Places or tourist attractions that surprised you
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
March 7, 2013 9:52am CST
Did you ever visit a place or a tourist attraction that really surprised you? In which way was it different from your expections? Was it a positive surprise or did you get disappointed? Why?
Bratislava in Slovakia surprised me in a positive way. I didn't plan on visiting Slovakia, but I decided to break up the train journey from Sofia to Kracow. Because of the location I thought that Bratislava would be a good place to spend some days before I continued to Krakow.
I didn't really know much about Bratislava and I didn't expect much, but when I arrived I discovered that the city was more interesting than I had expected and really enjoyed the days that I spent there. There are many unusual sculptures in the streets and I am an artist myself so I found it very interesting to look at the sculptures.
Another place that surprised me was the little mermaid in Copenhagen. I thought that she was much bigger and I thought that they would be many tourists in the area, but we were the only ones there.
4 responses
@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
8 Mar 13
The litte mermaid in Copenhagen was surprising to me too. I expected something a bit more spectacular. It's the same with Sinnataggen (statue of an angry boy) in Oslo. I don't really get what the fuss is all about :-) Haven't seen Manneken Piss, but I'm guessing that would be about the same. As with several of the statues of composers in Vienna, they're not really that great. And the Albert memorial! That's just weird :-)
I liked Bratislava too, but the biggest surprise was the prices. It's some years since I was there, took the train from Vienna when I studied there, and the prices were really suprisingly low. The sculptures was better than the little mermaid etc :-)
In Australia I went with a friend to a bird sanctuary. We climbed a hill so we can see the lake in the sanctuary from above. It was really great and quite unexpected, and I really like to go back :-)
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
8 Mar 13
When I saw the little mermaid my first thought was: "Wow, it is so small" 
I had only seen it on pictures and I had imagined that it was larger or more spectacular like you said. I have seen the Danish version of Manneken Piss, and that is supposed to be an exact copy know if the "real" Manniken Pis in Belgium (including the size) and I was surpriced to see how small it was. It didn't look impressive at all. I have only seen the Albert memorial on the pictures. I liked the sculptures in Bratislava. It was fun to walk around and look at them, we never knew what we would find around the next corner.
I had only seen it on pictures and I had imagined that it was larger or more spectacular like you said. I have seen the Danish version of Manneken Piss, and that is supposed to be an exact copy know if the "real" Manniken Pis in Belgium (including the size) and I was surpriced to see how small it was. It didn't look impressive at all. I have only seen the Albert memorial on the pictures. I liked the sculptures in Bratislava. It was fun to walk around and look at them, we never knew what we would find around the next corner.@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
9 Mar 13
Yes, Bratislava is a good place to take pictures. I took some pictures of my husband and some of the sculptures. I would like to visit Wiegelandsparken in Norway. I would love to explore the statues and take pictures 
My husband and I have talked about a short trip to Norway. We would be able to catch the ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark. Hirtshals is in the other end of the country, but since my country is quite small it wouldn't be a problem to drive there. We want to spend a couple of days in Oslo before we return to Denmark.
My husband and I have talked about a short trip to Norway. We would be able to catch the ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark. Hirtshals is in the other end of the country, but since my country is quite small it wouldn't be a problem to drive there. We want to spend a couple of days in Oslo before we return to Denmark.@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
9 Mar 13
Make sure to give the drunken Norwegian on the ferry a wide berth :-)
I thought the ferries from Hirtshals went to Larvik or Kristiansand and the one from Copenhagen to Oslo?
If you end up in Larvik, this place is supposed to be pretty
http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevlunghavn
I've never been that far south in Norway, but both Kristiansand and Larvik are supposed be pretty towns. Unlike Oslo, which can be interesting but not that pretty :-) However, a quite nice to place to go for a drink is at the top of the Radisson SAS hotel. I was there at conference some weeks ago, I met up with a friend and we went for a drink at the top. It's at the 35. floor so you have a really good view of most of town. There's a restaurant there too, but it was a bit too fancy for us that day.
1 person likes this
@doroffee (4222)
• Hungary
7 Mar 13
What really surprised me was Spinalonga in Greece. When I first heard about it, I only knew it was an island, and I was like, what could be that interesting about an island? But later I learnt the story or it (it was an island for people suffering from lepers), I read a novel based on it, and the whole experience was... well, kind of enchanting, as the novel did a really great job at describing what was where, and I could really imagine those people there.
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@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
7 Mar 13
I have never heard about Spinalonga, and it was interesting to read about the story behind the island. I can imagine that it was a surprice for you to discover the story about the lepers.
In the city where I used to live there was a street called "Spedalsoe". I thought that Spedal was the name of a lake because Soe means lake in Danish. I worked in a home health care team in that town and one day one of the clients and I talked about about that street. I pronounced it Spedal-soe and he laughed and told me that I had misunderstood the name. He told me that I had to pronounce it Spedals-oe (oe means island) and that name came from the past when there was a island with lepers in that area. Spedal means leper, but I never imagined that the name was an indication of a past event.
@mensab (4200)
• Philippines
7 Mar 13
there are indeed places that surprise us when we come to visit them. i was surprised of the simplicity of the architecture and living of yangoon. cars are old and trucks are used as mass transport vehicles. building are dilapidated except those hotels and international organizations offices. that was in 2008. i heard that nowadays, yangoon has changed and blended modernity into its cityscapes.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
7 Mar 13
It was interesting to hear about your experience in Yangoon, because it is one of the places that I would like to visit one day. I have seen some pictures from Myanmar, but I have never been there. How much time did you spend there and did you visit other places in Myanmar on the same trip? I am a volunteer language teacher in my country and my students are a family from Myanmar or Burma as they prefer to call their country. I have learned a lot Myanmar since I became their teacher.
@whitneysquirrel (224)
• Philippines
1 Apr 13
Geneva really surprised me. It has a small town vibe I feel but the people are so diverse and multicultural. Each character, on its own, is not really surprising. It is surrounded by mountains and the UN has an imprinted presence. It's more of the contrast that is unexpected. I also had a very strong impression of Switzerland based on movies, so it was a pleasant discovery how French it is. Or maybe I am just weak with geography so I couldn't believe how close it was to the border.
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