Trekking About Europe.

[Brickmaster]

Hello all. You probably don't know me very well, or have even heard of me, but I've been around for a good while, popping in and out. *points at member joined number*

I am calling upon you all today because I am going on a trip to Europe soon. And by soon, I mean a little under a weeks time. I am mostly going through Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Ireland. Considering this is Eurobricks after all, I figured I could get alittle more personal advice from you guys. Of course I have done research myself, and countless people have told me their stories and advice, but everyone always has something new to say, and I was curious what you guys had to say, so I came here to make this thread.

To give alittle bit more background information, my name is Mark. I will be going with my girlfriend, Alex. This trip has been planned for about a year, and we have all the hostels accounted for, we have a rail pass, and we even have it scheduled down to when we are going to be going to Legoland. I will be traveling for 16 days in total.

I should also say, this would be my first time traveling on an airline alone. I am going with Alex, as I said, but we have different flight times, airports, the works. (we had to do this because of frequent flier miles and such.) I have one layover in Boston. I would gladly accept any advice on airport travels, layovers, etc.

If I have left out any information you could use to better advise me on, I would be happy to impart with it. Thank you for reading, your time, and your advice,

Mark.

[Freddie]

Well, if you're heading for Oslo, I'd recommend visiting the Opera, Aker Brygge and Vigelandsparken (aka. Frognerparken and Vigelandsanlegget). The former is accessible by bridge outside the Oslo S Central-station's southern exit/entrance, and while the building itself isn't a tour-de-force, IMO, it is fun and encouraged (and legal!) to climb its roof. The building is chalk-white, so it is recommended you wear sunglasses as you climb it.

Aker Brygge is also recommended if you like modern architecture. But as nice as it is, restaurants here are known to be expensive (and not worth it!), even by norwegian standards.

And then there's Vigelandsparken, known for its statues and obelisk that represent humanity and society (I think...). It is also excellent for a picnic, with vast areas suitable for doing so. On a sunny day, expect to see alot of people doing just that, bringing grilles, game equipment and such.

That's what I can remember of the top of my head. There's always the Visit Oslo website, which has useful information. Also recommended when visiting Oslo is getting an Oslo Pass, which is a bargain if you're going to travel alot within the city limits.

When travelling in Oslo by foot (or, god forbid, by car *shudders*), remember that the trams have an absolute right-of-way. If you get run over by one, it' your fault. If it smashes a side-mirror on your (rented) car, it's your fault as well. This has to do with it being a rail-vehicle, so remember to not run out in front of one on a pedestrian crossing, because you can't expect it to stop. For comparison, all other vehicles are required to stop for pedestrians at crossings (except for rushing emergency vehicles and where there's traffic lights, obviously).

If you happen to go through Fredrikstad (an entirely different city, mind you!), Gamlebyen is recommended. It used to be an old fortress city, but is now a living museum. The buildings here are ancient by american standards, but people work and live here. The shops here are unique, and the galleries are free to visit. It's not large, by any means, and at most you'll only get a few hours out of it. If you rent a car, you should park it outside Gamlebyen (free parking), and walk in.

[Erdbeereis]

Sounds like fun! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, and take home many good experiences.

Airline Travel:

Dress in layers, as the temperature can vary dramatically between cities, and also just on the plane compared to the airport. Bring some entertainment; books, handheld gaming device such as DS or PSP, Laptop, anything like that. You always want to have something to do, and SkyMall doesn't provide hours of entertainment.

Ideas for Germany

I haven't been to any of the Scandinavian countries, so I'll just stick to the one I'm most familiar with.

One city I can highly recommend in Munich. I went there in May, and it's one of the nicest cities I've been to. The public transit systems like the trams are new and excellent and make it really easy to get around. My family and I took a Free Bike Tour led by an American who lives in Munich, and it was very fun. Munich has to be the best city ever to ride a bike in, everyone seems to do it and the bike tour is a great way to ride a bike while getting some info on the various sites.

My favorite part of Germany (and most of Europe for that matter) is just all of the cute little villages that we just don't have in the US. If you have the chance, just buy some bread and some toppings and go to a little village or countryside for a picnic. The food will be great and the atmosphere even better.

Karlsruhe (my hometown) is a nice medium-sized city as well. If you go, go to Eis Cortina and get some Erdbeereis for me. The ice cream in Europe is almost always better than it is here.

I haven't really been to the northern part of the country, so I don't know of anything to recommend there.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

[Brickmaster]

Thank you very much for your response.

Our main point of Traveling was to not see the main touristy things everyone else does, but to, like you said, go out and see the rural villages and whatnot. A friend of mine asked me some specifics of where I was going, so I actually fashioned a makeshift map:

The numbers represent nothing other than order. (If the image is too big, just tell me and I will remove the image tags.)

[spade450]

Brickmaster,

I live in Southern Italy but see that you are not headed this way so my local knowledge will not be of much help (it's too hot here in the summer, anyway). I've been to London a few times and, though you are avoiding the tourist spots, there are some amazing things to see in that city: British Museum (free), National Gallery (free), Imperial War Museum (free), Regent's Park (free - awesome gardens). They are likely to be a bit crowded in the summer but did I mention that they are all free? (More money for Legoland where you WILL need it.) I am a museum dork so in Dublin I recommend the National Museum of Ireland (great prehistoric Irish exhibits, bog people, etc. and very cool viking collection) and Collin Street Barracks (Irish military history and decorative arts). Both are free if I remember correctly. The Guinness tour is very commercial but is done very well as is the tour at the Jameson distillery (both free). If you do go to Jameson and they ask for volunteers at the beginning of the tour, DO IT! My wife and I were picked for a taste test at the end of the tour. My wife likes garden-type things and one STRONG recommendation is to get out of Dublin for a day and do this: Take the local train (sorry, I don't remember which one) down the coast about 30-45 minutes to the town of Bray. Beautiful little town on the beach. From there, catch a bus near the train station up to Powers Court Garden -- a very cool mansion with beautiful grounds to walk around on (not free but reasonable). We were there in late October and it was beautiful. In the summer it must be amazing.

Hope this helps a bit. Have a great time!

[Brickmaster]

And thanks for the great post Freddie. Obviously I'm not used to some things that would be very common there, so even those pointers are very helpful. As a general rule people seem to tell me to not eat at restaurants, but buy from grocery stores rather. Also from Oslo, we are heading up to see some fjords and such, which should be nice.

I'm actually abit of a Museum geek myself, I never thought of that. Who could pass up free? Thanks for the great ideas.

Edited July 26, 2009 by Brickmaster