European tours

[maribeth]

^sis, from amsterdam central to frankfurt, there is a train at around 7 am, only you have 2 stop-overs. The next one is at 9:34 and this is a direct one. After that comes another one at around 9:37 (and every 2 hours after), this one with 1 stop-over.

from amsterdam central to the hauge central, there is one every 18 mins. One of them goes directly and one has 1 stop-over. The price for a day-retour is 18.60 euro, while one-way ticket is 10.30 euro (for 2nd class). You will travel for about 51 minutes.

When you are already here, just go to amsterdam central and you can see which one is the direct train. I am looking at the information now which might change next year. Once you have your exact date, let me know and I could find it out for you. 

[mama squeak!]

^Thanks sis! We'll be getting the Eurail pass kasi we'll be visiting 3 to 4 countries, I know pwede yung AMS to FRA train service. But for the local trains like AMS to The Hague vice versa pwede kaya ito? Or do we have to buy the tickets you quoted?

I got this website for the train schedules:
http://fahrplan.oebb.at
Is it the same one you're looking at?

My thing kasi is to DIY our trips so we can fully appreciate the places we visit and really get into the culture and people. One doesn't get that opportunity in organised tours kasi. Dami pa akong Qs ha, wag kang magsawa ha.   

Thanks again!

[ericaberica]

^Thanks sis! We'll be getting the Eurail pass kasi we'll be visiting 3 to 4 countries, I know pwede yung AMS to FRA train service. But for the local trains like AMS to The Hague vice versa pwede kaya ito? Or do we have to buy the tickets you quoted?

If you have the Eurail pass, you can travel within the country.

I did the same two years ago.  I had the France-Benelux-Netherlands ticket yata.

 

[mama squeak!]

^Really? That's great! That will be big savings for us since The Hague will be our base while we're there. Commute kami going to AMS. Is Rotterdam far from The Hague?

By the way, would anyone know where they have the cheese auction? I saw it in one of the travel  shows but forgot the name of the place. They have all kinds of cheeses on display and one can taste test. Yum!

 

[ericaberica]

^Really? That's great! That will be big savings for us since The Hague will be our base while we're there. Commute kami going to AMS. Is Rotterdam far from The Hague?

 

´

Well it is quite near.  

[fabulosity]

Hi mama squeak! I believe the place you're pertaining to is Alkmaar?

[maribeth]

Mama squeak, sige sis, just let me know kung ano man ang gusto mong malaman. only thing I could say, maganda sa The Hauge. Go to the beach, they call it Scheveningen. They have a nice promenade there. And if you feel like shopping, pwede din. And also, Madurodam..miniature park siya. About the cheese auction, there are lots of this here. Tingnan mo na lang pagdating mo dito. And the European Court, nandoon din. If you walk along the street where the Phil. Embasssy is located, magaganda ang mga buildings doon. And if you have day to spare, go to a city here called "Maastricht". It's beautiful...

I am looking at the local website for the train information. It's in dutch though but if you want to take a look, here it is..www.ns.nl.

[mama squeak!]

^Thanks sis Maribeth! I'll take note of all your suggestions and i-research ko din. We'll probably be staying there for 4 or 5 days. We'll be staying with my cousins at The Hague so I'll tell them isama the places you suggested sa itinerary namin.

@sis fabulosity - The name does not ring a bell but I'll look it up. As sis Maribeth said marami palang cheese auction dun.

 

[nocturnanay]

hi mga sis! tanong ko lang sa mga nakapunta na sa italy. ano ang electrical outlet dun? 110v or 220v? anong klaseng adaptor ang dapat dalhin?

saka anong magandang mga pasalubong from italy na mura? at saan maganda bumili nito?

any tips would be highly appreciated. thanks in advance! 

[fabulosity]

hi nocturnanay!

220 v.

italy is huge and souvenirs really depend on the area you're visiting. venice is famous for masks and murano glass, florence specializes in leather goods and gold, don't forget stuff from the uffizi gallery and the academy (David), anything religious you get from rome, as well as your coliseum souvenirs. chianti wine is a nice gift too, as well as olive oil, limoncello, ferrero and other italian chocolates, designer bags like Gucci, Prada, and Fendi.
For food souvenirs, hit the supermarkets!
Hope this helps...     

[nocturnanay]

thanks for the tips, fabulosity!   so we have the same electrical outlet. it's good that i won't have to worry about bringing any adaptor. i'll be staying in rome mainly but i hope to visit florence, venice and milan, too. hay, sana. can i ask the following questions na din:

1)  how much would it cost to travel from rome to florence, etc? is the train the best option?
2)  how much do designer bags cost there (kahit ballpark figure lang)? how about the leather stuff?
3)  are there areas (particularly in rome) where these are sold at more affordable rates?  (think Divisoria, hehe)

thanks for taking the time to answer these. 

[mama squeak!]

hi mga sis! tanong ko lang sa mga nakapunta na sa italy. ano ang electrical outlet dun? 110v or 220v? anong klaseng adaptor ang dapat dalhin?

Italy uses 220V and the sockets are round so you'll be needing an adaptor with round prongs. Yung sa atin kasi rectangular ang prongs.

 

[krishakulit]

sis nocturnanay, round prongs nga un saksakan dun sa rome..bumili ako sa handy man nun...it cost me around 35 lang siguro..
mga pasalubong naman,i found it mas mura mamili sa rome kesa sa ibang place like (switz,germany,spain)ng  souvinirs at pasalubong.mura un leaning tower of pisa na figurines..may 1E mabibili kana..tapos keychain would cost you around 2.5 to 3.5E. tapos magnets naman(yon ang bininibi ko.) 3.5 or 4pcs for 10E usually..sa rome naman naka buy ako ng 5E na tshirts. malapit sa st peters cathedral,sa sidewalk,naka buy ako ng rosaries na amoy roses..5 for 10E..may free kechain pa.(dapat marunong ka din tumawad dun..)  too bad nga eh,konti lang nabili kong rosaries..nice pasalubong eh..at di masyado mabigat..

just in case madadaan ka naman sa paris or un ibang sis.....(ito ang pinaka murang pasalubong na nabili ko...) un effel tower na keychain.. madami kasi street vendors. 1E for 7 pcs naka bili ako...dapat magaling ka makipag tawaran..kc un mga ibang vendors..(mga black sila eh..) aggressive sa pag bebenta...

sa florence naman,naka buy ako ng leather goods sa factory..medyo mahal nga eh..(orig naman daw)but super laki ng difference sa mga shops eh..medyo nagsisi yata ako hehe i find it di padin mura hehe

sis when you say designers bags ba ibag mong sabihin lv or gucci? ive notice from the website ng lv,mas mahal ng around 15E yata un sa rome kesa sa paris..but meron parin tax refund,kaya mura na din lalabas compare sa price ng  manila...ball park figure? wallet ng lv 20k in pesos..dito 28k ang benta...un bag 37k pesos buy  ko,dito 46k. [textspeak!] pa un refund nun ha... (kya mas gusto ko buy nito branded..hehe kc me name na..kesa dun sa nakita kong leather goods sa florence,mahal pa din,di naman natin kilala dito...but pov ko lang yon ha...)

sa venice naman,(ganda dito!!) naka buy ako ng mga morano glass accesories..(sa sidewalk lang ako buy..at sa mga small shops..)not sa factory..ripoff.. un morano glass na ring cost me 5E un necklace 10E. meron ding 5E na necklace..pag set of earings,ring,at necklace 15E. may mga mas mahal..kc mas unique un designs..ok din ipasalubong..kc maliit lang,at colorful..loved it.(mas mura sa sidewalk un tinda kesa sa shops eh..pareho lang naman too bad naka buy nako madami..grrr) hehe also un venician mask,un maliit naka buy ako ng around 5E meron 6-8E basta depende sa disign. meron din 10E.. pag mas mukang mabusisi,yon mas mahal...
tapos try mo nga un supermarket..pag may mga biscuits yon pwede mo din ipasalubong..naka buy ako ng around 1.50 to 2E na biscuits..binigay ko sa boss hehe me kasamang chocolates..
well hope this helps..and enjoy your visit...ok dun..

[nocturnanay]

sis mama squeak! thanks sa tip! akala ko wala na kong dadalhing adaptor. it's good to be prepared. and i added a new word to my vocab today - prongs! (so that's what you call those thingies, hehe).

sis krishakulit, wow! i appreciate the detailed list of possible pasalubongs. i'm sure your tips would come in handy. dahil limited ang funds, kailangan may battleplan na ko when i get there. hehe. thanks talaga! 

[krishakulit]

^ sis ako din syempre medyo limited ang funds.imagine now around 65 or 66 pesos to 1E..tagal ko pinag ipunan yon trip na yan..but naisip ko andito na din ako..might as well buy na..hahaha kc i dont want to regret not buying stuff..
tapos medyo nag tipid nalang sa food..madami naman cheap food available.3.50E - 5E tapos bottled water 1.80E (dpende kung san ka bibili..) minsan malalaki naman un mga bread share pa kami ng sis ko...(ganyan kami ka tipid sa food..diet na din hehe).we dont usually eat sa resto..usually since out of time,we just grab a sandwich and shop around..water naman,well(not for the weak stomach..tap water lang ako..hehe)

sis by the way,un mga t-shirts..sa rome lang ako nakakita ng 5E each.. usually 10-16 ang isang tshirt. 12 E pang bata..dpende sa disign.. may mga resto din naman kaming nakainan sa rome,12E may coke,pizza or pasta and salad na...enjoy ako sa food ng italy..sarap..tapos ang laki pa ng servings ng pizza..

[kristala]

Maganda din pasalubong rosaries from rome and mura.. I remember buying the small and big ones before..ma a-appreciate yun ng religious peeps or kahit yung mga olds dito satin

[hachi]

Question lang sa tax refund. San pwede kunin? airport lang ba? if binili in france kailangan ba dun kunin yung refund? kasi my tita will purchase a bag for me in france pero sa germany last stop nya. hassle ba mag claim ng refund? tia!

[mama squeak!]

^sis, she can only get the refund if cash at the last EU port before her departure, in her case sa Germany. Dapat handcarry nya yung bag so she can show it to the customs officer who will process her refund.

The refunds are pretty straightforward kaya lang minsan mahaba ang pila both sa customs and the bank that one will get the cash refund. So better tell your aunt to allot more time to be at the airport para di sya naghahabol sa departure nya.

 

[hachi]

sige, i'll email her para agahan nya sa airport. sayang rin yung refund.kinukuha ba nila yung original receipt?

thanks for the info!

[mama squeak!]

^No, they don't.