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  #31  
Old January 9th, 2013, 11:20 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Jack Campin
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Posts: 135
Default Top Three Scenic Drives? Ummm.........

Who likes scenic drives? My top three scenic drives (defined
by a single day or stretch of road): [...]
What are your favorite scenic drives in Europe?


One of my favourites was completely unrepeatable: on a bus from
Dunoon to Inveraray, along the side of Loch Eck in the Cowal
Peninsula. It was early morning, with low-hanging mist and
bright sunshine. No wind at all. The surface of the loch was
like a mirror, reflecting the hills on the other side. Weather
conditions like that can only happen years apart.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin
  #32  
Old January 9th, 2013, 02:36 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Giovanni Drogo
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Posts: 811
Default Top Three Scenic Drives? Ummm.........

Who likes scenic drives? My top three scenic drives (defined

Had to be drives (in a car) ?

I like lot of scenic rail routes in Switzerland (like some variants of
Tirano-Poschiavo-Bernina-Pontresina-Filisur-Chur or Filisur-Davos)
  #33  
Old January 9th, 2013, 04:50 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
JohnT[_8_]
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Posts: 107
Default Top Three Scenic Drives? Ummm.........


"Giovanni Drogo" wrote in message
news:alpine.LSU.2.00.1301091434240.28812@cbfrvqba. ynzoengr.vans.vg...
Who likes scenic drives? My top three scenic drives (defined


Had to be drives (in a car) ?

I like lot of scenic rail routes in Switzerland (like some variants of
Tirano-Poschiavo-Bernina-Pontresina-Filisur-Chur or Filisur-Davos)


Or also including cable car, such as Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp-Murren-short
walk-Schitthorn.
--
JohnT

  #34  
Old January 9th, 2013, 10:36 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Erilar
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Posts: 599
Default Top Three Scenic Drives? Ummm.........

"JohnT" wrote:
"Giovanni Drogo" wrote in message
news:alpine.LSU.2.00.1301091434240.28812@cbfrvqba. ynzoengr.vans.vg...
Who likes scenic drives? My top three scenic drives (defined


Had to be drives (in a car) ?

I like lot of scenic rail routes in Switzerland (like some variants of
Tirano-Poschiavo-Bernina-Pontresina-Filisur-Chur or Filisur-Davos)


Or also including cable car, such as Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp-Murren-short walk-Schitthorn.


I was out of luck when I was there. All the places much above Lauterbrunnen
were enveloped in cloud 8-(

--
Erilar, biblioholic medievalist with iPad
  #35  
Old January 9th, 2013, 10:51 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Jack Campin
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Posts: 135
Default Top Three Scenic Drives? Ummm.........

Who likes scenic drives?
Had to be drives (in a car) ?
I like lot of scenic rail routes in Switzerland

Or also including cable car


The Emirates cable car across the Thames in London is pretty good,
particularly at dusk when you see all the lights from the Docklands
area.

Get in quick, as it's running at 10% of capacity and I can't see it
being there much longer.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin
  #36  
Old January 10th, 2013, 12:54 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Mark Brader
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Posts: 346
Default Top Three Scenic Drives? Ummm.........

John T. (copyedited):
Or also including cable car, such as
Lauterbrunnen-Grutschalp-Murren-short walk-Schilthorn.


"Erilar":
I was out of luck when I was there. All the places much above Lauterbrunnen
were enveloped in cloud 8-(


Last time I went there, the clouds were at the level of the top of
the valley, but it wasn't 100% overcast. My wife and I went up the
Schilthorn, and had lovely views from *above* the clouds, looking at
various mountains through the gaps. (And, conveniently, it began
clearing while we were there.)

But one of my all-time favorite travel experiences was on an earlier
trip to the same place -- on May 22, 2002, to be exact. Here's an
ASCII diagram (view in a monospaced font) of the relevant routes:

^ train to Interlaken and the outside world
|
funicular later |
replaced by | |
cable car v |
1=======2--- trains to Grindelwald and Jungfraujoch
| :
| :
| : bus along bottom of valley
| :
train | : 1 = Grutschalp
along | : 2 = Lauterbrunnen
rim of | : 3 = Trummelbach
valley | : 4 = Schilthorn
| : 5 = Birg
| 3 6 = Murren
| : 7 = Gimmelwald
| : 8 = Stechelberg
4===5===6===7===8
sequence of four cable cars

In the morning we had traveled from Interlaken to Murren, via the
funicular that was then still operating to Grutschalp, and then up
the Schilthorn. It was a perfect spring day and we were having a
magnificent time. And after the Schilthorn, we decided to squeeze
in one more attraction. We took the cable car down to Stechelberg
and the bus to Trummelbach, where there is a waterfall of about
8 leaps, most of which are underground. This was also very nice,
but we didn't make it back to the road in time, and missed the bus.
Which then operated at alternating intervals of 1 hour and 2 hours.

So I said, "You know, it's only about 2 miles from here to Lauter-
brunnen. Why don't we just walk all the way?"

The road is a dead-end route ending at Stechelberg, so there wasn't
a whole lot of traffic. But we hadn't gone very far when we saw a
sign indicating a *footpath* that would lead us Lauterbrunnen by a
similarly direct route.

And that was the highlight of a day that was a highlight of the trip.
We were on the valley floor near the middle of this pictu

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ntal_train.jpg

Magnificent valley, pretty green fields on the bottom, yellow flowers,
blue sky, no sound except cowbells, and just the occasional few people
as we moved along the footbath. Just wonderful.

Well, until we got close to Lauterbrunnen and I realized that if we
didn't force the pace we were going to miss the next train and have to
wait *there* for an hour. (We did hurry, and we caught it.)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | Bad news disturbs his game; so does good; so
| also does the absence of news. --Stephen Leacock

My text in this article is in the public domain.
  #37  
Old January 10th, 2013, 04:01 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
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Posts: 591
Default Delphi, Greece Top Three Travel Experiences? Ummm.........

On 2013-01-07 17:13:47 -0600, M@gd@ said:

On Sun, 6 Jan 2013 16:43:48 -0600, in rec.travel.europe, Dan Stephenson
arranged some electrons, so they looked like this:

[...]
...
... When I visited Delphi in 2002 I too was fortunate to have it overcast,
... though through luck rather than being seasonal. A raincloud was moving
... up the valley side. For a moment, as the rainclose rose, my feet had
... rain and my head did not. Very surreal.
...
... http://www.stepheda.com/Grand_Tour_2...Photos.html#13
...
... Delphi was one of the special places in Greece, for me. What were your
... other favorate places in Greece? I am going to revisit one day.

Delphi is just magical.

If you like archeological sites, I would recommend Dodoni - away from
the well travelled
path, but full of history and meaning. I loved Ioannina too, so quaint
and calm...

A great place to visit (if you have a car) is the Epirus region,
surprises wherever you
go, great landscapes, adorable villages and absolutely stunning stone
bridges. I want to
go back.


Thanks for the leads; I'll have to make a longer trip to Greece next time.

I thought it was a little cliche about Greek sites in Greece versus
southern Italy, Sicily, or Turkey -- true, those other places have an
impressive display and I've seen much of it -- but *Greece* itself is
just incredible! And furthermore all the myths are set there.




=====
It sounds much better in French, but then, everything does.



--
Dan Stephenson
http://stepheda.com
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #38  
Old January 10th, 2013, 04:05 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
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Posts: 591
Default Delphi, Greece Top Three Travel Experiences? Ummm.........

On 2013-01-07 16:50:05 -0600, Mike Lane said:

Dan Stephenson wrote on Jan 6, 2013:

On 2013-01-06 12:53:32 -0600, Poetic Justice said:

Dan*Stephenson wrote;

I like the cool overcastness of the British
Isles.Which is a problem for me since I am also
a fan of ancient Greek ruins, and Greece
is the antithesis of the British Isles.

Try Delphi in January.

I arrived mid-week the afternoon before so the next day I was at the
site when it 1st opened.

The 1st at least 2 hours I was completely alone in the site, it was cold
and drizzling and the clouds were rolling thru the site's ruins in wisps
like this http://tinyurl.com/aklavov

The custodians were all in their little 1 man shacks completely out of
sight and hearing, the fog/clouds and the drizzle dampened any outside
noise, I could only hear my footsteps.

It was very surreal which greatly enhanced my visit to this mystical
site.

I would not exchange that cold drizzling morning silently alone in the
clouds amongst the ruins with the most beautiful warm sunny day Delphi
ever had:-). Regards, Walter


I think I would agree, that Winter in Greece sounds very appealing.
Temperature is right, crowds such as they are, are minimized, and if
overcast -- great! Thanks for the feedback.

When I visited Delphi in 2002 I too was fortunate to have it overcast,
though through luck rather than being seasonal. A raincloud was moving
up the valley side. For a moment, as the rainclose rose, my feet had
rain and my head did not. Very surreal.

http://www.stepheda.com/Grand_Tour_2...Photos.html#13

Delphi was one of the special places in Greece, for me. What were your
other favorate places in Greece? I am going to revisit one day.



The Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothraki is one of my favourites. Partly
due to its remoteness it seemed a somewhat magical place to me, with Mount
Fengari looming nearby.

I spent a week on Samothraki in 2008. I'd really like to return someday.


Thanks for that lead. Visiting all those islands has got to be a major
undertaking, but I imagine there is a lot different about the islands,
in their own way. I want to visit Rhodes and Samos for history, in
particular.

Have you ever visited the Macedonian sites?

--
Dan Stephenson
http://stepheda.com
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #39  
Old January 10th, 2013, 04:21 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Dan Stephenson
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Posts: 591
Default Ancient Roman Sites Delphi, Greece Top Three Travel Experiences? Ummm.......

On 2013-01-06 20:56:41 -0600, Poetic Justice said:


I'm very much more into Rome's history and putting a human interest
story at a site or location makes it come alive for me. Regards, Walter


What are your favorite Roman sites?

It seems... as if a lot of it is crumbling concrete, and to honest
Italy has plenty of that already. The Coloseum, and Pantheon, are my
favorites. I've been meaning to visit Ravenna to check out the later
Roman churches and mosaics etc., but have had higher priorities.

And frankly I had enough bad experiences on my last trip. Hotels would
cost more the next morning than cited the night before, parking would
cost more when I was leaving than when I was entering, and the Agip
fuel station attendent near Modena palmed my 50 euro note for a 5 euro
note and pretended I underpaid him. Can you believe that?? The bill
was 64 EUR, so I gave him a 50 note, then looked in my pocket for a ten
and five and gave it to him. Whereupon he no longer held the 50 I just
gave him, he held a 5 euro note. He protested giving me a euro in
change until I expressed hostile body language upon him. I then drove
straight to Brindisi and took the first ferry to Greece the next
morning. Never once had anything like that in Greece. Sorry to carry
on -- there is a lot to say well of Italy -- but I had enough.

--
Dan Stephenson
http://stepheda.com
Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too)

  #40  
Old January 10th, 2013, 09:10 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Mike Lane[_2_]
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Posts: 223
Default Ancient Roman Sites Delphi, Greece Top Three Travel Experiences? Ummm.......

Dan Stephenson wrote on Jan 10, 2013:

On 2013-01-06 20:56:41 -0600, Poetic Justice said:


I'm very much more into Rome's history and putting a human interest
story at a site or location makes it come alive for me. Regards, Walter


What are your favorite Roman sites?

It seems... as if a lot of it is crumbling concrete, and to honest
Italy has plenty of that already. The Coloseum, and Pantheon, are my
favorites. I've been meaning to visit Ravenna to check out the later
Roman churches and mosaics etc., but have had higher priorities.

And frankly I had enough bad experiences on my last trip. Hotels would
cost more the next morning than cited the night before, parking would
cost more when I was leaving than when I was entering, and the Agip
fuel station attendent near Modena palmed my 50 euro note for a 5 euro
note and pretended I underpaid him. Can you believe that?? The bill
was 64 EUR, so I gave him a 50 note, then looked in my pocket for a ten
and five and gave it to him. Whereupon he no longer held the 50 I just
gave him, he held a 5 euro note. He protested giving me a euro in
change until I expressed hostile body language upon him. I then drove
straight to Brindisi and took the first ferry to Greece the next
morning. Never once had anything like that in Greece. Sorry to carry
on -- there is a lot to say well of Italy -- but I had enough.



The main problem I have with Italy is the expensive hotels that mostly don't
have twin rooms with separate beds. I know many people like myself who travel
with a friend or relative with whom they don't mind at all sharing a room,
but don't wish to share a bed as well!

Oh that, and the dreadful Italian road network that makes driving any
distance a chore rather than a pleasure

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

 




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