cjernigan

iTrader: (13)

I'm spending a month in Europe, leaving around March 23rd.
I'm currently planning on flying into Frankfurt Germany, touring germany, then France, then london, hitting up amsterdam and then back to Frankfurt to fly home. I decided Italy wasn't a real priority and could be done in a separate trip along with Croatia, Hungary, Greece and all that good stuff.

Being a bunch of car guys all from different backgrounds and parts of the world/U.S. I was wondering what kinds of things you guys would say would be mandatory for me to do during my trip.
Currently my only recommendations come from a bunch of guys and the occasional girl versus the travel books I've read and my female roommate who's been all over.

M-Tuned

iTrader: (6)

You going to be able to test my Megasquirt out first? I really wanna drive my car soon..

cjernigan

iTrader: (13)

Still having a hell of a time recovering this MS bullshit. Finally getting windows installed. It'll be back to you soon.

JasonC SBB

I've been to several cities in Europe.
What do you like to see?
Architecture? Art? Museums?
Medieval towns?
Classical concerts? Opera?
Nurburgring?
Whorehouses?

kotomile

iTrader: (24)

I've been literally "through" Europe, but was only on the ground for a few hours...

cjernigan

iTrader: (13)

Architecture, art, museums, not so much classical music or opera. I like unique café and bar experiences. Basically if it was awesome and something you actually remember then it's probably something worth considering.

naarleven

iTrader: (2)

If you're really interested in a good time, scratch western europe; unless you HAVE to see the sights and sites. Your second trip you mentioned sounds much more interesting.


Eastern Europe is great because it has all the history with real tourism (no one speaks English, some people have never met Americans) and best part its dirt cheap(especially comparatively).

I have done Western Europe somewhere around 15-20 times for anywhere from 1 week to 3 weeks so maybe I'm a bit biased but frankly I don't travel to be on a tour bus. Throw in Western Europe is A LOT like the states. I mean its where we came from. How old are you, and what kind of trip are you planning(budget accommodations ect)?

p.s. I'll be in Czech Republic and Poland from May to July.

p.p.s. I loved Austria and Southern Germany though . Ski the alps if you can.

cueball1

iTrader: (13)

Forget any english speaking countries. For a 1st time whirlwind tour you've got a good list going. I'd ditch London and add Austria or Switzerland. Italy is worth doing too. The whole Rick Steves Europe through the back door idea is a great way to travel. Get a Eurail pass. Plan your long travel days at night and sleep on the train. Stay in B&B's and small hotels on the cheap.

Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door

cjernigan

iTrader: (13)

I'll be 23 and I can budget $100 US a day though I don't expect to spend that much. I like to live cheap and find that I enjoy doing things like eating street food and talking to people I meet on the bench I'm eating my lunch at more than sitting at a nice restaurant where I'll pay for food that might just be a little "cleaner" than what I should have ate on the street in the first place.
I really have no idea what I want to do but I want to do everything I can that is worth doing within my 4 week time frame.

I've read some of Rick Steve's stuff and still am. Right now I want to get my ticket bought and locked down but am having issues deciding if I should roundtrip Frankfurt or buy a one way there and fly back out of another air port to save on travel time back to frankfurt in order to come home. Cost wise its best to just roundtrip frankfurt.

cjernigan

iTrader: (13)

I spent 11 days in Spain with a class tour when I was in HS and that was fun though not the kind of traveling I wanted to do. I don't plan to spend my days on a tour bus at all, I'm not that kind of guy really. I only care so much about official tours and the like.

I assume I'll be staying in hostels, B&B, and cheap hotels along the way as well as the occasional stay at a friend of a friends.

I'll look into Austria and my other options instead of the UK.

akaryrye

iTrader: (5)

I spent 5 weeks in europe in the summer of 2002. First two weeks were spent in Berlin and I stayed with German exchange students who I had met in High School. I stayed at their homes during this time and it was fun to get private tours of the city with them, drive out of town to a few places, and go to the stores with them. However the best part of that time was hanging out with their friends and really getting to see and experience the culture of Berlin, cooking meals at home, going to the "good" street vendors, hitting up local shops that only locals knew about, and sun bathing at a local bath. It was an experience that no tour could ever, ever replace and that is something I realize more and more as time passes. Someday I would like to get back in touch with them, but it has been a few years.

Anyway, the rest of the trip was spent on a tour bus from a company called "Contiki". We started in London and made our way through Amsterdam, then the Rhine Valley. After that we went through Austria and Switzerland (I still have my pocket knife), then through Italy and France and finally back to London.

Was the best trip of my life ...


Oh you wanted things that are memorable ... The cultural immersion I experienced in Berlin was just awesome, but that is not something that you can really pay for or at least not without some arrangements. Otherwise, I would say that Rome was my favorite as it has the most interesting ruins, cathedrals, and history.

evank

iTrader: (2)

Sign up ahead of time for a Hosteling International membership and Eurail pass.

London: visit British Museum and/or historic stuff in the day; Soho at night.

Rafa

iTrader: (22)

+1 on the Eurail pass. I wouldn't skip Paris and London on a first trip to Europe no matter what.

Students have great discounts all over Europe. If you decide to go to London, hit me up, I have a 29 year old niece living and working there.

I'd also consider Amsterdam (they're finally trying to clean their ****!) and the Scandinavian countries.

Check for "Backpacking through Europe"

BTW, great decision. You won't regret it!

Oscar

iTrader: (2)

if near amsterdam and need a place to crash, just shout

Atlanta93LE

iTrader: (5)

I've spent a lot of time in the UK, and some time in France. I find it's much more difficult to do interesting and unique travel if you stick to the cities. I love taking the train out of the main cities and staying in little po-dunk villages. My time in the villages has always been better than that spent in London, Paris, etc. Though the museums in the cities are great if you budget enough time in them.

Zaphod

Well I have been in parts of Europe (not hard if you live in Germany.. )

If your are interested in Archuitecture , art and museum I would certainly recommend Dresden and moreover I would recommend you do at least a daytrip to Prague (rather some more days) as Prague is one of the most amazing towns I know in the world. (And the girls there are unique)

I think Hamburg would be nice to see as well.

Amsterdam is a place to see for sure.

As for France...if you don't speak french - you might find it hard to get the food you wan't and the conversation could be a bit on the lonly side...

P.S:: If you need a guide for Dresden... I am not too far away from there.

Greets

96rdstr

iTrader: (4)

Man, I wish I could go to Europe. I am more historically inclined when traveling so I would opt to see those sites. I dig Rick Steves' shows on PBS.

Have a great time and take plenty of pics.

Saml01

iTrader: (9)

France:
Louvre
Moulin Rouge Cabaret

London:
Westminster Abbey
Tower of London
Fish and Chips + Guiness in Covent Garden

Amsterdam:
Heineken Experience
Sex Museum

I didnt make it to Germany. Got to Rome though, but your not going there :(

robino

iTrader: (1)

been ALL over Europe, including eastern europe...croatia and lower.
never made it to England so i cant tell you about that...

but my first choice would be Eastern Europe, if $100 a day is your budget.
Western Europe will be tough to stay on that little budget...even if staying at Hostels and cheap motels, everything is very expensive, Spain i would say is the exception, where it's quite a bit cheaper than say, Germany Austria Switzerland, Italy France etc...

Hungary ain't exactly cheap, but it's a bit less, Czech republic is not cheap, but cheaper than the above mentioned...the more you go east the cheaper it gets, Svovakia, Slovenia, Romania Bulgaria etc...cheaper. $100 a day might cut it.

I loved Holland. If in Amsterdam, walk into any coffee place and ask for a gram of G13 Haze, it's only like 12 euros.

if women is what you're after, just go right TO eastern Europe. You won't see the overabundance of beautiful women anywhere, like you will in hungary, romania and most of all, the Ukraine/Moldova. And they all love Americans.

JasonC SBB

Germany
- some of the views of the castle towns along the Rhine are stunning.
- on $100 a day forget renting a car and driving the 'ring.... too bad because for a gearhead, driving on the 'bahn when traffic is light is such a refreshing experience
- Mercedes museum is in nearby Stuttgart

France
- Southern France is beautiful; I especially enjoyed St. Paul de Vince in the mountains, however this is a bit out of your way
- Paris museums are fantastic. The Louvre is huge so you should just do the highlights, else you get museumed out. If you enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code" maybe you can print out from the web a list of the sights from the book. My favorite other museums were the Picasso, Dali, and the D'Orsay museums (the one in the former railroad station).
- if you like castles do a day trip to Versailles
- be extra polite and practice saying in French, "Excuse me, but do you speak English?" - this goes a LOOONG way to getting the locals to help you. A surprising number of them DO speak english after they hear your attempts at murdering their language.
- put a Canadian flag on your backpack LOL

London
- the usual stuff
- day trip to Oxford if you like castles
- couple hours to visit Stonehenge

My favorite travel book series is "Let's Go". Let's Go Europe was excellent.