if i were to go to europe, what should i absolutely not miss? landmarks, cities, countries, anything. right now, i'm pretending this is possible. but cheap is a huge, huge plus
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Germany -Berlin is a must, for you. as many museums as you can get through, but especially the sculpture ones. And just walk around the city. buy a week-long bahncard and just get on the trains and the buses and the U-bahns and go. Alexanderplatz, especially the tent city outside the Park Hotel. Also, check out the bombed cathedral (whose name i unfortunately forget). it's the one thing they didn't restore: kind of a WWII memorial. i didn't get to see it up close but it looked interesting.
-Leipzig has a really strong east-German feel to it. i was only there for four days, and they were hardly days to give me a balanced view of the city, but what i saw was fabulous.
-if you feel like getting medieval, Marburg really is lovely, and well-preserved. a trip through the Elisabethkirche is a good idea.
-somewhere in Rhine country -- Mainz or further south. I went to Bingen largely for Hildegarde, but the Rhine Valley was the highlight of the trip. go to a little town and just bask in the glory of the hills. take a boat ride if you can afford it.
-wherever you go, find out when the farmers' markets are, and go buy fresh food, even if it's just an apple or a piece of cheese.
Prague The marionette version of Don Giovanni. there are signs up for it everywhere. Look for the signs that have the picture of what looks like a zombie Mozart (he has black holes instead of eyes) and go get tickets for that one. any other one is a ripoff. Also check out the Charles Bridge, which is good for people-watching if you don't want to spend money, and cheap souvenirs for friends at home if you do. find an out-of-the-way restaurant -- one where the menu is not subtitled and you have to either consult your dictionary or ask the waitress for help -- and order goulash and dumplings. it will seriously be the best meal of your life. Prague is another place you can go exploring with relative success. there are old crumbly towers at the end of old crumbly paths, but if you are willing to follow the slightly-less-marked paths you can find some interesting stuff, and feel like an explorer at the same time.
Wien Another good museum place. Also check out the concerts on the lawn in the summer -- they play old concerts recorded in various locations (like the Hagia Sophia) and broadcast them on the wall of the Rathaus. all this is surrounded by a veritable tent city of international food vendors. try the indian food. somewhere in Wien is the only half decent Chinese restaurant i was able to find in Europe. if you get serious about this i will attempt to look up its name for you. the Prater is slightly expensive but GREAT fun. go on all the rides, especially the train-car ferris-wheel thing. you can see the whole city.
for a completely mindfucking linguistic experience, try Strasbourg ...since they speak Alsässisch, which is basically French root words with German endings. climb up the cathedral. go for a walk past the EU building. walk by the river at night and watch the trapeze artists play over the water. go to the lake and swim. a lot.
that's what leaps immediately to mind... if you get serious about this you should call Manda and ask her where she went and what she recommends, 'cause she made a much more extensive tour than i did.
In/near Berlin: Käthe Kollwitz museum. Such gorgeous art.
Prague: DEFINITE yes on the marionette Don Giovanni. So much fun. Also, it's just so freaking PRETTY.
Munich [München?] is absolutely, breathtakingly picturesque. The unfinished Nazi colosseum/speech area [aroudn Nuremburg?] is stunning, if creepy.
Do not, i repeat, DO NOT, bother with Versailles unless you like staring at portraits of Louis-es and froofy gold-and-white molding everywhere.
Paris: DO, repeat, DEFINITELY check out the Musée D'Orsay and/or the Louvre [D'Orsay is more impressionist, w/ Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Van Gogh, etc] if you like art. Check out the street performers near the Centre Pompidou. The opera house is gorgeous. Tour all opera houses everywhere. They are almost all gorgeous.
i don't remember much about Vienna other than that it was LOVELY in late November, because it was decorated for Christmas. i hearted all the large churches and cathedrals SO HARD.
(you don't know me but...)smurfpigMarch 1 2005, 18:58:00 UTC
yes!! go to Sbourg! The Cathedral is beautiful, there are canals, and some very fantastic places to play at night. It's some of the best of the french, best of the German - and it's a University town so you'll meet lots of interesting people on your adventures.
Barcelona is also one of the most interesting, fun and beautiful places I've ever been.
And if you're in for a really "not your typical European tour" kind of thing I've heard the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I also recomend Transylvania...around the Carpathian mountains.
-Berlin is a must, for you. as many museums as you can get through, but especially the sculpture ones. And just walk around the city. buy a week-long bahncard and just get on the trains and the buses and the U-bahns and go. Alexanderplatz, especially the tent city outside the Park Hotel. Also, check out the bombed cathedral (whose name i unfortunately forget). it's the one thing they didn't restore: kind of a WWII memorial. i didn't get to see it up close but it looked interesting.
-Leipzig has a really strong east-German feel to it. i was only there for four days, and they were hardly days to give me a balanced view of the city, but what i saw was fabulous.
-if you feel like getting medieval, Marburg really is lovely, and well-preserved. a trip through the Elisabethkirche is a good idea.
-somewhere in Rhine country -- Mainz or further south. I went to Bingen largely for Hildegarde, but the Rhine Valley was the highlight of the trip. go to a little town and just bask in the glory of the hills. take a boat ride if you can afford it.
-wherever you go, find out when the farmers' markets are, and go buy fresh food, even if it's just an apple or a piece of cheese.
Prague
The marionette version of Don Giovanni. there are signs up for it everywhere. Look for the signs that have the picture of what looks like a zombie Mozart (he has black holes instead of eyes) and go get tickets for that one. any other one is a ripoff.
Also check out the Charles Bridge, which is good for people-watching if you don't want to spend money, and cheap souvenirs for friends at home if you do.
find an out-of-the-way restaurant -- one where the menu is not subtitled and you have to either consult your dictionary or ask the waitress for help -- and order goulash and dumplings. it will seriously be the best meal of your life.
Prague is another place you can go exploring with relative success. there are old crumbly towers at the end of old crumbly paths, but if you are willing to follow the slightly-less-marked paths you can find some interesting stuff, and feel like an explorer at the same time.
Wien
Another good museum place. Also check out the concerts on the lawn in the summer -- they play old concerts recorded in various locations (like the Hagia Sophia) and broadcast them on the wall of the Rathaus. all this is surrounded by a veritable tent city of international food vendors. try the indian food.
somewhere in Wien is the only half decent Chinese restaurant i was able to find in Europe. if you get serious about this i will attempt to look up its name for you.
the Prater is slightly expensive but GREAT fun. go on all the rides, especially the train-car ferris-wheel thing. you can see the whole city.
for a completely mindfucking linguistic experience, try Strasbourg
...since they speak Alsässisch, which is basically French root words with German endings.
climb up the cathedral. go for a walk past the EU building. walk by the river at night and watch the trapeze artists play over the water. go to the lake and swim. a lot.
that's what leaps immediately to mind... if you get serious about this you should call Manda and ask her where she went and what she recommends, 'cause she made a much more extensive tour than i did.
Reply
Prague: DEFINITE yes on the marionette Don Giovanni. So much fun. Also, it's just so freaking PRETTY.
Munich [München?] is absolutely, breathtakingly picturesque. The unfinished Nazi colosseum/speech area [aroudn Nuremburg?] is stunning, if creepy.
Do not, i repeat, DO NOT, bother with Versailles unless you like staring at portraits of Louis-es and froofy gold-and-white molding everywhere.
Paris:
DO, repeat, DEFINITELY check out the Musée D'Orsay and/or the Louvre [D'Orsay is more impressionist, w/ Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Van Gogh, etc] if you like art. Check out the street performers near the Centre Pompidou. The opera house is gorgeous. Tour all opera houses everywhere. They are almost all gorgeous.
i don't remember much about Vienna other than that it was LOVELY in late November, because it was decorated for Christmas. i hearted all the large churches and cathedrals SO HARD.
Reply
Barcelona is also one of the most interesting, fun and beautiful places I've ever been.
And if you're in for a really "not your typical European tour" kind of thing I've heard the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I also recomend Transylvania...around the Carpathian mountains.
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