Help & FAQs    Search BCF    Members    Groups    Events Calendar
Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


Cool places to visit in Europe?

 Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> Random Banter
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

The Artist
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Karma :
PostPosted: 14:41 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Cool places to visit in Europe? Reply with quote
I have some time over the next few months to travel. I am willing to go wherever but was thinking of Europe mainly. Once in Europe I want to travel by train.
I really want is cool places to visit. What I do not want is just old towns/cities unless there is something particularly interesting there.

Nowhere really on my list yet other than the Milau viaduct because it looks awesome.

Ideally in the southern regions as I will be going in January-April so Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia etc.

Any hidden or lesser known places that are worth visiting?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

chickenstrip
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Dec 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 15:08 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
From January to April, just about anywhere in northern and eastern Europe will be pretty cool, I would think. Pretty damn cold in a lot of places in fact Smile

I predict disappointment, because the Millau bridge is the only thing you can think of that you want to see.
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

chickenstrip
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Dec 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 15:28 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
How about an active volcano? You can, I think, get boat trips to Stromboli.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/stromboli/news.html

Or Mt. Etna:

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

Last edited by chickenstrip on 00:16 - 02 Dec 2017; edited 1 time in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts
AldridgePrior This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.

stinkwheel
Bovine Proctologist



Joined: 12 Jul 2004
Karma :
PostPosted: 16:18 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
The whole city of Krakow because it's the only ancient central European city that wasn't flattened in WW2.

When you're there, visit the Wieliczka salt mine because it'll blow your mind.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

chrisdubya
Scooby Slapper



Joined: 05 Jun 2015
Karma :
PostPosted: 17:46 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
I want to go to Auschwitz - my friend has recently been and says its unbelievable, sobering, surreal and quite upsetting. That's coming from a 24 year old single lad who's a gym monkey and loves to go out drinking, so it must really be something.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

GrumpyGuts
World Chat Champion



Joined: 20 Jan 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 17:52 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
stinkwheel wrote:

When you're there, visit the Wieliczka salt mine because it'll blow your mind.


Just don't lick the walls like some people I've seen doing when I visited Sick
____________________
My Bikes: Lifan Beat 125cc '11 -> Suzuki B120P '76 -> Suzuki EN 125-2A '08 -> Honda CG 125 '04 -> Honda CB600F Hornet '98 -> Kawasaki ZZR 600 '99 -> Kawasaki GPZ 500S '95 (Current)
Theory test passed - 09/02/2012 >>>> Module 1 passed 24/07/2012 >>>> Module 2 passed 24/10/2012
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

M.C
Super Spammer



Joined: 29 Sep 2015
Karma :
PostPosted: 18:16 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
chrisdubya wrote:
I want to go to Auschwitz - my friend has recently been and says its unbelievable, sobering, surreal and quite upsetting.

So like Butlins?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

TaffyTDM
Spanner Monkey



Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Karma :
PostPosted: 18:55 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
stinkwheel wrote:
The whole city of Krakow because it's the only ancient central European city that wasn't flattened in WW2.

When you're there, visit the Wieliczka salt mine because it'll blow your mind.


Also : beer is a quid and a rub and tug 30 quid for an hour
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

stinkwheel
Bovine Proctologist



Joined: 12 Jul 2004
Karma :
PostPosted: 19:49 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
TaffyTDM wrote:

Also : beer is a quid and a rub and tug 30 quid for an hour


Contrastingly, you could go to the castle and book a ticket to see one of the better DaVinci paintings (woman with ferret). There are only so many tickets a day so you need to arrive early to book your spot.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

waffles
World Chat Champion



Joined: 04 Oct 2009
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:35 - 01 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
stinkwheel wrote:
The whole city of Krakow because it's the only ancient central European city that wasn't flattened in WW2.

When you're there, visit the Wieliczka salt mine because it'll blow your mind.


I have put Krakow on my list, looks beautiful Thumbs Up

Lake Bled and the surrounding area in Slovenia is stunning, just don't go in the summer as it is a tourist hotspot and therefore heaving. Budapest is gorgeous, as is Czech Republic and Prague. I would like to go back to Switzerland sometime as the scenery was truly stunning and didn't look real at all. I went to Interlaken this year and used it as a base to ride out from.
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

The Artist
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Karma :
PostPosted: 01:19 - 02 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
chickenstrip wrote:
How about an active volcano? You can, I think, get boat trips to Stromboli.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/stromboli/news.html

Or Mt. Etna:

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html


Etna sounds good. Right down the bottom of Italy so getting the train out would be days of travelling. Hmmm, might look at flights.

AldridgePrior wrote:
Switzerland takes a bit of beating by train. Some mind blowing scenery and if travelling from Zurich in April, May you`ll go from white snow in the mountains to shorts and t shirt weather (Italian side) on one trip.


Yeah I was going to try and avoid the snow if possible. Laughing

stinkwheel wrote:
The whole city of Krakow because it's the only ancient central European city that wasn't flattened in WW2.

When you're there, visit the Wieliczka salt mine because it'll blow your mind.


Krakow would be cool but it is a long way from anywhere so would require a long journey of flying in and out which I want to avoid.
I just googled that salt mine and it does look amazing. I will have to see if my Polish mates are travelling back there any time soon.

chrisdubya wrote:
I want to go to Auschwitz - my friend has recently been and says its unbelievable, sobering, surreal and quite upsetting. That's coming from a 24 year old single lad who's a gym monkey and loves to go out drinking, so it must really be something.


I was in Munich recently and almost went to Dachau but ran out of time. I think it is something on the list but too cold for early in the year.

waffles wrote:


Lake Bled and the surrounding area in Slovenia is stunning, just don't go in the summer as it is a tourist hotspot and therefore heaving. Budapest is gorgeous, as is Czech Republic and Prague. I would like to go back to Switzerland sometime as the scenery was truly stunning and didn't look real at all. I went to Interlaken this year and used it as a base to ride out from.


Slovenia is a very nice country, I have been there 3 times now but wouldn't mind stopping back. Thumbs Up
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

stinkwheel
Bovine Proctologist



Joined: 12 Jul 2004
Karma :
PostPosted: 10:59 - 02 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
You may struggle to get up to Lake Bled at this time of year. There's a high chance it will be frozen.

Central Massif area of France is worth a visit. There are loads of neolithic sites and weird little villages perched on top of huge cliffs. Again, don't know what it's like in Winter, I usually go there to canoe the rivers in early summer.

In fairness, most people, even if they've never paddled before, could safely bounce their way down the middle sections of the Dordogne or lower Vezere and by mid June, it's at swimming pool temperatures. The geography of the place is simply stunning.

https://youtu.be/X0vHWl9oNWE
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
- This post is not being displayed because the poster has bad karma. Unhide this post / all posts.

Ste
Not Work Safe



Joined: 01 Sep 2002
Karma :
PostPosted: 14:12 - 02 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
mpd72 wrote:
Apparently the showers are crap though. Take wet wipes.

They had to remove them a couple of years ago.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/auschwitz-showers-holocaust-museum-tourists-sprinklers-poland-a7178381.html
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

smegballs
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Karma :
PostPosted: 17:05 - 02 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
The town Elvas in Portugal is cool if you find yourself in the Alentejo at some point. The entire old City is surrounded in a massive 17th Century star-fort. Cannon emplacements and giant ramparts, with outlying redoubts. Gotta keep them dirty Spanish out.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

waffles
World Chat Champion



Joined: 04 Oct 2009
Karma :
PostPosted: 21:04 - 02 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
How about Norway/Sweden? Accessible by train if you go via Copenhagen and go to Malmo. Head to Oslo, spend some days there and then get the overnight ferry to Kiel in Germany.
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

chickenstrip
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Dec 2013
Karma :
PostPosted: 22:30 - 02 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Artist wrote:
chickenstrip wrote:
How about an active volcano? You can, I think, get boat trips to Stromboli.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/stromboli/news.html

Or Mt. Etna:

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/etna/current-activity.html


Etna sounds good. Right down the bottom of Italy so getting the train out would be days of travelling. Hmmm, might look at flights.


Personally, I think I'd prefer to see Stromboli. I think some of the boat trips are after dark, so you see the bright lava fountains and flows to good effect, whereas I think Etna is just venting steam and gases, with the odd minor quake.

I really think you'd be helping folks to help you if you gave us some idea of what kind of thing floats yer boat.
____________________
Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts
AldridgePrior This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.

mentalboy
World Chat Champion



Joined: 05 May 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 03:11 - 03 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
waffles wrote:
How about Norway/Sweden? Accessible by train if you go via Copenhagen and go to Malmo. Head to Oslo, spend some days there and then get the overnight ferry to Kiel in Germany.


Don't you need a second mortgage AND have to agree to an arse raping from your bank manager to be able to afford to do stuff in Scandinavia?

Berlin is a cracking city, especially if you're a youngster who likes beering up and the clubbing scene.

Agree with Stink about the Massif Central, but it gets a tad chilly in the winter. I worked on a grade 4 river there as a rafting instructor back in the 90's and it was bloody cold when I arrived one April many moons past. We were based on the Allier river and keeping the Nazi theme going, it was interesting seeing loads of German signs, still untouched in the mountains. It was Vichy France so I don't suppose they were overly bothered about shifting Nazi detritus post war.

If it were me looking for something interesting, that wouldn't freeze my knackers off, I'd head down to Algeciras (Southern Spain) by train, mebbe stop quickly to check out the weirdness that is Gibraltar then grab a ferry and go chill in Morrocco.
____________________
Make mine a Corona.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

The Artist
Super Spammer



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Karma :
PostPosted: 03:57 - 03 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
smegballs wrote:
The town Elvas in Portugal is cool if you find yourself in the Alentejo at some point. The entire old City is surrounded in a massive 17th Century star-fort. Cannon emplacements and giant ramparts, with outlying redoubts. Gotta keep them dirty Spanish out.


That looks pretty interesting. One idea I had was starting in Portugal and heading east along the southern coast of Spain to Italy etc so this fits in nicely with that.

chickenstrip wrote:
Personally, I think I'd prefer to see Stromboli. I think some of the boat trips are after dark, so you see the bright lava fountains and flows to good effect, whereas I think Etna is just venting steam and gases, with the odd minor quake.

I really think you'd be helping folks to help you if you gave us some idea of what kind of thing floats yer boat.


Night time lava flows does sound very appealing. I was thinking Etna because I hear the food is good around that area but I suppose anywhere in Italy will be decent enough.

I don't wanna say what float my boat as it might narrow the options and I am open to anything.
I am not a hiker and generic old buildings don't excite me but places of real historic importance do interest me.

People saying "oh go to [country], it's quite nice" doesn't really help. I am looking for specific destinations. Also trying to avoid the cold so Norway and Germany are not places I am thinking of.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

mentalboy
World Chat Champion



Joined: 05 May 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 06:05 - 03 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Artist wrote:

I am not a hiker and generic old buildings don't excite me but places of real historic importance do interest me.

People saying "oh go to [country], it's quite nice" doesn't really help. I am looking for specific destinations. Also trying to avoid the cold so Norway and Germany are not places I am thinking of.


One of the advantages of exploring Europe is that you can rock up pretty much anywhere and usually find something nearby of interest. I was poking round a church in Logrono, Spain a few years back and found a small Michelangelo painting hidden at the back of the altar, most guidebooks for the area probably feature it nowadays but at the time it was a real WTF moment.

Castle of the Moors, Porto might be worth a recce if you stop in N Portugal. Madeira and Porto if you fancy checking out the national tipples.

Continuing southward there's Jerez for a highly commercialised intro to sherry and nearby Cadiz has a pretty little harbour entrance that was quite a challenge to enter under sail!
Cape Trafalgar a little further south and possibly tricky to get to if you're relying on public transport, has some obvious historical significance but probably little to appeal unless you're into ticking off sites.
Tarifa is a pretty little town, windsurfing capital of Europe, it was absolutely rocking during September festival time. It does have a Customs office...and a cell... Whistle Which reminds me, don't piss off the guards on Spanish trains, they have armed police with them who will throw you off the train if they don't like the cut of your jib... Whistle Laughing
Algeciras is quite a dump, most notably known as the drugs capital of Europe. And that's where my extent of Spain stops (unless you fancy stuff along the northern corridor between the Pyrenees and Cabo Finisterra)
Should you be tempted, Madrid is a humming city in the middle of nowhere so prepare yourself for a long boring train ride through a huge expanse of nothing notable if you are tempted by the Prado, El Escorial or any number of places in the historical seat of Spanish kings.
Gibraltar, as previously mentioned, is just weird but if you disembark at La Linea you can walk through the Spanish border and get to cross an airstrip on foot. (Also fun watching the planes land there, must be a bit of an arse clencher flying into that airport!!!).
If you do the Portugal to Italy thing and head to the South of France (personally, I prefer both France and Spain in August/September when the festivals get going and the alcohol flows) skip Marseille, very pretty but a beggars paradise. Just slightly North of there is the walled city of Avignon, with it's part remaining bridge, source of the old song 'sur le pont d'Avignon'. Again, absolutely rocking during it's week long arts festival in the summer. I haven't done much in the South of France, paddling excepted, but it does help if you can speak the lingo, more so in Spain where they don't tend to speaka da Inglis outside of Madrid. Seeking out the younger generation can usually get better results than trying to get an old Spaniard to understand loud English. Wink

Long tours abroad are fun but can be bloody hard work if it's something you're not used to. It can be hard to get a feel for a place if you just hop off the train, bash out a few tourist sites and hop back on the train to the next stop. Sometimes far better just to stop in a place for a week and enjoy a leisurely pace of life.
____________________
Make mine a Corona.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

RhynoCZ
Super Spammer



Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Karma :
PostPosted: 12:52 - 03 Dec 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote
chrisdubya wrote:
I want to go to Auschwitz - my friend has recently been and says its unbelievable, sobering, surreal and quite upsetting. That's coming from a 24 year old single lad who's a gym monkey and loves to go out drinking, so it must really be something.


My grandparent's friends went once, ...
____________________
'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 6 years, 139 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> Random Banter All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1

 
 You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 
Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.18 Sec - Server Load: 0.23 - MySQL Queries: 17 - Page Size: 141.25 Kb