Heading to Germany. Any travel hints?

jejo68 · November 11, 2015, 12:33:12 PM

yeah, your to late for the october festival, so wait another year.

DoctorQuest · November 11, 2015, 01:00:59 PM

Well, thanks to everyone for the advice and editorial comments (I'm looking at you, Star) but in the end my travel got cancelled due to corporate bureaucratic delays.

I can't say I'm sorry given my current workload and that fact I would not have much time for a real visit.

JasonPratt · November 11, 2015, 01:31:37 PM

Quote from: Centurion40 on November 10, 2015, 10:54:26 AM
So how was the cruise? All we get are Viking ads and I'd like to know what they thought sailing non-Viking.

Still haven't gotten to talk to her yet; hoping I can on Sunday for my birthday lunch at Cracker Barrel. (Though odds are good I'll be mobbed by the nieces.)

The few things I've gathered are that the boat-trip was ambivalently positive (to coin a phrase). Very small cabins unless you got a corner room, but the view is good. Ishy ended up riding a lot of busses, too, to do tours off-river and then catching back up with the boat. An extensive tour didn't give her nearly as much time as she wanted to look around various places; partly made worse, ironically, by needing to pace the walks between areas to the slowest members of the groups. And then of course the experience depends heavily on the kind of people you end up traveling with.

So far what the parents and I have gathered is: (a) spend the cash to get a corner room if possible; (b) choose a tour that gives the most time to least distance ratio (unless you mainly just want to see as many sights per se as possible); (c) pray you get sane and healthy companions.

Centurion40 · November 12, 2015, 09:05:53 AM

Quote from: JasonPratt on November 11, 2015, 01:31:37 PM
Quote from: Centurion40 on November 10, 2015, 10:54:26 AM
So how was the cruise? All we get are Viking ads and I'd like to know what they thought sailing non-Viking.

Still haven't gotten to talk to her yet; hoping I can on Sunday for my birthday lunch at Cracker Barrel. (Though odds are good I'll be mobbed by the nieces.)

The few things I've gathered are that the boat-trip was ambivalently positive (to coin a phrase). Very small cabins unless you got a corner room, but the view is good. Ishy ended up riding a lot of busses, too, to do tours off-river and then catching back up with the boat. An extensive tour didn't give her nearly as much time as she wanted to look around various places; partly made worse, ironically, by needing to pace the walks between areas to the slowest members of the groups. And then of course the experience depends heavily on the kind of people you end up traveling with.

So far what the parents and I have gathered is: (a) spend the cash to get a corner room if possible; (b) choose a tour that gives the most time to least distance ratio (unless you mainly just want to see as many sights per se as possible); (c) pray you get sane and healthy companions.

Thanks. Say "Hi" to the Cracker Barrel for me, and have a bit of hash-brown casserole too! My wife and I always hit a Cracker Barrel or two whilst in Florida.

Sir Slash · November 12, 2015, 09:36:06 AM

My wife loves Cracker Barrel but me.... it's OK. I really like Waffle House but you can hardly find them outside of Fla.

MetalDog · November 12, 2015, 09:57:20 AM

They just re-did the Waffle House here, Slash. Although, you couldn't pay me enough to eat there. Every one I have ever been in is dirty. Cracker Barrel, on the other hand, has always been delicious!

Centurion40 · November 12, 2015, 10:04:58 AM

Quote from: Sir Slash on November 12, 2015, 09:36:06 AM
My wife loves Cracker Barrel but me.... it's OK. I really like Waffle House but you can hardly find them outside of Fla.

Mmm. Never tried a Waffle House; the ones that I've seen have always seemed sketchy, from a distance. I'll give it a shot next time I'm south.

Sir Slash · November 12, 2015, 01:17:12 PM

WH Is great for breakfast. Just a Greasy Spoon type place however. Years ago my brother and I were on our way to Georgia and as we headed north up I-75 I told him I would buy breakfast at the next Waffle House we passed. He didn't know it but.... there weren't any more until we got back to Fla.

He reminded me of that for years afterward.

JasonPratt · November 13, 2015, 04:25:16 PM

Quote from: Sir Slash on November 12, 2015, 09:36:06 AM
My wife loves Cracker Barrel but me.... it's OK. I really like Waffle House but you can hardly find them outside of Fla.

I adore Waffle Houses. Despite the dirtiness, which admittedly I don't adore, but the fact I adore the food there anyway actually means more by contrast thereby. (Because I have an irrational fear of food on the floor.) (Not kidding.)

Not sure how many remain in TN, but we once had a ton of them here. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I discovered my first job after college was located behind one. WAFFLE HOUSE EVERY NIGHT!

(I worked 3rd shift at the Shop-At-Home channel as a program director.)

For my birthday, I will definitely be getting at least two orders of dumplings (even though CB's aren't the best, but not-bad dumplings are still good enough.) The only question is what meat I'll also get.

JasonPratt · November 13, 2015, 04:29:54 PM

Quote from: Sir Slash on November 12, 2015, 01:17:12 PM
WH Is great for breakfast. Just a Greasy Spoon type place however. Years ago my brother and I were on our way to Georgia and as we headed north up I-75 I told him I would buy breakfast at the next Waffle House we passed. He didn't know it but.... there weren't any more until we got back to Fla. He reminded me of that for years afterward.

Weird, I remember there being at least one on I-75 north of Atlanta; but it was late at night and my fencing crew had just helped save some people from a burning truck (most of them rather moreso than me), so I might be unclear on that.

Had you followed 75 into Tennessee, you'd have surely found some though. In Knoxville if not sooner.

Sir Slash · November 13, 2015, 10:58:32 PM

We didn't get that far north then Jason but I've been through Knoxville before on I-75 and I would never get off even for free pu--y because I think I'd never get back on again. Worst traffic I think I've ever seen there. But the state is beautiful and the people are very friendly.

JasonPratt · November 16, 2015, 10:57:07 AM

They... somewhat mitigated that with I-275, and I-240 (and I think at least one more extension before I returned home from college), but yeah it's a local proverb that Knoxville is a nice city to look at as you pass by, but you can't actually get there.

And then factor in the largest college football crowds in the United States (or that was true back when I was there).

JasonPratt · November 16, 2015, 10:59:55 AM

Meanwhile, in accordance with the prophecy, I didn't get to talk to Ishy at all, being swamped by nieces instead.

But I did get to eat my chicken and dumplings.

This time with the Apple Cider BBQ chicken, although the kitchen forgot the apple & cranberry chutney. Still great.

(I'm sure I tickled the waitress when I asked for two sides of dumplings, on what was supposed to be a low-calorie meal. >:D )

BanzaiCat · November 16, 2015, 12:54:20 PM

Waffle House kinda sucks. There's one in Dallas we've been to a couple of times in the middle of the night...I gotta say for colorful personalities, it's a great time to go people watch, but the food is pretty much bleh...I think you can get better out of microwave waffles and pancakes to be honest.

DQ, don't feel bad. My current job dangled the possibility of international travel in front of me earlier this year, so here I was thinking I'd get to go to the UK, maybe Dubai, but now, not so much. Maybe in the near future, who knows.