NIls

I have travelled all over the world and I have never experienced to find a dull place. Every place has its charm in my opinion. <BR>

amy

The one place I was disappointed in was Mont St.Michel....not because it wasn't an incredible structure-in fact, driving up on it was worthy of a "Wow" upon first sight. What threw me off were all of the little trinket stores(which sold,among other treasures,Eiffel Tour "cologne"!) and refreshment stands that lined the path up to the structure. OK, so this was back in 1991, and perhaps things have changed (I could only hope...), but I just felt the whole ambiance was ruined by the triviality and tackiness of these establishments.This is, of course, only my opinion! <BR>

A. Bogner

Message: Yes Arizona- you are right- this is going to cause an uproar. <BR>First of all your observation that the Kudamm looks totally unfinished is smashing....what do you think a city looks like after it was bombed into bits and pieces- like Rothenburg ob der Tauber in the XXL- version? <BR>Secondly- major cities like Berlin usually have littering problems - and I am really sorry, but if you take a look around the streets of Paris , New York and Chicago you will exactly find the same amount of rubbish.(The Germans themselves are proud of living in a clean environment as it can be found in the rest of the country) <BR>Thirdly - fantastic that America does not have any problems with kids hanging out in the streets. And of course, this should not be forgotten, there are no drugs problems in America either. <BR>Last but not least- the next time you go somewhere, you should read a travel guide before your departure. If you had done this before you went to Berlin, you would have found out that it is not the Kudamm, which is Berlin`s traditional premier shopping avenue. The original shopping avenue is called Friedrichstrasse and is located in the former east part of the town. <BR>As you might have noticed as well there are a lot of building sites and new buildings which try to give Berlin a new face. In consideration of this everything looks still unfinished and 'in progress'. I think it is a fantastic sign to see such a historical place as Berlin growing together again after having been separated for so many years. Anyway, you probably have to be German to appreciate the atmosphere of a reunited Berlin and to consider its history and its new situation in an appropriate way. If you are able to use this 'pair of glasses' to see Berlin, you will find out that it is not about tacky shops or comparisons with other cities what makes Berlin special and that there is much more about it than your superficial view of the Kudamm.

Becky

This forum began with the word disappointment! And on to the full war of discussion...which is what I love about the forum. Hype..overrated...lots of things are. Everything isn't for everyone...and we are free to discuss it. Cliches, yes. I was disappointed in Pisa, not sorry I saw the leaning tower, but wouldn't go back. Whoever mentioned the Bargello is right...also the Museo del Duomo is wonderful and never a line. Also two cents on Mona...and I minored in art history...love Leonardo, but I probably wouldn't get up early for her either. Haven't seen this much discussion since the lady ask about first class hotels in Paris and was blasted left, right and center because she wasn't interested in the real "essence" of Paris.Love it! <BR>

Richard

Put this in the "disappointment" category, Monet's Water Lilies in the Orangery. Fresh from an exhibit of Monet at the Kimbell in Fort Worth this was nothing like the work we saw there. <BR>

Angela

WOW - great discussion. I do believe that many of you made a great point: I like the words isappointed" and "over hyped". I've certainly been disappointed and especially saddend by the commercialization of certain sites. Thank you for your reactions and comments!!! <BR>

Kay

I've loved this whole set of postings, but especially wonderful was when someone suggested that Arizona should "get a guide book next time" and he couldn't possibly understand Germany, etc. etc. Since I know from his postings that Arizona may well have traveled more often to more places the most of us put together, I really got a charge out of that! <BR> <BR>And as long as I am writing, I guess I have to vote along with Arizona to say that the Ku'damm was indeed -- well, how best to put this -- not quite what I had expected. BUT IMHO the KaDaWe department store deserves even more hype than it gets for being Europe's biggest and perhaps best department store. Take that, Harrod's. Ok you guys, let's hear it in Harrod's defence! <BR>

Don Stadler

Kam makes a good point, that noplace in Europe is truly boring if you seek out the interesting parts. <BR> <BR>When I worked in the Netherlands, friends and I visited a small city in the middle of Zeeland (the low-lyin areas in the southwest of Holland). This was a perfectly normal town which draws few tourists. It was perfectly wonderful! Picturesque, and it had a great market going, nice churches. If it was in the US it would be world-famous! But in Europe it was nothing special, a bit ho-hum. Theare are hundreds of place like this!

Martha

Don is so right. Every country in Europe seems to have these little gems, which would be huge tourist draws in the US. I can think of dozens of unsung places even in France, which has more foreign tourists than any other country in the world. Charming, picturesque, relaxed. And best of all, the local people are usually delighted to meet a real American!

Neal Sanders

While the above may be true, there are nevertheless places that, when you get there, it ain't what the guidebook said it was. Herewith some personally disappointing places in Europe: <BR> <BR>1) La Defense: Why do guidebooks recommend this as a "must see" sight for "bold modernism"? Thirty years ago, the Parisian government wisely pushed office development out of the city center. The result was La Defense, the corporate "downtown" of Paris. It contains some of the most startlingly unattractive buildings ever designed, including one intended to "interpret" the Arc de Triomphe. America has its share of bad architecture, but I have never seen such a concentration of awful stuff as here. <BR> <BR>2) Horrible architecture runner up: the Amsterdam Hilton. If you are of an age to remember John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "bed in," then you may have made a pilgrimage to see where it happened. The Amsterdam Hilton is a mid-60s concrete monstrosity set in a drab part of the "New City." When it sinks into the Dutch soil, it will not be missed. <BR> <BR>3) The National Portrait Gallery, London. Gallery after gallery of politicians, noblemen and noblewomen from the past. Out of the thousand of portraits on display, there are perhaps three or four that inspire. <BR> <BR>4) "The Last Supper" fresco at Milan's Santa Maria delle Grazie church. It is heartbreaking to see Leonardo's masterpiece on life support. Three centuries of abuse have made this once-beautiful fresco a muddied mess. In this case, at least, the guidebooks warn you that it is "somewhat faded." <BR> <BR>

Peter

It seems that Pisa is getting a battering, so I'll stand up for her. Pisa is an attraction to those interested in art and sciences. Or so I am told. Myself, I agree with the others. A couple of hours around the tower and basillica is enough. <BR> Antoher place is the former West Berlin. It is so boring. I think that it was so damaged in WWII that nearly everything was rebuilt. It is just the same as any modern city.

Patricia

Eek! The National Portrait Gallery in London boring??? I loved it--putting faces on all the people I've read about. After almost 30 years, I can still remember the thrill of seeing Richard III, Charles II and the Brontes. <BR> <BR>Cannes was not exactly what I expected (could have been Cancun, almost), but swimming in the Med and the moules made up for it. And, the catacombs in Paris were longer than my interest in them. However, I think if my French were better, the inscriptions would made the trek more interesting for me. <BR>

Karen

Since couples traveling together can't always agree on their assessment of locations, I am surprised that there is not more disparity in the opinions voiced on this thread.The dullest place for me was on a cruise ship in the middle of the North sea..B O R I N G!In Pisa, after seeing the tower,we found a little pizzeria(away from the tacky tourist area)had a great pizza and were chased half a block by our waiter who thought the tip we had left him was change we had forgotten and tried to return it..so even Pisa was fun. <BR>

Doug

How about looking for the Leaning Tower of Pisa from the train - "There! That's it! - no. That's the Straight Up and Down Tower of Pisa." "Look! There! That's it!-- No, that's the Leaning Apartment of Pisa." <BR> <BR>How about all the fake Davids and copies of copies in Florence? "Dees-a statue, she used-to-be a real Michaelangelo but we move-a him in 1840." <BR> <BR>If you go to any Italian hill town in the morning it will disappoint you. San Gimignano at 10 AM is like the oyster bar at Grand Central Station. You can't even see over the heads of the tourists. They can't fit in the walled gates! But go there at 5 PM and it's a miracle of the Renaissance. Same for Siena. And for that matter the same for crowded, groaning Florence. <BR> <BR>In Florence wait for the rain. All the pensioners stay in the hotel. Then go see the Bapistry ceiling and David at the Accademia and the Gozzoli frescoes at the Medici Palace. If you try see these miracles at noon you'll hate them. No, you won't hate David. Nobody could hate David, anytime. <BR> <BR>The Louvre? I loved it, even though a tourist straining to see the Mona Lisa popped me in BOTH eyes with TWO flashbulb cameras when I turned around. How could she confuse ME for the Mona Lisa? But to tell you the truth I loved the Mona Lisa. I think she is beautiful. It's not her fault they have yards and yards of signs posted to lead all the tourist hoards to her. <BR> <BR>The Notre Dame catacomb tour (Zzzzzz). But Notre Dame at night from the Seine Riverboat tour is a miracle. Same with Isle de San Louis. During the day it's just more boutiques. But at night it's glorious. <BR> <BR>The Champs Elysees. I already know about freeways full of cars. But when you study it's history you appreciate what this has meant to the French. Without that knowledge it's just another wide road. <BR> <BR>It's always how you look at it. What you put in you get out, ususally.

Joanne

I'll describe the dullest place, and see if you can guess where it is: It has big parking lots, lots of people and the following stores: Home Depot, Toys'R'Us, Circuit City, Eddie Bauer, Caribou Coffee (or Starbucks), Applebee's Restaurant, and others. Where is it? Everywhere in the US! Hasn't anyone else noticed that the US is becoming one giant homogenous superstore shopping area? The overdevelopment is ruining us, and I often wonder what Europeans see in our country other than the natural beauty where it is not yet developed. I have a hard time saying I'm disappointed in the Mona Lisa or Pisa or Athens or Istanbul. Luckily, the old stuff takes up all the room, and they can't junk up their countries like we do. I live in a city which boasts of the country's biggest indoor mall. Wow. We travel whenever we can just to see something unique, and that I never find dull.

Scott Forman

We had a great time in Pisa. The basilica and tower hold so much interesting detail. We purchased an unlimited pass to explore the associated museums. We drove to the ocean and had a fantastic dinner at a seafood restaurant. We visited Normal Univeristy, which is world-renowned for attracting top scholars in mathematics and physics. We met a local couple and had a fun time.

Rod Hoots

Sometimes it's all in the circumstances. The first time I saw the Mona Lisa was in April 1947 as an 18 year old soldier. You could walk right up to the painting, no protective glass, and stand and look at it as long as you chose. In those conditions, being able to see the detail and subtle use of colors, you could gain an appreciation of why the painting is such a great masterpiece. It was a wonderful experience. The last time I saw it was in the circumstances described above - it was a dull experience. <BR>

Frank

How about the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen? <BR>How about Stavanger, Norway? I lived there for 3 years and went stir crazy. <BR>How about Aberdeen, Scotland and all the gray stone buildings? <BR>

Mike

How about the Aran Islands? I know people rave about them, but it was beyond my wife and I. You end up wasting an entire day to see a barren Island, with a reconstructed ring fort that people spend perhaps 25 minutes at. Basically, a tourist trap. The miserable thing is that you're trapped on the island for almost the entire day, while the beautiful Burren and Connemora regions of Ireland are so close! <BR> <BR>Mike <BR>

Tony Hughes

<BR>&lt;gulp&gt; here goes . . . <BR>What people have to realise is that Europe isn't Disneyland. It's not a place primarily constructed for peoples enjoyment. It's a continent - where people live which also happens to have a lot of history. I am of the opinion that Americans see Europe differently to Europeans ( quite understandably ) but this view can somewhat cloud the reality of things. To say everywhere has its charm is a little far-fetched. I can recall standing in a dank,dark, industrial town in Germany called Stolberg in a sour mood thinking 'One day this will be 20 years ago' . There was nothing at all picturesque about this place in my opinion although you may have though differently. It's all about opinions.