Best of Europe 2012 Book
Favorite discoveries or tips:
Finding out how to get into cities via transportation saves lots of time. Invaluable!
Marilyn in Metuchen, NJ USA 11/13/2011
Your tip on carrying the empty wallet in the back pocket was very good. I didn't feel it going. However I don't think you should put any comments in it
p bax in Vancouver, BC Canada 10/30/2011
Innsbruck is not listed but they have some fun mountain hikes and cable cars.
Tom in Elm Grove, Wi USA 07/10/2011
If you are lucky enough to snag business class seats on a 747 anywhere, ask for the upper level. It is awesome!!
Larry Iversen in Bremerton, WA USA 07/07/2011
Over the past decade and after travelling all over Europe we have discovered that some of the most enjoyable experiences are locating free concerts that are often held in churches and museums. Be on the lookout for posters usually tacked to the doors of churches or in civic squares that advertise these events. We have seen lots of American groups performing in Europe--some professional and lots of youth groups.
tony ambrose in louisville, KY USA 04/27/2011
The best hotel in Heidelberg, Germany is Die Hirschgasse Hotel
Patricia Barry in Dallas, TX USA 04/12/2011
David's leather goods in Firenze. Excellent customer service and very good prices. I wouldn't buy leather anywhere else.
Dawnya Brown in Saint George, Ut USA 04/02/2011
Astarte Suites Hotel in Santorini island, Greece www.astartesuites.gr
Nicole in City of London, UK 02/07/2011
Thanks for helping us with another great trip. We took three of your guidebooks with us. I have one hotel I want to rave about and one I think is a disservice to your readers to include in the Scotland book. The rave: Hotel de Cardinal Rohan, Strasbourg, France. The exceptional service and friendliness of the manager and staff deserve mention. As one of many examples, when I called the desk to inquire about when breakfast ended, the desk person said, "Well, 10:00, but I can extend it if you want." What?! Her attitude exemplified that of every staff person we met in out two-day visit there. Beyond the obviuos benefits to travelers of the hotel's location and prices, we felt that the staff generally appreciated our staying with them and wanted to do their best to show us a good time.
Lawrence J. Hergott in Denver, Co USA 08/18/2010
Excellent Vienna restaurant: Zum Kuchldragoner, Seitenstettengasse 3 in Vienna. (Near Hotel Schweizerhof) Authentic Austrian cuisine, friendly and hospitable staff, happy to translate the menu, and reasonable prices. Great Wiener Schnitzel and Goulash. kuchldragoner@chellow.at Highly recommend tandem paragliding in Berner Oberland. Uli of Paragliding Jungfrau was a great pilot. Memory of a lifetime. www.paragliding-jungfrau.ch ; tandem@paragliding-jungfrau.ch
Kathy Hoffman in Alpharetta, GA USA 08/15/2010
This book was great! It covered many of the places we visited last month and it was very handy.
Joe Hansen in Cape Coral, FL USA 07/05/2010
My husband and I are traveling through Europe in a camper that houses all of your books. We love your style and find that you rarely let us down. However, since your books are geared towards independent travelers, many of whom would be in rental cars, it would be very helpful to have more information for drivers, i.e. location of parking lots (which you do mention from time to time but not often enough) and driving directions to a particular location (not just how to get their by train or bus). We are writing a blog and we refer to you and your books so often that we have been accused of working for you :-). Keep up the good work. We love your walking tours with all the little details we would never find on our own.
Claire Daughtry in Davis, CA USA 05/03/2010
Please please put your books in kindle! I left Canada with only one Provence book thinking I could buy the rest in the UK! Now I have only bad travel guides! KINDLE! Or IPAD!!! PLEASE!!!
[Editor's Note: Our books have been on the Kindle, iBook, and Nook formats for several years. However, it is a good idea to purchase them in your home country rather than trying to buy them overseas.]
Sarah Groundwater in Vancouver , WA USA 04/19/2010
Kindle is the antidote for carrying several of your books around. (And no, we love them too much to tear out pages.)
Beth in Trappe, MD USA 04/17/2010
Granada!!! If you're going to Spain and have limited time, choose Granada over Madrid...it's EVERYTHING you ever dreamed Spain would be, whereas Madrid is just like any city anywhere
Mary in NY, NY USA 02/21/2010
We would often arrive late at a train station without hotel reservations because of our last minute decision to visit 16 major cities in 30 days!! What an adventure. After the first suspicious encounter with "hotel angels" in Florence, we started praying for an angel to offer us a nice, inexpensive hotel near the train. Hotel representatives offered us rooms at Hotel Monica, Via Faenza 66, Florence; the nicest woman at Soggiorno, Via Cavour 275 close to the coloseum in Rome, Italy; and the Hotel Mignon, Cannaregio 4535 in Venice, Italy. They were wonderful, safe places when we arrived in busy cities in August. Unfortunately, in Stockhom, the city shuts down early and the train station information computer is on, but not able to tell you what is available for the current evening, and hotels certainly wouldn't send anyone looking for patrons. We stayed at the Backpacker's Hostel which was the most expensive place on our trip for the second worst accomadations.
Jane in Oregon City, OR USA 02/11/2010
Please, please, please put your books on Kindle. I will gladly buy both versions. The convenience of carrying several of your books at once and being able to highlight would be great.
Doralee Ziomek in Medford, NJ USA 11/26/2009
Moving into the 21st Century. - BRING A GPS TO EUROPE.
Bring a Garmin GPS with all the European maps loaded in. I backpacked through 11 countries. This was the BEST thing in my backpack. There is no worst feeling than to not know where you're going and no being able to communicate with the locals. "Over there" while pointing a finger is NOT good directions. Instead it's a great way to get completely lost. A GPS can help you navigate through Rick's retarded hand drawn maps (which everyone I spoke with gets lost with), help you locate an ATM, grocery store, nearest subway station, attractions, hotel/hostel, cross streets and show you where you are. Part way through my trip I just threw away ALL my maps. I can't stress it enough, almost everyone has a GPS is their car, just take it with you to Europe! Just don't forget to load the EU maps or else it won't be very useful.
And charging a GPS is no problem, most GPS units are designed for charging in cars, therefore the voltage is compatible even in 220V European currents. Just bring an adapter.
Lancelot in Alameda, CA USA 09/25/2009
If you have an iphone, take it! I turned on the airplane mode which turns off cell service and wifi. Then, I turned wi-fi back on with the settings menu, while leaving cellular phone service disabled. Once you have a wi-fi signal, check with your hotel, you can send and check email from your phone and access the internet. I also downloaded the Skype application for my iPhone, which allowed me to use the wi-fi signal to make inexpensive international phone calls (.02/minute) via their service. Also, using the ipod feature, not only did I have music, if I wanted it, but also had access to Rick's podcasts, which are now available as an app for your phone. I brought a splitter and two sets of ear phones, so that my husband and I could both listen to Rick's tours as we went. We used all of them. So cool. A couple of times we needed to call our hotel to let them know we were still coming, and we didn't have wifi, but I could turn on the cellular feature and make a quick phone call in a pinch. It was also our alarm clock. Very handy, especially if you'd rather not take a laptop.
Kristen in Gail, TX USA 08/22/2009
As we have traveled to Europe the past 10 years, I always bring duplicates of blues and other roots music CD's. I simply carry a CD booklet in my backpack for car and gift. Many is the time we sit in a Rick-recommended eatery and there is blues music in the house. When I ask the owner what music he likes, invariably he'll answer American blues. By leaving a CD or 2 with the owner, my wife and I have made a good friend as we pass along American goodwill. From Restaurant de Bottelier and Tom's in Brugge to Michele in Restorante via Venti Monterosso, some B.B. King or Robert Cray are great ways to make new friends.
art tipaldi in wilbraham, ma USA 06/05/2009
The Friday Street Market in Ventimiglia, Italy, was fantastic!! Easy train ride from Cannes, Antibes, Nice. Literally hundreds of street vendors with tents set up next to the park selling everything from leather goods, cheeses, savory foods, clothing, luggage, etc., etc... Well worth a day trip!!
Bart Brady Ciampa in Vancouver, WA USA 05/11/2009
In Brugges, we found a delightful little women's clothing store where the owner makes all or most of the items on display. Check it out next time you are there. Couture Marie Brat, Walstraat 12 8000 Brugge. Tel. 050/33.18.76 Also, for those traveling in groups with digital cameras, if you are planning on grouping all your pictures together for your trip, make sure the camera date/times are synchronized. This makes working with a large number of pictures easier, especially if you are going to chronologically recount your trip in pictures.
Bob Kuning in Albuquerque, NM USA 04/08/2009
Our favorite tip had to do with seeing the Vienna Opera for free. We went on a night featuring an extremely popular soprano. The standing-room ticket line starting filling 5 hours in advance. We waited in the lobby 30 minutes after the opera started and had tickets from departing "standees" after 15 minutes of waiting. Thanks so much for this tip!
Michele Smith in Burlington, MA USA 04/06/2009
Rick, As I recommended your books to yet another friend I decided I really needed to take the time to tell you how grateful we are for your books. When traveling we always carry your books and use it to help plan. It has become a joke during the trip "well what does Rick say to do" and "do you have Rick with you?" We will never travel without your guidance and appreciate all the time, effort, and dedication you put into each book. Thank you a million times over!
Annie in Bel Air, MD USA 03/15/2009