Re: Going to NWR in October
[quote=andypandara]...any advantage to flying in and out amsterdam over frankfurt? i have been to ams twice and have checked out the landscape, and like it very much...but i am open to the alternative if there might be a compelling reason that someone could argue for.[/quote]
if you're ultimately interested in the fkk and rld experiences around frankfurt, then saving time by flying into frankfurt makes sense. as much as i enjoy germany, i would like to see more of the netherlands.
btw, an alternative to flying is the chunnel train from london with connections to paris, brussels and onward to other destinations.
[quote=andypandara]does anyone know or recommend anything out of the ordinary in amsterdam if i pass through there? i have made the rounds of the more normal single provider scene; anyone know of anything similar to lmp or pt but in holland?[/quote]
best bet is to browse the netherlands and amsterdam areas of this board to find your answer.
[quote=andypandara]do i rent a car and drive, or do i buy a eurailpass here in the u.s. and take the train everywhere. cost-wise, i can travel unlimited 1st class train service for 5 days through benelux and gdr for about the same price as renting a car and driving, maybe less when considering fuel costs. i like the idea of train service, because i think it could broaden my travelling range...[/quote]
i'm a big advocate of using public transportation. some people feel they have more control with their lives when they drive but i find rail and transit a freeing and relaxing experience. look at the scenery or nap, no worries about fuel, finding parking or navigating the roads of unfamiliar cities you sound as if you're considering a rail pass but you can save money by instead buying second-class tickets from one destination to another. rail passes typically need to be used almost every day to make them worthwhile. there is little gained by sitting in first class rail compartments unless you like being secluded. i think they're a waste of money. it's a different story if you were traveling in india but second class is luxurious in western europe. for high speed trains between cities (ice, etc) you'll need to make reservations even with a rail pass so you'll still need to visit the ticket office/rail travel center to book that mode of travel.
for itinerary planning, i recommend the german rail site. choose the appropriate language on the upper right of the home page. experiment with some sample journeys by specifying a starting point and a destination. since i usually travel in the morning, i'll start with a 09:00 departure. that's am. 24 hour clock is used, so 13:00 is 1 pm, 17:00 is 5 pm). also pay attention to the european method of expressing dates. 12.04.2010 means april 12, 2010 and 04.12.2010 is december. for my sampling of trains and itinerary exploration, i usually select a future weekday date unless i know i'll be definitely be traveling on a weekend.
[url]www.bahn.de[/url]
as you try sample trips, note that the site contains timetables for most or all of the european rail network. for travel within germany you can usually find the cost of the ticket and also transit connections (bus, u-bahn, strassenbahn, s-bahn, etc)
incidentally, if you really need to visit some out-of-the-way fkk, there's no reason you couldn't rent a car for a day or weekend. for places like oase and world, you can always take a taxi between the bahnhof (train station) and the fkk. see accounts on this board for those fkk regarding travel instructions.
[quote=andypandara]...also, i am a photographer, so if i were to drive i would be interested in some suggested photogenic routes if you know of any. i remember much of the netherlands being flat and uninteresting, i am sure germany overall would be better but not sure about nwr. anybody done both methods and lived to tell?[/quote]
i'm very much an amateur at photography but i know a little about about composition and manipulating settings to achieve better results. you sound as if you like spectacular landscapes for your subjects. yes, you might find more of that in parts of germany but i have some wonderful images from the north german plains which are just as flat as the netherlands. if you decide to travel to berlin, you'll find the terrain there is just as flat.
as much as i love traveling in germany, surely you can find good subjects in locations like this...
[url]http://us.holland.com/e/65297/keukenhof.php[/url]
if you like spectacular landscapes, i know you'll enjoy the rhine countrysides and castles. if you travel to berlin, try the prussian royal palaces in potsdam, about 40 minutes by train from central berlin.
rufus
Massage...World Cup...Beer...Ice Cream
Visited Body Feeling Massage at Kaiserstrasse #60. Had a great body to body erotic massage with a great happy ending. Cost was 70 Euros for 30-minutes.
Had a nice cool shower, departed, then followed up with an ice cream, then a beer while watching the world cup on the BIG outdoor screen.
Great thing about Frankfurt is you can accomplish all three within an hour or two.