Post: #1

Brussels - not much going on here besides the city square. Didn't see many girls walking around the city, just lots of scuzzy looking guys. The city's main attraction is a statue of a boy pissing, enough said.

London - the stereotypes are true, english girls are hideous. I'm American, and I can confidently say they are far worse. It's easy to get an inaccurate impression, but it seemed like every time I spied a hot girl, I would hear her speaking Polish or Spanish a moment later. Too frenetic for my tastes. Shortest skirts I've seen.

England is going down the shitter, it's expensive, the people are fat, seemed like there were few anglophones (!), the lower classes are incredibly huge and trashy, and there's no sense of community or citizenship (cf. Robert Putnam), at least in London. Met a few English expatriates, and they all expressed disappointment with Britain's direction. English guys are consistently the most entertaining though, and every traveling Briton is a wanton alcoholic.

Zurich - pretty but bland, ridiculously expensive. Not many young people walking around, and the Swiss are fairly insular. Decidedly uglier than German girls (a German acquaintance living in Zurich said the same). The red light district is mostly just ugly old black women hanging out in latino-themed bars.

Munich & Berlin - German girls are hot. Stay out of the seedy parts of East Berlin, and you will be constantly craning your neck. Much more to see in Berlin, while Munich is consistently nicer. Bavarians have a reputation of being friendlier. Berlin seemed to have more girls generally and it's cheaper.

Copenhagen - tall blond Scandinavian types galore, very polite but very distant, insular even. Girls here will often talk to you when they've got boyfriends, simply to bask in your courtship. And they'll be too polite to refuse to give you their number.

I've been studying here for a few months, and have had trouble getting with locals, as compared to other places. The girls out at bars and clubs seem much less attractive than the ones you'll see biking to work. See the concept of hygge, it's big here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygge

Milan - The girls here are very sexy, but have that fiesty unapproachable vibe to them. Insular. More importantly, they rarely speak english. Your only options are the foreigners, exchange students and Scandinavian models. I didn't go out at night in this city, however. It has the most impressive structure I've ever seen, the Duomo, and the city center is pretty. Multiple people said this was their least favorite Italian city. Few tourists.

If you're in these cities, look for the "free tours" and the pub crawls. I recommend the Euro Youth Hostel in Munich.

I stayed at the Generator in Berlin, but I can't quite recommend it. It felt like a hotel albeit with horrible decor and 13 year old Italians running around. Too big to be conducive to meeting people. Everything is clean, they run a tight ship. The people running it are German, so the customer service sucks.

In general, I found Germany to be a pleasant surprise, an all around nice place to visit, recommend it above all the other places I listed.

That said, I haven't been to its top rivals like Prague, Vienna, Stockholm, Paris, Eastern Europe, Amsterdam or others. Didn't go to Spain, but the Spaniards seem too insular to make it worth it. Italians don't speak English, so you may not want to bother with them.

May hit up Hamburg, Oslo or Stockholm. Going to Prague soon. I've heard good things about Cologne, Germany.

Post: #2

You failed to mention a major draw of Belgium: THE BEER!

Post: #3

Cologne is good, lots of Turks.

Vienna is a great place to party, but like other cities two days is all you need. I recommend it over the others.

But most of all go east man, eastern europe. It is incredibly cheap, an entirely different world, and the women are gorgeous. In some places you will get the novelty treatment, ie in places like Ukraine, outside of Kiev, that are not used to any tourists.

Post: #4

Go to Odessa in Ukraine...awesome city

Post: #5

(04-06-2009 03:54 AM)elguapo Wrote:  Go to Odessa in Ukraine...awesome city

Agreed, but if I had to pick a Ukrainian city it would be Lviv. My favorite city by far in all of Eastern Europe.

Post: #6

(04-06-2009 09:29 PM)College Game Wrote:  

(04-06-2009 03:54 AM)elguapo Wrote:  Go to Odessa in Ukraine...awesome city

Agreed, but if I had to pick a Ukrainian city it would be Lviv. My favorite city by far in all of Eastern Europe.

Went to Odessa outside of the peak season. I did not get what I would consider a "VIP" treatment. Sure you get a little more attention, but nothing special in my experience. Maybe it gets wilder during summer? Or by outside of Kiev, do you mean in small towns?

Most folks on this board seem to be south-america enthusiasts... the prices dont compare to eastern europe! Just note that Ukraine is cheaper than America, but not dirt cheap like Argentina.

Post: #7

Everyone seems to think Argentina is "dirt cheap". I'm down here now and I can say prices aren't THAT cheap. Cheaper than the usa overall, but it's hardly Bolivia or Thailand either. Maybe they were after the financial meltdown, but they have sprung back quite a bit.

Post: #8

hahahaha...all this talk about argentina being cheap.

I think Ukraine should be cheaper than Argentina, no?

Post: #9

(04-09-2009 03:01 PM)elguapo Wrote:  hahahaha...all this talk about argentina being cheap.

I think Ukraine should be cheaper than Argentina, no?

Yeah, Peru and all the dirty south american countries with brick-faced chicks are cheaper.

Post: #10

(04-09-2009 07:00 PM)travelstobang Wrote:  

(04-09-2009 03:01 PM)elguapo Wrote:  hahahaha...all this talk about argentina being cheap.

I think Ukraine should be cheaper than Argentina, no?

Yeah, Peru and all the dirty south american countries with brick-faced chicks are cheaper.

I did the transition : 4 months in Argentina, then straight to eastern europe. My wallet is hurting. I miss 5 pesos wine, gourmet meals at Sudestada and my palermo condo. If you want any type of western comfort in eastern europe (and especially EU members) you will get raped. Groceries are also pricey.

Man, I miss that zeleney or chorney borche and a Lvivski massive beer for 6 hryvnya... Also, Ukrainian girls giggling at you as your slurp away at both... I have to get back to Ukraine.

And if you are thinking cheap travel and economic crisis (Argentina) the Ukrainian economy is in crisis mode right now, so even cheaper travel. As for Odessa, it is alright, not my fave. It is a big time tourist city, if not the biggest one in Eastern Europe.

For me the best travelling is going to those random spots on the map and you have no reason to really go to. These are the best places to meet locals, by far, and they will hook you up with local spots, meals, places to crash, and most of all, they will introduce you to women, usually the town bicycle, so stay strapped up.