Wild camping observations of Europe

[THE LITTLE MUTT]

LIKES..
The best roads are in France (but you have to pay a fortune to use them) & Switzerland.
Swiss are the friendliest followed by Italians.
The best facilities for wild camping in Germany, France also had some nice ones.
The scenery,obviously in Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
Great food in Italy then Monaco.
Best places were Vaduz, Andee, Chivasso, Monte Carlo and Mers-Les-Bane.
DISLIKES..
The filthy state of France.(why you brits would want to go there is beyond me, you have such a lovely country here to see).
They don't like you anyway, so why bother dodging the stinking dog poo littered footpaths and their arrogant nature.
The public facilities are third world at best and disgusting.
Paris hasn't had a clean in decades with all the monuments and statues covered in rubbish and you know what.
Even the food (apart from Mers-Les-Bane) was second rate and to expensive.
Brussels wasn't much better in the clean department, and the drivers were hopeless.
OBSERVATIONS..
Don't go to France.
Enjoy your own country. Forget about politics, The criticism some of you have, could be working against you.
My little piece of paradise back home is totally reliant on tourism.
You have to do everything possible to get people to your town, and get them to spend the money. Not rocket science.
Local councils hold the key and they are the ones who are responsible.
Back home, if you don't like the job they are doing, they are voted out quickly next election.
Very few rural councils have the head swine in the trough scenario.
We just won't wear it, and they know it.

 

[n brown]

very easy to diss a whole country when you whizz through it on a cultural tour and see everything from your own point of view, having lived and worked in france and speaking the language my opinion of the place is quite different. as for arrogant,i generally reserve judgement on an entire country until i've lived and worked there for a year or so.

 

[Airecraft]

LIKES..
The best roads are in France (but you have to pay a fortune to use them) & Switzerland.
Not all of them - French N & D roads can be excellent. I cycle a lot and my average speed increases by 2mph in France because the road surfaces are so much better than Britain's pot-holed atrocities

The best facilities for wild camping in Germany, France also had some nice ones.
The scenery,obviously in Switzerland and Lichtenstein.Did you go to the French Alps, Massif Central, Tarn Gorge and Pyrenees?
Great food in Italy then Monaco. We shop at Lidl, Aldi... and E Le Clerc if we have have something to celebrate
Best places were Vaduz, Andee, Chivasso, Monte Carlo and Mers-Les-Bane.Maybe not for everyone.
DISLIKES..
The filthy state of France.(why you brits would want to go there is beyond me, you have such a lovely country here to see).I can't understand this: there is Soooo much more litter in UK than France.
They don't like you anyway, so why bother dodging the stinking dog poo littered footpaths and their arrogant nature.I've always found the French, at least in the North, very friendly, much more than in many parts of the UK
The public facilities are third world at best and disgusting.But they are there, which is more than can be said for many UK towns.
Paris hasn't had a clean in decades with all the monuments and statues covered in rubbish and you know what. I never go to to Paris - or London for that matter.
Even the food (apart from Mers-Les-Bane) was second rate and to expensive.See above - try Aldi's Swedish Meatballs - divine!!
Brussels wasn't much better in the clean department, and the drivers were hopeless.
OBSERVATIONS..

My little piece of paradise back home is totally reliant on tourism.Where is this,exactly?
You have to do everything possible to get people to your town, and get them to spend the money. Not rocket science.Not everyone is all that interested in money!
Local councils hold the key and they are the ones who are responsible.
Back home, if you don't like the job they are doing, they are voted out quickly next election.
Very few rural councils have the head swine in the trough scenario.
We just won't wear it, and they know it.TBH I don't think loocal councils have much say in anything - I can't criticize them too much because I certainly couldn't be bothered putting up with whingeing from people who can't be bothered to sort things out for themselves

.

 

[n brown]

let me tell you about a conversation i've had more than once with french folk,on a friendly basis i might add! why don't you like the british?because you are arrogant,you don't take the trouble to learn other languages,you once had a great empire and still think you rule the world,you think your women are the most beautiful and your food the best. i reply you're describing yourself mate .then we have a laugh.all true by the way. i'm a working class guy and i can connct with a peasant like myself in any country,we all have the same problems and needs-survival and feed the family. that's why i get a bit snippy about this guy trashing a whole country after a quick look

 

[Firefox]

I guess we all have different experiences. I think the British Roads are pretty good compared to anywhere else I've been.

OP gives the French and France a hard time. The food there is wonderful and I don't think it is dirty at all. True the French don't like the Brits speaking French, because we mangle their language up which they are very proud of, whereas we are more practical with our Language and don't mind crap English so long as we can muddle through to understand it.

My fave place would have to be Netherlands. The people there are great and I think the English/Dutch hit it off much better together in general than the French/English.

 

[lufcdave7]

LIKES..
The best roads are in France (but you have to pay a fortune to use them) & Switzerland.
Swiss are the friendliest followed by Italians.
The best facilities for wild camping in Germany, France also had some nice ones.
The scenery,obviously in Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
Great food in Italy then Monaco.
Best places were Vaduz, Andee, Chivasso, Monte Carlo and Mers-Les-Bane.
DISLIKES..
The filthy state of France.(why you brits would want to go there is beyond me, you have such a lovely country here to see).
They don't like you anyway, so why bother dodging the stinking dog poo littered footpaths and their arrogant nature.
The public facilities are third world at best and disgusting.
Paris hasn't had a clean in decades with all the monuments and statues covered in rubbish and you know what.
Even the food (apart from Mers-Les-Bane) was second rate and to expensive.
Brussels wasn't much better in the clean department, and the drivers were hopeless.
OBSERVATIONS..
Don't go to France.
Enjoy your own country. Forget about politics, The criticism some of you have, could be working against you.
My little piece of paradise back home is totally reliant on tourism.
You have to do everything possible to get people to your town, and get them to spend the money. Not rocket science.
Local councils hold the key and they are the ones who are responsible.
Back home, if you don't like the job they are doing, they are voted out quickly next election.
Very few rural councils have the head swine in the trough scenario.
We just won't wear it, and they know it.

Don't know exactly where in France you've been mate, but obviously you missed the fantastic places and people we have seen/met over the many years we have been visiting the Country. As for arrogant people, remember once going to a barn dance in a little place called Albany, Western Australia...........................

 

[maureenandtom]

I aked Little Mutt for his observations and he gave them. Thank you for that. I think my counrymen are treating you a little harshly and I apologise for them. My parents were £10 poms, my mother lives a fair bit north of you in Queensland but most of the family live around Sydney. I've been met with friendliness and courtesy on my 20 or so visits to Australia and I wish your welcome had been as warm as mine has been.

I will add a little comment of my own about France. And the French language. My experience is a little different to others above. When I first began visiting France in the mid 1980's using a motor cycle I thought the French arrogant, ovebearing, lacking in patience - all negative things. In the early 90's I started motocaravaning and began learning French. Badly. I mangled and still mangle the language.

(I speak German a little better, well, ok, much better and one year in Bavaria I was given the compliment that when I died I would be put in a museum as the only Englishman ever known to speak German).

Far from the French being insulted I think they, generally, are charmed. I don't think they're insulted when we speak French; I think they like the broken French we speak a bit like we enjoy the broken English they might speak. One year a French Man said to me, "Tom, you are so lucky to be English. All French girls want an English Man. They never say no to an English Man." My tip for learning French is to forget about learning vocabulary. You'll learn the words you need and forget the ones you don't need. But verbs - that's different. Every sentence has one and if you learn the verbs, not many, you probably don't need more than about a dozen, you can converse. Broken French, but you can talk to people. The vocabulary will come. "Comment dit on en francais" which is broken enough French for "How do you say in French?" has always got me a smile and friendly help.

So, I think we might be better liked than we know about. Certainly I've made one or two French friends to the extent that we send emails and Christmas cards to each other and area always delighted to see each other. Friendly enough.

 

[Tbear]

We loved the Aires and many of the people we found on them but when we went into the cities we found a very well dressed French Elite (or they thought they where) who tried to treat the rest of the world with the same amount of respect as they had for the dog muck which was everywhere. French food was expensive and the bread a major let down. The wine was good and the service first class.
All countries have good and bad points but its really good to hear someone say that we have a wonderful country when most of the planet seems to want to declare a holy war against us.

Richard

 

[Deleted member 3011]

Well, I have to hand it to the little mutt. Half an hour in any British town and he has the infrastructure, the inhabitant's friendliness and the state of race relations summed up to the 10th decimal place.

Now he has done the same for most of western Europe.

Amazing.

Guess Julia is hoping he gets back home ASAP so she can get some badly needed advice on the state of affairs in Australasia and Asia.

 

[Canalsman]

Love France - haven't ever been to Paris.

Love the route nationale (N) roads, and the small country roads. Much much nicer to drive on than British roads. And much better surfaced too.

Speak schoolboy French when I'm there with a limited vocabulary, and it's ALWAYS appreciated

The villages are spotless, the people friendly, and it's like going back 30 years in England to a time when people cared about each other, and behaved in a socially responsible way.

And it's still all about the extended family, where the youngsters participate in everything, thereby feeling a part of society rather than a problem waiting to happen.

And the bread ... it's fantastic! And the wine's not bad either!!

 

[Firefox]

Paris is great too, I gave been there about 6 times. The architecture is superb, they have kept the concrete jungle out of the city centre. Any modern buildings are generally well planned. You only need to go up to La Defense and look down one of the grand axes to the Arc and the Louvre beyond to see what I mean.

Parisans are somewhat rude especially towards the English, but who cares, one doesn't go to Paris for the Parisians. In the bustle of most metropolises the locals in general don't have time to pander to the needs of tourists. London is similar in that respect.

 

[vindiboy]

We LOVE France.Beautiful Country.
We LOVE the French.Friendly helpful People and with my very basic French I can talk to them.
We LOVE the food especially in the raw state so we can cook it to our liking.

VIVE LA FRANCE.

 

[jann]

We love France!!

We love France

The people are great ,very patient with my schoolgirl French.

It is the best place for motorhomes

Food from supermarkets or outdoor markets is good

I think the roads in Germany are better ( and free)

We've just returned from a 3 week holiday, roll on next time!!

 

[fofeg101]

I was in London, again, last Monday and I was amazed at the rubbish lying around, not a stones throw from the House of Commons, but as I once explained to an American member of my family, who said they were shocked at the state of the place travelling in by train, when a city has been a city for 2K years it's bound to be a little rough around the edges.

I've twice been involved in attempted muggings in France, never once in 68 years in the UK.

As regards the lack of, and state of, Public Conveniences in France, The French have a different attitude towards those private bodily functions than we have in the English speaking World, if there's no facilities available for a No.1 you just pee up against any convenient wall, no one will turn a hair, here you would get done for urinating in a public place. Likewise, No.2's, any field where you feel comfortable will do. Of course, if you do find facilities they will almost certainly be Uni-Sex.

One Uni-Sex W.C. I visited had an elderly French lady sitting at the entrance, on the way in you gave her 2 Francs, in return she gave you two squares of toilet paper!!, I always carried my own loo paper, so no problem for me.

As I said the attitude to these things is different over there, I once went into one of those stainless steel, coin in the slot, W.Cs, which are common in this country now, in a Bus Station, I put my money in, the door opened, I entered, the door closed, I sat down comfortably on the loo and the door suddenly opened up, there were a bunch of French folks sitting at a bus stop opposite they never so much as blinked, here I would have been laughed at and humiliated.

 

[Deleted member 11815]

Wow.
I'd love to know how much time the OP has spent in such places to decide the best/worst of Europe in such a "I know everything way". Are you an expert already? How much time in which country, and when? When has a lot to do with it. Not heard any comments about the Scandanavian part of Europe, or even the East.
After 40,000 miles in 3 years around Europe we've barely touched the surface!
Yep - we hate some places, and love others. And we meet people who love the places we hate and vice versa.
We've spent more time in France this year than any other country and had a great time - though doing things many would not even try.
Hey ho - I guess we need such opinionated and vocal people to clear out our bars before closing time.

edit: Ah - just seen your first ever post. 5 weeks! hahahahahah! sorry - fell off my chair. How the hell can you see any country let alone "the whole of europe" in 5 weeks! We don't bother putting trips of less than a month on our blog! At least I know I can disregard your "expert" views for now.

I suppose we need Internet experts/trolls once in a while to get people writing lol!

 

[Byronic]

Well, I have to hand it to the little mutt. Half an hour in any British town and he has the infrastructure, the inhabitant's friendliness and the state of race relations summed up to the 10th decimal place.

Now he has done the same for most of western Europe.

Amazing.

Guess Julia is hoping he gets back home ASAP so she can get some badly needed advice on the state of affairs in Australasia and Asia.

Couldn't agree with you more.......that is assuming of course that L Ms experiences are based on very limited time. I note that L M doesn't say whether he actually enjoyed (or not) his tour of any country. I can't help thinking of that observation by O.W. Travel rarely broadens the mind, it just confirms ones prejudices. Wonder if it applies here?

Using the L M argument I could say that the road from Adelaide via the Red Centre to Darwin is disgusting, bottles and cans litter it for hundreds of kilometres, I could point to the endless boring suburbs of Sydney (give me the sleaziness of Kings X Sydney anyday) And as for Aussie politicians I could say.... well their Rural Representatives "may" be OK, but how about State and National politicians, they're well known for their probity ha ha. Lets hope a Welsh born woman Prime Minister gets them in line.
Well I could have said all that, but I'd rather say I enjoyed living in Aussie, great place, but I found other places preferable.

Anyway we all know (don't we?)that nothing gives some Aussies more pleasure than winding up the Poms and emigre ex Poms take particular pleasure in the sport, could L M be one with a difference, likes winding up Europeans as well!!

 

[Bigpeetee]

Like many of the respondents, I've been fortunate enough to have traveled and worked in many countries. (Not enough mind you!)

It's easy to pass comment on the culture or way of life without trying to get a deeper understanding of WHY things are as they are.

True there are good and bad in every culture, and being a foreigner in a country could make you a target for the low life that inhabit the earth. So perhaps that's why people have been targeted in another country and not their own. Tourist coming over here say the same.

I've found that in another country if I take a low profile approach, treat people with respect, then respect is reciprocated. Obviously, the locals, particularly in tourist areas, get toughened to the "Tourist" - a necessity for the economy, but such a bloody nuisance.

I think "Tourists" throughout the world have a lot to answer for, they go in Herds to a limited number of places, think they own the place, let it be known what they'd do to change the place or worst of all, move in AND take over.

I don't like Mallorca because I spent 2 weeks in Magaluf!!!!

But go in quietly, especially away from the battle hardened tourist spots and you find people going about their daily life, trying their best for their family and grumbling about their politicians, just like we do!!

There seems to be a growth of people generalising, be it religion, the arrogance of another nation etc.

Accept that things are different in other parts of the world, if it wasn't, why would you travel because everywhere would be the same?

PS the friendliest races I have found are the Jordanians and the Omani's but no one is perfect