Europe 2011

[Dasquian Belargic]

Alright, where're we going? Cause I know you people are coming over this side of the ocean next year >:

I remember talking with Charley and Christin a while back now about how they wanted to go to Rome. Thoughts?

[Emelie Shadowstar]

While I am totally in agreement that us folks over on this side of the pond need to go over there for 2011 since you've been making the effort to come over this side the last two years... I can honestly say that unless some major changes happen for me work-wise I just wouldn't be able to afford to go.

I shall envy everyone else though. *fist shake* However... *shrug* it's never a guarantee the way life goes so I might be able to swing it as well... way too early to say.

As far as where though... Rome would be neato! I'd probably have to beg the boy to lend me money to go if that was decided. *nod*

[Captain Untouchable]

I've always wanted to go to Rome, or Greece... but then I'm Captain Ruins, so...

I've been to the south of France a few times, and that can be pleasant: if you get down on the Med coast, we could have shits and giggles with watersports.

The only thing we'd need to make sure of is that we have pleanty of people who can speak the local lingo. At DragonCon, it sounds like people had a certain degree of autonomy: going off and doing bits and pieces without the main group. Obviously, we can't go doing things like that if we've not got people who can speak Italian / French / whatever enough to get us around.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Most people in Rome can be speak English. At least the people we'd need to speak to. Otherwise, it's not difficult to find your way around. I don't speak any Italian and I survived there for a week. The only reason you'd need to know the local lingo was if you were going somewhere totally out of the way, but even then - say, on little Greek islands - the locals speak passable English (I have been to France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, the Czech Republic and only needed to use a handful of non-English phrases.)

[Captain Untouchable]

What if I want to chat up some of the local ladies? Are Italians the kind of people who'll think it's adorable if I try (and fail) to flirt in their native language?

It's important to know these things. ;)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Don't you know what kind of reputation we have in Europe? :lol "Adorable" isn't the word that springs to mind when the rest of the continent see's our pasty white asses swaggering through their streets, jeering in Spanglish.

[Mandy with an I]

I would like to go, but I'll be in school. I expect a postcard though ;)

[Captain Untouchable]

Don't you know what kind of reputation we have in Europe? :lol "Adorable" isn't the word that springs to mind when the rest of the continent see's our pasty white asses swaggering through their streets, jeering in Spanglish.

Would it not be Englian or something, if we were in Italy? ;)

And to be fair, it's mostly you classless northerners that are to blame for that reputation. :mneh

[Taataani Meorrrei]

I'm not averse to Europe next year but I'd really need to see what we could afford. I don't know if we could do it big in the sense that *I* would want to (putzing around for weeks between portugal and turkey and everything in between on the coast)

I know that the first time I go to the 'yop, I have to segue near-ish to Duesseldorf because an old friend of mine has visited me for years and he's asked me forever to come over. I think if I went to europe and didn't meet up with him a little I'd be killed with a brick.

That aside, I'm wide open. I at least would like to talk about the prospects. I can't think of a single place I could go where I wouldn't be thrilled to be there, except for maybe Naples.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Classless northeners? We're hardworking honest salt of the earth lads and lasses, not like you southern poofs!

Maybe Yog could take us on a tour of the fjords? :D

[Crusader]

Don't you know what kind of reputation we have in Europe? :lol "Adorable" isn't the word that springs to mind when the rest of the continent see's our pasty white asses swaggering through their streets, jeering in Spanglish.

Would it not be Englian or something, if we were in Italy? ;)

And to be fair, it's mostly you classless northerners that are to blame for that reputation. :mneh

Well at least you won't get asked if you are there for vacation or invasion.

Oh and btw you normaly don't have pasty white asses on holidays...normaly you are all red with little white stripes here and there.

[Captain Untouchable]

Classless northeners? We're hardworking honest salt of the earth lads and lasses, not like you southern poofs!

Maybe Yog could take us on a tour of the fjords? :D

Pssh. I'm not a southerner: I'm from the Midlands. I'm from too far west to be inbred, and too far east to be a Brummy: the perfect position to insult just about everyone in the entire country, with minimal established stereotypes to come back and haunt me. :mneh

[Nya Halcyon]

Hmmm why Rome??

Personally, I think Malta would be a cool place to meet up. Everyone speaks English, but it's still Mediterranean, and has lots of interesting features.

[Park Kraken]

I won't be able to come over to Europe until 2012, when we're actually planning to go.

[Yog]

Maybe Yog could take us on a tour of the fjords? :D
I have to be honest here, Norway is a very expensive country to vacation in, especially the capitol Oslo. It has the dubious honor of ranking near or at the top every year among the most expensive cities, it's right up there with Tokyo. Everything from alcohol, restaurants, hotels, entertainment and food is taxed and priced to hell and back. However, there is a lot to see and do in Oslo, but that is a topic on its own.

The prices usually do not bother Norwegians so much because of high wages, but for foreign students / forum geeks on low budget, that may prove to be a big deal. Especially if they travel from the US, because flight tickets to / from Norway are expensive as well.

This has come to the point where many Norwegians (me included) find it less expensive going on charter trips to the mediterranean, than traveling around in their own country.

If you want to discover Norwegian fjords, unquestionably, the real way to do it is by Hurtigruten (http://hurtigruten.us/norway/) (The Coastal Express) on the west coast. It's not marketing BS when they say it is the most beautiful sea voyage on earth, that is a fact. I'd say the best route is from Bergen and northwards. But once again, this is pricey and probably way out of most people's budget range.


As for the other suggestions here, Rome is a beautiful although somewhat pricey city. The main advantage is the incredible history and architecture because the entire city is basically a giant museum. That is also the main disadvantage however, because it so old fashioned, it is really more for those who are interested in culture / history, and those who are less interested in that might find it one dimensional. For Americans though, a trip to this city should be almost mandatory some time during their lifetime. You could say the same thing about Paris.

Personally, if I were to suggest a city, I'd lean towards London, because we already have a few British people here who can show us around, and it's really easy to get to London for most Europeans, not to mention convenient flight wise for Americans. And London is really a melting pot of history and modern lifestyle, something for every taste. As they say "if you're bored out of London, you're bored of life.

If you're looking for something more relaxing however, the Mediterranean with its many isles is cheap to stay in and travel to, and you can get drunk cheaply there.



What if I want to chat up some of the local ladies? Are Italians the kind of people who'll think it's adorable if I try (and fail) to flirt in their native language?

It's important to know these things. ;)
Probably, but you could say that about most countries, really. Girls have an unfair advantage in Italy, because Italien men are infamous for flirting, so the chicks may be high in demand.. :p

[Captain Untouchable]

Personally, if I were to suggest a city, I'd lean towards London, because we already have a few British people here who can show us around, and it's really easy to get to London for most Europeans, not to mention convenient flight wise for Americans. And London is really a melting pot of history and modern lifestyle, something for every taste. As they say "if you're bored out of London, you're bored of life.

...they really say that? Crikey. They obviously haven't lived in the place. :uhoh

There is pleanty of stuff in London, and a lot of it is free... or relatively cheap, considering. The downside would be that those sorts of places are incredibly busy, and hard to navigate in a large group. If we did do a London trip, it'd likely need to be the equivalent of the Dragon*Con half of last year - find a particular core event to keep us all occupied, and then venture out into London for the odd museum, odd musical, or odd day of playing tourist.

One option would be to meet up in London, spend a couple of days, and then hop on the Eurostar to France. When I was little, we rented a place in Brittany; and that's not massively out of reach of Paris, if we wanted to do a flying visit there. Hell, if we really planned it well enough, we could sweep up through Belgium (for the chocolate) and Germany (for the beer and sausages), to make it a truely Europe trip, rather than sticking to one country.

[Yog]

The Eurostar London -> France / Paris route, with additional possibility of Belgium or Germany is an interesting idea. The train is probably not too expensive either? Not updated on ticket prices.

Edit: wow, apparently, they have deals starting from £69 return for Paris, and Brussels.
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/latest_deals/lbbd/lbbd3.jsp

[Dasquian Belargic]

I don't know my way around London at alll, so don't expect any tours from me :mneh

Inter-railing through Europe would be awesome, though I'm not sure how that would work for Americans in terms of visas.

[Blade Bacquin]

I don't know my way around London at alll, so don't expect any tours from me

Inter-railing through Europe would be awesome, though I'm not sure how that would work for Americans in terms of visas.

I demand you learn your way around london before 2011. :P


Anyway if and I stress if I can afford this I would love to go anyplace in europe of course I do have a few prefered countries I would love to see. Sweden (considering I'm of mostly swedish and german desent that and my last name is swedish so yeah.)

Germany of course would love to see it and all those historical world war 1 and 2 places.

Anyplace with a castle and Rome.

I want to go just like I want to go to the burning nerd thing still working on getting the money together since I just bought a car two months ago.

[Crusader]

Germany of course would love to see it and all those historical world war 1 and 2 places.

Anyplace with a castle

You know that we had plenty of time to rebuild those places from WW1 and 2 and that there are just a few memorials, graveyards and museums that you can visit if you are intrested in this part of European history.

The holocaust memorials and museums are the most intresting.

If you want to see castles. We have got plenty of old castles where I live but most of them are ruins but we have got the Hambacher Schloß that played a big role in German history for the democratic movement and the Trifels where Barbarossa held King Richard Lionheart as a prisoner after his crusade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hambach_Castle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifels_Castle

[Dasquian Belargic]

UK has castles aplenty. Hell, I live in a city called Newcastle.

Something I recommended to Dani was spending some time up at various Lochs in Scotland! The beauty of the UK is that everything is only a couple of hours away on the train.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Oldcastle would be better. :colbert Who wants to see a new castle??

;)

England is pretty, and you can basically drive all over the place in a few days. I want to go visit someday, but I don't see it happening next year. The kids would have to be a lot older before we tried any sort of international travel.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I'm totally up for Rome, and will have two weeks of vacation time to burn :D

[Charley]

Scotland? Why? It's full of Picts!

[Captain Untouchable]

Scotland isn't such a bad idea, actually. Or Northumberland. There are a lot of cottages that you can rent up there... and like Jenny says, most places aren't too far away; it took me about 3 hours to get up to Newcastle from London by rail, and they're more or less at opposite ends of England.

One option might be to hire some sort of minibus contraption, and do a tour around a few places, stopping off for a day/night in different areas. Bed and breakfasts are relatively cheap; camping is even cheaper, if people are up for some under-canvas shennanigans. Means we could do a couple of days in London, maybe visit Warwick Castle on one of the days they have the jousting shizzle going on, go get rained on in Wales...

Hell, if we time it right, we could wind up in Edinburgh for the comedy festival, or something.

[Karl Valten]

Hey all, I know I've been disappeared for months, but some friends and I are already planning a trip to Europe next year after we all graduate from the university.

I think part of the plan was to go backpacking through Switzerland, but I'd definitely be up for hitching a train down to Rome or a few other places.

If Switzerland is a destination, I have a lot of family that might be willing to put up with our shenanigans.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I would love go visit Switzerland!!

[Veritas]

But how can you trust somebody so...neutral :uhoh

[Captain Untouchable]

Because nobody who is that good at making clocks could possibly be evil?




Well, except for Sylar. :uhoh

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Wherever the party is, I will be! I wonder how many of your names I can forget this go-round ^_^;

[Yog]

Something I recommended to Dani was spending some time up at various Lochs in Scotland!
Any chance if finding that old sea serpent Nessie? Is haggish on the menu? :uhoh




it took me about 3 hours to get up to Newcastle from London by rail, and they're more or less at opposite ends of England.
Hahaha, if we're going north, swinging by Newcastle and invading Jenny's home is virtually unavoidable.. :evil




Means we could do a couple of days in London, maybe visit Warwick Castle on one of the days they have the jousting shizzle going on, go get rained on in Wales...


Hell, if we time it right, we could wind up in Edinburgh for the comedy festival, or something.

Let's not forget Hampton Court since it is so close to London, and Windsor Castle is in the westward direction towards Wales / Warwick, I think.

Getting rained on in Wales and Scotish comedy shenanigans almost sounds like a must. As a bonus feature, I suppose these comedians speak in ridiculous Scottish accent? Are there other cool festivals worth visiting, such as music festivals?




If Switzerland is a destination, I have a lot of family that might be willing to put up with our shenanigans.
Can your family teach us yodeling? :p

[Dasquian Belargic]

Depending on what time of year people were here, Yog, there are a lot of big music festivals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Major_British_Music_Festivals Summer is obviously the main festival season, but the last of the year (which I believe is the Reading & Leeds Festivals) generally take place at the end of August. Camping is pretty much mandatory for the majority of music festivals, so that would be a pretty fun weekend.

[Droo]

I'd be down for a music festival yo.

[Dasquian Belargic]

For reference, a music festival weekend ticket - which includes the price of camping, but provides you with no tent - is likely to set you back about $200, plus another $15 or so for coach travel there and back (depending on where our 'base' is.) There are a hell of a lot of bands for that price though, and just the overall experience of the festival atmosphere is awesome.

[Captain Untouchable]

As long as it isn't Download, I'd be up for a music festival. I've been there, done that, and quite literally got the t-shirt... but given how the camp site is right at the bottom of one of the runways at EMA, I'd prefer not to go through the sleep deprevation again. >_<

Regardless of where we are, I'm fully prepared to prep haggis for people. It's a shame everyone gets squeemish about it: nowadays, it's done in the same synthetic wrapping as sausages are (rather than a stomach), and the contents aren't any more "icky" than what goes in most sausages anyway. It's just a little spicier, and has pearl barley thrown in.

I personally love it. But then, I was born in Inverness, and am a total Scotophile, so... ::mischief

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Dude, I would totally try haggis :)

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Haggis seems pretty similar to Cajun boudin which means it's perfectly fine by me, even if it's in the stomach honestly.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Do we want to maybe do a poll, to see where people would most like to go? :)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

A poll sounds great :)

How would we label the Europe thing? Like, 'A Happy Jaunt Through England, Scotland, Germany, and France'?

[Dasquian Belargic]

Haha imagine if you guys came over in May - we could visit Peter in Germany and go see Eurovision live

[Taataani Meorrrei]

A poll sounds great :)

How would we label the Europe thing? Like, 'A Happy Jaunt Through England, Scotland, Germany, and France'?

Springtime for Hitler Travelling Theater Troupe

[Dasquian Belargic]

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[Captain Untouchable]

Haha imagine if you guys came over in May - we could visit Peter in Germany and go see Eurovision live

Haha. I was totally gonna suggest that!

Or at least be in the same room for live-action shennanigans.

[Crusader]

Haha imagine if you guys came over in May - we could visit Peter in Germany and go see Eurovision live

Haha. I was totally gonna suggest that!

Or at least be in the same room for live-action shennanigans.

This sounds like a horrible idea for a EuroTrip so...count me in.

[Daria Nytherciria]

wooo PARTY AT PETERS

[Svetlana Ustinov]

Some of us Americans hold dual citizenship with an EU country (even if its currently bankrupt in every way)...I'd just get off my ass and actually get my passport switched :)

For the record, I LOVE the idea of a Euro-trip. I'll beg and borrow money from everyone I know so I can come :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

That's the spirit!

Is there anyone who doesn't actually have a passport? I know that Americans don't seem to have them as often as Euros.

[Emelie Shadowstar]

Is there anyone who doesn't actually have a passport? I know that Americans don't seem to have them as often as Euros.

*raise hand* |I

[Dasquian Belargic]

So long as you don't forget to get one before next year :mneh

[Sanis Prent]

That's the spirit!

Is there anyone who doesn't actually have a passport? I know that Americans don't seem to have them as often as Euros.


I don't have one

[Morgan Evanar]

I have one, but I need to make sure it's still valid.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I have one, but it's very very... VERY old. Somebody remind me to get it from the mom-person while we're out in Nevada.

[Dasquian Belargic]

If people do want to come over to Europe, do we want to try and establish a time of year that would work best?

[Sarah Lymia]

I'd vote for mid-may to early june.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

If we're talking northern europe, I say June.

[Dasquian Belargic]

June would probably be a good month. At least in Newcastle, we have had temps in the high 50s and low 60s. Naturally that will be higher in London and lower up in Scotland, but it's as good as you're going to get in the UK really - outside of a freak heat-wave.

What about particular places people would like to see? London and Newcastle have been mentioned. York is another possibility: http://www.visityork.org/ A very pretty city, with Viking and Medieval history stuff. York also has the benefit of being on the rail line that connects London to Newcastle.

[Yog]

York sounds great. :)

[Barton Henning]

London, York, Newcastle, Scotland.

How is that for an itinerary? A couple of days in London, trying to cram in as much as possible. A day in York, then on to Newcastle for a night on the toon, maybe a day exploring Newcastle itself and some of the surrounding area, then on up to Loch Lomond for some picturesque chillaxing.

[Irridia Solensis]

I thinks its a freaking brilliant idea.

*glee*

[Emelie Shadowstar]

...curse you for giving me a dream vacation. >:

*sighs and starts saving money* lol

[Captain Untouchable]

The way things are shaping up, I may well be living in Brighton by this point. It's a couple of hours from London, but relatively cheap (£5 each way) - just in case we want to do a full "one end of the country to the other" trek, and also if we want to show or foreign friends what a proper British summer holiday on the beach is like. :uhoh