I leave on Monday for three days of London fun. Then we spend a week in Prague. After that, we're looking to spend a few nights in another city. We've trying to decide between Munich, Vienna, and Berlin.
We don't care much about nightlife. After a week and a half, we'll probably be partied out anyway. We'd like a place with personality that's relatively safe for two college-aged girls to be wandering alone. We'll be traveling by train from and back to Prague.
Any suggestions?
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
Vienna is beautiful to just walk around and enjoy during the day. Lots of musuems and opera. Not sure about about the nightlife.
Munich has a great park in the middle of city, and lots of fun little shops in the center of town. Big on beer.
Berlin strikes me as more of a modern, gritty city. I haven't spent a lot of time there. But there's also a lot of Nazi/Cold War, government type buildings and memorials to see.
Edit: Overall, I'd go with Vienna. If you're looking for a nice place to stay, I know of a great little bed & breakfast owned by a lady with a big dog. It's not in the center of town, but close to the rail, and not that expensive, as I recall...
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I liked Munich a lot better than Berlin, and I was 15 when I went, so nightlife wasn't an issue. But I remember the people being really friendly.
-pH
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
I haven't been to any of those, but if I were in your shoes (I wish!) my order of preference would probably be Munich and Vienna tied, then Berlin. I've heard that Vienna is really expensive (especially compared to Prague, although it's probably starting to catch up), but I guess Germany isn't exactly cheap either.
Are you going to do any day trips from Prague, like Castle Karlstejn or Cesky Krumlov? Actually, if you decide to go to Vienna, I think Krumlov might be on the way, depending on your train route, but it's probably a bit far for a day trip.
*restraining self from going all travel-planning geek*
Have fun and be careful! I'm so jealous!
<-- That's me, green with envy.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
No advice, but what you've got planned already sounds like a lot of fun. Have a great time!
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
No no, Nell! Please go all travel-planning geek on me. I have no idea what we'll be doing for the week. We've all been so busy that we haven't gotten together at all to work on this. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
And I promise to come back with lots of pictures for everyone.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Could you rent a car and drive for three days, with as little plan in mind as possible? I drove across Wales that way once, and it ended up being much more fun than the scripted parts of my trip.
Posted by Demonstrocity (Member # 9579) on :
quote:Originally posted by Noemon: Could you rent a car and drive for three days, with as little plan in mind as possible? I drove across Wales that way once, and it ended up being much more fun than the scripted parts of my trip.
/seconded
Especially since we both know you'll be back again, and soon.
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
...that's an amazing idea. I'll look into it.
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
That would be incredibly fun! One of the reasons I asked about daytrips is that I've heard a week is a bit much to spend in just Prague. If you discovered you'd already seen all you wanted, you could leave and go exploring ahead of schedule.
But I think it'd still be a good idea to have some sort of a destination in mind when you leave the city. From what I understand, English becomes dramatically less common outside of Prague, and I'd hate to be lost with nowhere to stay under those circumstances.
Do either of you have a guidebook? The maps and the Czech phrases would probably be really useful. (Unless one of you already speaks Czech.) Plus I always like knowing more about whatever it is I'm seeing, even if I don't figure out what it was till afterwards.
And I'm assuming you already know where you're staying, right?
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Catch a play a Globe. If not there, then go to a show at the RSC, Royal Shakespeare Company, or something. Not to be missed when you are in London. Wish I was there now!
Posted by Lissande (Member # 350) on :
You up for coffee or something?
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
Nell, between the four of us, we have three guidebooks. Unfortunately, I'm the only one without her own, so I might stop by a bookstore later tonight.
Orincoro, I fully intend to do just that. I saw both A Midsummer Night's Dream and Thomas More by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and The Taming of the Shrew by a traveling company last summer. I'd love to see another.
Lissande, sure, time permitting. Are you in London?
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Don't answer this if you don't feel comfortable, but...
How much are you spending on this trip? I ask because I'd like to go on this type of trip myself in a year or so, and I'd like to know how much money I need to save up, etc.
I vote for Munich, I've always wanted to go there, it seems like the kind of city you can get lost in (in a good kind of way).
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
Let's see...
Airfare between California to London: $1000 Airfare between London to Prague: $300 Hostel in London, three nights: $100 Hostel in Prague, seven nights: $100
This doesn't include food, activities, and whatever traveling we do for the last three days.
I would guess that it'll come out to about $3k altogether.
I hope that helps.
[ August 03, 2006, 08:19 PM: Message edited by: Celaeno ]
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
It does, a lot. Thanks!
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lissande: You up for coffee or something?
A Hatracker in London?? I thought I would the onliest one. I'll be there in a year, admissions permitting! Yay!
(5th year of college if anyone is keeping score, I want to graduate from Kings College).
Posted by Lissande (Member # 350) on :
Celaeno - Nope, in Prague. (Sorry, Orin ) I figure a whole week gives us some leeway for schedules and stuff. Are you real? The only Hatrack person I've met (other than the ones I introduced) is Ophelia. She can vouch for my city tours. My email's in my profile, if you're interested.
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
Once I have a better idea of where I'll be when, I'll shoot you an email.
If the San Francisco plans work out for Sunday, I'll be real by the time we meet.
Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :
Celaeno, I didn't have a chance to get back to this thread till today, but I just wanted to say have fun on your trip and stay safe! Posted by TheGrimace (Member # 9178) on :
So I feel terrible that I can't be more specific (this was about 10 years ago) but somewhere on our trip either before or after we hit Prague we checked out one of Mad king Ludwig's castles, this one was a half-finished replica of Versailles but was a fascinating site to see, and might be somewhere in range (though I do remember it being a bit out away from the cities, so if you're just doing trains etc it might not be an option)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
But I remember the people being really friendly.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
My email's in my profile, if you're interested.