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Re: Europa
| quote: | Originally posted by madhattared
so on monday i'm leaving for europe for a month.
i have a metropass and i'm going backpackin around with my bestfriend from high school
these are the cities i'll be hitting up.
Dublin
London
Paris
Amsterdamn
Berlin
Prague
Budapest
Munich
Rome
Cannes
and Barcelona
if you have any suggestsions of sites i must see in any of these let me know =)
i'll be sure to post pics of everything too |
Amsterdam:
I suggest staying at the Flying Pig. http://www.hostels.com/en/hosteldet...ostelNumber=641 WOW, they have gotten expensive since last year. But stay there anyway. At the downtown one, not the uptown one. The most fun I've ever had in a hostel.. you just chill in the chill room with everyone, and there's a bar so every night it's a party, people get crazy fun... The coffee shop right across the street is great and there's a shroom seller if you turn right when you walk out, I believe, walk a few blocks it's on your left... I think...
The falafel and shwarma is great there
Dirty, dirty city. The shrooms and pot are great. I did shrooms and went to the Van Gogh museum; good idea, but I've got a better one for you if you're into that. Do shrooms and go to the Heineken factory. Trust me on this.
Go to the Heineken factory anyway even if you're sober. Go on the fake horse ride. You'll know what I mean. Ask for it, it's awesome.
Anne Frank's house is a waste of time, don't bother. I bet the Rijksmuseum is good, I didn't have time to go.
Prague:
Prague is disappointing in the summer because there are so many tourists and it ruins the old-world charm of this old, beautiful city. Just walk everywhere, especially across the Charles Bridge. A tour is a good idea since there's so much history and so little time. CZ is also the home of Pilsner Urquell so if you go to a local bar and order that and some Czech food, which I liked, you're good to go. If you catch a football match there'll be some excitement from the locals too lol
Whatever you do, do NOT stay in a hostel called The Golden Sickle... awful
London:
Fabric was pretty wild, and yet different from what I thought it would be. Still a bastion of nightlife, though toned down 100% from the old days of course
Loved Westminster Abbey
St. James' Park is my favorite park ever... there are a million birds, swans, ducks, wild geese, pelicans living there... spent 2 hrs
Buckingham Palace was decidedly underwhelming, I wouldn't recommend spending your time walking to it
Shopping was great in London 
Didn't like English beer nearly as much as CZ and German
Berlin
Tacheles: it should be on your map. It's an artist squatter house, half broken down with graffiti on every square inch, a bar on the top floor, people smoking pot in the yard, head over there in the evening, there are live performances, etc, seriously the coolest place I went to... not sure if there's anything on the weekdays but you could check it out
OH OH OH PLEASE take Mike's (it's a company) 8-hour walking tour of Berlin. YES, 8 hours and it was the BEST TOUR I've ever taken in my life. Do not take the paltry 4 hour tour. Go for the whole shebang. It was like 10 euros. 10 freaking euros. We saw everything and I made a ton of friends from my hostel too. You can come across them if you stop in some hostels, they start from The Circus hostel for example, and they may have brochures in tourist information centers.
Speaking of The Circus, stay in The Circus hostel, please trust me on this, it's the best hostel I've ever stayed at: http://www.hostels.com/en/hosteldet...ostelNumber=703 It's close enough that you can walk most places and the subway is really easy. It's super-clean and has AMAZING breakfast for 3-5 euros. If they still have it, have the yogurt and granola  If you're there on a weekend, Germany/Berlin has a great "brunch" tradition... there's great places right around the hostel, it's so greasy and amazing; ask the front desk for a place to go
Go to the Jewish museum if you're interested; it's a little bit out, maybe 10-15 mins, but easy to find; really great touching museum. Also the big Cathedral that Wilhelm II (?) built, it's huge, you can't miss it lol
Can you tell I love Berlin?
Munich
Believe it or not but my 15 euro bar hop tour was totally worth it, you make great friends when you're drunk and language boundaries are definitely crossed
Oh and drink as much beer as you can and eat the sausages that you can get at road stands
Augustiner weissbier was my favorite... oh god I dream about that head of foam, it smells like heaven
Go to a biergarten of course; I went to the Hofbrauhaus (famous drinking song: in Muenchen gib's ein Hofbrauhaus, ein, zwei, super! - then you drink, then repeat the song, etc. lol) I was at the Hofbrauhaus for 4 hours with some people I met from my hostel.
Paris
OK where do I start? I lived there for 5 months
- Sacre Coeur cathedral in the neighborhood Montmartre is my favorite tourist sight in Paris. You climb the steps to it and when you're done looking at the inside, walk around BEHIND it and you'll find beautiful little streets and artists and crepe shops
When an African immigrant comes up to you when you start climbing the steps of Sacre Coeur and tries to put something around your finger, it's that theyr'e going to weave you a bracelet and then force you to buy it. They will almost assault you. Keep your hands in your pockets and don't speak to them cause they are good. There are a lot of shady people in tourist sites in Paris in general. Just ignore them and don't keep your wallet in your back pocket.
- Notre Dame is my favorite also. Make sure you climb to the top; don't be cheap, its' 6-10 euros or something. Don't be cheap lol. The view is better than from the Eiffel Tower on a clear day. You get to see the gargoyles and the bell up close. Really breathtaking.
- Taking a boat tour - "bateaux mouches" - they depart every 30 or so mins from the banks of the Seine - is a great great idea.. you see everything, especially at night, it's beautiful
- My favorite bars in Paris were Canadian or Scottish bars LOL But I will point you to a great jazz place. They don't always have stuff on weekdays but you should check because it's THAT good when you do catch something. The bar is right at the intersection of Rue Mazel and Rue des Arts in the Quartier Latin (Latin quarter) I can't for the life of me remember what it's called but it says jazz bar and the drinks are cheap. There's also a great bar called Rhubarb. http://www.timeout.com/paris/bars/8.html It's on that webpage on the bottom. It's better to go to if you're in a group too
- Rue Mouffetard is really lively at night, lots of restaurants and bars... ask someone how to get there, I can't remember the metro stop
- The clubs in Paris suck EXCEPT for one club called Triptyque (142, rue Montmartre in the 2nd arrondissement), which you MUST go to if you want to go to a club. it's a mixed crowd, part gay part straight but by no means a gay club. Really freindly, reminded me of arc a little? yea. They have something most nights. I saw Avenue D there if you've ever heard of them, and it was insane. In general clubs are overpriced and drinks are expensive. I hated them all. The crowd is so Euro too LOL it's funny. This one club called Studio 287 (33 avenue de la porte d'Aubervillier, 18th arrondissement, metro Porte de la Chapelle) had hot almost-stripper girls dancing all night and they had Nick Warren and Lawler, so it's a popular club, but I hated it. You might like it. Triptyque rocks more though.
- The Louvre is fine and dandy but for a really great museum that you won't feel so lost in, go to the Musee d'Orsay
Cannes
- I hope you're not spending *too* much time there, cause you can't unless you're rich
- A Moroccan restaurant I went to there was one of the best dining experiences ever, great decoration, amazing food... can't remember what it's called but it was big. Maybe by some chance you can find it, I doubt it though.
- Why aren't you going to Nice? I'd go there over Cannes if I had to pick one place. The only reason I ended up in Cannes was b/c I went on a yacht with my friend who I was visiting and his rich-ass family on a cruise from Nice to St. Tropez & Cannes... but if you're there just to chill it's crazy expensive and not much fun unless you have mounds of dough, cause you mostly can't get in anywhere, it's so upscale lol
- Nice to walk around though... but yea I'd recommend Nice instead; Nice is good for 2 days of exploring but it's not good to wander too far out of the old area and the promenade des anglais, it's pretty shady.
Wow, memories. I'm sure I'll think of a load more about all this later. PM me if you want any more info, especially about Paris.
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