Where to travel....

[scrybe]

I need some advice from our forum Eurowussies and the well traveled.

As many of you already know, I'm going to be studying in Spain this fall. My program starts Sept. 29, but I plan to leave early and spend about a week to a week and a half traveling before my program starts. I plan on flying into London, where I will spend 3 or 4 days. After that, I'm not sure where to go.

I know Oktoberfest is going on during that time, which seems like it would be an awesome thing to experience in person. Or, I could head down into Spain early and spend some extra time in an area of my choice.

I know while I am in Spain I will have many opportunities to take small weekend trips within Spain and probably Portugal and France as well. I've been working like crazy saving up money for my trip, so I've got enough to explore a little, but I'm not loaded, so I can't just throw caution to the wind.

Do you guys have any advice on how I should spend 4 or 5 days towards the end of September? Oktoberfest? Spain? France? Somewhere with warm sandy beaches?

[Marques2002]

Scrybe, I live in Salamanca, Spain, Castilla y Leon.

Is a beatiful city, old, full of pretty places and cramped with students and foreigners studing spanish.
I am usually here the fridays and weekends ´cause i work in other city (Zamora) within the week, but if you want to pay a visit anytime, i will be here, free bed and breakfast.

If you want i will send my Phone number via Private message, just think that i am an old chap (30 Y old) but i am on my second universitary career, so still young at hearth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamanca

[Roldwin]

Oh Salamanca !!. A lot of party over there. Also a very nice city to visit. There you can find one of the world oldest universites (if not the oldest... correct me if I'm wrong, Marques)

[Zarathustra]

Hmm, depends where you'll be landing in Spain. Anyway you'll be pretty close to South France, Toulouse is an interesting and beautiful city worth spending a weekend. Also the unknown (for most american tourist) southwest french coast is very nice (Pays Basque - Biarritz etc).

[Kiwi_Gunner]

you could visit me in Huntly NZ. the weathers crap and its cold but our town does have TWO sets of traffic lights now.we also have a coal museum!:) what more could you want???p-) :) :roll: :) :hug:

[MARINO]

You can take Eurostar from london and visit Paris, Normandy, Alsace then try to visit Germany specially, Bavaria or Baviera,Italy( Florencia, rome, Pisa,..)and of course you then you WILL come to Marin, near Pontevedra,we'll have some beers :lol: then you can go to Oviedo

[Roldwin]

Hey Scribe, you're lucky... Seems that everyone is going to invite you to some beers woot

[Marques2002]

To be exactly the oldest university on the Wenstern world, founded in 1218, and still our best industry, but the Italians said that the university of Bologna is the elder.

The invitation is extensive to you Roldwin ( I am also a regular of the Foro de La Armada Española), just make a phone call, if you want my number send me a private, i am bored of see the same people all weekend, just wait till 10 of september.

And yes, it´s true, in a city of 180.000 people with 40.000 universitary students there is a lot of party for sure!

[MARINO]

They guy who posts in El foro de la Armada is me :lol:

[scrybe]

Wow, I definitely appreciate the hospitality guys. Unfortunately, I think NZ will have to wait for another trip. :D I'm talking like 4 or 5 days here, and it will probably be mid-week, tentatively the 24th through the 28th. That's why I'm wondering if Germany would be worth visiting in that time frame or if I'd be better off staying closer to Spain where I'll have to be by the 29th.

[Hellfish]

Germany. Beer. Lots.

[Roldwin]

Blondes. Lots

[Ria]

you could visit me in Huntly NZ. the weathers crap and its cold but our town does have TWO sets of traffic lights now.we also have a coal museum!:) what more could you want???p-) :) :roll: :) :hug:

Such a cute post:hug: :hug:

[Roldwin]

The only thing cute here, is you...

[Lancero]

Oh Salamanca !!.

Plaza Mayor. Drunk. Pass Out. Stop reminding me...

[scrybe]

Blondes. Lots

If I was interested in Blondes I would have studied abroad in Austria. :D

[scrybe]

So, after talking to a couple friends that just returned from about a year in Europe, I think I'm going to rule out Oktoberfest in Munich. It would cost way too much at this point. Well, more than I'm willing to budget anyway.

So, now I'm leaning towards taking the chunnel from London into Paris and spending some time in France, heading down into Spain early and traveling on my own, or uh, I don't know, maybe try to make it up to Scotland. I haven't completely ruled out Germany though. Online, we found airfare into Cologne that wasn't bad at all. Munich is out of my price range though.

Any reccomendations?

[AussieJohnDoe]

Any reccomendations?

http://images.popcornmonsters.com/5753.jpg

[eucalyptus]

Scusi, scusi, scusi

Göta kanal is pretty fun, traveling on a boat.

[Holstein]

If I was interested in Blondes I would have studied abroad in Austria. :D


hmmm.. I think you mean Swedenp-).

[perdurabo]

Dude why study in some boring classes in spain when you can move to Moscow and study russian girls?

[AussieJohnDoe]

move to Moscow and study russian girls?

You have dishonoured your Polish heritage.

NO KEILBASSA FOR YOU!!! p-)

[scrybe]

Dude why study in some boring classes in spain when you can move to Moscow and study russian girls?

Because Russia scares the hell out of me and I don't find the girls all that attractive.

[Miles.]

Because Russia scares the hell out of me and I don't find the girls all that attractive.

I don't know, man. Starving crackwhores are pretty high on my list.

[Hydro]

3 or 4 days in London, eh? MP.Net UK drinkathon maybe? ;)

[scrybe]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v505/sniperskull/emoticons/yes.gif

[askDNA]

Edinburgh is a great place to go.

[toki]

So, after talking to a couple friends that just returned from about a year in Europe, I think I'm going to rule out Oktoberfest in Munich. It would cost way too much at this point. Well, more than I'm willing to budget anyway.

So, now I'm leaning towards taking the chunnel from London into Paris and spending some time in France, heading down into Spain early and traveling on my own, or uh, I don't know, maybe try to make it up to Scotland. I haven't completely ruled out Germany though. Online, we found airfare into Cologne that wasn't bad at all. Munich is out of my price range though.

Any reccomendations?

If you go to Cologne explore the region a bit. Up and down the Rhine. You can take cruiseships. Down to Mainz or up to Düsseldorf (where the good people live) And the Netherlands are just 30-40 minutes away. Even though i wonder why the airfair to munich is more expensive from spain. Munich is definitely worth a trip, but imho the octoberfest is just a big tourist thing. Overrated.

[scrybe]

Well, the airfare I looked at was from out of London. It looked like the prices were raised in Munich specifically for Oktoberfest. Where tickets to Munich were $300+ US, tickets to Cologne were down around $100.

[toki]

Well, the airfare I looked at was from out of London. It looked like the prices were raised in Munich specifically for Oktoberfest. Where tickets to Munich were $300+ US, tickets to Cologne were down around $100.

You could check the airport Düsseldorf of Mönchengladbach, both are just 20-30 miles from cologne. And DUS is much bigger then the Cologne/Bonn airport so maybe cheaper. And yep, of course when you speak about London you speak about a flight of +/- 1 hour to Cologne. Munich is a few hundred km more.

[Aerosoul]

Amsterdam!!!!!!! I must go there.

[Miles.]

Great idea mines a pint of absinthe & rohypnol

I heard roofies doesn't do anything to guys. Is that true?

[scrybe]

Was thinking abotu places I'd like to see while at work tonight, and realised that Normandy and the WW2 cemetary in France have always been on my list of things to see. Taking the chunnel to Paris and spending a little time in France just jumped up a few notches on my list.

[Hellfish]

Was thinking abotu places I'd like to see while at work tonight, and realised that Normandy and the WW2 cemetary in France have always been on my list of things to see. Taking the chunnel to Paris and spending a little time in France just jumped up a few notches on my list.

I might be telling you nothing you don't already know, but if you are planning to fly out of London it's almost always cheaper to use London as your starting point for your next leg. So instead of flying Portland -> London -> Barcelona (or whatever) just fly Portland -> London and then buy seperate tickets from London -> wherever you want to go. I was checking out prices of some places I wanted to go to and if I booked it all at once from Orlando -> London -> Cape Town it was nearly $4000. When I booked each leg seperately the total price went down to about $2000.

[Hydro]

Great idea mines a pint of absinthe & rohypnol


I know what your usual is, no need to tell me.

[ShotOver]

Whoah, I thought this thread said "Wear A Towl."

Time for bed I think.

[Skaman]

Visit Russia before Russia visits you. ;)

[scrybe]

Alright, so here is my finalized plan:

I fly into London and spend a couple days with a friend. From London I take the chunnel into Paris, where I will stay for one night. Then I will go up to Normandy for a day to see the D-Day beaches and the Veterans Cemetary, where I will need to spend one night (probably in Caen). I will return to Paris for two nights, then head into Madrid for two nights before arriving in Oviedo for my program.

Anybody have any reccomendations on hostels or cheap hotels to stay at while in London, Paris, Caen, or Madrid?

[Eric61Mech]

I heard roofies doesn't do anything to guys. Is that true?

Puts you to sleep very, very fast.

[scrybe]

No? Nobody has any reccomendations for lodging?