# Travel!



## SarahNorthman

So what countries have y'all traveled to? I have only been to other States California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Idaho, Utah, Florida and New York. Next summer I will be going to Canada. Not anything too special. Just over to Niagara Falls and in the next couple of years I will be going to lovely Sweden. I may never come back! Mostly I am excited to see the Vasa Warship. Any other places that are an absolute must see? I believe we are going to mostly stick to Stockholm.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I have been to France and England. I would like to visit Japan, Cuba, Canada and India some time soon.


----------



## techniquest

I've travelled to the USA (AZ, NV, CA); Scotland, Wales, France, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, The Netherlands, Germany, Thailand, Laos. Hopefully there'll be more to add to the list in the coming years.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

The USA - twice, once for work, once for vacation. Germany - seven times and going back there soon. Switzerland - three wonderful days that were over much too soon. Russia - twice: St Petersburg (loved it!) and Moscow (hated it). Lithuania and Ukraine, once of each. I want to visit Sweden too: Stockholm, Göteborg and Kiruna in the farthest North, also Norway and Finland, but ideally I 'd like to travel to all the countries that are traditionally considered to be "Western", even New Zealand.


----------



## Tristan

In the U.S. I've been to California (my home state), Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.

Outside of the U.S. I've been to Baja California Sur, Mexico; British Columbia, Canada; France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Albania, UK, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, New Zealand.

Sophomore year I went on a trip to Europe that toured several countries. I have family in Lebanon, Italy, and Albania, so visited those for that reason. I also went a Washington D.C. trip in 8th grade that toured the capital and the areas around the capital. 

Where I really want to go: Japan. As a Japanophile, I can't believe I haven't been there yet.


----------



## clavichorder

I've only been to France and Canada, outside the U.S., and also Hawaii. But I have been across the U.S., in a variety of states, though missing the south west, deep south(excepting Florida), the northeast beyond New York and Connecticut, and sadly, northern California(I want to change that) and Alaska. In France, I've been to southern France for a week, and Paris for a week. In Canada, I have been several places in neighboring British Columbia.

I really want to go to Spain, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, UK, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, and at least one significant country in South America.


----------



## Vaneyes

SarahNorthman said:


> So what countries have y'all traveled to? I have only been to other States California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Idaho, Utah, Florida and New York. Next summer I will be going to Canada. *Not anything too special. Just over to Niagara Falls* and in the next couple of years I will be going to lovely Sweden. I may never come back! Mostly I am excited to see the Vasa Warship. Any other places that are an absolute must see? I believe we are going to mostly stick to Stockholm.


It is very special. You'll enjoy it. Do go up (via outside mounted elevator) the Skylon Tower. 500 feet, memorable views.

Also, if you have time, visit Niagara-on-the-Lake. Pretty village. Nice drive to.

PEE-ESS: London, Paris - Versailles, Cannes - Nice, Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna - Salzburg.:tiphat:


----------



## omega

I'd love to visit Instanbul or Florence, and to see London again!


----------



## TxllxT

Apart from travelling in Europe by our own car we have been twice now (with Estonian Air) in St Petersburg (Russia) and hope to be able to repeat it in 2015. I noticed that nobody mentions the Czech Republic. When you love the combination of beautiful romantic nature and real gems of old towns (amazingly complete Renaissance towns with walls & gates) + the very attractive low price of hotels, I can recommend to check (czech) it out. I would advice not to stay in Prague, but somewhere nearby and to make daytrips into the city. Hotelprices outside Prague hover around 30 Euros (breakfast included, for 2 persons). Another plus: you can easily visit Dresden or Vienna or Salzburg...


----------



## senza sordino

I've been to many places, six different continents, many countries. For seven consecutive summers I backpacked, stayed in hostels, camped, hotels etc. I've taken the train across Canada, the USA, Australia, Europe, parts of Russia and China. I love trains. And I've been to almost half of the states of the US, seven Canadian provinces and six of Australia's states. I like travelling, though the last couple of years I've not travelled as much. I'd like to take the Trans-Siberian Train.


----------



## SarahNorthman

Vaneyes said:


> It is very special. You'll enjoy it. Do go up (via outside mounted elevator) the Skylon Tower. 500 feet, memorable views.
> 
> Also, if you have time, visit Niagara-on-the-Lake. Pretty village. Nice drive to.
> 
> PEE-ESS: London, Paris - Versailles, Cannes - Nice, Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna - Salzburg.:tiphat:


Niagara on the lake was suggested to me by my aunt who vacationed there for her honeymoon so I definitely will go. Over all I am very impressed with how much travel everyone has done! It certainly is enviable! I hope to do as much one day!


----------



## musicrom

Countries I've been to: Bahamas, Belarus, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Ukraine, United States, Vatican City

States I've been to (not counting passing by them on the road/at airport): California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin

There are a lot of places I haven't been to that I'd like to visit someday. Some countries that interest me, outside the big ones, are Hungary and Myanmar. I don't know if I'll ever go to them, but I feel like I would really like them. In the U.S., I never even noticed, but I'm missing out on a lot of big cities: New York (!), Washington D.C., Seattle, Houston...


----------



## SiegendesLicht

musicrom said:


> Countries I've been to: Bahamas, *Belarus*, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Ukraine, United States, Vatican City


How did you like Belarus?


----------



## musicrom

SiegendesLicht said:


> How did you like Belarus?


I'm actually from Belarus; I moved to the United States when I was 3 years old though. I haven't actually been back since, but hopefully I'll get the chance to some time in the future.


----------



## Chronochromie

I've been to Italy (Rome, Assisi, Venice, Siena, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Sorrento, Taormina, Siracusa, Capri); France (Paris only), Germany (Berlin), Austria (Vienna), Czech Republic (Prague), Hungary (Budapest), Brazil, Cuba and Uruguay. Also the US and Canada when I was like 2 years old. I really want to go to Spain/Portugal and the UK.


----------



## SarahNorthman

Der Leiermann said:


> I've been to Italy (Rome, Assisi, Venice, Siena, Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Taormina, Siracusa, Capri); France (Paris only), Germany (Berlin), Austria (Vienna), Czech Republic (Prague), Hungary (Budapest), Brazil, Cuba and Uruguay. Also the US and Canada when I was like 2 years old. I really want to go to Spain/Portugal and the UK.


Oh wow! I'm envious of your travel to Italy! I only hope to do as much one day!


----------



## Chronochromie

SarahNorthman said:


> Oh wow! I'm envious of your travel to Italy! I only hope to do as much one day!


It was a school trip, the whole year (60 people) went. Yeah, it was awesome. Be sure to visit Siena (my personal favorite) and also San Gimignano in Toscana; we wanted to go but didn't have the time. And Pisa is expendable, the only thing worth seeing is the famous bell tower and the Cathedral.


----------



## SarahNorthman

Der Leiermann said:


> It was a school trip, the whole year (60 people) went. Yeah, it was awesome. Be sure to visit Siena (my personal favorite) and also San Gimignano in Toscana; we wanted to go but didn't have the time. And Pisa is expendable, the only thing worth seeing is the famous bell tower and the Cathedral.


I heat Tuscany and was it Sicily? are great for food. Mostly my friend raves about the lemons being far superior.


----------



## rspader

I've been to 48 states (missing Alaska and North Dakota). My wife and I lived in Italy (Napoli) for three years so I also got to England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Austria, Spain and Malta. I was in Japan many years ago and also Canada and Mexico. I also have been to Midway Island in the Pacific which is US territory but doesn't really seem like it.


----------



## Chronochromie

SarahNorthman said:


> I heat Tuscany and was it Sicily? are great for food. Mostly my friend raves about the lemons being far superior.


I can't tell about the lemons, but the food is great all over Italy, really. The only "problem" I found is that in Tuscany the bread is made without salt.


----------



## TurnaboutVox

I have been rather limited in my traveling because of illness (insurance is very difficult outside the EU now) in recent years, but I have managed to see:

All over the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales)
Republic of Ireland (fairly extensively - Cork city and county Cork are favourites)
France (Brittany, Paris (repeatedly: my brother used to live there), the Dordogne, Roussillon, Avignon, Orange, the Auvergne, Alsace, Strasbourg)
Germany (the Black Forest, Berlin)
Czech Republic (and I _can_ recommend staying in Prague, TxllxT!)
Holland / the Netherlands (Amsterdam)
Sweden (Nykoping, Stockholm, Uppsala)
Italy (Siena, Tuscany, Venice, Rome)
Spain (Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Andalucia, Galicia, Santiago de Compostela)
Portuguese territory (Madeira)
US (Washington State)
Canada (Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver and Victoria; BC; briefly in Nova Scotia in the depths of winter! - I've also crossed the Rockies by train as a student)

We are thinking maybe Lisbon in Portugal at some point next year.


----------



## TxllxT

TurnaboutVox said:


> I have been rather limited in my traveling because of illness (insurance is very difficult outside the EU now) in recent years, but I have managed to see:
> 
> All over the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales)
> Republic of Ireland (fairly extensively - Cork city and county Cork are favourites)
> France (Brittany, Paris (repeatedly: my brother used to live there), the Dordogne, Roussillon, Avignon, Orange, the Auvergne, Alsace, Strasbourg)
> Germany (the Black Forest, Berlin)
> *Czech Republic (and I can recommend staying in Prague, TxllxT!)*
> Holland / the Netherlands (Amsterdam)
> Sweden (Nykoping, Stockholm, Uppsala)
> Italy (Siena, Tuscany, Venice, Rome)
> Spain (Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Andalucia, Galicia, Santiago de Compostela)
> Portuguese territory (Madeira)
> US (Washington State)
> Canada (Calgary, Alberta; Vancouver and Victoria; BC; briefly in Nova Scotia in the depths of winter! - I've also crossed the Rockies by train as a student)
> 
> We are thinking maybe Lisbon in Portugal at some point next year.


I've lived for over five years in Prague and I know its ins & outs (a great place for walking in the trails of Franz Kafka!), but when you plan a holiday, it is nice when the prices are right aren't they? Well, hotelprices in Prague are over the top and just around Prague: low, sweet low! The same goes for the restaurants. We come twice a year to Bohemia for visiting the family and we've got the impression that the Spa towns of Carlsbad & Marienbad are doing better (Russian and German money) than the Czech capital. We also do daytrips into Germany from Bohemia: Passau, Regensburg, and still on our list: Bayreuth. Really, these towns are beautiful, but Germany as a whole is still scarred by WWII war damage, whereas towns like Carlsbad retained & regained a fairy tale magic...

But I like your list. In Italy we did tour around extensively in Tuscany, but we like Liguria (just north of Tuscany) more. Just compare Pisa with La Spezia: Pisa has the worldfamous tower, but for the rest it doesn't make the impression of being rich. La Spezia on the other hand doesn't have the tower, but it does have Art Nouveau and the good life...


----------



## SiegendesLicht

TxllxT said:


> We also do daytrips into Germany from Bohemia: Passau, Regensburg, and still on our list: Bayreuth. Really, these towns are beautiful, but *Germany as a whole is still scarred by WWII war damage*, whereas towns like Carlsbad retained & regained a fairy tale magic...


You probably mean East Germany. It has been scarred more by the Soviet rule than anything else. Western Germany has been rebuilt in its entirety within a decade after the end of the war.


----------



## TxllxT

SiegendesLicht said:


> You probably mean East Germany. It has been scarred more by the Soviet rule than anything else. Western Germany has been rebuilt in its entirety within a decade after the end of the war.


That's exactly what I mean: this rebuilding of Germany in the 50s & 60s is something I do not like to see. Everywhere, take for example Ulm in the south, you find a city centre with a great cathedral, but immediately next it such a 'modern' horrorhouse, a copy of a copy from soulless architecture. Another example: Köln with its magnificent Dom, which is being suffocated with fake marble pavement slabs closing it in from all sides, the same as you find in each shopping mall all around the world. In Dresden they have invested lots of money in a *real* rebuilding of the city's famous glory. The stalinist 50s architecture will gradually be knocked down. Hurrah!!!


----------



## Cosmos

In the US, outside of Illinois, I've been to Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, California, Washington, and Alaska

Outside of US:

North/Central America & Caribbean:
Canada (only Victoria), Mexico, Belize, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Guadalupe, Antigua, The Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, and St. Maartin

Europe:
England (London, Oxford, and Bath), Spain (Barcelona), and Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence, San Gimignano, and Pisa)

My mom travels all over the world for her job, and I'm so jealous of her. But I've loved all the places I've traveled to

Places I want to visit desperately: Prague, Vienna, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ireland and Scotland, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and Malasia


----------



## omega

I would like to see Petra (Jordan) or the Grand Canyon.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

TxllxT said:


> That's exactly what I mean: this rebuilding of Germany in the 50s & 60s is something I do not like to see. Everywhere, take for example Ulm in the south, you find a city centre with a great cathedral, but immediately next it such a 'modern' horrorhouse, a copy of a copy from soulless architecture. Another example: Köln with its magnificent Dom, which is being suffocated with fake marble pavement slabs closing it in from all sides, the same as you find in each shopping mall all around the world. In Dresden they have invested lots of money in a *real* rebuilding of the city's famous glory. The stalinist 50s architecture will gradually be knocked down. Hurrah!!!


You just cannot have *too much* beauty, I guess. Even in Germany.


----------



## SarahNorthman

Maybe you seasoned travelers can advise me on what is the best kind of luggage to buy for international travel that is still affordable.


----------



## Art Rock

Europe: Netherlands*, France*, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Portugal, UK, Germany (including West and East in the past), Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, San Marino, Vatican, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia (also Yugoslavia in the past), Greece

Asia/Oceania: Singapore*, China, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands

Africa: South Africa, Swaziland

Americas: USA, Canada, Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia

*) lived in these countries.


----------



## Badinerie

Just the usual...Spain, Greece, Italy. Family Hotels and tourist traps. Great fun.


----------



## Überstürzter Neumann

In alphabetic order; Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany (East and West), Lithuania, Moldova, Poland*, Romania*, Russia, Sweden, Turkey.


----------



## Dave Whitmore

Ok, I started out in England, because that's where I'm from. Now I'm living in NYC. As my dad was in the army we moved about a bit in my childhood. I lived for a year in Cyprus and two years in Germany. Both before I was eight so I don't remember too much about them. I've been to France and Belgium (both on daytrips, it was easy to do from England.) I've been on vacation to Toronto, Canada twice. Once when I was 12 and the other time about twelve years ago. I've been to Ireland, Scotland and Wales. I think that's about it!


----------



## sospiro

SarahNorthman said:


> Maybe you seasoned travelers can advise me on what is the best kind of luggage to buy for international travel that is still affordable.


I go for the cheaper type as baggage handlers treat all luggage the same - that's without much care! Designer luggage gets the same treatment and gets damaged just the same so you may as well go for the cheaper option.


----------



## davidaunes

I've been to almost every country in Europe (minus the former Yugoslavia), and only NY outside Europe.


----------



## trazom

Just Canada, Mexico, and a bunch of different states; usually ones with family like Washington, Colorado, or S. Carolina.


----------



## Guest

I'm English; I've visited Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium. I might go to Japan, but wonder about coping with the food as I'm a vegetarian.


----------



## SarahNorthman

sospiro said:


> I go for the cheaper type as baggage handlers treat all luggage the same - that's without much care! Designer luggage gets the same treatment and gets damaged just the same so you may as well go for the cheaper option.


I'm just wanting something that's not going to get ruined completely.


----------



## joen_cph

Most of Europe, intensively, but not Russia, Belarus, Finland, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Moldova, San Marino, Malta, Cyprus; 
and not Scotland, Northernmost England, Sardinia, Stockholm, Bruges & some other places.

Favourite cities are: Prague, Lviv, Paris, Granada, Istanbul, Venice, Rome, Santiago Compostela, Kyoto.

Have also been to Japan twice, Morocco, and Madeira.

I have lots of other travel plans, including more Asian destinations, Edinburgh, Stockholm, and New York.

Came back just today from 9 days in Berlin (4th time) and Weimar (1st time). 

Altogether, I´ve been travelling for several years (4?), since budget trips are a passion of mine.


----------



## Jos

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Swiss, Yugoslavia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg, U.K., including Scotland and Wales, Tsjechoslovakia, Turkey, Iceland.
Going to New York in may '15 and Budapest is very high on the agenda.

^Berlin is a fantastic city. Went there a few times with my wife and in august I was there for 5 days with my son as a "male bonding" trip before he started highschool.


----------



## joen_cph

> Mostly I am excited to see the Vasa Warship. Any other places that are an absolute must see? I believe we are going to mostly stick to Stockholm.


Stockholm seems to represent much of Sweden very well. And of course an excursion into the Swedish archipelagos, the Skerries, some can be found outside Stockholm. Gotland island with Visby town gets a lot of good reviews too, but I still haven´t been there.
Depending on your time available, transport inside Scandinavia actually isn´t necessarily expensive, cf for instance airlines like Norwegian.com, flysas.com, and local train or bus companies like sj.se and swebus.se, which might enable you to catch a glimpse of for example the Norwegian fjords. But accomodation and eating out is indeed expensive in Scandinavia.



> Where I really want to go: Japan. As a Japanophile, I can't believe I haven't been there yet.


Kyoto´s old town and some remoter places like Koya-San, biking round Sakurajima, Iojima island (not Iwo-Jima), Shiraishi Island (cheap, good hostel), and Yufuin have been among the highlights on my Japan trips. Kyoto should not be missed, of course.



> And Pisa is expendable, the only thing worth seeing is the famous bell tower and the Cathedral.


I quite agree that Pisa probably isn´t among the most interesting Italian towns.



> We are thinking maybe Lisbon in Portugal at some point next year


It´s highly recommendable, lots of cultural sights and lesser known museums, good food too. Maybe-maybe consider the Douro Valley as well, for some sense of rural, mountainous Portugal - there are cheap but luxurious accomadation possibilities in that region, cf. for instance www.booking.com lists. 
Obidos, Tomar and Castelo de Vide are nice little towns not far from Lisbon. Oh yes, and the Pena Palace is worth it.



> Germany as a whole is still scarred by WWII war damage,


This is quite true in many respects. Quedlinburg in the Harz/former East is one of the most attractive examples of preserved, historical scenery though, less commercialized than some of the others. Bautzen and Görlitz are said to be nice too.


----------



## scratchgolf

For States: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nevada, and California

Countries: USA, Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ireland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Bosnia, Hungary, and Croatia.

I think that about covers it. My future travel plans include going nowhere and staying put.


----------



## SuperTonic

In the US: Texas (where I live), California (where I was born and have visited several times), Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, New York, Massachusetts (this doesn't count drive throughs or lay overs on the way to somwhere else). Most of these were family vacations or trips with my high school orchestra.

Internationally: The youth orchestra I played in as a teen did a tour of Asia where we spent time in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In college I did a study abroad program in Eastern Europe, mainly in Budapest, Hungary, but we also visited Krakow, Poland, and several smaller cities in Hungary. I've also been to Mexico on two separate occaissions; one was a day trip to Tijuana when we were vacationing in San Diego, and the other was a trip to Monterrey with my college orchestra.


----------



## SarahNorthman

SuperTonic said:


> In the US: Texas (where I live), California (where I was born and have visited several times), Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, New York, Massachusetts (this doesn't count drive throughs or lay overs on the way to somwhere else). Most of these were family vacations or trips with my high school orchestra.
> 
> Internationally: The youth orchestra I played in as a teen did a tour of Asia where we spent time in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In college I did a study abroad program in Eastern Europe, mainly in Budapest, Hungary, but we also visited Krakow, Poland, and several smaller cities in Hungary. I've also been to Mexico on two separate occaissions; one was a day trip to Tijuana when we were vacationing in San Diego, and the other was a trip to Monterrey with my college orchestra.


Ah someone who's been to my lousy piece of the nowhere.


----------



## Vaneyes

SarahNorthman said:


> Maybe you seasoned travelers can advise me on what is the best kind of luggage to buy for international travel that is still affordable.


Watch for department store luggage sales, at 50% to 70% off. Be patient, don't buy less than 50% off. Huge markups.:tiphat:


----------



## Morimur

Canada, US, Canada, US... Canada.


----------



## SarahNorthman

Vaneyes said:


> Watch for department store luggage sales, at 50% to 70% off. Be patient, don't buy less than 50% off. Huge markups.:tiphat:


Any particular brands?


----------



## SuperTonic

SarahNorthman said:


> Ah someone who's been to my lousy piece of the nowhere.


Where's that? 
.................


----------



## SarahNorthman

SuperTonic said:


> Where's that?
> .................


Good ol new mexico.


----------



## SuperTonic

I wouldn't say it's nowhere. We visited Carlsbad Caverns while we were there which was pretty cool. I've heard Taos is nice to but I've never been.
My wife lived on Holloman Air Force base for a few years when she was a kid.


----------



## Vaneyes

SarahNorthman said:


> Any particular brands?


No, inventory varies store to store. Just don't consider the cheapest or the most expensive.

You can Google for guides, such as...

http://www.consumersearch.com/luggage-reviews/best-spinner-and-rolling-luggage


----------



## SarahNorthman

SuperTonic said:


> I wouldn't say it's nowhere. We visited Carlsbad Caverns while we were there which was pretty cool. I've heard Taos is nice to but I've never been.
> My wife lived on Holloman Air Force base for a few years when she was a kid.


Carlsbad is cool. But Taos has gone downhill some in recent years.


----------



## SarahNorthman

So I believe I will be purchasing some Nautica luggage. It seems to be well made and certainly affordable.


----------



## opus55

I've been living in US for longest time so I've been in Illinois*, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee (thanks firefox spell check), Missouri, Georgia*, Alabama, N+S Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Texas, California, Florida, umm I think that's it.. EDIT: forgot Arkansas and Mississippi

North America - Canada but not Mexico!

Asia - China, Taiwan, S.Korea*, Japan

Europe - France*, Belgium, Germany, Swiss, Italy

*Residency of 1 or more years

I would really like to visit Hawaii, Colorado(not for marijuana), Thailand, Mexico, Germany, Austria and Hungary. I would love to revisit NY and California.


----------



## science

opus55 said:


> S.Korea*
> 
> *Residency of 1 or more years


I wish we'd run into each other!


----------



## science

All the American states except Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Alaska, and Hawaii; Canada, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, China, Israel, Jordan, France, and the airport in Amsterdam. 

In January 2017 (barring acts of God) my wife and I are going to retire to travel the world. We'll consider ourselves retired (we've been semi-retired for about six years already) because I don't expect us to find any particularly good jobs, and if we stick to a budget we'll be ok without work, but we'll certainly take work if we find it in interesting places because we are both money-grubbing jomomos. 

We plan to start in China and Southeast Asia, traveling and probably working there a few years, move on to India, then probably Latin America, and finally Europe. If nothing goes wrong, we should be on the road at least fifteen years. 

Of course many things can go wrong. But that's our plan. 

We'll generally travel backpacker-style ("budget adventure travel"), but we can afford to splurge here and there.... 

We're preparing to have a blog about our adventures (right now we're working on a beta-version that is not ready for public consumption) and I'll definitely keep talkclassical updated, and if you let us know when we're in your neighborhood we'll happily get together. 

I've got luggage (and pretty much everything else) all figured out but late in 2016 I suspect I'm going to be scrambling for a way to take my music with me. Right now my best idea is to actually carry a hard drive with me (we'll have a laptop anyway), because cloud storage of the volume I need seems both unacceptably expensive and unacceptably unreliable. I'd need to have a backup (or two) stored in a safe place.... 

I'm not actually going to try to figure this out until late 2016 because I don't know what options will be available at that time, but if y'all have any good ideas I appreciate hearing them!


----------



## joen_cph

^^^^
Sounds great, Science!

travelling budget-wise in Europe is easier than many people realize, including having private hotel/hostel rooms for accomodation, transport, food etc. To some extent, even in Scandinavia. But if you plan going there, go there in the warm season.


----------



## science

joen_cph said:


> ^^^^
> Sounds great, Science!
> 
> travelling budget-wise in Europe is easier than many people realize, including having private hotel/hostel rooms for accomodation, transport, food etc. To some extent, even in Scandinavia. But if you plan going there, go there in the warm season.


Lord knows I'm not going to my tropical fish of a wife to Norway in December... and if I managed to do that once, I wouldn't get a second chance. I don't know if the woman has _ever_ been warm.


----------



## SarahNorthman

joen_cph said:


> ^^^^
> Sounds great, Science!
> 
> travelling budget-wise in Europe is easier than many people realize, including having private hotel/hostel rooms for accomodation, transport, food etc. To some extent, even in Scandinavia. But if you plan going there, go there in the warm season.


I'm taking any and all advice on traveling to the Scandinavian countries.


----------



## joen_cph

SarahNorthman said:


> I'm taking any and all advice on traveling to the Scandinavian countries.


You´d have to be a bit specific ;-). But for those interested in classical music, Bergen in Norway would be an obvious destination - close to good fjord scenery, old town environment, lots of cultural sights, and three charming composer´s museums:

- Grieg´s Troldhaugen, 
- Sæverud´s Siljustøl (limited opening hours) 
- and a bit south of the city, reached by a tiny boat ferry, Ole Bull´s really magical "Lysøen", an Oriental-Norwegian palace island.

Unfortunately, Norway is usually expensive as regards overnight staying, and one really has to work to minimize expenses somewhat.


----------



## SarahNorthman

joen_cph said:


> You´d have to be a bit specific ;-). But for those interested in classical music, Bergen in Norway would be an obvious destination - close to good fjord scenery, old town environment, lots of cultural sights, and three charming composer´s museums:
> 
> - Grieg´s Troldhagen,
> - Sæverud´s Siljustøl (limited opening hours)
> - and a bit south of the city, reached by a tiny boat ferry, Ole Bull´s really magical "Lysøen", an Oriental-Norwegian palace island.
> 
> Unfortunately, Norway is usually expensive as regards overnight staying, and one really has to work to minimize expenses somewhat.


For this trip it's just Sweden. My second trip over there I want to hit Norway and Denmark too.


----------



## spokanedaniel

When I was 18, between high school and college, I went to Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway on a trip that lasted a month. I was too young to really appreciate any of it.

As an adult I've lived in Mexico and Spain (learning Spanish) and I've visited Kenya, England, Costa Rica, Belize, The Bahamas, Fiji, and of course Canada which is very close to two of the places I've lived.

Born in CA, I've lived in MN, ND, and WA, and I've visited Florida (on my way to The Bahamas) and SD, NE, KS, MO, IN (that one's a weird story), TX, NM, CO, HI, and AZ; and I went to college in OR and once changed planes in NY (on my way to Europe when I was 18).

Favorite place in the entire world is a wilderness hiking lodge near Revelstoke, BC, Canada; and a very close second is another similar one near Golden, BC, Canada. Other places high on my list are Long Caye, Glover's Reef, Belize; Kenya; and Mexico. I return to those places in Canada every summer, and I will definitely return to Mexico and Belize. Kenya, being so far away, I'd probably return to only if I had some special person to take there.


----------



## joen_cph

SarahNorthman said:


> For this trip it's just Sweden. My second trip over there I want to hit Norway and Denmark too.


A TC poster like *ptr* might have some advise. I haven´t been to _Stockholm_ yet, indeed the obvious place to start with, together with excursions to _Drottningholm castle_, and the _Skärgården/skerries _archipelago, which begins right outside the city. I´d personally like to visit _Waldemarsudde_, the residence-museum of the symbolist painter-prince Prince Eugen, in Stockholm too http://www.waldemarsudde.se/

Likewise, _Gotland_ island and its medieval town of _Visby_ is quite within range from the city, though not for just a daily excursion.

I think there are very few composer´s museums in Sweden; I only know of Peterson-Berger´s at _Storsjön_ Lake, Östersund http://www.sommarhagen.com/wp/

The _Swedish lakes _are usually enchanting, often providing great swimming in the summer season too, & some of them tend to have a good deal of cultural sights. 
One of them is Siljan, with a museum for the painter Zorn http://zorn.se/en/us/getting/, and there´s the Mälaren lake too, just to mention a couple of them.

The _Gothenburg/Göteborg _area has a beautiful archipelago, but as said I don´t know whether Stockholm´s is just as good. Near Gothenburg, _Marstrand_, tiny _Gullholmen_ and _Fjällbacka_ (a favourite resort of Ingrid Bergman) are some of the prettiest coastal villages.

I wouldn´t characterize _Malmö_ as a very important city to visit; it´s more like a smaller version of nearby Copenhagen.

Whatever you decide for, enjoy your planning - and it will be nice to perhaps read about your trip later on .


----------



## ptr

joen_cph said:


> A TC poster like *ptr* might have some advise. I haven´t been to _Stockholm_ yet..


I'm not really the right person to ask about "touristing" in Sweden, never done that myself... I'm not that found of Stockholm, to stuffy, I would rather recommend Copenhagen (a much more relaxed city and really the capital of the Nordic region)! Spent half of my adult life in Gothenburg and still stay there several months every year so I might be a decent guide if You decide to stop by. Depending on what You want to see and/or achieve with Your visit, Sweden is about the size of California with seasons like Canada.



> Likewise, Gotland island and its medieval town of Visby is quite within range from the city, though not for just a daily excursion.


Gotland is where I was born and live most of the year at the moment, lots of medieval culture with a re-enactment festival in the beginning of August every year, used to be a part of Denmark (and has historically been Danish longer then Swedish and some of us are more proud of that heritage then of being Swedes ) .. If You are in to Bergman films, then a visit to "Fårö" island, of the north point of Gotland is mandatory, he filmed many of his films there and there is a museum and sometimes guided tours to his residence!

If You are interested in pipe organs I could perhaps give a few pointers to interesting places in Sweden to seek out or if You're going to do a bit of rummaging in Siberia and Manchuria I could share a few insights on to places to avoid  (I spent 10 years surveying forests there!)

/ptr


----------



## Krummhorn

Within the US (where I live) states visited have been: Nevada, California, Utah, Oregon, Washington State, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan (where I was born), Tennessee, W Virginia and Iowa.

I have visited Italy (Rome), Austria (Salzburg, Vienna), Hungary (Pecs, Budapest), The UK (London, Liverpool, Salisbury), and Denmark (Copenhagen, Jørlunde, Helsinborg, Hillerød, Helsingør,). 

I want to return again to Rome, the UK and Denmark. 

Kh ♫


----------



## spokanedaniel

SarahNorthman said:


> Good ol new mexico.


I like New Mexico. The number and quality of art galleries in Santa Fe is impressive (a goodly chunk of my own art collection was bought there), and the Spanish spoken in New Mexico is the best of any state in the U.S. The Spanish spoken in California and Texas is corrupted with English, and the Spanish in Florida is the ugly Spanish of Cuba, very like the ugly Spanish of Seville.


----------



## Manok

Been to England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland. A fair number of the southern states in the US, and D.C. (It's not a state.) Planning a new trip, Italy possible, Tokyo possible, trying to convince my bro to do France, I want to go someplace in the Southern Hemisphere, but may have to do it myself.


----------



## SarahNorthman

spokanedaniel said:


> I like New Mexico. The number and quality of art galleries in
> Santa Fe is impressive (a goodly chunk of my own art collection was bought there), and the Spanish spoken in New Mexico is the best of any state in the U.S. The Spanish spoken in California and Texas is corrupted with English, and the Spanish in Florida is the ugly Spanish of Cuba, very like the ugly Spanish of Seville.


Maybe I feel that way because I live here. Its nice to visit but it's a different beast when you live here. As for the Spanish, I personally don't speak it so I can't really comment on it.


----------



## SarahNorthman

joen_cph said:


> A TC poster like *ptr* might have some advise. I haven´t been to _Stockholm_ yet, indeed the obvious place to start with, together with excursions to _Drottningholm castle_, and the _Skärgården/skerries _archipelago, which begins right outside the city. I´d personally like to visit _Waldemarsudde_, the residence-museum of the symbolist painter-prince Prince Eugen, in Stockholm too http://www.waldemarsudde.se/
> 
> Likewise, _Gotland_ island and its medieval town of _Visby_ is quite within range from the city, though not for just a daily excursion.
> 
> I think there are very few composer´s museums in Sweden; I only know of Peterson-Berger´s at _Storsjön_ Lake, Östersund http://www.sommarhagen.com/wp/
> 
> The _Swedish lakes _are usually enchanting, often providing great swimming in the summer season too, & some of them tend to have a good deal of cultural sights.
> One of them is Siljan, with a museum for the painter Zorn http://zorn.se/en/us/getting/, and there´s the Mälaren lake too, just to mention a couple of them.
> 
> The _Gothenburg/Göteborg _area has a beautiful archipelago, but as said I don´t know whether Stockholm´s is just as good. Near Gothenburg, _Marstrand_, tiny _Gullholmen_ and _Fjällbacka_ (a favourite resort of Ingrid Bergman) are some of the prettiest coastal villages.
> 
> I wouldn´t characterize _Malmö_ as a very important city to visit; it´s more like a smaller version of nearby Copenhagen.
> 
> Whatever you decide for, enjoy your planning - and it will be nice to perhaps read about your trip later on .


Good info to know. Thanks


----------



## Skilmarilion

I've only travelled outside Europe once, to New York. Enthralling city, although probably 'too busy'.

Otherwise:

Northern Ireland - Belfast, Londonderry/Derry, Portrush
Wales - Cardiff
France - Paris, Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, St. Raphael, St. Tropez, Arles [and other places on South Coast]
Belgium - Bruxelles, Bruges, Ypres
Netherlands - Amsterdam
Spain - Barcelona
Italy - Sanremo, Pisa, Florence, Napoli, Sorrento, Capri
Turkey - Antalya, Side


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Does anybody else enjoy planning and preparations for a trip almost as much as travel itself?


----------



## joen_cph

SiegendesLicht said:


> Does anybody else enjoy planning and preparations for a trip almost as much as travel itself?


Yes, studying guides - and now the huge possibilities and help provided by the internet - is great fun. I´ve collected a good deal of travel literature in that respect. I´ve even got a quite detailed official guidebook to the USSR in English from the 1920s ;-). I also love maps and never navigate via GPS.

When bringing a bike, it´s not really possible plan many overnight stays in advance, though - one can only lay out the greater scheme of the trip.

There are huge savings and advantages in planning a good deal ahead, including better knowledge of sights and places off the beaten track.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

joen_cph said:


> Yes, studying guides - and now the huge possibilities and help provided by the internet - is great fun. I´ve collected a good deal of travel literature in that respect. I´ve even got a quite detailed official guidebook to the USSR in English from the 1920s ;-). I also love maps and never navigate via GPS.
> 
> When bringing a bike, it´s not really possible plan many overnight stays in advance, though - one can only lay out the greater scheme of the trip.
> 
> There are huge savings and advantages in planning a good deal ahead, including better knowledge of sights and places off the beaten track.


I love tour guides, and my man loves maps, so we are good to go  And honestly, I cannot imagine traveling, especially to historically and culturally important places, without learning something about them before you board the plane.


----------



## Blancrocher

SiegendesLicht said:


> I love tour guides, and my man loves maps, so we are good to go  And honestly, I cannot imagine traveling, especially to historically and culturally important places, without learning something about them before you board the plane.


By the way, one of my favorite travel writers is the great Patrick Leigh Fermor. His voluminous recollections are interesting, well written, and often hilarious; he must have been one of the most charismatic people who ever lived. I've enjoyed thinking about his various scrapes when my own travels have coincided with his.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Has he ever gone to Germany?


----------



## PetrB

North America
Canada: Toronto, Ontario / Victoria, British Columbia

U.S.A.: Washington, Oregon, California (lived there a decade), Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois (home state), Indiana, Michigan (childhood summer home, music camp, arts prep school), Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, Hawaii (Maui).

Mexico: Bahia Banderas ~ Puerto Vallarta / Baja ~ Cabo San Lucas, 

Europe:
England: London, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Cardiff
France: Paris, Brittany
Belgium: Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges
Holland: (lived there ca. 11 years)
Germany: Hamburg
Austria: Salzburg, Vienna
Switzerland (passing through in-transit only)
Italy: brief transit stop, Rome only (pity, that
Former Yugoslavia: Ljubljana / Zagreb / Rab / Dubrovnik
Greece: 
Corfu / Delphi / Olympia / Sparta / Athens / Mykonos / Crete; Heraklion & Palace of Knossos, Xania, Paleahora.

Not nearly enough :-/


----------



## Ingélou

^^^ G-gosh!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


----------



## Couchie

Canada: All major provinces and cities except Newfoundland/Labrador and the northern territories. 
Wish list: Yellowknife, NWT, and to redo Montreal

USA: Washington State, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, North Dakota, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii
Wish List: Road trip through BOS-NY-WASH, Chicago, Alaska, New Orleans

Mexico: Cancun, Mayan Riviera, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, Tepic. 
Wish list: Mexico City, Guadalajara

Germany: Berlin, Bayreuth.
Wish list: Could easily do with several more weeks to hop around the other cities

Next up: Either Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia), or Mexico City/Guadalajara


----------



## Morimur

SiegendesLicht said:


> Has he ever gone to Germany?


No, I am scared -- I am Hispanic. :tiphat:


----------



## Morimur

SarahNorthman said:


> Maybe I feel that way because I live here. Its nice to visit but it's a different beast when you live here. As for the Spanish, I personally don't speak it so I can't really comment on it.


You should learn, it's easy: _Una cerveza, por favor!_ -- It's all you need.


----------



## SarahNorthman

Morimur said:


> You should learn, it's easy: _Una cerveza, por favor!_ -- It's all you need.


Lol. I actually know what that one says.


----------



## sospiro

PetrB said:


> North America
> Canada: Toronto, Ontario / Victoria, British Columbia
> 
> U.S.A.: Washington, Oregon, California (lived there a decade), Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois (home state), Indiana, Michigan (childhood summer home, music camp, arts prep school), Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, Hawaii (Maui).
> 
> Mexico: Bahia Banderas ~ Puerto Vallarta / Baja ~ Cabo San Lucas,
> 
> Europe:
> England: London, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Cardiff
> France: Paris, Brittany
> Belgium: Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges
> Holland: (lived there ca. 11 years)
> Germany: Hamburg
> Austria: Salzburg, Vienna
> Switzerland (passing through in-transit only)
> Italy: brief transit stop, Rome only (pity, that
> Former Yugoslavia: Ljubljana / Zagreb / Rab / Dubrovnik
> Greece:
> Corfu / Delphi / Olympia / Sparta / Athens / Mykonos / Crete; Heraklion & Palace of Knossos, Xania, Paleahora.
> 
> Not nearly enough :-/












Fantastic! Am very envious!


----------



## Yoshi

Portugal: many places including the islands since it's my country
Spain: Canary islands, Majorca, Madrid, Barcelona
France: Paris, Provins, Monaco
England: London (The place I've traveled to the most, I went back so many times and that's the main reason I haven't seen other places)
Germany: Frankfurt (only a brief stop)
Finland: Helsinki

My next destination hopefuly will be in Italy. 
Some dream destinations of mine would be Tokyo, New York and Toronto. I guess because I live in such a small quiet place, big cities atract me


----------



## cwarchc

My eldest has got his working visa for Australia
He flys out to Sydney 6 weeks today


----------



## spokanedaniel

Going up to Nelson, B.C., Canada, for snowshoeing this winter. I envy people who can ski, but I don't obsess over it. I just do what I can, which is walk with snowshoes. I cannot travel as far as the skiers do (I'm slower downhill  ) but I'm much less likely to collide with a tree.  I don't particularly like the cold, but I love the mountains, and I love that part of B.C., and for half the year the only way to get out into them is either on skis or snowshoes.


----------



## scratchgolf

Why does everyone have such cool travel destinations and most of mine appeared on David Letterman's "Top 10 Places to Get Killed in 2015" list. I need to fire my travel agent.


----------



## ptr

Never been to the Americas south of the Rio Grande or Australia (and most of Africa, besides Morocco), I plan to go to South America for a longer trip sometime in the coming ten years (I have some distant family that emigrated to Argentina in the 1910's and who's offspring I'd love to connect with..) and perhaps Melbourne when COaG graduates! 

/ptr


----------



## Chronochromie

ptr said:


> Never been to the Americas south of the Rio Grande or Australia (and most of Africa, besides Morocco), I plan to go to South America for a longer trip sometime in the coming ten years (I have some distant family that emigrated to Argentina in the 1910's and who's offspring I'd love to connect with..) and perhaps Melbourne when COaG graduates!
> 
> /ptr


Yay! Come to Buenos Aires! We have...stuff.


----------



## scratchgolf

Der Leiermann said:


> Yay! Come to Buenos Aires! We have...stuff.


Indeed. We can enjoy some Quilmes and watch River Plate throttle Boca Juniors.


----------



## Chronochromie

scratchgolf said:


> Indeed. We can enjoy some Quilmes and watch River Plate throttle Boca Juniors.


Hey, I support Boca Juniors! :lol: (Or at least my family does, I couldn't care less about football).


----------



## ptr

Der Leiermann said:


> Yay! Come to Buenos Aires! We have...stuff.


You bet! Having read most of Ernesto Sabato's novels, there are places I've wanted to go and see since I first read "_Sobre héroes y tumbas_" and a bit of Tango and eating steak is two of the other main things on my bucket list! :tiphat: 
And I hope You know, the colours of Boca Juniors are those of the Swedish flag! I share Your interest in football! 

/ptr


----------



## Chronochromie

ptr said:


> You bet! Having read most of Ernesto Sabato's novels, there are places I've wanted to go and see since I first read "_Sobre héroes y tumbas_" and a bit of Tango and eating steak is two of the other main things on my bucket list! :tiphat:
> And I hope You know, the colours of Boca Juniors are those of the Swedish flag! I share Your interest in football!
> 
> /ptr


I'm ashamed to say I've only read Sabato's El túnel, and that was for school homework! 
And yes, my dad liked to tell me about Boca's history when I was little so I did know that.
Anyway, hope you enjoy your stay whenever you come around here. :cheers:


----------



## Vaneyes

Helping folk find their way.

*Five most dangerous US cities*: Camden, Flint, Detroit, Oakland, St. Louis.

http://www.shockpedia.com/5-most-dangerous-cities-united-states/

*World's ten safest airlines*: Qantas, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/06/intl_travel/world-safest-airlines/index.html


----------



## hpowders

None of those airlines fly out of Tampa.

So can I deduce that classical music is in short supply in Camden, Flint, Detroit, Oakland and St. Louis?

I know Detroit and St. Louis had pretty good orchestras at one time.


----------



## Vaneyes

hpowders said:


> None of those airlines fly out of Tampa.
> 
> So can I deduce that classical music is in short supply in Camden, Flint, Detroit, Oakland and St. Louis?
> 
> I know Detroit and St. Louis had pretty good orchestras at one time.


Gangstas do black tie now 'n then.


----------



## Vaneyes

"None of these airlines fly out of Tampa."

And that's* very good* for you, after reading of Etihad Flight 183.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel...28hour-etihad-journey-due-to-fog-9957606.html


----------



## spokanedaniel

scratchgolf said:


> Why does everyone have such cool travel destinations and most of mine appeared on David Letterman's "Top 10 Places to Get Killed in 2015" list. I need to fire my travel agent.


Sounds like you have an exciting travel itinerary. Not one I'd choose, but exciting.



Vaneyes said:


> ... World's ten safest airlines: Qantas, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines.
> 
> http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/06/intl_travel/world-safest-airlines/index.html


None of those are US airlines. Interesting. I knew that Quantas is one of the safest, and that does not surprise me, but some of the others do.

But "safest" is kind of misleading when you keep in mind that commercial airlines are the safest way to travel. When accidents happen, they are terrifying, but considering the astronomical number of people who fly every year, the number of fatalities is dwarfed by the alternatives.

Now, uncomfortable conditions, lost luggage, lack of any meaningful information when there are delays, and generally being treated like a mushroom by the airlines when you travel, puts them all on many people's most-hated list. I hate the airlines and I hate to fly. But they're all amazingly safe. And for anything over a few hundred miles there's no decent alternative.

In the western hemisphere I've never been south of Costa Rica. South America is so huge it's hard to decide where to go, and is much farther away from Spokane than it seems like it should be, and travel within the continent is not easy. I'd like to visit Torres del Paine national park, but it would take like three days of hard travel to get there. I'd need a companion to ease the boredom of long flights and long connections before I'd think seriously of South America.


----------



## opus55

science said:


> I wish we'd run into each other!


Last time I visited Seoul, Korea was 2011, I think. I love my home country but the politics and economic outlook don't seem good recently. I feel more at home in U.S.


----------



## Chronochromie

spokanedaniel said:


> Sounds like you have an exciting travel itinerary. Not one I'd choose, but exciting.
> 
> None of those are US airlines. Interesting. I knew that Quantas is one of the safest, and that does not surprise me, but some of the others do.
> 
> But "safest" is kind of misleading when you keep in mind that commercial airlines are the safest way to travel. When accidents happen, they are terrifying, but considering the astronomical number of people who fly every year, the number of fatalities is dwarfed by the alternatives.
> 
> Now, uncomfortable conditions, lost luggage, lack of any meaningful information when there are delays, and generally being treated like a mushroom by the airlines when you travel, puts them all on many people's most-hated list. I hate the airlines and I hate to fly. But they're all amazingly safe. And for anything over a few hundred miles there's no decent alternative.
> 
> In the western hemisphere I've never been south of Costa Rica. South America is so huge it's hard to decide where to go, and is much farther away from Spokane than it seems like it should be, and travel within the continent is not easy. I'd like to visit Torres del Paine national park, but it would take like three days of hard travel to get there. I'd need a companion to ease the boredom of long flights and long connections before I'd think seriously of South America.


Argentina may be THE South American country to travel to. It has everything: jungle, deserts, mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, hills, valleys, steppes, inflation, a huge city, and more! (do I sound like a tourism agency yet? :lol: )


----------



## Guest

I've been to about 30 countries outside the US. Hard to name them all. I lived over in Eastern Europe from '93 to '04 or so; which was a cool time -- fun to see the changes.

Let's see:

Americas: US (home), Mexico, Canada, Bahamas, Guatemala. That's it.
Africa: Egypt. Saw Morocco from Spain but that doesn't count.
Asia: Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Dubai (?), Malaysia.
Europe: ENGLAND, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Vatican, San Marino, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, POLAND, Czech, Slovak, Hungary, Romania, BULGARIA, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bos-Herz, BELARUS, Ukraine, RUSSIA

Ok, 44 countries. Places in CAPS I've lived for months or years.

I haven't travelled in years, though. Don't get me started.


----------



## spokanedaniel

Der Leiermann said:


> Argentina may be THE South American country to travel to. It has everything: jungle, deserts, mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, hills, valleys, steppes, inflation, a huge city, and more! (do I sound like a tourism agency yet? :lol: )


I'm inclined to believe you, that Argentina would be a great place to visit. But it takes over fifteen hours of flight time, plus six or eight hours of layovers, to get to Caracas from here. And probably another day or two to get to the places in-country I'd want to visit. Ain't happening without a pretty special companion to keep me company.

I spend my summers hiking up in B.C., Canada, and in the spring of last year I went hiking in Arizona and near the end of two weeks of hiking, I climbed Humphrey's Peak, a 12,633-foot walk-up. (Clarification: The summit is at 12,633 feet above sea level. The hike climbs 3,300 feet over a bit less than 5 miles.) So as my next logical step, I have just booked a trip to Colorado towards the end of August. I'll do some acclimation hikes in the front range, and then I'll attempt a 14,000-foot walk up. (Again, about a 3,300- or 3,500-foot climb to a summit slightly over 14K feet.) No technical climbing or mountaineering. Just a hike, perhaps with a little bit of scrambling. I'm okay with the fact that I might not make it. The air might be too thin for me, or the trail could be too rough. It's the hiking I love, and the mountains. But it would be cool to be able to say that I'd climbed a 14er. Apparently, Colorado has several 14ers that are walk-ups: no technical climbing or mountaineering necessary. I'll be with a professional guide.

I have no desire to climb really tall mountains.


----------



## scratchgolf

Der Leiermann said:


> Argentina may be THE South American country to travel to. It has everything: jungle, deserts, mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, hills, valleys, steppes, inflation, a huge city, and more! (do I sound like a tourism agency yet? :lol: )


Don't forget kidnappings, wine, and terrible drivers.


----------



## scratchgolf

spokanedaniel said:


> I'm inclined to believe you, that Argentina would be a great place to visit. But it takes over fifteen hours of flight time, plus six or eight hours of layovers, to get to Caracas from here. And probably another day or two to get to the places in-country I'd want to visit. Ain't happening without a pretty special companion to keep me company.


If you can't find a beautiful companion in Argentina, you can't find a beautiful companion. But for the love all all things holy, DO NOT marry one! I'm a broken man because of it.


----------



## Chronochromie

scratchgolf said:


> terrible drivers.


You've never gone to Italy apparently. :lol:


----------



## scratchgolf

Der Leiermann said:


> You've never gone to Italy apparently. :lol:


But of course. The Italian heritage runs deep in Argentina. Small cars, bad driving, and Fernet-Branca. Then again, if you want to find the worst drivers in the world, look no further than Egypt. Not only do the cab drivers put your life in jeopardy, they think it's funny when you soil yourself in the back seat.


----------



## spokanedaniel

scratchgolf said:


> If you can't find a beautiful companion in Argentina, you can't find a beautiful companion. But for the love all all things holy, DO NOT marry one! I'm a broken man because of it.


Near the beginning of the brilliant novel The Good Soldier Schweik, by the Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek, an agent of the secret police is trying (clumsily) to prove that Schweik is Russian, and asks him "There are pretty girls in Russia, yes?" (Or words to that effect.) Schweik replies that there are pretty girls everywhere.

And so there are. In all my travels, I've never been to a place where there were not pretty girls, from North Dakota to Costa Rica, from Kenya to Scandanavia to Fiji. Some of the most beautiful women I've seen have been in Mexico and Seville, two places where racial ancestry is mixed. The Nazis had it absolutely backwards. The strongest, healthiest, and most beautiful people are the ones that combine two or more racial types. So, I would expect Argentina to have exceptionally beautiful women.

As for your advice, I suspect you make the error of generalizing from a single example, since there are nasty people, kind people, and, mostly, average people, in all nations and among all races.

My problem, however, is that I am so devoid of social skills that no woman will have me. I'd travel to Argentina in a heartbeat if I really thought I'd find a suitable companion there, but I don't think a change of venue would make a difference, so I'll continue to base my travel plans on the activities I enjoy and ease of transportation. I live in Spokane because it's a stone's throw (figuratively speaking) from my favorite place in the world: The mountains of southeastern British Columbia.


----------



## SarahNorthman

I am preparing for my trip to Texas for my birthday next month.


----------



## Guest

scratchgolf said:


> If you can't find a beautiful companion in Argentina, you can't find a beautiful companion. But for the love all all things holy, DO NOT marry one! I'm a broken man because of it.


I could say the same about Russia!  :devil:


----------



## joen_cph

Hopefully you´re not too serious


----------



## Figleaf

scratchgolf said:


> But of course. The Italian heritage runs deep in Argentina. Small cars, bad driving, and Fernet-Branca. Then again, if you want to find the worst drivers in the world, look no further than Egypt. Not only do the cab drivers put your life in jeopardy, they think it's funny when you soil yourself in the back seat.


They can't drive as badly as the Russians, or in less roadworthy vehicles. My ex husband (from Novosibirsk via Moscow) thought it was absurdly nanny-state that in the UK you not only need both a licence and an MOT to drive a car, but even need to be sober!


----------



## Figleaf

spokanedaniel said:


> Near the beginning of the brilliant novel The Good Soldier Schweik, by the Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek, an agent of the secret police is trying (clumsily) to prove that Schweik is Russian, and asks him "There are pretty girls in Russia, yes?" (Or words to that effect.) Schweik replies that there are pretty girls everywhere.
> 
> And so there are. In all my travels, I've never been to a place where there were not pretty girls, from North Dakota to Costa Rica, from Kenya to Scandanavia to Fiji. Some of the most beautiful women I've seen have been in Mexico and Seville, two places where racial ancestry is mixed. The Nazis had it absolutely backwards. The strongest, healthiest, and most beautiful people are the ones that combine two or more racial types. So, I would expect Argentina to have exceptionally beautiful women.
> 
> As for your advice, I suspect you make the error of generalizing from a single example, since there are nasty people, kind people, and, mostly, average people, in all nations and among all races.
> 
> My problem, however, is that I am so devoid of social skills that no woman will have me. I'd travel to Argentina in a heartbeat if I really thought I'd find a suitable companion there, but I don't think a change of venue would make a difference, so I'll continue to base my travel plans on the activities I enjoy and ease of transportation. I live in Spokane because it's a stone's throw (figuratively speaking) from my favorite place in the world: The mountains of southeastern British Columbia.


In Britain, there is a huge undersupply of intelligent, straight single men over 30 such as yourself, and you could have your pick. I wish I could say that we Brits are all fabulously good looking, but that would be a lie. 

The place I've visited with the best looking inhabitants was Montenegro. Seemingly every twentysomething looked like a film star, tall and slim with great bone structure.


----------



## Guest

They used to joke that when you bought a Lada, the first thing you should do is take it apart and inspect everything to figure out what was missing.









I don't think they were joking!

To be fair, it wasn't just Russia. My first week in Poland (93) I saw a front wheel fall off of a Maly Fiat when it was taking a left turn.


----------



## spokanedaniel

Figleaf said:


> In Britain, there is a huge undersupply of intelligent, straight single men over 30 such as yourself...


There always seems to be an under-supply of whatever you're looking for: good-looking potential mates, warm easy-to-get-to places to visit in winter, a job...

My female friends all think I'd make an excellent husband... for somebody else. I have the qualities you're supposed to say you want, but not the qualities women actually do want. Plus, I'm very picky. I want someone I think I'll be compatible with, and that eliminates most. And I could not bear to live in a big city, and of course there are far fewer opportunities in smaller places. I could probably find someone in New York. And I'd go completely off my nut living there. And someone living in NYC would probably be bored to tears living in Spokane.

So I travel to fun places where I can be active. Hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, diving, etc. (Diving isn't really very active, but it's pretty cool... all the mind-boggling corals and the pretty fishes. Corals are made up of tiny animals, yet they often take forms that startlingly resemble land plants.)

Pictures of corals:
http://tinyurl.com/ma4ontm


----------



## Vaneyes

SarahNorthman said:


> I am preparing for my trip to Texas for my birthday next month.


All you need to pack is a big ego. Just kidding.


----------



## Vaneyes

A lot of gems on this page. I detect the proper queasy respect for vehicle driving. I try not to when travelling.


----------



## scratchgolf

spokanedaniel said:


> As for your advice, I suspect you make the error of generalizing from a single example, since there are nasty people, kind people, and, mostly, average people, in all nations and among all races.
> 
> My problem, however, is that I am so devoid of social skills that no woman will have me. I'd travel to Argentina in a heartbeat if I really thought I'd find a suitable companion there, but I don't think a change of venue would make a difference, so I'll continue to base my travel plans on the activities I enjoy and ease of transportation. I live in Spokane because it's a stone's throw (figuratively speaking) from my favorite place in the world: The mountains of southeastern British Columbia.


I think you may have read my humor as an insult or picking fun. It was neither, and I'm sorry if it was perceived as such. As for your situation, you could consider it as a blessing in disguise. Beautiful women may seem to have everything going for them but imagine the field of men they have to sort through before they find a worthy and decent man. In your situation, with unique and specific tastes and likes, the field narrows but the candidates are of higher quality and compatibility. When you do find a woman who has interest in you, you will know it's genuine. I do wish you the best of luck and hope you do find someone who truly makes you happy. Someone you want to make happy as well. They are out there.


----------



## scratchgolf

Figleaf said:


> They can't drive as badly as the Russians, or in less roadworthy vehicles. My ex husband (from Novosibirsk via Moscow) thought it was absurdly nanny-state that in the UK you not only need both a licence and an MOT to drive a car, but even need to be sober!


This really gave me a good laugh. Thanks. :lol:


----------



## Guest

Der Leiermann said:


> You've never gone to Italy apparently. :lol:


I remember in Italy they sometimes have those fish-eye mirrors on posts -- apparently so they can pass on curves.


----------



## Figleaf

spokanedaniel said:


> There always seems to be an under-supply of whatever you're looking for: good-looking potential mates, warm easy-to-get-to places to visit in winter, a job...
> 
> My female friends all think I'd make an excellent husband... for somebody else. I have the qualities you're supposed to say you want, but not the qualities women actually do want. Plus, I'm very picky. I want someone I think I'll be compatible with, and that eliminates most. And I could not bear to live in a big city, and of course there are far fewer opportunities in smaller places. I could probably find someone in New York. And I'd go completely off my nut living there. And someone living in NYC would probably be bored to tears living in Spokane.
> 
> So I travel to fun places where I can be active. Hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, diving, etc. (Diving isn't really very active, but it's pretty cool... all the mind-boggling corals and the pretty fishes. Corals are made up of tiny animals, yet they often take forms that startlingly resemble land plants.)
> 
> Pictures of corals:
> http://tinyurl.com/ma4ontm


I'm not looking for anything, I'm a hermit.  I was basing what I said on my experience of internet dating a few years ago (never again!). Men are in massive demand as soon as single women about to hit 30 realise that all their friends are married and that if they don't follow suit they will become a pariah- I'm not kidding! No offence, but it doesn't matter what you look like, what social skills you have, how little you earn etc etc, they will bite your hand off (not literally). When I realised how much the dating game was rigged against older women I walked away from it with no regrets- but if I was a man I would be having a ball!


----------



## SarahNorthman

Figleaf said:


> I'm not looking for anything, I'm a hermit.  I was basing what I said on my experience of internet dating a few years ago (never again!). Men are in massive demand as soon as single women about to hit 30 realise that all their friends are married and that if they don't follow suit they will become a pariah- I'm not kidding! No offence, but it doesn't matter what you look like, what social skills you have, how little you earn etc etc, they will bite your hand off (not literally). When I realised how much the dating game was rigged against older women I walked away from it with no regrets- but if I was a man I would be having a ball!


Hermits unite! I have to agree on the online dating. It's really just people wanting a booty call. It's really sad actually.


----------



## Vaneyes

Hadn't heard the term "Booty Call" for a while. Thought I'd refresh with Urban Dictionary's def. It's still pretty close to how I remember it. Just sayin'.


----------



## Vaneyes

NYT has blessed us with 52 places to visit in 2015. Most I would never want to visit, or re-visit. But, there are a few that stir my travel juices.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/11/travel/52-places-to-go-in-2015.html?_r=3


----------



## Figleaf

SarahNorthman said:


> Hermits unite! I have to agree on the online dating. It's really just people wanting a booty call. It's really sad actually.


Don't forget the golddiggers! I had so many bad first dates where the guys just wanted to know what I earned and whether my house was owned or rented. Then, when the answers were not to their liking, I had to sit through a half hour of lame chitchat before either of us could decently leave. I regret not being more assertive and telling them to #@#%& off once they started asking impertinent questions. I certainly wouldn't tolerate it now: I'd rather risk a scene than put up with that level of disrespect!


----------



## spokanedaniel

I'm old enough to have tried to get dates before there was the internet. There were brick-and-mortar dating services, newspaper ads, specialty services using snail mail, such as the Classical Music Lovers Exchange, as well as just asking someone out. Since I don't drink, and wasn't interesting in people who do, the bar scene was out for me. In all times and places, there are popular people who everybody wants, and unpopular people who nobody wants. If you're the latter, it really seems as though there are no available singles of whatever type you're looking for. And I suppose if you're the former it may seem like everyone is shallow and wants you for the wrong reasons. I'm sure it's hard for everyone.

Someone said: "I have not failed fifty times. I've successfully found fifty ways that don't work." Sometimes attributed to Edison, I don't know.

Well, I've been rejected enough times to have successfully come to the conclusion that I'm not what women are looking for. I'm an old fart now, and I'm going to just have as much fun as I can, hiking, diving, paddling, snowshoeing... as long as my health holds out, and so far it's better than I have any right to expect at my age.


----------



## Art Rock

SarahNorthman said:


> Hermits unite! I have to agree on the online dating. It's really just people wanting a booty call. It's really sad actually.


Well, my wife and I found eachother the old-fashioned way, but both my niece and my second cousin found husbands via online dating. And both are happy (and having met the guys numerous times over the past few years, I think they have done well).


----------



## joen_cph

Vaneyes said:


> NYT has blessed us with 52 places to visit in 2015. Most I would never want to visit, or re-visit. But, there are a few that stir my travel juices.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/11/travel/52-places-to-go-in-2015.html?_r=3


Interesting link, thank you - those "living pictures" are amazing. There are perhaps almost 10 places there I´d like to visit.

It´s a pity that _Greenland_ for example hasn´t been able to target the general public as regards budget levels, transport fees etc. so far. As a matter of fact, tourism has been going down there in recent years, whereas Iceland´s has expanded a lot due to low-cost airlines and effectlive tourist infrastructure.The_ Faroes _are somewhat more reachable from Denmark, though I wonder whether they are so different from say Isle of Skye, North-Western Ireland, or Northern Norway, for example.

_Lviv_ in the Ukraine is one of the last major culturally loaded secrets in Europe and will most likely become a major sight maybe in 15-20 years, though current circumstances will make progress slower, of course.

_Alentejo_ and _Ile-de-France _have been om my radar for re-visits recently too.


----------



## Figleaf

Art Rock said:


> Well, my wife and I found eachother the old-fashioned way, but both my niece and my second cousin found husbands via online dating. And both are happy (and having met the guys numerous times over the past few years, I think they have done well).


I know people who have used online dating successfully- but you have to be young, city based, conventionally successful, childless and able to at least pass yourself off as a blandly normal person. In the absence of those qualities you must be relatively wealthy, and willing to enter a face-saving marriage of convenience with somebody who regards you as no more or less than your net worth in pounds and pence.

The more I dwell on the aspects of human nature I have encountered in the world of dating and relationships, the less point there seems in having any contact with the outside world at all.


----------



## jurianbai

Vaneyes said:


> NYT has blessed us with 52 places to visit in 2015. Most I would never want to visit, or re-visit. But, there are a few that stir my travel juices.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/11/travel/52-places-to-go-in-2015.html?_r=3


#6 Singapore!

In opposite, I am still nurturing a dream to able travel to US. Maybe Montana or Alaska, that will make a good place to shot some spectacular landscape photo.


----------



## Vaneyes

jurianbai said:


> #6 Singapore!
> 
> In opposite, I am still nurturing a dream to able travel to US. Maybe Montana or Alaska, that will make a good place to shot some spectacular landscape photo.


Yellowstone Park (mostly in Wyoming, some in Montana and Idaho) is mahvellous. Was there many years ago. Wanna go back.


----------



## Vaneyes

Reading about two men and a passenger jet.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/13/travel/man-alone-delta-flight-feat/index.html


----------



## spokanedaniel

Speaking of travel, I'm going to be off-line for a while (as if anybody cared) because I'll be traipsing around the winter wonderland of British Columbia on snowshoes. (Since I cannot ski. I lack the balance and coordination for it. I can't ride a bike either. But snowshoes are almost like walking, and are the next best way to get out into the mountains in winter. I'd do ski touring if I could. Climb up and ski down. But I cannot, so I use snowshoes.)


----------



## Varick

Don't give up on on-line dating. Two of my best friends found their wives and now have children due to on-line dating. They said there is a learning curve for about a year or so, learning the phrasing that people use to market themselves and what it really means. But they said after that learning curve, you really slice through 80% of the crap out there and you actually learn how to key into the quality people.

V


----------



## Varick

Now onto topic:

USA: I *haven't* been to Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Kentucky or Arkansas,... yet.

Foreign Countries I *Have* been to: Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, UK (Just England, and only London for two days. Must get to Scotland), France Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, and Japan (I think that's it - when you're working (as was related to most of my travel), sometimes it's a blur.

I would really like to expand my Asian travel and am dying to get to Africa and travel all over. Another big one on the list is Australia and New Zealand. If there was only the time (And money). But, it gives me something to work for.

V


----------



## Figleaf

Varick said:


> Don't give up on on-line dating. Two of my best friends found their wives and now have children due to on-line dating. They said there is a learning curve for about a year or so, learning the phrasing that people use to market themselves and what it really means. But they said after that learning curve, you really slice through 80% of the crap out there and you actually learn how to key into the quality people.
> 
> V


There are a lot of men who are on dating sites for a while. I tend to assume they aren't looking for anything permanent, but sometimes I'm wrong. The thing long term users have in common is that they have the hide of a rhino: no averagely confident person would manage to keep their morale up past a couple of months. The rejection starts to feel personal and before long you're expecting people to reject you and giving off all sorts of crazy and negative vibes, making it difficult to connect with anyone. I had to leave before I became a basket case, and I think it's the same for most people, unless they have the good fortune to meet somebody quickly. My friend, a dashing and successful young man who was curiously diffident with women, met somebody instantly: a beautiful Latvian with the longest legs I've ever seen and a formidable intelligence. A decade on, they are married with a baby (and like most of the successful young Brits I know, based in Australia). These are the sort of people internet dating is for!

If I did meet anyone, it wouldn't be on dating sites or social media. With the exception of the gilded youths who merely have to show their lovely faces to be snapped up instantly, dating sites bring out the worst mercenary, predatory, narcissistic impulses in people who are that way inclined, and annihilate the confidence of anybody else. Though I won't say I wasn't flattered when Soulmates used my photo in their adverts, in spite of no make up and a weird bushy short haircut which has taken years to grow out!

To get back on topic: travel is a good way to meet people of the opposite sex, because there are none of the embarrassing expectations that come with formal dating, and if you have a regrettable experience (not me, but it happens to some) you aren't likely to run into that person in your home town! And if you can make a relationship work long distance in the beginning with all the delayed gratification that involves, that surely augurs well for the future.


----------



## Vronsky

I've been to Greece (Thessaloniki, Larissa and Corfu island), Hungary (Budapest and Gyor), Austria (Vienna), Serbia (Belgrade).

I would like to visit: UK (London, Manchester, Belfast, Edinburgh), Republic of Ireland (Dublin), Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka), Russia (Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok), USA (Boston, San Francisco), China (Beijing, Shanghai), Egypt (Cairo and Luxor), Argentina (Buenos Aires and Patagonia), Finland (Porvoo, Helsinki and and all of their beautiful lakes), Germany (Weimar and Berlin).


----------



## Giordano




----------



## GhenghisKhan

Manitobe 
Eastern Canada. 
Seen much of the US East coast. 

Going to Cambodia in about a month's time/


----------



## SarahNorthman

Ooooh my thread finally hit page 10. This makes me very happy for some reason.


----------



## PabloElFlamenco

I've been to many countries, and a good 40% of the States of the USA. It must be due to having lived in Europe and in America, each continent serving the purpose of extension towards neighboring countries, also because my dad believed in lugging the family about for thousands of miles in the car, up into Canada, down to Mexico. I do suppose that one of the advantages of "the European way" is that we have ample holiday-time, and I've visited most European countries at one time or another. Also, my job as cargo supervisor (and ship operator) brought me to a dozen African countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Togo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya...) as well as Saudi-Arabia, India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand and...and... Next week we're leaving on holiday, to Laos via Bangkok. No stress!


----------



## PabloElFlamenco

I was in Prague twice in 1968, once in May ("elation of spring"), and again in December ("gloom of suppression"). We went back last year. Quite a change: nowadays, wow, masses of tourists! I remember going through the streets of the old town, into old cafés, back in 1968: no one there! In a way, it was very nice, the old streets up to the Hradcany, snow...nobody! One of the better similar memories was Venice, morningtime, on the 1st of January, around 1980, raging Bora wind and snowstorm...nobody! (I also remember my terrible headache from that awful Asti spumante in Trieste, where we spent New Years' eve in a large hotel, eating schnitzels). Travel forms the mind! ;-)

I have to apologize: they weren't "schnitzels", the correct terminology must be "escalope milanese". Or would that be "cordon bleu"? Trieste is a very special place, the local Italian is sometimes very...er...Slovenian, and some old guys speak Austrian german. Actually, Trieste (together with Monfalcone) is the largest sea-port of ... Austria (who have no sea...).


----------



## Vaneyes

*10 Most Dangerous Cities in the World*, courtesy of escapehere.com

*10*. Caracas, Venzuela *9*. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico *8*. Cape Town, South Africa *7*. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *6*. Guatemala City, Guatemala *5*. Acapulco, Mexico *4*. Baghdad, Iraq *3*. Kabul, Afghanistan *
2*. Karachi, Pakistan *1*. San Pedro Sula, Honduras.


----------



## GhenghisKhan

You'd think some place like Sierra Leone would be most dangerous. 

but na-ooooooooooh


----------



## spokanedaniel

Vaneyes said:


> *10 Most Dangerous Cities in the World*, courtesy of escapehere.com
> 
> *10*. Caracas, Venzuela *9*. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico *8*. Cape Town, South Africa *7*. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *6*. Guatemala City, Guatemala *5*. Acapulco, Mexico *4*. Baghdad, Iraq *3*. Kabul, Afghanistan *
> 2*. Karachi, Pakistan *1*. San Pedro Sula, Honduras.


I wonder how they compile these lists. There are places that are very dangerous for tourists but less so for locals, and vice versa. There are cities that are very dangerous if you stray from the tourist parts of town, but not as bad otherwise. I am surprised that Nairobi didn't make the list.

I have a sneaking suspicion that many places never get considered because the editor didn't think to look up their statistics.

I'm home now from my two weeks of snowshoeing in British Columbia, Canada. It was gorgeous. There was one day when we hiked for three and a quarter hours in the fog, and finally a little before lunch time we emerged into the sun, surrounded by sun-bathed snow-capped summits. That was spectacular. It was also hard work, since even with snowshoes you sink in a bit, and there are places where the snow has been packed unevenly by other hikers, and the snowshoe on uneven ground turns your ankles in unnatural ways and can become painful after a while. The alternative, breaking your own path, is a LOT of work and hiking uphill on steep terrain, I am exhausted after just a few minutes of breaking trail.









What looks like a lake in the background, is the top of the fog layer we had been hiking through all morning.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

^ That sounds wonderful! I had a similar experience in Bavaria, only without snowshoes. There were steep slopes, deep snow, and sun-bathed summits as well. But I would gladly do some hiking in Canada too. Who knows, maybe I will make it some day.


----------



## joen_cph

Am currently on a 2-week break in "this area" . Five days in a nice B&B in the old part of town, below the castle, above the river, to the left in the picture. Surprisingly green & sunny, a very nice contrast to wintery/grey conditions at home. The church with pinnacles below the castle was originally a mosque for many years, and even the Romans left extensive architectural remains.


----------



## Guest

^ ^ ^ Portugal? It seems so undeveloped. Hmmm. Maybe someone else knows.


----------



## joen_cph

You are right - the town Mertola in the Alentejo district, Portugal.

Here are a couple more shots.


----------



## Vaneyes

'Frozen Niagara Falls'

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/travel/feat-great-lakes-niagara-falls-frozen/index.html


----------



## Vaneyes

Travel site WanderBat looked across the globe to find which airlines were the most dependable, ranking each carrier in three areas: On-time performance, low costs to check bags, average age of an airline fleet.

Click ahead to see the 22 most dependable airlines in the world.

Possible spoilers:

Re Malaysia Airlines, I don't think I'd be including them. Nor Germanwings.


----------



## SarahNorthman

I am very much looking forward to my vacation to Orlando this summer.


----------



## Blancrocher

Vaneyes said:


> Travel site WanderBat looked across the globe to find which airlines were the most dependable, ranking each carrier in three areas: On-time performance, low costs to check bags, average age of an airline fleet.
> 
> Click ahead to see the 22 most dependable airlines in the world.
> 
> Possible spoilers:
> 
> Re Malaysia Airlines, I don't think I'd be including them. Nor Germanwings.


For frequent flyers, the following site may be useful:

http://www.seatguru.com/charts/generalcharts.php

When booking a long flight, I always check out the airplane specs, particularly the "seat pitch," "seat width," and availability of video; every inch of seat space counts for a lot. Sometimes an upgrade of $5-20 for a flight can make an incomparable difference in comfort level.


----------



## joen_cph

Have people been staying at home all summer ? 

Some pictures from a bike trip to Sweden and the beautiful island of Gotland, its Northern part around Fårö etc.. Hope to go back.


----------



## omega

I spent a couple of days in Brussels... What a wonderful city!


----------



## TxllxT

*Lower Austria & Linz*

Tomorrow we'll be traveling from the outer east of the Czech Republic to the outer southwest. On our way we'll pass the Czech-Austrian border two times. First at Znojmo, secondly at Freistadt. Everone knows about the Austrian alps & Vienna, hardly anybody cares about the northern, lower part of Austria. We do. There are wonderful Renaissance towns here, nicely forgotten and preserved in a time-capsule, that we would like to visit. Perhaps there will be already the first signs of "Sturm" along the road, the very first wine produce, that tastes like white beer and is being sold in two liter pet bottles. It's full of yeast and yes, you will get louder & merrier very quickly before you notice it yourself. On the Czech side the same happystuff is called 'Burcak'. 
Tomorrow the temperatures are expected to rise to 32 degrees Celsius. On the day after tomorrow we are thinking about visiting the birthplace of Anton Bruckner. But alas, showers for the whole day are coming... Anyhow, even with umbrellas Linz will be nice. When we are having time left, we'll do the monastery of Melk on the Danube embankment as well. In the evening we'll be back in the Czech Republic, with a good beer (Budweis or Regent) and delicious pub food!


----------



## joen_cph

Sounds really great. I have often been wanting to go to the Znojmo area, the villages & towns seem picturesque. I´ve been further to the East only.


----------



## TxllxT

The first thing a flying tourist will see in Saint Petersburg, Russia: the brand-new 2014 airport building of Pulkovo, designed by Grimshaw Architects.


----------



## SarahNorthman

joen_cph said:


> Have people been staying at home all summer ?
> 
> Some pictures from a bike trip to Sweden and the beautiful island of Gotland, its Northern part around Fårö etc.. Hope to go back.
> 
> View attachment 74395
> 
> 
> View attachment 74396
> 
> 
> View attachment 74397
> 
> 
> View attachment 74398
> 
> 
> View attachment 74399


You have no idea how incredibly jealous I am that you got to travel in Sweden. I would love to visit one day.


----------



## Dr Johnson

joen_cph said:


> Have people been staying at home all summer ? ]


By no means! This afternoon I went to this station to pick Mrs Johnson up.

Let nobody say that life in rural England is dull!


----------



## SarahNorthman

I did get to go to Orlando this summer. I had a fantastic time! I really enjoyed being able to spend some time with my best friend and her family.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Great Britain, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria.... the entire Germanic world, full of beauty. I'd love to visit it all one day.


----------



## TxllxT

SiegendesLicht said:


> Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Great Britain, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria.... the entire Germanic world, full of beauty. I'd love to visit it all one day.


Don't forget Saint Petersburg: the best architects (after Rastrelli) came from Germany.


----------



## SiegendesLicht

TxllxT said:


> Don't forget Saint Petersburg: the best architects (after Rastrelli) came from Germany.


I was there once when I was a teenager, and I loved it. It is not just the architecture that is Germanic, it is the very feel of the place. I remember standing on a pier (or maybe it was a dam) sticking out into the Gulf of Finland with fog descending all around. The barren trees (it was end of October I think), the cold grey waves, the low-hanging sky - all was heart-breakingly beautiful.

I've been to Moscow too, and I think it is the total opposite.


----------



## Chopiniana93

I have had a trip with the university to Greece almost 2 weeks ago. We visited a lot of ancient greek cities and we were also at the beach! 
Here a couple of pictures:


----------



## cwarchc

Just got back from a week in Dunbar, on the East Lothian coast of Scotland.
It's about 50kms/30 miles east of Edinburgh
Went to visit the youngest (he's at Uni there)
A wonderful, historic city


----------

