• @Brokenbutstrong@lemmy.world
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    89 months ago

    Outside of the obvious war, Kaliningrad in certain conditions. If you have local friends there you trust, or you are fluent in Russian, you’ll have a great time. Its got a lot of nice history, some nice views, and its cheap. But if you’re an obvious tourist, they do not treat you kindly. I wore a tank top and shorts in the city on my way from Svetlagorst beach and got side eyes for my tattoos and attire. If you’re used to stereotypically polite service, it’s not as prevalent there in Russia. And if you try to be nice, you’re seen as a weirdo.

    Lithuania is also hit or miss. Vilnius and Klaipeda are nice, but are NOT tourist friendly. I used to live there, but when I went back as a kid, my mom and I spoke English and Russian. They tried to overcharge our meal significantly but my mom knowing Lithuanian caught it. The people at the corner store also questioned why I only speak Russian, and hesitantly spoke with me. Plus people on the street would call out appearances if you look different. Really good fuckin pizza though

    • @Taalnazi@lemmy.world
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      69 months ago

      Can’t exactly blame the Lithuanians for distrusting Russians, tbh. They have been not exactly kind to the country in the recent past, with their russification and whatnot.

      • @Brokenbutstrong@lemmy.world
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        19 months ago

        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

      • iagomago
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        39 months ago

        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.

  • @Tryptaminev@lemm.ee
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    89 months ago

    Depends. Are you white? Would you be recognizable as a “foreigner”? In the latter case avoid all of Germanys provinces, especially in the former East. Do not travel alone and be wary of the cops. They are usually the same groups as the local Neonazis.

  • eightpix
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    29 months ago

    Had a couch surfer stay with us a while in Kuwait. He’d been everywhere. He said that, of all places, Moldova had no redeeming qualities. Granted, things might have changed in 10 years. Does anyone care to weigh in?

  • @schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
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    179 months ago

    I have read of tourists coming to Vienna and thinking there is anything worth seeing north of the Danube.

    Unless you count the UN headquarters, there isn’t. All of that is a completely unstructured and boring mix of industrial, commercial and residential zones mostly built after WW2 like you find anywhere in the world.

    • Trollivier
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      39 months ago

      I visited Vienna in 2015 and that’s one of the places where I’d gladly move if I could.

  • @stoy@lemmy.zip
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    169 months ago

    In Sweden/Stockholm:

    Avoid Akalla/Hjulsta/Kista

    They are all boring and sees a lot of gang crime.

      • @krash@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        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.

    • @whaleross@lemmy.world
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      29 months ago

      I don’t think many tourists would head out to the far away suburbs by subway. My recommendation is to avoid Drottninggatan and “City” with the exception of some architecture or particular places of interest because it is just really too much busy people and pickpockets and hot asphalt and concrete and glass and tourist traps and chain stores.

    • @Godric@lemmy.world
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      509 months ago

      Reading the title, I would presume OP wants someone from one of those over 40 nations in Europe to say where tourists should avoid at all costs.

    • hallettj
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      129 months ago

      There was a post earlier today complaining about questions that aren’t open-ended, and therefore don’t adhere to the community rules. So here we are with a question with many possible answers (which makes it properly open-ended).

  • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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    589 months ago

    Switzerland. If you’ve got buckets of money it’s fine but donair can easily run you 18 francs and a real meal will cost you 100+. I’ve visited twice and both times the extreme costs involved have hamstrung my ability to actually enjoy things. The trains and geography are amazing - but the streets full of jewelers and high fashion specifically targeting millionaires or up are an awful example of late stage capitalism.

    • @Raylon@lemmy.world
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      479 months ago

      Sorry but you’re exaggerating, a full meal including drinks in a mid-level establishment will be at max. 50 chf and that’s being generous. And with cheaper places you can even stay below 20 chf.

      Yes, Switzerland is expensive but there’s no need to lie about it. Also the stuff about millionaires and all maybe fits a couple streets in Switzerland that are very touristy but there are plenty of places not at all like this.

      • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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        109 months ago

        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.

        • @safesyrup@lemmy.hogru.ch
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          159 months ago

          I don‘t know where you‘re eating lol. A döner in zurich is about 14-15 francs at the moment never seen one for 18 francs and they increased prices the last two years as well.

          If you‘re having a meal and drinks for 50 francs per person you have likely been to a fancy restaurant. Don‘t get me wrong, it absolutely is possible to easily go over 50 francs, however its also is very easy to stay below that and still have a good experience.

    • @Blizzard@lemmy.zip
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      49 months ago

      donair can easily run you 18 francs and a real meal will cost you 100+.

      What the fuck…??? 😲

      • @Borovicka@lemm.ee
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        39 months ago

        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.

    • @merari42@lemmy.world
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      29 months ago

      I paid 20€ for a Pizza Margherita in Oslo once. In some very rich places you can feel like a tourist from a developing country even if you are from a less-rich high-income country yourself.

    • @dwt@feddit.de
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      109 months ago

      I’ve visited multiple times with a camper, and if you use apps like park for night to find free or cheap places to stay!then buy your own ingredients to cook, it’s actually really acceptable. And the nature is gorgeous!

    • @Decency8401@discuss.tchncs.de
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      39 months ago

      I live in switzerland and my lunch costs CHF 2.50 so I don’t know where you’ve been eating for one hundred + francs for a ‘real meal’.

  • @Fifrok@discuss.tchncs.de
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    349 months ago

    Here’s what I would avoid when traveling to Poland:

    • Zakopane, it’s overpriced and very crowded. If you want to visit the area the town is in your better off staying in smaller villages, unless you have to use public transit.
    • Szczecin --not an ‘avoid at all cost’ but more of a ‘there are better cities to visit’-- this-or-that part of the city is always being remodeled/reconstructed and there’s no ‘old city’ with day and night life focused between two shoping centers and some roundabouts in the city center. If you want to go sight-seeing Kraków, Wrocław or Gdańsk are much better choices.
    • Mazury lake district, beautiful lakes and decent nightlife, shit infrastructure - roads are narrow (two bigger cars can’t pass eachother without going offroad) and often lacking sings and other markings
    • Podlaskie Voivodship, even worse infrastructure than Mazury, it’s rural, mainly towns and villages with nothing a tourist might want to see. You might think it’s a good place to go star-gazing but Bieszczady are a lot better for that (Tho you should probably go to a Dark Sky Site for that, there’s one close to Bieszczady, in Slovakia)
    • THE SEASIDE, it’s crowded, expensive, the sea is cold and it’s fumcking wimdy, go to like Italy, Croatia, Portugal or Spain instead

    Also in general avoid capital cities, they are often the worst of major cites in a given country.