Going to Europe - Advice?

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Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

My friend and I are taking a 3 month trip across Europe, starting in Spain and hitting as much as we can, ending up in Moscow and flying home (well, I'll probably fly to Ireland since I want to go and he does not).

For those who have travelled (or live in) Europe, what advice would you have? We're looking to travel really lightly, stay in hostels, take advantage of the rail system as much as we can, etc. So any advice regarding the challenges of travel would be appreciated.

Also, naturally, what should we absolutely do or see? What should we avoid?

Any information regarding any country is appreciated; while we have a few major places stamped out 'for sure', we are open to adjusting our route to hit other things we decide we'd like to see.

Thanks in advance!
 
K

Kitty Sinatra

Don't steal any Polish signs. They really don't like that.
 
phil

phil

Plan everything out as far in advance as you can, or be ok with things falling through and having to improvise a bit. When I went last summer we wanted to get rail passes, but didn't realize until we got there that they had to ship it to us and that would take a few days. Because of that we ended up not seeing Italy at all, but on the bright side we spent 4 days in Paris which is a fair trade. Also try to do as much research about the cities you plan to visit as you can. When we were there we kept finding that shops closed as weird times (at least to us) so even doing things like getting something to eat turned out to be more difficult than expected.

If it's a typical touristy thing to do, plan on either making it the thing you do that day or go really fucking early. If you're not in line for the Eiffel Tower when it opens, you're looking at an hour+ line. Personally I'd say make a list of things you MUST do and a list of things you'd LIKE to do.

As for my trip and what I did and enjoyed, I liked going to parks and things more than say, a museum. To me, there's only so many castles, painting of Jesus and cathedrals you can see before you've just seen them all. Experiences though last much longer, like having bread and wine in a park or eating at a small cafe or just walking around and absorbing the culture.
 
Espy

Espy

If you tire of culture try Bulgaria. It's... well... kind of the opposite. But it has many fine discotheques.


(Sorry it's just a stupid eastern european joke. I would never recommend Bulgaria to anyone for any reason.)
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

Bulgaria is unlikely, although it is on our 'maybe' list. And we are people who don't tire of cathedrals and castles, although we've both been to admittedly few. For us the major draw is all the fantastic architecture and many of the 'touristy' attractions; we are trying to get well-planned in terms of route, length of stay in each location, etc. but are open to adjustments. Good tip about the rail passes though; I didn't realize they had to be shipped to us.
 
phil

phil

If you tire of culture try Bulgaria. It's... well... kind of the opposite. But it has many fine discotheques.


(Sorry it's just a stupid eastern european joke. I would never recommend Bulgaria to anyone for any reason.)
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you're a strange man.

strange strange man.
 
Z

Zarvox

Make an effort to speak the local language. Grab a phrasebook. Memorize 'yes', 'no', 'please', 'thank you', and numbers 1-10. You will find that most people in Europe speak English, but do not want to talk to strangers, especially foreign strangers. However, making an effort to speak in their language, even if it's clear to all concerned it would be far easier just to slip into English, will endear you to the person you're talking to, and they will be far more helpful.

Seriously. It's the difference between 'fuck off, buddy' and 'sure, I guess I have a minute to help you out.' Cashiers, waiters, bus drivers, the man on the street, doesn't matter. If you're an obvious foreigner who's making an effort, they will appreciate it and tend to treat you well.
 
tegid

tegid

What you should'nt miss: Paris, Amsterdam, and I'm told Poland is really nice. Since you'll be in Spain I recommend coming to Barcelona, too. Also in France there's a valley (can't remember the name right now) with many many chateaus (about one per town) that you can visit in one or two days if you aren't going in the ones you have to pay for (that's what I did). I think french Britain is a must see too, and in particular the Mont Saint Michel. Ah yes, and Carcassonne in the south. Just try to remember to go to this popular places on weekdays. Are you going in the summer?

More things:
If you spend some days in Paris try to include an excursion to Versailles and also (it's a bit further away but really worth it) to Chartres, or rather to its cathedral, one of the most important gothic cathedrals. Really impressive.
The towns of Brugge and Gent in Belgium are really beautiful and charming, much more than the capital.


Don't know much about eastern Europe but grabbing a few words of the local language is good as a rule of thumb. Specially in France.


EDIT: Ah! One last thing: maybe you can get guided tours for free from some European forumites ;)
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

My Grampa's advice for visiting Europe? Bring Chocolate and Silk Stockings. The ladies will be ALL over you.

Mind you, that advice is probably 60+ years out of date.
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
So, what are your tastes? Do you enjoy museums and art galleries, or are you more of a "wander around town and take pictures of buildings" type of person? Or are you out for just chill-axin'?

Anyhoo, here's some tips:

- Don't tip. If my understanding is correct, tipping is an obligatory transaction only in the US.
- "This" on Zarvox's advice on language. Showing an effort in speaking the local language - or at least "spicing up" with a few key phrases - should go a long way to endear yourself to the locals.
- Check currencies beforehand. Most of the EU uses Euro these days, but there are some notable exceptions, such as the UK and Sweden as well as the newer member nations (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania). Naturally, non-EU countries (eg. Switzerland and Norway) use their national currency. As for credit cards, Visa and MasterCard are (to my knowledge) always valid.
- Travel with your tongues as well. Try local flavours and dishes.
- In the southern parts, watch out for con men. If someone says they have a relative in your country and then try to sell you something, they're pulling your leg.
- If you decide to spend time in Ireland, I recommend renting a car over going by train. The scenery is worth stopping over at times, and some locations are best reached by car.

Places to see:
- Milan, Italy: Renaissance art a-plenty, glorious churches and shopping.
- Rome, Italy: Coliseum, Fontana di Trevi, the Vatican... Need I say more?
- Lake Garda, Italy: just a short train ride north from Milan, scenery's great.
- Pompeii, Italy: worth a visit, especially with a good guide who knows his way around in the excavated city. Take a good look at the murals. And if you don't like it, Naples is close by with a glorious view over the bay towards Vesuvius.
- Krakow, Poland: a beautiful city with Medieval architecture, decent shopping, an interesting late Medieval castle... and a good base for travelling wider in Poland.
- Wielitzka Salt Mines, Poland: a now-abandoned series of salt mines near Krakow, where the miners used salt to create quite wonderful scenes underground. Or what do you think of a subterranean chapel with a life-size statue of Pope John Paul II in salt?
- Auschwitz, Poland: Do I need to say anything?
- Wicklow Mountains, Ireland: the mountain range surrounding Dublin. Nice for driving around (if you dare to face left-side traffic AND narrow roads climbing up and down the mountainside. The scenery is brethtaking.
- Glendalough, Ireland: a serene valley located in the Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough was a monastery until the end of the Middle Ages. The valley is serenely beautiful, with a visitor centre and a hotel built nearby, and paths made for walking around in the area. The ruins of the monastery of St. Kevin are still there, and the high Irish steeple is a sight to see. A must if you are in the area.
- Kildare and the Curragh plain, County Kildare, Ireland.
- Connemara, Ireland: if you're into hiking, find a hostel in Connemara in western Ireland. The mountains and moors are beautiful, and if you are in luck you might see some of the eponymous Connemara ponies.
- Dublin, Ireland: Plenty to see here in terms of museums, galleries, night clubs and parks, but don't limit yourself to the city. Travel around the country.
- Newgrange, Ireland: an impressive megalithic tomb site near Dublin.

And for pete's sake, come to Finland :p
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

While in Eastern Europe, never let anyone touch your wallet or your money... cops will never ask to count your money etc. (unless they want to steal some themselves).

But con men are everywhere, a friend of mine who should have known better got gipped in France.

- Don't tip. If my understanding is correct, tipping is an obligatory transaction only in the US.
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It's still good form to tip... but pls only do it if you like the service or you plan on coming back to the place.
 
Wahad

Wahad

Bruge is okay. I like Antwerp better. Paris is fantastic, but fucking expensive. Same goes for Rome but a little less so.

As for tips,
- con men, pickpockets and street vendors you will want to pass by stoically. Don't let them take your time or you will not get away.
- thirding the language tip. You'll find that people will be much more friendly if you show that you're honestly trying to speak their language.
- Keep valuables out of sight when you're in the big cities.
- Eat! Drink! Try as much new food and drinks as you can. You'll be in for a treat.
- If you're heading for amsterdam, let me know and I can tell you what you /need/ to see. I wouldn't advise it, though - other countries are much better in my opinion. But if you have time, it's cool.
 
B

Biardo

Dave said:
Go to Bruge. I hear it's like a fucking fairy tale.
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this,
also Ghent it's only a 30 min drive by train and the old city is really nice

maybe I'm biased though living there for the moment and such
 
W

Wasabi Poptart

Rome is beautiful. I didn't speak much Italian, but I did try. Almost everyone spoke English, so it wasn't much of a stumbling point if I couldn't figure out what to say. I only had two problems when it came to language. I needed to ask one of the guards at the Vatican museum about a statue. I had a brain fart and couldn't for the life of me think of how to say "who" in Italian or French. He didn't speak English, but after a few tries he got the idea of what I was trying to say. The other problem I ran into was at a restaurant. I had a pissy waitress who scolded me for using the Italian-American bastardized pronunciation for pasta e f.a.gioli (apparently the language filter on the board doesn't like the Italian word for beans). That was how I was taught to say it from the time I was old enough to eat it, so I didn't know it was pronounced any other way.
Look for tours given by students! One day, as we were wandering the Forum, we joined up with a tour group that was lead by an American art history student who was studying abroad. It was awesome and free (unless you wanted to tip him)! We scheduled a paid tour with the same company to see the catacombs and a few churches. It was lead by another college student. I thought they were great tours because the students told you more than just a rehearsed speech about the different sites.
 
C

Chibibar

Keep your passport close to you. Don't leave in the purse or jacket. Have like a belt inside your pants to carry it in and cash. Don't keep your money all at the same place and be polite to people :) (learn local phrases)
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
If you eat a salami pizza in Italy, have plenty of water at hand. Or cover your tongue with asbesthos ;)

Also, as some parts of Europe use different kinds of plugs for wall sockets, you might want to purchase a... well, I don't know what it's called, but basically it's a converter where you plug your gadgets in, and the converter has different plugs for different sockets. A surge protector is also a good choice if you use a laptop (as told by someone whose laptop was fried by Irish electricity on his second day abroad).
 
Espy

Espy

phil said:
If you tire of culture try Bulgaria. It's... well... kind of the opposite. But it has many fine discotheques.


(Sorry it's just a stupid eastern european joke. I would never recommend Bulgaria to anyone for any reason.)
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you're a strange man.

strange strange man.
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I've just been to Bulgaria way to many times. :(
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Switzerland is one of the prettiest countries you'll ever see, and if you start in Spain, it's fairly easy to get to through southern France. Geneva is a fantastic town to visit, with lots of old architecture, an old town with awesome food, and the UN (and most places there take Euros). You can go from there along the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva on most English maps), and visit townlet after townlet, most of which have their own local culture and museums. You can also head north to Fribourg to check out a city that is both French and German on opposite sides of a river, and Berne, the capital, which is beautiful, and Zurich, which is not so beautiful but has tons of cool night-life.
 
Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

Holy information, Batman.

Amsterdam is on my must-see list. I know too many people who have been there and I can't resist going now! I'm also very interested in seeing Carcassonne, after seeing a photo of it and seeing how close it is to the southern border of France, it should (hopefully) be a stop we can make shortly after Spain.

Finland, sadly, NR is probably not going to be seen this time around. Not even for all the saunas and suspenders there are to be had. Also travelling Ireland by car is probably out for me but it's something I'll keep in mind...
 
J

JCM

To live a while in Scotland has been one of my goals in life, all those castles and historical locations.

Sadly the only continent I havent lived in yet is Europe. [:(]
 
Siska

Siska

In some countries, some public toilets require loose change to use. So be prepared for that, just in case. Pooping emergencies are common when on vacation after all.
 
Officer_Charon

Officer_Charon

Chibibar said:
Keep your passport close to you. Don't leave in the purse or jacket. Have like a belt inside your pants to carry it in and cash. Don't keep your money all at the same place and be polite to people :) (learn local phrases)
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This. Very very this.

Also, as noted, be careful around beggars and whatnot. Be firm, and keep walking. Avoid kicking at them - they tend to kick back, but with blades involved.

If you get a chance, check out Provence. GORGEOUS countryside, and some of the monestaries are elegant in their understatement. I'd say avoid Paris, but so many here are touting it, and it appears to be on your route anyway.

Also, I don't know if you're going to be able to, but Agrigento in Sicily is phenomenal. Rome is also fantastic - beware gypsies carrying fake babies (just know that it involves the theft of a mate's wallet).

If I was in your shoes, I'd swing by Normandy, and the Flanders region, too. But that's just the historian talking, after all... *wistful sigh*
 
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