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Anonymous
After visiting Italy and Switzerland, take some time to go to Stuttgart. Amazing city, the people are nice and the surroundings are breathtaking. Schloss Solitude, just to name one. The Schwarzwald is just a few kilometers to the west. Further west there's Strasbourg, where you may start exploring France.
A few tips on Italy (northern italianfag here): when visiting the south, stay the fuck away from the outskirts of main tourist cities (e.g. Naples, Palermo, Lecce... even Rome) unless you know some locals there who can guide you. Not only they are mindboggingly unattractive (at best) and mostly unsafe, but the little organization you may find in the centre of town decreases as you move away from the main tourist attractions. See the sights, and god are they beautiful, but don't expect to find much more. Rule of thumb: the more you go south, the worse it gets.
Central Italy is mostly alright, Tuscany kicks ass, Umbria is a little known gem, and the central-eastern coast is well worth more than a quick peek.
The north is generally well-organized in therms of transport, public services etc., but don't expect them to be reliable during the summer. Maybe only the north eastern corner (Trentino, eastern Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia) is up to european standards, but then again, remember it is still formally part of Italy. Turin is a wonderful city, Milan is tremendously uninteresting unless you're into fashion and shit. Venice needs no introductions, and you really should go there at least once while you can.
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