Jump to content

The Holiday Thread


LaGoosh

Recommended Posts

  • 1 month later...
  • Awards Moderator

Partner and I are fancying a holiday to New York this year and don’t know where to start re planning it all out. Never been outside Europe before. What time of year’s best to go, what sort of duration, what kind of prices should we be looking that - all this sort of stuff’s a question mark to me, so I do what I do in all situations and ask the UKFF!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

It's been over ten years since I went but I was over there around late May. Decent weather and you get to experience Fleet Week - which was actually in early May last year. That was not intentional on my part, but just a happy coincidence. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was in New York for two weeks in October and the wheather was good. Pretty warm but not unbearable. Unfortunately I left before Halloween which all the locals had been banging on about saying loads of cool shit would be happening. 

I thought two weeks was a decent stay, gave me a chance to adjust to time difference and enjoy myself. As for things to do I would totally recommend smoking DMT in Central Park and there is a lovely bar in Brooklyn that will do you two gold teeth for $150. You and the partner could get matching ones to commemorate your trip

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I'm an enormous fan of going to places for 10 days. Have now done several holidays in that manner (Boston, Brussels, couple of other European cities) and it manages to be a long enough period of time to get most of the things you want to do in, while not quite running for two weeks (which I find slightly excessive). I also have the attention span of a gnat, so that may not be long enough for you.  

If not May, October isn't a bad bet. I went to the Eastern Seaboard in October 2016, and it's off-season, while still retaining a fair degree of heat.

Have a cracker of a time HG. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 17/10/2017 at 10:52 AM, mim731 said:

Off to Berlin on Saturday for a few days, any recommendations? Staying in Mitte, but not too many plans set in stone, so am open to suggestions.

How was it? I've just booked some flights for May because they were cheap and I need a break but I need to sort out a hotel. Would you recommend Mitte as an area to base yourself? Anything I should definitely check out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I’ve been a very lucky boy over the years and going overseas ha been a massive passion. I’ve been to 14 European countries I’ve been to New York, Slovenia, Eygypt, Cypress, Israel and Japan. This was all before I became a Dad.

Now I’ve become a Dad, I haven’t been away in nearly 2 years. Me and my wife are itching to have a long weekend and we’re thinking of Denmark.

Anyone been to Denknark? (Copenhagen) being a most likely destination but any info is appreciated, such as other preferred areas?

 

@HarmonicGenerator We went over for the first week of Oct in 2014. Apart from 2 days of rain, I was wearing a tshirt when walking around. Obviously you can fly direct from Toon as well now which is a bonus.

You can get pre paid cards (put money on a card in the U.K. and spend over there) which stops you have to pay for every transaction. I’d recommend if you go to big dept stores etc. Not everywhere, small places, accept them.

Two things I’d recommend:

- Visit Brooklyn, very easy to get to on the subway. If you can, go when the big Williamsburg market is on, then pop next door in to Brooklyn brewery for a pint. (Use the subway for all your travel, it’s only about a 45 min - 1 hour walk from Central Park to main shopping area of Manhattan. But got subs back on a night. We stayed near the north west of the park).

- Walk along the high line. It’s an old elevated train track in the city centre and has gardens etc. It’s a lovely walk, and I’d suggest starting at the northern point and walk it south. You come out at food district from what I remember. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
35 minutes ago, deathrey said:

How was it? I've just booked some flights for May because they were cheap and I need a break but I need to sort out a hotel. Would you recommend Mitte as an area to base yourself? Anything I should definitely check out?

Mitte was a great base, really central, we could get to Checkpoint Charlie in about 15 mins walking. Lots of good bars/restaurants around that way. In terms of must see things in Berlin, it's worth seeing Checkpoint Charlie, any part of what's left of the wall, the abandoned airport at Tempelhof (info here) was really good, Berlin Zoo is lovely, and there is historical stuff everywhere. The spy museum and the Typography of Terror are both supposed to be excellent, but we didn't quite have time to get there.  

I love Berlin, if nothing else because it's great for having a wander, has an easy to figure metro system so getting about is straightforward, and it's great for food of pretty much all types. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

One thing I loved about Berlin is the quantity of old world tat/market places. I love shit like that and can find some awesome stuff.

I went in December, so was there for the Christmas markets.. really really good.

edit - as Mim says, the food is awesome.

Edited by Kaz Hayashi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm really excited to go and I got the tickets for £45 return during half term which is a bargin I think!

I've never heard of the Templehof airport but will definetly check it out, sounds interesting.

I'm a vegetarian which has always made me a bit wary to visit Germany but I've done a bit of research and Berlin in particular is meant to be excellent for vegetarians and my assumption is completely outdated it appears 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
32 minutes ago, deathrey said:

I'm a vegetarian which has always made me a bit wary to visit Germany but I've done a bit of research and Berlin in particular is meant to be excellent for vegetarians and my assumption is completely outdated it appears 

Any city of that kind of size, it's going to be relatively easy to find vegetarian food these days. It's only if you get a bit more off the beaten track that I'd worry, though it's always in the back of my mind that when I don't speak the language well, then I can't read the menu well enough to know for certain that I'm getting something veggie.

My go-to is usually, when all else fails, try and find an Indian restaurant, as you can near enough guarantee a functional veggie option there.

Edited by BomberPat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, Indian and Italians are usually both quite good for veggie food. Understanding the menu and getting waiters to understand you when you don' speak the language can be difficult. I went to Barcelona in the early 2000's and spent the whole 5 days pretty much just eating chips, patatas bravas and margarita pizza, I love chips but I got fed up pretty quickly. I've been back more recently and had better luck finding food though

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

@deathrey I went with a load of friends, the majority of whom were vegan or veggie and had no issues finding places for food. Most places have menus in English and German too, which is helpful.  We found some great places, will have a look tonight and see if I can dig out any of the names of places we went. 

Berlin is a proper haven for good veggie food, so you shouldn't have any issues. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I absolutely love its vibe, awesome mix of of historical culture, arty, undertone of punk and industry, with splashes of modern gentrification here and there. One of my favourite European cities due to its mix. As Pat said, you should have no bother eating veg and avoiding traditional Bavaria.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...