Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with europe and netherlands

Vegetarian seeks tasty food in Western Europe

embrangled — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:57:04 -0800

What tasty foods should an adventurous vegetarian eat in the UK and Western Europe? I eat eggs and dairy, but not meat and only rarely fish. I'm not overly uptight about trace animal products or stock. I'll be travelling through England, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. These countries aren't generally known as hotbeds of vegetarianism, but I'd still like to try as many interesting local foods as I can.

A meat-eating friend has been joking that I'll starve - I'm more optimistic, so help me prove him wrong. I'm not worried about what I'll eat, but I'd like to expand my culinary horizons beyond "That one vegan cafe in the hippy district". Which quintessential European meals and snacks just happen to be meat-free?

NTSC XBox 360 in Europe?

ninotchka — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:30:25 -0800

Using an American (NTSC) Xbox in Europe (land-o-PALS)? I have a 2008 XBox 360 Elite (120GB), bought in the US, NTSC. I'd like to bring it (and my NTSC games) with me to Europe to hook up to the television (which has already been provided) in my new apartment. My landlord was unable to answer me as to whether the TV was able to accept both PALS and NTSC, or only the former.
What I'm bringing: the XBox, the games, all of the cords that came with it (the AV cable, the HDMI cable, etc), a 1000-Watt step-up/step-down transformer (so as to, I hope, safely sidestep any power issues), and the other little peripherals.
Assuming, worst-case, that the TV is not HDMI and, for whatever reason, is PALS-only, do I have the basic physical bits necessary to eke even a mediocre picture and hookup out of the whole thing? Or should I buy some NTSC-to-PALS conversion kit before I leave? Any other problems with this scenario?
Any advice from anyone who's lived in Europe and made a U.S. video game system/XBox 360 work would be tremendous. I'm not disheartened by an imperfect picture, but if I'm missing a whole component I'm eager to know. Thanks, all!

Help me get from Santiago to Serbia.

acidic — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:03:06 -0800

What's the cheapest or best way to get from Santiago de Compostela, Spain, to Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia? Optional: a detour through the Netherlands. I'm backpacking through Spain this summer and ending up in Santiago de Compostela or thereabouts. From there I have the option to go to the Netherlands for a month and then Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia etc for a little less than a month, then flying out of Prague, or going straight to central/eastern Europe and spending a bit more time there. Wherever I go I'll be WWOOFing for part of the time but also camping and couchsurfing in larger cities. I'm interested in:
- The best way to get out of Santiago, and
- Thoughts on spending a month in the Netherlands-- how expensive is it? For a young female traveling solo how does it compare to central/eastern Europe? Would it be worth it to skip the Netherlands and spend almost 2 months in Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia and other surrounding countries? Eventually I need to end up in Prague, although I don't plan to spend much time there at all.

Any additional advice regarding any of my destinations would be appreciated as well, of course! Previous threads about Dubrovnik and Ljubljana are what convinced me to head to that part of the world in the first place.

Tourist fun in northwestern Germany

transporter accident amy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:54:06 -0800

Family members who will be visiting me in Amsterdam in April have requested that we spend a day in Germany. What cool stuff can we do in northwestern Germany, fairly close to the Dutch border? I'd like to keep the train trip under three hours each way (and I would love to keep the tickets under €50 per person, round trip). They don't want to travel by air or stay overnight.

* Level of touristyness can be high or low.
* Museums are fine, although history is preferred to art.
* Old buildings/castles/churches are a big plus.
* Natural beauty is a plus.
* Everyone is able-bodied, but highly physical activities like hiking or horseback riding are probably out.
* They're non-drinkers, so no beer gardens/wineries.
* We're totally limited to public transportation.

(I thought of Cologne, but it's kind of at the upper end of my travel time and cost desires.)

Screw Chevy Chase

Christ, what an asshole — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:03:51 -0800

I'm looking for underrated, obscure European vacation stops. A couple friends and I are going to Europe for a month (Nov/Dec), and we plan on doing the whole Eurorail/hostel thing across several countries. 1/3rd of the destination stops are for my choosing, and while I know they'll be making the saturated, obvious choices like Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, etc., I'd like to spice things up with places that don't automatically spring to mind but offer the same level (if not more) of awe. Ideally, cities that aren't automatic tourist stops where most everyone speaks English and there's a McDonald's on every corner (but also not so far out of the way from mid-Europe like some hole-in-the-wall, Eastern-European Caspian city).

What sort of places have you visited that you would recommend?

Accomodations in London, Belgium & The Netherlands

dhammond — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:49:14 -0800

I'm going to London, Belgium and the Netherlands from May 10th-24th, and I'm looking for great places to stay. My tentative itinerary:

London (5 nights - 5/10-5/15)
Brussels (1 night - 5/15-5/16)
Bruges (2 nights - 5/16-5/18)
The Netherlands (6 nights - mostly Amsterdam, but other cities as well - 5/18-24)

I'm traveling alone, and I'm interested in hearing from those who are quite enthusiastic about a certain place and want to tell me how great it is.

My basic requirements:

-- Located in or very to close to the city center, preferably away from tourist areas as much as possible.

-- Decent value. Less than $200 a night in most places, though I will go up on that in London or if it's a really spectacular place and gives a nice bang for my (floudering) buck.

-- No hostels.

--Big bonus points for buildings with nice, old-timey architecture.

For the Netherlands, I'll be spending a good deal of time in Amsterdam, but I would also be interested in hearing about other towns and cities that might be worth an overnight stay or long day trip.

As a point of reference, I stayed at the Strand Palace in London last year and, though I found it a bit shabby, it was a steal at under $200 in an incredibly central but not too touristy area. I don't mind staying there again, but would love to try something different if you can recommend something.

Thanks, y'all!

What to do with 3 days outside Amsterdam?

justkevin — Sat, 27 May 2006 15:27:58 -0800

In The Netherlands for a few days, what to see outside Amsterdam? I'm flying out to The Netherlands next week for the Pinkpop festival (subject of a previous AskMe) and have a few free days in my schedule from Tuesday the 6th to Friday the 9th. I've been to Amsterdam a couple times and would like to get outside of the city (plus I don't want the friend I'm visiting to feel like he has to entertain me the whole time I'm there).

If the weather is nice, I'm hoping to rent a bike and tour the country. Any route suggestions?

What's a good backup plan if the weather's going to be terrible?

Enjoying NW Europe on the cheap?

knapah — Fri, 19 May 2006 10:14:22 -0800

TravelFilter: This summer I and 3 friends are planning on travelling around part of Europe by train and are looking for advice on the main areas we plan to stay in. Information on hostels or other cheap accommodation (first hand if possible) would be great (more inside) We are students in the UK and are planning on getting the Interrail pass for Zone E (France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) so we can travel with relative freedom for 16 days.

We plan to stay in these cities primarily (although advice on other places in the general area would be accepted):

Lille (2 nights)
Brussels (3 nights)
Amsterdam (4 nights)
Luxembourg City (1 night)
Northern France including Paris (6 nights)

What I am looking for in particular are cheap (in the vicinity of €20 to €30 per night) hostels in each of the first 4 cities and also general advice for places to stay/see in Northern France.

Any other advice from people who have had InterRail or Eurail passes before would also be appreciated.

Many thanks

Cheap Flights in Europe

fionab — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:05:58 -0800

I usually find great prices for flights. But I'm coming up empty on this route: Amsterdam to Zurich. I've checked a few of the usual suspects (RyanAir, EasyJet, Expedia, BMI Baby, Fly Globespan, CheapFlights, Swiss Air, KLM, Travel Jungle, Travel Cuts, Student Universe, STA Travel, probably a few more) and the route either isn't offered, or it's at least $200 US. I need the flight on July 15th, and $200 US seems extraordinarily high for such a short flight.

Any ideas? I can't do train/overland or an auction site, as I have something in Amsterdam the day before and a dinner in Zurich on the evening of the 15th, so I need to arrive earlier in the day. What are other no-frills airlines that might fly that route that I haven't yet found? Is it just because the Euro is strong? I only need one way, but it seems that the return fares are actually much cheaper. Other factors: I'm a full-time student, if that will help, but I'm 26 so many of the European 'youth' fares that end at 25 won't work.

I'm guessing that I'll have to suck it up, but it just seems odd that it would cost that much, when I've taken so many European flights for ridiculously cheap fares. Perhaps I'm paying my dues now, and subsidizing my previous deals. What are your secrets for cheaper European airlines or European student travel deals?