Europe
 

Have any of you been to Europe? If you were backpacking through Europe what would be your must see destinations?

?
 

How much time do you have??? And what would you like to focus on? That would help a lot, because otherwise it is really hard to tell you where to start.....

When you get there, don't do bus tours. They're a waste of your time since you never really get time ti see anything. You're better going it with a map and a tall, dark and friendly....

oh sorry, what were we discussing?

Go get Rick Steve's "Europe Through the Back Door" guide for this year. It has TONS of wonderful information, including how to plan your trip, where to stop, money-saving, travelling alone, etc. I can't say enough about it! It's well worth the money - I got one for Christmas and can't wait to put it to use! :D

Id go to Germany. Last time I was there was when I was like 6 months old, so things are "alittle foggy":)

If you're planning to travel on a budget, Rick Steves is good, as well as the Let's Go series. I got Let's go Europe, which is really general and geared towards students, and they have books for each country and major cities (London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Amsterdam, etc.).

Don't forget lil' Belgium...
 

Many people skip over Belgium on their European tours. What a mistake! I found Belgium to be one of the more interesting stops on all of the Europe trips I've taken. The people are so friendly too!

Amsterdam is fabulous too. There are a number of Indonesian restaurants there, thanks to Dutch colonial links. I have a good friend who lives there and she says Indonesian food is almost considered to be part of the national cuisine! Look for "Rijsttafel." It is kind of like the "Pu-Pu Platters" that you can get at some Chinese restaurants, except you get much more. Ours came with an array of about 20 interesting dishes, served with rice. My husband and I really enjoyed the Indonesian cuisine in Amsterdam. Mmmm!

The most moving part of our trip to the Netherlands/Amsterdam was the tour through the Anne Frank house. It is definitely a must see.

:)

Europe
 

Well, I currently am living in Germany and I really like it. If you were to take a backpacking trip through Europe, I would recommend absolutely seeing Copenhagen, Hamburg, Munich, Amsterdam, Cologne, Vienna (if you can....it is kind of out of the way, but totally stunning and fun), northern Italy (especially in Springtime) and Prague. I think you will have a blast. Feel free to PM me if you need specific information or detailed recommendations. :)

I was in Europe two years ago for two weeks. I went to England and France. I found the bus tours to be nice. I went on two in Paris. One took us to the Louvre and Notre Dame and the second to Versailles. I would strongly recommend that. I also got a three day pass for Le Metro (subway) so we did some exploring on our own. Paris has an amazing history and some incredible museums. The only drawback was that I went in July and it was so crowded. It was a two hour wait for the Eiffel Tower so I passed on that. I loved it!
I went to England where I have family. London is also an amazing city. I saw everything. I took a city bus tour on a doubledecker which was very informative and fun. The theater in London is incredible if you are interested in that. It is kind of difficult to do things spur of the moment in an unfamiliar country so have a plan in advance. Of course, give yourself a day or two to explore. I hope that you have a wonderful time in Europe!

A place that isn't exactly the hot-spot of all euro travelers is Chamonix, France. We were in Geneva, Switzerland which is located basically at the base of the Swiss Alps (which was gorgeous, but it's a skip-over in my opinion) and we didn't like it there, but we were looking at the mountain range one morning and we were like...let's go there, so we did, and it was BY FAR the best part of the trip. You will never find a more perfect (in every respect) place in the world. If you consider going here, I'll try to direct you to this quaint hotel owned and operated by two 20 year old English chicks who liked it there so much, that they never left, and they cook breakfast for you each morning by the fireplace. It's chilly there, but absolutely brilliant. Take some hiking stuff though, you have to get on the mountain, but if you're actually packing then I'm sure that's your intentions.

Amsterdam is much more gorgeous than you might anticipate with Cocentric canals that if you're at all "enlightened" can prove to get you really lost, or really help you find your way home.

I really want to go to Prague, Munich and Florence. That's three of my next stops. If you really want to party then go to Barcelona, and if you're a guy then you'd love it because the women are amazing.

Just don't waste too much travel time hitting big cities everywhere, countryside trains are slow, so if you can take a bus somewhere, do that.

when are you going?

My favorite cities are: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terra (it's in Italy), Prague, Bern, Interlaken (stay at Balmer's if you want to party with Greeks).


If you like theater you should go to London.

Of course you should probably go to Paris, but I got stalked there so I don't have the best memories of it.

Lots of people love Amsterdam but I'm not into the whole drug/sex/red light district stuff. It's beautiful and the art there is amazing.

I've never been to Germany, or Austria. I really want to go to Budapest and Vienna.

I love travelling to Europe, so I don't really know where to start! First of all, I've never been backpacking, so I can't give you any really good advice there...except maybe that if you stay in hostels it's cheaper than hotels, and if you go to Paris you had better know a little bit of French at least. People there can be a bit rude. Beware of the throngs of Asian tourists. The Germans are very nice, and the Swiss are nicer and have a very beautiful country! People in Holland are pretty nice, too, and they seem sort of laid-back. The continent is fine and dandy, but don't forget the United Kingdom and Ireland, though...just because they speak the same language (sort of) that we do, that doesn't mean it's less interesting. Those are definitely my favorite places of all. London can be a little expensive, but it's very nice (especially for shopping...forget Paris and Milan!). Try to get out and see the countryside a bit--it's absolutely beautiful and there's lots and lots of stuff to see. If I were you, I would try to arrange to stay with a European family because it's sooooooo much easier to get the "cultural experience" that way, unless you just want to sight-see.

land of the trolls
 

Since everybody here seems to focus on central and western Europe, I would like to make an argument for northern Europe!

I did some backpacking and train travelling there and it is a must see. Norway with thousands of fjords, glaciers and beautiful cities like Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim. You can cross the polar circle and maybe do a tour to the North Cape, the northern most point in Europe, and look into the arctic sea! (I never made it but during 24h of daylight in the summer, it must be a blast). Sweeden and Finland with wonderful forests and lakes and great cities like Stockholm and Helsinki - very special!! These countries are, by the way, the closest you get to the "north America" experience in Europe as you get - for the only reason that the population density is so low. Be sure to take the day time ferry from Turku(Finnland) to Stockholm (Sweden) across the Baltic Sea for relatively few bucks (it takes about 8 or 10 hrs), so you won't miss the Aland Isles in between. I think there are special train tickets for the Scandinavian countries available.

I am not kidding - try to do it. Of course, Paris, Rome, Munich, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, are all great cities - but everybody does that....

Eastern Europe
 

I'd love to go to some of the Eastern European countries: Russia, Slovakia, Hungary ...

Moscow and St. Petersburg should be really pretty. And I believe Prague and Warsaw also wonderful, as well as Lucerne or Innsburg or Vienna.

How about Budapest? Or maybe Istanbul (Turkey)?

I like to go to Latvia and try to find some relatives.

Re: Eastern Europe
 

The only cities that you mention that I have been to are Prague, Vienna and Innsbruck. Prague is absolutely stunning and is the prototype of the central European medieval city, because it hasn't been bombed to the ground like the rest of the cities during WW2. Vienna is a classic, absolutely wonderful with coffeehouses and a lot of turn of the century (that is 1900) grandeur. Innsbruck is very cute, but I'd rather go to Salzburg, where you lack the great view of the Alps though.

I heard that among the aother cities you mention, especially St. Petersburg and Budapest stick out. And while you are in Russia/St.Petersburg you might want to visit Talinn, the capital of Estonia. My brother worked there for a few months and the pictures looked beautiful: there is fraternity life and a cute city with lots of buildings that date back to the16thcentury.

I haven't seen it mentioned, but I just got back from Ireland and i absolutely loved it. Its such a beautiful country and Dublin has an awesome nightlife going on :-)

I did a study-abroad stint in Germany (Mannheim/Heidelberg) the year b4 i graduated from college. i would recommend catching a dinner cruise or a fireworks show onboard a yacht if you pass through southern or western Germany. i did not back-pack, but i found it nice to take short getaways to london and paris, and travel through Germany by rail.

Definitely go to Lucerne...it's GORGEOUS! And you can get cute shoes there, too.

Well...I went quasi-back packing one summer. While I should have "roughed it" and stationed myself at the 15 dollar/night hostels, I went the "book a hotel in each city you visit" way.

In my opinion, buy a Eurostar pass and let it take you any place you wake up and decide to go each day. It's a lovely form of transportation.

I loved London. I stayed in a quaint inn a few steps away from Picadilly Circus.

The shopping in Firenze(Florence), Milano, and Rome is marvelous. The gardens at sunset are amazing. Just make sure you make purchases at the end of the day if you are walking around all day. I ended up carring a rather oversized painting I purchased for 35 francs the entire day through the city of Rome. What a site!:)

I've spent a few spring breaks in Paris, which is absolutely freezing in April, but simply gorgeous , brilliantly sunny and crisp. The one tourist-y place I will recommend is Montparnasse, the location of Monet's home. It was almost a surreal experience to stand in the drizzle of France aside one of the most well recognized painting scenes of all time!

I stayed a month on a farm in Vollerup, Denmark. The castles in Denmark are indescribable. This was when I roughed it, waking up to feed pigs and horses. I even witnessed the delivery of two cows while I was there. One was named after me!

Switzerland is wonderfully picturesque as well as Luxembourg.

Goodness, here I am reminiscing. Instead of telling you where go , how about I administer some advice?

-always carry with you toilet paper and a bottle of water. Often in Europe you will have to pay for toilet paper and wine is cheaper than water.
- Invest in a belt that holds your money. Never put your wallet in your backpack pockets.
- Carry a calculator to work out currency conversions.
- Go of the beaten path to dine. These small restaurants are usually cheaper and have more authentic food.
- Don't invest all your time in museums. After about 50 portraits of the Virgin Mary, you WILL become jaded and will just go through the motions of being a tourist. Get outdoors!
- Carry an umbrella at all times. (It was pouring in Vatican City in August!)


OK...I need to stop. Ahhhhhh....Europe.;)

Buy the lonelyplanet guide, give you all the low down on traveling with a budget. I suggest backpackers for accomodation, get to meet interesting people and might end up going in a group. Like what happen to me.

Unusual places in Italy
 

My mom lives near Venice , Italy , so I've been 4 times recently. I've been to Rome 3 times-it is awesome!!! I agree, don't go on a tour. Or, go on a longer one to one country , like Italy only. Rick Steve's guidebooks are great but get a Knopf guide, too, if you like more upscale.
Okay, my mom lives 45 minutes out of Venice in the Friuli region. It is really neat-there are also some great pottery places that make for Tiffany's of New York. And there is some workshop that makes Bottega Veneto handbags - you can get them for 120 dollars compared to 1200 dollars here!!! There are some neat fortified hill towns nearby like Asolo & Bassano di Grappa. Once I read this great website about a walking tour thru Asolo & towns close to Venice. I just found it thru a seach for Asolo. www.sheraton.com/villacipriani is a fabulous place to stay.
Venice is amazing but so crowded. I would avoid the summer if possible in Italy. Try the shoulder months: April , May, Sept. , Oct. The winter was really cold to me, but I live in Mobile, Alabama.
We also went to Germany in the Alps- Garmisch-Partenkirsch? , Oberamergau(sp)- saw all those famous castles. Amazing- I loved what I saw of Germany. Also Austria-Saltzburg Hope to go back this May 2002- had to cancel our Nov. 2001 trip due to scared hubby about 9/11:(

Budapest
 

I will be studying in Budapest for the next few years, it's sick here, if any TKEs are heading this way, let me know!!!

In Budapest, my hostel consisted of a wooden floor, 4 pillars and a roof. I had to go back in to ask for a blanket. And it was amazing. I also walked into a salon and told the only woman who spoke english to do whatever she wanted so I got the fin all the way down (such that if I didn't gel it, I had a rat tail). It was the end of a few months and it was cheaper in Budapest than London.

I still remember my favorite store I went to as well....a place called Retrock.

are you in buda or pest? i stayed in each at some point. i was there 4 days i think. too long for me personally, but i was just tired by that point, and it wasn't that different from prague. studying for a few years? what program has you studying a few years there?

on another note, i'm hopefully going to scandanavia later this year....we'll see.