Leaving for Europe this week...

[liamenator]

Fellow CPers!

I'm heading over on Wednesday for a 4-month tour of Europe and have left my itinerary very flexable... So what better place than CP to find a few suggestions as to places to go, things to see, and things to avoid!

Any input would be great.

[icarus]

Well everywhere I've gone in Europe is awesome, so really you don't need advice on how to enjoy yourself. For me personally, I would love to spend more time in the big cities. I've spent about a week in each of Paris, London, Berlin, Athens and feel like I've barely scratched the surface of those places. Paris especially is a personal favourite... make sure you go to the Pere Lachaise cemetary to see Jim (but the graveyard is so cool and big you'll want to give yourself a whole day). And the Louvre will blow your mind, it is so huge and grandiose.

[Displaced Flames fan]

4 months?

It seems like so many of you Calgarians have gone to Europe, many for extended periods of time. How in the heck do you afford it?

Seriously.

[Flame Of Liberty]

IMO Prague is a must see destination. The most amazing combination of history and present day I have ever seen. For example after you visit Paris you`d think Notre Dame cathedral is grandiose, wait till you see Cathedral of St. Vitus (gothic and neogithic cathedral).

I`ve talked to many travellers (including North Americans) who liked European cities like Paris or Vienna, but were completelly blown away when they visited Prague. Plus the beer is dirt cheap!

[Frank the Tank]

Wow. So many amazing things to see in Europe..... The Musee D'Orsay (sp?) in Paris is awesome if you like Impressionism, the Louvre is too big and poorly laid out so give yourself a full day to go through it.

Barcelona is way cool. All the stuff by Gaudi is incredible. La Sagrada Familia (huge cathedral), Park Guell is just the coolest place in Barcelona. There is an open-air market off of Los Ramblas (main street in Barcelona) that is really neat.

St. Peters and the Vatican city in Rome are breath-taking. The Sisteen chapel is incredible. Trevii fountain is cool, especially at night with a hot Danish girl you just met. :P The park near the colesium where about 9,000 cats live is a bizarre tourist sight.

Munich is also a lot of fun. Try and find the Haufbrauhaus to go out drinking one night. Three floors of drunk tourists.

Too many cool things to list really. The smaller cities in Holland were really neat to travel to and meet the locals.

Florence is also a lot of fun...

Have a blast man, it'll change your life!

[TheCommodoreAfro]

My highlights - London is wicked, and you have to spend some time at the beer halls in Munich.

I recently returned from Finland (Helsinki and Kuopio) and even got a chance to hit Tallinn, Estonia - both are great cities (although I would make sure Finland gets daylight when you're there) and Stockholm is a fab place. Tallinn is an old medevial city, nice and cheap and boasts some great architecture. Finland and Sweden are kinda pricey, though if you stick to eating from the grocery stores instead of restaurants, you should be fine if money is tight.

As for the rest of Europe, the only other place I've been to is Amsterdam, which is a good place to lose yourself for a couple of days, and I've always wanted to go to Rome, Barcelona and Prague.

Live for me, brother!

[FlamesAddiction]

Bring lots of money if you go to Austria or Italy. It cost's about $1.70 to buy 1 Euro, and things cost the same amount or more in Euros as they would in Canadian dollars in Canada. I heard the same thing about Germany, Czech Republic, and France as well. Slovakia is a little cheaper though I heard.

[Incogneto]

Originally posted by fotze@Aug 23 2004, 06:32 AM
Got to Denmark if you want to see an entire population of model facial structures.

This is true.

My only tip is:
Go East. The Further east you go, the Cheaper things get, and the better they are. Its a weird Dynamic.

Go To a place called Krakow Poland. It is supposed to be a Jewel of Europe, and Having Auschwitz 10 minutes away is must. That place changes people.

Bucharest romania is the next 'Prague'. See it while it is untouched by tourism.

That is my $0.02

[Phanuthier]

Where are you going liamenator? I've been there twice and could help you out on what to see, where to live, what and where to eat ect.

As for advice, duct tape your passport to your leg, don't eat any brownies from Amsterdam (well, maybe you do, I dunno), watch out for people walking around looking poor with their head down (they're likely pickpocketers) and kids on the urban trains, who take your wallet and run just as soon as the door closes. For buying dinky little souvaniers on the street, 99% of the time they are forged and not authentic (ie. drawings, even if someone is sitting their drawing or painting, his drawings/paintings are still copies that you will find around the corner at the next artist, or in a dept store). And if you hit Austria, their alcohol is really strong.

[troutman]

I recommend:

Belgium: Brugge

Netherlands: Amsterdam, Maastricht

France: Paris; Loire Valley, Alps (Chamonix), Carcassonne

Germany: Berlin, Koblenz (Rhine and Mossel valleys), Heidelberg

Czech: Prague

Austria: Vienna, Salzburg

Hungary: Budapest

Greece: Athens, Cyclades

Consider UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe:

http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31

I have a friend who is thinking of starting a business planning "alternative" trips in Europe. If you are interested, I can put you in touch with him. He has researched many parts of Western and Eastern Europe.

[scottie]

Don't forget Scotland!!!!!

Also, Seville (my favourite Euro city) is SPLENDID!

[Jagger]

How I wish I had the time to do a four month trip of Europe. Good for you. Have a great trip.

My favs:

France:
Paris is by far my favourite big city. There are so many things to see. It's a beautiful city.

Chamonix

Germany: Munich

Hungary: Budapest. This is a must see. I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent there.

Spain: Toledo, Barcelona

Italy: Venice

UK (my old stomping ground):
Scotland is a great place to visit. Lot's of great places. Oban, Isle of Skye, Edinburgh to name a few.

England: Liverpool (there's the homer in me!), London, Lake District

Scandinavia: Sweden and Finland

If you have the chance you should go to Morocco. I know it's in Africa but it's easily accessible from Spain. That would be a totally different experience from anything else you've encountered. Beware of the hustlers though!

Greece: Any of the islands are worth a visit. Athens is worth it just to see the major sights.

This is just off the top of my head. Late for work.....

[liamenator]

Originally posted by Displaced Flames fan@Aug 23 2004, 07:22 AM
How in the heck do you afford it?

Seriously.

LOL... well thats the thing... I really can't... BUT, It's something I've always wanted to do, and this is really the only point in my life where I can realistically pick up and leave for 4 months, so I'm just going to do it.

[icarus]

Originally posted by Frank the Tank@Aug 23 2004, 12:57 PM
The Musee D'Orsay (sp?) in Paris is awesome if you like Impressionism, the Louvre is too big and poorly laid out so give yourself a full day to go through it.

But that's what I loved about the Louvre... it is so ridiculously big. There would be thousands of other tourists in the museum at the same time I was, and yet I could find myself in a room the size of a basketball court all by myself. The building itself, being the former palace, is a magnificent work of art with the medieval castle actually inside of it.

Besides the cities, other places worthing checking out (from my limited travels):

Scotland: Anywhere... seriously. So beautiful. Check out the scotch trail or whatever it is called. And of course Edinburgh is a cool place. Take a ghost tour. And go to Glasgow to drink with scottie!

England: Cambridge and/or Oxford. Beautiful old places but alive with youth. Plenty of history and pubs in each.

France: Strousbourg. Awesome cathedral (2nd tallest in Europe after Barcelona, I believe) with a great view at the top of the Rhine valley.

Germany: Anywhere in Bavaria, Munich included. Must visit Neuschwanstein. Also Rothenberg (east of Stuttgart) is a super cool medieval city. Don't miss the torture museum... hours of fun!

Greece: Delphi. One of the most naturally beautiful places I've been to. Ancient ruins scattered all along a mountainside covered in fig and cyprus trees. A lot of places in Greece are beautiful and historical (the islands, Olympia) but Delphi is the one that sticks in my memory.

[Cowboy]

If you go to Greece, take a cheap fairy and a travel to Turkey, go up the coast to places like Bodrum, Carnakel, Ephesus. So many cool places, it is absolutely beautiful. I absolutely loved it

Displaced Flames Fan. I think most people travel to Europe after Uni or Highschool. Right before they move out on their own at least that has been my observation. Australia is another popular spot to go!!!

[JiriHrdina]

Scotland - amazing place. Great surroundings and even better people. If you can find your way - get out of the big city and spend some time in a small town somewhere. But really it doesn't matter where you go - that country is just amazing.

[liamenator]

thanks to everyone for their replies..

I am off tomorrow evening and would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit nervous (heading off by myself... tho I'm sure within the first week or so I will have found a few travelling mates).

Thus far the plan is to hit:
England, France, Germany (for Oktoberfest), Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Rep., Switzerland, and Italy for sure....

.... Tho there are a few other places I'd like to visit... BUT that is a lot to cover, so time and cost permitting, I will do what I can!

If you think of anything else, or if you are curious about to the journey, this thread may just find iteslf re-surface at some point(s) over the next little while when I have internet access!

GO FLAMES GO!

AND GO CANADA GO!!!

[Lurch]

Hope I got this in before you are off. My wife and I went to Europe last summer to watch the Tour de France as well as some general sightseeing (absolutely amazing, but obviously not much of a recommendation since its done for the year!!). While there, we read the book "The DaVinci Code" (you'll spend a fair amount of time sitting in train stations depending on the country). We found it pretty incredible to re-trace parts of the book through Paris, especially the Louvre as well as London. Although we had not yet read "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown (author of the Da Vinci Code) in retrospect, it would be awesome to go through Rome and Vatican City with this book as a fictional tour guide.

My 2 cents,

Lurch

[OldSam]

Take a day and see Versailles in France. It is an incredibly beautiful place and at the same time sad because of the excessiveness of the place.

Of course Scotland is the best place. My family went on the ferry to the Shetland Islands and saw their lives flash before them five times on the return trip. Very, very, cool place, and if your ancestors are from Scotland, I think it is mandatory.

[octothorp]

Tallinn is a kick-ass city, as someone else noted--wonderful people, and a fascinating mix of baltic history, soviet industrialism, and a frest wave of Scandinavian influence. I'd also highly, highly recommend St. Peterburg, but it's not the sort of place you can go as a spur-of-the-moment trip, as you generally need a visa to get into Russia. Sophia is another very pretty little city in eastern europe. And there's Budapest. Every one goes through eastern europe becomes either a Prague person or a Budapest person. Personally, I'm a Budapest guy. But go to both cities and revel in their similarities and contrasts.

Make sure you take in some games with Flames prospects and give us some scouting reports!