verona-Venice. The train network is fantastic. You can go from any point to any point, the trains are usually on time and don't cost much. As an added plus you get to see the beautiful scenery when you are riding along. If are not worried about money you can also use the bullet trains that are extremely fast and comfortable (or at least so they say ).
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Jul 22, 2012 20:13
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I'll be in Italy for a week followed by France for a week. If there's a sim card I can put in my AT&T phone that would work, that would be great - any suggestions, or do I really just need to buy one once I get over there? It's a Nexus One, if it matters.
hayden. fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Jul 23, 2012 |
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Jul 23, 2012 21:02
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hayden. posted:I'll be in Italy for a week followed by France for a week. If there's a sim card I can put in my AT&T phone that would work, that would be great - any suggestions, or do I really just need to buy one once I get over there? It's a Nexus One, if it matters. You'll either need to buy one when you're over there in each country or get something like WorldSIM which is pretty decent (or equivalent). Phone doesn't matter but it does need to be unlocked, which yours probably is not unless you explicitly know it is unlocked.
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Jul 23, 2012 22:03
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How are the roads in Hungary? I'm thinking of driving to Budapest from Switzerland in a month or two.
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Jul 23, 2012 22:13
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AKA Pseudonym posted:How are the roads in Hungary? I'm thinking of driving to Budapest from Switzerland in a month or two. They're fine? Also keep in mind you also need vignettes for your car in Austria and Switzerland.
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Jul 23, 2012 23:06
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