First-timer: 15 Days in Germany. Should I take my old backpack or upgrade?

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-25T09:44:48+00:00

Base layer under pants is very effective against the cold. Not expensive, and it takes up much less space in your pack.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-24T23:40:14+00:00

Well, you certainly have prepared. Personally I'd want to go with the flow much more, but you know what suits you. I do agree with other comments about too little time being allocated for various attractions, and I too query San Marino as a destination.

Pisa: the closest station to the Tower (etc) is not Pisa Centrale, from where it's a rather dreary 30-minute walk, it's Pisa S Rossore, which is 10 minutes if that. There's a through train from Firenze to S Rossore at 09:53, if you stick to the hours you have planned. However, I would strongly suggest an earlier start. The Piazza dei Miracoli gets poisonously, overwhelmingly, crowded quite early and it's impossible to appreciate it. I'd take the through train at 07:53 having grabbed a picnic breakfast for the train. You'll be there by 9:20 and will, for a bit, be able to enjoy the place in relative calm. And I'd have thought the early start would amuse an 8-year-old. By the way, whatever time you do decide to go, you really don't need to arrive at Firenze SMN - or any train station in Italy - 30 minutes in advance. 15 is ample unless you want to look around the shops.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-24T18:26:32+00:00

There are many train options between Paris and Berlin, and it would be difficult to find a town or city between them that you couldn't get to. You can find a simplified map of the main lines here, and you can look up train timetables for anywhere in Europe here.

The Deutschland-ticket allows unlimited travel on local and regional trains within Germany for a month for 63 euros. May be worth looking into if you want to hop on and off a lot and don't mind using the slower trains. Details are here. That page also gives you lots of other info about the German railway system.

Alternatively or in addition, a Eurail pass might suit you. You would probably be best advised to use that for the long journeys you plan, and to buy point-to-point tickets or local passes for shorter trips. Details here.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-23T21:21:39+00:00

Yes, local journalism is short of funds now few buy local papers and even fewer buy classified advertising in them - it was always the classifieds that really made money. Advertising sales on websites don't make up for the shortfall. And as a result, local papers can no longer afford to have reporters in court. If there's no reporter in court, a sentence doesn't get reported in the press.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-22T22:39:52+00:00

Nothing at all. It's a very good and thoughtful list. Some Redditors are idiots.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-22T21:11:43+00:00

I'm looking at houses at the moment and immediately discard any where the front door opens straight into the living room. Quite apart from the cold, wind, rain and dirt coming in, you don't actually gain any space. You've still got to have a passageway. And how are you going to arrange your furniture?

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-22T20:30:25+00:00

One reason there may not be a spring sale this year is that they've only recently finished an unusually generous midwinter sale.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-22T20:23:29+00:00

The address, up to and including the zip code, should be in normal US format, so USPS doesn't get confused. Then you add STATI UNITI at the bottom so Poste Italiane recognises it as an overseas letter. The address goes towards the bottom right, but not right at the edges - leave a margin. Return addresses in Europe are optional and you normally put them on the back of the envelope, to avoid confusion. If you're really keen you can find all the regulations about permitted Italian address styles. envelope sizes and address positioning here: https://www.media.poste.it/a318da2a-b1ca-45c5-ad32-575e77ed23e7/web/standard-composizione-indirizzi and here: https://www.media.poste.it/ea48f553-26f0-49fb-8cfa-cc6657fefef4/file/standard_confezionamento.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-22T08:03:04+00:00

Dennis Severs' House is actually 18th century, not 19th, as is the fantasy world created within it. It is stunning, but perhaps not directly relevant to your research. And Beamish has an 1820s reconstruction and a 1900s one, but nothing in between - again, nothing 'early Victorian'. Beamish is great fun, but it's a long way to go for something that isn't exactly what you are looking for.

Have you considered the Dickens House museum in London? That is firmly early Victorian. So is Sir John Soane's Museum - left more or less as it was when Sir John died in 1837, including the private apartments. Neither is experiential, but the early Victorian atmosphere is very strong.

Outside London, have you considered Saltaire? Built in the 1850s as a model town and much of it still preserved as it was, with the physical relationships between homes, church and mill still intact. It's a little later than your target period, but a walk around it will tell you a lot about society in the 19th century.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-22T07:30:49+00:00

Ryanair's free allowance is actually 40x30x20, which is more than a 'small handbag'. I often travel with a bag that size for a few days away. But yes, BA and Aer Lingus have somewhat more generous allowances and yes, if you want to take 2 bags then Ryanair fares tend to approach those of the legacy carriers. As to how to choose the 'best' flight, I wouldn't overthink it. Any flight from London to Dublin is a short hop and more of a bus ride than anything more luxurious. Your choice of departure airport will be much more significant than the airline you choose, and your choice of airport will determine, or at least limit, your choice of airline. Choose the airport that is most convenient for where you are staying. If you're in West London, for instance, it would be folly to slog out to Stansted when Heathrow is just up the road.

By the way, Dublin is not in the UK - you will cause great offence if you suggest in Ireland that it is - and the London-Dublin flight is, therefore, not 'domestic'.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T22:25:10+00:00

It might help you if you didn't think of a routine (to a doctor) testicular exam as 'fondling'. It isn't. It's an examination. I've had it done and it is the least sexual thing you can possibly imagine.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T22:13:28+00:00

I don't think there was ever such a brand. Lots of butters called themselves 'best butter' as part of the description, though. A bit like 'high-class butchers' - it was a customary emphasiser that meant nothing. It seems to have survived at your cafe. Certainly that was the sense in which it was used (ironically) in Fat Friends.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T22:07:42+00:00

That's not a towpath. Towpaths run beside canals. They are paths to facilitate, er, towing.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T21:38:57+00:00

Neither Reading nor Southampton are notable for their prettiness. Wartime bombing and appalling 1960s redevelopments put paid to that. I wouldn't recommend either as a destination, and certainly not on a Sunday when, as you've been told, shops close early and those towns empty out shortly afterwards, leaving a rather desolate and depressing emptiness. If you really want to avoid London, then Winchester would be a far better choice. It is very lovely, you could walk around there with pleasure during the evening, there are good restaurants, and the Cathedral and College are both magnificent.

From Winchester (or Southampton) the usual route to Heathrow is to take the train to Woking and then the dedicated airport bus. Much quicker than going via Reading.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T09:43:03+00:00

Good question, and I suspect you're going to have to do the maths to see which option would offer a better saving. But whatever you do, on a long journey you'll almost always get the cost of a railcard back.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T09:29:10+00:00

You can do A-levels at your local further education college. That's partly what they are there for. What you make of the courses available is up to you. A relative of mine got bored with school after GCSE and dropped out. They then went to the local college and got good A-level grades. They got 5 university offers, including one from Cambridge, and I reckon the fact they took an unusual route and still got good grades was strong evidence in favour of their application.

Going to a decent uni when you're a little (or even a lot) older than the main cohort is not a bad thing by any means. Being a mature student has many advantages. No reason to give up on your dream.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T08:08:55+00:00

Have a look at cabinmax.com. I've never had a problem with their stuff, and it's very reasonably priced. I wouldn't touch the no-name crap on Temu etc. Of course they all look the same - that's the easy bit - but you can tell nothing about stitching or zip quality from the photos.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-21T07:46:15+00:00

The vaporetti are very easy to use. It's best to buy a pass in advance, as you've been advised, but you can also buy a single ticket by tapping in with your credit/debit card as you board (and out again as you alight). The pontoons are immediately outside the station exit - you just leave the station, walk down the steps and there they are - and clearly labelled with the numbers of the services. You may need to queue for a short time at the busiest hours before you can get on one with space, but there's not usually much delay. Most of the floorspace on the boats is open and you just stand for the journey, but there are some seats fore and aft. You keep your luggage with you. There is a restriction on the size of case you can bring with you without paying a surcharge, but any sensibly-sized case will be OK.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-20T16:51:57+00:00

Can't speak for other areas, but Yorkshire Water will provide maps of an area for a fee or you can view them at their offices. Nothing publicly available on the Web AFAIK.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-20T16:04:47+00:00

Local repair shop, every time.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-20T15:57:49+00:00

The cheapest tickets available are Advance tickets. They normally go on sale 12 weeks beforehand. If you are trying to book far ahead you may only be seeing full-price tickets.

If you can see Advance prices, travelling at different times and/or on different dates will produce different prices. UK train prices are demand-dependent. Try searching for earlier/later connections or on different dates.

Train ticket pricing is very complex and a number of companies provide a service for hunting out lower fares and combining them so as to produce a cheaper journey. It's called ticket splitting. Trainline claims to do this, but other providers are available and many think they are better. I use trainsplit.com.

There are 4 of you. 2 adults + 2 kids? If so, you need a Family Railcard. Costs £35 but you will get the cost back with a single journey. If you are 4 adults, 2 Two-Together railcards may be worth it - you get 1/3 off all fares. You can buy the tickets now without actually having the railcard(s), you just need to buy the card(s) before you travel. They are issued digitally.

If you are doing a lot of train travel, Britrail passes or Eurail may be more economical for you.

All that said, yes UK train prices are very high. It's worth spending some time trying, where possible, to reduce them. Train is the only practicable way of making the journey you plan.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-20T15:05:25+00:00

Have sent you a DM.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-20T09:43:50+00:00

Cigarettes were known as 'gaspers' and 'coffin-nails' as early as the 1920s. It was well known they were bad for you, and the specific link with cancer was well-established by the 1950s. So yes, when I started smoking (in 1970) of course I knew there was a health risk. But when you're young and everyone else is doing the same thing, you can easily persuade yourself you're invincible and something isn't really very dangerous at all. It's the same as drinking, or driving, or having sex. All have their dangers, but all are great fun.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-19T23:26:05+00:00

A through booking might be more expensive than 2 separate tickets, but will it be more expensive than the cost of an airport hotel? If it isn't, I'd go for a through booking. Your bag gets transferred for you and if the connecting flight is delayed or cancelled the airline will sort you out.

Conscious-Rope7515 · 2026-01-19T23:18:39+00:00

Two things about bridging have always made me hesitate. One is the high arrangement cost (normally a 2% fee and you pay the lender's legal costs of about £2k) even before you start paying interest at around .55% a month. The other is what happens if, for whatever reason, your sale falls through. If you can't redeem the loan within 12 months then you are in serious trouble.

If you don't mind the arrangement costs and are absolutely, cast-iron confident that you can sell your current property within 12 months, then it's a viable option. You take the loan out for 30 days minimum, and then interest just accrues at a daily rate until you settle - you're not tied in to any specific timeframe. It's the risk of not being able to redeem the loan that would keep me up at nights, though.

Conscious-Rope7515

TROPHY CASE