A month before the opening kick-off I decided to browse the Internet for what is usually called last-minute deals for accommodation options and match tickets for the championship in Austria and Switzerland.

It turns out numerous websites are selling tickets for the EURO 2008 games. Prices start from 425 euro for the cheapest seats to 4900 euro for a category 1 ticket for the final match in Vienna. Some sites charge 39 euro for delivering the order and even offer a 200% refund to a deposit or payment should they fail to deliver. It is unclear, however, what a category 1 ticket is and I start wondering whether these websites are legitimate and where will my money end if I decide to buy online. According to the tournament officials “there’s absolutely no guarantee that when you go to the stadium you can get in” with a ticket bought through unofficial channels. Meanwhile, it was warned that some websites selling tickets were attacked by hackers who target clients’ credit card details by embedding a virus in the pages of these sites.

With no game ticket in my pocket but still determined to go the finals, I start searching for available hotels in the hosting cities. I begin to look for hotel offers on major booking sites and surprisingly there are still available hotels in big cities like Geneva, Zurich, Salzburg and Vienna. Not surprisingly though there is a limited number of rooms available at quite high rates. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any accommodation offers in Basel, Klagenfurt, Berne or Innsbruck. So I went to the official’s accommodation booking page.

On the other hand, as a customer I usually leave a tip when I am satisfied with the service. If the waitress has been kind and the food was good I would leave a small tip and thank for the service. If the bartender is cute I will most probably tip him as well. For that matter I also tip the taxi driver, the bellboy for being helpful and the receptionist at the front desk.

Back in Brussels you must tip the doorman at the clubs on your way out. It is unwritten rule but if you try to disobey you will not be let in the next time you go there. And I don’t mean a small change here, these guys get really pissed if you try to trick them with a couple of coins. The proper way to do it is to slip a banknote in to his hand on your way out and nicely wish him “bonsoir”.

What about you? Are tips accepted in your city or regarded as a bad manner? Do you tip if you are happy with the service or do you just round up the bill? Feel free to share your experience anywhere in the world in the comment field.

If you have been to Prague and can advise me about some absolute must-sees, places to visit, eat, and go out I’de be very happy to read about.  We’ve already booked the flight tickets from 12 until 15th. We have also made a reservation in a hotel not too far from the city center, but we can still cancel if you know any good and reasonably priced hotels in the city center, or 3-bed-appartment rentals.

Looking forward to reading your suggestions!

In Brussels you can find all kind of food bars and exotic cuisine restaurants - African, Indian,Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian even Bulgarian. As for the Belgians their favourite meal is french fries. They eat french fries with any meal, snack or dish. French fries come with hundreds of sauces - from hot sauce Samourai to white sauce with garlic. My all times favourite is sauce andalouse….yummy - I got the recipe for you here!

Another little pleasure not to miss in Brussels is the real and delicious Belgian chocolate - trust me guys, I know what I am talking about. You will find it in all unimaginable shapes, colours, and taste. What makes it different from the traditional chocolate is the amount of cocoa in the chocolate - it gives you a real flavour and leaves this smooth taste in your mouth!!! A piece of advice: if you cannot make up your mind which one to buy, go for the pralines. You can find them everywhere, however some of the best pralines you can ever savour are Neuhaus, Leonidas, Godiva, Galler.

Speaking of chocolate and pastry I can’t skip the famous Belgian waffles. Warm waffles are sold in every cafe, bistro, or food bar in Brussels. You can also buy them on the streets around Grand Place, in every pastry or bakery shop. They come with cherry jam, sugar, chocolate, scoop of ice-cream, and many other sweet flavours. Every city, town, region and village has their proper recipe of making waffles and naturally the waffle is called after it, like the most famous Gaufre de Liège. Personally, some of the best waffles I haver tasted was in Anwerp.

And last but not least I have to honour the Belgian beer. Belgian beer comprises the most varied and numerous collection of high-quality beers in the world and varies from the popular pale lager to the Flemish red beer. There are approximately 125 breweries in Belgium, producing about 500 standard beers. When special one-off beers are included, the total number of brands of Belgian beer exceeds 1000. Therefore it is no surprise that a glass of beer costs less than a cup of coffee. My favourite beer is Duvel, Leffe Blonde, and Kriek! So feel free to order and taste different beers when you go to Belguim!

The flower carpet in Brussels is an absolute must-see. You can admire it every two years on the Grand Place. Don’t miss it out from 14 to 17 August 2008.

More astonishing pictures and video at www.flowercarpet.be

I have been to Rotterdam only once - just for a weekend - definetely enough time to feel its vibe and too short to see everything it has to offer. My friend Mette and I took the train from Brussels and in less than 3 hours we arrived at Rotterdam Centraal, right in the heart of the city. It was a lovely spring day - probably the best time to enjoy the city. We checked in in a youth hostel in the city center, dropepd our bags and went out exploring Rotterdam only with a pocket-size map we were given at the reception. Neither of us was in Rotterdam before, however it was very easy to find our way to the main shopping street, the area where all bars, restaurants and clubs are. In the night we had some great time with a couple of Dutch guys - Hajo and Arnoud - hope we meet again one day, boys!

To end up with, I would certainly recommend visiting Rotterdam to anyone who wants to enjoy modern culture in a very European environment, friendly people and unforgettable night life and clubbing.