The Very Many Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread ΛΓ

[Takhisis]

Question: I live in an apartment building. Our wifi and router are both secured and locked down with strong passwords. However, recently I received an email from the ISP claiming that someone from my IP address had downloaded a movie or TV show that I'd never heard of before - neither had my mother. I'm not worried about getting into trouble, but how does this happen in the first place?

First of all, are you absolutely sure that the email was sent by the ISP?

How about Peru?

I know a dislike button would probably not work out on CFC but there are times when I could really use one.

Why? You wanted to go to places warpus has been to.

 

[warpus]

I can't find information on this and I'm getting angry: can I go to Vienna without a visa? Or on a one-way flight? Apparently it can make them suspicious, but I'm an American citizen. ID and passport should be sufficient, right?

EDIT: This seems to say contradictory things. Says US citizens don't need a visa, but then claims that people from America must apply for a 'Schengen travel visa?' Is that to travel between countries? I still might want to go to Bavaria. And what does it mean by travel documents? Is that just the passport and visa, or is something else required?

I really need to know if I can just go there with my passport and ID.

When I need to know visa/passport requirements for other countries, I look those up on an official Canadian government website. Example. Maybe your government has something similar? Go straight to the source, don't rely on secondary websites that might have information that is out of date. Some countries will also require you to have certain vaccinations, but usually only in more tropical regions. Still worth checking though. There is also a "Your passport can't expire in the next 6 months or we won't let you in" thing some countries do, but I've never seen it enforced (in person)

And yeah, if you show up at the border/airport security area with just a one way ticket, they will probably be suspicious (that you will want to stay there or whatever). They will usually want you to have your return ticket already secured. What I do is I print out every single travel document I have. When I was doing a backpacking tour of California, I flew out of Detroit, so I had to cross the border to get to the airport. They grilled me at the border about my plans and ended up searching through all my bags. What helped the situation was a printout I had of every single flight I had booked (two separate flights, Detroit -> Los Angeles, and then 2 weeks later San Fran -> Detroit), plus a printout of the confirmation of the airbnb I had booked in LA and the hostel I was planning on staying at in San Fran. plus printouts for all sorts of other things. I laid out all my printouts and was able to show them my plan, i.e. "First I am flying here, then I'm going here, then I am returning to Canada this way, etc.". This made them very happy

So yeah, if you show up with only a one way flight booked, expect to be held up somewhere, and plan accordingly by giving yourself more time. It might be enough if you show them that you have enough money to buy a ticket back home and have a good explanation as to why you don't have a flight home booked yet.. but.. nevertheless, I would do more reading on this subject if you plan on crossing borders with only a one-way ticket booked. That will usually raise red flags and you will be questioned further. Granted, in some places the local authorities might not give a crap about that either, but I'd err on the side of caution...

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I know a dislike button would probably not work out on CFC but there are times when I could really use one.

The smiley should work.

Takhisis has a good point. Most of the holidays warpus talks about here involve hiking in the mountains. Are you interested in those countries but not in hiking?

 

[Mouthwash]

Takhisis has a good point. Most of the holidays warpus talks about here involve hiking in the mountains. Are you interested in those countries but not in hiking?

I thought I made it clear that I'm not going to spend a thousand dollars on airfare and have no chance of going with standby. As per your suggestion, .

 

[Takhisis]

There's really that much of a difference between a fare to Europe and one to South America?

Edit: are you setting out from Israel or from the USA?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I thought I made it clear that I'm not going to spend a thousand dollars on airfare and have no chance of getting on with standby. As per your suggestion, .

I haven't read all your posts in this thread and am coming into the conversation late. Rudeness is not appreciated.

 

[Mouthwash]

I haven't read all your posts in this thread and am coming into the conversation late. Rudeness is not appreciated.

Sorry, I'm under a bit of pressure here.

There's really that much of a difference between a fare to Europe and one to South America?

Edit: are you setting out from Israel or from the USA?

Where do you think Tel Aviv is located?

 

[Takhisis]

Well, I can't remember whether you're in the US of A or Israel right now, man. You might not believe it, but even my memory has its limits.

 

[Michkov]

I'm thinking Bavaria, Austria, or maybe Switzerland. Anyone from those places? I'd like some advice, especially regarding safety and not getting scammed or lost (I will probably be alone). Also, since the airfare is pretty high, would it be more cost-effective to fly from Israel into Greece or the Balkans and from there take public transportation up to the Alps?

Austria isn't any less safe then any other European country, even safer if you stay in small tourist town. Scams are pretty unheard of, those things dont help the tourist industry after all. As for getting lost, depends on what you want to do, aimlessly wandering around the mountains maybe, city touring hardly.

Going by train through the Balkans isn't something I would advise, car travel from Greece to Southern Austria is about 17h. I cant even find a train route, but trains usually take longer than cars so 30h is a good guess. Check if flying to Slovenia or Czechoslovakia is cheaper.

 

[Synobun]

Speaking of having limits, your signature is broken, @Takhisis.

 

[Arakhor]

Is there a bizarre one-horse town called Tel Aviv in Idaho perhaps?

 

[Takhisis]

Speaking of having limits, your signature is broken, @Takhisis.

I know, @Synsensa. If you want to find the post, it's not that difficult.

 

[The_J]

I'm thinking Bavaria, Austria, or maybe Switzerland. Anyone from those places? I'd like some advice, especially regarding safety and not getting scammed or lost (I will probably be alone). Also, since the airfare is pretty high, would it be more cost-effective to fly from Israel into Greece or the Balkans and from there take public transportation up to the Alps?

Have not recently been to Bavaria (well, my home village is at that border) or Switzerland, but also as @Arakhor to Vienna.
I was also alone, just did touristy stuff, and did not encounter any problems. Vienna and Munich are cities which are worth visiting, Frankfurt less (if you're considering airports).
I'd also in general say that security is not an issue. You might encounter the fake homeless people begging for money, but not really a problem. Theft can be a problem in some areas, but if you pay some attentin, then you shouldn't have a problem there either.

I'd not fly to Greece and take a train to Austria. Unless you want this to be your road trip, with stops in Sofia, Bukarest and Budapest. Because that will for sure take you a while, and there might be delays, so I would not count on this going smooth.

I can't find information on this and I'm getting angry: can I go to Vienna without a visa? Or on a one-way flight? Apparently it can make them suspicious, but I'm an American citizen. ID and passport should be sufficient, right?

EDIT: This seems to say contradictory things. Says US citizens don't need a visa, but then claims that people from America must apply for a 'Schengen travel visa?' Is that to travel between countries? I still might want to go to Bavaria. And what does it mean by travel documents? Is that just the passport and visa, or is something else required?

I really need to know if I can just go there with my passport and ID.

Schengen Visa = EU Visa (except UK and Ireland, but with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway; eh, wait, seems Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia are also not in). Normally you do not get country specific visas (I'd not even know if these exist), since movement is free within the EU.

The website of the European Comission https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy_en says that you do not need a Visa. I checked some other sources which say so too. It seems though that changes are debated, or have been made in recent years, so you might find conflicting info.

EDIT: @Michkov: I doubt that flying to Slovenia is cheaper. The airport in Lubljana is tiny. A Slovenian friend of mine sometimes flies from Vienna, because that's cheaper, or because flights are not available from Lubljana. Might not be the same for Prague, but I'm sure that the airport in Vienna is bigger.

Question: I live in an apartment building. Our wifi and router are both secured and locked down with strong passwords. However, recently I received an email from the ISP claiming that someone from my IP address had downloaded a movie or TV show that I'd never heard of before - neither had my mother. I'm not worried about getting into trouble, but how does this happen in the first place?

As already pointed out: I'd make sure that it's actually from your ISP, because there's a good chance that it isn't.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

First of all, are you absolutely sure that the email was sent by the ISP?

Yup, I checked and it came with digital signatures and such. There wasn't any of those settlement links either, which I would expect from a spammer or whatnot.

 

[Mouthwash]

Okay, just booked a round trip for around $600 on a site called MyHolidays, and it is apparently not a reputable site. They have hidden fees (also they raise the price and call it 'fluctuation.') It's based in Qatar. I directed there by another site called Momondo, which is reputable, so hey, I wasn't a complete idiot today. I just didn't realize what this was until after paying.

I'm prepared to pay a bit extra for my mistake, but I hope it isn't a complete scam and there actually are flights I'm booked on... I used Visa debit. Will I be able to get my money back if the worst happens?

 

[Synobun]

Since it's debit, after a very long headache yes.

 

[sophie]

And yeah, if you show up at the border/airport security area with just a one way ticket, they will probably be suspicious (that you will want to stay there or whatever). They will usually want you to have your return ticket already secured. What I do is I print out every single travel document I have. When I was doing a backpacking tour of California, I flew out of Detroit, so I had to cross the border to get to the airport. They grilled me at the border about my plans and ended up searching through all my bags. What helped the situation was a printout I had of every single flight I had booked (two separate flights, Detroit -> Los Angeles, and then 2 weeks later San Fran -> Detroit), plus a printout of the confirmation of the airbnb I had booked in LA and the hostel I was planning on staying at in San Fran. plus printouts for all sorts of other things. I laid out all my printouts and was able to show them my plan, i.e. "First I am flying here, then I'm going here, then I am returning to Canada this way, etc.". This made them very happy

So yeah, if you show up with only a one way flight booked, expect to be held up somewhere, and plan accordingly by giving yourself more time. It might be enough if you show them that you have enough money to buy a ticket back home and have a good explanation as to why you don't have a flight home booked yet.. but.. nevertheless, I would do more reading on this subject if you plan on crossing borders with only a one-way ticket booked. That will usually raise red flags and you will be questioned further. Granted, in some places the local authorities might not give a crap about that either, but I'd err on the side of caution...

This. when you roll into customs they are looking for:

1) Proof of Return Flight
2) Proof of booked accommodations for the duration of your stay
3) Verification that you have enough money to support yourself during your time in the country

Lack of #1 will result in immediately being placed in a holding cell. Lack of #2 will result in some grilling, then possible stay in holding cell. Lack of #3 will result in some very obnoxious grilling from customs agent, followed by possible stay in holding cell depending on what's in your passport.

I'm speaking from personal experience here. When you show up at customs, come prepared with all. the. documents. You don't want to end up in a holding cell. Trust me.

 

[Mouthwash]

This. when you roll into customs they are looking for:

1) Proof of Return Flight
2) Proof of booked accommodations for the duration of your stay
3) Verification that you have enough money to support yourself during your time in the country

Lack of #1 will result in immediately being placed in a holding cell. Lack of #2 will result in some grilling, then possible stay in holding cell. Lack of #3 will result in some very obnoxious grilling from customs agent, followed by possible stay in holding cell depending on what's in your passport.

I'm speaking from personal experience here. When you show up at customs, come prepared with all. the. documents. You don't want to end up in a holding cell. Trust me.

#2 is totally nuts. (And it's the one thing I don't have.) Why should I? I'm going to be traveling in the country, possibly going to Germany. People backpack through Europe all the time.

I'll have a prepaid card with 1500 Euros on it along with maybe 200 Euros of cash, and I'm staying til the fifth of April. That's reasonable, right?

 

[Arakhor]

Always use a credit card to buy online. That way, it comes with inbuilt protections for getting your money back.

 

[Mouthwash]

Uh, does that mean not debit?