[Shiara]

Hi all, long time no see!

Lucifer's Heaven and I are planning a trip to the UK and parts of Europe in March - April next year, and we're hoping to get your input on things to see, places to go, and if you're interested in a quick visit from / meetup with internet strangers!

Countries on our draft itinerary are as follows:

• England / Scotland
  
• Germany
  
• Czech Republic
  
• Austria
  
• Italy
  
• Croatia (Dalmatian Coast)

KGO!

[Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai]

if you go to Scotland go up Ben Nevis, its awesome and doesn't require much kit, just some boots and warm/dry clothes, if not there are many gorgeous lochs and mountains and walks to see and take part in. As for England, it would possibly be Peak District or Lake district (I know more of the North than the South though) South there are many lovely coastal places, Devon, Cornwall etc, fishing villages and the like. Sadly not visited Europe yet (to be corrected next year!!) I myself want to go to France and Italy for food and wine mainly. and for the awesome sights of Italy, specifically the Coliseum. Hope this helps ever so slightly! Sure others will have much more information! I have yet to start my abroad travels sadly

[Macros]

Keep me in the loop!

[Studious Lock]

You should come to london, then we'll sight see/get smashed. Simple.

[Tiste Simeon]

Come up North! We can meet up with Brood and some other guys too!

[Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai]

Tisteon Simeonus, on 04 June 2014 - 10:22 AM, said:

Come up North! We can meet up with Brood and some other guys too!

How far up North? I would be interested in a Malazan meet up!!

[DeadHedge]

Bit of advice, regardless of what time of the year you visit Bonny Scotland, always pack for winter. In fact play it safe and pack for all 4 seasons as you may need it (all on teh smae day too).

[Tiste Simeon]

Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai, on 04 June 2014 - 10:23 AM, said:

Tisteon Simeonus, on 04 June 2014 - 10:22 AM, said:

Come up North! We can meet up with Brood and some other guys too!

How far up North? I would be interested in a Malazan meet up!!

There are a groupd of us who live in the Manchester area (or close enough for an easy train journey across) I meet up with Brood and Stone Monkey from time to time (and Dag when she is visiting) Cougar lives fairly close as does Grumble. We used to do a Malaz Manc Meet up every year but I think a few people have moved away. It would be an ideal stopping point on the way up to Scotland...

[Solidsnape]

I would absolutely recommend the Lake District on your way North, as well as the North itself. It's not all grim!!
Should also vouch my my fair city of Newcastle too. It's not the biggest, but it has some unparalleled period architecture. Not to mention that 'vibrant' night-life we seem to be famous for.
Looking forward to hearing how you decide to spend your time here.

[Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai]

Tisteon Simeonus, on 04 June 2014 - 11:01 AM, said:

Tarthenal Theloman Toblakai, on 04 June 2014 - 10:23 AM, said:

Tisteon Simeonus, on 04 June 2014 - 10:22 AM, said:

Come up North! We can meet up with Brood and some other guys too!

How far up North? I would be interested in a Malazan meet up!!

There are a groupd of us who live in the Manchester area (or close enough for an easy train journey across) I meet up with Brood and Stone Monkey from time to time (and Dag when she is visiting) Cougar lives fairly close as does Grumble. We used to do a Malaz Manc Meet up every year but I think a few people have moved away. It would be an ideal stopping point on the way up to Scotland...

O cool! only up the road from Stoke, defo would be up for that in the future if it gets organised again!

[Kaamos]

Come to Scandinavia, the frostbitten kvlt grimness and northernness will blow your mind!
Nevermind, Scotland is wonderful during every season. Just did an Inverness-Hebrides round trip during the past March myself, and in spite of sideways-flying hail so sharp it hurt the skin and "rainproof" clothing getting sodden every day (not to mention the time I sank ankle deep into a mudpool partly consisting of liquid cowturds somewhere in the Isle of Lewis) it was a week I would not have left unexperienced. :-D

[Macros]

Solidsnape, on 04 June 2014 - 01:09 PM, said:

I would absolutely recommend the Lake District on your way North, as well as the North itself. It's not all grim!!
Should also vouch my my fair city of Newcastle too. It's not the biggest, but it has some unparalleled period architecture. Not to mention that 'vibrant' night-life we seem to be famous for.
Looking forward to hearing how you decide to spend your time here.

whilst I'm sure Luci would love the local wildlife, don't know that shiara would appreciate the visual stimulation as much

[Macros]

Also, I'm assuming the dates are tied up with work and or study, because you really want to hit Europe a little bit later for weather reasons

[worry]

Remember 1 out of 5 people on the European mainland are vampires, and you should stake about that proportion of the people you see. And as long as you're right >50% of the time there's no criminal penalties.

[Solidsnape]

Macros, on 04 June 2014 - 05:36 PM, said:

Solidsnape, on 04 June 2014 - 01:09 PM, said:

I would absolutely recommend the Lake District on your way North, as well as the North itself. It's not all grim!!
Should also vouch my my fair city of Newcastle too. It's not the biggest, but it has some unparalleled period architecture. Not to mention that 'vibrant' night-life we seem to be famous for.
Looking forward to hearing how you decide to spend your time here.

whilst I'm sure Luci would love the local wildlife, don't know that shiara would appreciate the visual stimulation as much

Not to everyone's taste. Haha.

[Mezla PigDog]

Sounds like an exciting trip Shiara! The Croatian coast is amazing, I recommend the Croatian islands if you have time but otherwise that whole area is lovely - I've heard good things about Dubrovnik.

As for the UK if you want the quintessential trip I suggest the following in England:

At least one of York or Bath. They are quaint old cities with cathedrals and old stuff and lots of cream tea and fudge shops. The ideal spot for a traditional English day out. You can add to these places towns/cities like Stratford-on-Avon, Salisbury and Chester. All beautiful and ful of heritage.
Stonehenge - because why the hell wouldn't you? You can combine that with Glastonbury/Salisbury/Bath as they are in the same part of the country.
Pick a pretty seaside spot in Devon, Cornwall or Dorset. Eat fish and chips in the rain on the beach to make it truly British.
London - I hate visiting the place regularly but it's an awesome city. Unmissable tourist entertainment for me is the Tower Of London, The British Museum and half a day pottering about looking at Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Big Ben and Trafalgar Square. Hampton Court Palace is pretty cool (it's where Henry VIII generally hung out) but a bit out of the way.
One or more of the National Parks - Lake District, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, New Forest, Exmoor or Dartmoor. Get rained on while you go for a walk :-)
One of the industrial cities in the North - Manchester or Liverpool are the best and have interesting museums about the Industrial Revolution. I'm a Manc so wouldn't normally recommend Liverpool over it but you can see all the Beatles tourist stuff there as well.
Sunday lunch in a nice gastro pub somewhere.
One of Oxford or Cambridge.

Let me know if/when you plan to be in the London or Cambridge areas. We can try and rustle up some of the other locals for a mini meetup.

[Illuyankas]

Mezla PigDog, on 05 June 2014 - 04:07 PM, said:

Pick a pretty seaside spot in Devon, Cornwall or Dorset. Eat fish and chips in the rain on the beach to make it truly British.

You can also have a pasty. No, not the nipple ones.

More importantly though, I live there!

This post has been edited by Illuyankas: 05 June 2014 - 04:13 PM

[Imperial Historian]

Sounds like a good trip.

I'm going to echo macros and say if you can push your trip back one month you will get infinitely better weather, march-april in most of those countries the weather will range from bad to OK, especially in comparison to oz. April-may you will get a lot better weather ranging from OK to good. March-april might be cheaper though on the plus side.

Regarding the countries on your itinerary, that might be a bit ambitious to do them in any depth in 2 months but you should be able to do the highlights, but with a fair bit of travelling. If your doing the trip by train check out the EU rail passes, but they may not necessarily be cheaper if you book trains and budget flights in advance/the inevitable sale a few months before you may be able to do the trip more cheaply, but with less flexibility.

Mezlas list of English places to visit is pretty good. As a Mancunian I maintain Manchester is better to visit than Liverpool, plus its full of malazans! Having lived in both York and Bath, I'd say bath is nicer, but both are worth visiting, I can give you more details if you want. I hesitate to recommend Stonehenge, it is one of the worlds iconic sites, but it is also overpriced, you can't go in amongst the stones except on special occasions, and the road built right next to it is really annoying. On the other hand it is Stonehenge and is pretty impressive. I'd recommend Cambridge over Oxford. Mezlas list also doesn't include Scotland or Wales, Edinburgh, the highlands and the Brecon beacons are all worth a visit.

In Germany aachen, cologne, Berlin, and munich are all definitely worth visiting, and I hear Hamburg is pretty good too, but its quite a lot of travel to do them all. If you are going by train/ferry from England paris, Amsterdam and Maastricht are all cool cities you could go via.

Austria, Vienna is a great city. Dag lives there so could give you more info. The Alps are definitely a must if you are near them. A train ride through the Alps is pretty amazing. A trip to Salzburg and some skiing might be fun.

Czech republic I've only been to Prague but it is well worth the visit. Likewise Croatia I've only been to split, but I'm sure lucis family will be able to provide tips.

Italy I could write an essay on, but the short version, avoid Italian night trains like the plague, you won't actually be able to sleep, and distances aren't actually that long.

Rome is amazing, you could easily do a week there, set aside 3-4 full days if you even want to do just the major sites. Florence is also a must. If you are in Florence a half day trip to Pisa is worth it, but there isn't enough for a full day there. From 10 til 4 the main square in Pisa is full of tour buses and is pretty horrible, the later you go the quieter and better it is. After 10pm you can have the square to yourself with everything lit up and its pretty spectacular.

Other cities Venice is expensive, and I think over rated, a day there to see St Marcos piazza is probably enough. Milan is worth it if you like high end fashion shopping, but not a huge amount there otherwise. Bologna is often overlooked by foreigners, but has some of the best Italian food (plus the best ice cream I've ever had). Naples and Pompeii are worth the trip south, though Naples can be a little rough.

Anyway after that essay, I don't know where I'll be when your travelling, but if I'm somewhere you are travelling to you are more than welcome to stay with me. I'll try and be in London or Manchester if a malazan meet happens.

[Abyss]

Others can speak to England better than i but i'll note that London is an awesome city.

Italy...

Milan is totally good for a day or two. See the Duomo, go to the roof and spend an hour. It's surreal and awesome. Go see the Last Supper. Do a proper tour with narration. Worthwhile. Window shop in the center than move away to find the same stuff at better prices.

Venice is neat as long as the weather holds. It sucks in the rain, but is a fascinating city to get lost in the rest of the time. Do the silly gondola thing, it's worth it. Don't take the first or even second price you're offered.

The Cinque Terres are a beautiful coastline strip of villages that are totally worth a few days. Charming, filling, beachfront (Monterosso) and far less touristy/expensive/crowded/overdeveloped than the Amalfi coast.

Florence is awesome. Book all your museums and tours in advance. Plan an extra day to just wander around and hit the market. Again, don't take first or second price you're offered on anything.

Yes, you absolutely should rent a car and drive around the hill towns in Tuscany (around Sienna). Eat and drink yourselves stupid. If at all possible, dip down into Umbria and go here: http://en.wikipedia....a_di_Bagnoregio just to walk around. Unless you're afraid of heights. No bars or restaus of note but it's near Orvieto which has those things very nicely.

Rome... get in, see the Vatican (book in advance for the Love of God (pun intended) book in advance!!!), see the Fountain and the Spanish Steps at night and gtfo.

Austria...

Vienna is very nice and the Biergartens are even nicer.

[Messremb]

Imperial Historian, on 09 June 2014 - 04:25 PM, said:

I'm going to echo macros and say if you can push your trip back one month you will get infinitely better weather, march-april in most of those countries the weather will range from bad to OK, especially in comparison to oz. April-may you will get a lot better weather ranging from OK to good. March-april might be cheaper though on the plus side.

May/June for better weather still - and the schools aren't out so the price-gouging isn't too excessive.

Quote

I hesitate to recommend Stonehenge, it is one of the worlds iconic sites, but it is also overpriced, you can't go in amongst the stones except on special occasions, and the road built right next to it is really annoying. On the other hand it is Stonehenge and is pretty impressive.

If you can find a tame Messremb around I and one other get in for free on my work ID card. The road has been taken up and the landscaping to hide where it used to be is due to finish in I think June this year. There's not much else to do round there unless you call in to Salisbury and wander round the cathedral / old sarum.

Quote

I'd recommend Cambridge over Oxford. Mezlas list also doesn't include Scotland or Wales, Edinburgh, the highlands and the Brecon beacons are all worth a visit.

I find Oxford a little trying, too many people in too small a place. Lovely architecture though. Brecon Beacons or Snowdon should certainly be on the list, Snowdon has the cafe at the top and a train line up to it if you feel like cheating. I'm up in Edinburgh on business at the end of the month, not been there before.

For a nice bit of relaxation get a canal boat for a day or two and really take it easy.