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Hedgehog Pie posted:Every German I've ever met hates DB with a passion. Every Brit I've ever spoken to who's used the trains in Germany says the system is awesome and then has a big cry. German trains had a great reputation, then they followed the excellent example set by the US and UK in constantly deferring infrastructure repair/renewal. They have an appalling punctuality record now.
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Jan 5, 2023 15:57
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mobby_6kl posted:Yeah it's new nickname to me too, I think I picked it up from the Shaun's video on Rowling or something like that? Probably should've used it to avoid confusion There will definitely be stuff to do, but exactly what depends on where you will be and what you like. Info on rail strikes: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/industrialaction.aspx
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Jan 5, 2023 19:31
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Al2001 posted:German trains had a great reputation, then they followed the excellent example set by the US and UK in constantly deferring infrastructure repair/renewal. They have an appalling punctuality record now. Thank you for closing a loop in my brain from 2017 and confusion why these legendary trains were all late
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Jan 5, 2023 19:57
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kiimo posted:Thank you for closing a loop in my brain from 2017 and confusion why these legendary trains were all late There's no strong leader to make them run on time!
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Jan 5, 2023 20:14
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kiimo posted:Thank you for closing a loop in my brain from 2017 and confusion why these legendary trains were all late Just like it takes a long time to recover from a bad reputation ("England has lovely food" or "American beer sucks" or "Naples and Marseille are shitholes"), I guess it's the same for aspects of countries to lose their outdated good reputations ("Germany has the world's best beers" "Germany has a functional intercity train system"). I wonder how many American college students' dreams were shattered in the 2010s by their first beer city train trip through Germany, and how many days it took before they bailed out and went to literally any other country to get reliable public transport and a good beer that wasn't a lager, dunkel, or hefeweizen. E: Although you actually get other types of beer now in Germany that were brewed in the country, so I imagine at some point the reputation will come full circle where you can get an IPA or whatever that was made in Germany and you'll be able to find a bar in a mid-sized city with bottles of something other than a generic lager. E2: Apparently that specific thing has kind of happened: https://beerandbrewing.com/german-ipa-it-should-be-more-of-a-thing/ Saladman fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Jan 5, 2023 |
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Jan 5, 2023 20:45
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Nothing wrong with German beers.
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Jan 5, 2023 21:07
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Looks like I’m headed to Iceland at the beginning of February. Most things I’ve read focused on travel during the summer months, so any winter oriented tips would be appreciated. Spending basically 4 days, with my wife’s only real goal being seeing the northern lights.
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Jan 5, 2023 22:27
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borkencode posted:Looks like I’m headed to Iceland at the beginning of February. Most things I’ve read focused on travel during the summer months, so any winter oriented tips would be appreciated. Spending basically 4 days, with my wife’s only real goal being seeing the northern lights. Prepare for things to go wrong. We went in February this year and had to massively change plans because the weather prevented us from doing a bunch of our planned stuff. The winds and storms can be utterly wild. Are you staying in Reykjavik? The area by the harbour is really nice and I'd recommend wandering round there. For food and drinks, we really enjoyed: Le Kock - big burgers and fried chicken sandwiches and stuff Viet Noodles - the best value we found, tasty noodle dishes Lamb Street Food - lamb (and other) wraps, good for lunch Tapas Barinn - amazing Icelandic tapas, would definitely recommend. Expensive but really delicious and nice for your special/splurge meal out. Skúli - great selection of interesting beers Bastard - tasty beers and decent enough food, friendly vibe. For stuff to do in Reykjavik: Sky Lagoon - holy hell, this is one of the best, most luxurious things I've ever done. I'm not a spa person, but being in geothermal water overlooking the North Atlantic at sunset was INCREDIBLE and the steam room etc was lovely too. Would highly recommend. We went here instead of the Blue Lagoon on a colleague's recommendation. I actually ended up meeting another goon there after we realised we'd booked the same slot when posting on GWS Discord. Perlan - museum of Icelandic science, nice views, cool planetarium The Maritime Museum - surprisingly interesting and pretty big Penis museum, obviously. We were meant to do a 2 day tour to ice caves and stuff but this and our Northern lights trip got cancelled due to weather. We booked last minute on a trip round the south coast that took us to waterfalls, Vík, a glacier, and Reynisfjara beach once the weather cleared up a bit.
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Jan 5, 2023 22:44
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Is Altbier that delicious black lager they serve all over Bavaria or is Altbier more of a general grouping
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Jan 6, 2023 00:53
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Altbier is a dark-ish lager from the Rheinland specifically, definitely not black. You are unlikely to find it in other areas. You're probably thinking of schwarzbier, or maybe of dunkelweizen but that's not a lager.
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Jan 6, 2023 01:19
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borkencode posted:Looks like I’m headed to Iceland at the beginning of February. Most things I’ve read focused on travel during the summer months, so any winter oriented tips would be appreciated. Spending basically 4 days, with my wife’s only real goal being seeing the northern lights. As for Reykjavik itself, Bollock Monkey has the good info. We were there only one day really, but it's a pretty lovely town. mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Jan 6, 2023 |
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Jan 6, 2023 01:37
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I'm going to Paris again at the beginning of February. I know the city reasonably well, but I'm always looking out for new food and drink recommendations (particularly if they save a tiny bit of money, lol). Also, any new goings-on? Edit: particularly in and around La Villette 
Hedgehog Pie fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Jan 6, 2023 |
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Jan 6, 2023 01:53
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Bollock Monkey posted:Prepare for things to go wrong. We went in February this year and had to massively change plans because the weather prevented us from doing a bunch of our planned stuff. The winds and storms can be utterly wild. mobby_6kl posted:Is it 4 full days, without travel? Looks like we're doing at least one night in Reykjavik, and one night in Vik probably. My wife mentioned finding some place that would wake you up if the aurora was active, not sure where that was. Everything was the south coast for sure though. I think the tentative plan is: Getting in at like 6:30am day 1 (yay for a "12 hour" flight [6hours+6 timezones]) Go to the blue lagoon (I think she already bought tickets) to de-jet-lag, then make our way toward Vik. Day 2+3 Nothing solid planned Day 4 Spend the morning in Reykjavik before flight back home in the afternoon. I'm a bit of a last minute sub for the trip, since she was planning on going with a couple of friends, and one backed out.
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Jan 6, 2023 04:14
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borkencode posted:Looks like we're doing at least one night in Reykjavik, and one night in Vik probably. My wife mentioned finding some place that would wake you up if the aurora was active, not sure where that was. Everything was the south coast for sure though. On the way to Vik there's a bunch of waterfalls, of course, and the town of Skógar has a highly-rated museum but we didn't make it because of time so no idea what's in there. I think we stayed at the Sólheimahjáleiga Guesthouse not far from Vik, it's opposite of the plane wreck. You should make it to Vik the first day though if you set out before lunch though. Near Vik I'd check out Dyrhólaey cliffs and the black beach (from the Vik side). I think I'd try to make it to the Skaftafell Glacier and Jökulsárlón/Diamond Beach the next day. It's around 200km but that was probably one of my favorite places. You can also check the Fagradalsfjall volcano south of Reykjavik on the last day, it was still kind-of active when we were there.
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Jan 6, 2023 11:21
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Agree that Jökulsárlón is a huge highlight, if you're already heading as far as Vik. That's a busy itinerary though. I hope - but suspect not - that "6 hour" jetlag is 6 hours backwards (i.e. you're coming from like, India), because otherwise that is going to be one hell of a long day if it means you land in Iceland at midnight in your body clock time. Everything on the south coast of Iceland is super well documented, and there's not going to be anything off the beaten path that's accessible in February, so just check the Wikivoyage ( https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/South_Iceland ) and see what interests you. Note that you can't (since like 2015) drive directly the crashed plane, it's about a 45 minute walk from the road. It's neat though and worth the walk, weather permitting. E: Also Thorsmork and Landmannalauger are completely inaccessible in winter. I also thought Thingvellir was one of the most overrated places I've ever been to in my entire life, and can't imagine why that is on any itinerary, ever, except for people studying Icelandic history and really want to see a boring-rear end field. I mean it'd be interesting if it were in Kansas, but it's a 0* site compared to all of the other incredible scenery in Iceland and not even worth a 5 minute detour, let alone a 2 hour detour. Is the glacier there actually accessible in winter without a specialized tour? We drove up to it when we visited at the end of June on road F985 but it definitely wouldn't work in winter. smackfu posted:Nothing wrong with German beers. No, they're fine, there's just not much variety in any given locale. Nationally there are some varieties, but in any individual city, good luck finding anything besides the local two lagers in a restaurant or bar, plus maybe one other variety, whereas in e.g. the US, basically any nice restaurant will have 10 very different beers to choose from, and any bar that's not a trucker dive bar will have even more variety. YMMV. Saladman fucked around with this message at 11:37 on Jan 6, 2023 |
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Jan 6, 2023 11:33
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Saladman posted:No, they're fine, there's just not much variety in any given locale. Nationally there are some varieties, but in any individual city, good luck finding anything besides the local two lagers in a restaurant or bar, plus maybe one other variety, whereas in e.g. the US, basically any nice restaurant will have 10 very different beers to choose from, and any bar that's not a trucker dive bar will have even more variety. YMMV. The whole point of drinking beer in Germany is drinking a great, fresh, local product that has stood the test of time. Not everyone cares about craft beer, a scene that's only existed for like 40 years.
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Jan 6, 2023 15:13
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What I love about German beer is all the cheap supermarket lager is actually really good. Not some mind-blowing experience but miles beyond what you get in most other countries. Augustiner Lagerbier Helle is probably my all-time favourite piss beer to drink on a hot summer day and its something I found in a random corner store for like 1 euro. Or go to a St. Pauli bar and get wrecked on Astra with a bunch of football anarchists. Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Jan 6, 2023 |
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Jan 6, 2023 15:34
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Massive derail, but I never understood the obsession with IPA.
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Jan 6, 2023 17:57
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Hedgehog Pie posted:Every German I've ever met hates DB with a passion. Every Brit I've ever spoken to who's used the trains in Germany says the system is awesome and then has a big cry. Maybe to add a bit of nuance. I find that German high-speed long distance trains tend to be pretty good, and the local/regional (S-bahn/U-bahn) rail systems around the larger cities are great. It seems to be everything in between those two systems, like random Regionalbahn trains, that are pretty poo poo. It's similar to France in that way where the TGV system gets all the national investment, and local cities invest in their local networks.,. but if you're in a smaller mid-sized French town you might get just a handful of trains a day.
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Jan 6, 2023 18:39
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Dance Officer posted:Massive derail, but I never understood the obsession with IPA. Different people have different tastes and like different things. Variety is nice to have. If bars only sold IPAs that would also be lame. I like Italian food a lot but I don’t want to eat a pizza every day either.
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Jan 6, 2023 19:00
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Al2001 posted:The whole point of drinking beer in Germany is drinking a great, fresh, local product that has stood the test of time. Not everyone cares about craft beer, a scene that's only existed for like 40 years. The lack of preservatives and the country having whatever purity standards (at least that's just on the beer these days!) might be giving me a placebo effect but I find German beer delicious in a way that you can't find at an LA gas station
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Jan 6, 2023 19:43
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can't say I understand the idea of going to central Europe and being upset that you can't find the same beer that you drink at home but that might just be me
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Jan 6, 2023 21:44
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kiimo posted:The lack of preservatives and the country having whatever purity standards (at least that's just on the beer these days!) might be giving me a placebo effect but I find German beer delicious in a way that you can't find at an LA gas station Yep, it's great. Fruits of the sea posted:What I love about German beer is all the cheap supermarket lager is actually really good. Not some mind-blowing experience but miles beyond what you get in most other countries. Augustiner Lagerbier Helle is probably my all-time favourite piss beer to drink on a hot summer day and its something I found in a random corner store for like 1 euro. Price is a big thing for me, too. Fundamentally, beer is made of cheap ingredients and it's the traditional drink of the masses in most of northern Europe. You should be able to get good beer for cheap, and Germans understand this, just like the French demand their baguette is both delicious and less than a euro (my prices might be out of date.) Craft breweries can't do this because of economies of scale which is fine, but it's also why their market share is miniscule literally everywhere. Saladman posted:Different people have different tastes and like different things. Variety is nice to have. If bars only sold IPAs that would also be lame. I like Italian food a lot but I don’t want to eat a pizza every day either. Yeah, and I'm only really ranting about this because I've been to Germany with friends who demanded we spent time in a craft beer bar paying 6€ for mediocre IPA rather than drinking good, cheap beer in bars with local people. I like to check out local spots on holiday, but it certainly helps that I absolutely love traditional German beer styles and beer hall food.
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Jan 6, 2023 21:57
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While we're on the subject the price of wine in Italy is hilarious compared to what it sells for in the States, especially in restaurants. we're talking a difference of like 5 euros compared to 80 dollars.
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Jan 6, 2023 22:37
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A lot of cheap local European beers are craft beers, except the crafting was done a few hundred years ago and perfected back then.
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Jan 6, 2023 23:17
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kiimo posted:While we're on the subject the price of wine in Italy is hilarious compared to what it sells for in the States, especially in restaurants. Yeah I could get a bottle of Lamarca for 4-5 euros at a Spar in northern Italy, while it's $15-25 at a US grocery store. lol
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Jan 7, 2023 00:48
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WaryWarren posted:Yeah I could get a bottle of Lamarca for 4-5 euros at a Spar in northern Italy, while it's $15-25 at a US grocery store. lol Yeah at that bottle of wine is more like 50-80 bucks in an Italian restaurant in LA. It's ridiculous. In some places in Rome the water was more expensive than the wine.
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Jan 7, 2023 01:59
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kiimo posted:While we're on the subject the price of wine in Italy is hilarious compared to what it sells for in the States, especially in restaurants. When I was in Italy a few months ago, we ate at one restaurant where the carafe of table wine was 1.5 euros, which was literally cheaper than the 2 euro water. Edit: wow, beaten.
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Jan 7, 2023 02:06
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Elysium posted:When I was in Italy a few months ago, we ate at one restaurant where the carafe of table wine was 1.5 euros, which was literally cheaper than the 2 euro water. lol but thanks for backing me up. Their table wine is ridiculously cheap but also delicious, unlike the undrinkable swill that is chianti at a midwestern Italian noodle bucket. That poo poo exists to pour out the chianti and use the bottle as a candle holder. Nothing else.
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Jan 7, 2023 02:11
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Hey Eurogoons / Eurotourist goons, I'm doing a trip to Italy in April and am soliciting any food and drink faves that folks have in Rome, Florence, and Cinque Terre. We're staying in Monti, District 1 and Manarola respectively and have a few days in each place so we're open to exploring farther out spots. We've already done some research on our own but are pretty much open to anything. I recognize that it's a pretty broad ask, mainly wanted to get a read on places that folks find memorable. I can give more boundaries if folks have too many options, but figured this could at least get things stirring.
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Jan 8, 2023 00:51
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Alucard posted:Hey Eurogoons / Eurotourist goons, I had a pretty great Italian dinner at Buca Mario in Florence. Their only gimmick is that they give every guest an apron when they leave, but it's good restaurant where plenty of locals go as well. And, I just saw on their Instagram, Elon Musk went there too, which even if you hate the guy, it says something that he apparently knew about it. And another highlight was a Ristorante del Giglio, close to the national opera house in Rome, but it looks like it's temporarily closed according to Google maps. No idea if it'll be open again in April. Their website is under construction too. Real classical restaurant, which seemed to be fitting before a visit to the opera. Another one was a less formal more cozy place than Giglio, that I chose because it was the only one in the street that didn't have an annoying guy outside trying to talk tourists into the door: Taverna del Seminario in a street off the Pantheon in Rome. Turned out to be great and very cheap. Full of nuns and priests when I was there, but it's name comes from the name of the street, not from any formal or traditional church connection. Oh, and Trattoria Cecio, close to Termini station. Also great. I just ran through my Google maps timeline from my last visit a few years ago, and these were the ones that stood out, but I didn't have a bad meal in a whole month in Italy, I think, apart from maybe a sad hamburger at a pub because I wanted something else after a few weeks of good Italian food. Sadly there is no longer a McDonalds opposite the Pantheon. I loved going there the first few times when I was in Rome, because there was just a huge disconnect between the view and the interior. That was the McDonalds with the best view in the world, probably. Memorable, but probably not for the reason you're looking for. Also pretty great bread with ham and sausage and cheeses and stuff just at random butchers, pretty much everywhere in Italy. And the wine, of course. Getting to go cups from the restaurant because the big carafe of wine is just a bit too big for two, and taking your wine to the cinema and sipping it during a movie is pretty great EricBauman fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Jan 8, 2023 |
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Jan 8, 2023 01:33
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I had the best carbonara of my life in a small place in a residential side street somewhere between Termini station and the colosseum. It was run by an old couple, the husband was out front and the wife did the cooking. I wish I could remember the name of the place. However part of what I loved about eating in Italy was discovering places like that, I can’t think of a single disappointing meal in Rome or Florence (except one we had at a restaurant around the edge of some piazza; though for those you’re paying for the view and not the food).
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Jan 8, 2023 11:27
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Ooo, Italy chat time! I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Italy for May 7th-May 29th(ish, slightly flexible on the dates), and could use some advice / having the tires kicked on my plan. My only international travel was a trip to Ireland 6 years ago and coupled with my tendency to thoroughly plan things I'm feeling a little out of my element. 1. I'll be flying out of Chicago into Rome. Any airlines to avoid or seek out? My usual airport's a third-tier that has a mishmash of airlines and flights, so I don't really worry about milage or status. 2. My schedule is some combination of Florence (4 nights), Venice (3), Naples (5) and Rome (7), with one "you just flew across an ocean" day in whatever my first city is. For whatever reason, I'm leaning to spending time in Rome before I leave, instead of when I first arrive. Also, I'm seriously looking at going to a Serie A game, and might adjust travel based on that. 3. My real confusion is where to stay in each city. I'm fully comfortable taking public transit (and am planning on trains between cities anyway), but don't know which neighborhoods would have a good mix of easy ways to get to sightseeing destinations during the day and bars/restaurants within walking distance of my hotel for dinner and nightlife.
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Jan 8, 2023 21:15
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I flew from Chicago to Rome on KLM and recommend
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Jan 8, 2023 21:30
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For staying in Rome I'd recommend something within walking distance of a metro station if possible. Buses technically exist, but gently caress if I know what the timetable is for them.
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Jan 8, 2023 21:47
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For the record just personally I think it's a bad idea to fly into Rome and then immediately travel elsewhere only to come back to Rome later. Once you get there you're gonna want to spend a day working off the jet lag and then not like get on a bus or train right away
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Jan 8, 2023 21:50
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kiimo posted:I flew from Chicago to Rome on KLM and recommend KLM in general is amazing
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Jan 8, 2023 22:01
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Coco13 posted:Ooo, Italy chat time! I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Italy for May 7th-May 29th(ish, slightly flexible on the dates), and could use some advice / having the tires kicked on my plan. My only international travel was a trip to Ireland 6 years ago and coupled with my tendency to thoroughly plan things I'm feeling a little out of my element. Only American and United fly direct from Chicago to Rome (according to Wiki) so I'd go with one of those, if it's within budget. Otherwise I'd just go with whatever has the best price-to-travel time ratio. The major international carriers are slightly different but not enough to really care. Your time in each spot looks reasonable, except imo 4 days in Florence is a lot so look into daytrips outside of it. For cities, stay somewhere near the main tourist sites, and don't stay near the main train station. It is not worth it (to most people anyway) to stay in some nicer and cheaper hotel that's a 30 minute subway ride away from the center of Rome or whatever. I like being able to kick back and relax for an hour in the midafternoon, which is impossible if you're staying in some suburb, so I try to never stay more than a 15 minute walk from whatever the main central area is, but up to you as central hotels certainly costs more and/or are smaller and older. For Florence and Vencie there's really only one central area. For Rome and to a lesser extent Naples, there is no single "best / most convenient" area to stay in. Buses in Rome are OK, they're clearly indicated on Google Maps. You need to buy tickets on some app ("myCicero") but it's not that hard. They do check tickets.
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Jan 8, 2023 22:36
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EricBauman posted:Sadly there is no longer a McDonalds opposite the Pantheon. I loved going there the first few times when I was in Rome, because there was just a huge disconnect between the view and the interior. That was the McDonalds with the best view in the world, probably. Memorable, but probably not for the reason you're looking for. There's one directly opposite the Pyramids in Giza, so that probably qualifies? edit; it's actually a combined KFC/Pizza Hut, not McDonalds
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Jan 9, 2023 00:31
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webmeister posted:There's one directly opposite the Pyramids in Giza, so that probably qualifies? Making people drink Pepsi is the real mummy's curse
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Jan 9, 2023 00:45
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