another 'quiz'

[LHR02]

Okay...I am bored this evening....so here goes

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?

2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?

8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?

okay.....tell! One or two or all.

[Kim]

Well, you know I love a good survey (as does Patrick ;D ;D)

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?

I think we only did one if I remember correctly. Brewers Best of Berlin and it was absolutely outstanding. Run by Terry Brewer who used to work for the British Embassy in the times of East and West Berlin - ended up being 8 hours (said 5) and it was super cheap! Leaves from various hostels - the Circus, the Clubhouse etc.

2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?

Not a museum fan. Went to a few of the main ones but honestly, only cause I was dragged there by my other half. ;D

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?

Well, we didn't really stumble on it but I was taken away by Norway! I didn't really care either way about seeing it but it ended up being incredible, especially the fjords. Also adored San Sebastian in Spain. Didn't expect to love Prague as much as I did.

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?

Hmm.. I'd have to say Dublin, Athens and Lisbon - just wasn't a fan. That said I loved other places in those countries (Galway, the Greek Is. and Lagos) so it just goes to show you can't judge a country from one city.

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!

OK - let me start this by saying I hate mice. HATE them. Actually I am absolutely freaked out, terrified of them. So we were sleeping one night (in Lisbon ironically enough) and I hear this rustle in the corner. I make my husband turn on the light and look as I didn't have my contacts in. He says I think it's a mouse by don't worry, it's gone. I of course, can't stop listening for it so I plug my ears. All of a sudden, he flicks on the light again and freaks me out - I had no idea what was going on. I throw on my glasses and see that there is a mouse hanging from the ceiling and when the light comes on, it scared it and it drops into our bed. By this time, I'm FREAKING out. There was no way I was sleeping in there so I run down the hall to the reception, only to find the guy running this nasty pension sleeping on a pile of towels in the middle of a laundry room. He comes and says "What mouse? I don't see a mouse." DUH. Obviously it's not hanging out. He gives us another room and in the morning, I swear, he pretty much had the front door open booting our butts out!!

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?

Oh geez. Watching the sun set from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Getting lost in the canals in Venice. The energy of the city of Barcelona. The fjords in Norway. The dusk light in Prague (a photographers dream). Gyros with fries in them on the Greek Islands...

I think theough, THE moment, was the minute the bus turned by the main square in Brugges and it was everything I had dreamt Europe to be. I swear, I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?

Biggest waste of space - sleeping bag and dress shoes (What was I thinking??)

One thing I'd never leave home without now? A pillow case. It's nice to know you're sleeping on a clean one!

8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?

I had a cut on my toe that got really, really infected. I couldn't wear shoes so luckily there was an English speaking hospital in Lisbon. They were awesome - cut the toe open, fixed it up and wrote down all the stuff we needed to get in Portugese. (This of course was after the lecture in broken English about letting it get so bad) We paid up front and got reimbursed - it was pretty easy. One thing I do want to say though - always, always take a photo copy of ALL your reciepts and forms you have to send in. Had I not done this, I would been out about $1000 due to the insurance company losing all my paper work when I got sick a few years back in Hawaii.

Ging - you have to do your own survey as well!

Who's next?

Kim

[Patrick]

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?

Yes, one. We were guided by a really old lady through the streets of Rome. I'm surprised she walked the whole way with us!

2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?

Can't say that I went to any actual 'museums' ... not a museum person.

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?

Well our plane had a problem on the way home, so we had to take a smaller plane that didn't have enough fuel to make it across the ocean.
So we ended up stopping in Iceland which was pretty neat.

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?

I was on a cruise once and one of the ports was Tunisia, but there was too much wind that day and the ship couldn't dock, so we missed that port!

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!

I have a funny story. I was in Rome with the tour group and this British guy was trying to listen to guide when a guy started bothering people trying to sell postcards. Anyways, this British guy just started screaming at the Postcard guy about how rude he was and we were trying to listen, and told him to "piss off!". It was hilarious. I do have a non-europe travel horror story involving me, my friend, 2 girls and their huge father chasing us... but I don't want to get into that.

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?

I wouldn't say there was any special moment that defined my trip, but the village of Eze in France was quite amazing and I really enjoyed roaming around Monaco and just sitting outside eating with the people there.

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?

Dress shoes. I hate dress shoes. And I'd never leave home without more memory cards for my camera.

[LHR02]

Well....wasn't actually thinking about 'my' answers, but okay, here goes:

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?
I actually took loads of them, I find them a great way to get introduced to a new town and so informative. There were several memorable ones but I suppose if I had to name just one it would be the Westminster by Gaslight tour in London. Then again, I really liked the Enjoy Rome evening tour too. And the tour from the TI in York was fabulous...showed all the many 'layers' of history in the city, things you might just walk by and never even notice.


2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?
Well, I AM a big museum gal and have enjoyed countless days roaming around in them. Being a huge Rembrandt and old ductch masters fan I have to say the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam remains my favorite. Second would have to be the Vatican museums.

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?
Probably Avignon France. Hadn't planned to stop there at all and got off at the final minute. Well worth the day I spent there.....The Great Schism and all.

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris...without a doubt. After almost 4 months I had seen so many glorious churches and found myself standing there...so what. Greatly over hyped imho.

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!
Easy! The train trip from hell....Dresden to Warsaw! Border guards barging into my room, demanding to see all my money, fingering through all my belongings, no one speakes English to explain what the problem is...all this after an 18 hour day and in the middle of the night when I hoped to be sleeping peacefully.

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?
The one that will always stand out.....stepping out of St. Lucia station in Venice. Never having been there before I had no idea.....step out the door and you are literally standing on the grand canal. Magic! Second will be ferry from Malliag to Invernie in Scotland and riding back on the deck surrounded by freshly cut Christmas trees just at sunset. More magic!

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?
For me, CD player and CD's. Heavy and I rarely used them at all, in fact mailed them home after about 6 weeks. Too many interesting things to listen to to close my head off with American music. Never without...my little travel shortwave radio. Kept me in touch and informed in the evenings and morning while I was getting dressed. I could get BBC, VOA and sometime armed forces radio....being a news junkie I liked knowing what was going on in the world even if I had stepped out of it.

8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?
Wickedly twisted my knee in Sienna....and it kept getting worse, to the point I could barely walk and honestly thought I would have to cut my trip short and come home. Went into a pharmacy in La Spazia where no one spoke English and mimed my way into letting them know what was wrong and what I needed (a knee brace). Kept me from hiking the CT trail,which I really wanted to do and the day was saved when I 'rediscovered' the emergency Percoset my doctor had given me for just in case. I'd forgotten I even had it! He was great, giving me prescriptions for antibiotics, pain killers et al to fill and take along if needed in an emergency. His 'take along' meds saved the day a couple of times.



ging - replying to her own survey!

[Cat]

I'm always in for a new survey

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?
I did walking tours in Rome (like Ging, I did the 'Enjoy Rome' tours. I liked the ancient Rome tour the best (featuring the Colosseum, Forum and so on). And when I was visiting New York I did the Bronx tour. That neighbourhood was something different than I am used to.

2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?
I'm not much of a museum-fan, but the one I liked best so far is the immigrationmuseum at Ellis Island (again, New York, but nobody say it HAD to be about Europe ;D)

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?
I London there is a pub that is very special. Great ceilings, lots of little steps and corners you can sit and a great atmosphere. Sadly, I can't remember the name.

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?
In the UK we drove for about 50 kilometres to visit an ancient burial site. When we finally got there, It was just a big pile of rubble. Really wasn't worth the long trip.
Another let-down was the 'Grotto Azurra' (blue cave) on the Isle of Capri. The water is said to have the most amazing shade of blue. First you have sail in a tiny motor-boat (naturally, I got sick from the motion and the fumes from the exaust pipes). The scenery was nice, but not that special. After about 30 minutes you arrive at the cave and then you have to wait for about an hour (in the wobbly boat) befor you transfer into a little rowing boat. Just what you need when you are sick. Then you can enter the cave, accompanied by an off-key singing Italian. You take a quick spin and after 3 minutes it's all over. Except for the 30 min boat trip back to shore. The water in the cave does have a different colour, but it really didn't live up to my and my two friends expectations.

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!
We were able to smash two car tires at once. And it was the second HOUR of our holiday in the UK.
Luckily it happened near three garages, so after an hour of so we were on our way again, having paid 160 pounds for the replacing of the tires.
Another story: I went to Istanbul with a male friend. I knew he had had a crush on me, but I thought he was over that. We spent five nice days there and had a great time seeing the sights. When booking the hotel I had asked for seperate beds. But, I had brought my sleeping sheet, just in case. Sadly, there weren't any double beds available. So we had to spend the night in one bed. He used the hotelsheets and I used my sleeping sheet. The very last night I suddenly felt a hand on my back. And it stayed there! It turned out to be a (not very well executed) pass on me. I really wasn't interested, we talked about it, but the friendship ended pretty soon afterwards.

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?
We were in London with a group, and me and my friend decided to go see a musical. We had never done that before. We bought last-minute tickets of Les Miserables and we were both blown away by it! Since then I have seen it staged in London (twice), Antwerp and New York. And next time I'll be in London I'm going to see it again.

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?
Biggest wast of space: clothes! I always pack too many.
Never leave home without: Sleeping sheet. That way I know that, where-ever I go, I'll have a clean sheet and pillow case. And it's usefull for other purposes too.

8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?
I'm glad to say I never have been really ill while on holiday. A few years ago I was suffering from a recurrent eye-infection (at least, I thought at the time,later it turned out to be something else. All fixed now, no worries!)
Before flying to New York I spent the night at a friends house. Late that night, my 'infection' reared its ugly head. It ment red eye, pain and sensitivity to sunlight. Not exactly what you need on your holiday. I couldn't go and see a doctor, because my flight went real early, but I knew exactly what eyedrops I needed. They contain lots of steroides, so it ain't the light stuff. I went to Schiphol Airport and visited the first aid office. I stated my request and the guy at the counter gave me my medicines, without even asking for ID of checking my eyes or general health or anything. As long as you pay up, apperently you can get almost every medicine you want. If you actually need the medication, that's a different matter.

That's my bit, not all about European holidays, but hey, you can skip the New York parts if you want to

[jennifer]

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?

I took a couple walking tours in Europe on my last trip but the one I enjoyed most was the Insider's tour in Berlin. It went on for hours but nobody seemed to be tired of it. The guide was an infinite pot of information! He even made the tour last 2 hours more than supposed to as we were all into it! I highly suggest it!

2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?

Wow, I don't know if it's cause i'm not awoken yet, but i'm having a hard time thinking back and seeing which I liked most. The Chocolate Museum in Köln, Germany is really fun. It's interactive, has great great great chocolate and you get to see how it's made. I really like that museum. The Wall museum in Berlin must be the most complete museum I've ever been to. I love museums but there was so much to see and read I could hardly get myself to continue after 5 hours! It's one of the best I must say!

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?

Bratislava, Slovakia. It wasn't planned, but in Wien I spoke to a canadian girl who had just been there and I decided to wing it! Wow, unbelievably striking. So different from the rest of my stops. I absolutely am glad I have been there!

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?

I must say I didn't have many! Probably not being able to stay longer in Gimmelwald! hehehe Don't we all want to stay! But then again I also wanted to see other places, so it was hard for me to decide!

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!

Sorry, none here, not that I know of or can remember right now! I don't know why I'm saying sorry, cause i should be glad!


6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?

Prague, Bratislava, Gimmelwald, Amsterdam, Berlin, Lübeck, I mean, I could go on for days, but the best part of my trip was realizing I could do it all on my own. I only realized what alone really was once I got to Prague and had to ask someone who didn't speak english how to get to the city! I must say realizing what I could accomplish was the best part!

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?

I would never leave home without ZIPLOCS! Definetely not! My camera and my journal were also my best friends for the ride! My biggest waste of space was my Nalgene water bottle. Never used it! I must say that comes with experience, but you learn you can refill one there that you already bought and won't be scared of loosing it cause you paid 15$ for it!

8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?

Well, I got a huge cold! I was weezy, felt like staying in bed and forgetting I was travelling, but I got over it slowly, keeping myself warm, taking pills and saying to myself i'd kick myself in the rear if I didn't get on the road!

[BigRay]

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?

My favorite walking tour was one I did in Monmartre, Paris. I don't remember who it was with, but it had lots of good info about the history of the area that couldn't be found in guide books. I remember thinking at the time though, that some of it could be made up, but it was still fun. And I love the area.


2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?

I like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The building itself is incredible, and the exhibits are much different than other museums. Some are huge environments and others are really interactive. I've been there three times and never been disappointed. I think the best word to describe the museum is "fun," which I'm not sure I could use with other museums.


3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?

Annecy, France on a beautiful spring day. I was in Geneva with a bunch of time before I needed to be somewhere and someone told me Annecy was nice so I went. It was absolutely gorgeous and a place I can't wait to get back to.


4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?

Seeing commercialism running rampant.

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!

I arrived at the train station in Valencia, Spain during the Las Fallas festival. It was complete mayhem, with people everywhere. I put my backpack down to take off my sweatshirt and before I knew it, it was gone. The thief easily slipped into the crowd. Lost my Eurrail pass, plane tickets home, passport, money, journal, and film. Nightmare. Fortunately, I had everything replaced within a few days (except for the journal and film) and turned an expected three month trip into 6 months, since I had to get a new ticket home anyways.

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?

This is a tough one. I'd have to say the special memory I will always have will be of my first backpacking trip after college with 9 other best friends. Since I primarily travel alone now, and doing that again with 9 other people will be impossible to arrange, that will always stick out as an incredible, carefree time.


7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?

I'm probably guilty of overpacking, but I haven't taken anything that I haven't used. As for something I wouldn't leave home without now, I would say it would be my camera.


8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?

I got deathly sick at some point in Morocco and I didn't know what it was. I was travelling during the mad cow disease scare and I had pretty much avoided almost all meat since I love seafood anyways and it was abundant in Spain. Ironically, I thought I got sick because I wasn't eating any meat. So I went to Madrid, where I had lived one summer prior and felt comfortable in, and just waited it out for several days in my room, only leaving to get some McDonald's and Burger King. I figured they feed so many people that they must have taken measures against mad cow disease.

[LHR02]

Hey Ray....I did a walking tour in Montmartre also and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Can't remember either what company it was with but it was a great one. Did yours end at Sacre Cour about 1300 hrs? And begin at the metro stop about 1000? If so we might have been with the same tour company!

[MuvverRussia]

1) Did you take any walking tours? Which did you enjoy most and why?

There was this guy in the hostel I was staying at in Prague (Hostel Elf) who did this really cheap walking tour. We literally did the whole of Prague in 1 day and saw so much stuff that was out of the way.

2) Museums...which was your favorite and why?

It's a tie between the Deutsche museum in Munich and Auschwitz. Whilst the Deutsche museum was my favourite in terms of its content (i.e. it has everything to do with science etc), Auschwitz was something else, especially Birkenau.

3) What unexpected/unplanned for stop or sight left you glad you stumbled onto it?

Going to the beach in Jurmala (Latvia). I was expecting a UK style winter beach but with snow. Instead it was this huge, glistening sheet of ice stretching out maybe 270 metres or so. It was awe inspiring (at least for me).

4) What was the biggest let down of your travels?

Vienna as a whole. I found it to be expensive, as well as quite boring.

5) Have a horror story on the road? Do tell!

I know it's not much compared to some people, but I arrived in Riga to find that the hostel I was staying in had cancelled my reservation. They then gave me the directions to this one about 2.5km away- it turned out to be this old Soviet era place in the middle of nowhere. Literally when you approached it it looked like something out of a horror movie, also inside it looked like a hospital (white corridors etc)- great.

6) That special moment/memory...we all have one. What defined your trip?

Sitting outside on a balcony with some Russians and some others from the UK when it was -15c. We were watching the snow falling onto a pine forest whilst drinking pretty good (and incredibly cheap) russian vodka.

7) What was the biggest waste of space/weight you lugged around with you? And the one thing you'd never leave home without now?

I've never had a waste of space- I normally pack light so I use everything. The one thing I never leave home without is duct tape though- it's so useful.

8) What hazards did you encounter...i.e. sick or hurt? How did you deal with it overseas?

I've always been lucky (touch wood) and haven't really had any hazards.

[LHR02]

Muver...in Auschwitz did you go way to the back past 'Canada' to the newest exhibit full of nothing but photographs? Stunning! Tied the entire horror into a neat knot for me. Seeing all those family pics of births, weddings, vacations...and then realizing they are all dead.....so sad.

ging

ps...where were you drinking the vodka? Curious.

[MuvverRussia]

I didn't see that- we were doing a guided tour so we were pushed for time and only saw the main stuff. Even so it was still haunting.

That was in Jurmala- a few of my friends and I spent a week there before going to Riga back in early February. It was definitely the trip of the year for me ;D.

[Marie]

Oh, Oh! The Deutsche Museum is GREAT!! So much fun!!

[BigRay]

Hi Ging,

It definitely sounds like we did the same walking tour! I think this might be their website:
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/

It might not be, but it sounds a lot like the tour I took.

Ray