Pete's Wicked Travels

Of all the major European cities I’ve visited over the last few years, Munich stands out amongst the best.

Sure, London nights out or the sights and sounds of somewhere like Amsterdam are as vivid as ever – and anyone who has been to either of these capitals will know exactly what I mean – and Barcelona, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Venice are all pleasant enough. In none of these places, though, was I made to feel as welcome or at ease as I was in my few days in Munich last February.

When an old university housemate started working in Ulm at the start of this year, another friend and I wasted little time in formulating a plan to go over and see him as soon as possible and explore Germany. What a masterstroke of a decision that turned out to be.

With cheap flights from Manchester to Stuttgart secured, we turned our attentions to getting discounted cover, as I’ve learnt the hard way about the importance of travel insurance after losing my luggage during a golfing holiday in Austria a couple of years back. Luckily cheap travel insurance gave us a quick solution and we were protected. That was that. Next stop: Germany.

The journey in itself, which was less than 90 minutes, was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced as the in-flight service was exceptional and the food was edible for once. Following an overnight stay in Ulm, we caught a ‘slow’ train – as it was described to us by one helpful train conductor – to Munich that cost €25 between the three of us. We were staggered by how cheap this was. Granted, it took roughly 80 minutes to complete the 160km journey and the train itself seemed to stop at every station under the German sun, but we were quite happy to sit back, relax and soak up the scenery.

Our city base apartment, which set us back less than €20 each for the night, was conveniently located just a few streets away from Munich train station, meaning we could dump our bags in our room and see the city centre by foot straight away. It was more by good fortune than anything else that we stumbled across the Viktualienmarkt, a daily food market that gave us a real flavour of German cuisine and of Bavarian culture in general. We washed down a dish of piping-hot currywurst, sauerkraut and kartoffelsalat from one of the stalls with a few glasses of weird and wonderful wine being sampled by a cluster of locals nearby who took great delight in telling us where to go and what to see. It was a relief to hear one of them recommend that we popped into the Hofbrauhaus, as this was pretty much what we’d built the whole trip around.

It’s believed that the Hofbrauhaus is the biggest pub in the world and it more than lived up to its billing. It was everything we expected a traditional German ale house would be – and more. Within minutes of passing through the giant doors, we were sat on a huge table getting acquainted with people from all over Germany and further afield with a two-pint stein glass in our hands swaying from side to side and singing along with the live oompah band. The locally-brewed beer was quite unlike anything I’ve ever sampled. So crisp, so quaffable. The atmosphere and noise generated by young and old inside the Hofbrauhaus was incredible and we found the German hospitality to be exemplary.

Before heading back to Ulm in our hire car and then on to Stuttgart and home, we took in a Bayern Munich game the following day at the futuristic Allianz Arena. Rather naively, we thought we could just rock up and buy tickets on the day, only to be told by a club official when we tried that the fixture against Hoffenheim had been sold out for months. So we had to find a tout selling spares. Well, I use the word tout in the loosest form as the man we actually bought tickets off was about as far removed from the stereotypical image of a tout as you could get. We paid face value for the €40 tickets and ended up sitting next to our ticket saviour and his family, who celebrated each of Bayern’s four goals by embracing the three of us and spent a sizable chunk of the afternoon teaching us a few terrace anthems.

It was a very surreal 90 minutes or so and put the seal on Munich moments that will live long in the memory.

admin Europe Europe, germany, munich

The capital city of England, London is a vibrant, multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city which is very welcoming to visitors. Consisting of many different boroughs, each with a unique atmosphere and distinctive feel, the city is easily navigable through the excellent public transport system but finding the right place to stay can prove challenging to the first time visitor.

City apartments London offer easy access to the main streets of the West End such as Park Lane, Regent Street and Oxford Street and are serviced by many tube lines and bus routes that make exploring easy. Central London hotels are also ideal bases for seeing the sights such as Eros in Piccadilly, Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square and Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and St Pauls Cathedral in Westminster.

For those who like to ‘go native’ when visiting a place, a lot of homeowners rent out apartments in London over weekends and holidays and also during events such as the Wimbledon tennis tournament. There are also holiday apartments in London which offer year round accommodation and these can be found in most areas of the capital.

London is split into East, South, West and North and each region has a specific character. East London remains the working district that it has been since Roman times. Dotted with old factory buildings of tea traders and matchstick makers, the atmosphere of the area is formed by the Jewish, Bengali and Portuguese influence of the people who immigrated to the area. Brick Lane is well known for its Bengali curry houses and fabulous fabric shops. Spitalfields market has become a trendy place to buy almost anything but is famous for its fashion, arts and crafts, interiors and music. Whitechapel is notorious as the haunt of Jack the Ripper, whose footsteps you can follow on one of the many excellent guided walks.

West London is regarded as the ‘cool’ section of the city and is an essentially bohemian area encompassing Notting Hill where the massive annual Carnival takes place, Ladbroke Grove’s Portobello Market that specialises in vintage items and clothes and the well-heeled borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Chelsea is a quaint area that displays many examples of the Victorian villa design homes emblematic of London, although these are now more likely to be Chelsea apartments rather than family homes. Staying in Chelsea apartments gives guests easy access to the plethora of museums and galleries that make up Museum Row and include The Science Museum, The Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Although the area is genteel, it is possible to find affordable Chelsea apartments.

North London is often thought of as a liberal, yuppie area and it has many attractions for visitors. Kenwood House is set in Hampstead Heath and hosts a number of outdoor concerts each summer and the Heath itself stretches from Highgate, in whose cemetery Marx is buried, across Hampstead. The Heath has outdoor bathing, lidos and miles of outdoor space to explore. Camden is a long established meeting place for people embracing the ‘alternative’ such as Goths.

South London is home to the historic attractions of the Tower of London, Lambeth Palace along with Borough Market and the Tate Modern art gallery.

admin Europe accommodation, england, Europe, london

Unlike Edinburgh, Glasgow and Glaswegians are very down-to-earth. If the cities of Scotland were the children in a family, Glasgow would be the black sheep, as it is renowned for its rough and ready face and many Scots fear Glaswegians as they are famed for being tough. Don’t let this put you off…. this is what most people love about Glasgow.

I have been to both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Edinburgh is classy, traditional and quaint….Glasgow is loud, bold and stylish. I prefer Glasgow. One of the things I like most about the city are the shops. Shopping in Glasgow is much easier than in Edinburgh because they are all located on Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street. This constitutes the heart of the city centre.

The city is perhaps most famous for its University of Glasgow which dates back to 1451. Not only is it renowned for its teaching and prestige, but also its beautiful architecture. I was in Glasgow at the start of September and was wandering around the grounds. I got talking to some of the staff and they took me on a tour of the building. It really is worth seeing.

After visiting the university, I went to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which isn’t far. This museum is an excellent place to go if you want to save money…..because it is absolutely free of charge!! I don’t remember the museum being very big, so perhaps you could spend a couple of hours there. On leaving the museum, I would recommend passing by Kelvingrove Park which is perfect for relaxing in the summer or squirrel watching and talking a breath of fresh air in the winter.

As the evening draws near you can look for somewhere good to have a bite to eat. There are lots of restaurants so you can be sure to find somewhere good. Try to order typical Scottish food at a traditional restaurant – pubs are usually your best bet for cheap food and the chance to try Scottish cuisine. If you like clubbing, Glasgow has lots of great bars, pubs and clubs so don’t miss trying them out.

I have travelled around Scotland and I would highly recommend visiting this part of the world if you like learning about different cultures. The main gateway to Scotland is via Edinburgh Airport. However, international flights also fly into Glasgow International Airport. Public transport between the cities is very good…I would recommend buying the cheapest airline tickets you find, either to Glasgow or Edinburgh and then taking a bus to your destination.

admin Europe Europe, scotland

As a student travelling around Europe, Switzerland was one country I didn’t want to spend a lot of time in because it was so expensive. On that occasion I only spent the day in Zurich and didn’t even get the chance to visit Geneva or Bern. Despite the cost of accommodation, eating out and transport, I was determined to return to Switzerland one day….and I did. This time I got to appreciate the beautiful blue skies, snow capped mountains and green meadows which you see in postcards. Having travelled quite a bit through Switzerland, I have compiled a few tips to help you save money in one of Europe’s most expensive countries.

Getting to Switzerland
The main gateway to Switzerland is Zurich and so for this reason, I would recommend booking flights to this city. Why? The answer is that there are more flights to Zurich, and they are usually cheaper.

However, do various searches from your departure city to your arrival city in Switzerland, just in case there are direct flights. This may be cheaper than booking flights to Zurich and then taking a low cost flight with easyJet, for example, to your destination. The key to finding cheap flights is patience and the time to search lots of different alternatives.

When to go
Switzerland is a popular destination all year round. In the winter, people go to ski; in the summer, people go to hill walk. Prices in cities do not change during the year. Bearing in mind this information, when you go really depends on what you want to do. My advice is to go when you find cheap flights as Switzerland is expensive all year round.

Accommodation
If you don’t want to spend a fortune on accommodation, I would recommend youth hostels. If you become a member of Hostelling International, you can get discounts on just about everything when travelling: eating out, transport, museums as well as accommodation. As a member you will have access to cheap, clean accommodation in Switzerland.

Eating out
To save money on eating out, I would suggest asking the locals where to go. Forget travel guides….the locals know exactly where to get the best deals.

Don’t forget to check the latest exchange rates for your next holiday abroad.

admin Europe budgets, Europe, switzerland

Flights to Berlin
Last year I came across last minute fights to Berlin and so I jumped at the chance to visit one of the cities I had only ever read about in history books at school. I had been to Europe before, but I didn’t know much about sightseeing in Germany and understanding the language was something I just couldn’t seem to grasp.

Thankfully most Germans speak English. I am embarrassed to say this as I always have a stab at communicating with the locals. However, I didn’t need to say more than two words in Berlin and the Germans would say….English? I always say that the best way to find a good restaurant when you are on holiday is to ask the locals…..and that is exactly what I did. Having a bit of the insiders’ knowhow I will share my experience at Rogacki in Berlin.

Rogacki is a deli located in Charlottenburg. If you love good food, you will feel like you have died and gone to heaven. This business dates all the way back to 1928 and it continues to welcome its faithful customers and new food fanatics every day. Rogacki sells over 150 different kinds of cheese and the variety of cured and fresh meats, bread, poultry, sausage, beer, wine, cured and smoked fish, and dips and salads is mind boggling. It is almost like being back at school as you line up with your tray and wait to be served. If you don’t dare order in German you can just point and smile.

The restaurant has standing tables where you can eat alongside the locals. In the summer there are tables and chairs outside, but you will need to get there early to grab a chair. Alternatively you can ring to make a reservation. This restaurant isn’t too expensive and the best thing is that all the produce is fresh and of the best quality. Don’t forget to put this on your to-do-list when in Berlin.

admin Europe Berlin, Europe, germany, good