Thinking about going to Europe this fall...

[OUAndy1807]

I'm thinking about taking a month or a little more off and going to Europe this fall. Has anyone ever done this after their college years? Any tips for traveling on the cheap?

[def_lazer_fc]

trains and hostels. you're welcome. ;)

[SicEmBaylor]

Hostels are cheap, but don't do it unless you have to. What they call two star hotels over there (let alone a hostel) is what we'd refer to as a flea bag here.

Anywhoo, Europe is an experience, I'll say that.

[AlbqSooner]

Eurail Pass. See Madrid or whatever during the day. Get on the train about 11:00 p.m. and go to Rome. Take a loaf of bread and some cheese, water or wine. No hotel bill and you don't waste travel time. HOWEVER, when you board a train, take the first available compartment. Those nuns will elbow the crap outta you to get a compartment if you let them.

[Okla-homey]

I recommend a visits to Amsterdam, Glasgow, Bury St. Edmonds, Munich, Florence and Paris.

You'll thank me later.

[OUAndy1807]

so, I'm really thinking about going by myself for like a month and having my wife meet me for a week or so, but then just slumming around for the rest of the time.

I'm afraid if I don't I might kill somebody (and that somebody might be me)

[sooner_born_1960]

During football season?

[OUAndy1807]

During football season?
weird, huh?

[soonerbrat]

youth hostels. it's a little more expensive for those over the age of 25, but still cheap if you're just bumming around through europe..about 20 euros/night..the only problem is, they may have curfews..the one i stayed at in Venice did.

OH...the Biennale is going on in Venice..if you are an art fan and get to northern italy you should definitely check that out..it's incredible.

[King Crimson]

sleeping on the trains is a decent option, but not something you want to do all the time. getting a room in a pension isn't too bad if all you want to do is take a shower and sleep. if you want TV, wifi, and all that jive expect to pay.

off the well-worn tourist paths things get much cheaper (and more interesting). hanging out in bars is the best way to meet people.

Germany and England and around Paris are not cheap. Spain, portugal (supa cool) southern France, and some parts of Italy you can get around and do your thing for much cheaper. but, i prefer the mediterranean climes myself so maybe i'm willing to put up with the goofy train schedules, nasty public bathrooms and such.

amsterdam is cool, but it's kinda MTV too.

lonely planet guidebooks used to be pretty good for budget travel/lodging. i'm not too into guidebook lockstep travel (Let's Go!) per se, but you do want to be able to get off a train or pull into town around dark and at least have a pretty good idea where you are going to sleep. they give you that. though, get the individual ones for each country and not a big, general fatass one for "europe". YWIA.

[soonerbrat]

if you want to just get away and stay out in the country, i have some friends in italy that rent out apartments...it was $600 for 6 weeks..right above a pub where no one speaks english. and there's a croatian girl that does laundry by hand for 10 euros/week.

[Hatfield]

trains and hostels. you're welcome. ;)

resist your initial urge to take a taxi...find a bus or a train...much cheaper.

[OUAndy1807]

if you want to just get away and stay out in the country, i have some friends in italy that rent out apartments...it was $600 for 6 weeks..right above a pub where no one speaks english. and there's a croatian girl that does laundry by hand for 10 euros/week.
seriously?

[soonerbrat]

seriously?

yes seriously. the biggest problem with that town is that there isn't any public transportation after 8pm...it's about an hour away from Turin..it's a 25 minute walk to the next town with a train station...but if you can catch a bus to the next town or hitch a ride, you can catch a train to Venice, Milan..wherever

[King Crimson]

yes seriously. the biggest problem with that town is that there isn't any public transportation after 8pm...it's about an hour away from Turin..it's a 25 minute walk to the next town with a train station...but if you can catch a bus to the next town or hitch a ride, you can catch a train to Venice, Milan..wherever

do it Andy. that sounds awesome to me.

[yermom]

that sounds pretty darn cool...

[C&CDean]

Let me get this straight. You're all stressed out.....and going to Europe is the thing that's gonna magically unstress you? What am I missing here?

[soonerbrat]

my apartment building - above the grocery on the left side...I think this picture was actually taken from the pub window..there are apartments above the pub as well as above the grocery

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/soonerbrat/italy/45c4072f.jpg



the view from the balcony:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/soonerbrat/italy/Ashley008.jpg

[OUAndy1807]

Let me get this straight. You're all stressed out.....and going to Europe is the thing that's gonna magically unstress you? What am I missing here?
it's not all about the job and stress. the bigger deal is that I have 4 weeks of vacation, I've always wanted to spend some time over there, and I'm in a situation at this point in my life where I can afford to do it (financially and relating to time) which probably won't be the case later on (after we start making babies)

[StoopTroup]

Do it!

[47straight]

You know, I've got my own recommendations of specific places and fun things that probably sound like just everyone elses, so instead I will recommend my style:

Don't try to see the top 10 highlights of europe, going to a different famous city everyday, hitting the main tourist scene and skipping to the next. Go to fewer places and get to know the places better. Try to see how locals live in that particular crazy part of the world, maybe see how they see the world.

What soonerbrat was showing is one extreme of that, and honestly it sounds pretty awesome. I'd probably move a little faster than that, but really your dollar will go farther, you will remember the trip a lot longer if you go no more than half the speed of your typical guided tour. Pick what places interest you most and definitely, without a doubt go for it.

I'd recommend the Lonely Planet series of guidebooks as a good travel resource with this kind of journey in mind. I have been very disappointed with The Rough Guide series. Often no prices given and some of their editorializations made me wonder if I was reading a policy book with their agenda in it or a guidebook.

If you want my laundry list of specific places, its:

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic,
Krakow, Poland, and
you can't get a bad meal anywhere in Italy so just go.

[Seamus]

If you go to Ireland:

1. Spend time in the pubs. F-ing a, that was fun.

2. Try to make it to a GAA event (hurling, football). They're heavily into it -- like we are with college football. We had a blast -- 20 euros each got us into a Gaelic football/hurling double-header. And hurling is bad-arse, mate.

[OklahomaTuba]

I am in europe right now. Been in Luxembourg and France all the week before, in wonderful London right now.

Please, do not come to London. 1 pound = about $2.20. Its insane how expensive this place is right now.

[SoonerBOI]

Go to Venice, Madrid and Barcelona will be nice, Switzerland and Austria is a must!

[rufnek05]

Euro-passes. unlimited train riding for a set amount. i'll do a little digging to find the web site again.

[Dio]

Here's a helpful tip I learned on my Eurail honeymoon: Most breweries you tour give you 2 beers at the end. The Heinekin brewery in Amsterdam lets you drink as much as you can in 20-30 minutes.

Hostels: eh

Railpasses: definitely

Sleeping on the night train to the next city: great way to save time & money

Italy: we set up base in Florence and made day trips to Venice, etc. (Spend as little time on the Leaning Tower of Pisa as you can- of course you want to see it, but the tower's not that big and Pisa is kind of boring and isolated)

Go to Salzburg, Austria and take the Sound of Music tour (NTTAWWT)

Germany: Dachau will creep you right the hell out, and if you are catching the midnight train from the east side of Berlin, there's a pretty good chance you'll see skinheads. And if that train is going to Copenhagen, you can wake up and watch them drive your train onto a ferry.

Barcelona: hang out on the Rambles and talk to the locals

Nice, France: not a bad place to get stuck during a rail strike, at all.

That's just what pops into my head right off.