Vacation v2

[GAME05]

I guess once you get to Page 3 the threads get locked in order to get folks to create new threads.

The brother and I are heading over to Gdansk, Poland and Vilnius, Lithuania in June. Should be fun. Was originally going to be an initial retirement-destination-exploration trip, and Poland has been a second-tier idea, but it's really more a vacation now unless crypto goes wild again. Weirdly the US is the most expensive, but the less money I have the more staying here makes sense. Lithuania not really on that list because it's pretty similar to Madison weather but without some of the extremes.

Should be fun. We only picked Lithuania because we didn't want to use up so much time traveling any farther, and because Sean Connery's hometown in Crimson Tide was Vilnius and he made it sound so cool in the movie that I've always wanted to see it. Haven't seen the movie in forever, but that short little mention has always stuck to me. Sure it's the stupidest reason in the world to go anywhere, but so what?

[nate82]

I am going on a cruise tomorrow in the Mediterranean.  Should be fun I hope.  Usually I just vacation in Vegas, Nashville or Miami.  This will be different for me also first time out of the country for me.

I think I have mentioned this before but you may want to consider Vietnam as a retirement option.

[GAME05]

My folks got back yesterday from a Mediterranean cruise. I hope you have a good time!

The wildly different culture and distance from home have me crossing out SE Asia, but the boss is considering a city in the Philippines. I guess it's a popular tourist spot because it's in the mountains and way cooler than the normal temperatures.

If money isn't what I was hoping I'm likely looking at back to Wisconsin, like Mazo or Black Earth near Madison. Could potentially pick up some work if I needed a couple hundred bucks more per month. And the brother is there so maybe that balances out the long winters.

[SeaBass]

9 hours ago, GAME05 said:

...and because Sean Connery's hometown in Crimson Tide was Vilnius and he made it sound so cool in the movie that I've always wanted to see it. Haven't seen the movie in forever, but that short little mention has always stuck to me. Sure it's the stupidest reason in the world to go anywhere, but so what?

You must mean The Hunt for Red October because Sean Connery isn't in Crimson Tide, that one stars Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman.

[yourout]

Thinking about going to New Zealand next January. I have a business associate that's a kiwi.

[GAME05]

10 hours ago, SeaBass said:

You must mean The Hunt for Red October because Sean Connery isn't in Crimson Tide, that one stars Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman.

Thank you, yes. 

[SeaBass]

On 5/4/2025 at 6:27 AM, GAME05 said:

Thank you, yes. 

I wasn't posting that to be "right" on the internet but you mentioned you hadn't seen it in a while and I had this vision in my head of you wanting to see it again and starting to watch Crimson Tide and wondering when Sean Connery was going to show up LOL. Not that it would be a bad thing to watch Crimson Tide again, it's a great movie too.

[GAME05]

No worries I didn't take it as anything negative and you're correct on both counts. Although if Sean Connery didn't actually mention Vilnius in the movie don't tell me as it's too late to change plans:) The brother wanted to do Estonia but I somehow made the more convincing argument.

[CheezWizHed]

On 5/5/2025 at 11:53 AM, GAME05 said:

No worries I didn't take it as anything negative and you're correct on both counts. Although if Sean Connery didn't actually mention Vilnius in the movie don't tell me as it's too late to change plans:) The brother wanted to do Estonia but I somehow made the more convincing argument.

It's been a while since I've seen the movie or read the book (also very good), but I think you are correct.

Vacationing might be interesting (I've been to Belarus and Ukraine), but I'd not be overly comfortable being that close to Russia for retirement.

I'm at a 0.001% chance of retiring outside of the US, but Hungary and Argentina would be the first on the list. 

[nate82]

I was looking at buying places in Dubai and shockingly there are some townhouses/ apartments that are under $90k USD.  I saw one 2 bed 3 bath 1461 sqft apartment for about $45k and then the 4% tax would be about $47k.

If I didn’t absolutely despise the UAE I would purchase a place there.

Update on my trip it was great almost witnessed the Pope being elected by like 2 hours.  I really liked Palma in Mallorcas and St. Raphael / Cannes France.  If I could afford to live there I would.  Cannes France is a really nice area even the smaller towns around the coast.  But I am not paying $350k+ for a 800 sqft apartment.

I didn’t like Rome other than the Vatican.  When visiting the Coliseum one of the people on the tour got jumped by 10 people and stole her purse.  By far Rome is the most dangerous city I have ever visited.  The Vatican is really the only safe area in Rome because it is heavily policed unlike other areas in Rome.  The local police and security just watched and waited for the group to clear out before helping this woman.  

[GAME05]

My brother had a tour guide in Rome when the Pope was speaking. The tour guide offered that or visit the Sistine Chapel. The brother chose the chapel and there was about nobody there. Apparently normally you're just pushed through the thing from the mass of people.

[nate82]

21 hours ago, GAME05 said:

Apparently normally you're just pushed through the thing from the mass of people.

Yes you are just pushed through but the facility is massive.  They have to push everyone through otherwise no one would make it through the whole thing.  The Vatican is probably a two day visit.  It is a massive building.  I think I walked about 3-4 miles just inside the main building.  

[Brewer77]

On 5/16/2025 at 7:57 AM, nate82 said:

I was looking at buying places in Dubai and shockingly there are some townhouses/ apartments that are under $90k USD.  I saw one 2 bed 3 bath 1461 sqft apartment for about $45k and then the 4% tax would be about $47k.

If I didn’t absolutely despise the UAE I would purchase a place there.

Update on my trip it was great almost witnessed the Pope being elected by like 2 hours.  I really liked Palma in Mallorcas and St. Raphael / Cannes France.  If I could afford to live there I would.  Cannes France is a really nice area even the smaller towns around the coast.  But I am not paying $350k+ for a 800 sqft apartment.

I didn’t like Rome other than the Vatican.  When visiting the Coliseum one of the people on the tour got jumped by 10 people and stole her purse.  By far Rome is the most dangerous city I have ever visited.  The Vatican is really the only safe area in Rome because it is heavily policed unlike other areas in Rome.  The local police and security just watched and waited for the group to clear out before helping this woman.  

Were you able to spend much time in Rome or was it just a one day stop on the cruise? I’ve done Rome as just a day trip on a cruise and it was so much less enjoyable than when we stayed a couple nights and were able to explore outside of peak tourist hours

I can’t recall a time where I felt unsafe in Rome, but everyone has different experiences based on when and where they were

[nate82]

On 5/24/2025 at 10:34 AM, Brewer77 said:

Were you able to spend much time in Rome or was it just a one day stop on the cruise? I’ve done Rome as just a day trip on a cruise and it was so much less enjoyable than when we stayed a couple nights and were able to explore outside of peak tourist hours

It was just a day.  Definitely need to be there for like 3-5 days just to see everything.  The Vatican itself is probably a 2 day thing. 

On 5/24/2025 at 10:34 AM, Brewer77 said:

I can’t recall a time where I felt unsafe in Rome, but everyone has different experiences based on when and where they were

It may have been just that day or all of the police and attention was on the Vatican that day but it felt less safe the further you got from the Vatican on that day. 

[CheezWizHed]

I've not been in Rome specifically, but EU countries tend to be much, much safer from violence compared to US counterparts.  I lived in Munich in '97 and wouldn't have blinked if my wife had to take a train at midnight by herself.  

However, do watch your pockets.  Paris, Rome, and a few other cities are known to be heavy on pickpockets.  I was in Paris less than 6 hours and caught someone trying to pick my pocket. 

[GAME05]

Just got back from a trip to Poland, Lithuania and an accidental stop in Sweden. Gdansk is pretty and offers a good amount of stuff to do. The Solidarity Museum was great to learn more about that movement. Curonian Spit in Lithuania was pretty and very similar in appearance and vibe to a northern Great Lakes town, small and a bit touristy. Vilnius not as cheap as I'd have figured but loved the churches and history. Liked that place best, though The Brother liked Poland more. We were pretty disappointed with the food overall, especially with Vilnius being considered a foodie city, though we're thinking we just didn't hit the right spots, maybe, although the herring in sour cream is gross. 

[homer]

2 hours ago, GAME05 said:

We were pretty disappointed with the food overall, especially with Vilnius being considered a foodie city, though we're thinking we just didn't hit the right spots, maybe, although the herring in sour cream is gross. 

Blasphemy!

[CheezWizHed]

We just got back from Branson, MO.  It felt like the love-child of Las Vegas and WI Dells...  A smaller city, but with a lot of touristy stops with flashy signs. 

Sight and Sound Theater was excellent.  The rest of Branson was meh. 

The Ozark mountains were nice though. Reminded me of the East Coast mountain ranges (i.e. tree covered and not as "rocky") and had some really nice views.  We spend a good portion of time at Dogwood Canyon - a public park owned by Johnny Morris (i.e. Bass Pro Shops) that had a lot of waterfalls, Bison, Elk, and a beautifully manage trout stream (free fishing if you want, but catch and release). 

[homer]

29 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

We just got back from Branson, MO.  It felt like the love-child of Las Vegas and WI Dells...  A smaller city, but with a lot of touristy stops with flashy signs. 

Sight and Sound Theater was excellent.  The rest of Branson was meh. 

 

[GAME05]

I still want to go see Yakov Smirnoff in Branson. I've seen a video of his show now and it looked really good.

But last time I went we saw Terry Bradshaw. Yep, he has a live show. The father wanted to get out so the brother said "Ooh, Terry Bradshaw is in town!" The brother was joking but the father doesn't understand sarcasm, so that's where we went. He tells a few stories and sings a lot of showtunes.

[nate82]

32 minutes ago, GAME05 said:

But last time I went we saw Terry Bradshaw. Yep, he has a live show. The father wanted to get out so the brother said "Ooh, Terry Bradshaw is in town!" The brother was joking but the father doesn't understand sarcasm, so that's where we went. He tells a few stories and sings a lot of showtunes.

That sounds like a nightmare.

[CheezWizHed]

Ok, I'm planning on a vacation next May in the Smokey Mountains.  We probably will do a few touristy type things (not Dollywood!), but more want to focus on the natural aspect of the area (mountains, hiking, waterfalls, overlooks) or historical sites (Civil War, railroads, etc...).

We are planning on staying in an AirBnb, but possibly a cabin or something like that. No hotels please - we need a kitchen. 

Any recommendations? 

[GAME05]

The Nantahala Outdoor Center is just south of the Smokies. Lets you do self-guided whitewater rafting (their main stretch only has one Class 3 waterfall) or guided. Pretty little spot with hot dogs and such for sale. Good place to sit on the river and watch some of the best kayakers in the US (no exaggeration) do noseplants in the waves. And the 16 miles from there north to Fontana Dam is the toughest stretch of the Southern half of the Appalachian Trail.

[CheezWizHed]

9 hours ago, GAME05 said:

The Nantahala Outdoor Center is just south of the Smokies. Lets you do self-guided whitewater rafting (their main stretch only has one Class 3 waterfall) or guided. Pretty little spot with hot dogs and such for sale. Good place to sit on the river and watch some of the best kayakers in the US (no exaggeration) do noseplants in the waves. And the 16 miles from there north to Fontana Dam is the toughest stretch of the Southern half of the Appalachian Trail.

Maybe I should've clarified... I want a lazy person's outdoor experience! 🤣 Ok, maybe not quite "lazy", but I'm not out to prove my manhood with the hardest and most dangerous activities either.  Plus, I have a few kids with disabilities that make that impossible.  

We like some of the unique experiences or the hidden gem type of stuff.  

• Yellowstone covered wagon ride into the park for a cowboy dinner.
• Convertable red bus tour on the Road to the Sun through Glacier
• Chuckwagon dinner show in the Black Hills
• Light/Moderate hiking trails (2-3 miles) - like Red Rock falls in Glacier, Tettegouche (MN), Copper Falls (WI),

BTW, I obviously highly recommend any of my examples above.  These are the things that have made my family's vacation memories. 

I do find it funny that you picked out a spot that sold hotdogs though.... 😏

[nate82]

7 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Maybe I should've clarified... I want a lazy person's outdoor experience! 🤣 Ok, maybe not quite "lazy", but I'm not out to prove my manhood with the hardest and most dangerous activities either.  Plus, I have a few kids with disabilities that make that impossible.  

ATV rental then?