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If you could travel to only one country in Europe, which one?


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I'm working on a plan for a senior trip for my ds. I have an extremely limited budget, can probably be gone for 2-3 weeks, but from my research can probably only afford 10 days at most.

 

I'm trying to decide what destination would be the best use of our time & $.

 

My ds is very open to any of the European countries, but probably leans most towards Italy & Greece. He has a strong interest in visiting historical sites rather than art/modern attractions.

 

My question is, if you could only pick one area of Europe to visit, where would you go? AND please tell me why! :)

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Greece here!

 

It's so rich with culture and beauty (as are many of the other countries, obviously) but from my own travels I know I want to take my ds there to link together all the great book studies. It is so exciting to vist the old sights, walk the roads and envision the past happening right where you are standing. Food is good too! Second choice would be Italy... all the richness offered there as well as the food! Can you tell I am food driven?

 

Beware the rainy seasons in Greece. If you don't mind crowds , summer is good!

 

What fun! Great idea.

 

Good luck,

Mary

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If he's leaning toward Italy or Greece that's where I would go. Today I'm leaning toward Greece. We spent three weeks in Greece and never tired of the amazing places we were visiting. If you need to park for a while ,the water is wonderful, the food is good, the people friendly and our experience was that English was the commom language for visitors not speaking Greek. The extra bonus, I ate well and never gained any weight.:)

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It's hard to pick just one. Each has special attraction.

 

If you are interested in doing a historical tour, I'd choose the time frame and then the country accordingly. Greece/Turkey would be fabulous for ancients. The biblical landmarks are all there, and you could do the circuit in ten days at a clip. In Turkey, Mavi Yoculuk (Blue Tours) will take you on a boat tour of major spots along the Med. It's really lovely.

 

Then again, I once traveled through Italy on my own and had a great time. You could do Italy in less than 10 days, IMHO, and still hit all the high points.

 

If you wanted a different time frame, I'd choose a different country.

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I've been to most of the European countries at least once, but I've gone back to Italy 4 times, dragging my DH the last 2.

 

History, from ancient through medieval and Renaisance to modern times....Art, oh, so much wonderful art, all mediums, various eras...Architecture, ditto...Amazing terrain, from the lakes in the north to to Amalfi coast...The people, so friendly and open, willing to talk to Americans and invite them to their homes....The food, yup, this might be the clicher, that and truly perfect espessos.

 

Okay, I'm ready to go (sigh...)

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Now me, I hate going places where there are lots of tourists. Attractions are usual very over rated.

 

I like to go to out of the way places. A couple of places I would to visit are Hungary and Romania.

 

Budapest

Transylvania

Sailing on the Danube

and many more

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I would head back to Poland. It is the land of my ancestors and I studied abroad here, but its also full of history. So much dealing with WWII-Aushwitz, Birkenau, Sobibor, etc...

Also great to learn about the Cold War. The geography is spectacular too. Zakopane in the mountains, the Mazurian Lake District, The Baltic Sea (also home to Solidarity-Gdansk). I could go on forever. Not to mention that most Polish people really like Americans. That can make a difference in your experience.

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I think I would pick the UK as my personal choice.

 

If you are leaning towards Italy or Greece---Italy (unless what you really want is beaches etc). Too much to see from all periods of history, art, churches, food-everything.

 

If you are after Greek and Roman ruins, museums, good food, beaches, etc. Sort of a combo Ancient World package-try Turkey. The food is great, resorts and ruins. Some of the least visited but best preserved ruins in the Med., ancient Christian sites, and the bonus of lots of Byzantine and Ottoman stuff as well (wow was that inarticulate, I'm tired). A few highlights would be Ephesus, the Underwater Archeological Museum/Crusader Castle in Bodrum, Hagia Sophia, Topkopei, Gallipoli, and Troy. And those sites are crowded together in a small area of the country.

 

Have fun!

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Thats a tough question, all the possibilities are good, even Finland. :D

 

I would probably head for my roots though, if you have roots in Europe.

 

So for me that would be either Ireland/Scotland (I soo bad want to go to Scotland to see the highlands and hear the accents) or Germany.

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I'm sure you've thought of this but if money is a real concern, shoulder seasons or the winter make a real difference for cost and a huge difference for crowds.

 

Here are some new ideas to add from the PPs:

Prague - because it's spectacularly beautiful... absolutely. beautiful.

Croatia - less expensive, gorgeous coastline, many of the same kinds of historical sites as Italy without as big of the crowds, in the north you can just speak Italian. The Nicest People In Europe!

 

Hope your planning goes well.

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Will you be able to travel by train? That would factor into my decision.

 

We did Italy at the end of our 26 days - we didn't have the greatest time and were kinda "done". Someday i'll go back when i'm in a better mood ;)

 

But we did day trips by train. We actaully did the whole trip by train - fly into London, 10 days there, then on to Paris (Hoovercraft - oh i almost puked LOL!!) and the rest. So in 16 days we "did", France (paris), Germany (Koblenz), Switzerland (Interlaken and up the Jungfrau), back to France to Nice, Italy (Florence & Rome), flew back to LAX from Rome. It was a nice overview.

 

You have me planning on trying to save for a trip for DD though. I have 6 years to save, but i wouldn't have thought of planning for it now if you hadn't brought it up!

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Thats a tough question, all the possibilities are good, even Finland. :D

 

I would probably head for my roots though, if you have roots in Europe.

 

So for me that would be either Ireland/Scotland (I soo bad want to go to Scotland to see the highlands and hear the accents) or Germany.

 

 

:iagree: Ireland/Scotland/England here. All for heritage purposes.

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Italy

Rome is the center of classical education, and is so family friendly. My kids had such a great time frolicking through the Forum, Colosseum, and Palatine Hill. They even enjoyed the museums. And the food!

Siena is like traveling back into the 12th century, picnicking in the town square (Piazza del Campo), and walking through the Duomo, and viewing the breathtaking sights of the Tuscan countryside. Let's not forget the many wineries to sample. Yum!

For a bit more grown up crowd (pre-teens or older) Venice is captivating. If you don't mind getting lost, leave the map behind and wander the streets until you eventually return to Piazza San Marco. Where all road lead to Rome, in Venice, all footpaths eventually lead to St. Mark's Plaza.

Florence is a must visit for anyone interested in art history and architecture. Walk along the Arno River and follow the path up the hill to overlook the picturesque Medieval town, the "cradle of the Renaissance".

 

I've been to numerous European countries, and this is the favorite.

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Why do you have to limit your trip to one country? For similar money, you could cruise the Mediterranean and visit lots of places. Plus, you'd have lots of your problems (place to say, transportation, meals, suggested hot spots to visit) taken care of for you.

 

Also, remember countries in Europe are small. You can cover a lot of territory in 10 days.

 

I live in Germany, and this is MHO!

 

(Oh, and if you twisted my arm and made me pick, I love France! But in your situation, I'd do a cruise!!)

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I've been to England and France (Paris only). I would pick England (with a side trip to Scotland, perhaps). There's a lot of historical places to see. Same language is a plus, but it's still foreign! We were there for 2 weeks, but I wish we could have stayed longer. It wasn't all sightseeing, as we were there for a wedding. We took a bus ride to Paris for a couple of days--the bus departed from London, went to Dover, where we went through the chunnel, then continued to Paris. Went to several well-known places in Paris, such as Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Louvre.

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I've only been to Poland, but it's a good place for history. You've got medieval cathedrals, early modern palaces, Auschwitz and a preserved Communist village. Most of that is just in Krakow. You can also do a self guided 'walking tour' just south of the Krakow old town, through the Jewish quarter, of the path taken by the Jews in 'Schindlers List.' There's Wawel Castle and Cathedral. The Cathedral was one of my favourite sites. There's another cathedral in the Old Town Square that has a story attached. Have you heard of the 'Trumpeter of Krakow?' Tours also leave from Krakow to Auschwitz, the salt mine (really cool!) and the Communist village. The deli in the Old Town Square also has one of the nicest cakes I've ever eaten. Right hand side of the square, if you have your back towards the station, first counter on the left as you go in, at the furthest end from the door. :drool5:

I'm sure you haven't studied Polish history, so before you go, you'd want to watch Schindlers List, read The Trumpeter of Krakow and do some research on past Polish monarchs. It was so cool seeing the graves or monuments of those people, especially my SCA persona's king and patron saint. A bit like a Polish Westminster Abbey, I would guess.

 

:)

Rosie

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Since your ds is primarily interested in seeing historical sites, I'd pick the time period first and then the country.

 

For ancient sites I'd consider Greece and Turkey from what I've heard and Rome.

 

For middle ages, Baroque and 20th century, try Germany maybe venturing into Austria and Poland. Germany has Romanesque churches, Gothic cathedrals, castles, castles everywhere, midieval villages with narrow streets and overhanging, half timbered buildings. Eight years ago, what was East Germany had less "prettified" midieval villages than West Germany. The Baroque palaces and churches are unbelievable. WWII sites are everywhere. Sometimes the signs of WWII aren't always obvious. Sometimes that Gothic church was actually rebuilt post WWII. If you come to a large, old church that you walk down the stairs to enter rather than up, it may be that the streets were just built over the rubble left from allied bombing. (see Kaiserslautern.) There are even a few Roman ruins and reconstructions of frontier forts and collusiums. Many of the German states also have open air museums. Open air museums have old buildings, often farm homes and buildings, that have been relocated to a central location with costumed interpreters. Can you tell I lived in Germany for 2 years?

 

For the best examples of Gothic cathedrals, you need to see France and England.

 

For Renaciance(sp), Italy's the place to go. But an interest in Renn. usually involves a lot of art and buildings.

 

I also loved the open air museums in the Netherlands and Norway. The Untermuseum (sp) (Underground museum) in the Netherlands is neat, as are the Kontiki and Viking museums in Norway. Bergan, Norway has about 1/3rd of their original Hansiatic League work shops/living quarters available for tours. It also has the neatest, cleanest, most artistic fishmarket I've smelled (I actually didn't smell it)And the scenery in Norway is spectacular and a few people in parts the Netherlands still wear wooden shoes as part of their normal attire.

 

Have fun narrowing your choices!

Edited by Kathy in MD
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Our eldest daughter is living in Germany and was able to host two of the kids last April for a month! From their homebase they made trips to France, Belgium, Luxembourg(tiny!), Hamburg, and Berlin. If I had not bought them roundtrip tickets, I think they would still be there :) They made their various outings by auto or train depending on cost. They stayed in hostels in Paris and Berlin to save $$. DD has also been to England, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Turkey, and just over the border into Italy. Turkey gives you a lot for your money, but their tummies ached during and after the visit...spices? or a bug? England has been the most expensive and touristy, but she would not have missed it for the world. She is really looking forward to seeing Italy.

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I've been to England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. Since I am an English teacher, I LOVED England, of course. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by Germany. We stayed in a castle along the Rhine River, and it was beautiful. I would love to go back there. Of course, we traveled to the French Alps, and I would have to say just for the landscape alone, I would vote for any of the countries where you can get a view of those breathtaking mountains!

 

Waah! I wanna go!

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Another vote for Greece! I loved it there and hope to return soon. There is so much to see, amazing food, great beaches to relax on, and wonderful people. English is spoken with great frequency, but you can travel out off the beaten path just a bit and get away from crowds of tourists.

 

We saw so much and everything there was just so enjoyable and easy-even renting a car, renting a cell phone, the airport...

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