Planning a European Trip

Plan a trip to Europe by gathering information from a variety of web sources.
Answer the questions below by using the web sites provided (shown by ). 1) For the first set of questions, look up the answers only. 2) In the second set of questions, you can type in the answers in the boxes provided. When you are finished, click on the submit button and you will receive the answers. The instructor for this course, Ingolf Vogeler, will get an email copy of your response, but don't let this discourage you from trying to answer these questions as many times you as like. Have fun! Hopefully, some day you will actually be able to go on your own trip to Europe!

Remember that blue, underlined words are web links to off-campus sites, which might take a bit of time to load. Be patient. The bold, blue, underlined words are web links to an on-campus site and should be much faster to access.

Section 1: for background information
How much money would a flight from Minneapolis to London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, or Rome cost?
Find out at the Northwest Airline web site.

In which countries do people speak English, outside of the British Isles, of course? Answer.

You'll need to get at least a passport (visas are not required for most Western European countries).
Go to Passport Services and/or to get answers to frequently asked questions about U.S. passports & citizenship.
Get U.S. State Department Travel Warnings & Consular Information, such as Entry Requirements, Medical Facilities, Crime Information, Drug Penalties, Registration and U.S. Embassy and Consulate Locations, for the country or countries you plan to visit.

How do I get around in Europe? The cheapest way for low-budget travelers is to use the extensive railroad system and/or buses. You must purchase passes in the United States before you leave: a Eurail Youthpass and/or a European Bus Pass.
The German national railroad has a great web site (even in English) for planning trips: specify when and where you want to travel and you get detailed schedules of all trains, maps, photo of trains, etc.

What kind of travel guidebooks are available?

Section 2: to be completed by you
Now get some additional information from various web sites and type the answers into the boxes below.
You can get the "correct" answers when you are finished.
If any of the links do NOT connect, type XX in the appropriate boxes!
Type your email address only, e.g., ivogeler (exclude "@uwec.edu") in this box. Don't use your ID#. Or I will not know that you have completed this form. 
Examine the public transportation system of London. Don't include " " in any of the answers!
Find information on transportation options from the London Heathrow International airport to central London.
Name the subway line (The Underground or The Tube) that goes from Heathrow Airport to downtown London? e.g., "name" Line
How much does this one way Tube ride cost ? e.g., "number" Pounds
The airport bus leaves how often to the center of London? e.g., "number-number" minutes

Convert the one-way Underground fare in English Pounds (£) into U.S. dollars.
e.g., $ "number"
The Economist provides data on exchange rates for major Western European currencies. Use the Oct 8th values column. Although 12 of the countries in the European Union as of January-February 2002 converted to a new currency -- the Euro (EUR) -- the United Kingdom does not use the Euro; it continues to use the English Pounds.

Where to stay?
Youth Hostels are great places to stay: they are cheap, often in neat buildings (e.g. castles, ships), and you meet other like-minded travelers.
Find the "five most famous hostels" in Europe. Type the city and country of the first five only:
e.g., "city, country; city, country;" etc.
Examine the climate of several cities.
The kinds of clothing that you will need to bring depends on where you go in a particular month.
Use the Weatherbase for the historical weather for three cities listed below: find and click on the appropriate COUNTRY, then find and click on the appropriate CITY. Be sure that you use Summary and degrees Fahrenheit as it appears on the web menu:

Manchester, United Kingdom
annual average precipitation:   e.g., "number" inches
average precipitation in July: e.g., "number" inches
use words to describe the distribution of rainfall throughout year:
average July temperature: e.g., "number" F
highest recorded July temperature: e.g., "number" F
These data demonstrate which specific climatic region? See Goode's World Atlas. identify only one specific type

Rome, Italy
annual average precipitation: e.g., "number" inches
average precipitation in July: e.g., "number" inches
use words to describe the distribution of rainfall throughout year:
average July temperature: e.g., "number" F
highest recorded July temperature: e.g.,: "number" F
These data demonstrate which specific climatic region? See Goode's World Atlas. identify only one specific type
Moscow, Russia
annual average precipitation: e.g., "number" inches
average precipitation in July: e.g., "number" inches
use words to describe the distribution of rainfall throughout year:
average July temperature: e.g., "number" F
highest recorded July temperature: e.g., "number" F
These data demonstrate which specific climatic region? See Goode's World Atlas. identify only one specific type
Visit a Museum in Paris.
Go to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, which contains one of the best collections of Impressionist paintings
Be sure to select the correct colored dot on the map.
Which artist painted The Hay Ricks?
Georges Seurat painted The Circus in 1891. Use Google to find it. What animal is depicted? e.g., dog
What did Edgar Degas paint from 1871-1874? type the complete name
Sightseeing. Europe is full of original or rebuilt buildings (after the many wars, particularly after World War II, which ended in 1945) which are of historical and architectural merits. Small cities and rural areas have fewer foreign and domestic crowds and are therefore more pleasant to visit and in addition, prices for lodging are lower. What is worth seeing in the northern German city of Lübeck.
Lübeck.
The city has some of Germany's finest what?
The city became the capital of what and when? separate with a comma and space
The symbol of the city is the Holstein Gate. When was it built?
Walking trails are found throughout the European countryside, not just in national and local parks.
Look at what you can do in the Alps, either in the Dolomites of Italy or in the Tyrol of Austria.
How many mountain peaks are over 9,000 feet in the Dolomites?
Excluding physical features, what are the four distinctive things mentioned about Tyrol?
 use only a comma between items
Walking is easy and fun because of the and to get to the top of mountains you can use .
Food! Europe has a great variety of foods and drinks. Let's sample Munich's beergardens.
Munich's Restuarant Guide.
Find the Löwenbräukeller [lion's brew cellar]. When is it open? (Europeans use 24-hour clocks.) e.g., "number-number" daily
It has a good selection of Bavarian food, including  and, of course, . Don't copy and paste; type without the dots over the letters. 
After you have typed the answers in each box,

 

Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 30 October  1997; last revised on 05 February 2008.