3rd November 2018, 14:44
| #601 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore
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3rd November 2018, 18:26
| #602 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,797
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Infractions: 0/3 (13) | Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
Though this year the summer was pretty hot and pretty late too, which resulted in the Wine harvest ending up happening earlier than usual. Saying that, Dec-Jan is a beautiful time in Europe with all the lovely little Christmas markets and Christmas decorations up! I love Christmas time in that part of the world, especially in the quaint older parts of the cities and of course, in the countryside. Enjoy!  | |
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3rd November 2018, 20:15
| #603 | |
| Team-BHP Support  Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: All over!
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| Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
Christmas in Europe has its own charm; it is worth visiting. Christmas lights, Gluhwein, all the winter festivities are just terrific. Only drawback: most places will shut down early, and you wouldn't be able to walk around as much as you would during summer. | |
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4th November 2018, 08:27
| #604 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Kolhapur
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| Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
Last edited by carboy : 4th November 2018 at 08:29. | |
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4th November 2018, 21:16
| #605 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | |
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5th November 2018, 11:32
| #606 | |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 1,499
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| Re: Amsterdam and nearby places to visit- travel query Quote:
I was in Amsterdam for a week in August. I had gone for the music festival called Mysteryland. I had bought a 4 day GVB pass costing around 22 euros. This pass is available at almost all stations. This pass has unlimited travel on trams, bus, metro ferries as well as night buses. It was a blessing for me regarding local transport. Amsterdam trams are most convenient to travel and has a very large network. Google maps is spot on regarding your destinations with exactly showing trams nos. to take, interchange, etc etc. We were 4 friends and since we were not interested in museums and things like that, we used to chill in breweries and cafes by the canals and coffeshops. We rented bicycle for two days and it was most amazing part of the trip. Exploring Amsterdam on a bicycle was one amazing experience. Few places which I loved in Amsterdam - Vondelpark - Amsterdam Noord - Canal cruise - Jordaan - Dam Square - Rembrandtplein - De Wallen (Red Light District) - Leidseplein - Food Hallen Exploring places outside Amsterdam, there are plenty of tours operating. However we chose to explore on our own as its cheaper and transport system is very friendly. In case you want to take a tour, I suggest to try AirBNB experiences. Its cheaper than local tour operators. I dont know about self drive as I had never done any research on that. If you plan to travel to another country, I suggest book tickets on line a week before as it saves lot of money compared to buying it on day of travel. Hope this is helpful. Let me know if you need any more info. Cheers!! | |
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5th November 2018, 12:06
| #607 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Kolhapur
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| Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
Yes. I remember in 2004 December when I was traveling from USA to India with a stopover in Europe & practically all flights in Europe were cancelled or delayed by 8-10 hours or more. I am sure it happens often. | |
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5th November 2018, 17:28
| #608 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Quote:
8-10 hours delays, really are the exception. There must be something very extreme for such delays to occur. We have seen some major problems with Volcanic ash in the past. In particular snow and very high winds (over and above force 8) can cause delays. Mainly because it leads to fewer runways being available. In a very densely populated airspace such as Europe, there is also knock on effects. Delays around one airport can quickly start affecting operations at other airports. I fly every month several flights, all year long. I don't think I have ever got stuck in an European airport for very long. But you never know of course, Jeroen Jeroen | |
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9th November 2018, 13:41
| #609 | |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Kolkata/NCR
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9th November 2018, 13:53
| #610 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,797
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Infractions: 0/3 (13) | Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
Or you can opt for a Rs 500 per day I ROAM FREE pack which becomes active only on any day that you use it. So if you use your phone while there on any given day, you will be charged 500. If you dont use your phone on any day, you will not be charged. For Europe you get unlimited calls but only 3GB of data for the 10 days period. Plus some 50 sms per day and stuff like that. Taking a pack is worth it because anyone who knows you can reach you on your regular mobile number if they need to. Or else, if you plan to switch off completely, you can buy a local sim and use it while you are there so that only those who really need to call you and whom you dont mind if they call, can do so. Using the pack is easy. You ll have to manually select the prescribed network because in most of these kinds of packs, the benefits apply only to specific carriers. So be watchful of that aspect. | |
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9th November 2018, 15:02
| #611 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,797
Thanked: 27,241 Times
Infractions: 0/3 (13) | Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
Remember when that Icelandic Volcano blew its top? All major Northern European Airports were shut down. People were stuck in Frankfurt and Heathrow etc for days... | |
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9th November 2018, 15:06
| #612 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Hyderabad
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9th November 2018, 15:27
| #613 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
But let’s be realistic, tell me how many of these Volcanic Ash situation have disrupted European air space in the last, let’s say 40 years???? So I think it is fair to say, that is really an exception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_tr...ökull_eruption I was actually caught in the middle of this particular one: My wife and I were visiting my wife’s family in Barbados. We had to fly from Barbados to London Gatwick where we had rented a car to spend a week or so in the UK. Of course we had been monitoring the flight delays from days onwards prior to our scheduled departure date. It was bedlam!! But in the end our flight did leave on time. By that time flight schedules were returning back to normal. When we landed at Gatwick we got to see the after math of all these delays. When we walked into the luggage area we could not believe our eyes. There was luggage everywhere. It was stacked up on huge piles, people wandering around trying to figure out where their luggage was, shouting in their phones, ground staff in tears, kids crying. It was a scene from hell. So we did not hold much hope of our luggage arriving anytime soon. But within ten minutes the carousel on which our luggage was supposed to be delivered was switched on. And would you belief it, the very first two pieces on the belt were ours! So we grabbed our suitcases and made our way over to the Hertz place to pick up our rental. There was a monumental queue of very upset people. It must have been at least half a mile long. So my wife got in line and I walked passed the queue to the Hertz office to try and figure out what was going on. Turns out that due to all these flight delays, people had not returned their rentals yet. And Hertz had completely ran out of cars. Only a few cars trickled in as flight operation returned to normal. A lot of folks in the queu were families with kids, lots of luggage. So most of them needed at least a mid sized saloon. I watched from next to desk and I must say these poor Hertz staff members were getting the full brunt of mums and dads being extremely upset that after a long flight they had no car. I watched all of shouting, name calling, verbal abuse for some time. Then I noticed that a few small cars apparently had been returned and were being offered to them, but they were no good for these poor families. They just kept shouting at the Hertz staff they wanted a proper family car. One of the Hertz lady at some point stepped aside, tears in her eyes. I managed to catch her eye and smiled at her. I told her I was very sorry to see her being treated in such a fashion. She thanked me and we had a little chat. I said my wife and I would be eternally grateful for any car. Anything with four wheels we will take, no matter how tiny. We were on our way within minutes! Jeroen | |
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9th November 2018, 15:28
| #614 | |
| BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,797
Thanked: 27,241 Times
Infractions: 0/3 (13) | Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
I suggest consider AirBNB for your stay options. | |
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10th November 2018, 11:09
| #615 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 1,499
Thanked: 6,579 Times
| Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice Quote:
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