Europe

[mephisto]

hi there. i'm from austria.
if you'd like to go to a hookahbar in austria, there is the sphinx in innsbruck (it's on your route)

avoid buying shisha in germany! there shisha has only 5% of Moisture (hope it's the right word for it)

[erufiku]

I wish I could do that.. again. Word of warning, you'll be back more exhausted than before you left. But that's the fun part
As someone else pointed out, hostelworld.com is a great place to look for hostels. Another one is gomio.com. Don't know what's the euro going for now, but be prepared to spend around 20-25e/night per person if you want a double room with shared bathroom facilities. An HI card might be a worthwhile investment, but HI hostels tend to turn out rather sterile if you're into socializing.

Are you going to bus/train/fly to get around Europe? While the first two sound good, you won't really be seeing much of the country from a train despite what all the Eurail pass advertisements tend to boast. If you know your plans won't change, click on to skyscanner.net and book your flights a few months in advance. This way you'll spend maybe 20-30e/flight per person which is really nothing compared to the costs associated with the european rail system. Only exception is Italy, where trains are rediculously cheap and, in spite of the stereotype, usually on time.

I am a bit biased but I would recommend to go visit the south of Spain. Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba - you can't go wrong. Also, shisha is most popular in Andalucia from my experience. Barcelona is definitely worth a lot of time, it's probably my favourite city in the whole world As for Madrid... well, it's fun-ish, but personally I would not go back there for the third time unless I actually moved to Spain

Post a detailed itinerary (how long you're planning to spend in each country/city) and check out thorntree forums on the lonely planet website, they have loads of information about every part of the world. Also, if you're getting a guidebook I would recommend Let's Go (Western) Europe. It's helped me out heaps during my travels.

[gaia.plateau]

I wish I could do that.. again. Word of warning, you'll be back more exhausted than before you left. But that's the fun part

It's probably different for everyone, when I got back this year from backpacking around Central America for 5 months I was all full of piss and vinegar, and I was extremely active down there (climbed 5 volcanoes and 4 mountains, spent 3 weeks scuba diving, countless treks and hikes, cave diving and spelunking, a week-long kayak, etc.) If I'd come back during the Winter, it probably would have been different, haha~

Don't know what's the euro going for now, but be prepared to spend around 20-25e/night per person if you want a double room with shared bathroom facilities. An HI card might be a worthwhile investment, but HI hostels tend to turn out rather sterile if you're into socializing.

I think we'll be aiming for bottom-rung dives for 90% of our trip, with the occasional splurge and maybe a 5-day-or-so stay in a German or Austrian village somewhere. A grungy double bed in a 3x3 room, with a shared dirty bucket in the corner to piss in, will probably do us just fine

Are you going to bus/train/fly to get around Europe? While the first two sound good, you won't really be seeing much of the country from a train despite what all the Eurail pass advertisements tend to boast. If you know your plans won't change, click on to skyscanner.net and book your flights a few months in advance. This way you'll spend maybe 20-30e/flight per person which is really nothing compared to the costs associated with the european rail system. Only exception is Italy, where trains are rediculously cheap and, in spite of the stereotype, usually on time.

We haven't banged out transportation yet, but if we pre-book flights it will probably be just from either Amsterdam to Berlin or from Berlin to Prague, depending on which part of Germany we'd like to spend time going cross-country. We haven't decided on whether we want to dedicate time to the South of France, but if not we'll definitely do Barcelona to Geneva.

I am a bit biased but I would recommend to go visit the south of Spain. Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba - you can't go wrong. Also, shisha is most popular in Andalucia from my experience. Barcelona is definitely worth a lot of time, it's probably my favourite city in the whole world As for Madrid... well, it's fun-ish, but personally I would not go back there for the third time unless I actually moved to Spain

Yeah we're definitely going to spend a lot of time in Spain, largely due to the fact that I'm fluent in Spanish. Barcelona is in my top 3 cities for spending time, along with Amsterdam and Prague, and Lis wants to spend a lot of time in Venice (a lot being like, a week), along with the other two. We'll probably spend one night in Madrid tops, and that's assuming that we arrive there in the late afternoon or evening.

if you're getting a guidebook I would recommend Let's Go (Western) Europe. It's helped me out heaps during my travels.

I'm planning to grab Europe on a Shoestring by Lonely Planet... I used Central America on a Shoestring when I was there and it helped tremendously, especially with bus and ferry times.

Does anyone have any advice on places where people either generally speak English, or generally don't speak English? Lis is brushing up on her French, as I said I have Spanish, and we're both going to learn a bit of German beforehand. Edited January 10, 2008 by gaia.plateau

[gaia.plateau]

Updated route.

[booya]

Only Torontonians and Albertans tend to speak with the loud and brashness of your typical American stereotype.

i can't beleive you just said that! WTF!!!! i'm laid back! Calgary is close enough to BC that it rubs off... please don't put me in the same basket as the fucking farmer red neck that lives on an oil well... those are the real dicks in this province!!!!

anyways a bout Europe....

Amsterdam is sick. its the best place in the world if you like to party.... and catch some concerts if you can. theres shit going on there all summer.

Barcelona is unbeleiveable as well... if you can time it right hit the Sonar festival there. 3 days of the best DJ's in the world... if you're into that kind of thing....

[gaia.plateau]

Amsterdam is sick. its the best place in the world if you like to party.... and catch some concerts if you can. theres shit going on there all summer.

Barcelona is unbeleiveable as well... if you can time it right hit the Sonar festival there. 3 days of the best DJ's in the world... if you're into that kind of thing....

Do you know of any particularly good venues in Amsterdam?

I was the #1 Goa DJ in my province until about a year and a half ago when the rave scene here started to deteriorate... I've since sold my tables and I just press buttons at a hip-hop/rock/country/indie club now. When is Sonar? We'll probably be in Barcelona for about a week in mid-to-late June.

[mathuv]

come to malta

[Perrj99]

I was in Amsterdam for a few days around Halloween...it was amazing. A really interesting city, drugs/alcohol/hookers aside (although, I hate to leave out the fun)...but still a cool city.

I suggest checking out Valencia, Spain...even if for only a day. I was there for about 4 or 5 days and it was a a pretty cool city. I liked it more than Barcelona. Just a suggestion.

[booya]

Amsterdam is sick. its the best place in the world if you like to party.... and catch some concerts if you can. theres shit going on there all summer.

Barcelona is unbeleiveable as well... if you can time it right hit the Sonar festival there. 3 days of the best DJ's in the world... if you're into that kind of thing....

Do you know of any particularly good venues in Amsterdam?

I was the #1 Goa DJ in my province until about a year and a half ago when the rave scene here started to deteriorate... I've since sold my tables and I just press buttons at a hip-hop/rock/country/indie club now. When is Sonar? We'll probably be in Barcelona for about a week in mid-to-late June.

melkweg, and hieniken music hall are good in amsterdam for big shows, paradiso seems to book the Dj's with a few exceptions... also if you can check out rotterdam too, they get some shows too if you miss it in amsterdam. germany has a good scene too from what i hear, but when i was over there, i ran out of time and money to hit anytihng worth mentioning.

oh and buy a bottle of absinthe if you can, theres one that comes i a narrow black bottle with a a crazy looking guy on it. worth it.

and if you need any other info, let me know, i've been twice, both times by my self, so i got a good handle on that town. i can't wait to go back.

check ticketmaster for the netherlends

http://www.ticketmaster.nl/html/home.htmI

for sonar, this is all i can find right now, in a month or two they'll have the line up. beastie boys played last year... wish i was there....

june 19-21

http://www.thespacelab.tv/spaceLAB/theSHOW...Event-Sonar.htm

they have a huge art and media thing too during the day. tres cool.


you WILL HAVE A BLAST!!!!!

[gaia.plateau]

come to malta

I'd love to do a Greece/Maltese/Crecian trip one day... there's a possibility that I may spend a year doing a professorship in Egypt or in the Middle East~ if I do it would be a cheap voyage.

I was in Amsterdam for a few days around Halloween...it was amazing. A really interesting city, drugs/alcohol/hookers aside (although, I hate to leave out the fun)...but still a cool city.

I suggest checking out Valencia, Spain...even if for only a day. I was there for about 4 or 5 days and it was a a pretty cool city. I liked it more than Barcelona. Just a suggestion.

Haha yeah we won't be leaving any of the fun stuff aside.

Can you tell me more about Valencia? It's a bit out of our way but not too bad.

melkweg, and hieniken music hall are good in amsterdam for big shows, paradiso seems to book the Dj's with a few exceptions... also if you can check out rotterdam too, they get some shows too if you miss it in amsterdam. germany has a good scene too from what i hear, but when i was over there, i ran out of time and money to hit anytihng worth mentioning.

oh and buy a bottle of absinthe if you can, theres one that comes i a narrow black bottle with a a crazy looking guy on it. worth it.

and if you need any other info, let me know, i've been twice, both times by my self, so i got a good handle on that town. i can't wait to go back.

Thanks for the info ~

We'll definitely partake in the absinthe... as I'm sure you know we can only get the fake stuff in Canada I've heard Prague is a world leader in it as well.

you WILL HAVE A BLAST!!!!!

Yay.

[booya]

We'll definitely partake in the absinthe... as I'm sure you know we can only get the fake stuff in Canada I've heard Prague is a world leader in it as well.

caution on the czech stuff. its not the real thing. you'll find czech absinthe bottlers usually drop the "e" at the end. usualy means its fake absinthe. by fake i mean does not have the correct levels of thujone in it to do anything. look for swiss, french, or spanish.

[erufiku]

Yeah we're definitely going to spend a lot of time in Spain, largely due to the fact that I'm fluent in Spanish. Barcelona is in my top 3 cities for spending time, along with Amsterdam and Prague, and Lis wants to spend a lot of time in Venice (a lot being like, a week), along with the other two. We'll probably spend one night in Madrid tops, and that's assuming that we arrive there in the late afternoon or evening.

A cada uno su propio... If you're spending a week in Venice look into couchsurfing or something. That city was ridiculously expensive, probably around 40-50e/day per person and don't expect to dine out too much. Harder to meet nice people due to the sheer volume of tourism it's getting. Nonetheless, it's one tourist trap that's worth walking into. Ditch the map and just walk around, you'll discover some beautiful places while the whole stampede is busy rushing to Piazza San Marco. If you're planning to visit the Guggenheim, call them in advance cause when I went only 1/3 of the collection was available - waste of money if you ask me, especially since you're going to Madrid with it's Reina Sofia museum.

Still, the only way I would spend a week in Venice would be for their Carnevale which is coming up in a few weeks.

As for Madrid, if you're into art, it's worth 3 full days at least... One for each museum Some good clubbing as well, spanish style (ie., until 8am next morning).

Does anyone have any advice on places where people either generally speak English, or generally don't speak English? Lis is brushing up on her French, as I said I have Spanish, and we're both going to learn a bit of German beforehand.

France - almost exclusively French. Heard bad things about people trying their Quebecois in Paris but that's why I never went to the capital. Brush up that parisian accent...
Italy - little English spoken. Put some effort into learning the basics since you already know Spanish and the people will greet you with open arms. BTW in Florence there is this p'tit hostel with the most amicable owner ever. Worth splurging an extra few euro on Called Dani House I believe.
Everywhere else you're good to go with English, including the Czech Rep. Personally didn't get a chance to use my broken German in Germany/Austria/Amsterdam cause everyone automatically switched to fluent English.

[mathuv]

we get the 80% absinthe in malta, its vile. really strong. NEVER down a small bottle, i was gonna throw up....

[gaia.plateau]

Okay, so here is our budget, constructed using liberal estimates.

My Costs
Flight out of Canada = Covered with aeroplan miles.
Booze = $1,600
Drugs = $400
Whores = $500
Subtotal = $2,500

Her Costs
Shelter = $2,000
Food = $1,200
Travel = $600
Subtotal = $3,800

Grand Total = $6,300
(~5 days traveling, ~55 days fun)

Significantly higher than we expected... we may have to save this until next year, and just do 3 weeks in Cuba this summer for around $900 each including airfare. I'll post an update when we've decided.

[gaia.plateau]

Does anyone have any advice on places where people either generally speak English, or generally don't speak English? Lis is brushing up on her French, as I said I have Spanish, and we're both going to learn a bit of German beforehand.

France - almost exclusively French. Heard bad things about people trying their Quebecois in Paris but that's why I never went to the capital. Brush up that parisian accent...
Italy - little English spoken. Put some effort into learning the basics since you already know Spanish and the people will greet you with open arms. BTW in Florence there is this p'tit hostel with the most amicable owner ever. Worth splurging an extra few euro on Called Dani House I believe.
Everywhere else you're good to go with English, including the Czech Rep. Personally didn't get a chance to use my broken German in Germany/Austria/Amsterdam cause everyone automatically switched to fluent English.

Thanks

Does anyone have tips on hitchhiking, such as how easy it is to get a ride in which areas, issues of safety (bearing in mind that she's a 100 pound blonde with a sexy ass and I'm a 180 pound scruffy dude with survival training and 14 years of martial arts)? This could cut costs significantly. Edited January 11, 2008 by gaia.plateau

[booya]

Does anyone have any advice on places where people either generally speak English, or generally don't speak English? Lis is brushing up on her French, as I said I have Spanish, and we're both going to learn a bit of German beforehand.

France - almost exclusively French. Heard bad things about people trying their Quebecois in Paris but that's why I never went to the capital. Brush up that parisian accent...
Italy - little English spoken. Put some effort into learning the basics since you already know Spanish and the people will greet you with open arms. BTW in Florence there is this p'tit hostel with the most amicable owner ever. Worth splurging an extra few euro on Called Dani House I believe.
Everywhere else you're good to go with English, including the Czech Rep. Personally didn't get a chance to use my broken German in Germany/Austria/Amsterdam cause everyone automatically switched to fluent English.

Thanks

Does anyone have tips on hitchhiking, such as how easy it is to get a ride in which areas, issues of safety (bearing in mind that she's a 100 pound blonde with a sexy ass and I'm a 180 pound scruffy dude with survival training and 14 years of martial arts)? This could cut costs significantly.

i found spain and germany the easiest places to hitchhike, especially in areas where there aren't alot of tourists...

[cassinho]

I did a very similar route in my backpack trip months ago, i'd recomend you very much Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Stratsbourg, Munchen, Praha, San Benedetto del Tronto (if you're going in summer), Firenze and London

I did: Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Hendaya, Bordeaux, Paris, Brussels, Louvain-la-neuve, Brugge, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Filderstadt, Karlsruhe, Zurich, Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Fussen, Munchen, Wienn, Praha, Udine, Roma, San Benedetto del Tronto, Milano, Paris, London, Madrid

I got a Eurail Global Pass for transportation and took train to everywhere, it was really cool

If you're interested in a good hostal in Praha, i could tell you one that actually has a pool and a sauna, very cheap (just 15 when i went there) with a nice bar to get tune up before going to a good place. i must have the flayer around Edited January 11, 2008 by cassinho