The one vital travel tip - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!



Go Back   TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards! > Members Lounge > General Travel Tips, Education, Advice > General Travel Tips and Advice

General Travel Tips and Advice Have you traveled before?- Please share your tips and advice with fellow Tpunks!

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-17-2004, 07:42 PM   #1
ZBomb
Members
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 11
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Okay, so I'm taking my first trip to Europe at the end of the month. I've done some traveling in my day, but never on that side of the world. I"ll be going to Spain, Amsterdam, Scotland, Austrian, Switzerland, and France (not necessarily in that order). What is the ONE thing I need to know about each of these countries that will make my trip easier. I'm looking for cultural tips, ie how to get along with locals, any customs or things not to do that aren't in books and whatnot. thanks.
__________________
"In all the world, there is no place dedicated to solitude." -Chief Seattle

"You shouldn't expect anything now. You should just wait and see what happens." -James Frey

You realize the sun don't go down. It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round.
ZBomb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-17-2004, 08:43 PM   #2
TheJake
To Smart For Mensa
 
TheJake's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Salt Lake City
Posts: 5,585
Thanks: 3
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Send a message via AIM to TheJake Send a message via MSN to TheJake Send a message via Yahoo to TheJake Send a message via Skype™ to TheJake
Default

be friendly!


and bring your passport... and peanut butter....
__________________
Adventure needs to be as much about discovering yourself as it is about discovering the world.
TheJake is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2004, 07:38 AM   #3
skidrage
TPunk Recognized
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 210
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Spain - Learn some basic Spanish phrases. English is not widely spoken there

Amsterdam - If you are going to smoke weed and hash, don't assume that it is acceptable everywhere. If you are in a bar, ask the bartender if it is alright to smoke it there

Switzerland - Eat from the super markets! I am sure you would like to try the local cuisine, but food in restaurants is very expensive and it really is not that special (melted cheese and hash browns)

France - Learn some basic French phrases. When I was in Paris, it seemed that even though some of the people might be able to speak English, they don't seem to want to. If you leave the big cities, not many know English.
skidrage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2004, 07:30 AM   #4
ZBomb
Members
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 11
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Thanks y'all. Good advice.
__________________
"In all the world, there is no place dedicated to solitude." -Chief Seattle

"You shouldn't expect anything now. You should just wait and see what happens." -James Frey

You realize the sun don't go down. It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round.
ZBomb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2004, 10:06 AM   #5
blinkchick2134
TPunk Emeritus
 
blinkchick2134's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,633
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

When attempting to ask a local something or talk with a waiter/clerk/etc. greet them in French/Spanish/etc. (simple hello works). If they seem friendly ask 'Do you speak English?' in their native language. I think Spanish is 'Habla Engles?' and French is like 'Parla vu Ingles'. (Been a while since class.) Look it up on Altavista.com.

As long as your kind and show them that you respect their language it should work. Kind of how when a Mexican person is in front of someone at a supermarket. If their trying to communicate with some English one's more likely to feel nicer and try to help them if asked. However if their talking in Spanish one's more likely to ignore them or think their stupid foreigners.

So make the attempt and don't feel bad if you pronouce words horribly. Their get what you're saying and show you respect for trying.
__________________
Amber

"If I had a kid I'd f**k it. Then kill it. Then f**k it again." Seattle 2006

blog of travels and such
flickr

Currently located in HAWAII

Been to: Alaska, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hawaii, Spain, Switzerland - - also meetups in Chicago, LA, and Seattle
blinkchick2134 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2004, 10:08 AM   #6
blinkchick2134
TPunk Emeritus
 
blinkchick2134's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,633
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Damn forgot to add this.

As for shopping at the supermarkets in Switzerland. That is a must! Totally buy those little cheese rolls (like Belle brand or something). They are so good there. I've tried them back home but their nothing compared to Swiss ones. Haw, now I'm craving them.
__________________
Amber

"If I had a kid I'd f**k it. Then kill it. Then f**k it again." Seattle 2006

blog of travels and such
flickr

Currently located in HAWAII

Been to: Alaska, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hawaii, Spain, Switzerland - - also meetups in Chicago, LA, and Seattle
blinkchick2134 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply






Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:13 PM.



 

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unregistered)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121