Talk Elections

Ive posted a bit about my new lady friend...things are going VERY well except she has just now lost her job... but that gives her some more free time!!!

MY wife and I traveled in the years before she passed and it was the greatest time of my life- now my lady friend and I will be travelling as she has not seen much of the world. Her first husband was not a particularly good man and I want her to enjoy herself... she is a beautiful person inside and out

So I am booking the tickets ASAP- we are going to Europe! The plan is to fly in to London most likely and then wander across the continent until we run out of dough...I have to decide a budget for the trip but would like to splurge a bit

Any tips from you Europeans??? And NO- I will NOT be stopping by the Red Light District in Amsterdam!!!

Also- Virgin Atlantic or British Airways?

Are you more of a Mediterranean person or a Northern European person? That can help decide your path.

Clarence, you are adorable.  I'm so happy you're doing so well with your lady friend :) and wish her the best on the employment front.  (Think how much of a stud you'll be to her if you help get her gainful employment!)  As far as flights go, use Kayak (http://www.kayak.com/).

I'm planning on doing something similar this summer with some friends of mine, and we're facing a similar conundrum, although I think it's mostly the north for us.

Thank you both- and I am planning to do both... definitely want to take her to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, and Rome

If you're going to be doing a lot of trekking across continental Europe, buying a Eurail (http://www.eurail.com/home) pass might be worth it.

Have we seen a pic of this woman yet?

How about Ibiza?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibiza#Nightlife

I obviously have to suggest Scandinavia! ;)

Beyond that certain places in the old East bloc are well worth a visit - such as Budapest or Prague. I suspect you might enjoy Munich as well, very nice city.

Clarence, take a look at this:

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How much time do you have ?

1 month ? 2 months ?

You could fly to Lisbon and then go to Madrid and visit Julio, then up to Barcelona, Marseille, visit Antonio around Cannes, then go to Switzerland and visit ZuWo in Zurich, then go to Paris, then to the Bretagne and Normandy, then to London/England/Scotland, then back down and to Belgium and Netherlands, then Hamburg and Denmark, up to Göteborg and Oslo, over to Stockholm and visit Gustaf and Swedish Cheese and back down to Berlin and Poland, visit Kalwejt in Warsaw, go to the Auschwitz camp, then to Prague, then to Munich, then come to visit me in Salzburg, over to Vienna and Bratislava, then Budapest, down to the Balaton, Zagreb, Slovenia, Venice, South Tyrol, Milano, Turin, down to the Tuscany and Genova, then Rome, then down to Lower Italy and the Isles and then back up to Rome and fly home.

;)

If you want to splurge and like high mountains with great views, lakes and international but yet very modestly-sized cities with nice medieval old towns, Switzerland is worth a short trip. Since the distances are very short here you can see a lot within one or two days.

And now is still the time to hide some money from the IRS in a discrete bank!

Nah, from Rome you fly to a nice resort on some Greek Islands. Then to Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, and Helsinki. And then fly to Belfast and take a train to Dublin. Then back to the United States. Dream vacation boom.

Lol ;D

I love the border of "Atlasians in Europe Zone"

We should create our own state!

Fantastic choices. Just as my own input, my top suggestions on top of those places would be Budapest, Salzburg, Barcelona, Oslo, and the Irish countryside. And the red light district is pretty cool regardless of the whores.

Thank you all for the tips-

In general I would like to see a bit of Eastern Europe... I know Bratislava is very close to Vienna and that may be an option...the Dalmatian Coast is probably also cheaper then the French or Italian Rivieras so that would be a great option

Even though we will bbe wandering mostly I will still try to come up with a plan similar to Rick Steves advice- I will write the locations we both want to see then create an approximate time based on our budget...for hotels- as long as it is decent quality I don't care if it is 2 star or 5 star but I would prefer as close to city center as possible within my budget... will probably do Premium Economy for the plane tickets- seems like a good middle ground. I care more about what w do during the day over there then how we get there or where we sleep (and maybe more then sleep ;-)) at nighttime

The "Atlas Board Grand Tour" looks interesting!!!

Is it me or I can see a Lady with strange-lookin' butt, anorexic legs, triangle head and chicken in hand?

It's more like a dildo in her hand, if anything.

Dirty!!!

So what about a visit to Ibiza since you don't seem to like the Red light district? It's also warmer there, that could be a reason since you are from Florida.

I looked it up on your recommendation- seems like a very hopping place! Might be a bit too crazy even for me and my lady friend however... I saw videos of "Pacha' on YouTube and I don't know if I can do that!
I would usually go to the Red Light District but would be inappropraite for me to be "window shopping" with my lady there...

I recommend Spain, obviously.

Madrid, Ávila, Segovia (both of them near Madrid), Sevilla, Granada and Barcelona at least!

If you have time and money, I think the trip Tender proposed is quite good, and complete. My father works as a bus driver for American tourists all over Western Europe. I'll give you the link of the company he works for ;)

Here you have some links. If you can't understand something, PM me ;)

http://almacen.mapaplus.com/web/2012/europa/minicircuitos.html

http://almacen.mapaplus.com/web/2012/europa/grandes-circuitos.html

http://almacen.mapaplus.com/web/2012/europa/europa-estilo.htm

Thank you JulioMadrid!
This is very helpful- my past tours in Europe have often been thru tour companies like thiswhich makes it much easier then trying to maneuver around myself

I'd thoroughly recommend Prague :)

You're welcome, Clarence.

Plane tickets are booked-
Flying out of Orlando to London Gatwick on British leaving the evening of the 29th and getting in before 7AM on the 30th
To get back- flying out of Vienna on Austrian on June 18th to Dulles and taking United down to Orlando

We will take my car down to the airport and leave it at parking. I am very excited that these details are in place and the trip is set... now we have to plan our route within Europe. We have watched the Rick Steves video on trip planning and here is what we are thinking...

London
Brussels (for day)
Amsterdam
Munich
Rome
Florence
Venice (for day)
Innsbruck (for day)
Vienna

When I say (for day) it means we will either be passing thru or using another city as our base- for Brussels we will hit on train from London to Amsterdam, Venice from our hotel in Florence- and Innsbruck on our way to Vienna. This is very preliminary and I will soon start booking hotels...

Thoughts?

What's the cost or budget for all this clarence?

Airfare is rough... a little under $10K... but I am aiming to stay under $20K. A dear friend who passed away late last year bequeathed me a large piece of property which- possibly uknown by him- has been in high demand recently as it is near several race tracks. His advice to me in life was to enjoy my own and having outlived him- I figure I will take his advice

I am blessed to be able to afford a wonderful life now- after making a cool few million in the height of the construction boom in South Florida I ended up using most of it to provide for my wife in her last years as Iw as more then happy to do for her... we traveled extensively and stayed in the finest hotels and took business class flights etc... that and her medical expenses left me in a difficult spot but I had enough money to purchase a good home closer in. I got a bargain on my home and had roughly half of that money left to place into investment accounts- thru Fidelity, Vanguard, and Raymond James. I still have a fixed annuity which takes care of most of my basic needs and now with this bequest I can afford to be comfortable again...

That's great clarence. 

What did you pay for airfare, if you don't mind? I'm going to be booking my summer flight to the U.S. soon and prices are absolutely brutal.

For me and the lady- the way out is about $3,000 and return is about $6,300- both in economy class (British calls it World Traveller)

Are you serious??? I'm looking at 900-1000€ roundtrip and that'd be the most I ever paid.

Well we are booking just a month and a half before we fly- if you look at July and August it may be better... I also think British and Austrian may be more expensive then say Delta or American- but the routes worked better for us

Tell me about it!!!

I'm trying to book for November... two years ago I could have come for $900 (US$932) (E720) but now the cheapest I can get on a reasonable airline, or without needing to go through Tokyo, Seoul or Shanghai ...

Now... it's $1970 (US$2040) (E1560)....

That's through to Chicago...

Clarence, have a blast I spent 5 weeks in Europe Dec11/Jan12... it was brilliant.

Why do you hate France?

I love France... just does not fit within my budget for this trip. I will be in it briefly on the train to Brussels I believe

I just checked it at Swoodoo.com and I got  many results for the end of May from Salzburg to NYC for 610€, roundtrip. It probably depends if you want a non-stop flight or not. This 610€ result was with a stop in Frankfurt in each direction.

airfare is expensive now.  Three years ago we did round trip from Saint Paul to Shanghai for 600 dollars apiece.  We are planning on spending about a month in China again this summer, and the cheapest we have found so far is about $1500 R/T from Air Canada.  Maybe it's fuel futures that affect the price.

There are huge differences between "end of May" and Summer. I'm not able to fly in May, and as soon as school vacation starts in most German states, the prices go up from 600 or so to prices approaching 1000.

Non-stop isn't an option anyway to St. Louis....so that can't be a factor.

Sounds fantastic! I'm fully jealous. Except for the flights :P

Shouldn't you want to chop his head off or something?

Wonderful planning, Clarence! Do keep us updated.

I suppose anyone who can't tour around Europe in high style should, simfan.

Since Switzerland is right between Munich and Rome you could plan to stop there if it's in your budget. Just saying. ;)

So we've decided to bypass Innsbruck and make our day trip from Vienna to Bratislava... go behind the curtain a bit.

Over the weekend I will aim to book all my hotels- looking for reasonable quality hotels near the city center or a train that takes us there...

Booked all my hotels-

London- The Chesterfield Mayfair- already arranged a romantic turndown service to get the trip started ;-)

Amsterdam- Hotel Estherea- right on a canal

Munich- Hotel Torbrau- quick walk to Marienplatz

Rome- The Inn at the Spanish Steps- called the best value in Rome

Florence- Palazzo Magnani Feroni- traditional and great views of the city

Vienna- Hotel Imperial- splurging to end the trip...closing it like a Grand Tour


I am VERY excited...as is the lady! In four weeks we will be in London getting ready to have dinner...

Get some pizza in rome. When I was in Italy in 2000, I had some of the best thin crust pizza ever there.

I definitely will then- thin crust is excellent...

When will you visit Vienna ?

Just a few infos: After you land in Vienna-Schwechat, the best way to get into the city is either by Schnellbahn (S7), which only costs 3.60€ but is the slowest (30 minutes).

Or you can use the CAT (City Airport Train) for 9€, which only takes 15 minutes.

Or you can use the CAB (City Airport Bus) for 7€, which takes about 20 minutes.

Or you can use a Taxi for about 25-35€, which also takes about 20 minutes.

Clarence, you are a Black, right ? There have been cases in Vienna, where the cabbie has refused to transport Black people - so just to warn you ... :P

Otherwise, the city is really nice especially this time of the year (not too hot, not too cold). Be sure you visit a lot of places and go to the local restaurants and coffee shops. Vienna coffee shops are very popular because of it's flair.

If you use the subway, you can either buy the 3-day card for 18€ or the 8-day card for 34€.

And buy the Vienna card for about 20€ for all the sights (you get a lot of discounts).

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights

More infos here:

http://www.wien.info/en

Actually we are driving to Vienna from Florence...and I am not black-
However I appreciate the tips...we'll be there the 15 thru the 17 of June- we are doing a day trip to Bratislava early on the 16

Clarence is black!?!!? Everyone was super nice in Vienna!

I'm not black- maybe people are confusing me with the more well-known Clarence...
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Ahh- I don't know where he got that from! Anyways you must go to the Cafe Sacher and try a real Sachertorte!

I think I've read somewhere that one of the newer FL Republicans is a Black ... could be wrong though.

BTW, if you drive from Florence to Vienna, go to Venezia first and then drive up to South Tyrol, Innsbruck and then after Innsbruck, turn right through the Zillertal and up the Gerlos Pass and then you can drive through my home county Zell am See and along the Salzach Valley to Salzburg and then on the highway to Vienna ... ;)

We were originally planning to go thru Innsbruck... you recommend it?
And we are planning to take train or bus from Florence to Venice for the day- I hear driving into Venice can be a nightmare with limited parking for the traffic during the summer

How exactly are you travelling from Florence to Vienna ? With a rental car ?

And are you staying a few days in Munich ? Ahead of Vienna ?

If so, you can drive to Innsbruck and Salzburg from Munich. It's only 1.5 hours away on the highway. Go to Innsbruck first, then drive up the Inntal valley to the famous ski town Kitzbühel, then over the Pass Thurn to Mittersill and then you are in my county !!! Then down to Zell am See and along the Salzach valley to Salzburg. Then you can visit the Salzkammergut with its beautiful lakes and mountains and drive to Upper Austria and visit the town of "Fucking". Then back home to Munich. You should be able to do this all in one day if you start at 6 or 7 and get back at 10/11 in the evening.

And then when you drive from Florence to Vienna, you can drive from Florence to Venezia and up to Carinthia and Graz in Styria (where Arnold Schwarzenegger came from) and up the Southern Highway (Südautobahn) to Vienna.

Going to pop "the question" in Venice ;-)

Perfect. It was the centerpiece of my two week European honeymoon. If you care for opera, we enjoyed the Magic Flute at the Volksoper and it was less pricey than similar shows at the Staatsoper. We did also enjoyed the Sachertorte at the Hotel Sacher, just to say we did.

I would be very surprised to find those things in Venice... :)

Best of luck! ;D

Farewell
Adieu
Vaarwel
Abschied
Commiato
Rozlúčiť sa

When are you taking the plane to Europe ? And what about what I wrote above ?

Anyway, I hope you have a great vacation and that you spend a good time in Austria ... :)

Yes- we will be driving to see Innsbruck and surroundings from Munich! Thank you for the tip...I am very excited for that part...
Flight leaves Orlando at 17:15 and arrives 6:45 at Gatwick...

My lady friend is spending the night here. We are packing now and are very very very excited!!! :-)

:)

When will you be in Austria ? Weather this week isn't really nice, only 60°F and (heavy) rain.

I'll be there the 14 to the 17- flying out...we'll be spending one of the days going to Bratislava for the day...are you a Vienna local?

No, I'm from Zell am See in Salzburg state, but I have a friend who's studying medicine in Vienna. I could call him so he can show you a few places (but he has his final exams in the next weeks, so I don't know really if he has time).

Anyway, here's a small travel guide I created for you (start from Munich and drive south to Innsbruck and then East along the red lines):

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;)

Printed and will be used- thank you very much for your tips and advice Tender Branson

Have a great trip, Clarence!

BTW: How are you getting from Amsterdam to Munich?

One final tip, Clarence:

If you are in the country, go to a grocery store and buy some Mozartkugeln or Milka Tender ... :P

If you still plan to make a short trip to the Bernese Oberland, don't forget to take a cap or sun hat, suntan cream and a good camera with yourself. You will definitely need these. ;)

And if you still have some time, here are a few pictures of what is awaiting you:

http://tenneck.tk/dynamic/updates

Overnight train :-)

Thank you to my European friends for the tips and advice!

Mozart balls, Tender?

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and

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Very delicious.

Made it- Hello from LOndon!!!

Hullo!

Welcome to the Old World!

After a wonerful stop thru Brussels- we have arrived in Amsterdam...rainy day here but we're heading out to a nice dinner in Liedsplain in the happening part of town!

Wow, that's going fast :)

Yupp, thought you 2 were staying in London a bit longer too.

No Paris ?

Eating in a floating Chinese restaurant tonight!
Trip has gone fast so far but we are in Amsterdam until Sunday...slowing down and enjoying the city
Tender Branson- no Paris this trip unfortunately...can't afford to do it right for my lady

The accommodation in Paris is v expensive, but food/entertainment is very reasonable.

Hi Atlas Friends- going great... in Munich and having a blast!!! To Fantasy Election friends- will have more regular access to the web in Rome and will be participating from there in the campaign
I love my lady... popping the question in Venice will be the right call :-)

Grüß Gott!

Franzl- your country is beautiful
Dachau during the day tomorow and train to Rome at night...this is going too fast!

Dachau is certainly worth seeing, even if it's rather difficult to stomach. A reminder to what was able to happen on this continent a mere 70 years ago and how great modern generations really live today. And yes, it's a nice tribute to the Allied forces, the U.S. in Southern Germany's case, and how it's both remarkable and necessary to maintain perpetual friendship in the future.

Now that the cold and sh**tty rainy weather is over, some hot and sunny days/weeks are ahead.

Hope you enjoy Austria then ... ;)

Did you already visit Innsbruck and surroundings during your Munich stay ?

Agreed Franzl-

Tender Branson- headed to Austria after Venice though I may have passed thru on the train to Rome...

One last beautiful and warm night in Rome then Florence tomorrow evening- wish this trip would never end!

I've heard there was a tornado in Venice (!!!) today.

IIRC, Clarence is in Venice these days, before travelling to Vienna on Thursday.

Clarence, you OK ?

Looks like Clarence will arrive in Vienna today and remain there until Sunday, when he flies home.

Good, because the weather yesterday was rainy and from today on there will be nice and hot weather with up to 30°C.

Tender Branson- thank you for the concern...Venice was wonderful but rainy and now I am in your beautiful country... went to Figlmuller for dinner yesterday and it was FANTASTIC!!!

And by the way- she said yes!!!!!

Congratulations.

I am very happy for you, Clarence!

I guess that makes up for the terrible central European weather during the recent days. :P

Congratulations!!!

Congrats, Clarence! :)

Congrats!

Congratulations, Clarence! ;D

Congrats, Clarence! ;D :D ;D *hughughug*

Congrats!!!! ;D

Yeah, a Schnitzel is always good ... ;)

And tomorrow you have another good day with 30°C and there's also the Vienna LGBT Pride Parade taking place with a few hundred thousand participants.

PS: Congrats on your new future wife.

Congrats, Clarence!

Congrats, man! Hope the best for you! :)

Congrats, Clarence! :D

I'm happy for you Clarence :) Congrats!

Congrats Clarence.  Now its time to throw a blowout bachelor party.
I think I can get Ann Margret to dance around for a while ;)

Thank you everyone! And Patrick- that sounds like a great idea!

I am back...
This trip has been one of the highlights of my life... it renewed my appreciation for my life and the simple things in it. The last night in Vienna- my fiancee and I ate dinner on a side street in Vienna off the main pedestrian drag (the one that begins with K- Tender Branson)...there was a fella who was walking around the five restaurants or so singing and after dinner my fiancee and I go tup to dance... dancing with her under the Vienna sky with "What a Wonderful World" being sung in that Austrian accent made me remember how amazing life is....

I am a new man at nearly 70- and there ain't no looking back

Great to hear that you had fun here and accross Europe ... :)

I guess you mean the Kärnterstraße, with all the top restaurants and luxus shops ?

I actually have never been to Vienna in the past 10 years or so, so your knowledge might actually be better than mine ... ;)

And with 70, the life just begins (because if you can do a 3 week trip through Europe at that age, you can expect to live many more years) ... ;)

BTW: Please post some pictures later.

The two pictures we have on the web so far...

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The second was my idea... Wendy was not pleased as you can see!

You must have fit right in:

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Sure did, Joe!