The internet has broken my brain.

scnr is a new one on me and in an attempt to figure it out, my brain did not land on the now rather obvious "sorry, could not resist" but "skibidi cap no rizz" as some kind of ironic initialism

I'm gonna go and find some grass now

I've used very similar techniques on men in bars who don't think no is a complete sentence.

I'm well past the age for shame. I will make a fool of myself if it means some twerp will think twice about harassing a woman who's repeatedly turned them down

I'd never considered doing the same for scammers - great idea! I'm just overly polite and that makes me seem like a target I think.

That is hilarious but too much effort. A simple 'Fuck off' should suffice.

I just don't engage. You don't have to talk back and they get the hint rather quickly that there are more rubes nearby.

How about Venice?

Pisa has a few other places, but you can see the city in a day and not miss anything.

We were in the mood for a chill day, so it was nice to just chill in a park and walk through some random old neighborhoods until we stumbled across a restaurant. There's nothing chill about Milan, though, at least not where a clueless tourist would find it.

We may have just gotten lucky. I also had a great time in Venice once by wandering off randomly and ending up somewhere I can only assume tourists don't normally go. We bought some fruit off a boat which was both delicious and very affordable, so I assume the target demographic was not tourists. I'm pretty sure that's not the universal experience of Venice either.

Hey that's exactly what my rent / wage split was in the UK last year. The only reason anything got better is that minimum wage went up while my rent hasn't yet.

Airbnbs/rentals drive up the cost of housing.

I assume because demand outstrips supply, the "value" of the rental units is inflated and landlords can charge more, pricing out locals

Think about it for a second, no, half a second and see if anything occurs to you.

Donair? What's that? Fancy Doner Kebab made with Don Perignon and air?

A full meal including drinks will usually run 50 chf per person if you're a couple most meals will run 100+ - it is possible to eat on a budget (we've usually relied on sausage stands and donair). And yea, I'm mostly talking about what you'll find in Lucerne, Zurich, or Geneva where you're likely to visit.

Well it's simply not true, doeners are 10-15, and meals in sitdown restaurants are 12-25. I live in Zurich, restaurants are slightly cheaper than in the US ( plus there is no tip or extra tax, what you see on the menu is what you pay) - but there are less budget options available.

How did you get a 2.50CHF lunch? Migro prepacked sandwich?

I always struggle to find cheap lunch options.

So knowing that European consider Swiss people cold, imagine how cold they are.

They are stone cold to foreigners - so many English speaking wealthy people live there and they are not welcomed into the local communities. It can take a decade to make local Swiss friends.

Then you should visit south europe. Europe is divided by the alps in a lot of things, like potato or tomato as main ingredient in meals. But also in culture itself. Everything north of the alps is kinda cold and seems unhappy/angry and stressed all the time and south of it people seem chill, happy and friendly.

It seems like you've never been to Germany

Things get less well connected in the more eastern nations, especially heading down to Greece.

Well, there are some exceptions. This year, I'm travelling by train to all my holiday destinations, but the last connection I will fly because the trains run in such a stupidly way.

Just to note, this doesn't apply to the UK. Our trains are generally useless and expensive.

I understand there’s a right way to do it, but allow me to assure that the two murky trays behind this bar were not acceptable by any means. I didn’t want to get too graphic, but glasses went from the customer hand, a quick slosh and a rub in liquids that would make any civilized health department shriek, wiped “dry” with a filthy rag that had just wiped the bar top, filled with the next drink and handed to the next customer.

This is the kind of stuff where you see it in a movie like so: the scoundrel hero walks into a dive bar in the spaceport, orders a drink, the camera makes sure you see the pustulent, greasy alien clean the vessel using the above process. The alien pours a questionable liquid into it, and slides it to the observing hero who has been keeping a stone-faced expression but for a hint of discomposure as he receives the drink. After the briefest pause in frame to let you know he questions what he is about to do, he downs the beverage. You can’t help but cringe along with the hero and think licking the alien might have been safer.

(Am not comparing or suggesting Montenegrins are in any way shape or form like the hypothetical alien)

I once had a French co-worker tell me that the rest of France would divorce you if they could.

My experiences in Rocket League can confirm. People being toxic in chat? Tell them something in chat back -- get the "tg" to confirm French. Every goddamn time, always the French that are so rude.

Why? Why are they having such a bad day every day? Play a game to have fun ffs.

Please don't hate me: Paris, really.

Bretagne

the south, I'm told.

If you want to stay in Germany and hop across the border, Strasbourg and Colmar are both nice towns. Has German influence but you get the benefits of being near the black forest for a 2 for 1 trip.

Toulouse is a pretty laid back larger city that is beautiful without being overly touristy

Most places in the south

La Rochelle, Nantes are both nice from my experience.

I've been to Paris 3 times, I'm from BC in Canada. April, May and October I went. Had an amazing time every time, people, food, places. It's one of my favorite cities.

I also liked Paris and I've been there twice in summer. People weren't actively going out of their way to be unfriendly to us, so this was great compared to the rest of france.

Everyone we asked for help did their best to help us, though we have 0 french knowledge. I had very different experiences elsewhere in France (we quickly learned to only speak to arab people outside Paris, if we needed help, worked fine).

We skipped most touristy places and just had a few relaxing days there both times. So that might also be, why we had a pleasant time in Paris.

I'd say Romania is actually relatively safe crime-wise for tourists. Comms services are better than in my homecountry (always had 4G on my last trip to Romania even in rural places in the mountains, while I sometimes do not have any signal in German high-speed trains between two large cities). Dangerous widlife is actually an issue. Lot's of bears, wolfes, snakes, etc. Also bad tourist infrastructure in really rural places.

Nothing happens to them because all the bad parts of Romania aren't in places where backpackers would go. Only "bad" part of visiting Romania is that tourism isn't as developed as in other countries. So not as many signs/information/buses to and from places. That also makes lots of places harder to find and reach but also a lot more pristine. Romania's countryside is one of the best, hands down.

No problem, its not some golden rule you should follow (especially from an internet stranger) but it's mainly bad roads, bad economy (poor police/ambulance availability), the little Roma villages/gipsy makeshift living areas, where I would not show up alone with any valuables (similar to gipsy ghettos near big cities) and last but not least wildlife. While bears and other predators are not uncommon, rabid dogs are also a possibility.

Before somebody accuses me hating Romania (its a beautiful country with incredible landscapes and the capital and developed parts are very popular tourist destinations), the above is also applicable for many other europen countries. This is why I strongly suggest doing some research before planning such trips, as the relative safety and enjoyment of a holiday can vary from region to region within a small country. This is why its borderline impossible to give a straight answer to the original post.

Nothing. Romania is generally fine. I hitchhiked an couch surfed solo. Had only good experiences.

It really is sad. For more than 25 years I've been visiting Portugal (so yes, I'm part of the problem...) and every year it gets a bit worse: endless new hotels destroying the beautiful views of the cliffs, villages mostly catering the needs of tourists, ...

I just wish I hadn't told everyone how amazing it is in Portugal 🥲

That's really sad, because one day I wanted to go and learn Jogo do Pão. I hear it's a dying art but they're trying to keep it alive.

I got dragged to Málaga against my will (family stuff) and it was horrible. More pubs than tapas places to cater to the British crowds...

I don't think there is any way right now to come without negatively affecting the locals. Essentially, the tourists to locals ratio is out of hand. A few of the problems we are facing:

1. Everything is overcrowded. Our public infrastructure is barely equipped to handle the population of 10M, on top of that add the 36M visitors we saw in 2023. It may be fun and exciting if you are here for a couple of days, but living through that all year long is exhausting.
2. Everything is overpriced. Most people coming to Greece have expendable income we don't have, along with overcrowding, this sets prices we cannot afford. Airbnb has definitely exaggerated the housing crisis, but it's not the only issue. When you are eating, drinking, visiting historical sights, or doing any activity, you are contributing to that.
3. Our economy is over-reliant on tourism. As someone else commented, no other type of industry can compete with tourism, every year more places lose their identity as they adapt to the ever-growing needs of the tourism industry.
4. Our history is being erased. Visiting a historical sight may a wonderful experience for you, but every step you make, every photo you take, every trash you throw, impacts the place you are visiting, destroying little by little thousands of years of history.

As a personal note, my income is a few times the national average, and yet I cannot afford to go on vacations this year...

As a (not) fun challenge you can try to limit your budget to around 30 eur per day per person. You will fail, probably won't even find living accommodations within that budget, but it will give you an insight on our struggles.

This is definitely a discussion that can take place over there!

Both Stockholm and Gothenburg are really nice cities - they're pretty safe too unless you seek out drug lords or park your bike without a decent lock. Just don't come here during the winter - you'll be depressed by the lack of daylight.

True, but Göteborg has its own areas to avoid. Hjällbo comes to mind...

If you haven't been to France before, make Carcassonne your first stop. It's a wonderful village with an exceptional walled medieval hamlet.

Can't see a way to do it privately, sorry. Unless you know a way

There's one here in the US that doesn't have any signage at all. Just a lightly pink door. It opens down into one of the coolest restaurants and live performance places in the city. It has become pretty popular.

Why?

As an American (but an immigrant), who wants to go to Amsterdam, what can I do to be mindful and not annoying?

True, but also if you go to Amsterdam as a tourist, you'll end up in the tourist trap places. Shady coffee shops, tours of the red light district, and over priced bars where you have to pay for toilet usage. And you can be rushed through the Anne Frank house for a price.

Yeah for sure, avoid big groups of British English speaking dudes for sure (and some of my best friends are English and they would agree!)

And drugged pieces of shit as well. It's a horrible city if you don't do that kind of stuff

As someone planning on visiting there in a year or two, do you have any advice?

Ten opzichte van welke andere hoofdsteden?

NYC was also disgusting.

Yes, but you can give grace to a 12 year old child who speaks Russian with an American accent minding his own business buying an inch cream cone. Prejudices exist, but so does a brain cell. Still, I have to give grace, this was ~2009

It's been rough for both due to the tensions. I was supposed to be Lithuanian but ended up born in Russia. My brother is Lithuanian. He would fail classes just because he was Lithuanian in a Russian school (90s). My mom had to pretend to be best friends with the teacher so he could pass. He used to also get into a lot of fights to and from school.

We immigrated to the United States when I was 5, so luckily I didn't get that treatment in Lithuania. Fortunately, I have good memories from my Lithuanian pre-school

The best vegan recipes are indian. You can certainly eat well as a vegetarian in London, but most places will have an indian restaurant with a few veggie choices.

Depends where you go, the vegetarian and vegan scene in Brighton is pretty damn impressive.

I have a friend who went to London and just ate at Whole Foods all the time. So, vegans can survive.

Also tons of great indian restaurants and some intersting traditionally english foods to try.

Disagree. Central Paris is something special. Like any European capital there's tons of stuff to see and do.

It falls off off a cliff once you've done the centre though.

París was ok when I went, but I do really remember there being loads of dogshit everywhere.

I just went on a trip to France last month and while I wouldn't say Paris was the highlight, the Louvre and Musée D'Orsay were unforgettable experiences. The Versailles gardens were pretty great too but that's not really in Paris I don't think.

Kokosnoten zijn geen specerijen

aside from the weather (which is nicer in Sicily), it's an archipelago that pretends at all costs to have a relevant European history while offering no way of exploring that history whatsoever. The rampant touristisation of La Valletta has turned it into what's basically an all-ecompassing sprawl of luxury hotels and discos where prices are inflated. I did not have a nice time there and would not go back even if I had the chance.

Several hostels I stayed at closed at 10 pm and wouldn't allow people to go in or out

This comment doesn‘t hold any value anyway. Just bashing the people living there and then saying the whole country is shit.

Usually, yes. But not where I stayed. It was all locked down. Maybe I just had bad luck. It was in Triest and Milan by the way.

Swedes told me that Malmö is a rough and ugly city before I went there. And honestly it was a fairly average coastal city that did not seem rough at all. Also had some beautiful spots.

Yeah, I visited sweden once, where I camped in nature. The cities were meh, but the nature was very nice.