Germany/Austria/Poland/Amsterdam
Apr 27th, 2019, 10:55 AM
#21
Apr 27th, 2019, 11:05 AM
#22
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Personal recommendations are useless if you don't already have your own personal preferences mapped out. You want people to type out their personal recommendations for fabulous tours, amazing restaurants, wonderful hotels, etc., and you don't even know what countries you're going to visit?
I'll tell you who is coming off as snotty, and it's not us.
I'll tell you who is coming off as snotty, and it's not us.
Apr 27th, 2019, 11:09 AM
#23
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My POINT was that until the OP makes some basic decisions - any mention of how much time in Cologne is pretty useless.>
garbage - I don't care how much time their trip is, a day at most is enough for Cologne as there are much better places to spend their time. You seem to think that your opinion counts more than others and it doesn't:
otherwise a full day in Cologne would not have much for the average tourist to do.<<
One of the least accurate things I've seen on here>
And to me one of the most accurate - you can voice your opinion without maligning opinions of others - your opinion that they could spend days in Cologne to me is absurd no matter what kind of trip they are one. I led over 1,000 Americans thru Cologne and we were there two days - after the first half day most people stayed in the camp on the Rhine rather than going back to Cologne - these were typical Americans, something you continually are out of touch with. And many others have said the same thing here (about Cologne that is)..
garbage - I don't care how much time their trip is, a day at most is enough for Cologne as there are much better places to spend their time. You seem to think that your opinion counts more than others and it doesn't:
otherwise a full day in Cologne would not have much for the average tourist to do.<<
One of the least accurate things I've seen on here>
And to me one of the most accurate - you can voice your opinion without maligning opinions of others - your opinion that they could spend days in Cologne to me is absurd no matter what kind of trip they are one. I led over 1,000 Americans thru Cologne and we were there two days - after the first half day most people stayed in the camp on the Rhine rather than going back to Cologne - these were typical Americans, something you continually are out of touch with. And many others have said the same thing here (about Cologne that is)..
Apr 27th, 2019, 11:39 AM
#24
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Thank you to those of you who have attempted to be helpful. I very much appreciate it.
I am astounded at the snotty responses from others. First of all - some of us haven't had the good fortune to be able to do the amount of traveling that you have. And so our familiarity with certain things is not the same.
I'm not asking anyone to plan my trip for me. And I'm not an idiot. I am well aware that I can google anything, I can buy and read guide books, I can find out mileage bet places. I can go to websites.
One of the problems is the overwhelming amt of information. There are SO many things i want to do & it's hard to narrow it down.
And every country's website is going to tell you how wonderful things are in that country.
I was hoping for PERSONAL recommendations. The kind of things your friends would tell you when they came home. What they really enjoyed. What was over-hyped. Did they stay in a particularly nice hotel-beautiful spot/rooms/staff. Was there an amazing restaurant? Did they do a fabulous tour, or is there a great site that maybe isn't as famous & you might try instead? Is there a tour or site that was horribly over-priced & not worth it? If you had to choose between one famous site over another - which would you recommend & why? Knowing what you know now, was there something you would have done differently?
No book or website or google search will give you those personal insights. I thought that's what this forum was for. So peo could have friendly discussions w/ others.
I am astounded at the snotty responses from others. First of all - some of us haven't had the good fortune to be able to do the amount of traveling that you have. And so our familiarity with certain things is not the same.
I'm not asking anyone to plan my trip for me. And I'm not an idiot. I am well aware that I can google anything, I can buy and read guide books, I can find out mileage bet places. I can go to websites.
One of the problems is the overwhelming amt of information. There are SO many things i want to do & it's hard to narrow it down.
And every country's website is going to tell you how wonderful things are in that country.
I was hoping for PERSONAL recommendations. The kind of things your friends would tell you when they came home. What they really enjoyed. What was over-hyped. Did they stay in a particularly nice hotel-beautiful spot/rooms/staff. Was there an amazing restaurant? Did they do a fabulous tour, or is there a great site that maybe isn't as famous & you might try instead? Is there a tour or site that was horribly over-priced & not worth it? If you had to choose between one famous site over another - which would you recommend & why? Knowing what you know now, was there something you would have done differently?
No book or website or google search will give you those personal insights. I thought that's what this forum was for. So peo could have friendly discussions w/ others.
You do not have to have traveled extensively but you at least have to have a smidgen of an idea of what YOU want out of YOUR trip. Yes, there is a lot of info out there... hardly an excuse, I'm sorry.
If all of the info out there is too overwhelming and planning is too much for you, maybe hiring a custom tour or travel agent is your best bet. It is their job to get paid to give your their "personal" recommendations. We here are not getting paid! Most people here do not mind helping, but you do have to do some work yourself. It is YOUR trip, right?
If all of the above make me snarky, then I apologize - actually not my intention.
Apr 27th, 2019, 12:39 PM
#26
Pal: You are so fixated on having the last word . . You just don't GET it! My post had NOTHING whatsoever to do with how long one should spend in Cologne, or even IF one should visit the city at all. This gets soooooooo tiring.
Apr 27th, 2019, 12:58 PM
#27
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I was hoping for PERSONAL recommendations. The kind of things your friends would tell you when they came home. What they really enjoyed. What was over-hyped. Did they stay in a particularly nice hotel-beautiful spot/rooms/staff. Was there an amazing restaurant? Did they do a fabulous tour, or is there a great site that maybe isn't as famous & you might try instead? Is there a tour or site that was horribly over-priced & not worth it? If you had to choose between one famous site over another - which would you recommend & why? Knowing what you know now, was there something you would have done differently? ... No book or website or google search will give you those personal insights. I thought that's what this forum was for.
Apr 27th, 2019, 11:08 PM
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There is a lot of things to see in Cologne? Yes but for someone on a quick tour of 4 countries will IME find their time spend better elsewhere to fulfill their dreams of a romantic Europe - the sights there are besides the cathedral are of marginal interest to many - I spent 40 days in Cologne and as an avid runner I ran all over the city - yes many old churches and a neat Turkish area and a noted art museum next to cathedral. A nice city but one not as nice to yes the average first-time tourist with a lot on their plate.
Apr 28th, 2019, 08:05 AM
#30
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I was last in Koln 10 years ago and I don't care what has improved in a decade Cologne does not rate IMO more than a day - there being so many better places to spend precious time. Locals out of touch with what average first-time American is looking for - now tell me what in ten years has made the city any more better? Again, it's a nice city but not the old-world romance many are looking for.
Apr 28th, 2019, 08:10 AM
#31
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<<Locals out of touch with what average first-time American is looking for...>>
The LOCALS are out of touch??? Give me a break! You're by far the most out-of-touch "contributor" to this board, pal.
The LOCALS are out of touch??? Give me a break! You're by far the most out-of-touch "contributor" to this board, pal.
Last edited by StCirq; Apr 28th, 2019 at 08:14 AM.
Apr 28th, 2019, 10:09 AM
#33
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Pal, stop trying to trip me up, you dunce. Unlike you, I don't pretend to have all the answers to European travel questions, especially when I haven't visited a place for at least a year or two. YOU haven't been for a decade or more, so best to zip the lip. I will leave questions regarding Cologne to Menachem and others who know what they are talking about, NOT to you, who operate in some sort of time-travel warp.
Apr 28th, 2019, 01:32 PM
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The reason why menachem and PalQ judge Cologne not *exactly* the same could be that it's just next door to the Netherlands and Belgium.
So the city does get a good chunk of visitors from both neighbors - and, of course, if you just drive 2 hours to get somewhere you may judge it differentely than someone who travelled have way around the globe to visit Europe for the first time.
Aside from geographical proximity, the rest between the Dutch border and Cologne is even worse. After you've been driving down from Nijemegen or Arnhem for a good hour through the Western edge of the Rhine-Ruhr metroplex - which is as thrilling as the San Bernadino valley minus the palm trees and sunshine - Cologne is the first sign of civilization, sort of.
95% of all Germans will associate exactly three things with Cologne:
1. A massive cathedral right next to the main train station,
2. a lively pub scene, and
3. the most ghastly rebuilt "Old Town" city center you find in all of Germany.
The remaining 5% will also mention:
4. the museums.
You need an afternoon and night to explore items #1, #2 and #3, and another day for item #4.
If you're not into weak beer that tastes like Bud Light after you diluted it with the same amout of water, and if you're not into museums, you can do Cologne during a 60 minute stopover while changing trains - to visit the cathedral.
But if your next stop is Stuttgart, it will make you wish you spent a week in Cologne. But that's another story...
So the city does get a good chunk of visitors from both neighbors - and, of course, if you just drive 2 hours to get somewhere you may judge it differentely than someone who travelled have way around the globe to visit Europe for the first time.
Aside from geographical proximity, the rest between the Dutch border and Cologne is even worse. After you've been driving down from Nijemegen or Arnhem for a good hour through the Western edge of the Rhine-Ruhr metroplex - which is as thrilling as the San Bernadino valley minus the palm trees and sunshine - Cologne is the first sign of civilization, sort of.
95% of all Germans will associate exactly three things with Cologne:
1. A massive cathedral right next to the main train station,
2. a lively pub scene, and
3. the most ghastly rebuilt "Old Town" city center you find in all of Germany.
The remaining 5% will also mention:
4. the museums.
You need an afternoon and night to explore items #1, #2 and #3, and another day for item #4.
If you're not into weak beer that tastes like Bud Light after you diluted it with the same amout of water, and if you're not into museums, you can do Cologne during a 60 minute stopover while changing trains - to visit the cathedral.
But if your next stop is Stuttgart, it will make you wish you spent a week in Cologne. But that's another story...
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