City breaks?

[Gavster]

Also (hopefully you won't need this), but Colombian hospitals are awesome, the modern ones make our NHS stuff look old-fashioned. If you get even slightly ill or hurt yourself and are anywhere near a major hospital then just go there. Don't bother trying to deal with local doctors/pharmacists unless it's really simple, because you need good Spanish to get the right treatment, and they might just tell you to go to hospital for tests anyway. Meanwhile at hospital you can have every test or scan under the sun done on the same day, they'll usually have a fluent English-speaking liaison, or in my case there was a Swiss doctor who was fluet in English. They literally tested for everything, drugged me up to the eyeballs and charged something like $60 lol

[IanF]

Okay here's a few random thoughts on Colombia. They're not particularly exhaustive because I spent a lot of time in my apartment in Medellin writing a book rather than exploring!

Barichara was recommended as a lovely town to visit near Bogota, although I've not been.

As for mountains, the other South American countries where I explored the Andes were amazing because they make European mountains seem small, although I didn't visit any in Colombia. Having said that, there's a national park in the north east corner of Colombia that has a nice mountain called Pico Cristobal Colon and if you go even further up into the north east corner there are some super chilled beach towns around Manuare, if you want any quiet time.

Going west along the coast, if you're there 1-4th March then you can visit Baranquilla carnival which is one of the biggest in the world. Otherwise Baranquilla is meh. Cartagena is a very pretty city, albeit touristy, but well worth a visit.

As for Medellin it's a nice city if you want to live like a normal person with all the modern infrastructure, it's got a lovely climate, very spring like and nestled in a valley. As a town it's got a load ex-cartel stuff to see, plus Communa 13 (previously one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the world), and loads of coke and hookers who'll put scoplamine in your drink, rob you and leave you for dead. It's the favoured settling place for American migrants hence the druggings. Guatape is a couple of hours from there and is supposed to be very nice so could be worth a visit.

When it comes to coffee I stayed in a place called Buenavista which is a super quiet, chilled peaceful coffee town with lovely views over the valley, you can do the coffee tour with Don Leo who is a bit of a local legend and visit Cafe San Alberto which is one of the most premium coffee brands in Colombia too. These guys do good tours, I really enjoyed the peace tour as it was something a bit different and how the coffee trade and FARC overlapped https://www.experienciacafetera.com/en/#

I did visit Cali too but can't remember much about it lol so got on a bus and went to Ecuador.

Colombians love deep fried stuff so things to eat are empanadas which are great throughout Latin america and I also enjoyed arepa de huevo/queso which are deep fried bread filled with egg or cheese. All of the fresh tropical fruits are amazing, so definitely gorge on them all. Oh, and Bandeja paisa which is the Colombian equivalent of a full English

Loads of people seem to really enjoy Salsa dancing so could be worth a try if you fancy it

Hope some of that's useful!

Not particularly..

[240PP]

The only issue I had with Amsterdam were the fucking kamikaze cyclists, you need your wits about you!

As an ex-resident the issue is with the fucking tourists who can’t recognise a cycle lane when they’re stood on it

@IanF what kind of weekend are you looking for?

[duncs500]

The only issue I had with Amsterdam were the fucking kamikaze cyclists, you need your wits about you!

As an ex-resident the issue is with the fucking tourists who can’t recognise a cycle lane when they’re stood on it

I did see that too, and usually met with a sharp tongued outburst from the cyclist. But I also saw plenty of people not on cycling lanes travelling at speed through the throng, may well have been tourists on bikes for all I know, I think probably a bit of both.

[V8Granite]

The only issue I had with Amsterdam were the fucking kamikaze cyclists, you need your wits about you!

As an ex-resident the issue is with the fucking tourists who can’t recognise a cycle lane when they’re stood on it

@IanF what kind of weekend are you looking for?

You come out with PTSD after driving a big van through some towns

Dave!

[jamcg]

We’ve just booked Krakow for my birthday next year.

Auschwitz is worth a visit but for very obvious reasons isn’t for everyone, you can go yourself- a tour gets you there easy but they do rush through it a little bit

The salt mines are phenomenal, you do go down a lot of stairs, if your mobility isn’t the best they do take the lift down for first and last tours I believe. It’s accessible by tram so no need for special tours or anything.

The museum under the square is another unbelievable thing. They excavated the full town square and re-covered it. You buy tickets on one side of the cloth hall, and go down around the corner on the other side of it

Always have some change in you, as you pay for most public toilets

If all else fails, eat lots of pierogi dumplings and drink lots of vodka

[Zonda_]

We’ve just booked Krakow for my birthday next year.

Auschwitz is worth a visit but for very obvious reasons isn’t for everyone, you can go yourself- a tour gets you there easy but they do rush through it a little bit

The salt mines are phenomenal, you do go down a lot of stairs, if your mobility isn’t the best they do take the lift down for first and last tours I believe. It’s accessible by tram so no need for special tours or anything.

The museum under the square is another unbelievable thing. They excavated the full town square and re-covered it. You buy tickets on one side of the cloth hall, and go down around the corner on the other side of it

Always have some change in you, as you pay for most public toilets

If all else fails, eat lots of pierogi dumplings and drink lots of vodka

We’re planning to go to both. Not heard about the museum, will look into that too.

[Marv]

Okay here's a few random thoughts on Colombia. They're not particularly exhaustive because I spent a lot of time in my apartment in Medellin writing a book rather than exploring!

Barichara was recommended as a lovely town to visit near Bogota, although I've not been.

As for mountains, the other South American countries where I explored the Andes were amazing because they make European mountains seem small, although I didn't visit any in Colombia. Having said that, there's a national park in the north east corner of Colombia that has a nice mountain called Pico Cristobal Colon and if you go even further up into the north east corner there are some super chilled beach towns around Manuare, if you want any quiet time.

Going west along the coast, if you're there 1-4th March then you can visit Baranquilla carnival which is one of the biggest in the world. Otherwise Baranquilla is meh. Cartagena is a very pretty city, albeit touristy, but well worth a visit.

As for Medellin it's a nice city if you want to live like a normal person with all the modern infrastructure, it's got a lovely climate, very spring like and nestled in a valley. As a town it's got a load ex-cartel stuff to see, plus Communa 13 (previously one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the world), and loads of coke and hookers who'll put scoplamine in your drink, rob you and leave you for dead. It's the favoured settling place for American migrants hence the druggings. Guatape is a couple of hours from there and is supposed to be very nice so could be worth a visit.

When it comes to coffee I stayed in a place called Buenavista which is a super quiet, chilled peaceful coffee town with lovely views over the valley, you can do the coffee tour with Don Leo who is a bit of a local legend and visit Cafe San Alberto which is one of the most premium coffee brands in Colombia too. These guys do good tours, I really enjoyed the peace tour as it was something a bit different and how the coffee trade and FARC overlapped https://www.experienciacafetera.com/en/#

I did visit Cali too but can't remember much about it lol so got on a bus and went to Ecuador.

Colombians love deep fried stuff so things to eat are empanadas which are great throughout Latin america and I also enjoyed arepa de huevo/queso which are deep fried bread filled with egg or cheese. All of the fresh tropical fruits are amazing, so definitely gorge on them all. Oh, and Bandeja paisa which is the Colombian equivalent of a full English

Loads of people seem to really enjoy Salsa dancing so could be worth a try if you fancy it

Hope some of that's useful!

Thanks Gav, very useful! Looking into the places you've recommended has made me look forward to going even more I've pinned your recommendations in google maps

ETA, I have heard the hospitals are very good over there. I don't need any medical treatment or procedures at the moment, but if I'm on a motorcycle for 5 weeks, you never know

[Gavster]

Cool, I'm sure you'll have a fab time!

Also one more thing, about coffee, which is that regular Colombian coffee is awful. It's called 'Tinto', available literally everywhere, at bus stops, cafes, etc etc. It's traditionally made with the absolute dregs of the coffee beans which are roasted into oblivion and brewed for ages in a huge urn. It's because for many years Colombia didn't keep any of the good coffee, it was all exported to USA and Europe, leaving them with the horrible stuff. There's a growing boujee coffee scene, especially in the cities if you want espresso based drinks or single-estate beans, however if you need a quick, convenient cup of coffee anywhere other than a proper coffee shop, then it's going to be strong, dark, sharp and served in a plastic cup.

[Marv]

I didn't realise that was the case with Coloumbia...though I think that's the case with alot of developing countries, where all the good stuff is exported (Though I have heard that with Lamb in NZ, but I can't confirm). In the Philippines, they actually label things "Export Quality" if they're trying to sell it as premium.

TBH, I don't mind drinking trashy coffee, it makes me appreciate the good stuff even more

[jamcg]

Cant be any worse than some stuff we get given by customers, like the jar of Nescafé someone’s had open in a cupboard for 20 years, made with about 3 spoonfuls and water while it’s still on the boil. Bitter doesn’t begin to cover it

[IanF]

Cant be any worse than some stuff we get given by customers, like the jar of Nescafé someone’s had open in a cupboard for 20 years, made with about 3 spoonfuls and water while it’s still on the boil. Bitter doesn’t begin to cover it

Yes, you do sound a bit peeved..