I have visited many countries and would like to hear others stories from their overseas exploits.

I'm going to share the wealth with my friends in the history and geography section.
Though memories is always a good place for things.
Please find this in the geography section a ways down your page.

As promised, I've transferred this thread here as we have been discussing travels here. Exploits, well that's not exactly what I'd call my travels.
I've visited about thirty countries so far.
I know we have many people who've travelled here in the forums.

Well i havent been out of North America yet. the only country i've been to that aint canada is......u gessed it the US. In the future i plan to visit other countries in Europe and Asia.

I've travelled quite a lot, but only in Europe and the US. I'm told this is *bad*. Seriously, over the next few weeks I'll try to give a few thumbnail sketches and tell a few anecdotes about my travels.

My favorite places: Germany !! and Switzerland !

Favorite places in Germany: Heidleberg and Rothenberg: Heidelberg is a beautiful place with wonderful scenery and wonderfully nice people. It is very cultural.

My experience in Rothenberg is unique. All I wanted from Germany was a marionette puppet. We found a toy shop where the owner actually made the toys. I saw his marionettes and fell in love. He asked me what kind of puppet I would want. I said " "Heidi". He told my parents to give him 1 day and come back. We did as he asked and he made me this beautiful marionette puppet. He only charged us the American equivalent of $ 40.00. It was priceless to me and still is.

Oh Bloomsby, you're so wicked!
Well if I were to visit some countries now in my point of life, I'd hesitate as when I got sick in India, it was fairly benign, now I think I'd worry more!
I don't think there's some big list of things you have to visit, is there?
Here's a confession, I've never particularly dreamed of seeing the Pyramids in Egypt. No, it's nothing against Egypt, it's that I have always felt that it wasn't meant for our eyes, it's something that I have a hard time describing, but as the art was not destined for our eyes, I never feel comfortable viewing it, nor do discussions of the dynasties interest me terribly!
Whenever I had to give a lecture on that, I used to think how ludicrous that we spend two days on this subject and their dynasties stretched out over a few centuries.
I also know that as I've visited things in countries like India and Sri lanka and Thailand, that you must account for the heat, the insects, the people trying to sell you something at every turn in the road, and basically I no longer long to see certain things as much as before.
I was fortunate to have done the round the world trip in my twenties though.

Being a New Zealander I didn't have much option but to travel. One of my favourite cities must be San Fransisco - everything was fantastic. I found New York rather intimidating and the locals not so friendly as elsewhere in the States.

Tokyo and Singapore are very clean cities but Tokyo is very expensive. I have only visited a few parts of India but found the beggars in Calcutta quite frightening.

However my favourite place is Italy. I could quite cheerfully retire around the Lakes - but perhaps not Rome.

Rothenburg on the 'Romantische Strasse', which also extends to Noerdlingen and Dinkelsbuehl is certainly very beautiful indeed. I visited these three places long, long ago ... One of the problems in the case of Germany is that almost every city with more than 80,000 inhabitants was very severely bombed in WW2, so one has to explore the smaller places. Moreover, in most of the bigger places, post-war town-planners then proceeded to complete the destruction.

One of my favourite places in Germany is the old city of Wismar (on the Baltic). It was in the former East Germany and therefore largely left undeveloped between 1945-90. It has two vast churches in brick Gothic, a wonderful market place and what is one of the very first urban canals in Northern Europe (constructed c. 1340 to relieve pressure on the port). Where else does one find grandiose Renaissance burgher houses separated by small, sometimes very small humble dwellings?

Other smallish 'romantic' places in Germany that I've visited include Lueneburg, Wolfenbuettel, Goettingen, Osterode and Goslar. These (or some of them can easily be linked on a tour). Among places I've *not* visited are but that German friends recommend are: Celle, Quedlinburg and Woerlitz.

Of the bigger places, Bremen and more particularly Luebeck are interesting and were less severely damaged than many other cities in WW2. The centre of Nuernberg (Nuremberg), which used to be one of the most stunning late mediaeval cities in Germany, has been intelligently and quite well restored and still offers plenty to see. (When I visited the city in 1972 I was highly amused to find that the guidebook issued by the city itself read as if the history of the place had come to a sudden halt in 1930 and started again, equally mysteriously in 1950. There was, however, a very short footnote in minute type about the 'Monumenta Tertii Imperii'.

Another little problem in the case of Germany is that for historical reasons Berlin isn't remotely comparable to London or Paris as a capital. However, both Berlin and Hamburg are fascinating, vibrant cities, despite the lack of really old buildings.

Until 1989-90, many older conservative Germans referred to Berlin as the 'Reichshauptstadt Berlin'. More than once this made me laugh. If one wants a German-speaking city that *looks* like a grandiose imperial capital, one has to go to Vienna: it's grand, grandiose, bombastic, showy, beautiful and fun!

[ 03-19-2002, 01:23 PM: Message edited by: bloomsby ]

Yes, Jojo, I was also very impressed by San Francisco. (It's also the furthest I've ever been from England - about 5,300 miles from London). After a *very* long flight, during which we'd flown far north - over Greenland and Baffin Island, the plane headed south-west. As we crossed the Canadian-US border the weather inproved and we had intriguing views of the Rockies and the Nevada Desert. As we approached SF, the pilot announced that the airport lies to the south of the city, and that we'd fly out over the Pacific - and that those passengers sitting by the port or left-hand side windows would be able to see the city. I was among the lucky ones, and immediately recongized the Golden Gate Bridge, probably more by its colour than anything else, worked out that the nearer bridge was the Bay Bridge, even picked out the Golden Gate Park and the Presidio ...

When actually in the city what impressed me in particular was the dramatic changes in height. Such spectacular, dramatic, not to say quite melodramatic changes in height always do much to enliven a city (as for example, also in Edinburgh, Prague and Veliko Turnovo - the capital of Mediaeval Bulgaria).

I also loved the diversity and easy-going tolerance, the cable cars and trams, the Bay shore, the wide range of shops, the upmarket Castro District and of course Haight. It is one of the most spectacular cities I've ever visited.

[ 03-20-2002, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: bloomsby ]

The first time I went to New York City I was 18 years old and I went with my friends Shannon and Laurie. We considered ourselves pretty sophisticated coming from the Paris of North America and all, but we realized within seconds of landing that the hay was sticking out our ears a loooong way. Shannon and I decided to go to the Met the first afternoon and Laurie wanted to go to MOMA, so we decided to meet at 5:00pm at the Algonquin Hotel. I was a round table fan, and wanted to see it. We decided that if it was a dump, we'd leave.
So at 4:30 Shannon and I took a cab from the museum to the hotel and no kidding the REAL Bernie X was driving. He waved his cigar around and assured us that the Algonquin was a " point of cultural interest in this metropolis". Little did he know that to us, HE was the point of cultural interest.
Then, of course, we found the hotel was incredibly posh. The maitre d' in the dining room looked like Joseph Cotten in a tux. We humbly asked him if we might stay for a drink. He smiled and sat us right in the middle of the room and for the next hour he would drift by, lean over and tell us "You might be interested to know that that's Gore Vidal over there." or "That's Mary Quant sitting next to you." The bartender in the bar(sure, we went back twice) wore white gloves and solemnly discussed the price of Perrier at the better discos in town. We talked to people sitting next to us in restaurants, on busses, in the parks. Everything and everybody was great and I was so impressed. I really like New York and it's never been quite like that since. It was once, though.

oooh where have I been?

CANADA - Ontario (that's where I live), New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia.
USA - South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, California, and other states in passing.
MEXICO
JAMAICA
CAYMAN ISLANDS
HAITI
ANTIGUA
BARBADOS

Heh... can you tell my family preferred the warmer climates to vacation at?

I've loved every place I visited. I love to travel! The water was so clear in the Caribbean, it was unbelievable. The States are always fun to visit because it's different, but at the same time familiar. The money is confusing though because it's all the same colour!

I really want to go to Western Europe and visit all the places where I have roots - England, Scotland, France and Belgium. But I want to visit all the other ones too. I also want to go to the Netherlands, because my cousin lives there and I haven't seen him in years.

I'll just list 'em.
Mexico
Brazil
Somalia
Nigeria
Kuwait
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Seycelle Islands
Diego Garcia
Australia (west coast)
Canada
Thailand
Phillipine Islands
Japan
Okinawa
Singapore
China
Viet Nam
Cambodia
Laos
and of course most of the United States including Hawaii, and Alaska. Many of the countries I've been to are very poor and it's amazing to me that some people get by with so little and yet others throw so much away.

[ 04-06-2002, 07:06 AM: Message edited by: wrdfrwrd ]

Sounds like you might be in the military, eh wrdfrwrd. How about giving us an impression of your experience in some of those places, I think that would be interesting!

As for myself, I'll discuss one of my favorite locales...

Vietnam...I only visited the south, and that being for a short time, but my experience there was engrossing. One of the obvious feelings that most people from more developed nations get when visiting a developing country like Vietnam is the general sense of poverty. One cannot wander far in Saigon (I'll call it that rather than Ho Chi Minh City, defering to the locals' nomenclature) , for example, without being accosted by a number of people interested in selling various items. Frequently, these entrepeneurs are very young children who know only a few words of English or French. Another characteristic of Saigon is the hustle and bustle! The city is alive with activity: bicycles, cyclos, cars, motorscooters and pedestrians all darting this way and that. Driving through town can be an incredible experience as this mass of people parts along the road much like a school of fish would part to make way for a whale. We took two taxi rides while in town and one ended in an accident...a motorscooter hit our car from behind. Needless to say, the motorscooter driver was a bit shocked and in obvious pain, but this did not prevent the taxicab driver from admonishing him! Further, the cab driver demanded compensation for his damaged car.

Vietnam provides an interesting contrast of rich and poor, old and new. One gets a sense of the French occupation, the rich influence of the ancient Chinese tributary relationship, and the unique delicacy of Vietnamese culture while in Saigon. The people are eager to interact, mostly for economic reasons, and some are quite curious about Western culture. My visit was truly a fascinating vision of a country in the midst of transition.

Let's see... I've been to:
Canada
US
France
UK
Belgium
Netherlands
Germany
Austria
Monaco
Italy

I have a website about my second trip... You can see it at www.lacarlotta.com/nice - I have the photos form my third trip scanned in, but haven't made the pages yet!

I wondered if anyone would guess at that jazz. You're absolutely correct. I was in the Marine Corps for five years. I lived in Okinawa for a year wich led to many training activities in mainland Japan. Mainly at Mt. Fuji, which by the way is an extrordinary site. Not to mention quite a challenging hike.

My most memorable deployment however was Somalia. I was astounded by the poverty there. Many people have little if any knowledge that our military spent as much time there as we did.
More disturbing than the poverty was the hate that these people possesed for us. That was the place where it really dawned on me, "hey, this s**t is for real!" It was very much an eye opening experience.

I remember one day in particular, right after the fiasco with the Army Rangers, I was standing post at the Old Port in Mogadishu. It was right around five o'clock in the afternoon, or 1700 hours for you military types. I happened to look off to my right and there stood a boy of no more than thirteen. He stared at me with such malice that it took me aback. suddenly, he raised his right index finger to his throat, made a slicing motion and pointed at me. In broken english he stated, "tonight American, I bring gun, I kill." Well, He did return and he was armed, with an M249 saw crew served machine gun and two friends. Unfortunately for the three of them, rules of engagement stated that any civilians with crew served weapons were to be considered hostile, and were to be eliminated and the weapon confiscated. They were and it was.

Of all the places I've been, Somalia unfortunately occupies the majority of my memories regarding to my travels. I think if there is one place on earth that I wish never to see again, It is definately Mogadishu Somalia.

I see that a lot of people traveld a lot and have seen a lot of the world. I still have a lot to see and have to go to a lot of places. But I already had some great holidays. I ent touring around schotland and it is very beautifull there. An other great holliday was in Goa, I know, it is the most touristic place of India, but for me it was realy different then what I see around here (netherlands). I also love the buildings of Gaudi in Barcelona. Want to go there again, soon. Well, and my last holiday I went to Fortaleza (Brasil) but I only had rain.... so didn´t see much of the of the forrest there.

Luebeck,Wismar,Schwerin,Rothenburg ob der Tauber,all are nice places indeed. Weimar can be nice too. I also liked Regensburg a lot and what in Bavaria they call die Frankische Schweiz.
Berlin is nice if you also wander around in the 'green areas" (towards Potsdam etc.)
My favourite country is Ireland however.Especially Dublin, Galway (oysters!!!), and the Literary Cafe somewhere on the Dingle Way.
My best memories are of cycling tours because they offer a closer contact with Nature.
U.K. is O.K. too.
On a wet Sunday I walked up to the top of Mt Helvellyn in the Lake District and to the top of Ben Nevis on a slightly sunnier day.Cotswolds I found charming, Peak District and Chatsworth superexciting..Crathes Castle gardens were the nicest I saw in Scotland.On my bike, I was pursued by a dog for a few hundred metres in Fort William in pouring rain, must somehow have managed to outsprint the ferocious monster as I still have my leg intact.
The Hebrides were super as well. Especially North Uist which I cycled around all night in search of a hostel.Spooky but great fun too.
York; Pennine Ridge;Rievaulx Abbey; Fountains Abbey (more than super).
I stayed at Koge in Denmark, visited Copenhague,Hamlet's Castle, Andersen's home at Odensee and liked the sweet landscapes of Fyn.
Hungary was a bad luck trip. Could not find the Balaton Lake for all the rain.Almost got my backpack stolen by hooligans in the Budapest metro but enjoyed the cake and coffee. Liked Esterhazy,Szentendre,and Sopron.
Visiting Prague was a very special experience as I was there before the fall of the Communist administration .Was in Berlin the year after the Wall had fallen.
Was shocked by the luxury of the Kadewe on Kurfuerstendamm.Went to the Kathe Kollwitz Museum.
Luxembourg, France, Holland are more like home from home.Amsterdam - apart from the graffiti and the drug scene - can be fun.
Spain I never really liked except Toledo.The Costa Brava I positively hated. Windy, sandy,crowded.
Barcelona was a mixed experience.Madrid a disappointment. Except the Prado.
Italy is always beautiful wherever you go.Liked the espressos , the gelate, not the campsites or the beaches.Loved Assisi,Firenze,Reggio Emilia, Modena,Padova,Napoli,Verona,San Gemignano - saw too many un-nice Franciscans in Rome, liked Trastevere more than the Vatican, enjoyed Genua from where I took boat to Sardegna - which was "hors categorie".
Must admit that the company is half the trip so no objective evaluation is possible.
Never ever I "PLAN" a trip. Read lots and lots of brochures and guides and take along a collection of maps, but never know where I will be the next evening.
Do not like youth hostels, enjoy campsites or British B&Bs. Never travel alone, always in small group of four.And my view is the route is the
trip.If I can I avoid all major roads and stay in villages rather than towns.
Like to meet people from all over the world. Especially people on bicycles and am always impressed by how they differ from the cliche opinions I might have stored on the countries they are from.
For reasons that are beyond any rational understanding I always tend to be fascinated by rivers and hills and abhor any cities with more than half a million people.
Except one and that is London.

[ 04-08-2002, 05:55 PM: Message edited by: flem ]