Travelling

miafricker

New Member
Nov 17, 2023
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I am going to Austria for Christmas holidays. Would appreciate some tips and recommendations.
I've decided to rent a car there and read that i also gonna need a vignette in order to use a toll road. Here is another question then, should i book it online here https://vignette.express or do i need to buy an actual sticker near the border somewhere?
 
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Motion

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May 18, 2021
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I am going to Austria for Christmas holidays. Would appreciate some tips and recommendations

yes, this is a great country to travel and I go frequently. My favorite trips are those to small towns. Hallstatt is incredibly beautiful, with mountains, a lake, and stunning architecture.

Salzburg is a tourist favorite, and rightly so. A stunning castle and huge beer halls. If you like drinking beer I recommend Augustiner Brau Mulln, which is a massive underground hall with multiple giant rooms.

Salzburg is also close to the Alps, so walking and hiking is accessible. Try Wank Mountain.
 
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Hensmon

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Jun 27, 2020
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I had a incredible year for travel in 2023. I visited 31 places and spent a massive total of 190 days outside of my home city. The most I have travelled in a single year, without actually quitting the job and backpacking. The remote work lifestyle has been an absolute game-changer for me, really couldn't have imagined how much it changed my life for the better and what it's enabled me to do.

Highlights included taking a 2 week roadtrip up the California and Oregon Coast, which was a bucket list item for me. Fucking magical trip! West coast USA is not a place I had really been, but this year I went all over and loved it. Visited right up in Seattle and all the way down in San Diego. The USA is just an incredible place to travel, I am so happy that I moved here.

Also spent another good chunk of time in British Colombia, where I would like to potentially move. The daily mountain biking/snowboarding is just too much of a pull. It's just a great part of the world in general. The sort of place you can live life to the max, and I really do when I am there.

Only visited one new country and that was Costa Rica, where I spent 6 weeks. Fantastic country, incredible nature and the friendliest people I ever met. Genuinely they were the friendliest yet. This was my 35th country I visited, landing there on my 35th birthday. Not bad! Here is the full list of places I went:

UK - Home / London
MN - Lutsen
BC - Revelstoke
WA - Seattle
BC - Revelstoke
NV - Vegas
CA - Joshua Tree
CA - San Diego
CA - San Francisco
CA - Northern Road Trip (Patricks Point, Manila, Shelter Cove, Mendocino, Guerneville)
OR - Southern Road Trip (Portland, Crater Lake, North Bend, Gold Beach)
BC - Whistler
BC - Revelstoke
BC - Kaslo
WI - Farmstead
CA - Menlo Park
CA - Los Angeles
CO - Boulder/Denver
Costa Rica - (La Fortuna, Monte Verde, Nosara)
TN - Kentucky
 
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Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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Just emptying my bowels, then I'll take a shower, put some oil, fuel and air in my car and then embark on the last journey this year - and the first of the next.

Four days in Djerdap National Park. I was there last year, for a summer weekend trip, and we managed to visit quite a few old fortresses on the banks od Danube, some ancient localities (I could write all day about this, but just Google Viminacium and Vinca culture), and take a boat ride through the fantastic Djerdap gorge (where Danube is the deepest and narrowest). If you ever find yourself in Serbia, this is something you have to visit.

This time though, we'll be focusing on hiking through the incredible nature. Fuck the NYE.

If I were you, I'd be eagerly awaiting the pics.
 

Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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Alright, this trip has surprised the hell out of my friend and I.

On Sunday 31st, we went to check some localities (natural bridges), which are stunning in and of themselves - as expected.

But what we did not expect was to find such beauty in the river canyons where those bridges formed. We went upstream, walked just next to the river, having to cross it very often. We often had to climb over rocks to get to the next section, and find our own paths, which felt like solving a puzzle every time.

A pretty spectacular day, I have to say. Even in winter, when vegetation is sparse, it was stunning.

On Monday the 1st, we hiked up the mountain, to a peak, a viewpoint 700m above Danube and the place where it is narrowest and deepest in its entire course. A pretty exhausting and uneventful hike, but a rewarding one - the view was spectacular. We met a pair of older hikers up top who offered us some prosciutto, Grana Padano cheese and tomatoes, which was as unexpected as it was delightful.

On the hike back, we took a detour to see a cave. It couldn't be found on Google Maps - we only saw the guideposts and it intrigued us.

The result - a wonderful surprise. Near a small, quiet village lay hidden a cave system which just looked incredible, without us even going into it. A fantastic place, which just popped out with its green moss on the stones, over the relatively depressing dark brown earth with mostly brown leaves fallen on top of it. Since it was dark, we didn't explore it, but we definitely will at some point.

All in all, a fantastic trip. As a planner of this entire expedition, I only planned us to see the natural bridges and the viewpoint a bit, but the rest - everything around it - surprised us both heavily. From the pair we met, we heard of lots of other nearby caves and interesting localities, so we know we're coming back again to explore more.

And for me and where I'm at, this was the perfect way to celebrate the new year - by not giving a shit about it, not conforming to the stereotypical celebration patterns, and just doing what I love. I fell asleep at 10 PM on the 31st. But I got up early to hike.

Can't wait for the next trip.

Here are some obligatory shots: Đerdap. I didn't take a snap of everything; it's so hard to capture the grandness and grandeur of nature - so sometimes you try, sometimes you don't.
 
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Progrez

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Jun 17, 2022
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I am travelling to Middle East/ Europe for the first time in 2 weeks. I am a bit scared of going on airplanes. I haven't been on one for over 18 years internationally. I am scared of encountering pick pocketers in France.

I will be travelling to Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway and Dubai as well. It's a childhood dream to visit Europe that's where Trance was given birth. I might travel to Netherlands/Belgium but maybe if we have time. I am travelling to India, Goa too and that's where trance music originated as well.
 
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Trance4m8tor

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Jul 16, 2020
389 Posts
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Valenciennes, France
Website
www.discogs.com
I am scared of encountering pick pocketers in France.
Beware of Parisian public transportation especially in the northern surburban area surrounding Paris. Not sure about your condition but never had a problem there (but I'm like 1m88/110 kg / 6'16''/240 pounds). Nicely as they may rhyme, don't expect too much Trance in France. Only ever had one gig there in Lyon 20 years back!
 
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Jetflag

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Jul 17, 2020
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I am travelling to Middle East/ Europe for the first time in 2 weeks. I am a bit scared of going on airplanes. I haven't been on one for over 18 years internationally. I am scared of encountering pick pocketers in France.

I will be travelling to Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway and Dubai as well. It's a childhood dream to visit Europe that's where Trance was given birth. I might travel to Netherlands/Belgium but maybe if we have time. I am travelling to India, Goa too and that's where trance music originated as well.
Avoid the big cities and you should be fine
 
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Hensmon

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Jun 27, 2020
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Just came back from a west coast trip from San Francisco (well technically Palo Alto), San Diego and Vegas. West Coast America continues to pull me in. Trying to move there within the next few years, slowly chipping away at the wife. Seattle seems to be a likely contender. The mountains there are unbelievable.

Honestly I find it funny because when you listen to the youtubers and non-west coast folk of America they will tell you that these are the worst places to live in the whole US. Go there and you see the oposite is true. Its some of the healthiest and happiest people in the country. The vibes are great, the nature is incredible, there are some of the biggest and most forward thinking companies and entrepreneurs on earth operating there, and the food/night-life is very decent too. Apart from the astronomical cost of things its essentially one of the best parts to live, not just in the US but on Earth.
 
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Progrez

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Jun 17, 2022
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IMG_20240523_204038_HDR.jpg
 
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Progrez

Elite Member
Jun 17, 2022
2,164 Posts
1,037 Thanked
Beware of Parisian public transportation especially in the northern surburban area surrounding Paris. Not sure about your condition but never had a problem there (but I'm like 1m88/110 kg / 6'16''/240 pounds). Nicely as they may rhyme, don't expect too much Trance in France. Only ever had one gig there in Lyon 20 years back!
France was so strange to see very rude. But there was a large African population there. Italy was ok but the people were absolutely beautiful physically. They had stunning bodies. Things were so expensive as well but some of the food was delicious pizza was the worst though so bland.
 

Archon

Gagi
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Jun 27, 2020
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Quite a few trips since my last update. I'll list them here, in chronological order:

February: A trip to one of our newest national parks. One day was a 30km hike to an old forest (rainforest) through the river gorge, and the other to a nearby peak (1300+m, with 1000m of incline). Last day was a visit to a nearby (incredible!!) cave and a middle-age monastery. Just lovely trip all-round. Pics: Kučaj-Beljanica.

March: Trip to a nearby national park, to see the localities I haven't been able to visit yet. A man-made cave of sorts, a lake from a quarry, and all-round just wonderful nature. I didn't shoot that much unfortunately.

April (part 1): We booked a place on the river bank, and then went hiking for two days. First day was a hike through a river gorge, and the second we visited a small village which is slightly hidden, but has a wonderful view of the peaks surrounding it - went through another gorge as well. Not intense, just a few lovely days in nature. Pics: Drina, Trešnjica, Tara.

April (part 2): A house between two lovely lakes. We visited 2 lakes in total, tried to reach a canyon but lost the trail and came back, visited a couple of interesting peaks and that was mostly it. Lovely stuff. Didn't shoot a lot, but still have some to share. Pics: Zaovine.

May: Budapest. Since we were there for a night (and drank during most of it), didn't shoot a lot of pics. Still, a nice trip.

June: Prokletije (Accursed Mountains), between Montenegro and Albania. One of the more wonderful places I've visited. 9h trip to the valley, then a 10-km, 1000m-incline, 1000m-decline hike to a sublime ridge, which has 360-degree views towards most of the Montenegrin mountains. Spectacular place. Later that day, a short hike to see an interesting waterfall, and a karst spring. Pics: Prokletije.

Next up: Quite a few localities in July - Croatian seaside, some lovely lakes, and an old town known for its many bridges. In August, returning to one of my favourite places in the entire world. Very much excited for that.