Travel Tips to European Countries: Belgium

Belgium is situated in the west of Europe. The land here mostly comprises of flat coastal plains in the northeast, and southeast is occupied by the Ardennes Forest. Dutch, Flemish, French and German are the official languages of Belgium, with Dutch being the widely spoken followed by French. The weather here is pretty predictable. Months from April to September are the warmest. Otherwise the weather is pretty humid and skies are gray, that explains why umbrellas and raincoats are a part of the dressing. So, if the visit is planned for holidays during the rainy season, one must not forget to carry sufficient cover for maximum protection, as this is a coastal region. In case of emergency call 100 or 112.

• Culture

Belgians are English-friendly and will make every attempt to speak in English with a foreigner. Always remember to carry a small gift or at least flowers especially when invited over dinner. The dress to wear will be mentioned in the invitation, when invited for a party. Smoking in public is acceptable.

• Shopping

Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Namur, Mons, Liège, Ghent and Mechelen are the main shopping centers. Belgium is famous for ceramics and hand-beaten copperware from Dinant, laces from Bruges, crystals from Val Saint Lambert, woodcarvings from Spa and Belgium’s finest chocolates. In jewelry, diamonds from Antwerp are on high demand. 

• Eating Out

The specialty of most of the restaurants is horse and rabbit meat dishes. Although visitors can find a wide range of ethnic foods, but the most famous are frites and mayonnaise and mitraillette; mitraillette is a large bun filled with fries, donair meat and garlic sauce, the vegetarians can ask for a veg. substitute for the donair meat. While eating at a restaurant, tipping is considered customary along with the value-added tax. At the cinemas, leave a €0.50 tip for the attendant and €0.25 after using the public toilets.

Electricity

Voltage is 230 V and frequency is 50 Hz.

• Travel

Delta Air Transport has inaugurated its new European airline SN Brussels Airlines recently. It flies to more than 58 destinations in Europe and as well as worldwide. The Brussels Zayentem airport is twelve km from the city and it takes 35 minutes to reach the city from the airport. The airport has facilities like duty free shops, car parking, taxi booking, car hiring, banks, post office, restaurants, and medical help. Internet and fax services are provided for the passengers. The Airport City Express train transports passengers to three main railway stations - Brussels North, Central and South. One can avail a bus which runs regularly from the airport, taxis can also be hired which wait outside the arrival hall. Tipping the taxi drivers is considered customary. Train runs every 15 minutes.

Another airport, Brussels South Charleroi, is 5 km away from Charleroi and 46 km from Brussels. Ryan air serves as the local airline here and has cheap deals for several European destinations to and from Charleroi. The facilities provided here are bus and train services, café, car hire, and duty free shops.

Ostend airport is 5 km away from the city and car parking, car hire, duty free shops, and restaurants are provided here.

Antwerp airport is just 2 km away from the city. Buses run to the Brussels Central Station every few minutes.

Liege is situated at a distance of 5 km away from the city. Buses run at regular interval here. 

The departure tax at Brussels Zayentem is €20.93, Brussels South Charleroi is €3.49, Ostend and Antwerp is €10, and at Liege is €7.

There is a network of high-speed trains, which are operated by Thalys, from Belgium to France, connecting Brussels with other destinations like Bordeaux, Chambéry, Cannes, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Valence Perpignan, and Rennes. Booking should be made in advance for these trains. The national railway operates through out the day providing service every few minutes to destinations such as Andorra, Austria, France, Czech, Germany, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands. Insiders can avail the Inter-Rail pass which allows visitors to travel almost 29 European Countries. This service is valid for residents who have been settled there for more than 6 months.

• Duty Free Items

Visitors can carry alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, coffee and tea without getting customs duty levied on them, but only the goods should be limited. Check out for the limits before carrying such goods. Food items that are not preserved are better avoided. 

Travel Tips to European Countries: Austria

About the Country. Located in central Europe, Austria celebrates world’s best music festivals like the Salzburg Festival, Haydn Festival in Vienna, and the International Chamber Music Festival. Vienna is the capital of Austria as well as the musical capital of Europe. Music and art are in full flare here after centuries of hardship and innovation. That explains Vienna being the birthplace of Mozart. Horse dances are also part of these festivals. Since it snows in winter, the snow covered Alps is a must be visited place during the winter. Austria experiences a moderate summer. Rains can be expected year round. Incase of emergency call 120 or 123.

• Site seeing

The romantic castles simply leave you astounded. The Schloss Durnstein provides a magnificent view besides the River Danube. A 10% tip should be paid to the taxi drivers, which is customary here.

• Culture

German, Hungarian, Slovene, and Croatian are the languages spoken by the locals. To greet the locals, a handshake will do. When meeting someone for the first time, its better to refer them by their last name, but once better known they can be addressed by the first name. When out in the public, say Guten Tag or Gruss Gott to greet people and while leaving say Auf Wiedersehen. Carry along flowers when going over to someone’s house. The locals here have a passion for horse riding. The world’s best art of horsemanship can be found here which is as old as 400 years and to watch the horses perform at these schools; tickets must be booked in advance. Although service charge is levied on restaurant bills, an extra 5% should be paid as tip.

• Getting there

Three national airlines operate in Austria, Austrian Arrows, Austrian Airlines and Lausda Air, which work in collaboration with the Austrian Airlines Group. The Vienna airport is 18 km away from the city. Airport buses transport passengers to the South Train and West Train Station. Railway, chauffeur-driven car and taxi service is also provided at the airport. Duty free shops, post office, bank, eateries, left luggage, tourism information, conference hall, nursery, car hiring and car parking facilities are provided to the passengers at the airport. 

Salzburg airport is 4 km away from the city and buses, trains, taxis and hotel coach shuttle passengers to and from the airport. Facilities such as duty free shops, post office, currency exchange, left luggage, conference hall, restaurants and car hire exist at the airport. Check out the other airports such as Klagenfurt airport, Graz airport and Linz airport for more details. All the airports charge a fixed rate for porter service.  

International tourists can get to Austria by Austrian Federal railways, if planning to travel by train. It has a large network which connects the major cities within Austria and also outside Austria. Travelers can find connections to/from Germany, Russia, Greece, Romania, Turkey Brussels, Paris and Italy. International rail passes or Eurail pass can be bought to travel around Austria as they provide unlimited travel and other offers too.

A good network of roads here provides an interesting journey. Take Eurotunnel when crossing the Channel Tunnel while traveling by car. Bookings should be made in advance. The cars can be hired at the airports and railway stations and if driving own car carry documentations like UK driving license or national driving license and car registration papers. Toll booths are installed on the motorways and ‘S’ roads, so if change is carried in advance it will ensure no delays in the journey. Registration documents should be carried along all the time while driving. The lights should be turned on while driving, in the city or outside, all the time. There are strict laws for seat belts and drinking while driving. If using the motorbike, high visibility jacket and helmet must be worn, it’s a compulsion for both the passenger and the driver. Many federal, private companies and local authorities provide bus service. Coaches are provided for moving around within the cities.

Wurm and Kock provide cruise passenger service. Along with the cruise trip, packages include stay at a hotel. Check out, before hand, for offer. There are many Ferry service providers too.

Duty Free Items

1. 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g tobacco or a proportional mix of these products
2. 1l of spirits over 22 per cent or 2l of fortified wine or spirits up to 22 per cent or 2l of sparkling wine or liqueur and 2l of still wine
3. 500g of coffee or 200g of extracts, essences or concentrates of coffee, and 100g of tea or 40g of tea extracts
4.  medicinal products sufficient for the journey
5. 50g of perfume or eau de toilette
6. All the above mentioned goods should be carried by a person over 17 years of age.

Journey Tricks to European Nations: Albania

Journey Tricks to European Nations: Albania. Albania is a mountainous nation and the one of many small nations of Europe. The residents supposedly descended from historic Illyrians.

• Tradition

The tradition of Albania is majorly influenced by that of the mainland Greeks, particularly within the city locality; nodding one’s head means ‘no’ the place as shaking the pinnacle means ‘sure’. To greet somebody, handshaking is most popular, although Shoku (Comrade) was used earlier than, which has been long forgotten now. Individuals gown informally right here. Swim fits are meant for the seashores, in any other case loads are anticipated to not gone in a revealing outfit. When addressing somebody prefix Zoti (Mr) or Zonja (Mrs) earlier than the title and all the time bear in mind to hold some items when visiting somebody, though flowers aren’t a lot more acceptable. The visitors are served with espresso, rake or sweets. People who smoke, don’t have to fret a lot, however they need to keep away from it the place they see an indication of Ndalohet Duhani or Ndalohet pirja e duhanit.

• Travelling inside the nation

Buses with comparatively low-cost fares function in the primary cities of the nation or taxis are one other alternative which offered service for some most important inns.

Go to Dajti Mountain and expertise Dajti Ekspres Cable, automotive for an unforgettable 15 minute trip passing by Date Oark to succeed in Tirana. The route is about four.2 km lengthy and the trip prices €6.5.Alpha Yachting offers crewed yacht which is a luxurious in itself. Tirana Financial institution is the perfect place for withdrawing cash because it permits entry to Visa playing cards.

• Consuming Out

Eating places usually are not all the time sufficiently heated, so all the time put on heat garments if out with in the evening throughout the winters. Foreigners are charged greater than the locals. Each the entry charges in addition to any merchandise will likely be on the next scale, so it’s higher to not reveal the actual fact that you're a foreigner when out on the streets.

• Website Seeing

If you happen to take pleasure in canoeing, that is the best place to be. There are locations proper exterior Tirana which is a tremendous website for not simply canoeing, but in addition mountain climbing, mountain climbing, and tenting.

• Lodging

If you would like a 5-Star atmosphere, strive The Sheraton Tirana Resort and Towers, which is located in the midst of a procuring and leisure middle. There are about 151 rooms and 56 suites. So, together with the consolation, one can store directly comfort right here. One other lodge which offers all trendy services is Resort Mondial. Its situated 1000 m away from the town and can also be a superb instance of conventional structure.

• Getting There

Probably the greatest and the best means is to go by air. Albanian Airways are the nationwide airline, which works in collaboration with Tyrolean Airways, and offers services to nearly all the massive European cities. The airport, Mom Teresa, is 16 miles or 26 km away from the capital. A vacationer bus is accessible each three hrs to get to the town middle and takes about 30 minutes to get there. Taxis can be found around the clock. Whereas ready for any transportation service, vacationers can take a look at the responsibility free outlets, financial institution, eateries and automotive rent on the airport. A departure tax of $10 USD is imposed on all international nationals. Try www.flyalbanian .com for flight instances and presents.

If attempting to get there by sea, strive the ferry providers that are offered by Adriatic Line and Agoudimos. The principal ports are Durres (has ferry connection to Italy, Bari, Brindisi, Trieste, and Ancona), Vlora (has ferry connection to Bari, and Brindisi), Saranda (has connection to Corfu), Shen Gjini (has ferry connection to Bari). Try www.adriatica.it and www.aqoudimos-lines.com for extra info.

Bus is another choice. The buses begin from Istanbul, Athens and Sofia. Inside, passengers have numerous choices with bus providers offered. If touring by the highway in a personal automobile, there's a highway community in the Kosovo area, however, they're too harmful to make use of due to the political tensions in the area. Crossings at Hani I Hotit, Plato, Oafa e Thais, Tushemisht, Gorica, Kapshtica, and kakavija might be taken. If drained one can take halts at inns or different designated areas. There's a community about 18,000 km, out of which solely 7450 km is most important roads, for native vacations. The about 2138km stretch of those roads is in poor situation and has pot holes, and utmost security precautions ought to be taken when driving on such roads. Velocity restricts ought to be strictly adopted on highways in addition to inside cities. Driving at evening ought to be higher prevented due to the absence of avenue lights on the highway aside from city areas. Site visitors ought to drive on the right-hand. There's a scarcity of fuel stations within the countryside, so filling the fuel tank fully when passing by city space is really helpful and since there's a lack of nationwide restoration system; vacationers ought to be ready for an emergency or breakdown earlier than the hand. One ought to carry obligatory paperwork like Worldwide Driving Allow and nationwide driving license.

• Obligation Free Gadgets

Following are the objects that may be carried without customs responsibility being levied on them: 

1.  1liter of spirits or 2liter of wine
2.  250ml of Eau de toilette
3.  200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
4.  50ml of fragrance.

• Prohibited Gadgets

Issues which might be prohibited to hold are firearms, narcotics and ammunitions. Particular export permission ought to be taken for treasured metals, books, antiques, murals, or materials of nationwide or historic worth.