140 replies to this topic

[mweb08]

Just got back from our trip to South Africa and all I can say is that the place is amazing. We're definitely going back the next chance we get and I highly suggest visiting if you have the chance. We did a little of everything while there. We spent our first two nights in the wine country an hour outside of Cape Town near Franschhoek. The wine there is amazing. I've never been to Napa or Sonoma, but my wife has and she says it is similar, but with more of an ability to move around and go from winery to winery. We spent our next three nights in a boutique hotel in Cape Town. We toured the city, hiked Table Mountain, and ate amazing food. Our next stop was three nights at a private game reserve next to Kruger National Park where we did five game drives and saw numerous animals, including the "Big 5". Finally, we traveled to Livingstone, Zambia for our final two nights to visit Victoria Falls. We stayed at a safari lodge with open air cottages, walked with lions, and toured the falls. All in all, it was a great trip and we were sad to come home. If it wasn't for malaria medication, it would have been perfect.

I'm very jealous! Sounds amazing! How was the walking with lions experience?

I assume you didn't go into the devil's pool?

What, no cage diving with the great whites?

[CrimsonTribe]

I'm very jealous! Sounds amazing! How was the walking with lions experience?

I assume you didn't go into the devil's pool?

What, no cage diving with the great whites?

Walking with lions was awesome. They were young and used to humans and had just been fed so they were sleepy and docile. Basically just big cats at that point. We got a stick to distract them with like a toy if they started to eye us funny and there were trained handlers for our safety the whole time. It was really cool, but you wouldn't know it from the pictures of me. There's a serious look of terror on my face.

Diving with the great whites didn't work out because of the weather while we were in Cape Town. It is notoriously fickle. We also did not do the devil's pool, it was booked up when we got there. Not that I would have done it if I had the chance. Heights are not my thing.

[Oriole85]

I'm going overseas in a few weeks with the family. One of my siblings is finishing up study abroad and the other is in the middle of his Peace Corps service.

 

Here's the plan:

3 days: Copenhagen
3 days: Prague
2 days: Cesky Krumlov (small town in Czech countryside)
3 days: Budapest

 

I'm very unfamiliar with this part of the world, but always look forward to traveling. If anyone has been to any of these places, feel free to reach out. Any recommendations, particularly when it comes to food would be greatly appreciated.

[SportsGuy]

Moorea and Bora Bora were pretty awesome.

The snorkeling was amazing.

Being able to swim with sharks and sting rays was the highlight and one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my life.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Going to Minnesota and Chicago over July 4 weekend.

[Oriole85]

Going to Minnesota and Chicago over July 4 weekend.

Never seen anything "outside" in Minnesota(only been to the airport). You getting to Target Field?, that's on my to-do ballpark list, I just don't have much of an excuse to get there otherwise though.

 

I've been to Chicago a few times, really enjoyed it.

[SammyBirdland]

Going to Minnesota and Chicago over July 4 weekend.

 

Minnesota is my people!   My wife's family is from there.  Some are in the cities, the rest are way up north (almost Canada) in the country.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Never seen anything "outside" in Minnesota(only been to the airport). You getting to Target Field?, that's on my to-do ballpark list, I just don't have much of an excuse to get there otherwise though.

 

I've been to Chicago a few times, really enjoyed it.

Yea, once I do this trip I'll have exactly two ballparks left on my list (Miami and Seattle).  Seattle I'm hoping I can do next summer (head there in July when it's oppressively hot here) and Miami I can really do whenever, I just have to plan it.

[JeremyStrain]

Yea, once I do this trip I'll have exactly two ballparks left on my list (Miami and Seattle).  Seattle I'm hoping I can do next summer (head there in July when it's oppressively hot here) and Miami I can really do whenever, I just have to plan it.

 

Man, you are making me feel bad. I've got like 4-5 teams left to see in person in my life, but they are almost all here in this area, I don't know if I've been to more than 5 ML ballparks.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Man, you are making me feel bad. I've got like 4-5 teams left to see in person in my life, but they are almost all here in this area, I don't know if I've been to more than 5 ML ballparks.

 

If you bunch them together, and turn them into roadtrips with your buddies, it's not that bad.  For instance, two summers ago I did St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas and Houston and last summer Los Angeles and San Diego.

[JeremyStrain]

If you bunch them together, and turn them into roadtrips with your buddies, it's not that bad.  For instance, two summers ago I did St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas and Houston and last summer Los Angeles and San Diego.

 

Yeah definitely gave some thought to it, and I had started taking baby steps a couple years ago, but then we had kids...put quite a damper on that idea.

 

If I can at least see every ML team in person that's a good start. I think I only have LAD, MIA, and maybe 1 or 2 more left.

[Oriole85]

Yea, once I do this trip I'll have exactly two ballparks left on my list (Miami and Seattle).  Seattle I'm hoping I can do next summer (head there in July when it's oppressively hot here) and Miami I can really do whenever, I just have to plan it.

Nice... you should drive from Seattle to Miami or vice versa to complete it!

[Oriole85]

Man, you are making me feel bad. I've got like 4-5 teams left to see in person in my life, but they are almost all here in this area, I don't know if I've been to more than 5 ML ballparks.

Good thing about having both NL/AL teams within easy driving distance is you can always see a team you are interested in.

[Oriole85]

If you bunch them together, and turn them into roadtrips with your buddies, it's not that bad.  For instance, two summers ago I did St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas and Houston and last summer Los Angeles and San Diego.

Two summers ago when my brother graduated my college, I went on a road trip with him and my dad from Arizona back here, stopped overnight in Albuquerque, Denver, Lincoln NE, Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. We went to Coors, US Cell(too bad they Cubs weren't at home), Progressive, and PNC. We got really lucky aside from not seeing Wrigley (and that wasn't a complete loss since I saw the White Sox ballpark) because all the teams happened to be home as we were visiting.That was in less than a week, you could really knock off more if you wanted to double the time.

[JeremyStrain]

Good thing about having both NL/AL teams within easy driving distance is you can always see a team you are interested in.

 

Exactly! I really started mowing through my list when the Nats came to town, I've seen about 7-8 new NL teams there.

[mweb08]

It's not totally a travel destination for me since I lived there for 12 years, but SoCal is great. Tremendous scenery (both landscape and women), lots of good food, plenty to do, fantastic beer, and just about perfect weather. I had a good time seeing friends, going to a couple O's games, going to some breweries, and eating some good food.

[NewMarketSean]

Going to Edinburgh & London in a few weeks. My wife is going for work so I'm tagging along and we're taking a week before she'll be in training classes.

[ChrisWorthington]

I'm going overseas in a few weeks with the family. One of my siblings is finishing up study abroad and the other is in the middle of his Peace Corps service.

 

Here's the plan:

3 days: Copenhagen
3 days: Prague
2 days: Cesky Krumlov (small town in Czech countryside)
3 days: Budapest

 

I'm very unfamiliar with this part of the world, but always look forward to traveling. If anyone has been to any of these places, feel free to reach out. Any recommendations, particularly when it comes to food would be greatly appreciated.

I studied abroad in Budapest for four months in 2007. I also made it to Prague while I was there. First of all, you're going to have an amazing time. Prague is beautiful and Budapest is an unbelievable hidden gem. Secondly, if you have any questions, feel free to email me. I can definitely answer all your questions about Hungary and at least try for Prague.

[NewMarketSean]

I'm going overseas in a few weeks with the family. One of my siblings is finishing up study abroad and the other is in the middle of his Peace Corps service.

 

Here's the plan:

3 days: Copenhagen
3 days: Prague
2 days: Cesky Krumlov (small town in Czech countryside)
3 days: Budapest

 

I'm very unfamiliar with this part of the world, but always look forward to traveling. If anyone has been to any of these places, feel free to reach out. Any recommendations, particularly when it comes to food would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Sounds like an awesome trip. I'd love to visit Copenhagen some time.

 

I went to Prague and Budapest in 2009. I can't say enough about both cities. If you have time to squeeze it in, since it's between Prague and Budapest, Vienna is also a great city to visit too.

 

Since Czech and Hungary aren't on the Euro (at least not that I know of) things aren't that expensive, unlike Vienna.

 

In Prague, visit the beer halls. Each one serves one brewery's beer. U Fleku is probably the most popular but I've read it's a tourist trap. I went to U Medvidku when I was in Prague, and they serve Budvar (Budweiser over there). It's a stripped down place, not fancy at all. Anthony Bourdain went there too. Apparently the pork is supposed to be great. Jama Pub is a cool bar, owned by an American...I watched a Ravens game there, which was kind of surreal. Great burgers. Just explore the city, wander around, it's probably the best preserved city in Europe since it was spared bombing during WWII.

 

In Budapest, visit the baths. We went to this one:

 

http://www.szechenyibath.com/

 

Also, I don't know if they're still open, it looks like they're closed on-line, but there are labyrinths under the Buda castle. We went at night and they give you candle-lit lanterns to explore down there, without any light at all, and without a guide. It was an awesome experience. Definitely ask around to see if it's open because you don't want to miss it.

 

http://en.wikipedia...._of_Buda_Castle

 

Ride the millennium line of the Budapest metro. It's the oldest metro line in continental Europe. Explore. Drink Hungarian wine...bull's blood. 

 

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Egri_Bikavér

 

I ate at Menza, a posh restaurant that because of the exchange rate only cost my wife and I $60 USD for a meal that would have cost us $150 or more here in the states.

 

http://www.menzaetterem.hu/

 

Enjoy.

[Oriole85]

Sounds like an awesome trip. I'd love to visit Copenhagen some time.

 

I went to Prague and Budapest in 2009. I can't say enough about both cities. If you have time to squeeze it in, since it's between Prague and Budapest, Vienna is also a great city to visit too.

 

Since Czech and Hungary aren't on the Euro (at least not that I know of) things aren't that expensive, unlike Vienna.

 

In Prague, visit the beer halls. Each one serves one brewery's beer. U Fleku is probably the most popular but I've read it's a tourist trap. I went to U Medvidku when I was in Prague, and they serve Budvar (Budweiser over there). It's a stripped down place, not fancy at all. Anthony Bourdain went there too. Apparently the pork is supposed to be great. Jama Pub is a cool bar, owned by an American...I watched a Ravens game there, which was kind of surreal. Great burgers. Just explore the city, wander around, it's probably the best preserved city in Europe since it was spared bombing during WWII.

 

In Budapest, visit the baths. We went to this one:

 

http://www.szechenyibath.com/

 

Also, I don't know if they're still open, it looks like they're closed on-line, but there are labyrinths under the Buda castle. We went at night and they give you candle-lit lanterns to explore down there, without any light at all, and without a guide. It was an awesome experience. Definitely ask around to see if it's open because you don't want to miss it.

 

http://en.wikipedia...._of_Buda_Castle

 

Ride the millennium line of the Budapest metro. It's the oldest metro line in continental Europe. Explore. Drink Hungarian wine...bull's blood. 

 

http://en.wikipedia....ki/Egri_Bikavér

 

I ate at Menza, a posh restaurant that because of the exchange rate only cost my wife and I $60 USD for a meal that would have cost us $150 or more here in the states.

 

http://www.menzaetterem.hu/

 

Enjoy.

I doubt I'll be getting to Vienna. It's a set itinerary, and not a ton of leeway for more cities. I always want to do more travel, so hopefully in the future I'll get there.

 

Thanks for the suggestions with Budapest and Prague. I'm in Copenhagen now.