[IrishNinja]

I don't know if it's on the route, but did you plan in plitvice lakes? That's a definite must see in that area

wow, that's beautiful...ill have to see if i can work that in, was only planning a few days in croatia and it's trickier without rails.

[Arjen]

I don't know where you're planning on staying, but tourist heavy cities in Croatia probably often field trips for a day to the lakes. It's really one of the most beautiful places i've visited.

[IrishNinja]

again, looking at Dubrovnik for now - i'm told that's pretty tourist-heavy, you think i could catch a tour from there? that'd be pretty awesome.

aside from Montenegro, I'm also in the dark about Macedonia - ive a few days in both, taking recommendations here!

[daviyoung]

Dubrovnik is miles away from Plitvice unfortunately. About half a day travelling one way, if not more. Are you planning to go to Zagreb or Rijeka at all? There will be tours from those cities.

I know nothing of Macedonia or Montenegro unfortunately.

[Tripwood]

Day trip to Plitvice Lakes from Zagreb.

http://www.zagrebtours.com/en/t/plitvice-lakes/2/2-1/

You need a group for that so it might be a problem, still it's an option you can look into.
Or just go there by bus and take a walk around by yourself :)

[IrishNinja]

awesome! if i can work that in by the time im down there, i'm going.

aside from Montenegro, I'm also in the dark about Macedonia - ive a few days in both, taking recommendations here!

also meant to ask: should i be watching currency exchange rates for the next week or so? was gonna take about $300 to the airport to turn into euros, its about $1 : .77 last i checked, not sure how much it fluctuates. i think UK and croatia are the only places im looking at that id have to exchange again for another currency.

[daviyoung]

You're getting a good deal on the Euro at the moment, it will drop again but probably not by the time you leave. Short of a complete economic crash at least.

If you're going through Switzerland you'll need Swiss francs too.

[Cyport]

Try having a look at sta travel. They mainly provide tours for students but non-students are welcome. You can just turn up and get advice on many useful things and you don't have to book through them.

[tborsje]

You going to Slovenia? Lake Bled is awesome - the lake itself and the Vintgar gorge that is walking distance from the town. And if you want to see some truly amazing caves, check out Postojna Cave, although it's really, really touristy. Still, that's what you have to put up with to see such an amazing sight.

Split, Croatia is pretty awesome too, the old town is like a time machine into a bunch of Roman ruins. Again, can be pretty touristy.

[Kola]

I've been around quite alot, but the Plitvice lakes were some of the best places I had ever been to.

[IrishNinja]

okay, got my timeline mostly down and the other stuff going, it looks like

Ireland = 5, plus 8 (?) hour ferry to UK
London = 2-3?
Belgium = 2?
Germany = 3-4?
Prague = 2
Croatia = 3 (travel?)
Montenegro? = 2 << still have no idea where im going here, hah
Macedonia & Greece = 4
= @ 26 days total (ive got 28 to catch that flight back out of athens) so this gives me breathing room.

the trickiest bits seem to be catching a train from Prague to Split, Croatia so i can see Plitvice Lakes for a bit, then back and train down to Dubrovnik. after that, i still have to sort a route down to Macedonia (thinking of seeing Ohrid), from there i think getting to athens shouldn't be tricky at all but im reading that CR to croatia is quite a long ride, and that trains/buses don't run nearly as often so i could be there for a while.

anyone else traveled down along the mediterranean before? any advice here?

[MrOogieBoogie]

Dude, I wish you the very best of luck. Sounds like an awesome trip. Please keep us updated while you're there (if possible).

[IrishNinja]

thanks man! i'm told a lotta hostels have wifi, hope that pans out, so will do. plus i'm going right in the middle of e3, so christ knows ill have to find internet somewhere or miss my seat at the carnival of stupid, haha

[0OoO0]

Ireland = 5, plus 8 (?) hour ferry to UK London = 2-3? Belgium = 2? Germany = 3-4? Prague = 2 Croatia = 3 (travel?) Montenegro? = 2 << still have no idea where im going here, hah Macedonia & Greece = 4 = @ 26 days total (ive got 28 to catch that flight back out of athens) so this gives me breathing room.

I just came back from 3 months trip to Europe. In my opinion I think you are going to too many places in a short amount of time. London should be at least 3-4 days (it's a big city with so many things to see and do). And Prague is such an awesome city so spending two days there would be way too short. I would maybe skip Belgium for another time and fly directly into Germany from London.

[IrishNinja]

Hmm...you may be onto something there. i don't know about london, but that's not too big a deal since i'd likely come back another time, what with missing scotland this trip and all. i might cut germany a day short for prague though, and if i find myself needing time, i might just pass on montenegro and head straight from croatia to macedonia. it looks like a long, scenic trip but i'm considering it if time looks to be a factor.

also, i was reading that given the troubles in greece, i should make sure i'm in athens at least a day before my flight as well, just in case.

[Arjen]

What's your plan for Germany, Berlin?
And i agree, you might be cramming to many places in a short time frame.

[Micerider]

Hello Irish,

Just saw that you still needed some pieces of advise for Montenegro.

I would go for Kotor (nothing to do with Star Wars :p ). Nice town on it's own, pretty close from Dubrovnik if you are going down there and this might be the most beautifull Fjord you can visit without going to Scandinavia or New Zealand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotor.

If you have time to enjoy a bit of Wilderness (and in Montenegro, Wilderness is a real word to behold, it's kind of one of the most "un-touched" part of Europe), I can only recommand the National Park of the Durmitor (If you like mountains) and getting down along the Tara River and it's lush canyon. But that's rather the kind of thing you want to plan ahead. http://www.discover-montenegro.com/durmitor.htm. Transportations are not that easy tbh, but there are some organized tours for treks in the wild.

Talking about great lakes, Montenegro has some nice one as well. Aside from the mountain lakes in the Durmitor area, you can also go south east to check a "flatter" landscape with the greatest lake (and also take a good opportunity to visit the coast line below, to get back to Croatia). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Skadar

[IrishNinja]

What's your plan for Germany, Berlin? And i agree, you might be cramming to many places in a short time frame.

staying with a cousin in Wiesbaden, who insists on a few days to see that as well as Mainz and Frankfurt. should be cool!

might just pass through Belgium, meeting a fellow gaffer there on the way so i'm looking forward to that too.
i get what you guys are saying about covering too much gorund, but ive got about 4 weeks to get from cork to athens, and i was trying to avoid flying. if need be, ill pass right through macedonia to make up time.

Micerider - looking up those spots right now, thanks man! Kotor (heh) looks beautiful.

[Micerider]

might just pass through Belgium, meeting a fellow gaffer there on the way so i'm looking forward to that too.

I'd have a few recommandations for Belgium as well (being a local). But if you are only spending 2 days there and have already quite a few "appointments" with felow gaffers, that might be short. The most important when visiting our country...well, Beer, simply the best in the world and with the greatest range of choice :)

[opticalmace]

I'd have a few recommandations for Belgium as well (being a local). But if you are only spending 2 days there and have already quite a few "appointments" with felow gaffers, that might be short. The most important when visiting our country...well, Beer, simply the best in the world and with the greatest range of choice :)

Hey, do you happen to know of a good place to stay in Bruges for a few nights?

[Micerider]

Hey, do you happen to know of a good place to stay in Bruges for a few nights?

Hmm, unfortunately, no. I'm living an hour away from it and never stayed for the night :|

[IrishNinja]

I'd have a few recommandations for Belgium as well (being a local). But if you are only spending 2 days there and have already quite a few "appointments" with felow gaffers, that might be short. The most important when visiting our country...well, Beer, simply the best in the world and with the greatest range of choice :)

oh, ive been promised waffles, and beer goes with any meal! haha, that is definitely on the agenda.
i believe from the UK im catching the tunnel to brussels, hoping a transfer to Ghent won't be a long ride - it's looking like my journey down the mediterranean will be a bit more time-consuming, but at least quite scenic.

[IrishNinja]

okay GAF, need your help.
im just past the halfway point so far in this amazing trip (last night in prague!), and im heading out to vienna tomorrow after checkout, not sure what to do from there for the remaining time (ive got till the 14th or so when i fly back from athens).

route 1: stick to plan, head from austria to zagreb, then plitvica lakes, down to dubrovnik, and after about 3-4 days in croatia, a few in montenegro, possibly a few in macedonia, then a few days in greece before flying back.

route 2: from austria, head to budapest for a few days, then the same 3-4 days in croatia, then hightail it to greece - im told i can take a boat from croatia (possibly dubrovnik?I should look this up) to either go straight there or to the south of italy, and back down from there to greece.

routes are kinda sketchy, but rough distances from google put vienna to zagreb/plitvica almost the same as coming from budapest, unless im entering shit wrong. what do you guys think?

ps Duo014 is awesome, and i had a great time in belgium thanks to this fellow gaffer.

[Arjen]

Go for plitvica man, you won't regret it. It's such an amazing place.
Good to hear you're having a good time, we want pics when you get back!

[IrishNinja]

so, i'm finally back! few days ago anyway, just sorting through pics and such. I had a blast, and turned out it wasnt too much ground to cover, i just had to have the right mindset.

wrote up a full review with tons of pics on my forum here, just thought it'd toss a few pics of my favorite spots up here: Ireland's Cliffs of Moher, and a Fairy Fort (the shire):





and, of course (thanks you guys so much for the recommendation!) Croatia's national park, Plitvice Lakes:







*edit sorry the pics are stupid-huge, i thought i took them down a notch already too.

[Arjen]

Cool pics and stories man! Glad you liked it here!

[Micerider]

Glad you enjoyed it Irish, went anywhere else than Gent in Belgium?

I read in your forum that you had some "trust" issues in Kotor, I hope this did not discourage you to visit the area and that you could still enjoy this place.

Ok, next step for you : from North-eastern (Scandinavia) Europe down to South-West (Spain/Portugal) :)

[Fusebox]

wrote up a full review with tons of pics on my forum here

Awesome pics and even better commentary, you're cracking me up!

[IrishNinja]

Cool pics and stories man! Glad you liked it here!

i really did man, thanks a lot again for the suggestions!

Glad you enjoyed it Irish, went anywhere else than Gent in Belgium? I read in your forum that you had some "trust" issues in Kotor, I hope this did not discourage you to visit the area and that you could still enjoy this place. Ok, next step for you : from North-eastern (Scandinavia) Europe down to South-West (Spain/Portugal) :)

unfortunately no, i basically passed through brussels so i can't say i gave it much time.

and yeah, i shouldve stressed that montenegro was still beautiful,, and it really was more my fault for not keeping much of any cash on me. ill edit in the details later, i got lucky and converted just enough crowns/kunas/etc to get by, but yeah, most other people were really nice and helpful and again, the place was beautiful. Id totally go back, but prolly see a different city, heh.

and yeah, i think next year im either doing southeast asia or south america (i can only pull off 3-4 weeks anually), but i do plan on making a western euro trip and a northern one, as the more i look at it, the more it's too much land to cover trying to criss-cross and hurry across the rest of the continent, yeah?

Awesome pics and even better commentary, you're cracking me up!

glad you like it!

[IrishNinja]

oh goddammit, stupid dropbox suspended my account for heavy activity, i guess that's what i get for not compressing the images (there's like a few hundred megs in there i think), i really should get my own private server for this kinda thing one day. anyone got any good hosting recommendations that won't be taken down later? i hate having that whole write-up with a buncha blanks now.

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Glad you had a safe trip!
Just about to read your write-up but pics still dead :(
Update this thread once it's fixed.

[planetsmasherx1]

oh goddammit, stupid dropbox suspended my account for heavy activity, i guess that's what i get for not compressing the images (there's like a few hundred megs in there i think), i really should get my own private server for this kinda thing one day. anyone got any good hosting recommendations that won't be taken down later? i hate having that whole write-up with a buncha blanks now.

No Belfast :( I should have seen this thread sooner! Glad you enjoyed the adventure though.

[IrishNinja]

Glad you had a safe trip! Just about to read your write-up but pics still dead :( Update this thread once it's fixed.

hey, how you been Jo? yeah, sadly theyll be dead a few more days, i somehow hit 20GB of transfer on my dropbox public account (that's what i get for not reizing them, heh - it's done now anyway), i totally will post again by wednesday or whenever they're back and hope not to have this happen again after all that effort.

No Belfast :( I should have seen this thread sooner! Glad you enjoyed the adventure though.

aw man, wish you had! yeah, i was thinking about doing northern ireland, i couldnt get to scotland afterward because the ferry from dublin only goes to liverpool or wales. next trip, i'm thinking!

[IrishNinja]

Glad you had a safe trip! Just about to read your write-up but pics still dead :( Update this thread once it's fixed.

DONE!

TAKE 2: now with pics! ⅓ of Europe: my review, after a month of backpacking Ireland, UK & eastern Europe.

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Wow amazing stuff!
I spent far to long pouring over all of your pictures.
I've been planning to see more of Europe for a while now, so this is just the kick-up-the-ass that I needed.
It seems you had a great time, I'm jealous :)

I'm probably gonna bombard you with 100 questions once I'm closer to doing something like this myself, but for now I'll just leave you with the most important one:

How many Streetpasses did you get?
:lol

[IrishNinja]

ahaha...a man with priorities.

about a baker's dozen; all the countries i started in (western europe) of course, eastern bloc had very little sadly, kinda ran out when i left prague. i was nearly a week in croatia & went all over trying to find one - i seriously carried that thing with me everywhere except for times i wanted to swim in the sea, natch - last one i managed was i think in montenegro or macedonia? nothing in greece either, even at the tourist spots! ah well. only need about 85 more puzzle pieces so next month's zelda concert hopefully has me covered, haha.

the cool thing is that the pedometer shows i walked @ 175 miles total across that month, average of 20 a day. mad pedestrian!

for real though jo (and any others), ive been around to australia & other places but always with a purpose like visiting friends or events or whatever, this was my first real backpacking tour where i just went dolo/did it for me, meeting friends and strangers along the way and now that i did it, im past any fears and apprehensions i had about it - even if it wouldve somehow sucked idve been glad to get past that, cause now i can make it an annual thing and just treat the rest of the globe like it's a giant playground waiting to be explored. so if you got any questions at all, don't hesitate.