Torkel

Of course the right place to visit in Europe is Sweden!

But if you want to stay in the central of Europe I recommend the following:
I lived in Nürnberg 2 years (fantastic city!) and I recommend spending some time in Bayern. Visit Rothenburg, Nurburg (book a ring-taxi well in advance!) and perhaps Bamberg. Then I would recommend a drive thru the Alps, starting in Germany, passing thru Austria and Switzerland into northern Italy. I did the drive thru the San Bernadino pass twice a month for 2 years and never got tired of it (Top gear made the same trip in slightly cooler cars btw!).

Forget France! (Nobody likes them anyway)

Never been to Amsterdam, but I heard it is very nice. If you do go to Italy, visit Venice or Florence but forget Rome or Milano (they are both too big, too overpopulated and too polluted).

And so a MT.net top tip: Use the word “Europe” as little as you can, because we do not really like it. We are not European; we are Swedes, Germans, Italian and so on. There are no European cars, there are German cars, Swedish cars and crap from Italy. You are not visiting “Europe”, you are visiting Germany, Holland and SWEDEN of course.

Have fun!

Edit: London is a nice city, but not something I would spend time on if I where you.

mazda/nissan

iTrader: (2)

lol great info!
I believe that BMW has a museum in Bayern unless I am mistaken.

naarleven

iTrader: (2)

+20045015


100$ a day is going to be damn difficult. Unless you're in spain, but even they have been more expensive since going to the euro. Things might be a little better with the stronger dollar, but a few summers ago, I spent 6 weeks in Lugano, Switzerland and just a meal off the McDonalds menu was close to 12 dollars and that was not the most expensive item there.

and +1 on eurorail & international hostels membership. You'll save money there.

Try to ski the alps, I can't say it again.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

He's right on target with these fantastic suggestions. I lived in Augsburg (about 40 minutes west of Munich) for two years and traveled extensively while there.

Most big cities are like big cities everywhere in certain ways. They tend to lose the charm of the smaller cities and towns.

Frankfurt is almost always the cheapest city to fly into and out of. There are regional airline services from there that are dirt cheap if you fly at unpopular times (Easyjet, Ryanair, etc.). I have seen fares as low as .01 euro plus tax on a one way flight!

If you get a Eurail pass, and you should consider it, there are different ones to choose from. Many passes include local transportation in certain cities.

Most cities have an all day pass to ride the local U-bahn, S-bahn, and busses for less than buying each leg of the local route.

More to follow. I've got to go for now.

naarleven

iTrader: (2)

I disagree completely. While Venice & Florence are picturesque and beautiful cities, both are tourists traps and filled with fat, obnoxious Americans, English, and German tourists!

Rome is the place to be, especially if he is planning on bar hopping.

johndoe

iTrader: (5)

Half my family is in Europe so I've had the opportunity to go all over and not have to stick to the tourist trail.

Stay away from the UK unless you like the weather there. The countryside is beautiful but it has the goddamn ugliest people in the world and trashiest culture. Last time I was in Europe I went straight from Paris to Cork and wanted to cry.

Paris is great. Beautiful architecture and women. I personally never had any problem with the French. Really a unique city in Europe with a lot of different neighborhoods and cultures. This is the one city in Western Europe I'd like to see again.

Munich is a great city. Best beer in the world as far as I'm concerned. If you like meat Germany will fill your belly. I hear Berlin is amazing, but I haven't gotten there yet.

Italy is beautiful, especially if you can make it out to the country and stay in some of the small villages. My grandmother used to have a house in a village in the mountains with one road and more cats than people. It was heaven.

Prague is a very different city. Very medieval. The food sucks, beer sucks, but the architecture is beautiful. It is also cheap as hell because they don't have the Euro.

Copenhagen I would skip. Really expensive. Pretty, but nothing spectacular. All the Scandinavian countries are more expensive.

Definitely do the Euro Rail. Hostels are great but in alot of places you can also stay in short term apartments which are much nicer and often as cheap or cheaper.

I also agree with what others have said that Western Europe a bit played out. See it once and you'll have your fill. Eastern Europe sounds much more interesting. Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria or the Azores would be my next destinations if I were to do Europe again.

If you want your money to go really far I'd do southeast Asia. Cambodia, Vietnam will be my next trip. If we didn't have this goddamn war I would love to go to Afghanistan.

Zaphod

I have to ask... when was it that you were in Prague...? Cheap? Not really anymore - it is a real boom town and so the prices are not really cheap anymore.

And about the beer - I am sorry, I have to ask what you are used to - the Czech beer is not really the origin of beer it also is some of teh best beer in the world. (O.K. it's got none of those fancy aromatic stuff and other **** which makes your head feel like a huge bowling ball the next day...)

Had to say that... Thanks

johndoe

iTrader: (5)

I was in Prague about 2 1/2 years ago. And I find all their beer (except for one which I've forgotten the name of) to pretty much have one flavor. Bitter. Not very complex and doesn't make you want to have another.

naarleven

iTrader: (2)

Ah! And the women!

It's mildly cheap compared to Zurich, Paris, London, ect. I even found it cheaper than Barcelona.

Bier is spectacular there. Comes a close second to the beer I had in Belgium.

naarleven

iTrader: (2)

Oh but it is so much more relevant these days, especially with the "confederation of european states" you live in. Soon enough, it will be a federation. E.U. eats everything and makes countries expensive to visit as it goes along.

robino

iTrader: (1)

romania...

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

If you are really going to stay in a hostel, read reviews on it first. Some have had infestations of bed bugs and other flesh-burrowing insects. Others have ongoing security issues. Do your homework. Some are very nice.
Good reviews exist in several places. There is a good discussion forum and good info on doing everything cheapo on Backpacker's Ultimate Guide - Europe. Backpackers Ultimate Guide - Powered by vBulletin

Here's a good resource for regional flights once you are in Europe:
low-cost air travel in Europe on budget airlines including Ryanair, easyJet and others

Two trips ago I tried to see too much at once and used the nice sleeping car overnight InterCity trains. MISTAKE! It was two nights in a row of bad/incomplete sleep on top of jet lag. Once I had a quiet place to sleep for a night, I was fine. I thought I could sleep anywhere and be fine. I was wrong.

As for cities:
I liked Berlin previously, but it has been covered in graffiti and is much dirtier than it used to be. Pergammon Museum is a must-see for me. Otherwise there are much prettier cities around. Most of Berlin is done in 1970s modern style and looks old in a non-charming way.

Frankfurt was rebuilt in a modern style after the war and seems all business and just a little charm.

Stuttgart means stud farm. They bred horses there for royalty. Not as large a city, and was rebuilt in classic German style after the war, so it's more aesthetically pleasing. Large downtown walking district full of eye candy. Friendlier people on average and lots of honeys (it's a university town). Found a basement nightclub in the old downtown that was packed and excellent. As mentioned, Mercedes museum is there. Porsche has a museum but it is tiny (18 cars is a museum?). Porsche factory tours are only available through your stateside dealers at a premium price.

You might save up the money and rent a car in Stuttgart and drive to Munich on the Autobahn (about 2 hrs) if you've ever dreamed about it. That's a nice stretch of road through there.

Ulm is a medium sized city that has a stunning cathedral within walking distance of the train station, and is on the rail line between Stuttgart and Munich. Worth a look if you are near.

Munich or (Muenchen as they call it) is a bit modern, but has retained some of the old flavor in the old downtown area called Altstadt. BMW has a very nice museum and sometimes you can get a factory tour (reservations?). The area near the train station is a bit dirty, just like most of these cities and you will see some bums and pick pockets occasionally there. I have a bus tour recommendation even though you hate them. There is a bus tour on the Gray Line that leaves from in front of the main train station and goes to Linderhof Castle, Neuschwanstein Castle (wiki them) and to the little town of Oberammergau. You can't get to Linderhof by train, and it's a really great tour. You won't be disappointed. And I don't like tour groups either.

Prague is beautiful, but went from a bargain to a bank buster in fifteen years. The city is nice to visit but smaller towns in the countyside are better for staying. Stay 15-30 minutes outside of town and you will enjoy county hospitality at any of these destination big cities. Plzen is another nice medium sized town nearby. Pilsner style beer originated in this area. Quaint little towns are all over.

Salzburg is pretty and at the edge of the Alps, and I really liked the underground salt mine tour.

Vienna is beautiful. Wide streets and stunning architecture are the norm. Cathedrals that will make your mouth drop open (Votivkirche, St. Stephens, Dominikanerkirche). Schoenbrunn Palace is one of the most opulent places in Europe. If you are in Vienna, don't miss it. The royal carriage museum there was ridiculous. Such craftsmanship and detail. The gardens go on forever and have labyrinths and HUGE fountains and are worth experiencing just by themselves (wiki that).

If you go to Venice, take a map, hehe, and check into renting a room on Lido instead of on the mainland. Lido is the sleepy little town on the barrier island that protects Venice. Check out Livio De Marchi's shop if you've got a chance. He's the one that made the Ferrari F40 out of wood and drove it up the grand canal in Venice. He has one of the coolest little shops in the world, and nobody knows it's there.Livio De Marchi

I agree that Florence (Firenze) is touristy and crowded, but I could tolerate it for some of the art that is there to see. A really notable museum that gets overlooked is the one right across the street from the Duomo, on the far side from the main entrance to the Duomo. It is the Duomo's own private collection. IDK what it was called right now. That's if you like art.

Paris is interesting. I had a good time. Some people are quite rude. They enjoy belittling tourists. The town is picturesque in places, if you don't get too close and see the dirt, or smell the urine. People **** everywhere in Paris for some reason. Especially the subways. But there is a lot to see. The Musee D'Orsay has one of the largest collections of impressionist works in the world. The history is all around you. Ride in a taxi through the traffic circle that surrounds the Arc De Triumph and tell the world how you **** yourself! Man, you haven't lived 'till......I digress.

Smaller cities in France are friendlier. Nice is nice. I just had to.

Amsterdam is interesting. Just don't get robbed. Side streets can jump up and bite you.

I still like southern Germany and Austria as a good immersion trip. Don't go too many places, or try to fit too much in. You won't enjoy it as much. Nürnberg was a great small city suggestion, Rothenburg, and Bamberg were good, too. You get more of the real flavor of a country that way. Bayern is the name of the state in Germany we call Bavaria, if you didn't know. Good stuff there!

For searching airline and hotel prices I use Kayak.com Cheap Flights, Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare & Discount Travel Deals - Kayak.com because it searches all of the discount sites (orbitz, travelocity, etc.) and almost all of the airlines' own sites (not Southwest) at one time. Saves time because it is a search engine for search engines.

Good luck.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Dude, that's south Florida!
That bike has florida tags, the hotel is done in Spanish Mission style architecture, those girls are hispanic.
And that's a ricer Celica in the background!!!

msydnor

iTrader: (3)

I spent 4 years stationed in Germany. My favorite spots were Amsterdam, Germany, Belgium and Italy. Antwerp Belgiun was awesome. Germany has so much to see and do it would take a while to type all that. There are several fest throughout the year, and most are pretty fun...lots of beer, wine, and swine. I found France a bit boring. Being a car guy try to make it up to the Nurbergring.

naarleven

iTrader: (2)

Hahaha



real romania

Village scene in Borat was filmed in Romania.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

I just checked a couple of things.
Knoxville (that is where you are, right?) to Munich round trip on United for $464 taxes included. Frankfurt was $468.

Something awesome is happening when you are there (if you are in Munich). Starting on April 17th is Fruelingsfest! It is the Springtime version of Oktoberfest. It runs until May 3.

Take pictures of my pretzel girl when you see her. Lots of pictures.

BTW I didn't realize initially that you were going for a whole month. You might see about getting to Goteburg to see Torkel if he'll let you spend a night or two on his couch. It is so much easier and cheaper when you have buddies. Don't we have some folks on here from the Netherlands and Germany that could entertain a guest?

Zabac

iTrader: (39)

Shows how little you know about Romania.

Chad, I am from Eastern Europe and have lived in Germany, been pretty much anywhere in Europe except Spain/Portugal, Russia, and Italy.
I'd say, for your first trip stick to Western Europe and do the whole sight seeing ****, when you're ready to see what first hand corruption looks like, then go on an Eastern Europe "tour". Lots of poverty and crap, but also the best nightlife period! If the women think that you have any money at all, you can have any one of them. But the thing is, they don't want your money, they just want you cause you have money....make sense?
I have yet to see more mega-hot women in one place then you can at any Eastern European big city bar/club.

robino

iTrader: (1)

actually, my first Veyron i seen was in Romania and i LIVE in south east FL.
it's a very diverse country, from very poor to super wealthy. Borat was filmed in a known gypsy village.

trust me, i live in south FL yes...
that's my Rune with my tags on it. That Hotel is in Costinesti, Romania...a small town resort on the Black Sea.
That was a known car hangout in that Hotel parking lot, middle of summer, students from all over the country there...packing the beach resorts. Look closely and you'll also see Ferarris, Prowlers, among other different cars.





me riding it to Elizabeth NJ before shipping it over


me taking it out of the container in Romania


me doin a burnout for the ladies



next you're gonna tell me i hunted this 650 lb. boar in south FL, because i'm wearing digi cammo...

robino

iTrader: (1)

you are half right on one thing.
romanian girls are in a way "latin".
romania is the only latin speaking country in eastern europe surrounded by slavick speaking countries.

robino

iTrader: (1)

zadar, Croatia


barcelona, Spain


when in Rome...


gelato for breakfast, lunch and dinner, yum


Venice...