Travel EUROPE: Travel Tips & Tricks

Remove this Banner Ad

I wanted to see Monschau but it was a bit to far and I was burned out from train travel.

I'll probably have a spare day in Berlin to do a day trip if i end up going for the last week of the year.

In the future I definitely want to go back and explore most of Germany, the most friendliest people i've come across so far when i have traveled as well.
 
wadistance said:
Bremen is a really nice city - I would probably do it as a day trip from Hamburg. Just choose a sunny day and go on a whim. It has some really beautiful buildings in the town centre, and the Schnoor is really cool as well.

Haven't been to much of the east - but quite a few places up here in the north. Have had summer holidays at Timmendorfer Strand (very Noosa vibe), Lübeck is a great medieval town to visit for a day trip from Hamburg. Flensburg is quite cool, very Danish, and has a really beautiful main street and harbour.

Having not been to either Dresden or Leipzig, I'd hazard a guess to say you could get away with going to one of the two, depending on what works on your travel plans. Cologne is also pretty cool, I might actually be moving there for work in the next 12 months or so - but without knowing it that well, its not somewhere that I think you need more than a couple of days in. You could use it as a base for the area though, and check out some of the mining cultural things in Essen, the German Football Museum in Dortmund, or the former West German capital of Bonn if that floats your boat. If you're into football, try and be in the major cities on a weekend. Dortmund is notoriously hard to get tickets to, but you may have better luck in Berlin (not Union, they've got a tiny stadium), St Pauli in Hamburg, Düsseldorf/FC Köln or even Freiburg if you end up that way.

For a totally oddball suggestion if you're in Köln, take a day trip to the city of Wuppertal, and ride the Schwebebahn.

View attachment 781858

Easily the most beautiful area of Germany is the south. I would definitely try and work Munich into your schedule, and if you cant get down to the south east, perhaps a combo of Heidelberg, Freiburg and quickly across the border to Strasbourg. I spent two days in Freiburg en route to Lake Como, and 1 day in Strasbourg on the way back, and both places were really really cool. Freiburg you have so much access to the black forest, so if you like hiking, schnitzel, beer and relaxed country vibes, then thats definitely for you.

So to rank the cities you've listed in my opinion, and places you can go that are nearby

1)Hamburg (Lübeck)
1)Berlin (Potsdam)
3)Leipzig/Dresden (Dunno)
4)Bremen (Just a day trip from Hamburg)
5)Köln (Essen/Dortmund/Düsseldorf/Bonn)
Click to expand...


Great info thanks. I flew in and out of Munich earlier this year. I went to Dachau which was really interesting. Munich was the only German place I went to as I went straight from Munich to Slovenia. Looking forward to seeing more of Germany this time.
 
What's the name of the town in Germany that consists mostly of Fachwerkhäuser? Wouldn't mind seeing that.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Actually if you’re anywhere near Dortmund, the town of Soest would be really interesting to check out. It’s still got its medieval circular wall and turrets around the inner city area (I still have the Strava record for a lap of the 3,5km loop )

8e0bdaccc1333a74697cbd5648cb6fe6.jpg


Nearby from that is the Möhnsee and the reservoir there - it was one of the main sites that was bombed in the Second World War by British bombers in the middle of the night, totally flooding the town below and killing 1,500 people instantly. There’s actually an Australian connection here - can’t remember what the plaque said - but there’s a reciprocation with the Australian War Memorial




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hallstatt, Austria. WOW hard to top that place.

I have been to F*cking Austria. Google it.
1574685398843.png

Prague, I liked it, great beer just to crowded for me.

Auschwitz: Sobering to say the least.

Slovakia, stunning scenery up the north. Bratislava, full of gypsies, tramps and thieves. A big * you to all the taxi drivers.

Budapest, Party town, I would like to be there when I was 25.... maybe not, I would have got into to much trouble.;)

Macedonia, we had friends of friends show us all the best of the best places in Macedonia, they treated us like royalty. Thank you to all my new Macedonian friends.

Albania, what a s**t hole and the worst drivers on the planet.

Croatia, although beautiful it's an expensive tourist trap, ******* millions of Japanese/ Chinese with their ******* selfy sticks blocking path ways.

Montenegro stunning and less tourist.

Sarajevo was the strangest place I have been to, It reminded me of a mini Istanbul. Bars 10 metres from a mosque, alcohol free restaurants (muslim) opposite orthodox church's. Stories of Serb massacres and stories of Christians fleeing to the Serb army for safety from muslims. A Macedonian said to me, the Serbs were not the bad guys, they were just better fighters, make your own mind up.

Doha: A city under construction, concrete and sand, oppressive heat. The best part of Doha was the departure lounge at the airport. Nuke the place!
 
Last edited:
James_Blues said:
Would highly recommend using FlixBus to get around Europe.
Can't quite remember the exact routes they offer (but they are everywhere)

Fairly reasonably priced, can book only a day or two in advance (if thats your thing) or further, and their own buses are pretty spacious with powerpoints, and wifi.
Click to expand...

I used them 6 times recently and only once the bus turned up late.

I probably saved $300 using them instead of the train however I was not under any time restraints arriving at my destinations so late buses were not going to bother me too much.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

norway blue said:
Flim flam day rail trip from Oslo I highly recommend. Can billet with a family in Bergen . ( Think they still do that .)


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
Click to expand...
I saw that but is it a day trip doesn't it take longer the Flam railway? Don't you need to book a return ticket?
 
juss said:
I saw that but is it a day trip doesn't it take longer the Flam railway? Don't you need to book a return ticket?
Click to expand...

Oslo to Bergen about 7 hours and not sure if there is a return same day. Along the way is Myrdal mountain which is the place to stop at . Best bet is google Norwegian Railways and navigate to English speak. Usually in Norway if you book in advance it’s cheaper. Been a while since I flim flamed it. Hope this helps a bit Juss .


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Fat Yak said:
Hallstatt, Austria. WOW hard to top that place.

I have been to F*cking Austria. Google it.

Prague, I liked it, great beer just to crowded for me.

Auschwitz: Sobering to say the least.

Slovakia, stunning scenery up the north. Bratislava, full of gypsies, tramps and thieves. A big fu** you to all the taxi drivers.

Budapest, Party town, I would like to be there when I was 25.... maybe not, I would have got into to much trouble.;)

Macedonia, we had friends of friends show us all the best of the best places in Macedonia, they treated us like royalty. Thank you to all my new Macedonian friends.

Albania, what a s**t hole and the worst drivers on the planet.

Croatia, although beautiful it's an expensive tourist trap, ******* millions of Japanese/ Chinese with their ******* selfy sticks blocking path ways.

Montenegro stunning and less tourist.

Sarajevo was the strangest place I have been to, It reminded me of a mini Istanbul. Bars 10 metres from a mosque, alcohol free restaurants (muslim) opposite orthodox church's. Stories of Serb massacres and stories of Christians fleeing to the Serb army for safety from muslims. A Macedonian said to me, the Serbs were not the bad guys, they were just better fighters, make your own mind up.

Doha: A city under construction, concrete and sand, oppressive heat. The best part of Doha was the departure lounge at the airport. Nuke the place!
Click to expand...

I loved Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo was a great city and Mostar was brilliant. And the train ride between them simply spectacular
 
raskolnikov said:
I loved Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo was a great city and Mostar was brilliant. And the train ride between them simply spectacular
Click to expand...
What's you take on Sarajevo? Did I describe it like you saw it? The drive from Sarajevo to Leskovac Serbia was spectacular, I wasn't expecting such beautiful scenery.
 
Fat Yak said:
What's you take on Sarajevo? Did I describe it like you saw it? The drive from Sarajevo to Leskovac Serbia was spectacular, I wasn't expecting such beautiful scenery.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Pretty much. Did you go to the war museum? Very moving. It's terrible what humanity is capable of.
 
Dagless said:
The Catalonians have it down to a fine art.
Click to expand...

My parents know a couple that didn't even last one day in Barcelona, They had 2 bags and passports stolen waiting for a train.

The tour they booked wouldn't let them do it without a passport so it was holiday over straight away.
 
My mate lost nearly everything on the first day in the train station.
One person talked to him the other grabbed his backpack and ran
 
I visit Barcelona because I follow the soccer team and I have had family living their the last few years.

Other than that it doesn't do much for me.

I always recommend Valencia, Madrid and Seville over it.
 
Guys, I’ve a mate coming next year to visit me in Italy, and we were thinking to have a couple of nights without the women folk somewhere cheap and soaked in beer. I live in Florence, so if anyone can suggest an Eastern European city we could go to, I’d be happy to hear.

At present, Kraków is leading all comers, but haven’t really weighed the options that thoroughly.

If anyone needs info on Italy, I’d be happy to help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P_Crippy
Travel E-Sim recommendation for travel to Europe
Replies
6
Views
580
Spirit Level
Spirit Level

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top