h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Prolly not

Yes, I can...

Hey, Gosho, the offer's there... I'm not sure you'd like my room though anyway

Thanks Tube! What are we talking here, 1-star, 2-star... 5-star? I can't give you anything but the most vague of dates at the moment though... some time between the 20th of January and the 5th of February is most likely, but possibly later in February depending on when I get to Finland... and you'd probably only get a couple of days notice, too

Noo Yawk's only an ocean away ...

Well, hand me my complimentary canoe and I'll be on my way

...and a quick recap for those who don't read backlog

Post 1: Yes, that's right everyone, the King is making a royal tour around Europe. Not only that, but I'm doing it during Winter too, specifically to bring joy into the dull, drab months of cold. So what's the itinerary?

Well, I arrive in Paris on the 16th of January, and shortly thereafter embark upon the tour of Europe - or some thereof, anyway. At this stage the destinations include most regions of France, Tuscany (Florence) and Venice in Italy, somewhere or other in Germany, and possible brief stops in Switzerland and Denmark, with a week or so in Finland. Following that, I'll be spending the remaining time (2-4 weeks, depending on how long the tour lasts) in Paris before stopping over in London on Saturday the first of March on the way home.

So... any advice, offers of accommodation, and particularly offers of a h2g2 meet to coincide with the time I'll be in your neighbourhood (or possibly to entice me to extend my royal tour to your neck of the woods) would be gratefully and gracefully received.

Take photos!

A292448 is the Buletten Bude

We're talking my spacious eight room (plus baths, and kitchen), 180 square meter flat, overlooking a T-junction and shared by six students.

20th Jan - 5th Feb? Why don't ya turn up at the London meet on the 25th Jan? You could fly Cologne-London for like 19 Euros. (http://www.hlx.com/en/index.shtm or http://www.germanwings.com/) Anyway, I'll be there (London) from 23rd to 26th, so there is not a lot I can offer during these dates.
Apart from that and save and unforseen things... fine!

Well if you want the advice of a very bored research student stuck in the German part of Switzerland - Steer well clear of here! Run away! Aaargh!

Apart from that, advice for travelling in Switzerland would be to look into getting an Sbb card for the time you are here - half price train travel etc. And if you are here for any length of time, and are under 26 years old, get a Gleis7 card which offers free train travel after 7 pm.

But your best bet is to turn right around at the border and stay in France/Germany/Italy.

Not that I don't like it here or anything.....

KC, *what* are you thinking?! Honestly!! Go to the bleedin' meet in London! I can't imagine being that close and not going!

*shakes head sorrowfully*

Someone needs to educate the boy!

TopHat - That's why I'm buying a digital camera before I go

Tube - Okay, I checked, and the cheapest available seat was 70Euro return... which might be a bit steep for my money. But we'll see - maybe I'll make a surprise appearance SOunds like a great place to stay though, thanks mate!

Perseus - Well, I probably won't be doing much in the way of touring around Switzerland; the only reason I'm even considering it is to meet Ottox/sunny, actually

Cafram - No worries, swing me a couple of hundred and I'll go for you, all right?

You could try Ryanair (http://www.ryanair.com/index.html), too.

Hmm... all of these people seem to delight in offering 9 Euro flights everywhere and then claiming that the lowest price they can offer you is 60 Euro Ah well, if I do pop over for the meet it'll probably be a last minute decision, and I'll still be coming over on the 1st of March on my way back home anyway

wo norries, the gremlins are on their way with the tickets

Ta

Oh no! Scolded by King Cthulhu!

I did actually follow you, just didn't make my presence felt initially.

So, does Strasbourg come within your definition of 'all regions of France'?

btw, how the bloody hell are you gonna work that one? It'd have to be a real whistle-stop tour! Even faster than your average Ozzie BPer!

More than happy to give you the guided tour of the Capital of Xmas if your in this neck of the woods, anyway.

Oh good, I was hoping that'd shock you into a response

Well, I guess when it comes to France, especially, what I mean is not that I'm going to be visiting every single region of France, more that we want to go everywhere in France - to put it another way, there's nowhere we don't want to go. Just how long we have is another matter entirely - since we'll be staying in Paris for 2-3 weeks, weekend trips may also be possible. Other than Paris the two main places are Toulouse and the Alps - they're the ones which have specifically been mentioned, anyway. And the 'whistle-stop' tour is definitely not the intention - if I wanted that, I'd do a *shudder* Contiki. It's largely a matter of nothing really being planned as yet - I don't even know if it'll be bus or train travel yet, and cities/regions to visit are very much a case of getting ideas. So if there's a particular reason to visit Strasbourg, it might just get added to the list

What, you mean the mere opportunity to come see someone you've never met isn't reason enough to take a 4hour train ride to the farthest corner of France before you fall into the land of the neuter noun?

Strasbourg has a certain charm. There are various European institutions here, including the part-time parliament building; a spectacular glass structure that sits in majesty just opposite the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe (don't ask what that is; suffice to say it ain't the EU, no matter what people tell you)

There is a fine old Cathedral that looks as if it's lost it's left tower; explanations vary depending on who you talk to/how much they've had to drink.

but hey, don't take my word for it... there's an h2 entry somewhere...

ah, yes, here: A590320

To be honest, it could be a good 'on the way to Deutschland' overnight stop, but probly not quite *top* of France's must-see list.

Oh, it's high on the list, but probably not *quite* enough on its own Frankly, the overnight stop on the way to Germany may well be the major reason it would get included on the itinerary - but who can say, I'll probably decide against it and end up there anyway for one obscure reason or another Options is what I'm after, just don't ask me to actually plan anything or confirm an appearance more than 2 days or so in advance

*bumps conversation back up to top of list*