Which country for a weeks trip?

Why not ask him where he wants to go? Is he interested in art? History? Architecture? If he's interested in "party and nightlife" he will most likely find that in a city. Does he speak any language other than English? If not, communication with the people he wants to get a "feel for" will be more limited. With only a week I would limit it to 2 places at the most.

Based on your criteria, AMSTERDAM is the first place that comes to mind. It is a very vibrant city with a thumping nightlife and many young people who are open and also wanting to meet others from the wider world. I've spent quite a bit of time there and my niece just got home from a year abroad studying in Amsterdam - she LOVED it - she's in her 20s and found about a million like-minded souls who are well-educated but also out for a good time!
BERLIN is a youthful city with an active nightlife and cutting-edge art scene. It is also an economic powerhouse where I'm sure your step-grandson would find plenty of people to query attitudes on economic growth.
You could easily spend a week in one or split the time between the two since they aren't very far apart, especially if you fly from one to the other.
Generally speaking, every young educated person in both of these places will speak English well so the language barrier shouldn't be a huge issue.
Not an easy decision to find a place for just one week...I'm with you! Can't imagine just spending a week for a first trip but that's the reality of the working world I guess! Good luck with your plans. :)

Hi,

For a week's time in his situation as first timer, I suggest Berlin, a great place to start off, nowhere as expensive as London and Paris, depending on his budget. Staying at maybe 2 different hostels would enhance meeting lots of youth in his age group of 20 somethings, esp in Prenzlauer Berg and in the vicinity of Alexanderplatz. Another option is the university dorms such as at Tech. Uni on Hardenbergstraße near Bahnhof Zoo. A good, cheap place to have lunch is the Mensa at TU (the university cafeteria). It's open to the public. I saw various nationalities at the cafeteria the times I went there.

ron.hay,

my 0.02 is with Andrea. why not ask what he has in mind. Im sure he has some ideas.

once he makes his ideas known, then i would go from there.

one thing that i would make note of is the language barrier. yes, many younger people MAY be taught english, but as to SPEAKING it can be a different story. that could be something to limit where both of you decide to travel to.

good luck and happy trails.

ron,

A week is an extremely short time to spend in Europe, as that only allows five days when the two flight days are deducted (and you'll both be jet lagged for a day or two after arrival). Where are you flying from?

You might consider either spending the entire time in London or a combination of London and Paris. As one of his goals is "meeting young people", there won't be any language issues in England (although that's debatable in some circles) and the Pubs are a great place for chatting over a pint. There are also LOTS of historic sites, Museums, Galleries and theatre shows to keep anyone occupied for five days in London. If he wants to experience a different culture and language, a few days in Paris would provide a nice contrast. Of course if you choose London & Paris, using open-jaw flights would be a really good idea.

Is there ANY way he could manage a few more days of holiday time?

How about Dublin. It would be easiest for him to talk with locals who share a native language. The pubs are lively in the afternoons as well as the evenings in Dublin. The countryside is beautiful for day trips. And Belfast is an easy train journey.

You could definitely do well with Prague plus Berlin. Personally I am not fond of the party aspects of Prague, but there are tons of young people there from all over Europe so could work for you. Berlin is also very vibrant as others have pointed out, and English is widely spoken in Germany. For me London + Paris would be the classic first trip, but I am more into art and culture.

Thank you for all of the great responses. I now have a few ideas of a direction to point him in getting started in doing a bunch of reading so he can pick his spot. I know that we all travel for different reasons and he does need to learn what his might be. No doubt, the richest experiences come from learning as much as possible about the destination before your journey. I will get him active on this forum and you all can help in this learning process.

Hello ron.hay. If the grandson and you will be at Europe 5 days, I recommend : fly to Berlin. You and he could go on a day trip from Berlin to Potsdam for walking through the Palace of Frederick the Great. If people will be at Europe a total of 5 days, I do not recommend traveling a long distance between destinations in Europe.

If he doesn't speak a foreign language and wants to converse with locals in depth, Amsterdam is the place to go. All students in The Netherlands are required to learn Dutch, English, French and German. Besides, it is a delightful city!

Thank you for your Amsterdam suggestion. It has been a fun city for me to visit and my young friend has been looking at information about the activities and life there. I would love to return if that is where he finally chooses