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47 minutes ago, Fru said:

Thanks for the insight. I think part of the fun would kind of being in that "danger zone." Maybe a little sadist, but that region has just intrigued me so much over the last few years. 

 

You would likely get that "danger zone" vibe if that's what you're after. I was 20 years younger when I was there and that was a little of the appeal for sure. But I've turned into a bit of wimp when it comes to those types of things now. Must be the parent in me coming out. It sure was a beautiful country though. Jungle, mountains, plains, desert, beach....it pretty much had it all. The people were nice and many spoke enough English that we could communicate and those that couldn't were very patient with us. I can habla Espanol just a little bit but it didn't really help me out here than hi, thanks, please, etc. 

 

You probably won't die if ya go.....:lol:

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On 4/26/2018 at 11:49 PM, Big Red 40 said:

Good info . I’ve heard French , Italians, and Spaniards can be pretty rude , and not cordial to Americans , but I never thought of Swedes . 

 

Things really must have changed since i was there (so long ago) - Germans were like that for damned sure when i was there, but all the Swedes I encountered were more like midwesterny types.  Nice and accommodating.  Then again, i wasn't in Stockholm too long at all, so who knows.  Maybe Swedes are saying the same thing about us, using New Yorkers as their basis.

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14 hours ago, Dilly Dilly said:

 

Things really must have changed since i was there (so long ago) - Germans were like that for damned sure when i was there, but all the Swedes I encountered were more like midwesterny types.  Nice and accommodating.  Then again, i wasn't in Stockholm too long at all, so who knows.  Maybe Swedes are saying the same thing about us, using New Yorkers as their basis.

 

There is a lot of stories out there of Europeans being rude to Americans.  The French and Parisians in particular are the ones I hear about the most.   I think part of the problem is that for a long time a lot of Americans tourist that went to Europe expected things to be a lot like the US, and it is not.  The want to see all the sites, but they want to go to McDonald's and get chicken nuggets. Which I find odd, because that is why I want to go to foreign places. I want to go do the things and eat at the places that the locals do.   I think a lot of Europeans find Americans pushy and overly friendly and that is not what they are like.  Americans expect others to speak English and it is not that way all the time.  

 

I think if you are polite and know a little about the local culture and respect that culture you probably get a little more pleasantness from the locals.  

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  • 2 months later...

This summer we went to London, Paris, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Dublin, and had a layover in Reykjavik. We used airbnbs for lodging. The whole 2 week trip total; planes, trains, car, food, lodging was right at $4k for 2 people. So you don't have to break the bank to travel the world.We flew Wow airlines, and as far as budget airlines go they we're awesome. I was expecting crappy Spirit service, but it was much much better than that.

 

My favorite place was probably Paris or Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is beautiful (its those colorful seaside towns you see built into the cliffs on the Italian Riviera)! We hiked up the mountains and threw vineyards on the cliffsides. It was very tough but I'll always remember the amazing views. Kind of sad that all the residents moved out and it's a tourist town now, but I still think it's a must see.

 

Paris was amazing too. Rich with history, excellent food and beautiful architecture. The Parisians we're actually very nice, and most spoke good English. Even those that didn't tried their best to help us when we were lost on the metro. The best thing about Paris is that if you're hungry you literally just walk down the block and you will find an amazing bakery or restaurant.l, I kid you not. The food at the local shops blows away almost any restaurants in the US.

 

Rome was ok. I didn't care for it much, although that could have been because it was the eighth day and I was tired and grumpy amd got bed bug bites. But it's really dirty and, for lack of a better term rustic. Like it's stuck in the 1930s or maybe 50s. We had our worst and best meals of the whole trip here though. I also drove in Rome, which was hella fun in a stick shift Fiat. Traffic is crazy there. I have no idea how people get pulled over though. They drive like mad men. We drove our way through Tuscany to Pisa. We stopped in Florence and ate dinner which was neat.

 

Venice I actually liked. You need to get out of the main lagoon and travel to Murano and Burano. They are beautiful towns famous for glass blowing and lace. It's also fun to try and get lost their.

 

Pisa is literally just the leaning tower. We used it as a home base when we trained to Cinque Terre. It's basically a college town of about 100k people. 

 

Dublin was very cool and had a great mix of old and modern architecture. If you can only tour Guinness or Jameson, do Jameson (very cool tour), but try to see both.

 

London was cool too. Just your modern big city mixed with old English heritage. Seems like a great place to be if you're young and love night life.

 

We stayed in Reykjavik for few hours. It's neat, but super expensive. Things there cost 3 or 4 times as much as they do in the rest of the world.

 

All in all I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

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Oh, I forgot! The wine! Holy crap! We thought it was good in Paris... Italy is by far the best wine you can ever have. Bottles that are like 4 or 5 dollar are AMAZING! I could live just to get drunk on the wine there. American stuff, is garbage compared to the basic stuff you get in supermarkets in France and Italy.

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Just left Paris & France.  I agree the breads & wines are wonderful - just the street versions are better than anything in the US.  

 

I found Paris to be like NYC.  Very urban, people on the way to work etc very fast moving, cut throat.  Outside Paris in Normandy they were wonderful.  English isn't as common up there but I found all my interactions with people far more positive.  A tour guide was had the last day of our trip said that everyone that lives outside Paris (even just in the burbs) is far friendlier than Parisians, and I'd have to say that was my experience.

 

Glad I went, but have no urge to revisit Paris.

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19 hours ago, Fru said:

Just booked a flight to Ireland for later this year. I've been there once, but thought I'd see if anyone had any input on pubs, restaurants, sites, etc. 

One of my favorite places I've ever visited.  I imagine you've hit some of this before but if not, Temple bar in Dublin, Cliffs of Moore, Blarney stone, Galway is like a college town - very fun.  Ireland has some really great night life if you can find it.  I can't remember what town we were in for sure but one night my brother and I were in some small bar in one of the towns we visited and were wondering where all the night life and people were.  A couple locals were leaving the bar and said they were going to a club and that we could come with if we wanted.  Our first thought was this is some Hostel stuff and this is how we die but we followed anyways.  We followed them a couple blocks away into a building and it was like a very small hotel lobby that we walked into.  There was a set of marble stairs going up on the opposite wall and not much else really.  When we went up and got to the top it opened up into a massive nightclub, dance floor, huge patio, all that.  It ended being a great time.  Having traveled Europe quite a bit, Europe has a lot of hidden spots like this, you just have to find them, and it's usually worth it.

 

2 hours ago, NM11046 said:

Just left Paris & France.  I agree the breads & wines are wonderful - just the street versions are better than anything in the US.  

 

I found Paris to be like NYC.  Very urban, people on the way to work etc very fast moving, cut throat.  Outside Paris in Normandy they were wonderful.  English isn't as common up there but I found all my interactions with people far more positive.  A tour guide was had the last day of our trip said that everyone that lives outside Paris (even just in the burbs) is far friendlier than Parisians, and I'd have to say that was my experience.

 

Glad I went, but have no urge to revisit Paris.

This is pretty much how I feel about Paris and France as well.  I'd much rather go back to Ireland, Germany, Italy or Spain.

 

Italian wine is amazing.  I still have a couple bottles left that I brought back from my trip there a couple years ago.

 

@ZRod you're a brave man for driving in Rome.  Traffic laws basically don't apply there, as you know.  Don't know if I could handle it myself.

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  • 7 months later...

Heading to Belarus and Ukraine in the fall. Belarus is a dictatorship that still has Lenin statues and still has KGB, and the city in Ukraine I’ll be in is right on the border with Russia, but it’s not really an adventure if you’re not fearing for your safety.

 

I’m actually pretty excited. I’m 99% sure I’ll be the only American at the conference I’m attending in Belarus and from the photos and attendee list it’s 90% old Eastern European men in suits. I just need to decide which Husker apparel to wear.

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2 minutes ago, Moiraine said:

Heading to Belarus and Ukraine in the fall. Belarus is a dictatorship that still has Lenin statues and still has KGB, and the city in Ukraine I’ll be in is right on the border with Russia, but it’s not really an adventure if you’re not fearing for your safety.

 

I’m actually pretty excited. I’m 99% sure I’ll be the only American at the conference I’m attending in Belarus and from the photos and attendee list it’s 90% old Eastern European men in suits. I just need to decide which Husker apparel to wear.

 

Do you own one of these?

 

0002502_nebraska-cornhead_550.jpeg

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3 hours ago, Moiraine said:

Heading to Belarus and Ukraine in the fall. Belarus is a dictatorship that still has Lenin statues and still has KGB, and the city in Ukraine I’ll be in is right on the border with Russia, but it’s not really an adventure if you’re not fearing for your safety.

 

 

Yet you never hear the liberal MSM talk about Moiraine's ties to Russia.

 

#lockherup

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