The overnight train I was looking at was from Munich to Milan, since I was just exploring some of my various options. I would theoretically do it in the later portion of the trip, after my friends had returned to the states It seems like it's cheaper (and faster, obviously) to just fly from Paris to Munich. The overnight train includes a transfer or two and a long layover, which seems like kind of a hassle If we end up in Salzburg, I'll definitely check out the different options. When I ran the marathon there a few years ago, I went past many of the iconic locations, but didn't have any time to stop along the way and take a closer look. I'd definitely like to have a chance to take a proper tour of Hellbrun and see the fountains, among other things
The trick fountains at Hellbrunn Castle are definitely worth seeing. Be careful, you might get very wet ;-)
Do you guys have any experience with Transavia airlines? Their fares are dirt cheap (looking at Paris to Munich for 39euro, or 63euro with checked bag & reserved seat), so I'm concerned that there might be a lot of hidden fees. On a flight that short I'm not particularly concerned about comfort or amenities, but this seems like one of those deals that's too good to be true Edit: For the flights to/from the US, I'm planning on using one of the more traditional airlines
I'm afraid I've never heard of that particular airline, but the price doesn't seem that far out to me. The only thing to watch is baggage allowance as they'll wallop you if you're over.
Good to know that the price seems reasonable! Sounds like we don't need to rush to book that right away then. It looks like direct flights from the US dropped about $300-400 over the weekend, so I may finally pull the trigger on that!
We liked Brussels but didn't find that much to do. The main square is awesome and I wish we had gone to the cartoon museum. In France, fairly close to Paris, I liked the D-Day beaches and Mt St Michel, and the chateaux in the Loire Valley once I felt I had done Paris enough (about six trips). The Nobel Prize and WWII Museum in Caen was impressive. I am not sure how far they would be though. I have been to Oktoberfest and was surprised at the sheer number of totally wasted men, but not upset by it. I was more annoyed by them peeing against walls everywhere I looked. It is cheesy, but it sounds like you'll love it!
I'd definitely interested in Brussels (possibly as a day trip while we're staying at DLP), but I'm somewhat concerned about safety there. US media has been playing it up since the attack, so it's tough to say exactly how safe it would be. My trip coincides with the Brussels Marathon (and half marathon) which would be fun to do, but I don't think it's quite worth taking that risk Sounds like quite a scene! I don't think we'll have quite that much to drink, but we're definitely expecting it to be somewhat of a &)*#-show. It's something that I've always wanted to do, and it definitely seems like something that I need to do while I'm still (somewhat) young and stupid just for the experience
T That's good. Sometimes exchange rates go in your favour with things like that. The dollar and the pound have been all over the place recently. Thanks to our upcoming eu referendum I got a terrible rate when I went to DL in February.
I've seen that popping up in the news again lately, but haven't followed it very closely. Wasn't there a big vote on this a few months ago? Why bring it up again so soon after?
No, this is the big vote. It was announced in February, but the actual vote is June 23rd. It's an interesting time to be British. I love Belgium and wouldn't hesitate to travel all through the country, but then we're not much safer in the UK so it's all relative I guess.
Hmmm...I thought there was something in the fall about the Brexit vote, but maybe they were just building up for it. My British Facebook friends have certainly all been posting about it for a while now That's good to know that Belgium is reasonably safe. Similar to many other places, I'm sure security has ramped up a lot recently, and it's unlikely that similar targets would be taken twice, and even if they do it's unlikely that I would be there at the moment of it. Running in the (half) marathon does give me some pause (in addition to awkward timing overall in the trip) so I may sit that out, but it's good to know that I can keep it as an option
Absolutely. I'm biased because I love Belgium and the Belgian people so much so I'd almost go out of my way to visit to show my support. I'm in France in a few weeks for a big ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and we'll probably pop over to Belgium while we're there. Re the Brexit, it's been on the cards for ages, but the actual vote is in a few weeks. David Cameron was negotiating a better deal for the UK before the vote so that might have been why it made the headlines
I found a great deal on flights to/from the US last night, so I went ahead and booked them. I got a round trip (into CDG, out of MUC) for $537, which looks like it may be less than what I pay to get to a wedding in California this summer, so I'm really excited about it! Now that I officially have my dates nailed down and know my plans at the start and end of the trip, I should probably start to figure out what I want to do with that week-and-a-half in the middle
It must have been the day for it as I've just booked in for a flying visit to DLP in August. I'm looking forward to seeing how the refurbs have affected the park!
It looks like we've gotten most of the days figured out. We'll start at DLP for 3 days (with possible side trips in/around Paris), then head to Munich and Oktoberfest for about 2.5 days. From there, we'll spend about 1.5 days in Salzburg and another 1.5+ days in Vienna. At that point, my friends are returning home, and I'll be solo for the remainder of the trip, so I will head to Fulpmes via Innsbruck for a day of glacier skiing. I then have 2-3 days to be determined, followed by 2 days on Lake Constance/Bregenz/Lindau, before flying home via Munich. For those 2-3 TBD days, I would like to spend some time in Switzerland, but I'm not sure where to go. It looks like Zurich is easiest to reach by train, but that seems like it may be more of a financial center than a tourist destination. Is that a good place to visit? Are there other interesting areas that are easily accessible?
I have never been to Switzerland, except for half a day in Basel, so I don't know. You have quite a trip planned, and by the way it sounds like a very cool vacation.
Thanks! It seems like it could be a little ambitious, only spending a couple nights in each place, but I'm excited for it. The first half is a lot of repeats of places I've been before, but they're among my favorite cities I've ever visited so I'm excited to spend more time there, as well as visiting some places that are a little farther off the normal tourist path
I discovered today that there is year-round skiing in Zermatt, so I think I may go there instead of Innsbruck. I had looked there a few months ago and was under the impression that they closed the slopes in the fall, but I saw today that they're open 365 days. Zermatt is a little harder to get to than the towns near Innsbruck, but it's a lot easier to get to the slopes from there, so I think it will end up being about the same overall. I just need to figure out how to rearrange the schedule to make it fit As someone who grew up with semi-regular visits to Disneyland, I'm really excited that I figured out how to make this work. It was one of those "wouldn't it be neat if..." things that I never expected could be a possibility
Skiing in summer is a lot of fun, but also a bit strange. I did that ten years ago in Zell am See, Salzburg - Austria. In the morning we went skiing on the glacier and in the afternoon swimming in the lake in the valley. I am sure you will have a great time. In Austria we have a public transport bus called Postbus. It's worth to check it out if there is a connection between Innsbruck and Zermatt. From where are you going to Zermatt?
