Also, you've probably heard this but the best advice I ever got for traveling was "take half the clothes and twice the dough you think you'll need".
Something I learned in South America: don't take one big memory stick, take 6 small ones and rotate/copy them often. Cameras can be replaced easy but you'll never get those pictures back.
If you're in Helsinki I'd strongly recommend an overnight ferry ride to see Tallinn Estonia and as much of the Baltics as possible. Tallinn is a great place.
Couldn't agree more with this.
Tallinn is absolutely amazing. I was there in Jan/Feb and despite the cold it was amazing. Virtually no tourists, and the old town at night was like stepping in a time machine. The whole place was lit by lamps making it feel incredibly charming and rather surreal. I actually found a bar in the basement of an old building (old as in 1500's) which was unsigned and basically consisted of some church pews, a couple tables, a stereo, and a cooler full of 1L beers that were 1 euro. Just an all around cool place, even the area outside of old town has some cool sights from the medieval period, the tsarist period, and the soviet period. I only spent a few days there but I'd love to get back.
I feel obliged to regale something that I've probably said dozens of times here before... Don't overplan. Just take it as it comes. Keep your mind open and listen to people that are of like mind. If someone that you're connecting well with tells you that he or she had a really good experience in a certain place, go check it out.
I met hundreds of people doing what I did for that 15 months. The ones that were having the best time were the people that were traveling alone and people that were traveling with people that they were prepared to break from and meet up with later. But mostly, the people that came to Europe to "work their way around" were having the best time.
My staff at the hostel was a revolving door of folks from (you name the country). Just some individual that would be staying at the hostel and see that it was a cool place and then approach me and ask if there was a job to do to subsidize their stay. And there were plenty of jobs. Cleaning, working the train station, selling pub crawls, selling guided tours... It's almost the wild west for people like us from western countries. We're so used to conventional employment. Over there, they'll hire you on the spot, you'll start working 5 minutes later, do that for a few weeks, and then you'll get the itch to move on and you'll give a couple days notice. And then along will come another traveler that wants to take over your job. It's quite awesome.
One important skill you'll want to learn if you haven't already is how to eat cheap. Avoid eating at restaurants for a filler meal. Embrace grocery stores and delis. Stay at hostels that have a fridge and a kitchen so that you can make a 2 euro lunch instead of dropping 7 euro on pizza or Crapdonalds. Those few euro translate into an extra beer or two at the pub that night. And since that's where most of the fun is...Well...Y'know? And don't forget to pregame when you go out. Booze from a store is always cheaper than from a bar, right? So have a couple before you go out and then nurse your drinks. You'll meet plenty of people and spend the bare minimum. And by god, when you can't afford to go out, stay in and read a book. And then spark up a conversation with the hot chick in the hostel that is doing the same thing that night. Then go out with her the next night...
Trust me, if you go over there with a few grand as a cushion and immediately focus on getting a job, you'll do fine. Save money whenever possible and try to spend less than you earn (afterall, you're constantly saving for a plane ticket to the next stop) and you'll be able to prolong the trip until the novelty is gone and it's time to go home. Or until you find the place you want to stay... Never know what will happen. But nobody is 'cheap' in Europe. At least not in your demographic. In your demographic, people are either wise with money or else they're idiots. It's not cheap to go home and eat. It's not cheap to not tip (they don't tip in Europe). It's not cheap to not buy a round of shots for the new people you just met. Everyone that is traveling Europe is just trying to prolong their trip and the people that are good with money last the longest. But you can buy a girl a drink once in awhile if you want a little more attention.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to 4X4 For This Useful Post:
Hey I am sure we will discuss over many fermented or distilled beverages this summer...you are coming out here July 20th ish?
Anyway, I have lived or travelled to every place you mentioned except Scandanavia.
4x4 and I will press Italy on you while Locke will temper our enthusiasm by telling you how much it sucks.
Just you going or you and the little lady?
It'll be just me as the little lady will be out of the picture by then. I'll be in town for a wedding on the 18th and will be coming by to catch up with you guys on the 19th. Looking forward to it.
Italy might be the one place that I actually have some expertise on since I've been there before. I'm dying to go back. It's also a place where I pretty much have a couple of jobs waiting for me if I want to stay in Torino.
The Following User Says Thank You to rubecube For This Useful Post:
Are you a big guy rube? Because you will feel like a a Sardine flying these guys, especially Ryanair. They are a great deal right now, but I have a feeling all prices might drop again soon, so you might luck in and fly Lufthansa, Swiss or the like.
I am 6'3" and I could handle a flight with the two companies. The flights are only short for the most part so it isn't that big of a deal.
When travelling, just make sure to use Ryanair.com , or EasyJet. I can give you discounts on Easyjet for certain places, because I get emails from them all the time giving me discounts to places. I will give a ton more info. later, but right now I got to go to work.
Sweet! Let me know if you get any notifications involving Ibiza or Dublin for July.
I'm heading to Pamplona/San Sebastien on the 10th, then to the Benicassim festival near Valencia (Oasis, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and more!), then to Ibiza for a few days, then (this is where I need a flight) to Dublin to see U2 on 24 July and then back to London (insert other flight here).
Bump. I may be going sooner than I thought. Depending on when I heal from my recent surgery, I could be off by end of June or middle of July.
Quick question, what's the deal on hostels as far as security goes? Are there lockers or anything to put things like cameras, iPods, passports, and wallets in while one sleeps? How bad is the thievery in these places?
Bump. I may be going sooner than I thought. Depending on when I heal from my recent surgery, I could be off by end of June or middle of July.
Quick question, what's the deal on hostels as far as security goes? Are there lockers or anything to put things like cameras, iPods, passports, and wallets in while one sleeps? How bad is the thievery in these places?
This depends on the hostel but they normally have some sort of locker situation. Bring some locks with you though. I've been to some places that had lockers but no locks.
Then again, you could always store your valuables in your anus . . .
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Kybosh For This Useful Post:
We just got back from three weeks in Scandinavia. Great trip. Here's some thoughts.
If you're in Scandinavia, there's this cool kind of simple cooking called humanskost, or something similar; lots of meatballs, gravlax, etc. Even at relatively fancy restaurants, there will often be a humanskost section on the menu, which will often be about half the price of the other selections. Great way to eat good food in a nice restaurant without paying full prices.
Humanskost at Pingvinen in Bergen
Consider going for two short periods - once in winter, once in summer, as it's two completely different experiences. The Norwegian west coast is pretty cool, and I really loved Bergen, despite it being a bit of a tourist town.
Bergen, with great paths that weave between old houses
We were there in late April, which is slightly off-season; great for getting good weather while avoiding crowds, but a lot of things not quite open yet. A lot of the fjord tours and hiking routes don't open up until May.
Fjord tour near Flam
Copenhagen and Stockholm are two must-see cities. Of the places my wife and I visited on our trip this spring (Gothenberg, Oslo, Bergen, Arhus, Copenhagen, Malmo, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm), Copenhagen was probably the biggest surprise, in that we enjoyed the city much more than we thought we would.
150 year old Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen, spectacular at night
Tallinn is also great; this was the second time I've been there, and it's old-town is still one of the coolest areas I've ever been in.
Tallinn old town
Last edited by octothorp; 05-04-2009 at 12:32 PM.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to octothorp For This Useful Post:
We just got back from three weeks in Scandinavia. Great trip. Here's some thoughts.
If you're in Scandinavia, there's this cool kind of simple cooking called humanskost, or something similar; lots of meatballs, gravlax, etc. Even at relatively fancy restaurants, there will often be a humanskost section on the menu, which will often be about half the price of the other selections. Great way to eat good food in a nice restaurant without paying full prices.
Humanskost at Pingvinen in Bergen
Consider going for two short periods - once in winter, once in summer, as it's two completely different experiences. The Norwegian west coast is pretty cool, and I really loved Bergen, despite it being a bit of a tourist town.
Bergen, with great paths that weave between old houses
We were there in late April, which is slightly off-season; great for getting good weather while avoiding crowds, but a lot of things not quite open yet. A lot of the fjord tours and hiking routes don't open up until May.
Fjord tour near Flam
Copenhagen and Stockholm are two must-see cities. Of the places my wife and I visited on our trip this spring (Gothenberg, Oslo, Bergen, Arhus, Copenhagen, Malmo, Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm), Copenhagen was probably the biggest surprise, in that we enjoyed the city much more than we thought we would.
150 year old Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen, spectacular at night
Tallinn is also great; this was the second time I've been there, and it's old-town is still one of the coolest areas I've ever been in.
Tallinn old town
Wow, I'm going on a cruise and we're stopping in Stockholm, Helsinki, Talin, Copenhagen... I'm very excited
Of course I'm happy to see Rome in alot of those top 3s (except for dirtiest). Funny how London is in the top three for friendliest and for unfriendliest.
I would suggest not missing Croatia and I would also say see more than just Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is great (check out the War Photo gallery) but Croatia has so much else to offer. Mljet Island is the best place in the country imo. Split is pretty nice if you are staying in Diocletians Palace (the rest of the city is meh) but it is a great place for exploring other central Dalmatian spots like Brac Island and Trogir. Plitvice national park, although a bit north of Dalmatia is a must see also, and make sure you do the long hike to ensure you get away of the hoards of people that just check out the lakes/boardwalks. We drove from Dubrovnik to Plitvice in about 8 hours making stops in a few places along the way, so the country aint that big.
I second going to Venice for Carneval.
As for Spain. Make sure you go to San Sebastian in the Basque region. If you want to see the Guggenheim in Bilbao (about an hour from San Sebastian) just drive through and maybe stop for an hour or so, the inside aint great but the building itself is phenomenal...the rest of Bilbao is not that nice. Salamanca is a nice chilled out city in North/Central Spain and I would suggest going there. Do NOT miss Sevilla or Granada, amazingly rich history and vastly different from the north of Spain due to the Moops (haha moors). Also Gibraltar is worth the visit and if you want you could head to Tangier in Morocco from there (I'll be in Morocco this summer so I cant comment on that yet). Barcelona of course is a classic city as is Madrid.
Lisboa in Portugal is worth the trip, you'll get to see the remake of the Golden Gate bridge and a really tall Jesus statue. Make sure from Lisboa you go on a day trip to Sintra....an amazing hilltop fort. I didnt really care for the south of Portugal down near Lagos although Sagres Point was cool (the westernmost part of Europe...where people used to look in awe at the edge of the world).
France, hmmm....Nice is pretty good, Monaco is really cool to see how the absolutely rich live, you can go to the casino and pay 10 Euro entry fee and minimum bet a 5 euro slot machine (and see dudes at the roulette table with sticks and tuxedos like Bond films. I also agree with a previous post, go during the Grand Prix in June...we were there a week later and it was all still set up and looked so cool. Avignon is a pretty neat city near the coast as well. Obviously Paris is worthwhile.
Agree with all the comments on Amsterdam being a great city but I would suggest seeing a lot more of the Netherlands than just that city, there is much more to the place and I feel like people who've been to just Amsterdam have not really seen the Netherlands. The Hague (Den Haag), Delft, Haarlem, Rotterdam are all worthwhile (pretty much all the cities in the Randstad). Maastricht is pretty cool down in the south, good place to head to/from luxembourg/belgium...and it has hills (shocking, I know)
Anyways, I could blab on more but I think I'll stop before this post takes up a whole page.
The Following User Says Thank You to St Loomis For This Useful Post:
Funny, my plans have already been altered somewhat. It's very likely that I'm going to head over in early July and miss the wedding I'm supposed to go to, or go just shortly after the wedding. Either way, I'll make sure I'll be in Calgary for at least a week before I leave, so I'll definitely be catching up with the softball gang.
It also looks like I'm going to be starting off in Amsterdam as opposed to Munich. I think I have a job lined up there. The only thing I'm worried abotu is I've heard there isn't much in the way of accomodations in Amsterdam. I may even just stick it out in a hostel while I'm there, since I'm only planning on being there for two months at most.
