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Post by sick2b on Nov 16, 2017 20:47:36 GMT -6
I’m always delayed when coming home from Chicago. Fucking USA Ftfm |
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Post by sick2b on Nov 16, 2017 20:48:20 GMT -6
Only advice I've ever received related to RyanAir is to make sure it's a short flight. It's not equipped for normal size human beings. EasyJet is better |
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Post by llamaoftime on Nov 17, 2017 8:59:33 GMT -6
weekend getaway to Chicago is happening. Get in around 9 AM Saturday December 2nd, fly out around 9 PM Sunday December 3rd. For $80 roundtrip not too bad, almost two full days.
I for a while had planned Europe for next year, but I've been going back and forth. I was kind of worried about going solo. After more research and discussion though I think I'm back on it but I think I'm only going to do London. I can only really take a week off work and I think I'll overextend myself too much trying to fit in multiple cities like I originally thought. Maybe a day trip to somewhere nearby one of the days. Considered maybe Dublin in the middle since its a short and cheap flight but I'm not for sure on that. Labor day week looks like the week for it.
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Post by Pale Hose on Nov 17, 2017 9:04:54 GMT -6
weekend getaway to Chicago is happening. Get in around 9 AM Saturday December 2nd, fly out around 9 PM Sunday December 3rd. For $80 roundtrip not too bad, almost two full days. I for a while had planned Europe for next year, but I've been going back and forth. I was kind of worried about going solo. After more research and discussion though I think I'm back on it but I think I'm only going to do London. I can only really take a week off work and I think I'll overextend myself too much trying to fit in multiple cities like I originally thought. Maybe a day trip to somewhere nearby one of the days. Considered maybe Dublin in the middle since its a short and cheap flight but I'm not for sure on that. Labor day week looks like the week for it. London is HUGE. You can easily fill a week there and still not even see everything.
I suggest making a reservation at one of Ottolenghi's restaurants. You will not be disappointed!
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Post by neader on Nov 17, 2017 9:04:55 GMT -6
weekend getaway to Chicago is happening. Get in around 9 AM Saturday December 2nd, fly out around 9 PM Sunday December 3rd. For $80 roundtrip not too bad, almost two full days. I for a while had planned Europe for next year, but I've been going back and forth. I was kind of worried about going solo. After more research and discussion though I think I'm back on it but I think I'm only going to do London. I can only really take a week off work and I think I'll overextend myself too much trying to fit in multiple cities like I originally thought. Maybe a day trip to somewhere nearby one of the days. Considered maybe Dublin in the middle since its a short and cheap flight but I'm not for sure on that. Labor day week looks like the week for it. Lmk if you have any questions. I would highly recommend Paris or Berlin or Iceland over London but if you think you'll really enjoy it then go. |
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 9:11:28 GMT -6
BERLIN BERLIN BERLIN BERLIN BERLIN
My trip to Paris this past July just reaffirmed to me that it's totally overrated and not nearly as cool as BERLIN.
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Post by llamaoftime on Nov 17, 2017 9:44:50 GMT -6
are any of these cities particularly better for a solo traveler? I'm kind of doubting I get anyone to go with me
also my first time out of the country. I figured London may be good for kind of easing into that. But nothing's set in stone and I may end up going elsewhere. Berlin does sound great.
This would be a Saturday to Saturday trip probably but the first day is just about all travel |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2017 9:46:33 GMT -6
if you keep of list of things you wanna do and get a tentative schedule set up, doing big cities solo is still great. actually better in some ways cause nothing impedes you from doing everything you wanna do. i did that for Milan and Madrid and covered WAY more of those cities than most of my other travels with big groups.
also i can never recommend Dublin enough. maybe had the best week of my life there.
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Post by ten15 on Nov 17, 2017 10:05:39 GMT -6
London may be a good first trip to Europe. As mentioned, a ton of stuff to do in the city. And you can do a day trip somewhere within England - like Stonehenge or Oxford by train or bus. Downside, however, is that London can be expensive.
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 10:12:12 GMT -6
BERLIN BERLIN BERLIN
I'm telling you. Unlike London, it's VERY affordable. It's VERY easy to get around via public transportation. And like, 70% of the city speaks English. I only met one person my entire week there who didn't speak English.
And it's very easy to do solo.
Seriously. I had one of the greatest trips ever the week I was there, and my luggage never even arrived.
London is very cool, though.
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Post by llamaoftime on Nov 17, 2017 10:15:25 GMT -6
Yeah hotels were looking pretty pricey in London. Is Berlin cheaper on that front?
Also any day trips worth doing from Berlin or is there enough to just spend the whole week there?
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 10:28:34 GMT -6
Hotels are definitely cheaper. When I was planning a trip before I went to Berlin, I was originally looking at London. I stayed at an awesome hotel in an awesome neighborhood for much less than it would have been in a city like London or Paris.
There are definitely day trips from Berlin, like to Potsdam, but there's plenty to do in the city over the course of a week.
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Post by alady on Nov 17, 2017 10:41:43 GMT -6
What do you do in Berlin tho?
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Post by goodson on Nov 17, 2017 10:43:00 GMT -6
i'm planning a trip to go to berlin and just look at art and smoke and drink coffee and it's gonna be so sick
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Post by llamaoftime on Nov 17, 2017 10:53:59 GMT -6
Hotels are definitely cheaper. When I was planning a trip before I went to Berlin, I was originally looking at London. I stayed at an awesome hotel in an awesome neighborhood for much less than it would have been in a city like London or Paris. There are definitely day trips from Berlin, like to Potsdam, but there's plenty to do in the city over the course of a week. What hotel did you stay at if you don't mind? Or what neighborhood(s) should I look in?
Berlin is looking like a $600 less flight right now which is helping
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 10:59:09 GMT -6
What goodson said.
Berlin is a great city to just hang out at bars and in parks and other public places. It's easy to stay out all night, too, because the nightlife is incredible and public transportation runs all night and I never felt unsafe. I love how people just hang out at the parks and socialize late at night in the summer. There's this really cool beer garden / restaurant that I went to one night in Tiergarten. People were just hanging out and drinking beers under Christmas lights strung between the trees along the lake (it's really woodsy there). It was so nice and pretty. On Sundays in another city park, there is an awesome flea market with all sorts of food--including tons of veggie and vegan options--on one side of the park, and the other side of the park has what they call Bear Pit Karaoke. Basically, people were sitting in an amphitheater and drinking and singing along with karaoke performances in front of them, such as "Wannabe" and "Wonderwall". (I originally thought that the karaoke sounded lame, but it was actually really fun because people were so into it.) The atmosphere of the city is just relaxed and laidback and cool.
Lots of cool shows in Berlin--and who among us here doesn't want to go to a show, especially when we're visiting a foreign country?
There are also great museums and memorials to see. I didn't even get to everything I wanted to do a year and a half ago, such as visit the Bauhaus Archive or the DDR Museum, which I've heard is really cool.
Also, I went during pride, so there was all sorts of that kind of fun.
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Post by neader on Nov 17, 2017 11:00:15 GMT -6
man if you're going solo stay in a hostel and meet some people. that was the highlight of my trip by far, just meeting strangers and hanging out with them all day and making that instant connection. idk, it's weird how quickly you connect with other travelers when you're both in a foreign place. i stayed at plus berlin which was a great location. it was huge though and that can make it harder to meet people but the hostel organized bar crawls every night, one that was more lowkey and not less get's fucked which i enjoyed. they also have a decent bar inside the place. berlin was a highlight of my trip and the people i met there and hungout with were great.
day trips you could do dresden which is good for a day, there's also a concerntration camp that starts with an s, don't remember the name and didn't go since i went to auschwitz later on, and potsdam which i didn't do either.
i didn't really enjoy london tbh, maybe because it was the beginning and end of my trip but it just didn't feel as significant, the people weren't the nicest, it was grey, idk it just felt too similar to the US compared to the other places I went to and wasn't really what I was looking for.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2017 11:04:04 GMT -6
im also on #teamhostel
so much damn fun.
tho i was a dumb college kid at the time. i'd probably be more hesitant and paranoid nowadays.
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Post by alady on Nov 17, 2017 11:04:28 GMT -6
That doesn't make Berlin sound appealing to me unfortunately but I can see how it would for others.
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 11:07:19 GMT -6
Hotels are definitely cheaper. When I was planning a trip before I went to Berlin, I was originally looking at London. I stayed at an awesome hotel in an awesome neighborhood for much less than it would have been in a city like London or Paris. There are definitely day trips from Berlin, like to Potsdam, but there's plenty to do in the city over the course of a week. What hotel did you stay at if you don't mind? Or what neighborhood(s) should I look in?
Berlin is looking like a $600 less flight right now which is helping
I stayed at the nHow Berlin. It was about $600 for the week including the breakfast buffet every morning (which was HUGE AND AWESOME). If you don't want to spend that much, there are lots of affordable and nice hotels (like the Michelberger, though it's priced about the same as nHow) and hostels (like the Plus Berlin) in the neighborhood, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. That's a great neighborhood for going out late at night and for finding a lot of really good, cheap ethnic food. I had possibly the best doner kebab ever right in the heart of Kreuzberg. (Also a really good burger place there, too.) Last year, after I had already booked my flight to Paris, I saw flights to Berlin for the same dates for less than $500. I was kicking myself because I really, really wanted to go back to Berlin. |
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Post by neader on Nov 17, 2017 11:10:49 GMT -6
What hotel did you stay at if you don't mind? Or what neighborhood(s) should I look in?
Berlin is looking like a $600 less flight right now which is helping
I stayed at the nHow Berlin. It was about $600 for the week including the breakfast buffet every morning (which was HUGE AND AWESOME). If you don't want to spend that much, there are lots of affordable and nice hotels (like the Michelberger, though it's priced about the same as nHow) and hostels (like the Plus Berlin) in the neighborhood, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. That's a great neighborhood for going out late at night and for finding a lot of really good, cheap ethnic food. I had possibly the best doner kebab ever right in the heart of Kreuzberg. (Also a really good burger place there, too.) Last year, after I had already booked my flight to Paris, I saw flights to Berlin for the same dates for less than $500. I was kicking myself because I really, really wanted to go back to Berlin. was the burger place next to a doner place and a falafel place across from a schnitzel place by the bridge that goes to the east side gallery? i fucking miss doner, nothing in the us even comes close. |
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Post by andrewvb on Nov 17, 2017 11:11:14 GMT -6
That doesn't make Berlin sound appealing to me unfortunately but I can see how it would for others. there are also lots of historical sites and art/museums to see in berlin too though. the holocaust memorial, east side gallery, checkpoint charlie area are really cool, and i was only able to visit places in that specific area since i was there for work. seemed like lots of other stuff to see. |
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 11:15:04 GMT -6
I stayed at the nHow Berlin. It was about $600 for the week including the breakfast buffet every morning (which was HUGE AND AWESOME). If you don't want to spend that much, there are lots of affordable and nice hotels (like the Michelberger, though it's priced about the same as nHow) and hostels (like the Plus Berlin) in the neighborhood, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. That's a great neighborhood for going out late at night and for finding a lot of really good, cheap ethnic food. I had possibly the best doner kebab ever right in the heart of Kreuzberg. (Also a really good burger place there, too.) Last year, after I had already booked my flight to Paris, I saw flights to Berlin for the same dates for less than $500. I was kicking myself because I really, really wanted to go back to Berlin. was the burger place next to a doner place and a falafel place across from a schnitzel place by the bridge that goes to the east side gallery? i fucking miss doner, nothing in the us even comes close. Yep: BURGERMEISTER! A burger place housed in a former train station bathroom. Typical Berlin. I wish I could find some currywurst here. |
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Post by neader on Nov 17, 2017 11:17:02 GMT -6
was the burger place next to a doner place and a falafel place across from a schnitzel place by the bridge that goes to the east side gallery? i fucking miss doner, nothing in the us even comes close. Yep: BURGERMEISTER! A burger place housed in a former train station bathroom. Typical Berlin. Nah. I'm thinking of eastside burger which is across the river. the best doner i had in berlin was actually at the Warschauer Straße station , though it was a box with fries, the doner, and a shit ton of sauces and i was 3 am and wasted and on my way to berghain, we all know how that went. |
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Post by andrewvb on Nov 17, 2017 11:17:20 GMT -6
when i went i stayed kreuzberg which i loved. however, when i was there i was told the new cool neighborhood was neukolln. went to a burger place there that was delicious and seemed like a cool spot. so that neighborhood might be worth looking at too.
this burger place was berlinburger international.
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Post by ultravisitor on Nov 17, 2017 11:21:30 GMT -6
I had many late night meals at the Warschauer Straße station.
I never saw Eastside Burger. The only place I ate at on that side of the river and close to that spot was the korean place which I don't remember the name of.
I meant to go to Berlinburger International, but I never made it there :/
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Post by alady on Nov 17, 2017 11:24:54 GMT -6
How do y'all not know about the currywurst at Paulina Market (year round) the stupid Christkindlmarket (seasonal) or the DönerMen truck/DMen Tap?
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Post by teekoh on Nov 17, 2017 11:25:24 GMT -6
Michigan! Stuff y'all mentioned: - Greenbush - Excellent food (the brisket was incredible) and a chill space. Also great music selection. The beer was also very good, but it didn't seem like they had many exclusives on. Still, we were really impressed.
- Founders - I had no idea they had such a giant complex. It was massive. The beer was kind of disappointing overall, but the food was good and it was really cool to see their facility.
- Brewery Vivant - Awesome. I loved the converted funeral home effect and the stuff that they had on while we were there was really good, especially the sours. Turns out the duck nachos are kind of a lot for 2 people.
- Right Brain - Great beer, great burgers. They had a Thai Chili Peanut ale on that was really well done.
- Trattoria Stella - Absolutely phenomenal. By far one of the best meals we've ever had, and our friends in TC who had never been were super impressed, too. If folks want to know I can go in to what we had, but suffice to say that everything was A+. Also quite cool to eat dinner in what felt like the setting for "Cask of Amontillado"
Stuff y'all didn't mention: - Grand Rapids Downtown Market - This was the first of several things that Ashley found and wanted to check out. It's essentially a collection of shops/restaurants/markets that have locations elsewhere in the city. We ate lunch their our first full day and then again on the way back home.
Excellent fish and meat markets that have their own little cafe-type menus. Also, Field & Fire is a legit bakery. - Reserve Wine Bar - They had a Happy Hour that Ashley wanted to check out and it was on point. Half price 'snacks' that included beef tartare and fried brussels sprouts and very good cheap cocktails. The bartender was really friendly, too, and had some other recommendations for us whcih led to...
- Buffalo Traders Lounge - Cozy 70s/Art Deco cocktail bar that specialized in the classics. Great drinks, progressive happy hour, cool space.
- Lake Ann Brewing - Lake Ann is a small town about a half hour from TC where our friend's parents live. They have a little local brewery that absolutely nailed each of their beers. They had like 7-8 on, plus local ciders, and each one was above average. Very impressive for such a small/hidden operation. We took a growler of their porter back to drink where we were staying that night.
- Mama Lu's - Upscale taco bar in TC. They use local stuff so their menu turns over quite a bit, but their veggie taco was one of the best I've ever had. Some other others were less impressive, but it's certainly worth a visit.
- Low Bar - Speakeasy-style basement bar with an incredible cocktail program. They make all of their mixers/additions in-house and each drink we got was excellent. Highly recommended
Thanks again everybody! Couldn't have done it without your help. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2017 11:30:09 GMT -6
How do y'all not know about the currywurst at Paulina Market (year round) the stupid Christkindlmarket (seasonal) or the DönerMen truck/DMen Tap? DMen Tap and the truck are so fucking great. i've spent so much time and money at the Belmont/California area this year. |
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Post by alady on Nov 17, 2017 11:35:08 GMT -6
I don't know if it compares to Euro sausages but I do love those currywursts.
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