I might go to Europe

[OffsideSpecialist]

So, I've saved up quite a bit of money on my recent co-op term, and it turns out I have a month off school/work in August. Originally I was planning to visit a buddy in BC, but he doesn't seem to know what he's doing tomorrow never mind a couple months from now and I don't want to spend the whole month doing nothing. So I figured I might give a trip to Europe a shot. I thought about South East Asia, but I think the heat and humidity would kill me.

Money isn't really an issue, but I would still like to spend as little as possible. There are 3 rough trip itineraries I have thought of so far:
1. Dublin - Galway - Edinburg - London
2. Amsterdam - Brussels - Frankfurt - Hamburg - Copenhagen (Might take Brussels out of this one, many things I've read suggest it's not really worth going to).
3. Munich - Stuttgart - Vienna - Prague - Budapest

I'm 21, basically I enjoy architecture, natural scenery and would like to visit places with a good nightlife. I plan on using rail as my main form of transportation. I just need some ideas on places I should or should not go to, things I should or should not do etc. A lot of people here seem to be regular travelers, so I figure that this would be a good group to ask. I plan on doing the whole backpacking and staying in hostels thing. Also, the cities I listed are not set in stone.

I have my passport, I plan on photocopying all my documents before I go. Is there also anything I should know about airplane travel? Also, it looks like my flights will probably have connections...do the airport staff bring my luggage from one plane to the next or do I have to find my luggage at the carousel and then check it for the next plane? I would also appreciate any kind of general travel advice. That's all the questions I can think of for now, I'll probably post more in this thread once I think of them. Thanks in advance.

[wpgflamesfan]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

I'm 21 and would like to visit places with a good nightlife.

Berlin. Hands down the best nightlife scene in the world.

[billybob123]

Estonia is great. Cheap, easy to get to and around, and if you're into a party scene, Tallinn is as hot as it gets. Women are beautiful (guys, not so much) , and everyone is looking for for a good time. Old town Tallinn in great for architecture and history. Parnu is two hours away and has a fantastic beach and spas everywhere.

Plus booze is crazy cheap.

I second Berlin as well. Vibrant city with a ton of history.

As for connections, it depends on the airport where you connect. You might have to collect your luggage and clear customs and immigration, then recheck it. Don't stress about it, it's pretty easy. Pick airlines wisely within Europe. Often the fares are cheap but luggage might cost significant coin to check. If you're connecting onto an international flight the luggage allowance is usually heavier, 22 kg or so.

Europe is a great place for an unmarried 21 year old without kids. Have a great time! You can't really go wrong with whatever city you go.

ETA: If you're leaving from Ottawa, consider flights from Ogdensburg, Cape Air flies to Boston, and connect to ant airline from there - tons of cheaper options to Europe that way.

[getbak]

I did a trip similar to #3 two years ago to coincide with the start of Oktoberfest in Munich.

What I did was fly direct to Frankfurt and back and took the train between cities. I went from Frankfurt to Leipzig, to Berlin, to Prague, to Vienna, to Munich, to Stuttgart, then back to Frankfurt, with a final day trip to Cologne from Frankfurt.

I went to Frankfurt because it's one of the few cities in Europe that has a direct flight from Calgary. I don't know what options you have from Ottawa. I'm sure there are a lot of options from Montreal or Toronto.

Frankfurt has a great airport, but there isn't much to see in the city. I chose Leipzig because I had a two day hole in my schedule between Frankfurt and Berlin and needed somewhere in between the two to stay. It's a nice little city and has the history as being where the protests against Communist rule in East Germany started in the late 80s, but there's not much there.

If you want great nightlife, Berlin is the city for that. If you do either trip 2 or 3, you need to make sure you include some time in Berlin along the way. Definitely one of my favourite cities.

Prague is incredible in every conceivable way. Again, crazy nightlife. Cheap beer, and the best looking women of any city I've ever visited.

For some reason, I wasn't as impressed by Vienna as I expected to be. I did get pleasantly drunk on a boat tour on the Danube. You can easily go to Bratislava and Budapest from Vienna, but I haven't been to either, so I can't comment.

I love Munich too. Munich during Oktoberfest is the one thing I've seen that puts Calgary during Stampede to shame. Even outside of Oktoberfest time, the beer halls are a fun experience. Try to go to the ones other than Hofbrauhaus, which is where they send all the tourists.

If you're not a car guy, there isn't much to see in Stuttgart. If you are a car guy, the Mercedes and Porsche museums are nice (the BMW building in Munich is nice too, but I didn't go to the museum there).

If you do find yourself in the Frankfurt area, you should go to Cologne. The Cathedral is pretty amazing and the high-speed train from Frankfurt gets you there in about an hour. Unless you're flying into or out of Frankfurt, I wouldn't bother with going there.


If you do trip #2, I'd take out both Brussels and Frankfurt. I'd make it Amsterdam-Cologne-Berlin-Hamburg-Copenhagen instead. Brussels and Frankfurt are both business cities, and Cologne and Berlin are nicer.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Yes getbak, I plan to fly out of Toronto...I will be visiting my parents before and after the trip.

My main purpose for going to Stuttgart would be to make it to the Black Forest area...I've heard it's very scenic. Do you have any recommendations for what to do around there? Thanks for all your suggestions, by the way.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

I might go to Europe

I might be slightly green with envy, lol.

I've never been over the pond, and I would pick the Dublin, Galway, Edinburgh, London route, simply because, while I want to go to all the places you've listed, the UK stuff tops my list.

I hope you have a great trip, wherever you choose to go.

[undercoverbrother]

Hit Budapest, it was far and away the best place I went. I will say that it was 20 years ago, but I can't believe it has gotten worse. The women were truely amazing.

[Zulu29]

Besides Berlin which has AMAZING nightlife, hit up Munich and Prague. If you like architecture and history you will not be disappointed plus both have fantastic social scene. Also if you get the chance go see Amsterdam, one of the prettier cities I've been too plus the Heinken experience is a great tour and good place to mingle if you know what I mean!

[3 Justin 3]

You want nightlife and you are thinking of going to Frankfurt and Hamburg? wtf

Of the three itineraries you made, I'd go #3. Stuttgart was a really nice city and if you're into cars the Porsche museum should be open now (was under construction when I was there 4 years ago). The Mercedes museum was also really cool.

Prague was an amazing city for architecture and women. Vienna was a 'meh' for me, but I was sick during my time there. Munich was a really nice city as well and lots to do, you can do a castle trip which takes you to a bunch of castles in the region and the scenery around there is amazing (Bavaria). I'd go Berlin though too if you can, one of my favorite cities.

[bigtmac19]

Pretty much everywhere in The Netherlands is worth seeing. Though I was not a fan of Antwerp at all.

[Brannigans Law]

Belgrade, Serbia has a great nightlife scene.

[NomNomNom]

I'm leaving for my Europe trip in 29 days (Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, France & UK)

So seeing as I'm in the same boat you're in, (23, summer off of school and single) I don't have much advice. I just know that you don't tip waiters/waitresses out there because they view it as a pity thing.

Have fun and don't say no to anything. Anything.

[ma-skis.com]

I like your choice 2 or 3 the best,

3 will be the cheaper partying option and probably give you more variety in terms of culture and architecture, mind you I've only been to a handful of cities in each list.

I went to the UK once and it seems pretty blah to me compared to the other options you have on your list. I would think you'd have more fun on options 2 and 3 if you're 21, while everything you do in option 1 you can probably do when you're 40 or 50 years old and not miss to much.

lots of good advice here regarding prague and berlin too, listen to it.

[da_nige]

I live about an hour from Edinburgh and of your 3 options I've been to bits of them all.

Option 1.

Dublin is ok for a few days but if you want architecture/scenery there are better options. Yes Temple Bar is a good night out but it (and Ireland as a whole) is very very expensive. Edinburgh is a nice city for architecture but don't forget about Glasgow. The West End of Glasgow has some really nice old buildings and a mix of modern and classical museums (Riverside is very modern from an architectural POV then you have the Kelvingrove thats very old and a stunning building). Glasgow and Edinburgh are only an hour or so apart by train and if you want scenery you can take a train north through the Highlands to Fort William which will take you 3 or 4 hours. As is normal with Scotland if the weather is nice its stunning but if its wet its all a bit dull.

Option 2

I've only been to Amsterdam but it is very vibrant and has some great museums and architecture. Obviously it also has the girls and the drugs but that ain't my thing so can't really comment on that. From what I hear Copenhagen is nice but also expensive.

Option 3

I've been to Prague and Budapest. Again two great architectural cities. I preferred Budapest because I felt Prague was ruined a bit by being too touristy and too many stag and hen parties due to it being so cheap. When I went I started in Venice then onto Ljubljana, Zagreb, Budapest, Krakow, Prague. Budapest was by far my favourite city. I can't really pinpoint why it just had a great atmosphere, cheap, really nice buildings and bridges. There and Ljubljana are two places I'd definitely return to.

With regards trains and things we interrailled and it was the cheapest and easiest way to get around. The great thing about the train is you get a chance to see the scenery.

Whatever you decide have a great trip!!

Neil

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

I have my passport, I plan on photocopying all my documents before I go. Is there also anything I should know about airplane travel? Also, it looks like my flights will probably have connections...do the airport staff bring my luggage from one plane to the next or do I have to find my luggage at the carousel and then check it for the next plane? I would also appreciate any kind of general travel advice. That's all the questions I can think of for now, I'll probably post more in this thread once I think of them. Thanks in advance.

protect your passport and your money. Everything else you can buy if you lose it, you're not going into the middle of the sahara. Being 21, it might be better to have a mentality that anything you bring, may not make it back with you. My first tour through australia pretty much had me replacing every t-shirt i brought with another one I picked up along the way.

I'm pretty sure every country you have there is in the EU, but double check. You'll only have to clear customs once you enter the EU after that as long as you are going from on EU to another EU country it's essentially the equivalent of flying within Canada. If a country is not part of the EU, just make sure they don't have any visa restrictions on Canadians, most countries allow Canadians a 3 month tourist visa, so I don't believe you'll have any problems...(i'm looking at you russia).

Just ask when you check your bags at the airport if you need to pick up your bags during connections. Most times our bags have always been checked all the way through to our destination, occasionally, and usually if we stop through the states, we have to pick up or bags and then re-check them.

Check your times in between flights, if you're a first time long distance flyer you might want at least 1.5-2 hours in between each flight for peace of mind.

When you pack your carry-on, bring a toothbrush and anything you might need to survive a night or two without your main bag in case your bag does get lost. Contact solution, meds etc...

My favourite feeling when I leave is the feeling of only my passport and my wallet in my pockets... no phone, no keys, no responsibilities.

oh yeah, and this

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have.

[NBC]

Europe in August is a double-edged sword. The entire continent takes this month off for holidays, etc. Depending on where you go, you may be confronted with packed trains, no hostel beds, lineups in restaurants, etc. The big central European cities like Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, will be busy, but should be able to cope. The further south you go, the busier it is likely to be.

For what it's worth, Northern Europe is fantastic in August. Lots of Scandinavians are in Spain, Italy and Greece and the weather is as good as it can get there. Expensive I know, but there are few places in Europe nowadays that are not expensive.

Throwing in a few places that are not on the main Eurail line will ensure that you have a nice mix of "busyness" and some tranquility. There are lots of nice areas near to where you are referring and the best of Europe is not always found in it's cities.

[jofillips]

having been thru a lot of Europe many times over the years, it seems prices are expensive almost everywhere now (used to be rip-off Britain for example). The exceptions will be in the new EU countries out east like in the Baltic or Bulgaria.

However if you enjoy high quality food and booze you will in general get a much better experience for the money than you do here (so save now and spend lots on things you like there!!!!)

The other thing is on the continent you can be VERY flexible with the trains and jump around countries. For example within 24 hours you can be enjoying a northern europe climate and culture, jump on a train and be on the Mediterranean which if you can bypass/ignore the HUGE tourist traps has an utterly unique feel...

[3 Justin 3]

NBC reminds me of something. If you want to stay in any decent hostel you will have to book your stay like a month in advance. It limits being spontaneous, but could be more beneficial to stay in a better hostel/less people room.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Yeah, I'm planning on having everything booked by early June. I figure that should be plenty of time.

Thanks for all your suggestions. So far I'm leaning towards option 3 but with Berlin instead of Stuttgart. I won't spend all my time in the big cities, like from Munich I plan to go to Fussen either for a day trip, or to stay there over night. I also saw what looked like a neat little bicycle tour from Vienna along the Danube stopping at wineries along the way.

Also, are those sites that sell flights useful? I'm talking about FlightNetwork, Cheapoair etc. Their fares seem a few hundred cheaper but I'm not sure if those sites are trustworthy. And will my debit/credit cards work in Europe?

[NBC]

Chip and pin cards should work. You'll have no problem using a credit card here. You can use a debit card (Interac) in cash machines displaying the logo but you'll have to pay upwards of $5 for international fees per transaction.

Most national carriers have decent, competitive prices on their websites. EasyJet is useful for short-haul, one way trips. Lots of extras though - baggage, seat booking. I'd strongly recommend Speedy Boarding if you use them. Stay well away from RyanAir.

Vienna is my favourite European city. Lovely architecture, great art, music, food, clean, orderly (horses wear diapers), museums, gardens. The thing that it is lacking compared to other places is a Bohemian nightlife. You'll find that in other places however.

Wherever you end up, have a great time.