Vacation in Europe like a European

[Chuckanut]

I'm not sure why somebody would go to Rome or Paris for the first time and not want to see the Colosseum or the Eiffel Tower.

That said, taking some time to wander about a city and get a bit off the beaten path can make some of the best memories. Years ago I visited a small town in Italy that I knew about through relatives. The only English speakers were one lady at the hotel and the lady at the visitor's bureau office. The only English I heard other than myself was a nice British couple I met at the hotel. Even the restaurants had no English speaking staff. But, I managed with my pathetic Italian and phrase book. I saw sites that 99% of Americans never see. Nothing grand that would make the front of a coffee table book, but always wonderful and very interesting.

 

[chris2008]

I like to follow Rick Steves' books and philosophy, but sometimes he goes too far. I remember a show he did on the Swiss Alps, where he lobbied that people should go to this farm village on a plateau. If I'm going to the Swiss Alps, I'm going for the mountains! If I want to see a farm I'll drive 1/2 hour from home.

I think he talks about Gimmelwald
The Cow Culture of Switzerland's Berner Oberland by Rick Steves | ricksteves.com

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/gimmelwald.html?gclid=CN23k7-7274CFfShtAodlykAOQ

The face value of the word "farm" or "farm village" might look familiar to you. But such a thing in the Alps is different. The plateau is right in the mountains and very special. Unlike any "farm village" I have seen in the States or other non-alpine areas (and yes, I have visited Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains ;-))

 

[RunningBum]

I think he talks about Gimmelwald
The Cow Culture of Switzerland's Berner Oberland by Rick Steves | ricksteves.com

Gimmelwald - Switzerland Tourism

The face value of the word "farm" or "farm village" might look familiar to you. But such a thing in the Alps is different. The plateau is right in the mountains and very special. Unlike any "farm village" I have seen in the States or other non-alpine areas (and yes, I have visited Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains ;-))

That's the one I was talking about. And while I appreciate that it is unique, when I planned my first visit to the Swiss Alps I saw no appeal whatsoever to go there. As it turns out there was heavy rain predicted for the 2-3 days we had planned for there so we went elsewhere. To each their own, but I felt this was trying too hard to get away from the touristy spots that have great appeal.

 

[FIREd]

I think he talks about Gimmelwald
The Cow Culture of Switzerland's Berner Oberland by Rick Steves | ricksteves.com

Gimmelwald - Switzerland Tourism

The face value of the word "farm" or "farm village" might look familiar to you. But such a thing in the Alps is different. The plateau is right in the mountains and very special. Unlike any "farm village" I have seen in the States or other non-alpine areas (and yes, I have visited Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains ;-))

While I share your enthusiasm for the alpine "cow culture", I can see how it might not interest everyone.

 

[braumeister]

This reminds me of one of my favorite stories. A guy I know who had never lived anywhere but a small country in Europe was being recruited for a job in Colorado. He looked at the map and bought tickets to New York, then he and his wife rented a car and headed west.

By the time they got to Colorado, they had seen quite a bit of the American landscape, and when they caught their first sight of the Rocky Mountains, they were hooked. Never looked back. Their new employer had certainly not anticipated this, but it worked out great in this case.

 

[Golden sunsets]

DH and I have travelled a slightly different road on our approach to travel. Phase 1 in our "youth" we travelled in an " if it's Tuesday it must be Paris" manner, checking off the boxes on our must do list. Even on our honeymoon( youth phase) we covered as much territory as possible hitting the high points of the region/country. Fast forward to travel with family Phase 2 and we switched gears to rent a car and sea a region, e.g. Provence and Tuscany and rent an Agriturismo 2 BR space on a wine estate. That phase was great and quite freeing vis a vis non scheduled combination of hitting the high points and seeing off the beaten path spots. And now, Phase3: we don't want the hassle/liability of renting/driving a car in a foreign country, so our new approach is to choose 3 locations geographically near each other on a train line and spend 5 days in each location. e.g. Prague/Vienna/Budapeste, Venice/Verona/Florence, Amsterdam/Bruges/Brussels. We make our own train reservations and really enjoy the feeling of doing this on our own and viewing the countryside when moving from one city to the next. We stay either in local European ( non chain ) hotels or stay in small Inns. Staying in non chain hotels/Inns really exposes us to the local culture. And staying for 5 days gives us enough time to see more than the high points. Next up: Sienna/Grenada/Cordoba.

 

[haha]

I guess some folks have a checklist of places to put their bodies in at least once in life, but they seem to have forgotten how to enjoy being there.

A bucket list says nothings about enjoying anything, just checking it off. Kind of like birders' life lists.

Ha

 

[Lsbcal]

... And now, Phase3: we don't want the hassle/liability of renting/driving a car in a foreign country, so our new approach is to choose 3 locations geographically near each other on a train line and spend 5 days in each location. e.g. Prague/Vienna/Budapeste, Venice/Verona/Florence, Amsterdam/Bruges/Brussels. We make our own train reservations and really enjoy the feeling of doing this on our own and viewing the countryside when moving from one city to the next. ...

Brilliant as the Brits say. Do you make the train reservations from the US? Any pointers?

Last year I made some reservations for the UK (East Coast lines I think) from home but it was not so easy to navigate the web site and it was confusing plus there were no refunds. There was some other feedback they provided but it required a UK postal address. The savings seemed to justify the risk and it did work out OK.

 

[tmm99]

I had some coworkers from London that were coming to spend some time in New York and said they wanted to go visit a friend in Seattle... could they do that over a weekend They wanted to drive

 

[kareninthecity]

DH and I went to Italy about 3 years ago - stayed two weeks and spent 3-4 days in Florence, Rome and Venice, seeing all the touristy spots. This year, we are planning a trip back but plan to stay in Pompeii the whole week and really explore that area well. Although I wold love to take the train back up to Florence - that was our favorite!

 

[Golden sunsets]

Brilliant as the Brits say. Do you make the train reservations from the US? Any pointers?

Last year I made some reservations for the UK (East Coast lines I think) from home but it was not so easy to navigate the web site and it was confusing plus there were no refunds. There was some other feedback they provided but it required a UK postal address. The savings seemed to justify the risk and it did work out OK.

Lbscal; We have always waited until we are in country to make travel arrangements and have used a number of methods including hotel concierge assistance to visiting the train office a few days ahead or purchasing the day of travel at a station kiosk. I would only recommend the later for shorter trips. We did this when traveling from Venice to Verona, a trip of only 1.5 hours. Euro rail is not the only way to travel and is often times more expensive. For example from Prague to Vienna, we had a choice of a Czech line, an Austrian line or EuroRail. The last was twice as expensive and would have gotten us to our destination an hour faster. At the hotels suggestion we used the Czech line and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

[Alan]

Brilliant as the Brits say. Do you make the train reservations from the US? Any pointers?

Last year I made some reservations for the UK (East Coast lines I think) from home but it was not so easy to navigate the web site and it was confusing plus there were no refunds. There was some other feedback they provided but it required a UK postal address. The savings seemed to justify the risk and it did work out OK.

Several times, including last year, we bought open tickets that are only available to non-residents so you have to buy them and have them delivered to you before you leave.

For example, if you are an adult, are going to stay for 1 month and expect to take trains on 4 different dates. (each day is free travel all over the country, and you don't have to name any dates or train journeys). It would cost $365 per person.

Britrail Pass: Rail Pass Prices - Rail Europe

 

[photoguy]

Looking at a map, one of our friends from Norway thought they'd be able to fly into Chicago and drive "an hour or so" to Boston.

I have a friend who did a long weekend trip to Yellowstone from San Jose. I think he's insane.

 

[athena53]

And now, Phase3: we don't want the hassle/liability of renting/driving a car in a foreign country, so our new approach is to choose 3 locations geographically near each other on a train line and spend 5 days in each location. e.g. Prague/Vienna/Budapeste, Venice/Verona/Florence, Amsterdam/Bruges/Brussels. We make our own train reservations and really enjoy the feeling of doing this on our own and viewing the countryside when moving from one city to the next. We stay either in local European ( non chain ) hotels or stay in small Inns. Staying in non chain hotels/Inns really exposes us to the local culture. And staying for 5 days gives us enough time to see more than the high points. Next up: Sienna/Grenada/Cordoba.

This is pretty much how DH and I travel although we redeem hotel points when we can. Otherwise, TripAdvisor has been a great resource for finding smaller, locally-owned hotels.

One story about the "cross it off the list" types: DH and I love Impressionist paintings so of course we went to the Musee D'Orsay in Paris when we were there last year. For those of you who aren't into Impressionism, the artists somehow magically make paintings that look like randomly-applied blobs close up, but as you back away the picture emerges- Monet's "Water Lilies" series is an example. So many tourists would walk up, snap a picture of the painting with their iPad, snap a picture of the info next to it, then move on. We really didn't like the D'Orsay- too crowded and all the Impressionists were in a series of rooms where the traffic flow didn't really allow quiet contemplation from several distances.

Just before we left we went to an exhibit of Slovenian Impressionists at Le Petit Palais. I would never have known about it except that I follow French news podcasts and noticed it before our trip. What a joy! Quiet museum in an old palace, no lines, plenty of peace to experience the works.

Sometimes it's good to hang onto your foreign language skills.

 

[Lsbcal]

Thanks to Golden sunset & Alan for replies. Was out of WiFi range (traveling) for awhile.

 

[check6]

I like to follow Rick Steves' books and philosophy, but sometimes he goes too far. I remember a show he did on the Swiss Alps, where he lobbied that people should go to this farm village on a plateau. If I'm going to the Swiss Alps, I'm going for the mountains! If I want to see a farm I'll drive 1/2 hour from home.

Rick is talking about the town of Gimmelwald and it is in the Swiss Alps and in the mountains! Been there many times...you passed on one of the most beautiful hikes of your life. Your loss.

Edit: Posted this before seeing the other responders. My thoughts still hold.

 

[explanade]

You can always stay in smaller towns as opposed to just day tripping to them, when they're packed.

Leaving Capri after 3 night stay. It is way more peaceful in the eves and mornings.

Plus, found a couple of belvederes which could only be reached on foot, no taxis or buses.

 

[Gumby]

Plus, found a couple of belvederes which could only be reached on foot, no taxis or buses.

Did you make it to the Belvedere della Migliera by the Philosophical Park, where you can look down on the lighthouse? That was our favorite.

 

[RunningBum]

Rick is talking about the town of Gimmelwald and it is in the Swiss Alps and in the mountains! Been there many times...you passed on one of the most beautiful hikes of your life. Your loss.

Edit: Posted this before seeing the other responders. My thoughts still hold.

He spent most of the segment talking about cows and cheese and such. Very little about the hike, which we would've enjoyed, though we had other hikes in the Alps planned. As I said, it was pouring rain when we were to go so we wouldn't have enjoyed that anyway.

 

[Chuckanut]

What kind of European should I vacation as: A German? Spaniard? Norwegian?

In heaven, the police are British,
The cooks are French,
The engineers are German
The administrators are Swiss
And the lovers Italian.

In hell, the police are German
The cooks are British
The engineers are Italian
The administrators are French
And the lovers Swiss.

​

 

[robnplunder]

Speaking of Grand Canyon, people are not doing justice to the major National Parks if they are spending just 1/2 day to see one. It's like seeing an elephant's nose through a hole and declaring I've seen an elephant. I highly recommend spending at least a week per national park like in Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc.. There's more to an elephant than its long trunk.

 

[explanade]

Did you make it to the Belvedere della Migliera by the Philosophical Park, where you can look down on the lighthouse? That was our favorite.

Exactly the one.

There are two points, one that only shows the lighthouse and a higher one that shows both the lighthouse and the faraglioni.

Tried taking overlapping shots to stitch into a pano.