Associate
Well, London for starters, then visit Lake District + Scotland.
Tbh, the real attraction of the UK is the countryside, not the cities.
Tbh, the real attraction of the UK is the countryside, not the cities.
If you were a foreigner...
- Thread starter apeZ
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Americans I've talked to are divided pretty much equally between those who put down London as insignificant and those that are a little bit intrigued... however every single one I've spoken to whos actually been have said they really enjoyed the time there and didn't realise there was so much to see/do.
Theres a lot of things foreigners find intriguing even things like the beetles, etc.
Theres a lot of things foreigners find intriguing even things like the beetles, etc.
Caporegime
Yes, England has this image from the outside that has Castles, Palaces, if that's your thing. London being the main attraction, and then the Premier league being the other, if you are a football fan who happens to be on holiday here, you would want to go see a match as the Premier League is huge globally.
Caporegime
I have a friend who did 2 weeks in Ireland/England. She spent 8 days in Ireland driving around, road trip, 1 day in Edinburgh, 1 day in London (for Abbey Road) and 2 days in Liverpool for the Beatles. She is a big Beatles fan, you can't underestimate how much tourism The Beatles bring in !
Associate
I'd use better English than the title of this thread.
Fixed.
Soldato
I have no idea really, I would certainly want to go to London for the same reason I want to go to New York.
Caporegime
I am a foreigner and I visited the UK. In fact, I lived there for nearly 6 years. The UK is a fascinating place, largely due to its rich history. People over-exaggerate the weather; there's nothing wrong with it. I love the British climate!
I think the UK is a great place to visit, but I would never live there again.
loads of places worth visiting in the uk
either places with great scenery or places with huge historical backgrounds.
best bit about the uk is that its easy to travel place to place due to our relatively small size. you can stay in london and go to most places in the uk and back within the day. great for visiting the historical sites and things
either places with great scenery or places with huge historical backgrounds.
best bit about the uk is that its easy to travel place to place due to our relatively small size. you can stay in london and go to most places in the uk and back within the day. great for visiting the historical sites and things
Associate
The UK is Crap, with a BIG C.
BTW, I was born there and lived there for 30 years. But I moved away 15 years ago.
Actually it amazes me how **** the place is now. I visit often and cant believe how utter **** it is. It upsets me actually because I have friends and family who are trapped there, in a world of ****.
My last visit sums it up.
I took the train from Munich to the UK. I travelled first class. First off, I got on the train at the main station in Munich. I took the ICE to Stuttgart. I sat in a leather reclining seat in air conditioning with waitress service. My coffee was a couple of euros and I had free newspapers and a silent train that winded its way through Alpen villages. I arrived in Stuttgart 90 minutes later and walked across the platform to the TGV. On the TGV, I again had nice leather seats and a waiter who served champagne and a cooked meal. Two hours later at 200mph I arrived in Strasbourg. The first class cabin filled up will typical eurocrats. I got chatting to an investment banker over another glass of champagne and debated the pros and cons of iPhones vs Blackberries with him. 2 hours later at 200mph we arrived in Paris. I walked 10 minutes across Paris to the terminal for the Eurostar. Again travelling first class and I sat in a leather seat, with a waitress carrying my bags and was served yet another glass of champagne and another cooked meal.
2 hours later I arrived at St Panscr&p.
Then it all turned to ****.
Now you say I am decedent, travelling first class, but I paid so far 180 euro RETURN for my ticket from Munich to London. Thats a journey of 1000 miles.
I needed to get from London to Nottingham.
So I went to get a ticket. 70 QUID one ****ing way mate. And that was on some chav train to leeds.
I boarded and was treated to thick ****ers eating kebabs and stuffing there gobs with Maltesers, and I was ****ing standing. The train stank of ****, but thats not surprising as the toilet had overflowed.
What a reality check???
Then I visited friends, whos height of sophistication, seemed to be watching x factor at full blast on a cr&ppy aldi TV in a freezing living room.
Next day I was treated to "shopping in a bargain factory outlet" that took two hours to drive to.
Then FFS. In September last year I was in Glasgow! Friends suggested that we ate a meal at the local carvery. All you can eat (vomit) for a fiver.
Which was a dicotamy to the week before when I had stayed with a friend of mine in France who has a 105 acre mansion and we ate fais grais and fine cheeses and drink fine wines.
Anyhow back to the original question.
I was chatting to German business partner of mine last week regarding the question "Have you ever visited the UK".
Never he said.
Cant blame him.
In the last couple of years,
I have visited, via first class trains trains from Munich.
Prague
Verona
Rome
Milan
Paris
Zurich
Salzburg
Vienna
Amsterdam
Berlin
Hamburg
and the list goes on.
Now I tell you all. Wake up UK Friends to a reality check.
There is an election coming up!!!!!
In fact what is really really sad IMO, is that I spent some time in Kiev in the Ukraine last year. It is infinitely cleaner, and more civilized than the UK.
10 years ago Ukraine was classed as third world.
But I tell you Kiev is better than any City in the Uk.
The list goes on and on.
Fully star out swearing.
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Personally I don't really see the attraction in the UK. Dosen't have patriotism to be proud of, terrible history behind it, crap weather, terrible policies etc
Not to mention the girls on the whole are fairly mingin'
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not blind to the fact people like it, and to all those that want to "leave on the next plane", please understand that Britain in all its shabbiness does have a level of civility that can be quite lacking in other countries you would not expect.
I want to live in a country I can be proud of, not one caught in the limbo of trying to maintain some form of culture whilst innuandated by immigration and culture issues, whilst simulatenously being ashamed of its past.
Not to mention the girls on the whole are fairly mingin'
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not blind to the fact people like it, and to all those that want to "leave on the next plane", please understand that Britain in all its shabbiness does have a level of civility that can be quite lacking in other countries you would not expect.
I want to live in a country I can be proud of, not one caught in the limbo of trying to maintain some form of culture whilst innuandated by immigration and culture issues, whilst simulatenously being ashamed of its past.
Caporegime
The UK really isn't as bad as you say. It's not "crap with a BIG 'C'" and it's not a "world of ****." It's a great place to visit and can be a great place to live, if you have the money.
It's not fair to compare the UK with Germany; that's like comparing apples with oranges. The Germans have very high standards; you need to lower the bar and compare like with like. I think you will find that the British train system starts to pretty look good when compared with the services provided by ex-Soviet satellite states.
You obviously have two different sets of friends; a chavvy bunch in the UK and a sophisticated bunch in France. Bear in mind that the UK has sophisticated people and France has some degenerates of its own. Your experiences with your friends cannot be used to characterise entire countries.
His entire post is beyond words, he compares going to a £5 all you can eat carvery with eating at a mansion, I was going to post some arguments but the post is just at such a stupid level I couldn't be bothered.
Even the train comparison is comparing first class in Europe to normal here.
Even the train comparison is comparing first class in Europe to normal here.
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Soldato
Probably not again, been in London once and didn't like it, and aside from the language, I can't seem to think of many things I like about the UK ( well except low VAT and generally cheap products now that the GBP isn't that expensive compared to the €, and the music 
).
).
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Caporegime
That's true, but I suspect that German first class is still a cut above British first class. Can anyone with experience of first class rail in the UK help us out here?
Soldato
I think he was also on about the price, 70 quid does seem an awful lot for a 2nd class single way 150 mile trip. He paid far less relatively per mile for a 1st class ticket on the continent. Hence comparing the 2, he got less in the UK for far more. I think I got a return ticket from A'dam to London with Easyjet for 130€ by plane, 70 quid for a 150 mile trip in a train sounds like a rip-off.
Associate
Rubbish.
I said that my FIRST CLASS ticket was 150 euros return. And yet my one way ticket in the UK, chav class was 70 quid. I am comparing like with like.
You sound like one of the suckers who I used to work with in the UK, 45K a year, yet with a 300k morgage.
I was in my mates farmhouse, who BTW was an Engineer, like myself, who left the UK, as I did for a better life.
He was educated at Harvard, left the US, studied a PHD in Munich. Now he is a CEO of a large American company.
Neither him nor myself have looked back. WTF, would we both want to commute down the M4 corrider in the morning for a 45K a year job????
When I first came to Germany I was jumping up and down with joy when they offered me 90k euros, with 30 days a year holiday. I couldn't believe it!!!
I thought I had landed!! But then again I was born in Preston!
Then I realised over the years that this is nothing. Its the norm.
I then realised it was the less than the norm when I saw open topped Ferrari's in the street and no one had ****** in the roof.
What I am saying is that in European terms the UK is now IMO third world.
When I was living in Lancashire how would I every have dreamed of a BMW or Porsche for instance. Now I have both.
Caporegime
Hmm, good point. £70 to Northampton; that's just adding insult to injury!
Well, I guess the only way is up.
I couldn't say too well since I've been living here for years, and familiarity turns interesting things into the mundane.
But there's plenty to see/do, aside from the big name attractions there are many many other smaller places and those which are mostly unknown except at a local level. Perhaps not things people would fly across the world to see specifically but they are here to visit when people are here.
Hell, I cycle round Cambridge every day, past lots of little shops, cafés, hotels, museums, restaurants, colleges, any number of businesses.
Nothing special to me.
But there are still truckloads of tourists/schoolkids/academics/businesspeople which turn up every day for them.
But there's plenty to see/do, aside from the big name attractions there are many many other smaller places and those which are mostly unknown except at a local level. Perhaps not things people would fly across the world to see specifically but they are here to visit when people are here.
Hell, I cycle round Cambridge every day, past lots of little shops, cafés, hotels, museums, restaurants, colleges, any number of businesses.
Nothing special to me.
But there are still truckloads of tourists/schoolkids/academics/businesspeople which turn up every day for them.