Photography holiday: where to go?

I just came back from a trip to Transylvania and Maramures regions in Romania as a family holiday - I had wanted to go for some time but during the Autumn (without screaming kidlets and a screaming wife), and from the incredible Brothers Grimm fairytale scenery and villages I saw, I will certainly ditch the family and go myself.

Maramures is like stepping back in time, with horse-drawn ploughing, copper stills making fruit brandy and remote sheep stations - and the people were exceptionally friendly and proud. Transylvania was also beautiful, with wild bears, the incredible Transfagarasan road, Saxon villages and old ladies milking, slaughtering and cooking anything on 4 legs for lunch.



Carpathian valley from the Transfagarasan Road




Somewhere outside of Brasov




Transfagarasan Road


I cannot wait to go back and go for a serious photography trip.

Z
 
ukaskew said:
Lisbon is next on my list, never been and it looks like a great place to hang out for a few days, some nice easy trips from there too such as Sintra.
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We’re off to Lisbon in September for a few days. Looks a really interesting city. (y)
 
My wife and I are thinking about where to go in December, as we both have significant birthdays and Lisbon is high on the list. (I am also planning to buy myself a new camera for my birthday, so hopefully a good opportunity to test it).
 
Craikeybaby said:
My wife and I are thinking about where to go in December, as we both have significant birthdays and Lisbon is high on the list. (I am also planning to buy myself a new camera for my birthday, so hopefully a good opportunity to test it).
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We had a trip planned that was Covid cancelled.
London City to Lisbon then after a few days high speed train to Porto.
Few more days there before Porto back to London City courtesy of TAP

My plan for December is Stuttgart for the Christmas Market.
Also has Porsche and Mercedes museums plus local trips out.
Got some Eurostar points and a DB voucher to use up.
 
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tijuana taxi said:
We had a trip planned that was Covid cancelled.
London City to Lisbon then after a few days high speed train to Porto.
Few more days there before Porto back to London City courtesy of TAP

My plan for December is Stuttgart for the Christmas Market.
Also has Porsche and Mercedes museums plus local trips out.
Got some Eurostar points and a DB voucher to use up.
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Rich, the Mercedes Museum is excellent (but don't go on a Monday as its closed!!)
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Rich, the Mercedes Museum is excellent (but don't go on a Monday as its closed!!)
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Thanks David, that's not unusual in Germany.
Got a rather splendid furnicular railway and a cog driven tram too.
It was supposed to be my wife's 60th birthday trip, but again Covid cancelled.
 
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My wife wants to go somewhere warmer than the UK, Stuttgart is an easy trip, I have been there a few times on business, but would like to go back to the Porsche/Mercedes museums.
 
tijuana taxi said:
Thanks David, that's not unusual in Germany.
Got a rather splendid furnicular railway and a cog driven tram too.
It was supposed to be my wife's 60th birthday trip, but again Covid cancelled.
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I went there a long time ago, was staying about 120 miles away in the Black Forest, drove there on a Monday - it was closed (this was pre-internet!!), went to the Porsche Museum (then much smaller than it is now, and they had turfed everything interesing out, and filled it with 911s - its was the 30th anniversay of the 911, so we went to a Garden Festival that was on at the time. The next day my (then) wife, said what are we doing today, I replied we're going to the Mercedes Museum :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Came here to post a thread about a trip to Hong Kong and advice on photo spots etc and this thread is right at the top!
 
China impressed me more than Japan, having been to several countries I think Norway comes very near the top of the list
 
India is the most fascinating place we've been, but much of it isn't attractive in terms of being pretty. I'd very much like to see Japan, but will probably never get there.
 
ancient_mariner said:
India is the most fascinating place we've been, but much of it isn't attractive in terms of being pretty. I'd very much like to see Japan, but will probably never get there.
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Been to Japan. There is a Japanese ritual of bowing when meeting someone. for a stranger the bowing over is slight- for someone they know is a deeper bow and fcor family the deepest bow. There is only one issue as a visitor you would come across and that is finding you will be doing the same thing like a bending penguine.

Everything has to be exact and on time. a train for example will stop at exactly the right spot for the station platform gate to be opened for that carriage and your told where to stand on the platform which is even marked on the floor. On the train you have to sit in the seat allocated to you as well

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Meal times in a hotel in Japan is the same, be 2 minuits late and you missed it because they shut it down. All the men dress the same dark suits and white shirts. It is so regimented on all aspects of Janpanese life it is frightening. It is like they can't think and decide for themselves. b est to carry a hotel card with address with you at all times. If you get lost in Tokyo you stand no chance of asking anyone for directions

MT Fuji is usually covered with a cloud.

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I much preferred China
 
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realspeed said:
Been to Japan. There is a Japanese ritual of bowing when meeting someone. for a stranger the bowing over is slight- for someone they know is a deeper bow and fcor family the deepest bow. Thee is only one issue as a visitor you would come across and that is finding you will be doing the same thing.
Everything has to be exact and on time. a train for example will stop at exactly the right spot for the station platform gate to be opened for that carriage and your told where to stand on the platform which is marked on the floor

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KanGgqyv10M
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That might get a bit much. :p
 
Toni in China you could play with the local rock and roll group

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or see what could have been built in half the time if they had employed builders from Ireland

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Alternative option just take the family pet for a walk
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then gone to have a clay model lookalike made of you as all these others have done in the past

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Yes China can offer so much more for tourist to wonder and enjoy
such as line dancing
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or banner wavingDSC_3295.JPG

So as you can see there is more you can do in China than in Japan
 
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Lisbon is lovely - we've been several times over the last 25 years
flic.kr

Lisbon - 18th -23rd June 2018

Work trip into a holiday in Lisbon/Lisboa, Portugal!
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Japan is also amazing - a lot of it feels quite alien but the people we met were friendly and helpful.
You have to accept that as a stranger in a strange land you may make the off gaff but even when we did we were treated with kindness.
We were helped several times by Japanese people keen to try their English out.
flic.kr

Japan 2018

Family holiday 29th March - 13th April Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tokyo.
flic.kr flic.kr

Japan has been revolutionised by Google Maps and Google Translate. Maps means the extraordinary and complex Tokyo transit system is only marginally more complicated to navigate than NYC or London. Maps also lets you find restaurants that have English menus and reviews are helpful in working out what's on offer. In 2 weeks we had one duff meal in what turned out to be a neighbourhood Korean restaurant.

Translate is very handy, it didn't always cope with signage - a lot is hand drawn and the camera recognition can throw up some very odd words but you'll get the gist most of the time.
The live voice translate allowed us to have a meal in a Hiroshima restaurant where no one spoke English at all. The waitress was so impressed she called all the kitchen staff out to see and we were able to complement the chefs on the lovely and cheap food.

If you go to Japan check your roaming data charges - if they're outrageous you can hire a personal 5G>WiFi hotspot to connect your phone to and pay local data prices on a pre-paid SIM.
Order in advance and have it sent to your hotel or collect at the airport on arrival.
 
I get the feeling that if you are a visitor to any country the locals tend to be friendly ,except Egypt that is. Even in Russia we we welcomed. Nothing wrong with Egypt as a country but the people is a different matter. you get mobbed everywhere and pickpocketing if rife


traditional Russian dress

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When we were in China what a lovely lot of people, they just could not do enough for us. We experienced it time after time. one example is when we departed the hotel in Beijing for the last time to go to Xian ,my wife happen to mention she thought the bed was a bit hard not a complaint mind you. The poor girl who looked after the room burst into tears and said she would have found us another room if she had known. Everything they did was done with a smile even down to getting ski lift passes up to the great wall.

My wife on the right and tour guide on the great wall chatting away like old friends. Women it seems are the same the world over
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great wall being repaired

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