Europe [the continent, not the pretty boyz]

Anyone that has been to Europe: What was your fav country and why? This question is also directed to Europeans.

For me, I have been across the pond a few times. I can't really answer my own question, but...

France - for it's culture
Greece - for its beauty and friendly people
Germany - for its parties

my fav spot in Europe is a tiny town on the Italy/France/Switzerland border called Courmayeur, Italy. Insanely beautiful!! [on a side note, that night we stayed in Evian, France {where the bottled water comes from}. So, we can tell people we bathed and showered in Evian! haha]

Been to Greece twice (way up north and down south on the islands) and Italy (Florence, Rome, & Venice).

Greek Islands for me. Beautiful, laid back. It was my paradise. I will return there someday.

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It was my paradise. I will return there someday.

My thoughts EXACTLY! What islands were you on? Did you check out Athens? That is a weird town! NYC rush hour at 3 a.m.!

Europe is super-jigh on my wife and I's "to-do" list. The plan is to split Europe into 3-4 managable pieces and do 3-4 seperate mega-vacations.

When I was coming home from Africa in 98 I had a 16 hour layover in the Zurich airport. I wanted to get a cab and look around, but I was so ready to go home and so worried I'd somehow get lost I just bought a room in the airport and stayed there. Dummy!!!

I'd love to go. England, Germany and Romania would be high on my wish list if I could ever afford it.

SAXON1500 wrote:

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It was my paradise. I will return there someday.

My thoughts EXACTLY! What islands were you on? Did you check out Athens? That is a weird town! NYC rush hour at 3 a.m.!

My wife & I went for our honeymoon. Mykonos, Santorini (my fav) and Crete. We spent the last night in Athens. Prior to that we went to northern Greece for a wedding. And yes, it was the same year My Big Fat Greek Wedding was in theaters. What a coincindence!!

We were scheduled to go to Ireland this past December for another wedding (my wife has many European friends), but she got pregnant instead.

England, Scotland and Shetland for all their pubs, friendly people, castles, football games (that`s soccer to you Yanks), and awesome music...

Spain, Greece and Cyprys for all their old culture, churches, sun, crystal clear water, narrow streets and laidback attitude..

Scandinavia for many reasons, come see for yourselves....

My next holiday we will proparbly go to Turkey

I went to Montreaux (think thats how you spell it) it switzerland on a business trip in february and thought it was simply one of the most beautiful places I have ever been so. Surrounded by mountains with a nice laid back culture and you can smoke everywhere, being from the UK this was a much loved added bonus.

As for the rest of europe I have been to Rome which is a fascinating place, great food and drink and steeped in history. Barcelona was nice but nothing really to say about the place other than nice. Paris is as romantic as people say and a great place for couples. I have also been to Bremen and Hamburg and love Germany. Great beer and the Germans really love their metal. Ireland would also be a recommendation. Been to Dublin and Cork and the Irish seem really chilled and love a good party and seem on the whole to be a really happy bunch of people and some of the Irish countryside is also breathtaking.

My other European trips have been nothing more than pissed up drink-a-thons in Ibiza, Tenerife and Rhodes. All very nice places but never really got to explore that much. Iwould say that Rhodes (Greek Island) is incredibly hot in the summer, the hottest place I have ever been to. I stayed in Falaraki and would not recommend this to anyone, very dirty and crap food.

Been to The Netherlands (swa lots of the country), Germany (airport and one city)and Ireland (west coast, nothern ireland/republic border area). I like Ireland best of the what I have seen - beautiful country! I'd love to go back! I want to see more of Europe - I love to travel and see new places.

I haven't been to any countries in Europe. But I plan on going to Germany this summer.

Italy was my favorite. It was beautiful, and the people were awesome! And Italian is pretty easy to learn. After 6 months I was holding my own pretty well, and I had no formal lessons, just an American/Italian dictionary and a lot of drunken conversations with Italians. Haha.

On a side note ( I love my country, by the way) I'd live in Europe in a heart beat, if it were reasonable to do so.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

On a side note ( I love my country, by the way) I'd live in Europe in a heart beat, if it were reasonable to do so.

I wouldn't although I'd love to visit there.

I'd love to, by my family dynamics have us going in so many directions as it is. A huge motivation for me is that I love natural beauty and I love interesting and ancient architecture. I live in West Texas so beauty is out, and the architecture in the US in general is weak.

However, there's tons to love about even good 'ol Abilene 'by God" Texas so we'll camp it here for a while and just visit Europe.

If Metal Up! 09 goes well we should do a Metal Up! Euro in 2011!

as for Europe, i've only been to England thus far. have been planning a trip to Norway since the first of the year. so hopefully that will come to pass. it was a coin toss between Norway & Austrailia.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

I live in West Texas so beauty is out, and the architecture in the US in general is weak.

Agreed on both points. Washington DC has some cool buildings. Probably a lot of the eastern seaboard as well, but in general.....

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If Metal Up! 09 goes well we should do a Metal Up! Euro in 2011!

I like that idea.

Judging by the pictures you showed us, Sax, you'll love Norway!! But you'll have to see more than Oslo and the southern parts for the stunnin' beauty. If anyone ever plans on a trip to Norway, a visit to my house is mandatory!

As for myself, I haven't been al that much around. Been to Gemrany a handful of times, but mostly on concerts trips. Wacken was a blast. But on my one and only vacation trip to German/Austria, I saw most of those 2 countries. We even passed through Switzerland an Luxenburg. My favorite parts were through the Mosel Valley. What a beautiful scenery, and everywhere we stopped, people offered us their local wine, often as local as that particular farm or winehouse! Of coure I was 13, so I didn't hae any, but still the hospitality and general wibe was great. I also loved Vienna and Salzburg. Köln was cool too.

I've been to Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Croatia and they each have breath taking scenery. My memory of those places now seem like a dream. The majesty of Rome, the ancient ruins of Corinth, the streets of Barcelona, and the paradise-like scenery of all those places make me wish it could have lasted more than just a few days in each place. I love America and we have pretty landscapes of our own but they just don't compare with Europe. I also miss some of the awesome food found in those places. My time with the Navy is some of my most treasured experiences. If I had not joined I would have never got to experience the beauty and majesty of Europe. On the other hand I wouldn't know what I'm missing and I could have been blissfully ignorant and not be longing for that experience again (thanks a lot Uncle Saxon now I'm bored and longing for better days ). I have many pictures of Spain and Turkey but they are not digital and my scanner doesn't work (damn Windows Vista) so I can't post them.

I love Western Civ history so I really want to visit Europe. Someday I will do the this, yes I will.

kmorg wrote:

Judging by the pictures you showed us, Sax, you'll love Norway!! But you'll have to see more than Oslo and the southern parts for the stunnin' beauty. If anyone ever plans on a trip to Norway, a visit to my house is mandatory!

Can I bring my squirrel?

My sister lives in Ireland, so I'd have a place to crash there. That's probably the only way I could ever afford to take a trip to Europe, imposing on people!

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If anyone ever plans on a trip to Norway, a visit to my house is mandatory!

The eye is kind of freaking me out, though.

The beauty of Norway:

GREAT pictures Kurt!!
Way up north?

The winter pictures are from Sarpsborg. The rest is from Steigen, a beautiful Island between Bodø and Lofoten. Takes about 4 hours by car, but only 1 hour with the ferry. My wifes father is from this place.

Truly spectacular pics!! I try not to be envious of where other people live, but from my researches of Norway and the pics you have shown, it's hard!


Cute kiddos, too!