Karen Bradbury

Europe Traveler

Stripes travel enthusiast Karen Bradbury shares ideas for great getaways and ways to save dollars for our Europe-based readers.

What’s going on in the next town over?

Posted June 3rd, 2008 by Karen Bradbury
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Have you ever awakened on a Saturday or Sunday to find several hours of leisure time stretching before you? Should this happy chance occur, you probably aren’t going to want to hop in the car and drive for hundreds of miles. Instead, what you’re looking for is a flea market, fest or family activity in the neighboring town. How to figure out what’s going on locally?

A surprisingly good source of information for local events is the Web sites of public transportation networks. Some of these sites offer a calendar of fun stuff going on in the local area, whereas others make you work a little harder. The sites will provide you with lists of route changes, and it’s up to you to see what particular event will be snarling up or prompting changes to the public transportation network. Unfortunately, most of the information will be in German, but don’t despair if your language skills are less than perfect. You’re aiming to get the gist of what’s going on, not buy a house.

Here are the Web sites of some German public transportation networks close to many of the areas we call home. If the site has a corresponding section with suggestions for leisure time outings, a link is provided to that as well:

Baumholder — www.der-takt.de for general info; Freizeit and Kalender.

Bamberg, Nuremberg, Grafenwöhr — Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg for general info; Free time tips; and Events.

Kaiserslautern, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Ramstein— Verkehrsverbund Rhein Neckar; Sonderverkhere for changes to routes due to festivals and roadworks.

Saarland — Der Saarländische Verkehrsverbund; and a pamphlet on Saarland’s weekly markets and fests for 2008.

Garmisch — Bayerninfo

Trier, Bitburg, and lowel Mosel region — Verkehrsverbund Region Trier; along with events throughout the region.

Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Giessen, Hanau, Mainz, Wiesbaden — Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund; the linked site Mainmove lists a few upcoming events.

Stuttgart — Verkehrs und Tarifverbund Stuttgart; also features events listings.

Once you’ve found an event you wish to attend, why not consider making your way there by means of the bus or tram? You’ll save on gas and the hassle of parking. Many of the aforementioned Web sites even allow you to search your routes in English. If you’re traveling as a family or group of friends, be sure to check the rates for “Gruppenkarte,” which offer big savings.

Ice cream violation?

On June 3rd, 2008 Terri Barnes says:

Karen,

My husband and I went to Koln last weekend and enjoyed cruising on the river, seeing the Dom and other sights. We also got booted out of an eis cafe!

Here's the scoop: I bought an ice cream cone, but my husband didn't want anything. After receiving my cone and two scoops of mocca, we walked outside and sat at a table on the sidewalk. There were many tables and only two or three were taken. A few minutes later, a waiter came out and told us in a little German and a little English that we could not sit there. He said ice cream cones are "Nur to go," and that's what we must do: Go!

Are we the victims of a snub, or were we simply ignorant of local custom, ie. "Never sit while eating an ice cream cone"? Give me the benefit of your travel experience!

Thanks,

Terri

 

Eis Cafe etiquette

On June 10th, 2008 Karen Bradbury says:

Hi Terri,

Getting moved along from a German Eis Cafe has happened to me as well! A friend and I grabbed cones and sat down in front of a shop in Darmstadt, only to be politely reminded we needed to order off the menu if we wished to remain seated there. I guess the "bargain" price of 80 cents for a cone vs. the 5 euro and more price tags on their fancy ice cream dessert creations didn’t warrant us the privilege of a seat. Fair enough, I suppose. I don’t remember if there had been any written notice advising us that cones were for take-away only. Next time I’ll know.

At least here in Germany we’re generally not subject to extra fees or the Italian “coperto” for the privilege of outdoor dining or relaxing with a beer in the sun, and for that at least, we can be grateful.

wishing you many ice cream days this summer,

Karen