UK/Europe 09

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg

Master Exploder
Apr 13, 2001
10,886
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Victoria, Australia
thevesselproject.bandcamp.com
Hello! Obviously we have a few regulars on here from that part of the northern hemisphere, and a few others that have travelled there in recent years, so I thought this as good a place as any to ask for some holiday advice.

My girlfriend and I will be backpacking around the UK and Ireland for a few weeks from the end of May, before heading over to Belgium for a few music festivals, then down to Spain, some France and Italy, maybe Switzerland, back up to Amsterdam, then back to London and home. Thats the rough plan anyway!

So my question is, what are some attractions/touristy things/places to go/must see shit that you can recommend, or that any of you have done before and really enjoyed? Open to any suggestions really!

Cheers!
 
I really haven't seen that much outside of London actually. Spent a bit of time on the Isle of Wight but it's more a nice place to visit than there being lots of sights to see. Hopefully going up to Scotland in October/November to visit Doune Castle, the one that was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
 
York's a nice little historic city, as are Lincoln and Chester. Nottingham's pretty cool and Liverpool's got a different feel to the rest of England. If you're a Beatles fan there's also that aspect to it... Then you've got all those places down south like Stonehenge, Avebury stone circle and Bath, which are all definitely worth visiting.
 
Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland is the place to be :)
It is where all the good pubs and clubs are. It is kinda like The Rocks in Sydney I guess.

Edinburgh Castle is an obvious one... That was cool.
Then there is the Moulin Rouge and Eiffle Tower etc.
Ann Franks house in Amsterdamn was ok. Obviously check out the red light district and the cafes.... catch a live sex show perhaps? Maybe a boat ride in the canals?

But really.... just go to Ireland and spend all your nights in the Temple Bar region of Dublin :lol:
 
Switzerland looks beautiful. I think it's expensive, but it looks stunning from all accounts I've seen. There's a Giger museum there somewhere, if you dig Giger. Next time I'm in Europe I'm definitely going to Switzerland.

Been to Belgium very briefly. If you like beer, I highly recommend spending some time there. It's a beer-lovers paradise. Hung out in Brussels and Bruge. Bruge is one of these tiny, preserved medieval towns. You could see most of it in a weekend. If I had more time, I would definitely check out Ypres in Belgium where lots of the ANZACS saw action in WWI. There's also a cat festival in Ypres during May this year, it looks pretty gnarly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kattenstoet
 
Kem said:
Switzerland looks beautiful. I think it's expensive, but it looks stunning from all accounts I've seen. There's a Giger museum there somewhere, if you dig Giger. Next time I'm in Europe I'm definitely going to Switzerland.
Click to expand...

a friend guy got back from an European tour and went to the Giger Museum and Bar (seperate but in the same building).
Said ti was a complete and utter hide spin but they are fascists about not allowing photographs and such being taken inside of the museum.

oh, well.

my mother is also currently on tour in Europe, so it seems to be the place to go at the moment.

it all comes down to costs and what interests you.
Eastern Europe i meant to be awesome with a great open metal culture.
the UK & Ireland is meant to have a ton to do if you want to get off the main tourist tracks and just go exploring.
Meant to be great if you are into ruins and such too.

anyway, mate, just go and have fun. that's what really counts. :headbang::kickass:
 
A question for you Brits...what are some good indie music stores? Second hand shit/vinyl/merch/metal stores/anything in particular? Is there anywhere in London that has more Maiden stuff than the average music store?

Also, is there any good markets in London or anywhere else?
 
Camden is the place to go, young man :) Loads of cool rock/metal/punk style markets and stores there as far as I'm aware (being a shut-in myself, Bev may be best to answer;))

As for stores with Maiden stuff... do you mean rarieties, or just general Maiden stuff?
 
You're asking someone who shops for her CD's on Amazon! :lol: I have a mate who would know, I'll text him and find out for you. I used to use one in Peckham and another really good second hand one in Notting Hill Gate - it was right around the corner from the Queen fanclub which is how I found it. That was 20 years ago though, so not sure what it's like now.

Curiosity got the better of me - it's still there. http://www.mveshops.co.uk/ And they have a store in Camden too. Camden is a must go place for you, trust me. You'll find a ton of alternative stuff in the markets, and when my mate gets back to me I'll have some names of specific stores for you. :) If you're looking for Metal pubs and clubs, pop into the Intrepid Fox, just under the Center Point Tower on the corner of Oxford St and Charing Cross Road, and there's the World's End and Devonshire Arms both in Camden. For clubs, Mark and I like Friday's at the Electric Ballroom in, you guessed it, Camden. :) Downstairs is mostly industrial, upstairs is more old school and 80's metal (be warned, there's a bit of hair metal up there too, so if you don't like that sort of thing... ). Found this site which might be of some use for you - http://www.camdenlock.net/ . Be warned - Camden has become home to wanky Hoxton toss pots, but it is still the centre of the alernative world in London, so look past all the wanky bollox and ye shall be rewarded. :)

Hope that helps. :) BTW, we'll be at the Ballroom on May 29th, so if you're in town let us know. :)
 
Some cool places to go in London that I went to when I was there, as far as metal-esque attractions go, are:
- Camden Town, the markets are nearly all punk, metal, goth & alternative stuff, plus a couple of very cool pubs there
- We drank at a pub called "The World's End" in Camden a few times which is pretty lively, and have a cheap kitchen and they only play metal albums through the PA as well
- Friday nights at the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town as well, big place, lots of rooms playing different styles (a smaller room upstairs played heaps of hair metal, there was heavier & more modern metal in the main room, etc), ridiculous security check though!
- We went to Intrepid Fox as well (went there after the Wednesday 13/Hanoi Rocks show at The Astoria), the place was packed and lots of girls too haha, it was Halloween night so they were all in little blood-stained nurse outfits & all that

Other cool stuff we did in London:
- Went to countless English pubs. Great food (and way better value than buying fast food there too), atmosphere, and very proud of their local ales! The White Lion near Covent Gardens had the best pies out of them!
- Didn't do a Jack The Ripper tour but my sister & I both went to Whitechapel on our own one night just to walk around and see what we could find, only found one of the slaying sites because after looking at a map later we realised we started at the last one in a certain direction then walked the wrong way haha. It's a pretty ghetto area around there though!
- We went to Portobello Road just because we grew up watching Bedknobs & Broomsticks haha
- Me & Julian stayed around the Bayswater area, in which the main road is quite boring as it's tourist-driven but the buildings around there are awesome, all really old matching white row-houses, classic London look!

As far as music shopping goes, I wouldn't bother there. London's not a great city for shopping (though Camden Town has lots of cool stuff). It's not like it's terrible, it's still better than alot of other cities including Australian ones, but we're just pretty damn spoilt for shopping in Melbourne anyway and going to a city like London which you would expect to have even cooler stuff makes you realise how good we have it. So that's not something I'd invest time into while you're there. It's also more expensive so doesn't have the whole "picking things up cheaper overseas" factor that the USA does.

Outside of London, I went to Torquay, Nottingham & Birmingham. Torquay is beautiful, Nottingham is quite a nice town (had a great time there), and Birmingham in my opinion is pretty bleak. If you go to Nottingham, there is an UNREAL pub you must go to.. I can't remember the name but it's pretty much like a dungeon and the tables where you sit down at are kind of in old cells and stuff. Also had a primarily hard rock jukebox.

Amsterdam is an awesome place to visit. By day, it's a postcard-picturesque city built around canals with the most unreal architecture, and by night the red light district is just killer & anything goes. But excercise a bit of caution because there are alot of muggers & drug dealers operating - I was mugged twice in one night!! Don't let yourself get talked into going up to the Banana Bar either. The tout is great at selling it to you, even had my sister going "We're going in!!!!" but doesn't quite live up to his pitch. Make sure you try some Dommelsch beer there too, it's great.
 
Have to agree with Trix as far as music shopping: you'd think London would have loads of different stuff but there's nothing you couldn't find in Melbourne, IMO. The £ is quite weak so prices should be comparable to Oz, but not sure if you'll find any bargains except in perhaps some 2nd hand vinyl places...

The Worlds End pub is on top of the Underworld, so if you go to see Blaze, drop into the Worlds End first for a few pints :) Very much a metallers pub.

As far as Maiden stuff, all the Maiden landmarks are gone now :( The Ruskin has been sold I think (and isn't anything like it used to be), and the Roundhouse (Soundhouse) is now a Tescos I think :) You'll see the BBC building the Eddie stuck a flag into tho ;)
 
These guys are in Camden - http://www.resurrectionmusic.com/

There are two things you need to understand NOW before you even get on your plane: 1. London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Deal with it now. Don't convert during your trip, it will make you weep. 2. We are a small island in the Northern Hemisphere. It's generally cool and wet. If you get sunshine and warmth on your skin, it's a bonus. :)

Accept both of those things now, and you'll have the most fantastic trip. :)
 
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