Destination: Scotland!

[warpus]

Here's the deal. While in California, I was invited to a wedding! It's next October (30th) and for some reason it's in Edinburgh, Scotland. I have a friend in that exact town, so I have a place to crash (I think). So that's awesome.

Since I haven't seen most of western Europe I figured that I might as well arrive a bit early and do some backpacking around the continent before I head north to Edinburgh where the wedding is. This is still a very rough plan, so I'm just trying to gather ideas and figure out some sort of a plan.. so feel free to load up this thread with as many ideas as you want

My general idea is to fly into some other part of Europe (Spain? Italy?) and then make my way north to Scotland. What would have been AMAZING was if this wedding was earlier - then I could head to Norway and do some hikes! It's something I've always wanted to do.. But I think October 30th is too late for something like that?

Here's a rough/starting travel plan I made. I don't expect this to look anything like the final plan.. or maybe it will! who knows

I picked Madrid as a starting city because Spain and France are known for their high-speed trains.. So I figured I could see the 2 largest cities in Spain, then make a stop in Marseille, and then BOOM, next thing I know I'm in Milan.

Switzerland is supposed to be nice, so that's kind of around there.. and I've always wanted to visit Munich, so that works out too, in terms of being right around the corner.

I've actually always wanted to visit Croatia, but that seems a bit out of the way. Would it be worth the detour? The thing is that as soon as I end up in Croatia, I might as well check out Budapest, Vienna, and then head to Poland! But it seems like that should be a separate trip entirely, which is why I've left Croatia out of my plans.. for now.

Next on my rough itinerary is Holland, where I have a friend who lives in Rotterdam. I've been meaning to visit him, so Rotterdam is def. going to have to be a stop! It would also allow me to check out Amsterdam. I thought of including Berlin (I have friends there.. and I keep hearing amazing things about the city itself) and heading there after Munich, but then that's sooo close to Poland, it'd be a crime not to stop by and say hi! But then I only have 2-3 weeks (I think), sooo...

I included Paris, because it's such a big city, and I can take a train from there to London, so.. it kinda makes sense, right? and then London, where I want to see a Chelsea game

And then straight up to Scotland. or is there anything cool to do in England?

It would be cool if I could do some hiking in Scotland itself, because I have been told that the highlands are beautiful. But then again, it seems like it would maybe be too late for something like that in late October?

So basically this thing is wide open, but I FOR SURE have to do the following:
- Rotterdam
- London (Chelsea game!)
- Edinburgh

Feel free to fire ideas & feedback at me and thanks

 

[ArneHD]

October isn't much of a hiking season in Norway, I will give you that, but it should not be a complete failure. If you go inland you might bring skis and call it a skiing holiday. Actually, scratch that last part, I'm not too certain when snow will come. It has been incredibly variable these last couple of years.

Anyway, how long do you intend to do this? You are going through a lot of Europe and if you are only going to spend a day or to in each city, you are going to miss a lot.

Also, why not Berlin?

 

[warpus]

October isn't much of a hiking season in Norway, I will give you that, but it should not be a complete failure. If you go inland you might bring skis and call it a skiing holiday. Actually, scratch that last part, I'm not too certain when snow will come. It has been incredibly variable these last couple of years.

Anyway, how long do you intend to do this? You are going through a lot of Europe and if you are only going to spend a day or to in each city, you are going to miss a lot.

Also, why not Berlin?

If I could make this trip into a Norway/Scotland trip, I totally would. The thing is that I don't ski at all.. and it's something I want to one day learn, but I don't want to do that in Norway

Do you know of any famous multi-day (or day) hikes in Norway? Something where you hike through mountains, by glaciers, or something spectacular? That is the sort of thing I would be interested in I didn't do any research because I assumed that it would be too late in the season for hiking like that - too much snow in the mountains, etc.

If I could go hiking in Norway during this trip, I would totally fly directly into Norway, do the hike, then head south to Poland, then Berlin, then Rotterdam, London, Edinburgh. That would be an amazing trip but I was under the impression hiking in norway would be best done in the spring or summer.

edit: LOoking at a map again it would be better perhaps to go through Sweden and Denmark, then Germany, rather than flying into Poland.

 

[Silurian]

No reason you should not go hiking in Scotland in October. (Its a bit windy today 165mph gusts on some mountains)

There are hills just south of Edinburgh and you can get to the Highlands in a couple hours.

Devon is good as well.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon

 

[RRRaskolnikov]

I advise Lyon rather than Marseille to stop by. Marseille is nice and the weather is likely to be better but Lyon is definatly better if you like buildings and such (though "Le vieux port" and "Notre Dame de la garde" are worth seeing in Marseille). You can reach Turin then Milan by train via Lyon just as well (I guess you won't notice a 4 hours detour)...

If you feel like speaking about foot/civ while drinking a beer in Paris, pm me next october

 

[Mise]

I wouldn't bother going anywhere in the UK other than Edinburgh and London. Frankly anywhere else is just more of the same, except not as good. And yeah, hiking in Scotland will be fun.

Sounds like an awesome trip man, I'm jealous!

 

[warpus]

No reason you should not go hiking in Scotland in October. (Its a bit windy today 165mph gusts on some mountains)

There are hills just south of Edinburgh and you can get to the Highlands in a couple hours.

Devon is good as well.

Are there any particular trails you recommend? (both in Scotland and Devon)

I had to put up with "the roaring 40s" and "furious 50s" on long hikes in southern Patangonia and New Zealand

edit: ignore the red line with arrows in this pic, it's the route of some ship

So I have the right kind of equipment for that sort of weather. I don't think Scotland will be as bad And New Zealand wasn't really that bad, really.. but Patagonia sure was. It'd be sunny one minute, shorts & tshirt weather, then next thing you know it's windy and cold as hell and you have to put on a winter jacket, gloves, and a hat. The trees there even grow sideways

But yeah, if you have any recommendations about any famous/amazing hikes, be it day hikes or longer ones, I would def. consider them.. highlands look really nice, haven't seen much of devon yet though

 

[madviking]

Some of my thoughts on cities:

Madrid - definitely visit the Prada museum. Well worth it. The subway in Madrid is very cheap and efficient (1 euro fare for anywhere in the city). While certainly there is touristy stuff to see, Madrid, being a relatively new city, is actually more of a club town...

Barcelona - definitely take a stroll on, um, la Rambla(?), the main pedestrian street there. Also go see the Sagrada Familia (really cool). From there you can go to the Park Güell and see all of Gaudí's crazy stuff there. Not to mention good views of the city from here. If you're feeling a bit unorthodox, the Barcelona modern art museum is awesome. I easily spent close to four hours in there. Really expanded my mind or something.

Munich - definitely cool to visit in the wintertime. Go to the Hofbräuhaus, the rathaus, and if you haven't you gotta see Hohenschwanstein and Neuschwanstein (despite them being a sizable drive away). Lots of good hiking there. Also, schnitzel. Warpus, I know you are a big fan of pork products (and so am I), so eat all the goddamn schnitzel you can in Munich.

 

[warpus]

I advise Lyon rather than Marseille to stop by. Marseille is nice and the weather is likely to be better but Lyon is definatly better if you like buildings and such (though "Le vieux port" and "Notre Dame de la garde" are worth seeing in Marseille). You can reach Turin then Milan by train via Lyon just as well (I guess you won't notice a 4 hours detour)...

If you feel like speaking about foot/civ while drinking a beer in Paris, pm me next october

I guess it'll be cold anyway, so I might as well ignore the beaches and focus on the sights. What can I expect, like.. 10-15C ? in Paris, for example, in mid october? So actually not so bad weather in Spain and southern France then.. but not beach weather I bet. Either way it looks like it's time to invest in a good compact & warm sleeping bag.. for the hostels.. as for the beer, I am always up for a beer

I wouldn't bother going anywhere in the UK other than Edinburgh and London. Frankly anywhere else is just more of the same, except not as good. And yeah, hiking in Scotland will be fun.

Sounds like an awesome trip man, I'm jealous!

That's what I figured but I didn't want to insult anyone by implying that there's nothing else to see in England except for London (Well, I'm sure there is, but Scotland seems a lot more appealing)

 

[warpus]

Some of my thoughts on cities:

Madrid - definitely visit the Prada museum. Well worth it. The subway in Madrid is very cheap and efficient (1 euro fare for anywhere in the city). While certainly there is touristy stuff to see, Madrid, being a relatively new city, is actually more of a club town...

Barcelona - definitely take a stroll on, um, la Rambla(?), the main pedestrian street there. Also go see the Sagrada Familia (really cool). From there you can go to the Park Güell and see all of Gaudí's crazy stuff there. Not to mention good views of the city from here. If you're feeling a bit unorthodox, the Barcelona modern art museum is awesome. I easily spent close to four hours in there. Really expanded my mind or something.

Munich - definitely cool to visit in the wintertime. Go to the Hofbräuhaus, the rathaus, and if you haven't you gotta see Hohenschwanstein and Neuschwanstein (despite them being a sizable drive away). Lots of good hiking there. Also, schnitzel. Warpus, I know you are a big fan of pork products (and so am I), so eat all the goddamn schnitzel you can in Munich.

Oohhh hiking and schnitzel.. AND beer! Now I know that I must go to Munich for sure on this trip.

Well.. unless I end up finding any good hikes in Norway This trip could really go anywhere.. Thanks for the tips on the Spanish cities! I've always wanted to visit Iberia.. Anything in Portugal that's worth seeing?

 

[madviking]

Anything in Portugal that's worth seeing?

My rule of thumb is that Portugal is exactly the same as Spain, except they write funny. Unfortunately, my entire time in Portugal has amounted to roughly an hour (I was in Huelva, Spain and decided to screw it go to Portugal for going-to-Portugal's sake) in the extreme southeastern corner of the country.

I'm sure some more well-traveled individuals can tell you/me more about Portugal.

If you're gonna be in that corner of Iberia, Granada (for Alhambra) and Gibraltar (sheer novelty value) is where I'd go.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Finally going to Josh McEachran's parental homeland! Hope you have fun for your brief time there.

Incidentally, England has plenty of cool places ... York, Cambridge, Bath, etc. But depends what you are into.

And, yes, Dalmatia is worth the detour. It's unbelievable. I did much of the coast, stayed in Plitvice park, went to some of the islands and swam is pristine lakes, etc. And you can make it, as I did, from Dubrovnik to Istanbul via Pristina and Skopje on bus. Istanbul is probably out your way, but it's my favorite city ever. You can travel anywhere pretty much, very fast, from Istanbul.

 

[stormerne]

Two to three weeks is scarcely enough time to really enjoy one of those places, let alone a whole list of them. So why not be realistic: prioritize what you want, and pare down your list.

The bad news is that Scotland already has really miserable weather at that time of year and the nights are 15 hours long. The good news is that the autumn colors are still building.

 

[Camikaze]

You should save Croatia for a summer (if you think you'll ever get the chance). I can't help but think that going in another season would kinda waste it (though I don't know what the off-season weather is like).

In Scotland, you should hire a car, and do this. So pretty. Don't know about hiking.

 

[classical_hero]

If you ever decide to do something similar to what Camikaze suggests, then you shoud go to a town called [wiki]Nairn[/wiki]. I say this since that is my surname, so it is something I have do and apparently that part of Scotland is pretty, even without the need for Camikaze to state that.

Also you need to see North Kilttown.

 

[stormerne]

If you ever decide to do something similar to what Camikaze suggests, then you shoud go to a town called [wiki]Nairn[/wiki]. I say this since that is my surname, so it is something I have do and apparently that part of Scotland is pretty, even without the need for Camikaze to state that.

You need to read the words of arguably Scotland's "finest" poet - William Topaz McGonagall - when he describes Nairn.
("Finest" just as in "The Onion, America's Finest News Source" )
You can read it all here, but this is a short extract...

All ye tourists who wish to be away
From the crowded city for a brief holiday;
The town of Nairn is worth a visit, I do confess,
And it’s only about fifteen miles from Inverness.

 

[aronnax]

I don't know how much time you want to spend traveling prior to the wedding but if I were you, I'll limit my trip to just a few great cities. I'll personally pick Rome, Paris, London and Edinburgh.

Mostly because these cities are so massive with so much to see and do, that they all deserve a 5-day week each to fully get a feel of them. You could spend a whole day from 9am to 9pm just on the British Museum and/or the Lourve itself. It's far better than rushing about country to country, city to city.

 

[Mise]

All museums in the UK are free as well, fyi.

 

[Pangur Bán]

All museums in the UK are free as well, fyi.

That's not true by any stretch of the imagination. But, yes, the big ones (British, Portrait Galleries, Scottish national, etc) generally are.

 

[Mise]

All museums worth going to*