Travel to Europe

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
CityGrl said:
Great, thanks!!!!

Getting ready to go to Hawaii for the first time in a few weeks. I love traveling!
Welcome! I too LOVE to travel! I was in Hawaii when I was 15 and still have family there. Dad was born and raised there. His mother and her family moved out there by steamer ship back in the 20s when my grandmother was about 18 month old. There she met my grandfather all during WWII. Got evacuated to the mainland.
 

itsbob

I bowl overhand
RoseRed said:
Turn on PBS NOW! They are featuring Bavaria, Germany. :yay: :yay: :yay:
I've spent fourteen years in Bavaria.. at least I think Hanau was in Bavaria too.. last two trips.. Fulda, and Schweinfurt right outside of Wurzburg.

If you need someplaces to go.. don't go to ANYPLACE who's name you recognize.. if YOU know it, so do 5 million other people and it's probably a tourist Mecca..

Coburg.. has the Hummel Factory, and a Castle with the most extensive collection of armor I've ever seen.. but it's a small castle and off of most tourists radar screens..

Schweinfurt was neat if you walked around.. you could still see battle scars from world War II.. Schweinfurt is home to ### and another company that makes Ball Bearings.. the largest manufacturer in the world which made them a HUGE target!!

Rothenburg... VERY old town

FUlda.. Oldest Catholic Church in Germany.. (the 'Dom')

Trier.. has Roman Coliseums in Germany...

My advice.. get a car, get lost.. next town get out and go the local eatery or pub.

Garmisch Beautiful.. home of the winter olympics ages ago

Dachau Hell of a learning experience and VERY sobering!!
 
R

rdonthehd

Guest
CityGirl...
I was in in Western Europe for over 4 months last year backpacking and staying with military friends. I can't even pick a favorite place or even a place I didn't like... HOWEVER...
Nobody has mentioned Iceland. I LOVED Iceland and it is a lot different than the rest of Europe. I would highly recommend Iceland especially if you've never considered it!
check out my homepage if you like for stories and pics of Iceland (and the rest of western Europe)
:cheers: my homepage here...
 

marianne

New Member
CityGrl said:
So, if you had the chance to take a European vacation, what countries/cities would you travel to? :confused:

If you want to see a few different countries/cities without worry about getting around (i.e., renting cars, making lodging reservations, etc.) and you have a week or two vacation, I would suggest a mediterranean cruise. You get to see & do a lot without worrying about logistics.
 

itsbob

I bowl overhand
marianne said:
If you want to see a few different countries/cities without worry about getting around (i.e., renting cars, making lodging reservations, etc.) and you have a week or two vacation, I would suggest a mediterranean cruise. You get to see & do a lot without worrying about logistics.
Yeah, but then you are stuck only going to places that the boat stops.. TOURIST meccas!! You won't get the opportunity to meet REAL people, or share a drink with a bunch of locals.. or get a cheap beer..
 

itsbob

I bowl overhand
itsbob said:
Yeah, but then you are stuck only going to places that the boat stops.. TOURIST meccas!! You won't get the opportunity to meet REAL people, or share a drink with a bunch of locals.. or get a cheap beer..
I'm looking at Motorcycle Tours.. either can drive planned routes.. or just go out and get lost on your own. You fly in, they meet you with a guide and your rental bike, and off you go. Most go as group of about 10 - 20 so you get to be with people from all over the world doing the same thing, but you are allowed to seperate from the herd and do your own thing.
 

California_bred

Nordic Princess
RoseRed said:
I would love to visit Scotland, Ireland, Norway and Denmark. I think Denmark might be my next trip someday and I can get a personal tour from my 1st cousin that lives in Copenhagen.

Norway and Denmark are awesome. If you do go to Norway do take the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. It usually includes a train ride from Oslo to Bergen, a historic Hanseatic League city. It includes a cruise through the fjords which you also get to see small isolated villages and waterfalls and a scenic train ride through the mountains.

http://www.norwaynutshell.com/default.asp

Denmark is a lot like Norway in culture but opposite in some way. While Norway is generally rural, Denmark is Cosmopolitan. If you go don't forget to visit Kronborg Catle (Hamlet castle) and Tivoli Gardens, the oldest amusement park in the world.

If you want museums and culture I recommend St Petersburg, Russia. They have the Hermitage museum which is one of the great art museums of the world along with the Lourve and El Prado. The art museum is located in the Winter Palace which would be a major attraction even if it wasn't an art museum. The Russian museum was also nice. A canal tour is a relaxing way to see much of the city. You may also want to catch the ballet or opera.
 

CityGrl

Time for a nap
It just seems there's sooooo many places to see and sooooo many things to do and it's hard to narrow it down to just a few places...
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
California_bred said:
Norway and Denmark are awesome. If you do go to Norway do take the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. It usually includes a train ride from Oslo to Bergen, a historic Hanseatic League city. It includes a cruise through the fjords which you also get to see small isolated villages and waterfalls and a scenic train ride through the mountains.

http://www.norwaynutshell.com/default.asp

Denmark is a lot like Norway in culture but opposite in some way. While Norway is generally rural, Denmark is Cosmopolitan. If you go don't forget to visit Kronborg Catle (Hamlet castle) and Tivoli Gardens, the oldest amusement park in the world.

If you want museums and culture I recommend St Petersburg, Russia. They have the Hermitage museum which is one of the great art museums of the world along with the Lourve and El Prado. The art museum is located in the Winter Palace which would be a major attraction even if it wasn't an art museum. The Russian museum was also nice. A canal tour is a relaxing way to see much of the city. You may also want to catch the ballet or opera.
Good information, thanks. I also have relatives in Norway. My grandmother and family came over from Norway when she was six. Great Uncle goes back every year to visit.
 

California_bred

Nordic Princess
If you're going to do Denmark and Norway you may as well do Sweden since if you take the train between the 2 you go through Sweden anyways.

In Sweden I enjoyed Gamla Stan, the old city centre of Stockholm. Walking the streets of Gamla Stan made me feel like I was in the middle ages. The Vasa museum may be of some interest. The Vasa was a great galleon built for the king and it sank in less than a mile on its maiden voyage. It has since been recovered and is now in the museum. Clubbing......hmmmmmm... :yum: Swedish men are hot but......I blend in too well since I am a Dane/Swede mix. I went clubbing and there were about 3 women to every 1 guy. :sad: One last thing about Sweden, Norway, Denmark....everyone speaks English so getting around is no problem. I was walking around Stockholm with my small backpack wide open. A kid tells me something in Swedish...when he realized that I did not speak Swedish he told me in English that my bag was open. I think he was like 11.

If you do decide to go to Scandinavia I strongly recommend that you buy the Scanrail pass. It's like the Eurorail pass but it is just limited to the SCandinavian countries but less expensive than the Eurorail pass. It can be used in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. You can also use it on some of the ferries including the feryy between Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland. However if your time is limited I think you should skip Finland since it is a bit far from the rest of Scandinavia and it is very expensive. You can use the Scanrail pass on the Norway in a nutshell tour. It may require a small fee for that.



Scanrail
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/scanrail_pass.htm

Gamla Stan
http://www.bencook.net/Stockholm/Day1/images/21. Stockholm 13.jpg

Stockholm
http://static.redjupiter.com/images/dinah/stockholm1.jpg

Vasa
http://www.loredanavalenzano.net/Stockholm/Stockholm_31.jpg

I think Stockholm is the most beuatiful city I have been to.
 
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Triggerfish

New Member
RoseRed said:
The Emerald Isle... I would LOVE to go there too.

According to Frommer's Budget Travel you can get
planet ticket to Ireland.
Vouchers for 1 week of stay at various B & B through out the country
and a rental car for a week for less than $1000 a person.
 

marianne

New Member
itsbob said:
I'm looking at Motorcycle Tours.. either can drive planned routes.. or just go out and get lost on your own. You fly in, they meet you with a guide and your rental bike, and off you go. Most go as group of about 10 - 20 so you get to be with people from all over the world doing the same thing, but you are allowed to seperate from the herd and do your own thing.

This is a very interesting idea. Has anyone ever done this in Italy? I was concerned about renting a car and driving in Italy because I heard the drivers there were crazy. Riding a bike through the mountains seems wonderful but, as I get nervous riding in rushhour in the US, don't know how I'd do in the Italian cities.

I had, at one time, found a cruise on that goes around all of Italy so you hit the touristy and not-so-touristy areas. It started in the NorthEast, went around the boot, into sicily, and ended in the NorthWest. Unfortunately I can't find that cruise any longer...
 
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