2018 Europe Travel Advice

[cyyote15]

Watch your pockets, Europeans are pro pick pockets and I know several people that have been ripped off on that Continent.

When I was in Prague, we were on the Charles Bridge and a girl in our group had a ring stolen right off her finger! The bridge was very cool to see but it is like the 3rd most pickpocketed tourist attraction in the world.

 

[Cyczech]

We loved Prague! With the exchange rate it was quite a bargain especially the food and beer. Try Tri Ruzi (Three Roses) in Old Town. Great little restaurant brew pub that we kept gravitating back to. Most Czechs speak at least some English and they actually seems to like Americans. Basically the opposite of Rome. Have you booked your Hotel?

 

[ISUCHIEF]

We loved Prague! With the exchange rate it was quite a bargain especially the food and beer. Try Tri Ruzi (Three Roses) in Old Town. Great little restaurant brew pub that we kept gravitating back to. Most Czechs speak at least some English and they actually seems to like Americans. Basically the opposite of Rome. Have you booked your Hotel?

We are excited for Prague, most everyone we have heard from really enjoyed their visit there. I’ll put Tri Ruzi on our list, thanks! We haven’t booked our hotel yet.

 

[ISUCHIEF]

I was in Sevilla a couple years ago. We were only there for maybe 3 days, but I really enjoyed it. I wished we'd spent more time there, honestly.

There's tons of stuff to do, but the big ones we saw was the Seville Cathedral and Real Alcazar (Dorne for Game of Thrones Fans).

Alcazar is definitely on my list! Thanks!

 

[ISUCHIEF]

Munich area: I would suggest going to Linderhof Castle - it’s smaller but it is finished but you better rent a car. BMW Welt is just a showroom althought it is a cool showroom. If you want to tour the BMW factory, call them in advance - the tour is sold out approx 3 months in advance.

Dachau is not for everyone but I personally suggest to visit so we can learn from history. The background of the rise of the Nazi is eerily similar to what we are seeing now. Dachau was a work camp not a death camp (like Auschwitz, Birkenau, Etc) so it was different.

Daytrip from Seville could include Cordova to see the Mezquite - I think it’s only 1 hr train ride one way. Granada and Alhambra will be good but check the options as about 2 years ago the rail tracks were being repaired and the only way to do it is by riding Alsa bus.

Disclaimer re: Seville: I actually didn’t make the trip eventually - we bought plane and train tickets and then the afternoon before we flew from Barcelona to Granada, we were informed that my Father In Law passed away so we had to go home.

I’m not sure how long we will be in Munich except for our day or two at Oktoberfest. We are staying in Burghausen (Home of the longest castle in the world) with some friends I’ve made from there. I think they planned on taking us to a few other things in the Bavarian country side too.

Personally I am very interested in WWII history, however, in talking to my German friends, going to Dachau isn’t really something they want to do. Not like they deny the horrible things that occurred... they tell me it makes them very sad. We have had several discussions on the matter. It’s an era they absolutely are not proud of. They are very proud of their Bavarian heritage they want to show off the great things in their culture. Not sure if that makes sense.

Cordova is on the agenda!

 

[TOFB4ISU]

For the most part I will agree with this. However there are just some things that you must see that are in large cities. Central London is one of those areas for me. I enjoy my time far more in other parts of the UK but the amount of history in Central London is worth it. It's surreal to see that such a small country with such central control at one time controlled so much of the world.

Back to your original point you are correct that the best way to experience a country is to get away from the large tourist areas. When I travel for work I'm lucky that at times I get to stay at farmers or agronomists houses with their families. Being part of day to day life with those people is the best part of any trip and the best way to see what the country is about.

Central London is a must see, but this year we are visiting friends in Derby (pop 100,000 or so)

 

[jdcyclone19]

We loved Prague! With the exchange rate it was quite a bargain especially the food and beer. Try Tri Ruzi (Three Roses) in Old Town. Great little restaurant brew pub that we kept gravitating back to. Most Czechs speak at least some English and they actually seems to like Americans. Basically the opposite of Rome. Have you booked your Hotel?

We've never had a problem in Rome. We always learn the basics of the language we're going. Hi, bye, thank you, how are you, etc. Just starting a conversation in their language, they're much more willing and happy to speak English if you make an effort to speak their language. The hospitality is so much better knowing some basics.

@ISUCHIEF look up a podcast called Coffee Break - (whatever language)
These pod cast series is amazing and help learn the basics of a different language. Enough to get you by. I can actually understand what they're saying, just have a hard time speaking it sometimes lol.

 

[Cycsk]

Also,

Buy a cheap nexus, like 5X, or a google cell phone and use google fi for international phone service. Every time we travel I activate google fi (albiet a different phone number each time) and have international service in all of Europe for dirt cheap. Last time we went to Amderstdam and Rome for 10 days, always had 3G or higher service and 4G depending on the areas. Phone calls cost some money but for 2 people, we paid roughly ~$65 for service and data during the trip.

Does this work in places other than Europe? Such as China, India, Ethiopia?

 

[NetflixAndClone]

I have been planning my own European trip, and I cannot help you in terms of your locations. However, I will say that I have been using Rick Steves as a source to plan my own trip. He has his own guidebooks, YouTube channel consisting of his TV show, and a website which includes forums.

He are his videos about about the locations but I am not sure how up to date the information or how helpful you might them.

I love rick steves. Probably the happiest pot smoking guy in the world and his travel guides are amazing.

 

[4theCYcle]

Innsbrook was hands down my favorite place to visit in Europe. Second would have to be Lucerne in Switzerland.

Had to do some looking up on Innsbruck, as Lucerne was and is still one of my favorite towns to visit in Europe up there with Edinburgh. Looks pretty picturesque!

 

[jdcyclone19]

Does this work in places other than Europe? Such as China, India, Ethiopia?

It works in 170 international countries. I've only traveled to Europe mostly, so I can't provide and feedback on the countries you mentioned. It does appear to work in some of the ones you mentioned. You can check here for google fi international coverage:
https://fi.google.com/about/rates/

For 1 person:
Fi is $10/gb until 6gb then its unlimited, so esstianlly $60 (plus $20 base fee for a total of $80) for unlimited and you only pay for the data you use. If you only use 3.5gb, then you pay $35 for data (plus the base $20), you use 10gb you pay $60 (plus the base $20). We usually do 1 data/voice sim and 1 data only sim in our phones and then use whatsapp to communicate. Fi changed to a multi-person plan right after we traveled last year so we might actually use 2 voice sims this time depending on the cost.

If you've never heard of whatsapp, look into it. Its great for keeping in contact/messaging/voice messaging and actually calling people overseas on data for free (on wifi, will use data if no wifi) with no need for voice. This is how we communicate with our friends in Italy. Whatsapp is very popular in Europe.

I do not know of any other international plan where $80 gets you unlimited data for 1 person, $135 for two people total for international. Local sims may be cheaper but a lot more hassle depending on the country. I haven't looked though, we have verizon service and don't plan on switching due to coverage in rural IA. My parents place is one of the few where USC doesn't work.

Edit - Disclaimer: Fi and Whatsapp have worked well for us but YMMV.

 

[jdcyclone19]

Also, take a stash of protein bars. We took about 12 last time and wish we would have packed more. When your out doing things and in between meals or hiking, a protein bar goes a long ways. Especially on 8-12 hour flights.