Places worth visiting

[Finding_Marty 720]

I have in mind (maybe) an interesting idea for a topic but first I thought it would be great to hear about our exepriance and opinion about places we have been to (maybe a bit of advice?).

I will start with a place which I think was a climax in my travels - I mean I orginesied everything by myself without any third-party.

This is just my experience. Please don't anypony feel offended by the things I write here. I absolutelly love every place I have visited (even if I got a fine... thanks Rome...). I always try local food and drinks. I learn the place's history and a bit of the language. As far as I am able to, I try to assimilate with the locals (which is quite impossible in some tourists-orianted places which I try to avoid brrr).

I really want to shorten it to a minimum and conclude the most interesting things so let's go ^^

 

Crete (Greece) [which has a special place in my heart]

• so the Mediterranean islands has beautiful nature but this I guess we all know ^^ I will not post about the Balos, the Gramvousa fortress, the Elafonisi or the Samaria Gorge because if you ever visit this place you will see it with your own eyes
• maybe you find it not that appealing but you can find abandonned cars and stray cats on the streets in every city - it was a bit shocking for me, but it is just as it is - the same thing is for example in Athens.
• extremly nice and helpful people (maybe this is normal but not in the place where I am from :P) and nearly everyone speaks English (I met only one, around 80-year-old woman in a small village who ran a shop and didn't speak English. Sign language FTW, bought what I needed ^^)
• you get local rakia on the house after every dinner you eat in a restaurant (some were fruit-flavoured mmm)
• I learnt that you need to rent a car to really see the place. Stray goats on the streets, wild beaches and people offering you free rakia samples when you are staying in a traffic (wow). When I was returning the car they didn't even check if I had damaged it nor the fuel I left... they just asked me if I enjoyed my trip...
• back to renting, Greek law says that you should have a fire extinguisher, reflective vests, a warning triangle and of course first aid kit. You know what I got in the trunk? A sun umbrella and a parawan... I asked the company I was renting the car from about those regulations but they seemed not really understand what I meant. They told me that if I have a car issue I should stop on the side, open the trunk and switch on emergency lights... ok...
• when I stopped in a small village to buy a coke they asked me in a shop if I want to stay here over the night because I they got a free room (definatelly shouldn't have booked one hotel for the whole stay, but I was just learning how to travel). They accepted only cash and I lack 0,50 cents to buy coke. Not a problem for them. Nice trip wishes.
• did I mention kind people? We got one day to Elafonisi (beautiful beach with pink sand but quite overrated for me... and crowded...). I didn't want to park to close to the beach because I was afraid there might be no place. I parked close to a restaurant and a guy went out to tell me it's only for the restaurants's guests. I said how about we go to the beach and when we return we will visit the restaurant. He smiled and nodded. Of course we fulfilled our promise.

By now you may think I was a bit reckless and you are right. I was in a progress of learning how to travel. But when I think about it, I have never regreted how it all went ^^

 

We had much more adventures during our stay on Crete in which we sailed the sea, visited some sacred places on the island, were in big cities with an amazing architecture, ate amazing food, walked through the Samaria Gorge to reach the village which is unaccessible by cars (we managed to be on time for the last ship that day. No idea what happened to the people behind us in the gorge).

Btw. I think I drank around 5 litres of water during that walk...

 

Final advice: You must see this place. There are many objects on the island which are in the UNESCO World Heritage List. If you really want to get as much as possible from the experience you need to rent a car. But this refers to every place we visit.

 

Do you have any adventure you want to share? Any advice for someone who hasn't visited this place yet? Please sit here and tell your story

 

Edited July 17 by Finding_Marty

[Otaku-sempai 419]

Tokyo's GInza district. 

I was able to spend a day in the Ginza district years ago when I was deployed to Japan's Yokota Air Base for a joint USAF/JASDAF exercise. It was a lot of fun, though I didn't have nearly enough time (or money!) to take full advantage of it. Actually, there are several other tourist destinations in Japan that I could recommend such as Sapporo for their Cherry Blossom Festival. 

[Finding_Marty 720]

16 minutes ago, Otaku-sempai said:

Tokyo's GInza district. 

I was able to spend a day in the Ginza district years ago when I was deployed to Japan's Yokota Air Base for a joint USAF/JASDAF exercise. It was a lot of fun, though I didn't have nearly enough time (or money!) to take full advantage of it. Actually, there are several other tourist destinations in Japan that I could recommend such as Sapporo for their Cherry Blossom Festival. 

Oh such bussness trips are the worst! I spent some moths abroad doing some interships but frankly never had much time to see countries I visited or to feel the atmosphere. I could focus mostly on the surrounding of the campuses...

I have read some history books concerning Japan and really want to see some places there. Jelous...  

 

[Arrlong28 664]

Stromboli, an island-volcano in south Italy.

I went with some people who love juggling with fire-staff. Perfect place if you want to chill and relax. You can go to the volcano and it's an easy trip. 

Staying at home with an old Matriarch who has a Sword by the way... Eat great food. One day we went to juggling into a volcanic cave near a secret beach full of black sand, we ate pizza and swordfish cooked in a fireplace near the water... 

The air is so PURE... And the silence is great. Sadly, I think this summer the volcano exploded. 

Maybe one week is too much for you, but for those that we want just to rest... It's the perfect combination of activity and naps. 

 

[Finding_Marty 720]

13 hours ago, Arrlong28 said:

Stromboli, an island-volcano in south Italy.

I went with some people who love juggling with fire-staff. Perfect place if you want to chill and relax. You can go to the volcano and it's an easy trip. 

Staying at home with an old Matriarch who has a Sword by the way... Eat great food. One day we went to juggling into a volcanic cave near a secret beach full of black sand, we ate pizza and swordfish cooked in a fireplace near the water... 

The air is so PURE... And the silence is great. Sadly, I think this summer the volcano exploded. 

Maybe one week is too much for you, but for those that we want just to rest... It's the perfect combination of activity and naps. 

 

Oi, didn't know about that volcano. It sure isn't a popular direction which makes it awesome place to visit  ... if the volcano hadn't exploaded 

By the way, not eating pizza in Italy should be considered a crime. The same refers to the tortilla in Spain. Now imagine my face when I ordered la tortilla de patatas and it WAS NOT the mexican tortilla I thought I would get... 

Edited July 19 by Finding_Marty

[Arrlong28 664]

17 minutes ago, Finding_Marty said:

Oi, didn't know about that volcano. It sure isn't a popular direction which makes it awesome place to visit  ... if the volcano hadn't exploated 

By the way, not eating pizza in Italy should be considered a crime. The same refers to the tortilla in Spain. Now imagine my face when I ordered la tortilla de patatas and it WAS NOT the mexican tortilla I thought I would get... 

Yeah, Spanish tortilla is nothing like Mexican tortilla. And then is the french tortilla, without potatoes... 

Stromboli have this kind of greekish vibe. Anywais, I think Calzone is better than Pizza. Just Sayin'...

 

I would say that Barcelona is a great destination if you know somebody there that can guide you outside tourist things. 

But since now I live there, I don't know how to sell it. 

The thing is, in winter there are a LOT of things to visit and experience here that a lot of people just don't come to see. We have "Calçotades" (traditional catalan sweet onion Barbacue Party!), the three wise kings parades, human  castles, oh and the traditional "Caga tió"; A log that is hit by the children with sticks and then pops presents... And many more. 

 

[Finding_Marty 720]

1 hour ago, Arrlong28 said:

Yeah, Spanish tortilla is nothing like Mexican tortilla. And then is the french tortilla, without potatoes... 

Stromboli have this kind of greekish vibe. Anywais, I think Calzone is better than Pizza. Just Sayin'...

 

I would say that Barcelona is a great destination if you know somebody there that can guide you outside tourist things. 

But since now I live there, I don't know how to sell it. 

The thing is, in winter there are a LOT of things to visit and experience here that a lot of people just don't come to see. We have "Calçotades" (traditional catalan sweet onion Barbacue Party!), the three wise kings parades, human  castles, oh and the traditional "Caga tió"; A log that is hit by the children with sticks and then pops presents... And many more. 

 

OMG I soo agree with this. This was my main idea when I created this topic!

When we visit some places we mostly focus on the most popular attractions there and I think this is a huge mistake. I made this mistake when I was in London and saw only the well-known places. The result: I was a bit disgust. For instance I really thought that Tower of London would offer much more hmm history lessons. This place is over 1000-year-old! And of course almost every entry to the well-known places in London cost around £30. That's way too expensive for what they had to offer. I told it my friend who lives there with his family and he said 'ok, I will show you a true English place' and he took me for a beer to The Croocked Chimney in Welvyn Garden City and advised me I had to see the Old Manor next to it which is now partially a golf course.  And that was it! I really felt the atmospehere of that place (even though we didn't have the true English weather that time lol).

Back to Spanish food, I really liked Pulpo a la gallega. Even though I was told that the best one can be tried in Galicia (which I havn't had a chance to visit yet) 

And I am ready to see Barcelona now 

Edited July 19 by Finding_Marty

[Arrlong28 664]

7 hours ago, Finding_Marty said:

OMG I soo agree with this. This was my main idea when I created this topic!

When we visit some places we mostly focus on the most popular attractions there and I think this is a huge mistake. I made this mistake when I was in London and saw only the well-known places. The result: I was a bit disgust. For instance I really thought that Tower of London would offer much more hmm history lessons. This place is over 1000-year-old! And of course almost every entry to the well-known places in London cost around £30. That's way too expensive for what they had to offer. I told it my friend who lives there with his family and he said 'ok, I will show you a true English place' and he took me for a beer to The Croocked Chimney in Welvyn Garden City and advised me I had to see the Old Manor next to it which is now partially a golf course.  And that was it! I really felt the atmospehere of that place (even though we didn't have the true English weather that time lol).

Back to Spanish food, I really liked Pulpo a la gallega. Even though I was told that the best one can be tried in Galicia (which I havn't had a chance to visit yet) 

And I am ready to see Barcelona now 

If you come to Barcelona and if you want, I can go with you some days and show you things depending on the season. 

Or I can tell you what to visit and see.

But if you come to Barcelona I can show you and tell you about our traditional culture, language (different from other parts of Spain)... Probably i'm going to discover new things myself.

The traditional breakfast we call it "Fork Breakfast" in one of the best bars (La Cuïna del Papi, Papi's Kitchen) in all Barcelona. But for those things are far away from touristy sites. 

Secret: Most of the Galician Octopuses don't come from Galicia at all; from Morocco. 

[Finding_Marty 720]

1 hour ago, Arrlong28 said:

If you come to Barcelona and if you want, I can go with you some days and show you things depending on the season. 

Or I can tell you what to visit and see.

But if you come to Barcelona I can show you and tell you about our traditional culture, language (different from other parts of Spain)... Probably i'm going to discover new things myself.

The traditional breakfast we call it "Fork Breakfast" in one of the best bars (La Cuïna del Papi, Papi's Kitchen) in all Barcelona. But for those things are far away from touristy sites. 

Secret: Most of the Galician Octopuses don't come from Galicia at all; from Morocco. 

I think the main disadvantage when you eat sea food far from the coat is that it is prepared from frozen ingredients and not from fresh one.

I would be very happy if you can show me around and tell about this place 

[ZiggWheelsManning 9,762]

The Taj Mahal in India.  Very interesting stuff about it, right?  

[Dreambiscuit 9,575]

Honolulu, Hawaii. It may sound like a tourist trap but believe me, it's every bit the paradise it claims to be. I stayed there for a very long time (two months) and I saw a lot of the island of Oahu, and I can say without reservation it is gorgeous, the weather is constant and perfect (75-85F always) and there is so much to see and do, whether it's enjoying nature or more synthetic entertainment. It would take years to experience everything the islands offer and I would love to go back and see it all over again.

[Finding_Marty 720]

15 hours ago, Dreambiscuit said:

Honolulu, Hawaii. It may sound like a tourist trap but believe me, it's every bit the paradise it claims to be. I stayed there for a very long time (two months) and I saw a lot of the island of Oahu, and I can say without reservation it is gorgeous, the weather is constant and perfect (75-85F always) and there is so much to see and do, whether it's enjoying nature or more synthetic entertainment. It would take years to experience everything the islands offer and I would love to go back and see it all over again.

Oh yes... no matter how long we stay at one place there is always something we haven't seen or done 

[Iforgotmybrain 5,358]

I’ll maintain that everybody should see at least one of the Great Lakes at least once in their life. People that aren’t from around here really tend to underestimate their scale, I think the only places with lakes that are relative to their size are Russia, Tanzania, and the countries bordering the Caspian Sea. It seriously is like looking out at an ocean of fresh water, complete with massive barges and all that transporting cargo. The waters themselves can be beautiful as well depending on the lake, with Superior and Michigan being the clearest without a doubt. Erie can be pretty too but we have major issues with farm runoff and general pollution which can cause algae blooms and whole bunch of other issues. Here’s a picture of Lake Superior for reference.

Spoiler

The non-lake scenery in the upper Great Lakes is beautiful as well. Northern Michigan especially is just breathtaking. Miles and miles of nothing but hills and forests. So rural that you can actually see the Milky Way in the sky since there’s no light pollution. I love it there.
 

The Great Lakes (well, Lake Erie and Ontario) are also host to Niagara Falls so if you go to say, Buffalo New York or St. Catharines Canada, you could kill two birds with one stone and get to see the Falls, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario in one trip. And there’s a lot of other interesting phenomena around the Falls as well that you don’t hear as much about, such as Niagara Gorge and the many whirlpools around the gorge. The Falls and the whole area around there are genuinely stunning, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been to, definitely something you have to go and see at least once in your life. And If you do go, make sure to have Lake Erie perch or walleye at least once, that’s like the closest thing Lake Erie cities have to a delicacy. Always fresh (unless it’s winter) since it’s caught right there. Always good.

Edited July 21 by Iforgotmybrain
Reword to make sound more better

[Otaku-sempai 419]

6 hours ago, Iforgotmybrain said:

I’ll maintain that everybody should see at least one of the Great Lakes at least once in their life. People that aren’t from around here really tend to underestimate their scale, I think the only places with lakes that are relative to their size are Russia, Tanzania, and the countries bordering the Caspian Sea. It seriously is like looking out at an ocean of fresh water, complete with massive barges and all that transporting cargo. The waters themselves can be beautiful as well depending on the lake, with Superior and Michigan being the clearest without a doubt. Erie can be pretty too but we have major issues with farm runoff and general pollution which can cause algae blooms and whole bunch of other issues. Here’s a picture of Lake Superior for reference.

  Hide contents

The non-lake scenery in the upper Great Lakes is beautiful as well. Northern Michigan especially is just breathtaking. Miles and miles of nothing but hills and forests. So rural that you can actually see the Milky Way in the sky since there’s no light pollution. I love it there.
 

The Great Lakes (well, Lake Erie and Ontario) are also host to Niagara Falls so if you go to say, Buffalo New York or St. Catharines Canada, you could kill two birds with one stone and get to see the Falls, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario in one trip. And there’s a lot of other interesting phenomena around the Falls as well that you don’t hear as much about, such as Niagara Gorge and the many whirlpools around the gorge. The Falls and the whole area around there are genuinely stunning, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been to, definitely something you have to go and see at least once in your life. And If you do go, make sure to have Lake Erie perch or walleye at least once, that’s like the closest thing Lake Erie cities have to a delicacy. Always fresh (unless it’s winter) since it’s caught right there. Always good.

As someone who grew up 10 miles away from Lake Ontario and currently lives only a couple of miles from Lake Erie, I can appreciate this post. If the Great Lakes weren't fresh-water lakes then they would be called inland seas. 

[Finding_Marty 720]

On 2024-07-21 at 9:35 AM, Iforgotmybrain said:

I’ll maintain that everybody should see at least one of the Great Lakes at least once in their life. People that aren’t from around here really tend to underestimate their scale, I think the only places with lakes that are relative to their size are Russia, Tanzania, and the countries bordering the Caspian Sea. It seriously is like looking out at an ocean of fresh water, complete with massive barges and all that transporting cargo. The waters themselves can be beautiful as well depending on the lake, with Superior and Michigan being the clearest without a doubt. Erie can be pretty too but we have major issues with farm runoff and general pollution which can cause algae blooms and whole bunch of other issues. Here’s a picture of Lake Superior for reference.

  Reveal hidden contents

The non-lake scenery in the upper Great Lakes is beautiful as well. Northern Michigan especially is just breathtaking. Miles and miles of nothing but hills and forests. So rural that you can actually see the Milky Way in the sky since there’s no light pollution. I love it there.
 

The Great Lakes (well, Lake Erie and Ontario) are also host to Niagara Falls so if you go to say, Buffalo New York or St. Catharines Canada, you could kill two birds with one stone and get to see the Falls, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario in one trip. And there’s a lot of other interesting phenomena around the Falls as well that you don’t hear as much about, such as Niagara Gorge and the many whirlpools around the gorge. The Falls and the whole area around there are genuinely stunning, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been to, definitely something you have to go and see at least once in your life. And If you do go, make sure to have Lake Erie perch or walleye at least once, that’s like the closest thing Lake Erie cities have to a delicacy. Always fresh (unless it’s winter) since it’s caught right there. Always good.

Wow, that's definatelly a must-see! Everytime I try to take a picture of nature and think at that moment it's quite good it later turns out to be average. I've got quite a good camera. Ok, maybe it's not the best, most professional equipment you can get but I am also far from being a profesionalist so... Must say it is hardly possible to take a good picture of nature the way you can see it when taking a photo. The Discovery channels must be cheating... We simply need to live that moment, we can't memorize it with a photo 

So as @Arrlong28 said, when we visit one place we usually focus on the most well-known attractions there. So for instance if you ever been in Poland you might have seen Warsaw (the capitol) or Cracow (the old capitol with Wawel Royal Castle). Many people also visit Gdańsk (the city and Westerplatte which basicly was the place where the II World War began) and Auschwitz (with its dark history...). But is it all that Poland has to offer? Gosh, where shoudl I begin? Let me tell you about one of my favourite place(s)... 

Palace of Marianne Orange-Nassau...

... bult in 1872. This palace was very modern for that time beacuse it already had central and floor heating, amazing gardens, banquet halls and more and more... The building is great and all but let me tell you a bit about the history of this place (but the way I like it ). 

Spoiler

Marianne Orange-Nassau was a princess from the House of Orange-Nassau which is the current reigning house of the Netherlands! Long story short, I guess we all can imagine how difficult it was for a woman to live in the XIX centuary - even (or especially) for a princess. Her husband, Frederick William III of Prussia, was simply cheating on her (those noblemen...). It's quite understandable that she wanted to divorce him. However, this was taking far too long what made her really unhappy. What would you do? Know what Marianne did? She cheated on Frederick with her equerry - Johannes van Rossum (who later on was her true love) and after some time she was expecting a baby. The pope gave the divorce immidiatelly. However, Marianne became cursed by her family and from that moment she had to live in infamy. She was even forbidden to enter her palace through the main gate (so she built stairs to enter through a window which was next to it ). In other words, she didn't care much and was happy with her true love. As a ruler of these lands, during her life she built many schools, churches and hospitals for people who lived there. She was known for being a fair judge and awesome in general.

 

If you go 12 km (7 miles) north-west from this place you will reach Ząbkowice Śląskie (yikes). What's interesting in there? The small town has a leaning tower which is supposed to be the 2nd most leaned tower in the world (after the well-known Torre pendente di Pisa). But I seriously need to check this info one more time... (it's not that simple because the height of the building also counts). Just under that tower, in cafe 'Cafè Pod Krzywą' (Cafe under the Leaning [Tower]), you may have the best coffee I have ever had (c'mon Turkey and Italy, I am sure you can do better!). I stop here everytime when I am near because it's seriously that good!

Spoiler

The name of this place is tricky and you may find interesting that before the II World War this town, which once belonged to Germany, was used to be called Frankenstein. Does this sound familiar to you? The locals may tell you that there is a slight chance that when Mary Shelley was camping with her friends in Austria's forests she might have read a story about this place described in a local newspaper. Back in time again, in the medieval times, during the Black Death, there were 3 gravediggers who had a perfect plan for their buissness. They were using corpses of people who died of the plague to infect the others and earn money from the burials. Now imagine what might have happend to them, in the medieval times(!), after the locals found out about it... Anyway, Mary was a true fan of spookey stories and certainly would like this one. This is why the title of her novel 'Frankenstein' might have something to do with this place. Of course it is a gossip. But doesn't such stories make places like this one much more interesting? 

Edited July 22 by Finding_Marty