Holiday Thread

[havingascreen]

Are you looking for some info on good places to eat/drink/be merry Diane?

[Diane65]

Are you looking for some info on good places to eat/drink/be merry Diane?

I certainly am I am meeting some new friends there. I will have to check where they like to go (I hope that I am not too boring for you - I am teetotal)

[havingascreen]

Are you looking for some info on good places to eat/drink/be merry Diane?

I certainly am I am meeting some new friends there. I will have to check where they like to go (I hope that I am not too boring for you - I am teetotal)

Damn it, so i can't corrupt you s'ok, you can still sample the Scottish culture without the booze. Its a pity you're not coming on the Friday as i could have taken you to the arts night i took Glassy to.

[Diane65]

Are you looking for some info on good places to eat/drink/be merry Diane?

I certainly am I am meeting some new friends there. I will have to check where they like to go (I hope that I am not too boring for you - I am teetotal)

Damn it, so i can't corrupt you s'ok, you can still sample the Scottish culture without the booze. Its a pity you're not coming on the Friday as i could have taken you to the arts night i took Glassy to.

I'm all for a bit of corruption and culture

[Octopus]

I wanted to show you a picture of me at the top of Teufelsberg to illustrate how great were my holidays, but my camera was stolen last night. Oh, and my two phones too. So... I guess it's not gonna happen. (not like I had 800 holidays pictures and videos of my nephew's first bday on it)

[Diane65]

I wanted to show you a picture of me at the top of Teufelsberg to illustrate how great were my holidays, but my camera was stolen last night. Oh, and my two phones too. So... I guess it's not gonna happen. (not like I had 800 holidays pictures and videos of my nephew's first bday on it)

I am so so sorry to hear of this That is just dreadful its not only the materialistic side of it its all your memories on the camera, some people are just scum

[Octopus]

So, for obvious reasons I am not really into telling my holidays but as a few of you were 'impatient', I'm gonna try to sum up:

Malmö
Nice city, even though not a lots of things to do there.
First day: I went to Turning Torso http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... so2011.jpg
Then just walked in the Gamla Stan (= old city), where houses are orange and yellow, and little houses are lost between bigger ones. Cute. Had a sort of fishcake with lobster sauce at Harry's.
Second day: walked through the city, Folkets Park, Kungsparken where there is the "castle" if I dare say that... before going to Ribersborg, which is basically the seaside. I wanted to do something I would never do anywhere else: a naked swim in the freezing see (it was not more than 17° that day): http://www.ribersborgskallbadhus.se/
So I spent an hour literally surrounded by young and old naked women in the sauna, alternating between super hot sauna sessions and super freezing swims. After a few minutes, your skin doesn't seem to realize the temperature shock and you don't feel anything. I felt completely relaxed when I left, as if I had a massage.
Third day: had to took a bus at 7 in the morning to Copenhagen as my host had to leave town for work... so I left at the same time.
I was super excited to go on Oresund Bridge. It is pretty cool but not as long as I thought: http://mimoa.eu/images/3463_l.jpg
Host: Rasmus, photographer freelancer and job hunter, nice but did not really take the time to hang around with me and did not seem to care that much at the end. Made a few inappropriate comments making me think he probably wanted more than hosting me, but he stayed polite and very nice.

Copenhagen
First day: after a (deserved) nap at my hosts' in Vesterbro, a nice and hype area, I walked through the city to go to Christiansborg, where you can find an amazing and beautiful library and a recent building called 'Black Diamond' where students meet up: http://ginnnn.files.wordpress.com/2011/ ... iamant.jpg (this looks exactly like a picture I took)
Then went to Storget, the city center, where I met my host. We went to Nyhavn, the most touristic area: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... nhagen.jpg and went on a boat tour. We saw houses that basically gave the impression to lay on the water. Strange and cool.
Second day: rained like hell, I did nothing except walking a little bit in the area, b*ying groceries, cooking a ratatouille for my hosts
Third day: for the first time in 10 years, I cycled. It was very stressful, especially as the breaks were on the pedal ('retrofreinage', in French) which I had never seen before. I passed several red lights and almost killed a few pedestrians but it was ok.
We cycled to Assistens Cemetery (which is quite away from my hosts' place actually, I just checked on Google Map), then to the Gamla Stan. After a drink I went alone to Christiania, which is a "self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents" (thank you Wikipedia). It is super touristic, but also super strange. I felt like I was intruding people's lives. And people looked sad, miserable, weird. I thought I would like it but no.
Hosts: Anna and Fran: she's unemployed, he's an interior designer. She showed me around and had lots of time for me, which was really cool, but I also felt like I was somehow disturbing them and tried to disappear a little bit sometimes to give them their space. Also, the bathroom was in their bedroom so I had to control my bladder....

Berlin
First day: I arrived on Sunday 16 at Rosenthaler Platz, which is in Berlin Mitte, so very convenient. My host took me to Mauer Park, and on our way, we met a good friend of mine completely randomly (her bf lives in Berlin). We saw the giant karaoke and market at Mauer Park.
Second day: I decided to explore the area and go have a look at the synagogue, only to discover that in the same street was Tacheles, a squat I was willing to visit for a very long time. It closed a week before my arrival but I managed to get a little bit inside where there were an exhibition. Unfortunately most of the backyard is closed now and the building itself is fully closed: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/phot ... 446575.jpg // http://pogledaj.to/wp-content/uploads/2 ... eles01.jpg
I walked to Alexanderplatz, where the TV tower stands.
Third day: my feet were not bleeding yet so I decided to walk through Rosa Luxemburg Platz, to Vorkspark Frederishchain where I climbed the Große Bunkerberg (78 meters high). Then went to Liebig 34, a transexual and homosexual squat that wasn't open that day, and walked through a strange area with squats and nightclubs (and people asking me if I wanted cocaine), before reaching East Side Gallery where you can see a 1.3km-long section of the Wall, decorated by several artists: http://i-wirawan.com/wp-content/uploads ... allery.jpg
Fourth day: Free Berlin Tour! I walked to Branderburger Tor, I saw the Reichstag, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the museum island etc etc... good guide and lots of interesting stories and controversial issues, especially about memorials.
Fifth day: I think my feet started to bleed at that point and I decided to give them a rest so just walked around Rosenthaler Platz / Rosa Luxemburg Platz
Sixth day: I put an event advert on the Couchsurfing website saying I wanted to go to Teufelsberg (a former spy building with a nazi college or whatever that has never been used underneath - sorry I'm trying to make it short) and felt like going with other people. We were finally 12 people, complete strangers meeting for the first time, going altogether to a strange and ghostly place. The site is kind of completely closed now, and you have to p*y 7 euros to get inside even though it seems a bit illegal.... anyway, some guys who were not part of our group jumped the fence and unblocked a hole in the fence for us. We climbed the 'big balls', and found, on the roof, people golfing. Yes. As in 'I play golf': https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-swSK ... C_2360.JPG
It was funny, with an amazing view, and lots of good memories (and pictures, L.O.L.). That was actually the best day of my trip, and those "couchsurfers" were really nice: http://www.klippstein.net/Fotos_Berlin1 ... ten%27.jpg
http://www.berlin-brigade.com/TEUFELSBE ... 3cols1.jpg
A big German guy told us we were illegally there and had to leave otherwise he'd call the police but nothing bad happen, no fine, no police, nothing. We decided to continue this great day on the top of another hill before going back to Berlin, eating at the White Trash, and going to Kreuzberg were we joined strangers playing music around a bonfire in a park that has apparently no name on Google Map (Görlitzer?). Then, bar, question mark, theft, etc etc.
Host: Stefan, finishing his thesis on I-don't-remember-which-topic. At first I found him nice but a bit strange, even though he let me his bedroom and his keys. I didn't really see him during my stay: he came back home very late, woke up around 1pm all the time then left the flat. And after Friday night I highly suspect him of stealing my camera and phones, for many reasons.

These holidays were bitter-sweet and it is hard for me to say that I enjoyed them even if I did until Friday night, but I can't change the past...
Hope you'll have the patience and curiosity to check the different places I named. Two guys who were with me on Friday sent me pictures so here you go, the proof I was indeed there (even if most of you don't know my face): https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HP5Q ... G_2120.JPG

[Diane65]

Thanks so much for sharing your holiday experiences, I just loved reading them (I'm the impatient one - sorry ). Its amazing that we have both just been to Berlin but had such different experiences - both wonderful.

[brettie]

Sounds like a great holiday, I loved Stokholm when I went. Shame on the host for robbing you.

[canadian_turtle]

I'd like to see more of England in the coming months by ways of day trips in the weekends and am hoping you guys can give me some suggestions from experience? I'm particularly looking for historic areas with good walking trails and pittoresque villages (I've been already been to Oxford, Tintagel, Southsea, Portsmouth, Rochester, Bristol, Brighton, Northampton, Stratford Upon Avon and Warwick).

I'm hoping to combine the trips with my love for all things Autumn and Christmas at the same time so recommendations for Autumn festivals, Christmas markets, towns that go all out with decorations for the colder seasons, and other miscellaneous events are much appreciated. I already have the Dickens Festival in Rochester on my list

All should be accessible by public transport and no more than a 2 hour or so train trip from London (this, because I want to be able to return the same day and I already live about an hour traveling away from the London terminals from which the trains to the rest of England depart). Thanks!