Going To Europe

[Phanuthier]

Originally posted by Rubber Ducky@Jul 21 2005, 02:37 PM
Jagger, sorry to hear that you got robbed in Rome.

But that brings up a related point - is it dangerous to travel through Europe? I've heard there's a ton of scams, gypsy kids with magical fingers and so on.

Are overnight trains safe? And how about hostels vs hotels?

Just curious - I'm living in Japan now, and I'm sure I could leave my wallet on the street and it would be there tomorrow morning. B-)

I hope I'm not stereotyping too much here, but...

In Europe, they just want your money (and passport too). They don't want to hurt you. Just watch your pockets, never put anything down (I lost my backpack that way, good thing the total value of that was $100 canadian, and $60 of that was for a MEC backpack)

In China though... they'd probably cut off your finger to take your ring. I've heard stories about people's backpacks being taken by someone cutting the straps, taking it, and running.

[FireInTheHole]

A guy tried to pick my pocket getting onto the subway in Rome. At first I thought it was my wife behind me watching my back (the train was very VERY crowded) - but my first instinct was to bat away the hand I felt in my pocket. Good thing, too. Once the bas**rd figured out that I was on to him he turned around and buggered off real quick. The biggest tip I can give is that you need 2 wallets, the first one being your money belt which you keep your passport, large bills, credit cards, drivers license, etc. in and the second wallet for a few bucks for quick purchases - drinks, lunch etc. The money belt goes under your pants. Wallet #2 in a place you can secure, like a zipped or velcroed pocket.

Rome was the worst for "feeling safe" - and Berlin was the best. The wife and I both felt very safe there - and our tour guide mentioned that in her opinion Berlin was the safest city in Europe.

[Nilson_26]

Originally posted by Sylvanfan@Jul 21 2005, 05:41 PM
As for Eurail, I don't know about the busses, but you could take ferries to places like Scandinavia, Greece, and Ireland with it. When I had mine it wasn't valid in the UK, but in places like France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Denmark, and many more it was. I imagine places like Czech Republic and Poland may be on board now too. I've got a site for rail Europe, so check that out, it probably has a lot of good info.

If you are using one of the cheapest anywhere you can go in 30 days kind of pass, it does not include the Czech Republic. However, you can use it to the border and use a cheap ticket within the Czech. For example, we went from Vienna to Prague, and we paid about 15 CDN to get from Breclav (I think?) to Prague, and our ticket towards Berlin when we left was even cheaper.

And on another note, I am also a member of the "I got robbed in Rome" club. Sounds like it's a national pastime to rob tourists there...

[HumanTorch]

Gotta check out Amsterdam if you're going to Europe. It's like another World over there.