Cities you've visited that were unexpectedly great
May 31st, 2022, 07:18 AM
#61
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Starting from a plan that's already laid out is a perfectly fine way to go, good idea.
!
Jun 8th, 2022, 12:45 AM
#64
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Cleveland. We've been three or four times now. It's an easy drive from Toronto. It has a beautiful and lively downtown core, a good baseball stadium, great restaurants (including a charming Mexican restaurant off the beaten track where I saw my first fireflies ever!), a wonderful art gallery and of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Oh, and a tremendous market.
Bordeaux was quite a surprise, it looks like a small Paris, very beautiful
Jun 13th, 2022, 09:26 AM
#68
Jun 13th, 2022, 09:45 AM
#69
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Tokyo
Our daughter was stationed outside of Tokyo and we went to see her and her husband. we were overwhelmed with the sights, the safety, the cleanliness and the accommodating people throughout the country.
Jun 20th, 2022, 05:27 PM
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Yangon was another city I was not expecting to enjoy as much as we did. So much to see and such a variety of different things, Felt safe everywhere and love the culture. Would gladly return, in days when things are better.
Jun 21st, 2022, 03:39 AM
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Yes, sorry CDMX= Ciudad de Mexico. It really was great and the areas we were walking around in were probably one of the cleanest city areas I have ever been to.
Jul 24th, 2022, 10:33 AM
#75
Good call, TD. I agree. We fell in love with Pisa on our first visit which was at the end of a long tour finishing at Pisa Airport. One of the unexpected joys was our stay in the wonderful Hotel Royal Victoria on the banks of the Arno where our bathroom was bigger than our bedroom at home. On our second visit years later with our kids our only disappointment was that we were crammed into a large room that had been divided into two - the faded splendour of our previous room had disappeared though the public rooms were still impressive.
Dec 10th, 2023, 02:58 PM
#76
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Paris - I know, I know. It's as worn out as a jazz standard in terms of popularity. Most people are grumpy but not as rude as those in Munich I'd say. And the architecture *is* amazing. It really has a joint de vivre and artistic vibe. I felt/saw it even as my plane was landing.
Prague - unlike Vienna it totally lived to its hype in terms of beauty. I just expected it to be overrated but it matched Paris for me.
Salzburg - again higly rated by most people. But such a good vibe. And a surprise as it doesn't look as flashy as German cities on photos (German cities like Augsburg tend to have more vivid wall colors on buildimgs. Salzburg buildings have a soft, pastel palette which looks good in real life but doesn't photograph well IMO). In fact in real life I liked Salzburg far more although Augsburg has lots of architectural beaty, too. It was the highlight of my (not so) Bavarian/German trip. Loved it so much I felt sorry for staying in Bavaria.
But the most unexpected were some underrated ones:
Thankfully not of Germany was meh or disappointing. Ulm and even Neu-Ulm were very fine. Ulm is amazing with its huge tower, the old town and the Danube. Neu-Ulm is like a piece of DDR-like commie architecture (Modernism) right in the ex Western Germany. Except the Modernism there is some of the best I've seen anywhere, much better tha the styles of DDR. It just works and compliments the more traditional and classical Ulm which is right across the Danube from N-U. Such a quirky combo of cities and in two separate German provinces to boot!
Mikulov, Znojmo, Klatovy, Marianske Lazne, Karlovy Vary, Domažlice, and Stribro and many more in The Czech Republic - just amazing architecture. Karlovy Vary looks more like what I imagined Monte Carlo must look like sans the sea of course!
Prague - unlike Vienna it totally lived to its hype in terms of beauty. I just expected it to be overrated but it matched Paris for me.
Salzburg - again higly rated by most people. But such a good vibe. And a surprise as it doesn't look as flashy as German cities on photos (German cities like Augsburg tend to have more vivid wall colors on buildimgs. Salzburg buildings have a soft, pastel palette which looks good in real life but doesn't photograph well IMO). In fact in real life I liked Salzburg far more although Augsburg has lots of architectural beaty, too. It was the highlight of my (not so) Bavarian/German trip. Loved it so much I felt sorry for staying in Bavaria.
But the most unexpected were some underrated ones:
Thankfully not of Germany was meh or disappointing. Ulm and even Neu-Ulm were very fine. Ulm is amazing with its huge tower, the old town and the Danube. Neu-Ulm is like a piece of DDR-like commie architecture (Modernism) right in the ex Western Germany. Except the Modernism there is some of the best I've seen anywhere, much better tha the styles of DDR. It just works and compliments the more traditional and classical Ulm which is right across the Danube from N-U. Such a quirky combo of cities and in two separate German provinces to boot!
Mikulov, Znojmo, Klatovy, Marianske Lazne, Karlovy Vary, Domažlice, and Stribro and many more in The Czech Republic - just amazing architecture. Karlovy Vary looks more like what I imagined Monte Carlo must look like sans the sea of course!
Last edited by tanek; Dec 10th, 2023 at 03:11 PM.
Dec 13th, 2023, 11:46 AM
#77
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Oooo, ooo, I'll play. 
Milwaukee, WI - lived there for a few years downtown and loved it. Everything was there and it was all so close. Even the winters were charming even under a foot of snow. Watching the sun rise on lake Michigan in the winter and the clouds of water vapor rise like angels from the Earth--breaktaking! Very fun town too with so many laid back and just generally nice people--in fact, the nicest I've met in any city in which we've lived (and we've moved 5 times in the last decade). Oh and that lake--when the snow melted (we moved there in November), we discovered there's a beach there! A huge beach! Beach volleyball is such a big thing there that some of the Olympics trials were there one of the years we lived there. And on a weekday, you literally can park your car and be 5 feet away from walking onto the beach. I still remember one day when the Internet was out and I couldn't work, I went and flew a kite at the beach!
Paris, France - met me now wife here for the first time when she was studying. What got me is how much of the city is art, even at night. My first experience with Paris was meeting some friends of hers in front of the Notre Dame and everything was lit so beautifully--definitely impressed me. We've not been back yet more than just a stopover or a short trip, but I definitely want to spend a week or more there.
London, England - I was very young when I first experienced this city. I was only in 3rd grade. My grand uncle lived there with his family in Palmers Green (I can't believe I still remember this!), and every single day he took me out walking in the city--and I was there for a month! By the time my brother and I returned for my grand uncle's son's wedding, we packed our skareboards and got some bus/tube passes and just went everywhere. I even picked up my dad's cousin from Chicago at LHR and brought him home by myself! It's one of the only towns in the world where I really feel at home. I don't know if that's changed now though as I haven't been back in several decades--hope it hasn't.
Toronto, Canada - Even in winter, the people are warm and friendly. I was able to be my normal friendly and empathetic self rather than put up a facade like I have to in the US. And the food is surprisingly amazing--even just staples from the grocery store--so much more nutritious and made better (I always read food labels). My sister in law lives there now so I get to go back to this city regularly.
I know I'm missing like 4-5 more that I've either stopped on a road trip or just had a stopover...ah yes! I remembered one!
Dublin, Ireland - We had a missed connection when going to my father-in-law's funeral in India, and everyone at the airport was so kind that we both said we have to come back some day. Since then, I've become a big fan of the movie Sing Street and the musician Mark McKenna as well as the musical scene there so I want to check out Whelan's and just see all the other talent at the various pubs. And as life sometimes brings things to you, my wife's current job has her working closely with a site in Dublin which she will need to visit next year. You know who will be tagging along on that work trip! --> This guy! <---
I know there's still a few more, but I'll have to let it marinate as I've never sat down and thought about all the places I mentally said 'I'll need to come back here someday'.
Navarre, Florida - I don't really get all the negative stuff against Florida (Texas for that matter)--US states have a very diverse population and are sometimes larger than whole countries. Plus, there are people with agendas who are trying to manipulate public opinion, so get off that social media site and just take a look for yourself. And what you will find here in Navarre is a small town with this perfectly white sand beach that stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions and on a weekday you will be lucky to see 50 people here. The water is soft and warm and you can walk out into the ocean 300 ft and it's still only waist deep. I've loved the short 15 minute x2 times I've been here, and I need to go back.
Okay, more as I remember...
Remembered more.
Tahiti - This was just for a day or so since flights to Bora Bora don't run where you can fly into Tahiti and then just connect and go. And I'm glad because whatever this place my wife and her friend booked had a private black sand beach that was soft as carpet. I still remember walking around on it at 6am and I was the only person there. I met some crabs who where doing their daily work. Later in the day, I was walking in crystal clear water over an area that had sea plants that was in the ocean and it was only waist deep. I flew a kite there too now that I remember it, lol. The Poisson Cru there was the best--even better than Bora Bora--as the people at this hotel/motel/resort were more local and less hospitality professionals. Would love to go back.
Milwaukee, WI - lived there for a few years downtown and loved it. Everything was there and it was all so close. Even the winters were charming even under a foot of snow. Watching the sun rise on lake Michigan in the winter and the clouds of water vapor rise like angels from the Earth--breaktaking! Very fun town too with so many laid back and just generally nice people--in fact, the nicest I've met in any city in which we've lived (and we've moved 5 times in the last decade). Oh and that lake--when the snow melted (we moved there in November), we discovered there's a beach there! A huge beach! Beach volleyball is such a big thing there that some of the Olympics trials were there one of the years we lived there. And on a weekday, you literally can park your car and be 5 feet away from walking onto the beach. I still remember one day when the Internet was out and I couldn't work, I went and flew a kite at the beach!
Paris, France - met me now wife here for the first time when she was studying. What got me is how much of the city is art, even at night. My first experience with Paris was meeting some friends of hers in front of the Notre Dame and everything was lit so beautifully--definitely impressed me. We've not been back yet more than just a stopover or a short trip, but I definitely want to spend a week or more there.
London, England - I was very young when I first experienced this city. I was only in 3rd grade. My grand uncle lived there with his family in Palmers Green (I can't believe I still remember this!), and every single day he took me out walking in the city--and I was there for a month! By the time my brother and I returned for my grand uncle's son's wedding, we packed our skareboards and got some bus/tube passes and just went everywhere. I even picked up my dad's cousin from Chicago at LHR and brought him home by myself! It's one of the only towns in the world where I really feel at home. I don't know if that's changed now though as I haven't been back in several decades--hope it hasn't.
Toronto, Canada - Even in winter, the people are warm and friendly. I was able to be my normal friendly and empathetic self rather than put up a facade like I have to in the US. And the food is surprisingly amazing--even just staples from the grocery store--so much more nutritious and made better (I always read food labels). My sister in law lives there now so I get to go back to this city regularly.
I know I'm missing like 4-5 more that I've either stopped on a road trip or just had a stopover...ah yes! I remembered one!
Dublin, Ireland - We had a missed connection when going to my father-in-law's funeral in India, and everyone at the airport was so kind that we both said we have to come back some day. Since then, I've become a big fan of the movie Sing Street and the musician Mark McKenna as well as the musical scene there so I want to check out Whelan's and just see all the other talent at the various pubs. And as life sometimes brings things to you, my wife's current job has her working closely with a site in Dublin which she will need to visit next year. You know who will be tagging along on that work trip! --> This guy! <---
I know there's still a few more, but I'll have to let it marinate as I've never sat down and thought about all the places I mentally said 'I'll need to come back here someday'.
Navarre, Florida - I don't really get all the negative stuff against Florida (Texas for that matter)--US states have a very diverse population and are sometimes larger than whole countries. Plus, there are people with agendas who are trying to manipulate public opinion, so get off that social media site and just take a look for yourself. And what you will find here in Navarre is a small town with this perfectly white sand beach that stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions and on a weekday you will be lucky to see 50 people here. The water is soft and warm and you can walk out into the ocean 300 ft and it's still only waist deep. I've loved the short 15 minute x2 times I've been here, and I need to go back.
Okay, more as I remember...
Remembered more.
Tahiti - This was just for a day or so since flights to Bora Bora don't run where you can fly into Tahiti and then just connect and go. And I'm glad because whatever this place my wife and her friend booked had a private black sand beach that was soft as carpet. I still remember walking around on it at 6am and I was the only person there. I met some crabs who where doing their daily work. Later in the day, I was walking in crystal clear water over an area that had sea plants that was in the ocean and it was only waist deep. I flew a kite there too now that I remember it, lol. The Poisson Cru there was the best--even better than Bora Bora--as the people at this hotel/motel/resort were more local and less hospitality professionals. Would love to go back.
Last edited by SamirD; Dec 13th, 2023 at 11:53 AM. Reason: remembered more!
Dec 15th, 2023, 02:43 AM
#78
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Also from the cities I used to live in:
Prague - really fantastically beautiful. Everyone must visit at least once, preferable more than once. But for living I'd say I'd prefer Bratislava.
Bratislava - yeah, not much to see but it's a hi-tech looking city. For such a small city it has so many supertall buildings and bridges. Feels far more like a river city than Vienna. Also, it's very close for trips to two disticntly different cultures like Austria and Hungary. Too bad the hen and stag parties have upped the prices. 5 EUR hostel stays are no longer available, now what costed 5 costs 30 EUR or more! Better as a day trip as the hotel expenses have gone way up.
Prague - really fantastically beautiful. Everyone must visit at least once, preferable more than once. But for living I'd say I'd prefer Bratislava.
Bratislava - yeah, not much to see but it's a hi-tech looking city. For such a small city it has so many supertall buildings and bridges. Feels far more like a river city than Vienna. Also, it's very close for trips to two disticntly different cultures like Austria and Hungary. Too bad the hen and stag parties have upped the prices. 5 EUR hostel stays are no longer available, now what costed 5 costs 30 EUR or more! Better as a day trip as the hotel expenses have gone way up.
