Pseudo's European Adventure

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I'll echo the castle exploration. To me that's as cool as it gets in terms of visiting something we don't have here, and a great education/historical experience. Germany and Poland are especially good for that. Especially places with audio guides.

My recommendations/suggestions:

- Big cities are fun, but tourist traps are abundant and I get waaaaaay more out of visiting smaller, lesser known sites. For example, Germany has it's big cities like Frankfurt and Berlin which are cool, but I've gotten more out of visiting smaller towns like Kassel and towns along the Rhine river. I'm sure you'll end up in bigger tourist cities in France and such, but don't be wary of going off the beaten path and finding a hidden gem somewhere.

- Trains are the way to go. But always reserve your seat. Some train bookings give you the option to not reserve a seat for a slightly cheaper price. Don't be fooled. Nothing worse then the stress of having to play musical chairs every stop and end up in another compartment away from your baggage. Reserving seats = peace of mind.

- Don't be afraid to venture further east towards more central Europe. Places like Poland, Croatia, Czechia etc have so much history (not all of it pleasant unfortunately) and so much to see/do. Obviously not Ukraine these days, the war is contained in Ukraine and there is no worry of it spilling out.

- Speaking of Poland, amazing place. Significantly cheaper than western Europe, friendly, safe, and welcoming in their own special way. I always recommend people to visit there and even my parents came to visit me when I lived there and loved it. Truly a hidden gem no one thinks to visit unless they have family there. Cities like Gdansk, Krakow and Wroclaw can stand up to any European city in terms of vibe and cool things to see.

- Since you are living there more so then visiting, try not to get into the mentality of complaining about things that differ from being home in Canada or you "wish they had these things like they do back home". That's the perfect way to get homesick. I found the best way is to simply try to dive into the local culture, eateries and do what the locals do. Go with the flow. Complain about the things locals complain about. Even grocery stores are different, but I always get a kick out of wandering into one and seeing what they sell.

- The TV shows will mostly be in the country's language, but don't be frustrated you don't find any English channels. There's something cool about watching a TV program in another language, in that place, and trying to piece together the words with actions. I dunno, maybe it's just me but I always found it interesting to put on a local news channel and while not understanding what they are saying, recognizing each place has their own happenings and events.

- I'm sure you will capture many moments with your kids while they are young and travelling. They will appreciate it when they get older having photos or videos to refer to.

Interesting comment about Frankfurt & Berlin. Those two cities, along with other major German centers, were obviously completely leveled, and so whatever was rebuilt is "new" (50s, 60s, 70s). Old Town Frankfurt sure looks old, but it ain't. At all. It doesn't come across as fake to me, but like you said, you go to some smaller towns in Germany that were not targeted, and you get some real authentic medieval vibes which is one of my favorite things about europe.

Disclaimer: Frankfurt is still awesome to visit and is super vibrant.

[billybob123]

Where in France will you be? There is a ton in essentially every Department to keep you occupied in the weekends/non working times. If you're near Marseille, the Calanques are pretty unique and incredible. If you're near Toulouse, the Pyrenees and Andorra are also unique.

Most people don't like Marseille and spend time in the upper reaches of Provence instead - which is quite an experience, but Marseille is a love or hate place. I loved it. The atmosphere there was very different from everywhere else in France - the mixing of Arabs, Africans, French, and a touch of everything else made for incredible food. I suggest no matter where you are in France, try some Tunisian/Moroccan/Algerian food. It's hard to find in Calgary and it's way more expensive and not as good.

[marsplasticeraser]

Wow, this is also my dream. We are doing 6 weeks in France right now with private tutors to work on the kids french, but would love to do a whole year.

ARe you able to answer 2 quetsions:

1. Can you share more about how you were able to get your kids into a local school? We have a friend and she just called up the principal and he agreed for her kids to go for 10 weeks (they were on a 90-day visa).

2. How did you get visas to spend a year in France. I'm assuming it's because your parents are dutch so you probably already ahve EU passport?

thanks and good luck!

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by marsplasticeraser

1. Can you share more about how you were able to get your kids into a local school? We have a friend and she just called up the principal and he agreed for her kids to go for 10 weeks (they were on a 90-day visa).

When researching a place to live, a prospective landlord put us in contact with a family from Ottawa who did the same thing we are doing. They gave us a lot of good intel on the place we are moving to as well as the schools. After careful consideration, we decided to put our kids in semi-private catholic schools. The tuition is 56 euros a month. The schools get the same funding as public schools, plus tuition, plus other donations. From what I hear they do a lot more with the extra sources of revenue.

Our kids (8 and 11) will have to go to separate schools (école/primary and collège/lycée). We reached out to the schools via emails and put together a pretty comprehensive registration package. They offered a phone interview, but I'm not that confortable in French just yet, so we are going to do that in person when we get into town. They take mandatory schooling pretty serious in France and even fine parents for kids missing school. Oh, and you have to buy extra liability insurance before they can go on field trips.

Originally Posted by marsplasticeraser

2. How did you get visas to spend a year in France. I'm assuming it's because your parents are dutch so you probably already ahve EU passport?

The visa situation has been the most stressful part of everything. Unfortunately, my eligibility for a Dutch passport is murky, plus I would have to renounce my Canadian citizenship. France has something called a long-stay visa where you can stay for up to a year as long as you can demonstrate you can take care of yourself (i.e. have savings equivalent to a minimum wage for the year). To apply, you need to first fill out an application on the French government website, then book an appointment with a private company that does the screening and takes biometrics, and then you can submit to application with your passports. You can't do the first part on the French website until three months before, which for me was May 1. Interviews can be done in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, or Montréal. I tried everyday since May 1 for six weeks for an appointment in Vancouver without luck. We finally got one in Ottawa for July 7. This company is the pits, all sorts of IT problems and they just always trying to upsell you premium services. Calling their tech support is like talking to a brick wall.

My understanding is that if you are a good boy there is a path to citizenship with being able to extend your visa and go through a process, but that is not my plan.

For others who were asking, we are going to be living in a small town a south of Carcasonne. Toulouse is probably the closest major city, but Montpellier and Barcelona are not that far way either by Canadian standards.

[Winsor_Pilates]

I would love to do this; so jealous.
Don't think my wife would be into it though; I guess a 1 year sabbatical from her is an option

If you have time, please post updates in here periodically.
Would love to get a glimpse into the experience.

[Cappy]

Southern France is just amazing.

I have a friend who is a huge Italophile. His comment on Southern France was that it doesn't have the highs of Italian Riviera but its floor is much higher (there are some shady/derelict places in Italy) and i kind of admired him saying that (again, an Italophile).

Depending on where in Southern France you are staying, there is just so much to see and vibe to.

If you are in the east, you have Nice, with surrounding towns such as Menton, Eze, Vence, Grasse, and further north, you start getting into the mountain villages along with Annecy and Lyon. Both beautiful cities and Lyon is a culinary capital.

I would recommend taking the ferry to Corsica, which had some great beaches, small towns, and just a generally less Americanized tourist scene.

West of Nice you have places like Cannes and St Tropez. In reality, these places are over-hyped and mostly filled with people pretending to be rich or big expensive yachts; however, north of this, is the Verdon National Park with the Verdon Gorge and lake. Great place to rent a paddle boat for a day. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is also a cool town right there and cheap.

Central coast, you have Marseille. I love/hate town that i suspect kids won't like, but definitely has a very international/African vibe due to immigration. I'm not the biggest fan.

Instead, stay south of Marseille in either Cassis or Les Goudes. Rent or charter a boat, and head to the Calanques in the area. In the heart of summer, the water is like 24 degrees.

North of that is Provence. Aix-ein-Provence is legit one of the most beautiful places and quintessential southern France. However, renting a car from here and exploring the Provence region is great - Roussilion, Saint Remy, Gordes - and the drive is great.

Just west you have Arles, Avignon, and Nimes. The Roman Triangle. Great day trips all around here and within to see some of the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Rome. Great wineries around here, including the famous Chateau-neuf-de-pape

As you shift west towards Montpellier and that coast, it really gets more "natural" along the shores. Less beach towns, but Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a plus. I've been told Montpellier is quite beautiful.

Carcassonne castle is a must in the region.

As you get closer to the pyranese/spanish border is definitely less touristy but equally as beautiful for nature - i have only really driven through this area.

This is just a tip of the French iceburg as this is one of my favourite places in Europe. French Alps, Alsace, Normandy, Loire Valley, Burgandy and Bordeaux *chefs kiss*

[DoubleF]

Device wise, a gaming laptop makes sense. Try to get one with more than one USB C port, dual thunderbolt ports if possible. A portable USB screen is nice for multiple monitors. Options range from 13" to 24" via USB. Having a dock to dock into everything from your laptop is a good idea IMO.

If looking into headphones, it's worth looking into open or bone conducting headphones (ie: Shokz) so that you can stay aware of your surroundings while listening to things/on a call. Language development wise, I've always been partial to Pimsleur over other apps.

IDK if Chromebook or tablet makes more sense for your kids and you may want to confirm what is provided, what the kids may need at school before buying anything so that you don't have to buy twice. Getting one that can take a temporary sim to be useable on the go might be useful as well when you go on specific trips.

E-readers wise... eh, they exist. It depends on your usage and specific needs and wants though. There's other options you can put on a phone or tablet or computer, so it depends on how voraciously you consume media on the e-reader to determine if it makes sense to acquire. Overdrive should be available as an app on iOS and Android store, no? Also allows for use on tablets? IDK whether you've used it, but I've been quite surprised how good the offerings are for the public library via Libby.

Power bank with 3 in 1 cable is always good on trips. 3-1 is great because it's more compact.

One thing to teach your girls, is to be aware, but not afraid of their surroundings. You don't want to whimsically swing a purse around or flaunt valuables as you can in North America, but don't wander around clutching your valuables like a thief is stupid for not trying figure out what you're trying so desperately to protect.

A friend of mine stupidly did this in Barcelona by swinging her purse around and got ripped off by a purse snatcher in Barcelona. My friend was fine but she was very upset about how silly she had been behaving to be an easy target as she had been living there for a year and knew of the risks. She was also upset how she had to get so many things/cards replaced due to her purse being snatched. I personally always hide a random $50 or 20 Euro somewhere on my body that isn't with my wallet/bag etc. In case I get ripped off, it's easier to get somewhere like an Embassy/police station to report the theft and get to a phone to contact someone to explain the situation vs having absolutely nothing. It might not be a bad idea to do something like that with your girls along with having key contact numbers written down for such a situation?

[stazzy33]

Belgium was my favourite of the 4 European countries I have visited (France, England, Netherlands, and Belgium). Lots of really cool history and super easy to get around. If you are a beer lover it's also a paradise for that, just be aware of the high alcohol content ones (10+%). We visited Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp and would agree that the bigger cities aren't nearly as interesting as the smaller ones. We did a 70 km e-bike day in Bruges where we rode to Cadzand-Bad in the Netherlands and back. Lots of cool castles and history and the "free" walking tours are always great to get acquainted with a new town.

[WideReceiver]

Considering two-week driving trip through Germany next May starting and ending in Berlin. It’d cap off a river cruise in France from Paris to Normandy and back. I’m thinking head south from Berlin. Advice appreciated.