IAP Political Forum

I’m currently on a trip around Europe and in between the site seeing and airport transfers, trying to keep a little record of my travels – who I meet, what I see, etc. etc.  I have taken loads of photos but I know everything will merge into one gigantic city experience by the time I get them developed and so thought I could write down my impressions to make it all a little more coherent.  So here goes…  So far I’ve been from London, through Paris and Montpellier (where I met a great group of American people learning French) and now am in Madrid.  Anymore and I am going to begin to forget it all and so it is here I choose as my starting place to write.  The city is BIG.  Everything.  I love it but to be honest, am looking forward to the relative tranquillity of my next stop in Salamanca.  I’m staying in one of the hostels Madrid (http://www.equity-point.com/hostels-barcelona/4_en.html) and like in Montpellier, it is something which has made the stop over special – a great chance for meeting people!  There are a lot of Spanish in the city who have come for various events (being the capital, it has so much to offer in terms of music and entertainment) but the majority have a decent level of English from school or a language course abroad (in the bed next to me, there’s a girl who’s just finished one of the “cursos ingles Nueva York (http://www.united-languages.com/paginas/paisesgenerales/usa/newyork.htm)” and speaks English better than I do!  But it’s not all Spanish people – like any other capital city, Madrid is very cosmopolitan.  There’s a young group of Italian students who are so much fun – we’ve taken it upon ourselves to see as much of the Madrid nightlife as possible in the next few days (Club Low is our favourite so far) and a French guy here to prepare for a “Sejour linguistique en Bolivia (http://www.prolinguis.fr/sejours-linguistiques-ecole/fr/27500/harrowhouse.html)“.  He talks of nothing but South America, I would love to be able to extend my travels and go to visit him once he’s settled – if it is half as good as he describes, I’ll have a ball! After Spain (of which I still have to see Salamanca, Barcelona and the beaches of Cadiz), it’s up to Berlin and from there, Holland.  I am reasonably flexible though and so if anyone has any tips (I am interested in Euro cities with plenty to do), then please let me know!

Check out Lisbon.  Portugal gets overlooked a lot but its a cool place!

Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is just above Portugal, in northern Spain.  It's a fantastic city. 
The cathedral there houses the remains of Saint James the Apostle and it is the destination for pilgrims.  There is a huge square outside the cathedral where you can sit and watch the pilgrims arrive and it is heaving with people from all over the world who are so happy to be there.
It is a university city, I was there at summer school with my own university and stayed at the university campus, accomodation may be available over Easter, but there are many places to stay. 
The cathedral plaza has a Parador, a beautiful luxurious hotel.  This is an historic building with beautiful, leafy courtyards containing fountains, so secluded and tranquil.  It was originally built by Fernando and Isabel to house pilgrims who travelled arduous, lengthy pilgrimages to the cathedral and it retains the character of the period. 
This is a lively place, full of entertainment.  Las Brujas, all kinds of street entertainers, I was walking home from the local hostelries at 3 a.m. and found a "living statue" just standing on a pedestal in the lane...nobody near him, just doing his thing... :)
I loved the city and plan to return there in the coming year.  Good luck with your trip, enjoy...

Cadiz is beautiful, a paradise.  My only tip, avoid Scotland.

Well You should definetly visit Toledo to the south. And in my opinion Seville should be on your list. It has a wonderful historic and cultural wealth and their people are the coolest I've met in España!

Oh...feck.  Welcome to the forum...

You are Scottish, Comrade Joe... I feel it's worth pointing that out...

this could funny.

Joe why would you recommend that people avoid your home country?  You think its thats bad?

BTW, I've always wanted to visit Rosslyn Chapel.

There are many better places to see.  If you come to Scotland you have horrible weather for a start, which is never good.  There is economic and social depravation, the cities and people have been corrupted by 30 years of unchallenged capitalism. 

The only way i would advise Scotland as a destination is if you like seeing such things, if you like the prospect of being robbed or stabbed and you want to meet a people who suffer from some sort of small nation complex. 

I strive to see change here, it's not a place i enjoy living in, so i would be a hypocrite to suggest it as a destination to anyone else.

Use your money and time wisely, dont waste on what Scotland does not have to offer.

I would like to spend my hard earned money visiting a nation that has thrived under unchallenged communism.  Which one would you recommend Comrade?

C'mon Comrade Joe, it can't be that bad.
I guess it is the same that any other european capital, I mean with good things and bad things too. But, man, the pictures of Scotland I've seen in this and in other forums, make me wish to visit it.

Saludos

That is because the kind of  people who post pictiures are probably nationalists who want to sell the country, or they are the bourgeoise who dont represent the majority. 

Here is what you would be likely to see if you travel even half a mile out of the cities.

(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w115/joebhoy182/gorbals.jpg)

(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w115/joebhoy182/EDI070987_03.jpg)

Notice the words on the graffitti, it tells a story

(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w115/joebhoy182/unit49.jpg)

I couldn't help but notice you missed my request Comrade Joe.  So I am again asking for your recommendation.

Of course you know fine well there is no communist countries in Europe, so why bother ask ?  Seems like a waste of a post to me.

Doesn't have to be in Europe.  I don't remember requesting that.  Maybe you are not so good at reading English.  If so, my apologies. 

My English fine.  That is why i am able to notice this thread is about travel tips in Europe.    But if you persist on digression, then so be it.  I am still relatively young and not well travelled as yet, however i will pass on the recommendation that i often recieve, visit Cuba.  Although you may reside in the "most free country on the planet" and so be banned from visiting Cuba.  Now there is an oxymoron if i ever saw one.

Probably the most beautiful communist country to visit would be Laos. I have never been there but it looks extremely beautiful, cultural and has a nice buddhism element running through it  :)

As Biker worded the question "thrived under unchallenged communism" the true answer would be, there are none. There are maybe 5 or so communist countries left on the planet and all are basket cases. There is a major race on for ex communist countries to get into capitalism. Have a look at the former east Germany, you will hard pressed to find any remainder of their communist past. The wall has been knocked down, and it is virtually impossible to find checkpoint charlie on any maps or roads signs. Germany is more ashamed of their communist past than their nazi past it seems to me.

As to favourite european countries, I tell you the hidden jewel in the crown would be Malta. Absolutely beautiful, not expensive and not touristy. It is a mixture of north african architecture with european culture. I thoroughly recommend it  :)

Just to counter Scottish tourism's board representative Comrade Joe's remarks, I thought I would post a link to promote the beauty of Scotland. Its a good site to browse through if you are thinking of visiting Scotland  :)


 http://www.visitscotland.com/

Ding ding ding!  You win the prize Fort, and Comrade missed it.  That was the angle to my post indeed.

A cut and paste from something I posted in another forum, neo.  In case you're interested.

Of course, you are welcome to visit me if you do make it here.  I will show you the pretty parts of Scotland...of which there are many. ;)

Thank you Jeri.  I should have responded to that, but ..well here are a couple of shots of the Scotland I live in.  You may have seen them before, others will not have.  They are all taken within one mile of my house and some are taken from my window.

(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/VivR/clydeview-2-yacht.jpg)

(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/VivR/QE2passingmywindowinGourocklastweek.jpg)

(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/VivR/GoldenPrincesscruisingoffGreenock.jpg)

(http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/VivR/kayak-sunset.jpg)

OMG you've got some nice scenery Viv.  I've wanted to visit Scotland, my ancestral home...

I could sense that Scottishness, Biker...I have a spare room... ;D

It is a beautiful place and there is a lot of history, makes it interesting for people.  Joe has a point, all cities have areas which are not pretty and the weather can be unreliable (rainy).  But Scotland is known for spectacular scenery.  The west where I live, has mountains and wide open spaces (the highlands start here) Glencoe is gorgeous (Harry Potter backdrop is Glencoe, Rob Roy and Braveheart both have scenes there) so people who want that kind of peace come to that area.  The east has loads of interesting places like Stirling, Rosslyn and Edinburgh is an historic city, fantastic to visit, castles and so on and heaving with tourists.  It's also a small country so you can see everything without travelling very far.

Thank you guys for your tips!

I would surely enjoy my trip since I now have ideas where and what to do while in the place. :)

Try to go to places other than the capitals.

I liked Prague, but I lived Czesky Krumlov, fantastic little town.

Why?  Sure, Glasgow is dodgy, but if the person doesn't mind rain, Scotland is as beautiful as anywhere else in Europe.  and Edinburgh is up there with prague/paris and barca for prettiness.

How is Glasgow dodgy then? 

Joe lives in Glasgow but he's anti-Scottish. 

Comrade Joe, there are scenes in Naples and Paris which are worse than anything you posted.  Should people also not visit the beautiful Amalfi coast or the "City of Light" (well personally I would contend that Paris is one of the most overrated cities in the world, but that's a personal thing)?

One can find ugliness and drabness, as well as beauty in any city if one looks hard enough.  Feck, there are areas on the outskirts of Prague which are like the clockwork orange.  Would you tell people not to go to Prague?

Besides, I doubt if most visitors to Scotland will be hanging around in the Gorbals waiting to get stabbed.  They'll be visiting the Highlands, the beautiful lochs and mountains, the stunning city of Edinburgh, which is easily the best looking city in the UK, and the islands like Skye.

Of course, any trip to Scotland DOES need to have an accompanying weather warning.  That goes without saying.  I spent a week on Raasay once and it rained heavily each and every day.  In August.

And a midgie warning  ;)

Best time of year to visit Scotland, if you want to be in the outdoors, is around this time until Mid July.  After that, the midgies will eat you alive.  Although there are now midgie-killer machines which can clear large areas very well.

Where are you from, Pengy?

Lahndan innit.

Still think Scotland is very beautiful, though!

If they go independent will we need a visa to visit ?  :)

LMAO...can hear that accent...cockney or where?

It is beautiful.  Like living in a dream when it is this way, warm and not a breath of wind,  river is like shimmering glass, the colours are misty, blue skies and the sea scent in the air...it is lovely.

Most English people will require a visa  ;D but you can visit anytime, Pengy   ;)

I've always fancied Eastern Europe (my ancestral home). I got to go to Denmark and Estonia and loved them both. Denmark was wee bit pricey ($10 USD for a beer!), but Estonia wasn't so bad. And most places you'll visit accomodate people who speak English - so that's a plus.

And they didn't hate us cause we were American, so that was nice.

As for places in Europe - personally I think Rome is overrated. I went and it was nice... but after you see the historical places, there isn't much to do. Plus, the city around Rome is pretty seedy. Some friends and I got stuck in Rome for the night and it was just very dirty.

Go to Rome for the day and then bounce.

Yeah, well I wanted to go to Italy this summer, but the venue has changed and I'm cruising the Med for 14 days instead.  The ship leaves from here, where I live and it returns here also.  I don't have the itinerary memorised yet, but it includes Morroco, Barcelona, Sete (France), Palma (Balearic Islands) Cadiz, Lisbon, Almeira. 

I have visited 3 of these places before, but really want to see Morroco again.  Some people don't like Tangiers, but I was there a few years ago and loved it, it is so different from our world and that is what I enjoy...seeing a culture which has all that we have, but mixes ancient with modern in a way that we never do.  I hate it when I go somewhere and it's just westernised and homogenised.

There will be pics    ;D

You can't seriously compare Paris to Glasgow.  On the whole Glasgow is a dump, Paris isn't, on the whole Glasgow is full of scum, Paris isn't.  In Glasgow there's a good chance of getting stabbed, or robbed, i don't think the same can be said for Paris.  But even the sort of people that make Glasgow what it is are not my real problem, my problem is these jingoistic, nationalistic, shortbread eating, kilt wearing, bagpipe loving, we're not english, small minded fools that seem to be on the grow in Scotland.  They are bigheaded people with much to be modest about, reminiscent of the many flag waving, we're the best country in the world Americans.

Lol...well I don't like Paris, Comrade Joe, where I really do like Glasgow.  Because there are very, very nice friendly and funny people in Glasgow, down-to-earth, self-effacing, not arrogant, helpful, good-hearted kind people and that is what I miss when abroad...the people.

And on returning from the said cruise, having seen some really lovely places, this is really the loveliest, it strikes you anew when you come back from a trip like that.  We visited some interesting cities, but those are just big cities as you see anywhere...built up, boxy high-rise buildings and traffic...getting off the ship and coming back here it is a much better lifestyle... with beautiful scenery.

I really don't know what you find so unpleasant about it.  Seriously, why do you stay in this country if you do not like it?  I love it and don't know any people like those you describe.  Can you tell me where you meet them? 

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1072845020071110?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

And that is the main tourist part. You can imagine how it would be like in the poor slums with all the algerian immigrants and their rioting against anything and anyone.

I must say I wasn't terribly impressed with Paris, but it was at the end of a two month long stint in Europe so I was ready to go home.  I'm sure it would've helped to know a Parisian to take me around the non tourist trap spots too.