vacation advice superthread

[wEstSidE]

hang out at the dischord house.

do you really want to do this? you need to ask yourself that question. i don't have anything against dischord but unless you like punk (esp. dc) then this isn't exactly the most interesting thing ever.

[C0C0]

just as expected...maybe i should just give my bf some bunz and call it a trip =x

[Guest jmatsu]

do you really want to do this? you need to ask yourself that question. i don't have anything against dischord but unless you like punk (esp. dc) then this isn't exactly the most interesting thing ever.

over ten years ago i did. everyone was really nice. i still like punk.

[Selegna]

Smoke some crack?

[cmykhustla]

kill yourself

[shoreman1782]

Seriously? Are you here right now?

Go to Fort Reno tomorrow, unless it's raining. Most of the Dischord heads will be there, so that'll save you a trip to their house.

Get good Italian food at Dino in Cleveland Park, they have a prix fix 3-course meal for $24 Sun-Thurs before 7:30. Order a nice bottle of barolo with the money you save.

Check out the zoo. It's free, and they have a cute young panda. Nore: sloth bears are hilarious.

National Gallery of Art--also free, lots of good stuff.

Get some moules frites at Bistro du Coin in Dupont. Get a tour of the Heurich House. Buy something at Circle Bistro.

Walk around U st. between 11th and 16th, check out the shops and restaurants, Lincoln Theater, Ben's Chili Bowl.

Stay the hell out of Virginia.

Shopping for the ladies is probaby best in Gtown (Intermix, Cusp, Barneys Coop, etc.) or Tysons Corner, VA (Cusp, nice Nordstrom, etc. etc.). Some interesting boutiques and vintage stores for the ladies in the U St. area as well.

[Bona Drag]

just as expected...maybe i should just give my bf some bunz and call it a trip =x

was going to say holler at me until i saw this...

i hate on dc all the time and am leaving soon, but if you're just visiting there's enough to keep you interested during the day, incl. dope free museums, as has been mentioned

in terms of nightlife, there are still some decent joints on or around 18th in adams

i second u st

and 14th - black cat/red room/saint x/bar pilar

and wonderland rules

basically what was said in the other thread

[smurf]

barbiturates and grain alcohol....

[Bona Drag]

also, don't want to speak for everyone here, but my guess is you're getting tips from a bunch of white boyz, such as me

however, there's a reason they call dc chocolate city (or at least, they did)

a lot of the black clubs here are meant to be a serious fuckin wild time

just don't ask me which ones, b/c i don't know

[KickaPop]

go to FUR night club and also to the White House, its cheezy but worth the trip.

[buffalocloud7]

sorry to hear ur in need of entertainment but by its own creation DC is the least fun city ever. my condolences

[masuerte]

UPDATE: My flickr page for the trip is http://flickr.com/photos/nwjroadtrip/page6/

Not too many good pictures here though... umm beware of boredom?

[cyberPUNK]

i'm not sure the distance you're willing to cover, but it seems portland wouldn't be a bad idea.

[buffalocloud7]

head north up the coast. canada baby. vancouver is beautiful

[sybaritical]

Fly to Tokyo, then ferry across from Yokohama to mainland China and head Beijing to London cross country.

[Dex_star]

if you are a dumb american tourist why are you trying to give travel advice?

edited

i thought i could help out people who were in the same situacion as me

nevermind then

anywho

im in munich now... hopperhouse (american translation) was crazy

[Dex_star]

WTF with the express tours? Not just this one. Everyone I've ever heard of just seemed a like a mission to waste the opportunity of actually finding anything worthwhile anywhere they blew through.

i actually think this tour is a good way of seeing a lot of things i never could... i honestly felt like i had enough of paris and london after the couple days there... tho i could have used a whole extra month in interlaken... the trip just give you a taste of everything and shows you whats out there so that you can maybe go back one day

[alex_844]

i think you are missing the point dex_star if you felt you had seen enough of paris and london in a couple of days. theres so much more to discover and you had no idea because you only experienced them superficically.

just seeing all the major sites and getting drunk with slutty aussie, canuck and american girls is a poor way to see europe.

edit: despite my sentiments i am sure you are having a great time. so thats good.

[mojinho]

Dex star, this is almost obviously your first trip abroad so i hope you're having a good time. when you come back you will realize it is a lot more enjoyable to devote a whole week or ten days just to one place, and then base day trips out of that city if you get restless. for example, amsterdam has an awesome location, you can fly in and out of there pretty easily and there's lots of stuff close by: germany, luxemburg (not to be missed), belgium and france. as for being "worried you're missing stuff," dude, europe isn't going anywhere. you'll find it's really nice to go back to a place you've already been and find new stuff to do there, and it's not as disorienting since you've already found your way around once.

and going off-season from the US is way cheaper than june-july-august. you're 18, so if you're going to school i think winter breaks, spring breaks and the month of may right after school finishes are great times to take advantage of lower airfares.

now that you have some travel experience, i hope next time you'll consider going on your own with a few friends and deciding on a less frenetic itinerary yourself.

[Dex_star]

i think you are missing the point dex_star if you felt you had seen enough of paris and london in a couple of days. theres so much more to discover and you had no idea because you only experienced them superficically.

just seeing all the major sites and getting drunk with slutty aussie, canuck and american girls is a poor way to see europe.

edit: despite my sentiments i am sure you are having a great time. so thats good.

yea dont worry about it... i had a great tinme... im back now, and dont regret a single thing

but i understand where youre coming from... so dont trip potato chip

[minimalil]

Hi,

I'm landing in Berlin on Sept.15 and from there hope to take Eurail through Slovakia to Croatia.

I haven't been to this part of Europe before and my main concern is time-management. I have also never taken Eurail and am not sure how much time is spent travelling between countries.

Can anyone help me out with this, or give some sage advice?

Thank you!

[polishmike]

So you're going from Germany to Czech Rep., Slovakia and through Hungary to Croatia (I'm assuming you're going to the shore)? If you're not stopping in any of these countries you should just fly, if you are you should just stop in Prague and Budapest and go to Croatia. The train ride is long and sometimes slow also randomly it starts going backwards for few hours but that's the charm of Eastern Europe for you

[minimalil]

Eek!

Well, I am planning to stop and see some of the sights, that's why I'm getting a Global Eurail pass. If you had any sort of idea how long these train rides take (meaning from, lets say, capital to capital), that would be great.

I have a friend in Zagreb who's hosting me for a weekend, which is why Croatia is the final destination.

Then again, I do have the option of going up (toward Denmark) or to France again, so really, I'm open to suggestions.

[polishmike]

You should check schedules of each train to get an idea how long it takes. I took trains on the same route that had 4 hr difference cause they stopped more frequently. I just think flying is too cheap now and I would only take a train if it's not available. Last time a took a train was from Poland to Prague to Germany and it broke twice during that trip and both times they ran out of beer on the train with no ac. I swore to myself never to take the train again.

[mickawes]

Ive got a EURail ticket and am currently travelling through central/eastern europe too. Berlin to Prague is about 4.5 hours, Prague to Vienna was about 5 hours, and tomorrow im off to Bratislava which is only 60km away. Im planning to continue to Budapest and then back to Germany, but arent too sure yet. I planned to go all the way to Istanbul, but when you travel in hostels you meet lots of cool people and decide to change your plans!

Go on www.diebahn.de and you can check the times and journey info by entering the start and stop. Its a lot of fun, and the trains can be very good. I end up talking to some tourists for hours and make new friends.

Also, just a tip for accomodation: couchsurfing!

Have fun! Its a great experience, far better than flying, in every possible way!

[minimalil]

Thank you SO much for your replies, this will help a lot.

[watchman]

As someone a week into a four week euro trip, the best advice I can give is to fly instead of the train (faster, cheaper, more efficient) and to stay in hostels, since you meet a ton of great people.

[beatle]

Berlin to Croatia is 24 hours by car..

Take the train to Prague ...It's an ok ride...I really don't know how hard it is to get a train from there to Croatia...it's like noman's land..especially after the war a couple years ago..

Croatia itself offers some great spots along the coast..try to make it to Dugi Otok - a great relaxed island ....

[mrip]

?

[hotboyx2]

Try to go to Copenhagen, it is a fantastic city, although a little expensive!