Various questions concerning the Beatles and travel in Europe

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

I'm a freshman in college (in the US) and have been thinking about my study abroad options; there's a program I'm really interested in that's a semester anywhere I'd like and then a semester in Maastricht. I'd probably end up doing the first semester in Germany and Austria, if I even could get accepted to the Maastricht program and the German language one, but if I can't do a semester in a German speaking country, I'll probably go somewhere in the UK/British Isles, or possibly somewhere in the Middle East.

And here's the part where you all come in, and why I'm posting on here and not a message board focused on college/study abroad type stuff. I've been to England once before, but never to Liverpool, so if I get a chance to go to Europe, I'd presumably have some bits of time off, and I'd love to go visit. I know that there are some Dutch people on here, as well as some people from the British Isles (is that the correct term for the whole region [including North Ireland]?; my apologies if it isn't), and there might be people from Germany or Austria as well, so what my question (that it's taking me quite long to ask) is, what's the shortest length of time in which one might reasonably go on such a trip, including transportation time.

Also, for the Dutch people (or anybody else who's familiar with the Netherlands), I know that Maastricht's in the southern part of the country, so if I was staying there, how long might a trip to Friesland or Groningen take? And what sort of archives might there be in terms of looking up/researching ancestors?

Thanks so much for reading all this :-)

[beatlebangs1964]

I love the book about the Beatles' 1965 concert in Rome. Excellent photographs!

[FPSHOT]

I would like to help you out here :smile1:

Often people from other parts of the world think you can do Europe in a week. Those are better off doing a little Geographic study or any study in general, because that is impossible, unless you are Japanese ...

I know a few people who have studied at Maastricht and have always heard good stories about the University. It is the youngest we have in Holland and has a good reputation.

Maastricht is also a beautiful historic town to live in.

As for traveling to Groningen or Friesland then do allow a 4+ hour travel time by train. As for archives of ancestors there are quite some ways which are either via a municipality archive for which you would need the name of town(s) yet these days a good Google search will also get you going.

Yet there are also some general Dutch websites but I have no experience with them so don't blame me if.....

http://www.genlias.nl/en/page0.jsp

http://www.stamboomonderzoek.com/index_en.php

http://www.familytreeseeker.com/search.php?fn=&sn=&submit=Zoeken

Travel in Europe is very easy and depends on your destiny to either take a plane or train. There are quite some speed-train facilities too. Flights between airports in Holland and England are dozens per day.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask for more info :smile1:

[GirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes]

Thanks, that helps a lot!

[george_on_cloud9]

Beatles in Portugal

[beatlebangs1964]

Cloud, tell us when the boys were in Portugal. Please?

[george_on_cloud9]

Hm... I don't remember... You see, The Beatles in Portugal were brief days here... We here published a book about them in Portugal, ex: Paul in the Algarve with Jane Asher, George buying a Portuguese Guitarra (from the Fado songs), and George and the F1 races with someone he was a friend, a Portuguese.

http://www.thebeatles.com.br/pics2/entrevistas/lpa-livro.jpg


Maybe Taxman knows more about this book... Filipe, if you read my post, and if you know more about this book, please do explain, ok? Thanks.

[FPSHOT]

Interview with George, Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, 1982

"Once I chanted the Hare Krishna mantra all the way from France to Portugal , nonstop. I drove for about twenty-three hours and chanted all the way. It gets you feeling a bit invincible. The funny thing was that I didn't even know where I was going. I mean I had bought a map, and I knew basically which way I was aiming, but I couldn't speak French, Spanish, or Portuguese. But none of that seemed to matter. You know, once you get chanting, then things start to happen transcendentally."

There is even a different sight to this story from an ISKCON website saying it was John and George together.

There is also a story from Gary Wright about George driving round in Portugal which you can see here

http://books.google.com/books?id=rcg50S6jLnoC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=george+harrison+%2B+portugal&source=bl&ots=UEq2HicTWQ&sig=FzLPDqKq_7ntDQdvDuFbo8bthAU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA87,M1

[taxman]

Hm... I don't remember... You see, The Beatles in Portugal were brief days here... We here published a book about them in Portugal, ex: Paul in the Algarve with Jane Asher, George buying a Portuguese Guitarra (from the Fado songs), and George and the F1 races with someone he was a friend, a Portuguese.

http://www.thebeatles.com.br/pics2/entrevistas/lpa-livro.jpg


Maybe Taxman knows more about this book... Filipe, if you read my post, and if you know more about this book, please do explain, ok? Thanks.

Yes, I have that book, some years ago there was a thread about it:

http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18674&highlight=portugal

The book doesn't mention what FPSHOT wrote about, maybe the author didn't know about it.

Also, the Beatles as a group never been here, only their members, except Lennon.