I'm getting a chance to go to Europe in either Sept or Oct for 2 weeks and I was wondering if any of you Europe GS'rs could clue an American in on whats going on over there and whats worth seeing =)

Suggestions needed please!!!

There are 48 seperate countries in Europe.......howabout you give us all a clue and tell us which one/ones you plan to visit 

Quote from: sledge on May 18, 2009, 08:40:42 PM
There are 48 seperate countries in Europe.......howabout you give us all a clue and tell us which one/ones you plan to visit 

I don't have a clue, otherwise I would have specified. 

My S.O. will be in Germany already, but he can meet me anywhere and is up for anything.

the schwarzwald is nice, and if you travel up the rhine from freiburg there is some great wine country and lots of castles.  trier, sigmaringen(in the black forest, on the danube), and colmar are favorites.

germany's a cool country.  sept-oct is a good time to go, the autumn is very pretty there.

Started to list things... just too much to even begin.

So friggin jealous.  One day I'll go back. 

I am Czech. You cannot NOT go to Czech Republic. I can hook you up with my english-speaking buddies if you like. Let me know and have fun!

OKTOBERFEST!!!!

September in most of Europe is generally pretty good weather wise, October can be glorious or bloody dreadful. The Italians have a saying "Wet as October" which tells you something. There is a lot to do and see in Germany and central Europe, one of my best rides was Prague in 2006 I spent the best part of a week in Czech republic and time in Germany and Holland. All in all I found Germany about the friendliest and most welcoming place I have ever been.

When you have some better idea of where you will be post again and I am sure you will get plenty of specifics, if you come to Europes off-shore Island I'll see what I can find. Kerry, guru of this board has spent time in Germany as son of a U.S. serviceman and visiting friends since then, he did his L.D.S. "missionary" work in Italy and has stayed a few days with me in U.K. so he could probably give you a good U.S-eye view of things.

September will be grape harvest so be sure to soak up some of the product, there are normally festivities connected with the gathering of the grape, if you are in Germany the Mosselle valley is very scenic, knows all about hospitality and is also great biking country.

Thank you all =)

Hopefully we'll have a better idea of general location in a few weeks. I'm super excited!

A few of our friends have done the backpacking thing, so they've all got "tips", but I know the best place for info is from the source.

I was in England and Scotland last October ( end of October and beginning of November ). I stayed in Oxford England for one week and went to Edinburgh for a few days. The weather when I went was cold in both places. According to my sister ( who lives there ) October is when the cold weather starts. To me Scotland is great if you like to see old things and lots of history, not that England ( i.e. Oxford and London ) does not have it, which they do but Scotland has more of a dark history ( Edinburgh has plenty of it ). When you find out where you are going let us know... then when you return tell us about it. I am planning on going back to Europe within a year also...going back to Oxford then maybe France also, might as well take advantage of my sister who lives there....I told her Oxford would be the base-camp and i can take the train to pretty much anywhere in Europe.

If you are going to use the trains check out the deals you can buy in advance either for individual countries or Europe-Wide. When kerry stayed with me he pre bought a UK train pass that gave him a number of journeys within a time window. As far as i recall it was a good deal, even better when not a single one of the conducters clipped it as used on any occasion.

www.lonelyplanet.com is a great resource by the people at Lonely Planet guide books.  There is also a great bulleting board on the site called the Thorn Tree, with plenty of helpful fellow travellers.

vhmpyr's sister is not wrong, October can turn quite cold, normally my jacket lining goes back in sometime then. It can also be glorious particularly in the west of England/Scotland and France with some really good sunshine, the only downer is that the days are getting shorter every time you blink.

Quote from: wladziu on May 19, 2009, 09:07:20 AM
Started to list things... just too much to even begin.

So friggin jealous.  One day I'll go back. 

as will i in about 2 years if im still kicking. want to see the family ancestral home there. in the black forest area

Another thing to consider in going to Europe is probably the language you speak. On some of my excursion out there I was on my own, and the fact that the Scottish and English speaks ENGLISH was a plus for me. Reading a map is easy for me ( kind of something you keep after serving in the military ) I was not worried in getting lost, but I like to talk to people and  .... something to think about.

That's a good point, on my tours i have found that most of the citys and touristy areas language is not a problem but once you get off the beaten track a little it can be. I was totally flumoxed by a self service fuel machine, inserted my plastic and it gave me instructions in the Basque language only, but for the assistance of a trucker I might still be there. The road signs and place names can throw you as well, working from a Euro road atlas with the place names in English was fine until I got to the German-Czech border when the names on the signs bore no resemblance whatsoever to those on the map. Many areas will have signs in more than one language (Belgium for instance has everything in French and Flemish) which can be confusing unless you know the set-up.
Having said all that, I managed and I am sure you will - go for it.

You've just got to visit Scotland ... there's lots of fantastic scenic places to visit e.g. Edinburgh, Stirling, Oban, Fort William, Inverness, Skye.  It's a great country for history and culture, as well as the great outdoors.

I agree with Yooblonder.....I only stayed in Edinburgh but I had tons of fun, the city is full of history. I enjoyed my stay out there and if you do get a chance, YOU HAVE TO CLIMB ARTHURS SEAT....and take the radical route  ...... The view from the top is amazing.

Quote from: vhmpyr on May 25, 2009, 11:49:29 PM
I agree with Yooblonder.....I only stayed in Edinburgh but I had tons of fun, the city is full of history. I enjoyed my stay out there and if you do get a chance, YOU HAVE TO CLIMB ARTHURS SEAT....and take the radical route  ...... The view from the top is amazing.

Radical route? Sounds like that requires skill... =D

Here is a photo I took on my way to the top of Arthurs Seat. You are basically looking at the radical route. You do not need skill to climb it, just a lot of walking along the side of the hill and its a little tougher than the regular route. The regular route is a slow accent to the top. The radical route is more for the daring. According to the monument on top of the hill, the highest point of the hill is approximately 250 meters high. Either way you need to go to the top of the hill to appreciate the view ( just make sure its a clear day ). On the photo you are also looking at Edinburgh Castle which is also a must see.