If you were to go to a European country, where would you go?

The Netherlands because weed, handsome guys and no language barrier.

 

Sounds like a fun time

 

Definitely

 

Somewhere in Scandinavia!

 

I'm already in one, and honestly it's hard to choose =P

I prefer cooler places though. I've been to Iceland and Switzerland so I won't say those. I'm tempted to say either Norway for the fjords, or Germany for its pretty old castles and buildings. But there's other places I'd like to see too.

 

Uhhh...I'm Swiss, so home? lmao I would love to go back

 

France or Norway are next on my list. In Europe, I’ve been to England, Iceland (twice) and Italy (twice). I tend to like to really have a chance to explore a country before moving onto the next one. So, my last trip to Italy was six weeks, and it was incredible.

 

I want to go to Disneyland Paris. If covid hadn’t happened I would have tried to get there last year but I still can’t find anyone who will go with me.

 

Not a fan of flying, but if I had to choose, England or Germany. Some, like Hungary, Romania, Poland, pique my curiosity, but understand they are on the conservative side, and aren't always too keen on foreigners or LGBT

 

I live in Europe, but I want to go to France. Paris specifically. I don’t care about the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre or any of those things. I want to go to Disneyland Paris.

 

Switzerland.

 

We had a GREAT time in Paris a few years back. We've since been to DisneyLand and Disney World and discovered that we really enjoy that type of thing (we'd never been before). Now I'm really excited to go to Disnelyand Paris next time we're there!

 

I've been to Sicily before, but had mixed feelings about it. As I had been told beforehand, it seemed very run down compared to northern Italy. But after watching The White Lotus (season 2) I really want to go back and explore other parts of the island. That's the power of television.

 

I've been interested in Romania and Bulgaria lately. Looking at photos of these countries and their mountainous areas inspired me. I know people from these countries and they are making me even more interested in going.

I am also interested in seeing Budapest and Prague. If I had to pick, I'd visit Romania and Bulgaria before Hungary and the Czech Republic.

 

I like that, it's not the obvious choice for most non-Europeans, who typically make a beeline for Prague and Budapest... They are terrible places to visit at the height of the summer tourist season.

Bucharest is fascinating, I went there about 15 years ago. At the time it was already famous for its Belle Epoque architecture, yet also very run down. I assume it's alot more affluent and polished now, but with lots of Communist-era monstrosities intact.

Romania is also interesting for its language, if you already know some French, Spanish, Portuguse or Italian. I was endlessly fascinated by what Romance looks like when it's mixed with Slavic. So familiar and yet so "weird" (in a good way).

Bulgaria is the poorest country in the EU but being less gentrified also makes it more, um, off the beaten track.

Finally, I dislike what Hungary has become under Orban, so yeah, I'm glad I got that over with a long time ago...

 

Thank you for this. It helps. After surviving Istanbul for almost a week, I think I'm up to the task. I've gotten bolder! It was a fair bit easier than I thought it might be and having a lot of tourists around made me feel safer.

Did Romania and Bulgaria feel safe enough for you? I want to get up into the mountains. You can go to the mountains above the Bulgarian capital on a bus. I can't read their alphabet so I won't venture out on my very own. They say it's better to rent a car to travel around Romania's mountains. Like Bran Castle (Count Dracula's home - LOL). The photos and descriptions of the food look so good!

Orban could take Hungary in the wrong direction. I'm not sure how it would impact tourists overnight. Over time, probably so. How many days are needed in Budapest? I could skip Prague, really. It looks like a big town compared to Budapest.

 

LOL, Istanbul can be a little chaotic but I think it's pretty safe ? Plus with the cheap lira were there some good deals ? ... I used to love going there but eventually the charm wore off. Or maybe I just didn't like Erdogan.

I only visited the capital cities ( a week-long excursion from Istanbul by bus and train). But if I went back I would love to visit the countryside, so your idea sounds exciting. I can't advise on safety outside the capitals, which were absolutely safe - no touts or hustlers shadowed me. Plus these countries are so underpopulated that you rarely have to worry about a crowd.

The only caveat I have - watch out for scams on trains ! A conductor while rolling in Bulgaria tried to impose a fine on me (100 euros !) for putting my feet up on the hard seats directly facing me. The train was almost empty. I was immediately suspicious, and made gestures that said, "Where does it say there's a fine for putting your feet up ?" (Pointing at signs on the wall, etc). She realized I was too much trouble and kept moving.

So - it wouldn't surprise me if some other functionary (police or sb pretending to be one) tried to pull that kind of stunt. Overwhelm them with loud English or some other language and they'll probably back down.

I spent 2 days and a night in Budapest. It was enough to take in the highlights. I'd been to Vienna and alot of Eastern European cities so I already had an "Austr-Hungarian Empire / post-Soviet Union" template in my head, and not enough curiosity to go off the beaten track. Prague struck me as much more interesting overall (you can imagine Kafka everywhere?), I spent a week there on a separate trip.

 

It was safe. The busy main shopping street with the tram running down it and the main historical area are where they say to be a little extra alert for scams. I was alert. People tried to sell me things I didn't want but I ignored them or motioned NO.

I don't know when I'll actually do a trip to Eastern Europe.

 

Luxembourg so I can get rich

 

Netherlands