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Post by slb2 on Mar 5, 2008 13:23:24 GMT -5
I've no idea what a good price to Berlin, Germany would be? I'm checking flights leaving Minneapolis, landing in Berlin (Hamburg would be better), leaving Paris and returning to Minneapolis.
What sort of price range should I hope for?
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Post by doctork on Mar 5, 2008 21:43:07 GMT -5
Susan, I ran this at vayama.com (my favorite for international airfares) for a 10 day trip April 15 - 25 and got $817 RT via Hamburg, and $810 for Berlin, both outbound on Northwest to Amsterdam, connecting there to either city. I assumed ground transport (train?) between Germany and France, so I didn't look at that flight.
That seems rather high to me for shoulder season, as I'd have thought $500-$600 for shoulder, then $800 - $1,000 for summer season. But I've read that airfares to Europe are higher this year, not to mention prices on the ground once you're there.
Play with it a bit online, to check alternate dates, different trip duration and days of the week to see if you get some better numbers. You might try Icelandic Airlines too, as I believe they have flights from MSP.
There are often great fares for "long weekend" or spur of the moment trips booked only 1 - 2 weeks in advance, and they often include hotel for lower than the quoted cost of airfare alone.
If I have trouble getting a reasonable fare or itinerary, I call my favorite travel agent at Andavo Travel in Denver, and pay the $25 fee.
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Post by slb2 on Mar 6, 2008 0:56:31 GMT -5
Thanks, DocK. I was coming up with about a $1,000 price, even on Icelandic Air. I'll keep looking. Although I'm starting to wonder if it'll happen. Ace can't even think about me taking the trip--sends him almost into panic mode. ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/sad.png) I might have to settle for something else.
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Post by booklady on Mar 6, 2008 5:48:39 GMT -5
DocK, I exalted you. ![:-*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/kiss.png) You always have great travel advice (and I speak from personal experience! ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) )
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Post by doctork on Mar 6, 2008 13:31:08 GMT -5
Thanks, bookie.
"They say" good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.
Guess I've learned my travel advice the hard way, but I have learned.
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Post by gailkate on Mar 6, 2008 17:32:07 GMT -5
Have I missed the hopes and dreams for a trip to Berlin? Why are you so eager to go? I would have thought you'd want to go to France. We are hoping and dreaming about a new furnace and AC. Doubt that DrK can help with that... but I'll take suggestions! ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Post by Trusty on Mar 6, 2008 22:54:03 GMT -5
slb, you need to listen to Clark Howard for deals on anything. His show is based in Atlanta, but syndicated nationwide. The closest station to you is KROC/1340AM in Rochester, but they only play his program Sun. nite there. So listen to the stream on his site. Every Friday show is devoted to travel deals (especially air fares). This guy is good! Check it out.
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Post by slb2 on Mar 7, 2008 10:22:12 GMT -5
It's Friday right now. Since I've given up listening to Cajun music for Lent, I'm NOT listening to my favorite radio show, Louisiana Rhythms, on KFAI right now.
When it Howard's show on? I'll check it out now.
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Post by slb2 on Mar 7, 2008 10:34:22 GMT -5
gk, I'll exalt you in a second, it's Friday, afterall. (EGKD) My sister is taking her sabbatical in Rostock, Germany. That's up at the top of the country, near Denmark. She's a prof. at University of Mass in Amherst. She's doing research at the Max Planzk Demographic Research something or other.
Anyway, I wanted to visit her there for a week and then drive/take a train down to Frankfurt to visit a friend and then on to Grenoble, France for a week with another friend who's French, who was my neighbor for six months last year while her husband taught at the University here in Minnesota.
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Post by gailkate on Mar 7, 2008 19:09:28 GMT -5
This trip sounds marvelous, slb! I'm sure it's very hard to manage with 4 kids at home, but could you maybe farm them out among relatives or very very trusted friends? It's tough for Ace, who won't love being left at home - any chance you could swing it for both of you? Or would you both feel he was just trailing along while you wanted to spend special time with your sister and friends?
I know I've said this before. If I were going to have a tombstone, I'd want that great old Kristofferson song as my epitaph:
"I'd rather be sorry for something I've done Than for something that I didn't do."
(And thanks for EGKD. Looks like I may be the first to top 100 and that could lift my ragged soul to the treetops!)
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Post by liriodendron on Mar 7, 2008 20:55:51 GMT -5
We are hoping and dreaming about a new furnace and AC. Doubt that DrK can help with that... You mean she's not DrK, M.D., M.B.A., H.V.A.C.? ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Post by gailkate on Mar 8, 2008 9:57:50 GMT -5
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Post by Brit on Mar 8, 2008 12:29:00 GMT -5
Yes Lirio! I exalted you for that one!
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Post by Seattle Taz on Mar 8, 2008 20:24:57 GMT -5
We are hoping and dreaming about a new furnace and AC. Doubt that DrK can help with that... but I'll take suggestions! ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Heat pump looked really, really good to us when we were looking, plus a tankless hot water heater. Got great payola from the state and the county for installing energy efficient gear, too.
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Post by doctork on Mar 8, 2008 20:46:12 GMT -5
We are hoping and dreaming about a new furnace and AC. Doubt that DrK can help with that... You mean she's not DrK, M.D., M.B.A., H.V.A.C.? ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Well, the thought has crossed my mind, especially on those hot summer days when the west facing windows let in the sun, and I'm wishing we had AC. OTOH, there are several people who I have specifically instructed to shoot me if I ever mention going back to school again!
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Post by liriodendron on Mar 8, 2008 21:28:59 GMT -5
We are hoping and dreaming about a new furnace and AC. Doubt that DrK can help with that... but I'll take suggestions! ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Heat pump looked really, really good to us when we were looking, plus a tankless hot water heater. Got great payola from the state and the county for installing energy efficient gear, too. Heat pumps only work well south of the Mason-Dixon Line (or, in your case, Taz, more temperate climates). We had one in Pennsylvania. AC was dandy! Heat was basically nonexistent! We'd have frozen to death if not for our supplementary pellet stove, and even then the upstairs was noticeably chilly. My understanding was that installing them was cheaper for the contractors building the houses. I wouldn't be surprised if they got some sort of payoff incentive from the electric company.
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Post by slb2 on Mar 19, 2008 9:42:16 GMT -5
Next question, if I have a choice of a layover in Amsterdam for two hours or six hours, which one would be better?
That is, can I leave the airport and step out onto the streets of the Netherlands for a quick "wow. I'm here!" experience? Or would I be more or less stuck in the airport?
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Post by doctork on Mar 19, 2008 13:57:59 GMT -5
Next question, if I have a choice of a layover in Amsterdam for two hours or six hours, which one would be better? That is, can I leave the airport and step out onto the streets of the Netherlands for a quick "wow. I'm here!" experience? Or would I be more or less stuck in the airport? If you would like to see Amsterdam, take the six hour layover. Though I haven't actually done it myself, I believe the public transport is right outside the international arrivals gates, and there are also numerous organized quick tours that are easy for tourists with layovers to take. I believe there are also places where you can check any carry-on luggage you have, so you don't need to tote it around the city. My computer is inordinately slow this morning, so I can't easily do the search for you, but here is a likely resource for detail: www.flyertalk.comUnder Destinations (in the Travel and Dining section), there is a thread for Europe, that at the moment has a topic on "Great Dining in Amsterdam" that looks good. There is a useful search function also. If you can't find what you need, sign up and log on as a member, then post a query as a newbie requesting "AMS layover - ideas for city visit." Other members who traverse AMS (the airport) all the time will welcome you to FlyerTalk and tell you what you need to know. And if you just stay inside the airport, it is one of the best in the world for whiling away the hours, as there is abundant shopping and entertainment for 6 hours. The airport website has the scoop.
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Post by doctork on Mar 19, 2008 14:19:56 GMT -5
My computer woke up. Here's at least one thread link on quick city trips from AMS. Note the posters thought 3 hours was plenty of time for a good visit. www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=801990&highlight=ams There are also forums and threads for both Northwest and KLM/Air France that might have useful info for you. I believe "Schengen" and "non-Schengen" has to do with flights within EU and between EU and elsewhere. Regardless, if you want to buy duty-free goods to take back to the US, buy them at the last EU stop before heading for the US. You probably have a direct flight to MSP, right? You can buy duty-free liquor and perfume and take it on the plane in a sealed bag to the US, but have to check it if you travel within the US (unless you buy less than 3.4 ounces to pass the TSA War on Liquids).
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Post by slb2 on Mar 19, 2008 17:36:45 GMT -5
Wow. You're a font of helpful information, DocK. I wonder if I used that word correctly? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) I am thinking of taking the long layover. I don't like to shop and I don't plan to eat with abandon. But I do like to look and walk and talk to people. And I could find a spot to sit and write. I sat out on the rocks by the St. Lawrence River in Charlottetown and wrote until I was sunburned.
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Post by booklady on Mar 19, 2008 20:05:04 GMT -5
I am thinking of taking the long layover. I don't like to shop and I don't plan to eat with abandon. What, they don't serve oatmeal for lunch in Amsterdam? ![:-*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/kiss.png)
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Post by doctork on Mar 19, 2008 21:39:51 GMT -5
Hey, while we are all planning our trips, here's a couple of interesting sites and tools: www.TripIt.comGroopvine.Groople.com (this one's in beta testing only) They're billed as "virtual assistants" for trip planning (I kinda miss the corporate days when I had a secretary and Corporate Travel backing me up), plus Groople lets you chat with fellow travelers if it is a group trip. Not an endorsement yet, but we can check it out.
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Post by gailkate on Mar 19, 2008 23:27:36 GMT -5
Bl, you're back! Is your PC purged and chastened?
I hate admitting this, but is Groople something real?
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Post by doctork on Mar 20, 2008 0:26:47 GMT -5
Bl, you're back! Is your PC purged and chastened? I hate admitting this, but is Groople something real? Yeah - it's a marketing combination of "groups" and "people," a package created to help plan group travel, kind of like Facebook for a family reunion. Now it's available for private use - say we all want to get together in St. Paul next September for the opening show and street dance. Some of you live in the Twin Cities - piece of cake. But what if a lot of us want to fly in from Washington, and Kansas, and Georgia, and Massachusetts? Groopvine makes it easier to plan a central hotel, get us all dinner reservations and show tickets, plan where we will go for a walk, all the other things that can gum up a trip if there is "a failure to communicate."
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Post by booklady on Mar 20, 2008 4:32:48 GMT -5
Bl, you're back! Is your PC purged and chastened? I hate admitting this, but is Groople something real? I had to delete cookies, gk, whatever that means. I know I didn't get to eat them. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) There's a Groople group on gather, if that helps, slb!
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Post by booklady on Mar 20, 2008 4:34:24 GMT -5
say we all want to get together in St. Paul next September for the opening show and street dance. What a great idea!! How about it?
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Post by gailkate on Mar 20, 2008 9:46:46 GMT -5
I checked the website and the schedule only goes through August. The Street Dance - attended in the past by J* and DrK, with Tribble, slb2 and me on the St. Paul end - is usually around the 15th of September. I've never actually gone to the show and dance, but I guess it's a great time. Meatloaf this year was only passable, if I remember correctly. And there's a rumor a new cook must be found or the repast will have to be altered/eliminated? ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) ? Maybe Thos. can fill us in on that. The loon-calling contest will go on no matter what. St. Paul in September is eye-popping gorgeous or cold and rainy. Cold and rainy is character-building.
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Post by Jane on Mar 20, 2008 10:56:44 GMT -5
Re: September trip. The $1600 we owe to this illegitimate government to misspend plus the $980 we owe for chimney repair pretty much puts paid to any traveling plans for the foreseeable future.
But am I bitter? Naaaaah.
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Post by gailkate on Mar 20, 2008 11:25:44 GMT -5
Oh, Jane I so sympathize. I started ranting on another thread and then realized people had gone on to happier thoughts. But since you bring it up, how do I break into the freelance writing game so we can may just possibly afford a trip sometime far beyond the horizon? Even a trip to Duluth??? (Actually, George Clooney is coming, so Duluth looks kind of appealing.) Maybe I should put that on the Sisters-in-Passion thread.
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Post by slb2 on Mar 20, 2008 11:52:10 GMT -5
gailkate and george clooney. Sisters in Passion. Sister, you need to check out that thread! gk, start by looking at Craig's List for possible writing gigs. Also, if you blog, that'll give you the clips you need to augment your pitch/cover letter. Often, the writings you've done here have been brilliant. I think you might find work as a political blogger. Google that. Dig and you shall strike it rich. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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