|
Im going to Europe from the US with my wife on the 18th of december to the 31st and I had a few questions that hopefully arent boring or stupid like how much does blah blah blah cost Background itinerary info = flying into zurich, stay for the day, take train to munich for a day, then to prague for 2 days, berlin for 2 days, amsterdam for 2, paris for 3 and finally zurich to fly out. 1) Ive gotten us Eurail passes but really, how often do you need to pay for reservations? Do the trains ever completely fill up and leave you standing? 2) I plan on taking a night train from zurich to munich and later from munich to prague. How hard is it to get sleep on the trains in regular seating? 3) How do the holidays impact travel throughout europe. Is it more crowded? Less crowded? 4) Anyone have any experience with the "Christmas bazaars" or "Christmas markets" in germany? 5) How difficult will it be to find good vegetarian food in the cities i listed? I figure Germany will probably be the hardest? Thanks for any info
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2010 06:46
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 12, 2024 08:55 |
|
|
Flights into and out of zurich were about ~$200 less than anywhere else. I would have loved to fly into berlin or frankfurt but it was a $700 ticket VS a $1000 ticket. As for the itinerary, I definitely have looked at the travel times and I would like to avoid the typical "scramble around europe with no time" mistake however we really dont plan on spending nights in zurich or munich so we were going to take night trains during those travel periods and arrive in munich and prague very early in the AM. As for the 24th-26th, we will be in amsterdam during that period and i assume that is considered a big enough city to spend christmas in? Thanks for all the help, ill see what i can do about the itinerary. /edit Oh and one more question - How do the areas I mentioned look upon people with tattoos? This is more curiosity than anything however, I would just like to know if I should expect rude treatment or strange looks as I have full sleeves and my wife has her arms and a full chest pieces as well. Thanks a creepy colon fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Nov 26, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2010 17:33
|
|
|
Doctor Malaver posted:Oh come on! Heh, well i wasnt trying to be insulting trust me. Just thought i might as well ask. People are always saying munich is really conservative and stuff so... Anyway, im from philadelphia so i guess the attitudes should be comparable. Thanks
|
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2010 18:31
|
|
This is the funniest question so far. Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris... are among the most modern, urban and forward-thinking cities in the world. If you're not from New York, you're probably coming from a less open-minded place. You don't have to worry about Prague and Zurich either.
|
Omits-Bagels posted:Are you staying in hostels or hotels? One thing to consider is that most hotels and hostels won't let you check-in until like 4pm so you'll have to stash you stuff. They'll have a place for you to do it but you won't be able to shower/unpack during those days where you arrive early in the morning. Ill keep the amsterdam advice in mind however my wife and I are pretty set on seeing it and we love the cold snowy/rainy weather so we will most likely still spend some time there. We will be staying in hostels and I didnt consider the check in time being so late so im glad you warned me about that. One other question - Are the hostels crowded this time of year? It seems the summer would be much worse.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 26, 2010 18:53
|
|
|
TheHoodedClaw posted:The English Garden in Munich has naked people wobbling around. Admittedly it's mostly old blokes. You'll be fine. Yeah I saw a video on munich recently and it said the park is clothing optional? I thought they were exaggerating as the idea of an entire urban park being nudist friendly is almost unthinkable. Rojkir posted:If your in Amsterdam (or anywhere else in The Netherlands, can't speak for other countries) on Christmas, you might want to make some dinner reservations in advance. Just to be sure. I used to work in a restaurant and it was always fully booked on christmas. Hmm, didnt take that into consideration. Thanks.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2010 17:52
|
|
|
So i leave for my 2 weeks in europe tommorrow. One last question. What is the best way to exchange currency over there? I dont want to use a card everywhere I go so should I be hitting ATMs? How does that work? Do the atms automatically apply an exchange rate and issue you euros rather than dollars? Also i will be spending some time in prague and I know the czech repub isnt on the euro so is there anything different there I should be doing?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2010 17:52
|
|
|
Awesome. Your post is just what I needed, thanks.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2010 18:20
|
|
|
Ok one last question; what do I do with my phone? Im on tmobile and my wife is on verizon, should we just leave our phones home to avoid extra charges?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2010 23:30
|
|
|
flight through paris got canceled for today as well. They rebooked us for monday but i got my departure date pushed back a few days as well so im not losing any time really. Still bummed though.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2010 22:44
|
|
|
Im in prague and its the most awesome place ever. To the guy thinking about renting a car i would never ever do that. People drive crazy here and there are hardly any traffic lights.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 24, 2010 23:31
|
|
|
I dont get why people change money anyway, just go to an atm
|
|
#
¿
Dec 26, 2010 21:00
|
|
|
Grenyarnia posted:Quick question about eurail reservations. I am taking the train from Brussels to Berlin with a switch in Cologne. Do I need to pay for two separate reservations? Also, do reservations give you an assigned seat? If so, is there any way to ensure that the person I am traveling with sits next to me? Ive been here for like 10 days now and ive ridden from zurich to munich to prague, to berlin to amsterdam and i only lost my seat 1 or 2 times. Just had to go a few seats down and grab a new one. You dont need reservations. Saladman posted:Having driven through downtown Prague several times and spent a fair amount of time driving around Czech, I never really felt it was any different from the rest of Europe. Czech Republic's accident rate is not the highest in Europe either, nor is it even close. Greece has the worst drivers in Europe, statistically by fatal road accidents. Germany is pretty bad too. http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp6/pdfdocs/RAS_2007.pdf Czechs owned cars before 1991.... Skoda is Czech, and they make / always have been a pretty significant manufacturer. Never been to greece however it seems in germany and everywhere else ive been in europe the pedestrian always has the right of way but it was completely opposite in prague where the cars would literally bump you out of the way with their vehicles. a creepy colon fucked around with this message at 11:39 on Dec 28, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Dec 28, 2010 11:36
|
|
|
greazeball posted:Look out for the guy who does keepy-uppy while he climbs up the lamp poles in Leidseplein I never would have gotten this a week ago but im just finishing a 2nd night up in amsterdam and i totally get it haha
|
|
#
¿
Dec 29, 2010 03:50
|
|
|
Got back a day or so ago. Had a ton of fun and thanks to everyone who gave me advice. 2 weeks was definitely not enough time but i feel like I did the right thing in "tasting" many cities over a short period. I learned that 1 day is plenty enough for Munich but I need at least a week in Prague and Berlin. I will say overall i liked the German people the best and the French the least, although everyone was pretty much nicer and more accommodating than a random american. Going to hit the UK/Spain in the summer!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2011 15:52
|
|
|
Munich is a beautiful city, dont get me wrong. However it is definitely more suited for touristy type activities. Marienplatz seemed to be the main thing to see and it is gorgeous but thats all that really interested my wife and I. We also enjoyed the traditional beerhalls but again, its very touristy type stuff. Berlin is a much more gritty city with incredible history (munich has great history as well but berlin is the place for ww2 buffs) and an awesome atmosphere. It felt like anything could happen there and the hostel we stayed at was incredible (The Circus at rosenthaler platz). Berlin also has a dope nightlife and is more of a city persons city. Im from philadelphia and if im not in an urban environment i feel uneasy so Berlin was awesome for me. It is also cheaper than Munich as well and the people seemed more open minded. I think 3 days in june in Munich will be fine but there is just SO much to do in Berlin I feel you really need a week there.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 10, 2011 02:00
|
|
|
Neris posted:All this Berlin stuff is super useful thank you! I'm going over in March.   And its free. There is a metro station like a block away so you just need to hop off and walk a bit. You also shouldnt pass up the museum "island" there which has like 5-6 awesome museums all next door to each other. If you dont go see the Pergamon you are making a huge mistake. The German history museum is a great place to check out as well. Besides that you also have the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate to see.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 11, 2011 16:47
|
|
|
ChadBroChill17 posted:1. Groningen, Netherlands (Must go here to meet up with old college roommate. Imagine this means I will be flying into Amsterdam and probably staying there for at least one night). FWIW i flew into and out of zurich for my trip because it was the cheapest flights I could find and was pretty central to the area I wanted to see. However, it was by far the most boring place id been on my whole trip and everything in switzerland is so expensive its unbelievable. I would definitely never go back there.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2011 18:14
|
|
|
ChadBroChill17 posted:I just wanted to visit Switzerland. Would Bern or Geneva be more fun/less-expensive or should I just permanently axe it from the trip? I dont know man, if you really are interested in switzerland then go for it. I personally just thought there wasnt much at all to do in zurich. Everything seemed to be closed at night and in the day there are some places to go shopping but you wont want to because everything is twice as much as youd pay in the US. The francs are pretty close to USD but everything is like double. A cup of coffee at a cafe will run you about 8 francs for example. I dont know, the whole city just felt so sterile to me. It was like being in a really boring city from the future. Especially after coming from Berlin and Prague. Personally I think 3 weeks is enough to do most of the cities on your trip but then again I did Zurich, Munich, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris and back to Zurich in 2 weeks and I took trains everywhere. People will tell you its too many cities and to an extent theyre right however I had a ton of fun scrambling from one city to the next and the only thing I regret is not having more time in prague and berlin.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2011 22:58
|
|
|
bonzaisushi posted:Is Amsterdam still a good place to go for people that love weed? I was just there a few weeks ago and my wife and I both did shrooms and smoked weed. The weed was incredible and by far the best stuff I ever smoked. It was about 9 euro for a gram of hydro iirc. As for the shrooms, they sell them in these places call smart shops which have a little mushroom as a sign. However, all of the locals will tell you mushrooms are illegal? I didnt really understand but a few dutch people I met and hung out with explained it something like the old mushrooms are grand fathered in but they are illegal to make now or something I dont know. My advice is, if you are going across the world just to smoke some weed you are making a huge mistake. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and has plenty to offer besides just getting stoned in your hostel.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2011 14:51
|
|
|
HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Amsterdam is kind of ironic in that it's iconic as a place for smoking weed but is in practice likely one of the absolutely worst places to be high.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 16, 2011 15:44
|
|
|
scr0llwheel posted:The girlfriend and I were thinking of going to Germany this summer (I posted for recommendations about it a while ago, thanks for that!) but due to scheduling issues, we might not be able to make it in the summer. I got back from my trip just a few weeks ago. I spent december to january scooting around central europe but I spent most of my time in germany. I even went so far north as Amsterdam. It was cold but it wasnt bad. My wife and I loved it. I think the worst day was a rainy afternoon in prague, the rest was just brisk weather and alot of snow in berlin. Honestly it was colder here in the north east of america. I recommend going in the winter, the way they do christmas in europe is insane. Lights and trees everywhere but its all tasteful. Every time I turned a corner there was another 100 foot xmas tree in yet another square or platz or whatnot.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 25, 2011 20:31
|
|
|
Hey guys, looking to hear about anyones experiences in: Warsaw Krakow Budapest Bratislava Vienna This will be the second trip for my wife and I so not really looking for advice on traveling, or pass port junk or anything. Just looking to hear from people who have been to these places and had some fun. Best hostels, bars, clubs, museums or whatever We did 5 countries in 2 weeks last time but this trip we have an extra week. Last one we started in Zurich and hit Munich, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris in that order before flying back from Zurich and this time we were thinking; Prague, Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Bratislava, Budapest in that order with maybe a day trip to Vienna if we have the time/energy.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2012 18:36
|
|
|
Reading you loud and clear on the Bratislava/Vienna switch. My lady REALLY wants to do slovakia though so maybe we will do a split of like 2 days in bratislava, 3-4 days in vienna or something. I was looking to fly into warsaw or prague and start our route from there because those places are the cheapest to fly into. Germany is usually rather expensive. Last time we flew into and left from Zurich and it cost only 750$ round trip. Prague and warsaw flights tend to hover around a similar price range. If your math is correct however on cutting 300km out of our train rides then i will definitely reconsider paying 100-200$ extra to simply fly into Berlin. Ill look into it! thanks.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2012 20:06
|
|
|
Yep, we pretty much exclusively stay in hostels because they are awesome and you meet great people. So ill definitely put a check mark next to the Wombat hostel, thanks!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2012 23:10
|
|
|
OhYeah posted:No, we aren't crazy in Europe. Like hell, the humorless workers in switzerland confiscated the snow globe that I bought at their very own airport. I was literally within eyesight of the security check when i bought it.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2012 23:06
|
|
|
Alkazard.exe posted:I got questioned/nicely warned (and allowed through) with one I bought an hour before heading to the Stockholm airport. Yep, thats it. They said I couldnt carry it on the plane because of the liquid inside. It cost like 20 loving euro and was for my grandmother in law  Switzerland 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2012 22:36
|
|
|
We drank a bottle of whisky bought at a Swiss xmas market on a train ride from zurich-->munich-->prague, with no trouble whatsoever. Just dont be an rear end about it and no one will care.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 13, 2012 16:27
|
|
|
How does a "normal girl" dress exactly?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2012 15:25
|
|
|
Anyone ever hear of Gabriel's Hostel in Bratislava? It has some interesting reviews to say the least quote:DO NOT stay here!!! And don't trust the staff at the info desk at the train station!! We were roped into paying for the owner's taxi from the station, and when we got to the place, there were signs all up the stairs saying "STOP HOSTEL GABRIEL." The place was horrible. We saw mould growing on the pillows. I kind of want to check it out just to see how horrible it is
|
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2012 22:06
|
|
|
sewersider posted:My main question more is pretty much how doable is travel (mainly by rail) in European winter? I WILL say however, that if you plan on doing the backpacking/hostel thing, be cognizant of how far your hostel is from the train stations. My lady and I had some long walks in the snow I could have done without. Specifically walking to Alexanderplatz from the berlin rail way station in 2 feet of fresh snow was a nightmare and one of the only times I broke down and got a taxi. Just be ready because unless you live in Minnesota here you will not be used to the cold. Just layer up and get some good gloves and you will be fine. I managed to do the whole trip in basically some thermals and a U.S. Navy p-coat fyi.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 8, 2012 18:54
|
|
|
Landsknecht posted:Walking from the Berlin hbf to Alex is ridiculous, almost all the sbahns running through those stops go directly between them. Yeah i was mistaken actually, its been a few years. I actually meant Rosenthalplatz It was the Circus Hostel (which I cant recommend enough btw) and it was still a nightmare of a trek though.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2012 20:28
|
|
|
Amsterdam goons: can anyone confirm/deny recent changes in the cannabis law for tourists? Ive already been to Amsterdam a few years ago and had a blast but I have some friends who havent been and they really want to see the city. Not being able to enjoy the coffee shops would definitely take away from the experience imo but ive heard alot of conflicting stories about the new law proposals. So I dont know what to tell them. When I went coffee shops/weed for tourists was A-OK while mushrooms were "legal" and, well, your laws seem a bit gray. Anyone have any recent experience?
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2012 03:45
|
|
|
Xibanya posted:My two cents: if you're doing weed tourism, go to Spain instead. Better weather. Like I said, ive been there before and i was just asking for some friends of mine. I agree that going someplace to just do "drugs" is silly but I also think it is equally ridiculous to completely ignore such a large and defining aspect of the city. Ajaxify posted:I was just there this weekend. Weed is legal for non-citizens in Amsterdam but not in the provinces bordering Germany. As of January 1st 2013, weed will no longer be available for purchase by non-citizens in Amsterdam. Awesome, ill pass this along.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2012 08:13
|
|
|
I enjoyed berlin so much in the winter im going back again this year. Its a great city and those people really know how to deal with snow. You wont have any problems unless your wife cant deal with cold temps/weather.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 22, 2012 18:48
|
|
|
Any london goons around or anyone familiar with the city? I booked my flight this year to have a 12 hour lay over in london so I could go see the queen and all that. Ill be landing there at 630am so I have a nice full day to do whatever. Any recommendations? I was planning on taking the train to picadilly circus and going from there but is there anything specific i should i look out for/do? I definitely want to visit a classy london pub but will i get harassed because im amerikkkan?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 22, 2012 14:37
|
|
|
Neris posted:You won't get harassed, lol. Ok, what soccer jersey do I need to buy at the airport gift shop to get harassed? But seriously, thanks for the itinerary it sounds pretty much perfect and ill definitely be using it as a guide.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2012 16:09
|
|
|
greazeball posted:Leeds My father is from Leeds.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2012 01:00
|
|
|
Seconding the above post. Ill be in warsaw/krakow for dec/jan.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 11, 2012 05:34
|
|
|
HookShot posted:And if you just act like an rear end that just goes up to people and asks things in English, French people WILL get you to take the train in the wrong direction. 'Sure we will take your money but if you dont say hello in french we will ruin your entire trip' Pretty lame and the exact reason I stick to awesome friendly cities like prague, berlin etc. Paris is beautiful but the people suck and even alot of French people think so.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 19, 2012 18:31
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 12, 2024 08:55 |
|
|
DNova posted:I think it is more indignation that some shithead comes up to you, in YOUR country, talking a foreign language at you and expecting you do be ok with that. As for your hypothetical scenario, it has happened to me before. Ive helped tourists in my city and I managed to do it without being a total asswipe who brings people to the wrong metro train stations. In fact when it happens, im pretty happy to help and it makes me feel pretty special that someone would come half way around the world to see the city I live in every day. So yeah I really dont get your justification, like, at all. a creepy colon fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Dec 22, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Dec 22, 2012 20:19
|
|