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Heading to Europe and need some advice on a couple cities.

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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
So I will be heading over to Europe in about a week as I was able to take just over a month off work. I was wondering if NS had been to any of the following cities and had some recommendations on what to do while we are there outside of the normal tourist attractions. Both of us are 23 for reference.

Berlin
Prague
Venice
Cinque terre
Munich (Oktoberfest)
Croatia (8 day sea kayaking trip up the coast)

Also if anyone from NS is going to be over there during that time let me know and we should meet up for a beer!

Love you long time and I will upload pictures of dope cats in compensation starting with:

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Sep 3 2013 12:40AM
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Wallisch_pl
Posts: 5260 - Karma: 1,022
Doesn't matter where you are in Europe, but carry a knife?/weapon because if you're a tourist and aren't paying attention people will steal your shit, so keep an eye out on your shit, and if you catch someone stealing then tell an adult and tell them "no that's just not cool"
Sep 3 2013 12:49AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
Well there is lots of stuff to do in the cities you want to visit. Do you want to go to all of them or are you still deciding where to go? It sounds like a lot of travelling for 1 months, I dont know if you find enough time in every one of those places (if you wanna go to them all)

Berlin: Lots of more or less cool history stuff to look at (if you're into that). Other than that, there is a lot of stuff that has something to do with our governement (reichstag,...). But most important, you probably wanna go party hard if you're in berlin.

Munich: I for my part think the octoberfest if overrated. Its one huge tourist attraction that might be fun and everything, but its damn expensive and crowded as hell. If you care about the beer, prague is your place to go. You can get 10 times more for the same amount of money there. 1l of beer on the octoberfest is probabaly around 10€, keep that in mind.

Prague: Prettty awesome city with some cultural stuff to look at (I didn't really do that when I was there though, so I don't know much about that).Just go to parties, drink cheap (and awesome!) beer and eat cheap food

Venice: touristy as hell, but probably a one of a kind experience, so I guess its worth it.

Don't really know about any of the other places, hope I could help you a bit!
Sep 3 2013 12:51AM
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Jeebus.
Posts: 4904 - Karma: 5,822
I've heard that so many times as well, never been there though.. Is pickpocketing that big of a problem there? If so are europeans really that sheisty?
Sep 3 2013 12:54AM
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Wallisch_pl
Posts: 5260 - Karma: 1,022
I haven't been either lol, but my brother and sister have, and I'm not sure, it could be the fact that they're taking advantage of tourist or they really need the money. In Italy it's a huge problem and people do it all the time
Sep 3 2013 12:56AM
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saskskier
Posts: 4774 - Karma: 10,005
Croatia is a country, not a city, but it looks absolutely beautiful. Mediterranean coastal villages. Mountains and forrests. My g/f is going there end of November and I am supremely jealous.

I spent a year in Germany (very south on the border of germany/austria/switzerland) about 10 years ago and it was incredible. Instead of planning out your whole trip ahead of time, maybe find a few things you want to do for sure and then just wander. Don't just hit the tourist spots.

Also, in my year there, I didn't ever have any trouble with people stealing stuff. Do your best to act like you know what you are doing (unless tou have to wander around with a 75l backback. Not much you can donabout that). Don't be an idiot and you should be ok.
Sep 3 2013 1:04AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Carrying a knife on you in the Netherlands can result in you spending some time in our Ikea furnished and well equipped jails.

There's a pc, microwave, tv, gameconsole, fridge, etc...in a way much better then a tent or a crappy youth hostel.

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Sep 3 2013 2:21AM
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lineskier10
Posts: 11339 - Karma: 796
ya they will apologize and give you your stuff back if you do this, highly reccommended
Sep 3 2013 2:27AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
If someone wants to steal something, they are gonna steal it. You will probably only make it worse if you walk around with a knife. And you shouldnt even think about guns, the laws with those here arent as loose as they are in the US. The thing you should be more worried about is taxi drivers and people like that ripping you off (especially in cities like prague).
Sep 3 2013 3:07AM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
Oh what I had meant by Croatia was that I had already booked this

I'm hoping that I shouldn't have any issues with pick pockets ect because my last trip to Europe went fine.

Does anyone have any experiance with the pub crawls in any of these cities as I have heard some of them can be scams.

Thanks!

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Sep 3 2013 3:10AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
^
when I was in prague I read about the pb crawl, but then we decided to just go out and look for some cool bars on our own. Worked out pretty good and we found some decent spots. Don't remember too much of it anymore though. But the ones advertised in the hostels (seemed to be the same one everytwhere we looked) seemed pretty decent.
Sep 3 2013 3:12AM
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--ski--
Posts: 1670 - Karma: 817
There's a prison in NZ dubbed "Milton Hilton" that probably tops that. You get your own bathroom, lounge and even underfloor heating.

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Sep 3 2013 5:01AM
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Jane6
Posts: 5359 - Karma: 4,506
Sandemans is a guide company that conducts free walking tours all over some cities (I walked them in Berlin and Prague, but they are in a few cities). You walk around in a group for like 2 or 3 hours and get to hear basically everything about the city center, historically and presently. I loved it, the guides were great and funny (younger and super chill). Look them up if youre into that sort of thing, I personally reccomend them anyway.
Sep 3 2013 5:54AM
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Jane6
Posts: 5359 - Karma: 4,506
And lol as for pickpocketing goes, like Lawrence said, dont carry a knife on you unless you wanna get in trouble with the police. As long as youre not an idiot having your wallet in the back pocket of your jeans/backpack and dont look like an obvious, completely oblivious tourist (reading maps in the middle of the streets, wearing fanny packs, having sandals and socks... whatever makes you look like a complete retard) you'll be fine. Dont let anyone touch you or get too close while distracting you asking for something basically.

My two buddies were robbed by a group of transvestites in Barcelona once haha, took their passports and money while trying to make them come party with them. Hilarious but horrible haha.
Sep 3 2013 6:04AM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
The walking tours are great. Been to all the cities you mentioned and they're all great except for Venice. Venice is cool architecturally but that's about it. Very touristy, very smelly depending on the time of year. Instead, I would go to Florence. Incredible city with a vibrant culture and tons of stuff to do. Not to mention you can rent a scooter and ride up into Tuscany which is truly incredible. Florence has just as much if not more history than Venice, IMO, and has much more to do. The nightlife is great which will keep you busy around the clock (unlike Venice which only has stuff to do 10-7pm.).
Sep 3 2013 6:50AM
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Bateman
Posts: 8591 - Karma: 8,600
If i were you I'd definitely hit up some bigger city in Scandinavia, like Bergen, Norway- Stockholm, Sweden, Copenhagen Denmark or maybe even Iceland.
Sep 3 2013 7:08AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
Iceland is pretty damn far away from europe Oo
Sep 3 2013 8:15AM
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Bateman
Posts: 8591 - Karma: 8,600
Iceland is in europe though, and not that much of a detour if you're visiting scandinavia anyways. Realized i didnt mean Iceland though, i meant Svalbard. island that is part of norway along our north-western coast. Polar bears would be a pretty sick sight, eh? northern lights n' shit.
Sep 3 2013 8:27AM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Make sure that when you get to Venice you know EXACTLY where your hostel is and how to fucking get there. That place is a rat maze. I was there with my girlfriend a few months ago and decided to use the trip adviser maps to find it, took us forever to get to the place that it said it was. When that was no where near it. Ended up just following #'s on doors and finding it as we were headed back to the train station to start over.

It was pretty safe there, didn't feel like I need to be on the lookout for anyone there. But always keep your stuff in your front pockets, back pockets are easier to steal from.

As far as places to go, there really isn't much to do there after a day or 2. Go to the main square, St marks square. We didn't go into the church cause the line was absurd, but we went up the bell tower. Gives you a sweet view of all of Venice, I recommend that.

For resturants, just about anywhere is good. But if you are looking for good pizza there is this one place that we went to that was amazing. Can't remember the name, but it was right outside of where we stayed. The place we stayed is,
Residenza Cà Dario‎
Sestiere Santa Croce, 646
30135 Venice, Italy

It is very close to the train station.
Sep 3 2013 9:39AM
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.Capn.
Posts: 1454 - Karma: 152
In Berlin go to the top of the Bundestag building (night was my favorite time). It's really neat that they let people up there plus it's free. Berliner Dom is also cool but not much pre wwii history is left in the city. Lots of war monuments that are probably worth seeing. Munich was nice too but I mostly enjoyed the atmosphere of the city and don't really have any sights to specifically recommend
Sep 3 2013 10:25AM
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Mr.Sloth
Posts: 5091 - Karma: 13,469
Croatia is a pretty awesome place. If you go to Dubrovnik, hike up into the mountains above the city (FOLLOW A PATH FOLLOW A PATH) and you can find some sweet mine fields.
Sep 3 2013 11:04AM
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twin-tip-hero
Posts: 2896 - Karma: 277
i have been to oktoberfest for the past 2 years, and I will be going again this year. Let me know if you want the hookup! Know where to go and what to do.
Sep 3 2013 11:07AM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
croatia is a chill place. only been to rovinj, novigrad and a couple of cities in that area. rovinj is very nice though if youre in the area.

prague has some nice stuff to see and is obviously legit for drinking.

otherwise i havent been in any of this cities even though i am from europe.

and pick pocketing is NOT an overly big deal in europe. idk who said that but i was in several cities, including rome just last week and while its touristy and crowdy as fuck, i never had stuff stolen, never saw someone who got something stolen, etc. felt pretty safe. i mean its almost self-explanatory to keep your stuff somewhere where you can control it to some degree, but i wouldnt think too much of it.

oh, i forgot munich. my gf lives there. i really like the city. oktoberfest is expensive but kinda worthwhile for a day or so. the rest of the city is really really nice imo, so check that out as well. if youre into that, the alte, neue und moderne pinakothek are art galleries of international renown (on one level with uffizi, louvre, national gallery, prado or vatican museum). there are also some nice churches and palaces as well as a few "modern" attractions. 5 minutes googling probably yields more than i can tell you here.

Sep 3 2013 11:17AM
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Jeebus.
Posts: 4904 - Karma: 5,822
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Sep 3 2013 11:24AM
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maximiliaan
Posts: 7711 - Karma: 2,857
.
Sep 3 2013 11:26AM
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
quality gif
Sep 3 2013 11:26AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
It was just the first thing I found on Google.

This is the hallway in a Dutch prison:

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But if I had to go to prison I would pick Norway:

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Sep 3 2013 3:44PM
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Jane6
Posts: 5359 - Karma: 4,506
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Sep 3 2013 4:17PM
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powderhound100
Posts: 2510 - Karma: 144
Good choices, personally I would not go to Venice and go to Rome instead. I found venice pretty boring but there are lots of cool things to see in Rome.

Cineque Terra is awesome, you got a great list there.
Sep 3 2013 4:20PM
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Bateman
Posts: 8591 - Karma: 8,600
Norwegian here. I saw on TV one time this documentary based around these two guys in prison. They were rapping, and the recording studio they had inside the prison made it simpler. They could just freely roam around and do whatever, play console games, record a new rapping tune etc. Shits cray.
Sep 3 2013 4:32PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
And after everything I said about Venice, I would do this. Rome was one of my favorite places in Italy. Lots of stuff to do and a pretty cool city.
Sep 3 2013 4:35PM
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Anathema
Posts: 21048 - Karma: 5,061
bratislava

DAT EXCHANGE RATE


loleurotrip
Sep 3 2013 4:40PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
I want to live in your prison, too bad I need to kill more then 1 person to even stay for more then 10 days.

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Sep 3 2013 4:41PM
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Bateman
Posts: 8591 - Karma: 8,600
I mean, that guy who killed more than 100 people didn't even get life so.. chances are slim man.
Sep 3 2013 4:44PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
I read somewhere that Breivik has three cells to himself, one living/sleeping with en suite, pc/porn room and a workout room with equipment.

Maybe if I kill 10.000 people I will get my own prison castle.
Sep 3 2013 4:52PM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Seeing as you're around there anyway: Budapest (Hungary) is worth a visit. Beautiful, cheap and the woman are incredible.
Sep 3 2013 4:55PM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
Thanks for all the great suggestions so far!

As for going to Rome instead of Venice I was actually already in Rome a couple of years ago and had a blast there. My Girlfriend's grandparents are from venice and so that is one of the main reasons that we were going to swing by there. Originally it wasn't super high on my list however given how expensive everything is there.

Any suggestions on how to best get around the cities? Is it worth renting some vespas or should we just stick to foot/public transit?

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Sep 4 2013 3:41AM
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HolySchimmel
Posts: 1601 - Karma: 1,297
Most european cities have decent public transportation. I guess thats easier + cheaper than renting something. A lot of places are easier to find using subways and busses.
Sep 4 2013 3:53AM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
If you're in Venice/Rome: walking is the way to go. Rome might be big, and things are generally far apart, but the things in between are just as beautiful and not to be missed. There's just awesome history to be seen everywhere.
Walking (in general) is I think the best way to get around. You're missing too much by buzzing by in bus/taxi/underground/tram.

If you really need to get somewhere: public transport is great in almost every European city (even in eastern europe). Go to the tourist information/train station/subway station and ask what day/week options they have. Almost every city has some sort of cheap 10$-travel-as-much-as-you-want-by-public-transport system.
Sep 4 2013 6:54AM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
In some of the cities we did the hop on hop off bus. Pay like 15-20 euros for 1 or 2 days and you just hop on and hop off this bus at specific stops. It was great for larger cities cause we saw everything we wanted and walked around mostly. But if we wanted to get across the city quickly, just hop on the bus and wait a few stops.

If you are trying to go out of the general city, vespas are the way to go. As far as Venice, walking is the only way.
Sep 4 2013 9:53AM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
Well thanks everyone for the helpful hints! I'm sitting in the departure terminal now and will let you know how everything turns out!

Until later,

Think snowy thoughts
Sep 7 2013 6:12PM
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