2013 Beercations

thelynchfella · Post by **thelynchfella** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:09 pm

Brussels next month for my 30th birthday...It's been about 4 years since i was last there....Cant wait!!!:-D...Havent booked it yet, i'm debating on whether to fly or take my van and load it full of beer!!

sprague11 · Post by **sprague11** » Fri Jan 11, 2013 3:25 pm

Looking at a few possibilities, though not entirely beer-focused; Maybe a weekend to Cleveland/Akron, Probably a side trip through Vermont when I do some Eastern Ontario conferences in the spring. Hitting Northern Ontario so probably driving back through Minnesota and potentially doing Surly, Indeed, and Summit, unless my wife puts the brakes on those plans.

Beer-B-Q · Post by **Beer-B-Q** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:22 am

Boston in May, Portland in September.

lister · Post by **lister** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:20 pm

Possibly German (Munich?), Austria (Vienna?) and maybe Italy in May/June.

Not my ideal first trip to Europe but...

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 3:08 pm

lister wrote:Possibly German (Munich?), Austria (Vienna?) and maybe Italy in May/June.

Not my ideal first trip to Europe but...

Huh, it was actually my ideal first trip to Europe (back in 2006).

It's great to see Munich & the beer halls, but like many big cities, it ain't cheap. We stayed in a hotel by the train station... and I had never seen a room that small. A day trip to Andechs is certainly worth it though.

I highly recommend spending at least a couple nights in Bamberg. We stayed at Spezial (booked online) which seemed ridiculously cheap by comparison. It's a medieval town that survived the wars, totally walkable and there's half a dozen great breweries.

We got a couples rail pass that allowed us unlimited travel for a few days of the week, which suited us perfectly.

lister · Post by **lister** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 3:33 pm

Derek wrote:Huh, it was actually my ideal first trip to Europe (back in 2006).

Ideally for a first Europe trip I would have preferred England (most of the trip would be there), two to three days in Paris, with the remainder in Belgium and the Netherlands. A second trip would see a mix of Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Spain or Portugal. A third trip would be the various Scandinavian countries. Life sometimes has other plans.

It's great to see Munich & the beer halls, but like many big cities, it ain't cheap. We stayed in a hotel by the train station... and I had never seen a room that small. A day trip to Andechs is certainly worth it though.

I highly recommend spending at least a couple nights in Bamberg. We stayed at Spezial (booked online) which seemed ridiculously cheap by comparison. It's a medieval town that survived the wars, totally walkable and there's half a dozen great breweries.

We got a couples rail pass that allowed us unlimited travel for a few days of the week, which suited us perfectly.

Smallest room we've ever stayed in was Tokyo. I'm 6'3" so I really didn't fit so well over there. The tub was a joke and if you opened up a suitcase or two there was no place to walk in the room.

I have to do some research to figure out whether I want to go or not. The above is helpful, thanks. My girlfriend is going with her family. I need to use up some Aeroplan points before they expire so the flight would be "free." We'd be splitting up the rest of the costs so overall it wouldn't be too expensive. Rail would be my preference as I'd never drive over there but the brother-in-law might. Both myself and the girlfriend would be interested in seeing medieval towns so I'd throw Bamberg into the pile of places to visit.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 4:17 pm

We spent one week in Bavaria and the rail was awesome. Then we rented a car for the second week along the wine route/Rhine. The 'Country' drives to explore castle ruins, small towns & wineries was quite nice. Though I liked the Autobaun as well.