Leaving for Europe Next Monday!

[BigDirtyFoot]

I figured I’d fill CS in on my near-future plans… I took a job working a weeklong International Music Festival in Birmingham, England. It’s the 2006 International Trombone Festival – I went last year when it was in New Orleans and had a blast, but was just a spectator. After landing the job, I planned a three weeklong travel trip around Europe. After the week in Birmingham (hearing the best international classical and jazz, getting work experience, and meeting new people) I will be spending two nights in London, 4 in Paris, 2 in Nice, 3 in Florence, 3 in Rome, 3 in Berlin, 3 in Amsterdam, and 1 more in London. I’ll be leaving next Monday (July 17th) and returning August 14th – a 28-day trip (if I counted correctly!).

I have planned most of my sightseeing (although I only have a vague idea of what to see/do in Berlin – but I thought I’d ask CS members if they had any experience in any of these places concerning the obtainment of our favorite fruit – cigars. The only place I know for sure that I will be visiting is Davidoff of London. I’m unaware of any other opportunities for my travels. Well, that’s about it – I hope you guys can help me out with some advice.

[Dogwatch Dale]

Can't give you any shopping advice, but if I can squeeze in your t'bone case, can I go too?

Sounds like a great experience. Have a blast!

[caskwith]

Shame you're not coming closer to me, birmingham is a little too far to travel for a herf! Im sorry to say you wont find much cigar related stuff over here, dont know about the rest of europe though. Enjoy your trip, sounds great!

[Baric]

Be prepared to pay quite a bit for cigars over here due to our irritating taxes. plus were quite a pipe nation so if you smoke pipes youll be in your element. whilst your in or around Birmingham you might like to check out a Shakespeare play in Stratford upon Avon (in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre) performed by [probably] the best Shakespeare company in the world-the Royal Shakespeare Company. they are very good and would complement your cultural trip. check out their site:

http://www.rsc.org.uk/home/default.aspx

[Corona Gigante]

That's a lot of traveling, man! I could happily spend a couple of weeks in any one of those places (with the exception of B'ham, which is a world-class dump). Oh, well, I know you're going to have a blast!

Berlin is said to have more bridges than Venice. A river-boat sight-seeing trip is well worth taking. You can smoke on the open top deck. In fact I enjoyed my first Monte #2 in just such circumstances!

Love Parade is July 15th this year. I think you're just going to miss it. Now that is what I call a party.

A stroll down the Ku’damm is a must to look at the high-class stores. You’ll probably find a tobacconist worthy of your business.

Oranienburgerstraße in the early evening is well worth your time. You will discover that some of the friendliest young women, dressed in the wildest, custom made, space age outfits, are eager to make your acquaintance. If, like me, you’re a little shy, you can still catch a bite at one of the pavement cafes on the other side of the street and watch them go about their business. Remember, Cuban cigars are not the only things illegal in the USA that are legal in Germany. In case you're wondering, this area is actually very safe because several administrative and religious buildings are there, too.

I’d be interested to know if any of the semi-legal squatters' bars in the area, the Tacheles being the best-known, are still in operation. Even more than the other parts of Berlin, that part of town saw some serious gentrification immediately after reunification.

Have a great time! Remember, we expect a full report on your return!

[Corona Gigante]

Berlin (contd)

I forgot, if you're interested in antiquities, you should try to squeeze in a visit to the Pergamon museum.

While you're walking around Museum Island, make sure to play spot-the-bullet-hole. A lot of the buildings were deliberately not patched up after the war.

Amsterdam

A'dam is great. Everybody is really laid back and speaks good English. You sure to run into lots of party animals from all over the world if that's what you're looking for. If you're into museums, don't miss that Van Gogh museum or the Museum of Modern Art, they're right next to each other.

Remember, you can live on Rijsttafel and Heineken.

[68TriShield]

That sounds like fantasy vacation for me,farewell and a safe return to you...Dave

[Bobb]

Have a killer trip. As a low brass teacher (Euphonium is my main instrument, but I teach trombone as well as tuba) I love going to festivals to celerate Low brass!! It's nice you'll have some free time. Sorry I can't be any help on where to go, but enjoy your stay. My only advice on traveling is that IMO the best places are the ones away from the main tourist sites. Find a little shop in the middle of nowhere and get a feeling of the true experinces the country has to offer!!

(If you have a chance while you are in Southern France...Carcassonne is a VERY cool city...I'm not sure how far from Nice it is though...but I loved it when I was there)

[BigDirtyFoot]

Originally Posted by Dogwatch Dale

Can't give you any shopping advice, but if I can squeeze in your t'bone case, can I go too?

If you can fit Bob too .

Thanks everyone for the advice and the well wishes... I'm definitely going to have to look at that Pergamon museum. And spot-the-bullet-hole sounds good to me as well. I'm expecting very expensive cigars... I'll probably just have one cigar outing per country, if even that.

[al two]

I was just in London and Amsterdam. only two cities of yours that i've been too. jsut came back a week ago.

london is expensive, but very cool walking around. davidoff store is expensive also, but cool merchandise there to look at (lighters, cutters, and of course cigars.) all of leicester square was enjoyable.

amsterdam was a weird city. some said they loved it and some said they hated it. i still dont know where i fall into. i missed the van gogh and heinekin tour, sadly. but the anne frank house was cool and the sex museum too. sex museum was kind of wild, but well worth the 3 euros. only being there one day i don't know how much time you want to spend wondering, thats pretty much what we did. just kind of took in the atmosphere and laid back. canal ride would have been cool to do also, but didnt get a chance. watch your pockets, especially at night and especially if you walk around the red light district.

in any case, enjoy yourself and have fun.

[Corona Gigante]

London

Make sure you eat fish 'n' chips and Indian at least once.

Ask about "guest beers" in the pubs.

Tours of Buckingham Palace and Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Museum are good value but have your hotel concierge book your tickets for you, you DO NOT want to wait in those lines!

Highgate Cemetery is a great outing if you're even slightly interested in visiting a romantically spooky/macabre high Victorian cemetery. (Père Lachaise in Paris is a similar tip, where you can pay your respects to Voltaire, Oscar Wilde, and Jim Morrison).

The London Eye is pretty cool.

Sight-seeing tour on top of an open-topped double decker bus is a must for getting oriented.

A stroll around Kew Gardens followed by a drink in a pub on the river is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. Ask a cab driver for a recommendation.

[Lumpold]

While I can't tell you what to go and see in Nice, I can tell you that you could spend some time in either Cannes, just west of Nice, and Monaco, just east of Nice.

[BigDirtyFoot]

Definitely going to visit the sex museum, I've read a bit about it. Anyone know what price I could expect for a Monte 2, PSD4, RASS, or something along those lines at Davidoff? Davidoff's most likely the only place I'll have a cigar on my trip, although I don't know... if I find a cigar shop anywhere else I'll definitely stop in for a look'around. In A'dam I'm planning on going to both the Van Gogh and the Heineken tour.

Lumpold - curious as to what guest beers are...? And of course I'm going to try fish n' chips, haha. Indian food sounds great too - one of my best friends is from India and his mother makes great food. Thanks for the advice about Kew Gardens too, I hadn't even heard of that yet.

[Corona Gigante]

Originally Posted by BigDirtyFoot

curious as to what guest beers are...?

Many pubs in England sell beer from only one brewery. A "guest beer" is a beer from a different brewery, usually a much smaller one. The guest beers tend to be the stronger, tastier, hand-crafted beers. Well worth seeking out.

If you have the choice, always choose something that's hand-pumped over anything that comes out of a tap, propelled up from the cellar by pressurized CO2.

If you're really interested, try to pick up a copy of the Good Pub Guide when you're in B'ham. It might not seem worth it for just a couple of days, but if you're into good beer, it could mean the difference between a so-so trip and a truly magical one. (I'm into good beer, can you tell?)

I honestly believe that the traditional English pub is a contribution to world culture on a par with Stonehenge, Shakespeare, the KJV. I hope you have an opportunity to enjoy at least a couple of really good ones while you're over there.

Cheers!

P.S. If you miss the sex museum in A'dam, there's always the Erotik Museum in Berlin. Very educational, and not just in a nudge-nudge, snigger-snigger Middle School kind of way.

[BigDirtyFoot]

Well, I'm leaving tomorrow! Farewell everyone!