It's gonna be like EuroTrip, except less suck

[Wurtsi]

So me and three of my friends are going on a Europe-wide crusade next month. We plan on buying InterRail tickets, packing a ton of stuff to go and heading to wherever God takes us. Still we would like to have some idea of what the fuck we are doing, otherwise the trip might end up consisting mostly of us getting really drunk and sleeping in shitty train cars.

Do the Thumbs have any recommendations on cool stuff we could go check out apart from the obvious sights you expect from Europe?

[Patters]

So me and three of my friends are going on a Europe-wide crusade next month. We plan on buying InterRail tickets, packing a ton of stuff to go and heading to wherever God takes us. Still we would like to have some idea of what the fuck we are doing, otherwise the trip might end up consisting mostly of us getting really drunk and sleeping in shitty train cars.

Do the Thumbs have any recommendations on cool stuff we could go check out apart from the obvious sights you expect from Europe?

There are a bunch of cool bars in Reeperbahn in Hamburg, there was an Irish one me and a mate went to with a random couple of locals which gave me a massive glass of Glenfiddich for 6 euros. There was a pretty decent covers band and I met a really cute German girl.

[Squid Division]

Moscow and St. Petersburg were great if you've never been. St. Petersburg is still the exact same city all the writers from the 19th Century were talking about. (No idea what the Finnish/Russian relationship is now so sorry if this is an offensive suggestion).

[Wurtsi]

Russia would be fine, except I don't think the InterRail card is any good there.

I should have probably posted the countries available. Here's a list:

Austria

Belgium

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Great Britain

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Montenegro

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Switzerland

Sweden

Turkey

Also, we only have 1 month on us, so we decided that we're mostly going to stick to western Europe for this trip. So probably not anything east of Vienna. (I guess that actually limits a lot)

[Hermie]

I've had a couple of trips like this, and the highlight as far as locations goes was definitely Brüssels, Belgium. An awesome city both aesthetically and culturally, and it instantly became my favourite, even though I only had a single day there. Belgian fries (must try), Belgian waffles, Belgian chocolate, comic book murals, comic book museum, etc. etc. And most importantly, Belgian beer. Go into any store and find a "trappist" beer. This is one of seven types of beer that is each brewed exclusively at their own cloister by monks, with a recipe that has remained unchanged for centuries. Best beer I have ever had.

I'm the kind of guy that hates the normal tourist attractions, so what I prefer is this: Find someone local who knows the area well (The clerk at whatever hostel you're staying at is perfect for this) and ask them what around here is something unique you should experience. You'll probably end up with way better memories than just "seeing the sights". Maybe you'll end up discovering an awesome local band? Maybe you'll find an unique dish or drink you've never even heard of?

That trick works at restaurants too, and not just when traveling. When you work somewhere that serves food, you have tasted everything in there (I know I did), so by asking "well, what's YOUR favourite?" you can get some great stuff you normally wouldn't consider. :3

[Squid Division]

Well the top places I would go would be:

• La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain
  
• The Cathedral of Seville in Sevilla, Spain (Carthaginian, Roman, Moorish, and Spanish architecture all in one building and I think it's where Christopher Columbus' tomb is buried (but probably not really))
  
• Museum Island in Berlin (has a whole bunch of ancient stuff including the altar of Pergamon and the walls/gate of Babylon in the Ancient museum, there are also a bunch of others on the same island)
  
• The Eagle's Nest in Bavaria (Hitler's vacation place, supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the world)
  

[Patters]

Well the top places I would go would be:

[*]La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain

Park Guell is rad too

[Nappi]

Prague is a fantastic city with lots to see: Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, Old Town, the old Jewish quarter and so on. Really beautiful place and I can heartily recommend it.

Other than that, I haven't really traveled that much in mainland Europe. I went to Lisbon a couple of years ago. It was a nice city but I still liked Prague more. The Lake Garda area in Italy is beautiful and relaxing place, but you'll find a lot of activity there as well if you go looking for it. Not sure how easy it would be to fit into an InterRail plan, though.

[Sleepdance]

If you are going down to my end you should definetly visit Bled, old part of Ljubljana with some museums and castle(don't aspect any huge bildings, at least in comparason to some other priviously mentioned), Postojna cave(personally not the biggest fan, but you can't belive how many times it is mentioned anytime turism is a point of discuision. Piran is lovely little town at seaside, great for relaxation. You probably won't have time, but mountains here have a beautiful walkroutes, and a enviorment you can't even possibly imagine.

[OssK]

If you come by Paris I'll show you some stuff if y'a want

(sadly I can't shelter you :x)

[Wurtsi]

Thanks for all your suggestions, but I'd also like to know if you guys know any stuff that's happening in Europe during that month. Like cool gigs, parties, events or some such that we could attend. It's mid-summer, there's got to be something going on!

If you come by Paris I'll show you some stuff if y'a want

(sadly I can't shelter you :x)

That would be extremely cool if it works for you. I'll have to run this through my buddies first though, I don't think they even know what Idle Thumbs is (hah, the simpletons).

[Scrobbs]

Cologne is a beautiful city, great atmos. Berlin is supposed to be awesome too.

Also, protip for Brussels - wander around the chocolate quarter (just off the awesome square) pretending to buy stuff. The shop owners will let you try one generally. If you visit enough shops, you will be quite full of lovely chocolate

I also really like Nice - it's full of rude frenchmen, but great city. Britany at the other end of the country is worth a go too, mainly for the awesome countryside.

Geneva is pretty dull, but very pretty. Great chocolate!

I can also recommend Gent in Belgium, fairly dull too, but one of the oldest towns around if that rocks your boat.

Rotterdam is much more friendly than Amsterdam if you feel the need to visit the Netherlands.

[Kolzig]

Only central European city I've been to is Vienna and that was kind of nice. There was a lot there that I didn't get to see as we were there only for two days. It's a really historic city.