Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

Any of my fellow ESL Posters going to be in Europe somehow or another throughout this Summer? I�m particularly thinking of July.......

Second question is.. has anyone been to any of the following of places.. as I�m planning to go.. but wouldn�t mind any interesting information on great and CHEAP and fun hostels and parts of the cities and everything else.

Paris, France
Rome, Italy
Prague, Czech Republic
London, UK
Dublin, Ireland

Those are 5 definetes.. I might consider some other places.. is somewhere in Germany essential? (Oh, and August/September I�ll be living in Austria so need to recommend that one.. and back in Spain in October so that is out as well).

I�m also strongly considering perhaps Cork or Galway in Ireland as well. I�m curious if anywhere else in the UK besides London should be considered as well?

One last question.. Italy. Is Rome the essential one to see? Or should I consider something like Naples or Bologna as its more smaller and manageable or something or another?

[Harin]

I can't contribute much to the planning beyond "yes dear, that sounds nice" because I only visited two countries in Europe so far - England and Netherland. I am changing a job in one month, and it looks like I am going to have two-month break this summer before starting my new job. Yay, but I'd probably have to spend all my time looking for my next house. *sigh*

I am saving my ebay $ to splurge in Paris on my 30th birthday though.... Update us on your trip. I'd love to hear all about it.

[Crois]

If you want cheap places to go to join the YHA. Cheaper places to stay in Britain and Europe.

[intro]

A good hostel in Prague is the The Hostel Elf or The Elf Hostel, I don't remember which. It was around seven bucks, now that they are on the Euro it will be more, and was a good place to hang out at the end of the day.

[Swiss James]

Prague is beautiful, historic and is (or at least was) dirt cheap by european standards. Dublin is very expensive, and smaller than I imagined but a good place to spend a few days- longer than that and you should probably leave the city and visit some less touristy, more 'irish' towns/cities though.

London I can't really give you an objective view on, there's a lot there, the London Eye's supposed to be great, it'll be crowded and expensive, but there's only one place you can see the Tower Of London and all of that stuff right?

[kprrok]

I've been to Paris, Dublin, and London, and lived in northern England for a year and travelled in Spain, southern France and Northern Italy. If you have any questioned, I'd be happy to help you out with any information. My brother loves Prague, he's been there about 4 times I think and says it's the best city in the world!

I've also got friends throughout Europe that might be able to help you out once you get there or to make some reservations etc. if you would like. I can contact them. Why don't you PM me and let me know the dates you are looking at for each location and I'll see what I can do.

Also, give me a bit and I'll try to come up with what I can remember. I can give you a lot of information and recommendations if I have the time to think.

You'll love the trip, I am planning a trip to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and Czech Republic in June of '06, and I envy you doing it this Summer!

KPRROK

[Zed]

Galway. Good call. I'm glad that I went to Dublin but Galway's one of my favourite places I've been and the train doesn't take very long. 4 hours I think. Make sure to get to the places around Galway too if you go. There are day busses from the main square if you only have time for that. The Burren, Connemara and the Aran Isles are all worth a visit. If you can try to get to Doolin during a festival. Unfortunately, I didn't but I've been told that if you enjoy folk music and beer then this is the place. I know you like at least one of these things. (Or you're a good actor.)

[Tiger Beer]

HARIN: Two months before your next job!! and not taking a vacation only looking for a house? Thats a long time!! Hope you enjoy Paris on your 30th.. I�ll let you know how it is when I get there in about six weeks from now!! Its my first stop.

INTRO: I will definetely look for Elf Hostel in Prague! Sounds like a good recommendation! Regarding Italy. Yeah, thats what an Italian friend told me too, Rome and Venice. He also said Bologna and Naples might be secondary and well-worth a visit after seeing one of the main ones. He lastly adviced me to avoid Turin and Milan. He said they are boring and not the real Italy.

I decided to avoid Venice for a very romantic vacation someday (which won�t be this July). So maybe ROME will be the one stop this time around.

SWISS JAMES: Dublin I�m lucky because I have a friend there.. and I believe I�ll be able to stay with him during that visit. But seems like COrk and Galway might be more interesting and more fun. I�ll try to make a trip out to both of them!! Regarding the UK.. seems like London will be the unquestionable main one to see no matter what. Might only focus on that city in the UK as its just so extensive in its self.

KPRROK: I�ve heard many people say they love Prague more than anywhere else in the world. It�ll be interesting to finally see it. I�ll let you know when I get an itenerary going. I�m also potentially meeting a friend in Miami (but we haven�t coordinated our dates yet).. so having a hard time planning the rest until I get that fundamental one down.

ZED: Galway seems like a must-see. It may be one of my must-hangouts outside of the big tourist cities that I feel compelled to see. Galway and Cork perhaps. Or is Galway definetely better than Cork if I decide I should I later have time constraints?

[Zed]

If you have time when in Rome, Naples isn't too far away which is very close to Pompei and Herculaneum. Very fascinating places to visit. Maybe you can see some pics on my website that I hope to get going soon.

[Crois]

I loved it when the Allies in the second world war rolled into Rome (I think) and said how the Germans had ransacked the place. But then someone said that's how Rome is.

[Crois]

If you are a tourist i'd recomend just staying in London. It has everything but, is very expensive.

Here is a web link for cheap London Hotels if you havent already looked. But expect to pay more than elsewhere in the country.

http://www.hostelbookers.com/static/index.html

Just look on Yahoo and check the hostel sites.

In London go and see the
Wax Museum,
Harrods,
London Eye but expensive,
Underground just to say you've gone on it,
The Palaces,
The Shakespeare Globe,
A footie sorry soccer match if they are playing at the time.
Going to a real British Pub and getting a pint.


Else where in the country I wouldnt really bother. Maybe A few places in Wales or East Anglia.

But it depends on what you want to do. Might be better if you had someone there to show you around. Basically i'm shit scared of London. It's completely different than Wales. In Cardiff I feel safer to go out at night than London. But that's just preference.

Crwys

[Zed]

Bath and Salisbury are worth visiting.

[Tiger Beer]

What might be the potential cost and time to get from Rome to Naples? I might take that into consideration.

Hmm.. Rome and Naples.. sounds better than JUST Rome. Plus I believe either easyjet or ryanair flies out of there as well..

So I might go with Paris then Rome.. train/bus to Naples.. then fly to somewhere in either Ireland/UK depending on the cheaper ticket..

[Zed]

I don't recall what the cost of the train was. It wasn't particularly expensive though. I managed to go to Pompei from Rome on a day trip. It was a full day though. I was planning to stay the night there and go to Vesuvius in the morning but it was raining and looked like it wasn't going to let up so I went back to Rome the same night. The ticket may have been in the vicinity of 8 E.