Travel EUROPE: Travel Tips & Tricks

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TassieSaint said:
I think Melbourne is closest to Europe in terms of night culture (or at least it was, haven't been much post COVID) although it's still got a ways to go. What's unbelievable to me is a city like Brisbane which has 2.5 million people but is as dead at night as Hobart is with 10% of that. Couldn't believe when I was there how impossible it was to get fed after 8pm with all the kitchens closing.

Was in Madrid recently and most places don't open until 8pm lol and if they do only tourists would be eating there at that time. The Olympics are gonna be hilarious unless there's a cultural shift, I can just imagine southern Europeans, Asians, South Americans heading out at 10pm and wondering why everything's closed.

I think part of the problem is the amount of noise complaints that would flood in, not to mention the red tape. Aside from being extremely passive & sycophantically rule abiding, one thing travelling has taught me is that we're massive NIMBYs.

That said, on balance, I still wouldn't live anywhere else.
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Yep, I was in Brindisi yesterday which has a similar population to Launceston and yet there was much more activity in the night than the CBD of Melbourne lol
 
wadistance said:
Thinking of doing a few nights in Nice - weather here in north Germany has been s**t for weeks…. And seeing daily 30 degrees there has me wanting more. 100€ return from Hamburg so would be rude not to.

Anyone been, and got some tips for me? Looking at good coffee, good local places to eat, hiking/walking trails.

Thanks in advance!
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I live 20 kms away. I own an AirBnb in Nice but its booked solid. Never spend much time in Nice myself so cant help with good coffee, but it's France, coffee is s**t if you're coming from Australia, especially if you want milk with it. I think when I left I was a milk and 2 sugar guy... for almost 10 years Ive been black and no sugar.

For hiking Le Massif de l'Esterel is quite beautiful, offering views from Cannes to St.Tropes depending where you are. But if you're relying on public transport forget about it. Monaco is a short train ride from Nice, as is Eze, Menton, Cape d'Ail and many scenic routes.

You could always hike in the Mercantour just behind Nice, and places like Isola 3000 which is a Ski station in winter.

Beaches in Nice are stones too, it's a pretty 'azur' color, but it's a bitch to walk on.
 
Al
The Dice Man said:
I live 20 kms away. I own an AirBnb in Nice but its booked solid. Never spend much time in Nice myself so cant help with good coffee, but it's France, coffee is s**t if you're coming from Australia, especially if you want milk with it. I think when I left I was a milk and 2 sugar guy... for almost 10 years Ive been black and no sugar.

For hiking Le Massif de l'Esterel is quite beautiful, offering views from Cannes to St.Tropes depending where you are. But if you're relying on public transport forget about it. Monaco is a short train ride from Nice, as is Eze, Menton, Cape d'Ail and many scenic routes.

You could always hike in the Mercantour just behind Nice, and places like Isola 3000 which is a Ski station in winter.

Beaches in Nice are stones too, it's a pretty 'azur' color, but it's a bitch to walk on.
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all very good info - cheers!

Was thinking of doing my beach days at Vilefrance-sur-mer - beach Looks somewhat Sandy there and only one stop on the train. Think I’ll check out Antibes on another day. I’m assuming everywhere will be busy, but Nice/Cannes/Monaco extra, so trying to keep it a bit lower key.

I’m coming from Hamburg - been living there since 2018 so I’m used to slim pickings with coffee. But I needed to get out - north German summer is getting depressing.
 

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Engimal v3 said:
Yep, I was in Brindisi yesterday which has a similar population to Launceston and yet there was much more activity in the night than the CBD of Melbourne lol
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Very different cultures, most Australian cities are daytime places as compared to southern Europe where they're up late and sleep late.

Also you're there in the middle of their summer holidays, a lot of them are likely much busier than usual whereas Melbourne is full of locals not tourists.
 
owen87 said:
Very different cultures, most Australian cities are daytime places as compared to southern Europe where they're up late and sleep late.

Also you're there in the middle of their summer holidays, a lot of them are likely much busier than usual whereas Melbourne is full of locals not tourists.
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Thats moreso just a feature of daylight savings tho. Even in June during the school term, the kids are often outside playing till 20h, and many times I’d head out at 21h with a Beer in hand to play table tennis at the local park with some mates.

It’s definitely about making up for lost time in winter - especially the further north you go.

But yeah, I love the freedom of grabbing a beer from the local kiosk/Mill Bar/whatever for 2€ and sitting outside on the street and having a yarn. We’ll move back to Australia one day, but it will be with heavy hearts.
 
wadistance said:
Thats moreso just a feature of daylight savings tho. Even in June during the school term, the kids are often outside playing till 20h, and many times I’d head out at 21h with a Beer in hand to play table tennis at the local park with some mates.

It’s definitely about making up for lost time in winter - especially the further north you go.

But yeah, I love the freedom of grabbing a beer from the local kiosk/Mill Bar/whatever for 2€ and sitting outside on the street and having a yarn. We’ll move back to Australia one day, but it will be with heavy hearts.
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The drinking culture is definitely very different, binge drinking is much more a British / American / Australian phenomonen than (from what I've seen anyway) it is a mainland European one. You do see plenty of people out having picnics and a drink here in parks and such without major incidents so it's not like they couldn't reform the laws here, but it's not a thing people are used to and I'm certain people would immediately make them regret it.
 
owen87 said:
The drinking culture is definitely very different, binge drinking is much more a British / American / Australian phenomonen than (from what I've seen anyway) it is a mainland European one. You do see plenty of people out having picnics and a drink here in parks and such without major incidents so it's not like they couldn't reform the laws here, but it's not a thing people are used to and I'm certain people would immediately make them regret it.
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The look on my Brothers face when I cracked a can whilst walking last time i was back in Perth 😅

Also the look on his face when I wanted to walk 500m to the bottle o and not drive 😅
 
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The Dice Man said:
Yeah I guess it must feel strange to not have such a nanny government/police force constantly telling you what to do, or fining you for every little thing.
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When we were last in Sydney my wife commented "Why are there ads everywhere telling people they're going to be fined or punished". I'd never thought about it but once she mentioned it I started seeing it everywhere. It is a bit weird when you think about it.
 
owen87 said:
The drinking culture is definitely very different, binge drinking is much more a British / American / Australian phenomonen than (from what I've seen anyway) it is a mainland European one. You do see plenty of people out having picnics and a drink here in parks and such without major incidents so it's not like they couldn't reform the laws here, but it's not a thing people are used to and I'm certain people would immediately make them regret it.
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I've seen thousands of people drinking here, not one of them has been smashed off their face like you'd see on a Friday/Saturday at home. Our drinking culture is a bit toxic like that.
 
In 2010 we hired a van and travelled through France and Spain. My now wife and two couples also now married.
Was a great experience and thoroughly recommend to anyone who wants a holiday and adventure that way.

We got caught out with the evening aspect of things .
1st night in San Sebastian headed out at 7 , joint was a ghost town . Luckily one fella walking past suggested things dont get going until 9.30.
Was right too . Place was a buzz . And the rest of Spain was the same.
You adjust quickly plus can get a mid arvo recharge in .

Also beach etiquette is pretty different there . Would say at least a 1/4 of girls/woman go topless and are pretty comfortable strolling around . We werent complaining .
But if your with a partner and they arent comfortable with that just be wary.
One of the girls in our group wasnt too wrapt about it so made it a bit awkward.
 

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The hands of stone said:
In 2010 we hired a van and travelled through France and Spain. My now wife and two couples also now married.
Was a great experience and thoroughly recommend to anyone who wants a holiday and adventure that way.

We got caught out with the evening aspect of things .
1st night in San Sebastian headed out at 7 , joint was a ghost town . Luckily one fella walking past suggested things dont get going until 9.30.
Was right too . Place was a buzz . And the rest of Spain was the same.
You adjust quickly plus can get a mid arvo recharge in .

Also beach etiquette is pretty different there . Would say at least a 1/4 of girls/woman go topless and are pretty comfortable strolling around . We werent complaining .
But if your with a partner and they arent comfortable with that just be wary.
One of the girls in our group wasnt too wrapt about it so made it a bit awkward.
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Wait Till you get in the Saunas in Germany/austria/switzerland. There’s not a single thread of clothing. Took me a quick Moment to get used to it. Now it feels weird going to a Sauna in OZ and beint fully clothed.
 
Jokingly said to my partner about buying a holiday house/apartment in Puglia (around Bari/Brindisi). We looked up prices for a laugh, but there's some extremely affordable places that aren't "fixer-uppers" (under 200k AUD). Is this a crazy idea? Lol
 
Engimal v3 said:
I've seen thousands of people drinking here, not one of them has been smashed off their face like you'd see on a Friday/Saturday at home. Our drinking culture is a bit toxic like that.
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And the ones smashed off their faces are typically Irish anyway.

However Berlin definitely had some odd creatures going around, not sure if they were drunk or just like that though.
 
Engimal v3 said:
Jokingly said to my partner about buying a holiday house/apartment in Puglia (around Bari/Brindisi). We looked up prices for a laugh, but there's some extremely affordable places that aren't "fixer-uppers" (under 200k AUD). Is this a crazy idea? Lol
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We did the same in Sicily. Three bedroom apartment in Ragusa in good condition, $25,000 AUD.
 
Interesting experience with my hotel in Bern.

You check in on your mobile phone through the hotels portal and once your room is ready the keys appear in the portal so you just use the sliders to open the main door and the door to your room.

A few staff are there during the day, my room wasn't ready so they gave me another room so I didn't have to wait.

Very convenient not having to carry your keys around all day but not sure what happens if you lose your phone during the time of stay.

Anyway I'd be shocked if this isn't more common in 5 years time. More positives than negatives for me.
 
wadistance said:
Wait Till you get in the Saunas in Germany/austria/switzerland. There’s not a single thread of clothing. Took me a quick Moment to get used to it. Now it feels weird going to a Sauna in OZ and beint fully clothed.
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I lived in Moscow and it was like this too. I had an American roommate who, Americans being the prudes they are (Something I've never understood. Guns and violence ok. A bit of bare skin. How dare you!) was absolutely mortified.
 
Ok. Hit me up with the best things to do and/or in Berlin. Not interested in nightlife. Another thing I don't understand. Going overseas to spend all your time in night clubs and sleeping all day. I can do that in Australia.
 
raskolnikov said:
Ok. Hit me up with the best things to do and/or in Berlin. Not interested in nightlife. Another thing I don't understand. Going overseas to spend all your time in night clubs and sleeping all day. I can do that in Australia.
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I'll tell you something not to do. The Zoo. I went earlier this year and half the ******* animals were missing.
 
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