The North Germany TPF Meet-Up in May 2008

[LaFoto]

bin ich in für das Abenteuer!

This is the most important part of your message in German, "I'm in for the adventure", and I get the message all right, seems that freetranslation actually does better translations, but this could be because you say good things!?!? Yes, 1 1/2 years can bring about a lot of change, I am well aware of it, but I feel that if we'd always say "I might also die tonight" we'd never plan anything. So I want to give people this long notice and they can get prepared. And if only by marking the dates 10 - 17 May 2008 in their calendars. No more right now .

 

[PlasticSpanner]

Time for another signature change!

 

[Corry]

Sooooo....how much is lodging for a week going to cost? Not including airfare, how much, approximately, would a trip such as this cost?

 

[hobbes28]

I'm not sure what the prices up North are, but I remember getting really nice places to stay for under 70 euros a night and good places for as little as 30 per night and cheaper.

 

[LaFoto]

Like I was saying earlier: those who would want to travel really cheap and get to know "Germany from within" will be able to find accomodation in the homes of friends of mine, I am just sure. For free. There's several in my choir who would be quite willing to host one or two photographers for the time.

The prices that I can find online for houses (for between 8 and 10 persons sharing a house) in Eurostrand (10 km down the road from my place) are 2006-prices, AND they usually do group things (you know, group as in whole-busloads) ... I would need to go and ask if their houses can also be individually booked? Plus the prices in the list I can find (that even shows prices for 2007, but not for 2008 ) are those for the "3-fun-days-package" for said busloads of people, which include several meals and activities ... I don't want to know that, actually, I want to plan our own activities and not take theirs. So I would need to phone those and ask for the price of a large house for 10 for a week. All I can say right now is that they charge between €229,- and €259.- for the "3-fun-days-package" in May of 2007.

But I'll find out more, for some, particularly families or those who want to spend as much time as closely together as they can might find accomodation in Eurostrand something that suits them.

From what I remember, a double room in the hotel nearby (very good one!) was between €69,- and €90,- depending on ... hm? Don't remember. Single was €45.-, including breakfast. That is TODAY's prices, of course. That hotel also calls itself a "convention hotel" and you can book conference rooms and get use of such room and necessary equipment (TV set, overhead projector etc) and accomodation with meals for an extra price ... should it transpire that most would want to live in a (that! - it's the only around!) hotel much rather than in a home in Eurostrand or for free with a family, or in a camper van or tent on our campsite here, I could ask if we could book yourselves in as a convention?

 

[fightheheathens]

It really depends. If you are under 26, you can stay in a youth Hostel. (some hostels will let you in even if you are older) A hostel can cost anything from 9 euros to 19 a night. If you dont wana sleep in a Hostel, Pick up a Lonely Planet Guide to Germany. They have a lot of great budget options and like others said, in such a large city as Hamburg, you could probably find stuff for 30 euros a night. (I would be there are some hostels there that would let you in even if you look 65)
If you make your own food (IE not eating out) its not too bad. you can buy deli style meat, and cheese and bread (very good bread i might add) for not too much. Street vendors in big cities provide cheap greasy food such as Doeners (which are the best things in the world i might add) As for travel, that was pretty expensive, but it was also pretty freaken good. you got where you wanted to go on time.
I did alot of traveling in europe on a students budget and Minus Travel expense, I could get by on 100-150 euros per week. (mind you i ate a freaken lot of Meat and Cheese sandwiches... and i often didnt go to attractions where you had to pay to get in.)

-The 100-150 euros was for food and sleeping only. others may say its not possible, but trust me, when its all you have you can get by quite nicely
Your gona wana go out at least 2 times to eat.

 

[LaFoto]

Well, I would wish for the group to stay as closely to my place as possible which is supposed to be the "centre" and "starting point" for our visits to places, and yes, of course you could stay in the Youth Hostel in Rotenburg, but you would thus be some 22 kms away from the rest of us. While Eurostrand in Fintel is 10 kms away, and the Stemmer Landkrug (the hotel I was talking about) is some 5 kms away. The campsite is right here in my place.

I'll look up the links again (including the one of the Youth Hostel in Rotenburg, if you want me to) and put them up again (many links already ARE in my initial post).

 

[LaFoto]

OK. More news:

I am just coming back from personally going to the reception desk at Eurostrand in Fintel, and now I know that Eurostrand is out for us.
They only rent out their houses as part of a whole package of accomodation-catering-animation. And they don't accept children on their premises on the weekends (!). Ugh. Well... One idea of mine that has just died a silent death.

 

[Corry]

Ok...so...next question....how will we all be getting around from place to place? I don't have the slightest clue how transportation would work.

 

[LaFoto]

I am (today = early planning stage) thinking of hiring mini-buses to get us around. Costs would need to be divided by all who would want to be on the buses, of course.

 

[tempra]

Here's a google translation of the camp site http://translate.google.com/transla...en&lr=&safe=off&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-16,GGLG:en ,

As for transport, I would probably have my car, but if the posse come along, there might not be any room in it, then again if they don't then there will!

 

[LaFoto]

Heeheeehee, that translation is funny. You find "a game park for young and alto", (just one example)!
But hey, that is our camp site all right.
And the one woman in the Canadian Canoe (first page) is one who I know. She is the Countess of Bottmer, they own most of the land around here .

 

[Corry]

Thanks for answering so many questions.....one more question for now.....

...do you think it would be possible to do this whole trip for $2000 USD or less?

 

[LaFoto]

Including the air-fare? For how much do you think you could come over? (Keep in mind you will have to fly into either Heathrow or Amsterdam or Frankfurt or so first and then go on to either Hamburg or Hanover or Bremen, whichever proves to be cheapest in the end, I should guess). If we put you up for free with a family you might be able to do it, says I who I know nothing about the air fare from your end to here (and at the time!).

 

[hobbes28]

You should be able to get a flight over for under $500 so that would leave you with close to $1500 left over for food and boarding and transportation etc. I've been thinking that we'd rent a mini bus (one of thost ugly fiats or the Opel) and I don't see us spending too far from $2000 - $3000 depending on how cheap we can get the tickets for if we come.