Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My hub and I are thinking about a trip this fall... Probably two weeks. I am an adventurous gal, but (for better or for worse) my beloved is not. He even found Morocco overwhelming (i love him, but - ha!) So, it's looking like Europe is probably the way to go. He loves France and has been trying to learn French, so right now we are thing of a week in Paris... followed by a week in ??????

As you know, gay Paris is most decidedly ON the beaten track, so for week two, it would be fun to go somewhere a bit less on the beaten track. Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, small cities, big cities... All are up for discussion. Tell me your favorites! Tell me your least favorites!

Have you spent time in Austria? Vienna is wonderful. I hear wonderful things about Sweden and also Croatia!

Have you seen the Berlin/Vienna meet-up thread? If you come mid-October, you could join a bunch of Euro-PPKers + paprikapapaya (and husband) for vegan-ventures in awesome vegan cities. Otherwise, I would totally recommend Poland (and can give you specific info on mountain or lake stuff, if you're interested), as well as Scandinavia (even though it's incredibly expensive) and would add that I would LOVE to go to Croatia, Romania, or Hungary.

I'm from Lille so I am biased, but I feel that, outside of Amsterdam, the greater Flanders doesn't get enough love! It's a beautiful region (examples, from north to south: Lille, Brussels, Brugge, The Hague...) Half-ish Francophone, and the atmosphere is very different from Paris. Also, delicious beer.

Other than that, Scandinavia is on my list for this year. I want to time it to be able to enjoy hiking and other outdoorsy activities while also having a shot at seeing northern lights.

oh, these are great ideas so far!!!

I've been to Denmark twice (Loved it!) but haven't ever been anywhere else in Scandinavia. I also think my bubs would really like it there.

Poland! Fun! I didn't even think of that. I was in Ukraine (right next door) last year and really enjoyed it. It felt new and different from other places I've been. Any particular cities or regions you'd recommend.

Meet-ups sound fun! We were thinking more September than October (warmer weather), but since much of this is dog-sitter dependent, I will keep that in mind. We've both been to Vienna (though not together), but Berlin has been on my mind. I went there when I was 12, but as you might imagine, I don't remember much.

For the record, Croatia is AMAZEBALLS! My bubs has been there twice though, and we spent 5 weeks there together a few years back and it was probably one of our favorite trips together ever. Most highly recommended. I also loved loved loved Bosnia.

Aelle, I love the Flanders idea! I think it could be really sweet, especially after a week in the city (Paris). I've been to that area a few times, but not for years, and it would be neat to explore it some more. I think it was in Brussels that i went to a really amazing comics museum??

Great ideas, keep 'em coming!

I want to dog-sit!

Ghent (Belgium) is a really cute vegan-friendly city. And close enough that you could probably talk some of the Dutchies into visiting.

In Poland, I would highly recommend the mountains near Zakopane. They're easy to get to through Krakow = my favorite Polish city; it's about 2 hours by bus. You can hike between shelters, or rent a room and do day trips. Some of the trails cross into Slovakia. There are really cheap local buses connecting all the major trailheads w/Zakopane. I've hiked in the area a lot, and can recommend shelters and trails. Once we did a river trip; I could ask my dad for that info. if you want it. In the north (especially north east) there are a lot of lakes and rivers; we used to rent giant houses for all the cousins to stay in for a week or two in summer, and then go mushrooming and swimming. I have a friend who just started an organic farm in the east and would probably love it if you wanted to spend your holiday gardening with him. ..........Hm. Most of my ideas seem to be nature-y. Not sure if you're into that? Krakow and Warsaw are also nice cities to visit, especially Krakow. It has a castle with a secret dragon lair! And secret underground tunnels leading every which way through the city! The Baltic coast is also really pretty. Gdansk is a beautiful port city, and has an awesome castle. Krakow is probably the most vegan-friendly city; Warsaw is getting better.

re-reading that post, I can tell how tired I am. Hope you can forgive me for all that grammar.

If you and Mr. ameyfm are interested in ashram-type places surrounded by gorgeous nature, let me know and I can direct you to some of those, too. (In Poland, Germany, France or Spain.)

Jacob suggested Hungary -- it's on our list of places to visit.

I love St. Petersburg. Such a cool city, and it reminded me a lot of Paris. It's supposed to be pretty nice till mid October when the temps start to get below freezing.

Yay vacations! So excited for you!

the south of France is also a great option in addition to Paris: Marseille, Cassis, La Ciotat--think chalky cliffs and azure Mediterranean. two weeks in France could be great, and you could even rent a car and drive around to the different regions.

if/when you do Paris, get in touch, as I have lived there on and off for many years, and have recently updated my vegan Paris guide, and can help with finding places to stay, and more! it's my most favourite place on earth and i love helping people realize how vegan friendly Paris actually is.

easyjet and other low budget planes fly out of all three of the Paris aeroports. i found a super cheap flight to sweden, and really enjoyed that trip. also, barcelona is excellent and not too far.

i *love* Amsterdam and it's an easy train ride, and just a fantastic city to visit too.

so exciting!!

have you considered the rest of France? Otherwise, I recommand Belgium and Spain :)

Or Switzerland. Or the Rhine.

Belgian Prime minister might sue you for associating the words Brussels and Flanders :P , but I totally agree with you about that place! Also, the côte d'Opale is adorable! (and England is easy to reach by boat from there)

PS I was in Scandinavia last year and I srtrongly recommand Norway (<3 Lofoten, Bergen, Flam ...)

yes :)

(err ...it's not rude to post five msg in a row -or, is it?)

Word!

If you decide to go to Ireland, you could probably also talk me into visiting nature places with you. ;)

Go to Japan! It is surprisingly not overwhelming and gorgeous in the fall.

PS...I still want to dog-sit. <3

Lille and Ghent were both lovely to visit and very to easy to do both in a week.

So many great ideas! PPK is the best!

Hungary is a possibility, my bub went there a couple years ago, on a most ill-fated trip with his brothers, but he really liked it. And I haven't been in years!!

The rest of France was our original idea. Maybe Nice? Or going to see the cave art. Any other France ideas? Molasses Jane, thanks so much for the offer to advise. I'll definitely take you up on it. Lat time I went to Paris was 13 + years ago, and it wasn't so vegan friendly then.

Belgium, Norway (!) so many good ideas. This is really awesome.

Vijita, I super wish you could dog-sit! Japan is a great idea, because we would both like to go there ... But I think it would be its own trip, you know?

I loved that place!

One itinerary that you could take is to go via TGV from Paris to Marseille, spend two or so days in Marseille, and then head via train along the Mediterranean, stopping in a few little towns en route. I emphatically recommend Cassis, where you can go hiking in the Calanques--it's just breathtaking, and the rocky beaches in the town are gorgeous (though if you do this, take the bus from Marseille, as it's easier). Then you could take a train along to any of the Mediterranean towns like Menton or Nice, and even pop over the Italian border for a day and eat pizza on the beach. Marseille is well worth exploring, and that whole region along the coast is so beautiful, and full of olive oil, olives, socca (in Nice), tomatoes and eggplant. And great museums and scenery. Depending on when you go in fall, it may be still warm enough to swim, and after September it will be less crowded. I lived in Cassis for a semester and traveled all over the region and, while biased, think it's one of the most beautiful areas in the world (after Paris, which is the most beautiful!)

Seconded. (Except the part about Paris. Scandinavia's the most beautiful for me.)

Oh yeah, I would def check out the rest of France if you haven't! We rented a car for a month and drove all around the country. It was a blast! If you decide to do that let me know and I can tell you about some of the fun stuff we did! I wasn't vegan at the time but we mostly got food from grocery stores anyway and ate lots of veg-friendly noms.