I am curious, when you are traveling to cities in Europe, what are you most interested in? Sight seeing, bars, clubs? Walking all day to the most known sights or spending the morning in a café watching people going by?
Reply to this .. not many replies..? No interest? Or is the question to complex to answer quickly?
Reply to this mmm!... rm!... it is a good question. What are our motivations for leaving a place to go and travel? My theory is that there are roughly 2 types of Humans: the sedentarians and the nomads.... it goes back to Genesis with Cain and Abel... the nomad being god's favorite, of course! Well, the nomads just need to move. It is a compulsion to go out there and see what's on the other side of the hill... (how's that for an answer???)
Reply to this I like to do a little of both, and that's why I give myself a few days in each city and a few weeks in each region. I never go to bars, it just isn't my scene, but I will walk, sit in cafes, go to museums and galleries, hike and get outside. It takes some time to get a feel of the city. If you only do one thing, then you just don't experience all the city has to offer. I might miss out on the night scene, but I think I try to do and see everything else.
Reply to this I guess, Christopher, that goes for cities you travel to. What about your home town? Is that the same (miss night life, do everything else)?
Reply to this To answer the question with more precision, when travelling in Europe and visiting cities, I like sitting in a café and watch people walk by. I also like listening to the sound of their language. Now most people dress the same way but not so long ago you could also watch the way people dressed. I enjoy seeing how people behave differently from the way they do it in my homeland.
Personally famous buildings don't interest me so much. And I don't understand people in travel forums asking others 'what the must see' is in a particular place.
Reply to this I like the excitement of landing in another city and just seeing how different, or even how similar, it is compared to what you already know. It's mostly an aesthetic thing, unique architecture and the history behind it, museums and monuments, as well as the different languages and food, and the challenge of ordering a meal in a different language. Overall I think that each city offers new experiences that generally make you feel good, whether it's European cities or anywhere else.
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When i travelled to Europe, i walked all day to see most sights - of course the famous ones. I believe that the tendecy of a person who visits for the first time a new city or place is to see first a sight and then taste the food that the it's famous for.
Reply to this Does this mean nobody is interested by the night life (bars, clubs, etc...)? How do you chose where to walk or in which café to sit or restaurant to eat?
Reply to this What do you have in mind Ken? is this a quiz? or a study in travellers behaviour?!!! Perhaps you could write out a questionnaire of sorts.
As far as I'm concerned I don't like to plan or organise anything much. It takes the joy out of it. Travelling is usually going into the unknown and that's what turns me on (for failing to be an astronaut!!!) So, to answer your 2 questions: no, I'm not interested in night life (unless invited by local friends) and I 'choose' a walk or a café on the direction of the wind... the way it pushes me.
Reply to this I used to be a home body, but now I've gotten the itch to travel. I think it's simple I want to learn about other people, how to speak their language, and what goes on in their culture. I am learning a bunch of languages
Now when I go traveling next year which I plan to do for two months I feel like I am going to know what the natives are talking about. I will be able to immerse myself in their cultures better.
Utimately I wonder if their is a better way of life than I grew up with. Don't get me wrong I love where I am from which is the U.S, but we really didn't have to learn any other language in school or learn too much about the rest of the world. I know things are changing now, but I feel like I got a little short changed in that regard so now I am putting myself "back in school".
Reply to this the anonymity, getting away from it all, relaxation of being somewhere that you know no-one.
the sights - Frankie, kind of know where you're coming from - I won't have my time in a city dictated by the so called "must see's", however, could you really visit Rome and not see the Colliseum, St Peters etc???
Christopher - I think you're missing out big time by avoiding bars. for me these places are the heart beat of any city.
i refer to the daytime moreso than late at night - there is nothing better than getting chatting to an English speaking local over a few beers who wants to know all about you and tell you all about his/her city. a pen and paper in such a situation goes 100 times further than any guide book imho.
people watching - can't beat it. bizzarely don't ever do it at home(???)
but most of all - FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!!!
there is no better way to get under the skin of a place than through it's food. you won't find many dishes anywhere that don't have a story.
coming from England the weather is generally better aswell - which helps.
Reply to this Sure I miss out by avoiding the bar / pub / club scene. But I'm just not a social person, too introverted. I don't go to bars in my own city.
Purpose? Sometimes I just like the feeling of being somewhere else.
Reply to this Hello Ken 😊
I tend to spend a lot of time in cafes people watching.
I only go to see sights that particularly interest me.
Mel
Reply to this I like going places just to be somewhere else. I also go places to get away from the Canadian winter. I like meeting new people and meeting up with people from my past. Travelling can become a cycle of meeting people and then meeting up with people. What I mean is, while travelling in one country, I tend to meet people from other countries. Next thing I know, I'm making plans to visit THOSE countries to meet up with them again. And so on.... (it's a cheap way to travel if you always have a sofa to sleep on!)
Not too concerned about "must sees" unless it's something I would be interested in anyway. I think sometimes people worry so much about "seeing everything" that they don't really experience anything. My favourite things to discover are the very subtle differences, like the expressions people say or different brands of chocolate bars 😊
Reply to this I like to experience a little of a different culture and I always try to experience it as a local would. No hotels, Eurail passes or youth hostels for me. Done that and have realized after ten years in Italy that you understand nothing of a country traveling like that.
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