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I seriously hadn't even heard about the whole Jadgwurst-dish being called Schnitzel and I don't really get it. Much in a similar way how I don't get why Boston Deep-Dish is called pizza. I mean, it looks delicious...it's just not a pizza, it's basically a pie. Also: If you get the opportunity, ask for a Wienerschnitzel with Jägersauce on the side. Words just don't suffice. (Just don't do it at a place where folks get easily offended over the dos and don'ts in a cuisine)
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Aug 19, 2014 07:53
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eviljelly posted:gently caress you you're not my real dad Trip report: We ended up going to Amrum. A++ would recommend heartily. It is VERY touristy but in kind of a laid back hippie way. There was plenty of island to explore by bike and we even saw a seehund on a stroll along the beach  Our campground was in a small 'valley' among the sandy dunes. Very pretty.As one might expect from a tourist island, everything was pretty expensive. 5 euros to put up a small tent, plus 8 euros per adult, plus 2.60 euros per adult for ... something??? I think that's the most I've ever paid to camp somewhere. December Octopodes posted:So if someone were to spend a month in germany, what would be a good way to see the best parts? I've definitely got to see Berlin, and I also would want to see Dusseldorf, is there anything that I "can't miss"? I'm gonna go a different way on the suggestions. I don't think the 'big' German cities are that impressive, mostly. I think what's really impressive in Germany are the smaller towns set in pastoral countrysides. If you're more into hiking and seeing the countryside or old ruins and such, try the following (if you're more into shopping, nightlife and such, don't go to the following places!) Heidelberg is a quiet little town (Germans might call it a medium sized city) with an impressive castle. There are lots of American, British and Asian tourists, although Germans don't seem to think it's much of a destination, probably because they're not so impressed by castles. Another spot I'd recommend would be the Black Forest. I did a little bike tour through there and it was really nice. Lastly... like I mentioned above, I just came back from Amrum and I was pretty happy with my experience there. I would heartily recommend it. It's an easy train + ferry ride from Hamburg.
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Aug 24, 2014 08:14
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I lived in the area around Heidelberg until I was 22 or so. Let me put it this way: if you're from much farther away, you probably have a more interesting local target for day trips in mind, if you're from the area, you already can barely look out the window for all the bloody castles. For my job I had to look through a huge stack of Japanese school textbooks from the 70s and 80s a few months ago. Heidelberg is listed in every single one of them as a good destination. It explained really rather a lot.
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Aug 24, 2014 09:03
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Yeah the area is littered with castles, but as a dirty foreigner for whom the closest 'castle' was at Disneyland, I really like the one at Heidelberg. Now, I live within walking distance of two castle ruins, two castles now used as private residences, and a hilltop fortress.
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Aug 24, 2014 09:11
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I mean yeah if you're gonna see one castle you might as well make it Heidelberg instead of one of the smaller and less well maintained ones. Obv.
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Aug 24, 2014 09:22
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Here I was thinking, you know, I'll just go by bus between Braunschweig and Weimar for a few weeks, until this strike thing has blown over. Everyone's talking about how long-distance bus lines are coming along so nicely, it can't be that hard, can it? It is loving impossible. Most companies I've found don't even offer it as a connection with a changeover. Best I can seem to do is go via Berlin which turns a three hour train ride into just about a seven hour drive and that's if there are no delays. I've made the trip every week for three years and I have had massive, ridiculous delays by train but not once has it taken seven hours. I don't even care who's bearing responsibility if you look at it rationally and know all the ins and outs of the strike situation. Everyone involved in it can gently caress right off. My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Sep 7, 2014 |
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Sep 7, 2014 17:20
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My Lovely Horse posted:Here I was thinking, you know, I'll just go by bus between Braunschweig and Weimar for a few weeks, until this strike thing has blown over. Everyone's talking about how long-distance bus lines are coming along so nicely, it can't be that hard, can it? It is loving impossible. Most companies I've found don't even offer it as a connection with a changeover. Best I can seem to do is go via Berlin which turns a three hour train ride into just about a seven hour drive and that's if there are no delays. I've made the trip every week for three years and I have had massive, ridiculous delays by train but not once has it taken seven hours. Wait, strike? I'm going to be flying in to Munich on the 20th and was hoping to use the various lines to get around the city while stumbling about drunk - is there something going on that's going to prevent that from happening?
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Sep 7, 2014 17:32
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My Lovely Horse posted:Here I was thinking, you know, I'll just go by bus between Braunschweig and Weimar for a few weeks, until this strike thing has blown over. Everyone's talking about how long-distance bus lines are coming along so nicely, it can't be that hard, can it? It is loving impossible. Most companies I've found don't even offer it as a connection with a changeover. Best I can seem to do is go via Berlin which turns a three hour train ride into just about a seven hour drive and that's if there are no delays. I've made the trip every week for three years and I have had massive, ridiculous delays by train but not once has it taken seven hours. Have you tried looking for a Mitfahrer on mitfahrgelegenheit.de or blablacar.de?
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Sep 7, 2014 17:34
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citybeatnik posted:Wait, strike? Pilot union Cockpit had a warning strike this weekend and is already threatening to go for a full strike. Train conductor union GDL synchronized her warning strike with Cockpit's and also announced plans for a fullstrike. From the top of my head I don't know how long it usually takes them to go through the necessary preparations for a full strike, so I'm not sure whether they'd be able to have a full strike up at the 20th or whether they plan another warning strike at that time.
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Sep 7, 2014 17:38
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I think inner-city public transportation should be okay unless it's being run by Deutsche Bahn, like the S-Bahn in Berlin is. I actually lucked out yesterday by going from Braunschweig to Berlin at 11, two hours after the strike ended, and amidst the trains from five hours previous chugging in late my ICE glid into the station like a majestic swan precisely on time and remained such, but still. Right off. The real kicker is that I'm preparing to move to Weimar and won't even have to do this train bullshit anymore from October but until then I kind of need the trains to run to get my driver here so we can run preparation errands. e: I've never done the Mitfahrgelegenheit thing. Kinda apprehensive about it if I'm honest. e2: you think preparations could take a few weeks? If things keep running until the 26th I'm home free, literally. My Lovely Horse fucked around with this message at 17:42 on Sep 7, 2014 |
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Sep 7, 2014 17:39
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My Lovely Horse posted:I think inner-city public transportation should be okay unless it's being run by Deutsche Bahn, like the S-Bahn in Berlin is. Son of a bitch. And here I was pondering doing the insane thing and taking the lines up to Denmark to see my friends there as well.
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Sep 7, 2014 18:06
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My Lovely Horse posted:e2: you think preparations could take a few weeks? If things keep running until the 26th I'm home free, literally. I looked around for a bit and I found one example of a Cockpit Urabstimmung taking four weeks of voting. This was, however, considered relatively long and mainly due to the geographical spread of pilots all over the world. Technically, they would be able to start striking in the end of the voting period if they already had enough votes, though that seems unusual. So with regards to air travel, things might probably be fine up until the 26th if history is any indication. My guess is that the GDL would be able to have the voting procedure finished faster but if they want to keep stick with the pilots striking to have a higher compound impact, chances are you might be off the hook until your move to Weimar (my condolences) as well. The most important lesson to take away here is probably that while Germany isn't at French levels of constant strikes, it still can come up and matter.
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Sep 7, 2014 18:14
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Oh yeah I'm looking around some news articles now and word is 2-3 weeks until things might kick off with the GDL. That's a small relief. Weimar is hopefully only temporary, at least in the long term. It's a nice enough town but pretty painfully obvious that it's there so the ride from Erfurt to Jena isn't so long, and to store Goethe and Bauhaus memorabilia.
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Sep 7, 2014 19:14
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citybeatnik posted:Son of a bitch. And here I was pondering doing the insane thing and taking the lines up to Denmark to see my friends there as well. Don't worry too much and just keep an eye on the respective news outlets and news of the appropriate train company. The DB-run S-Bahn in Frankfurt went on strike for a bit on Monday but has been running normally since. The (Lufthansa) pilots were on strike on Friday, but that usually is announced in advance as well. I took a S-Bahn to Frankfurt Airport yesterday, and had absolutely no problems in terms of strike (or flying, for that matter). Plan in advance, book your things normally, and just keep an eye on how things are developing. You are probably not going to see a multi-day strike without any kind of alternative means of transportation available, and if you are in a city, you can always take buses or a tram if available.
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Sep 7, 2014 19:24
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Hollow Talk posted:Don't worry too much and just keep an eye on the respective news outlets and news of the appropriate train company. The DB-run S-Bahn in Frankfurt went on strike for a bit on Monday but has been running normally since. The (Lufthansa) pilots were on strike on Friday, but that usually is announced in advance as well. I took a S-Bahn to Frankfurt Airport yesterday, and had absolutely no problems in terms of strike (or flying, for that matter). Plan in advance, book your things normally, and just keep an eye on how things are developing. You are probably not going to see a multi-day strike without any kind of alternative means of transportation available, and if you are in a city, you can always take buses or a tram if available. Part of what's concerning me is the fact that I booked my flight with Lufthansa a few months ago, is all, through a travel company. I'm sure that things'll still work out but it's just making me slightly nervous.
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Sep 7, 2014 19:31
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Good for the strikers. I'm glad people are willing to fight for their livelihood in Germany. Making a decent wage is way more important than the vacations they disrupt.
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Sep 7, 2014 22:09
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posh spaz posted:Good for the strikers. I'm glad people are willing to fight for their livelihood in Germany. Making a decent wage is way more important than the vacations they disrupt. I'd normally agree with you (and that's certainly the case for many of the people working for the railways), but what the Lufthansa pilots are fighting for couldn't be further from a "fight for their livelihood". Essentially, they are fighting for really rather early retirement without any pay cuts and for higher wages. Mind you, they aren't exactly badly paid to begin with, quite the contrary. Their strikes seem a lot like attempts to safeguard their various entitlements, and people who are a lot worse off are understandably not all that sympathetic to their demands. This is a bit akin to the IG Metall -- the main union representing heavy industry, which in Germany also means automotive industry -- who have been fighting hard to keep their 36 hour weeks, which is ever so slightly upsetting for many others who have lost fights for even 40 hour work weeks, with many having to work somewhere between 41½ and 42 hours, and with less pay. citybeatnik posted:Part of what's concerning me is the fact that I booked my flight with Lufthansa a few months ago, is all, through a travel company. I'm sure that things'll still work out but it's just making me slightly nervous. Are you flying from within Europe, or are you coming from the States? Either way, don't forget that you have quite strong rights as a flight customer and that Lufthansa usually takes quite good care of people who have booked flights with them. It would probably be a bother if you get caught in a strike, but you will be able to get there eventually! 
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Sep 7, 2014 23:27
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Hollow Talk posted:Are you flying from within Europe, or are you coming from the States? Either way, don't forget that you have quite strong rights as a flight customer and that Lufthansa usually takes quite good care of people who have booked flights with them. It would probably be a bother if you get caught in a strike, but you will be able to get there eventually! Flying in from the States (Texas, in fact  ) for Oktoberfest in Munich. Because I'm an ugly American and I feel like unleashing said ugliness upon the land of my forefathers.Like I said, I'm not TOO worried (although as I mentioned earlier the tram line might throw my hopes of seeing some of my other friends in Denmark out the window) just appreciate knowing that there might be something going on ahead of time.
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Sep 8, 2014 00:11
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posh spaz posted:Good for the strikers. I'm glad people are willing to fight for their livelihood in Germany. Making a decent wage is way more important than the vacations they disrupt.
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Sep 8, 2014 06:15
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Oh yeah, people shouldn't be allowed to strike because think of the inconvenience!
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Sep 8, 2014 10:24
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I didn't say the unions should be banned from striking. I said everyone involved could, personally, gently caress right off.
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Sep 8, 2014 10:30
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Also I think it's kind of unfair that a small number of employees get a buttload of privileges and money just because they are in the position to cause a lot of pain while the rest of the employees has to endure one round of cuts after the other while the company is struggling, but that's just me, I guess.
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Sep 8, 2014 10:35
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The GDL can gently caress right off. Every year, they demand more pay for a job so taxing that you need to press a button at random intervals to let the computer know that you're still awake. At this point, they've lost any good will they've ever had with the public, and are just speeding up the time it will take the Bahn to replace them with computers. Especially for subways, this is easily possible and merely hinges on the upfront investment and acceptance by the people. We're getting to a point where people would rather trust a scary computer and have the trains run on time than feel solidarity with some guy who's job it is to push buttons once in a while. It's the same thing with loving ver.di at Amazon. Those fuckers went on strike during the Christmas season over ~30 cents an hour. Sure, the work there might be hard, but these are people who have no education/skills whatsoever, and their starting wages rival that of a craftsman with more than 30 years of experience. Now Amazon is building distribution centers in Poland and CR. What this rant is trying to get at: I think unions are important, but they've completely wasted their reputation by being greedy and downright idiotic in picking their battles. At this point, it seems like their running poo poo into the ground as if to price that their existence is still justified. Don't even get me started on police unions.
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Sep 8, 2014 13:16
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Badly Jester posted:...and their starting wages rival that of a craftsman with more than 30 years of experience. I hate this crab mentality.
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Sep 8, 2014 13:25
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Badly Jester posted:We're getting to a point where people would rather trust a scary computer and have the trains run on time
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Sep 8, 2014 13:29
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elwood posted:I hate this crab mentality. Not sure what you mean by "crab mentality" because I've never heard the term before, but the point I'm trying to make isn't "who is morally more deserving of higher wages," because if it were up to me, both parties would make more money. Also, I know enough about economics to realize that if an untrained packers' work is worth more than a skilled locksmith's, then the locksmith is SOL for choosing that profession - but that's beside point. Ver.di should ask themselves a couple of simple questions like "Are these demands realistic? Is a general strike warranted? Are our workers replacable?" Now, since these workers are doing unskilled manual labor, they are utterly replacable (unlike a skilled craftsman with years of experience) and there's simply not a lot of bargaining power. My Lovely Horse posted:And it didn't even particularly need a strike to pull that one off. Bring on HAL.
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Sep 8, 2014 13:44
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There is a wonderful country where everyone makes minimum wage and there are never strikes. It's called "America." All this neoliberal union bashing is why America has no middle class, and industry-wide collective bargaining is why Germany still does. I wish one could take all of the good with none of the bad, but that's an irrational, childish attitude.
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Sep 8, 2014 15:07
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Badly Jester posted:Not sure what you mean by "crab mentality" because I've never heard the term before, but the point I'm trying to make isn't "who is morally more deserving of higher wages," because if it were up to me, both parties would make more money. Also, I know enough about economics to realize that if an untrained packers' work is worth more than a skilled locksmith's, then the locksmith is SOL for choosing that profession - but that's beside point. Ver.di should ask themselves a couple of simple questions like "Are these demands realistic? Is a general strike warranted? Are our workers replacable?" Now, since these workers are doing unskilled manual labor, they are utterly replacable (unlike a skilled craftsman with years of experience) and there's simply not a lot of bargaining power. Jesus loving Christ, you are the best argument for strong unions everywhere.
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Sep 8, 2014 15:35
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posh spaz posted:There is a wonderful country where everyone makes minimum wage and there are never strikes. It's called "America." After living and working in both Germany and the US, I can safely say that I'd rather live in a country like Germany where unions exist and are annoying to the general public two or three times a year than in a country like America where half of my family has to work 2 to 3 jobs for 60+ hours a week in order to pay the rent. Today I had to take off early from work because I got a frantic SMS from my partner that we had a burst pipe in the kitchen and water was flooding everywhere. I jetted from work pretty quickly, and when I let my boss know, he told me, "don't worry about it, this isn't America where you can be fired for having a personal life." It was meant as a joke but it resonates in its bitter truthfulness.
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Sep 8, 2014 15:38
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It's really not like rich people are any less replaceable. Investment functions (banking, hedge funds, etc.) are highly automated, management functions are highly automated. The only difference is that rich people and top-level managers have enough power to keep making money after they become obsolete.
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Sep 8, 2014 16:38
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e X posted:Jesus loving Christ, you are the best argument for strong unions everywhere. I should probably put more  into my posts, because I now realize I'm not communicating very well. Yes, ideally we would have strong unions everywhere, but we don't. We especially don't have strong unions that cooperate internationally. What I'm trying to say is that, yes, unions are between a rock and a hard place, but as lovely as things might be, they would do well to act pragmatically. Let's stick with the Amazon example. Because of the ham-fisted way in which ver.di handled the whole negotiation, Amazon had an easy out. Ver.di opted to go on strike during the critical Christmas period. What did it get them? Amazon is now increasingly relying on warehouses in Poland and the Czech Republic, where people won't go on strike. Again, ideally, unions I'm Europe would stick together, so that such a move on Amazon's part would go nowhere. It's wishful thinking, however, and ver.di knows that. With the negative outcome so obvious, was pushing for a different tariff really worth it (in binary terms, the decision is between having a job for the foreseeable future and making ~500€ a year extra)? Unions are struggling. Decades of politics have undermined their power, to the point where young people no longer see the point in even joining a union. Since unions run on fees, some of them pull stunts like that in order to show people that they're still relevant, but I would argue that when the outcome is so clear, it's a dumb move - you alienate the already annoyed public even further, and your employer looks for someone to replace you. Obviously, I don't have any answers as to what could actually save unions (except for international cooperation, which won't happen anytime soon for various reasons). In case I haven't made that clear yet, I do see the importance of unions - but I don't think a charge of the light brigade is going to help anyone.
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Sep 8, 2014 16:49
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I am generally in favor of strong unions, but the GDL can go and gently caress itself, for that "we will only hit the freight trains with our strike" ... "Ooops, hitting the other trains as well, sucks if you need to use them to travel anywhere!"
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Sep 8, 2014 21:09
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GDL today announced that they've started the voting procedures for a full-scaled strike. Voting is supposed to be done within the month of September and there will be no additional warning strikes before October.
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Sep 12, 2014 17:07
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Look at you plebes using public transportation to go places. Meanwhile I'm getting to work in a nice comfortable car with no stinky humans around me. Suck it.
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Sep 13, 2014 14:15
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bronin posted:Look at you plebes using public transportation to go places. Meanwhile I'm getting to work in a nice comfortable car with no stinky humans around me. Suck it. Look at this scrub who doesn't know that you can  Das Leben in vollen Zügen genießen. 
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Sep 13, 2014 14:37
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Driving sucks. I can't wait till our Google overlords grace us with driverless cars.
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Sep 13, 2014 14:42
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eviljelly posted:Driving sucks. I can't wait till our Google overlords grace us with driverless cars. Available everywhere in Europe, accept Germany, due to privacy. Randler posted:Look at this scrub who doesn't know that you can It's still almost two month till this kind of joke is acceptable, and even then, only in lesser region of Germany 
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Sep 13, 2014 14:48
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e X posted:It's still almost two month till this kind of joke is acceptable, and even then, only in lesser region of Germany I'm sorry. I've lived among the savages for too long. 
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Sep 13, 2014 14:58
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I need to go from Köln to Berlin in three weeks for just one day. Are there any good sites to look for deals on train tickets, etc.? I know about L'Tur, but you can only book a week in advance and I'd prefer to not leave it till that late. ICE tickets are looking to be €130-50 and taking a bus would take too long. Anywhere else I could be looking at or am I kind of poo poo out of luck?
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Sep 17, 2014 10:47
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| # ? May 18, 2024 04:38 |
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Heard good things about these people: http://www.kopfbahnhof.info/
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Sep 17, 2014 10:54
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