Exilian

Off-topic and Chatter: The Jolly Boar Inn => General Chatter - The Boozer => Topic started by: Glaurung on August 19, 2014, 08:24:26 PM

Title: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 19, 2014, 08:24:26 PM
Pentagathus (http://www.exilian.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=4) suggested I start a new thread for this (instead of cluttering up Going to be Away? (http://www.exilian.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=94.405)), so here it is. I will re-post here my last post there, so that people can pick up the thread of the discussion.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 19, 2014, 08:25:47 PM
Welcome back :)
Many thanks.

How was the land of Germans?
It was good. It contained nice scenery, interesting towns, trains, beer, schnitzel, wurst, sauerkraut, and pastries, all of which I enjoyed. It also contained rain, which I did not enjoy.

I also visited the lands of the Danes, the Swedes and the Czechs. Much the same comments apply to these too. My train from Sweden to Germany crossed the Baltic Sea on a ferry - one of only three places in Europe where this happens now.

Oh, and if you could just give me some of your vacation time...
It'sss mine, my preciousss, all mine.  :gollum:
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on August 19, 2014, 09:02:08 PM
Best food out of the four countries?

Also, what are the other places with ferry trains?
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 19, 2014, 09:42:34 PM
Best food out of the four countries?
That's a difficult one to answer. I didn't eat anything genuinely Danish (too expensive, given the exchange rate) or Swedish (also expensive, and I was only in the country for three hours or less). Czech food seems to be very similar to German - a lot of pork, ham and sausages, with dumplings, potatoes and cabbage.

Also, what are the other places with ferry trains?
The one I travelled on is Trelleborg (Sweden, near Malmö) to Sassnitz (on the island of Rügen); this route has now finished operating for the year, and may be Trelleborg - Rostock instead next year. The other two are Puttgarden (Germany) - Rødby (Denmark) on the direct Hamburg - Copenhagen route, and Villa San Giovanni - Messina, between the 'toe' of Italy and Sicily.

I can think of three more that used to operate but have been replaced by fixed links (bridges and/or tunnels):
There are, or have been, other train ferry routes which carry freight wagons only - one across the Bosphorus, and another across Lake Van, both in Turkey, for example.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Pentagathus on August 19, 2014, 09:45:28 PM
Which parts of sweden did you visit?

Oh. Well.
How expensive are alcoholic beverages in Denmark compared to here?
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 19, 2014, 10:01:47 PM
Which parts of sweden did you visit?
Just the extreme southwestern corner: a quick peek out of Malmö Central station at the surrounding city (some nice buildings), and the short train journey to Trelleborg - through open farmland, rather than the expected endless forest.

How expensive are alcoholic beverages in Denmark compared to here?
53 kroner (about £6) for 400ml in a restaurant (with 500ml and 300ml also available); it's somewhat cheaper for bottles from a supermarket. However, since I was coming from Germany, where it's typically 1 euro (80p!) per bottle, I bought one there and took it with me.
The really expensive country is Norway - I think beer is at least £8 or £9 a pint there :(
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Pentagathus on August 19, 2014, 10:17:09 PM
Yeah but everything is expensive in norway, some of my friends from Trondheim take a train into sweden when they want to do a large food shop.
And sweden has the stupid systembolaget bollocks, can't even buy from an off licence half the time. What would their ancestors think of them now?
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 12, 2014, 10:00:18 PM
Meanwhile, I'm back in Germany again, this time just for a long weekend (this is not unusual!). I'm in Saxony (Sachsen in German), the southern part of the old East Germany, around Dresden and Leipzig.

I flew in to Leipzig yesterday evening, after work - I'm quite impressed that I can now get to various parts of Europe after a normal day's work. En route, I grumbled at evolution for fitting Eustachian tubes with (nearly) one way valves. I also decided that if I ran an airline, I would only accept booking for children under 5 if they were going to be sedated while on the plane. Sometimes I might want to sedate the parents too...

I've spent today wandering around the area west of Leipzig by public transport, seeing some of the country and indulging my interest in trains. As ever, I'm impressed by the German ability to make public transport work. I bought a day ticket covering three German states (Länder), valid on all forms of public transport - trains, buses, trams. I had planned a route in advance involving numerous connections, including some between different modes (train and bus), and it all worked - most journeys were on time, and all the connections were held.

What did I discover today:
- the south-eastern corner of the Harz range: a scenic hilly area with deep river valleys;
- an unexpected mining area (copper, I think) around Mansfeld and Eisleben;
- several interesting historic towns: Eisleben (birthplace of Martin Luther) and Merseburg. Merseburg was a particular surprise: it's in the middle of a major chemical industry area, but there's a well-preserved historic centre, including a cathedral and Schloss (loosely, castle).
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on October 13, 2014, 09:30:19 PM
(Placeholder for the rest of my September German trip, which I still want to write about.)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on October 13, 2014, 09:52:01 PM
So, this time I'm in Sardinia, and it's spectacularly beautiful. I've only been here since Saturday afternoon (about 54 hours so far), and travelled around a fairly limited proportion of the island, but I think I can say so with some confidence. It's definitely going on my "place people should visit" list.

The landscape is very rugged - not quite mountainous, but very hilly, often with elaborately weathered rock outcrops. It's also a patchwork - forested valleys, rocky plateaus, farms and scrub land - all surrounded by a convoluted coast of inlets and islands. I have taken an awful lot of photos!

So far I've travelled around the northern end of the island; tomorrow I head south somewhat, and then right across the island from west to east.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on October 13, 2014, 11:09:00 PM
Apparently the bronze age/nuragic fortresses are very impressive there. They kept building them and defending them until pretty much the Roman period IIRC.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 07, 2015, 12:07:55 AM
I thought it was about time I revived this thread.

Last Saturday, I visited Stonehenge - the closest I'd got before was driving by on the A303 road, over 20 years ago, and I thought was about time I saw it properly. I'm glad I did: obviously it's one of the best known prehistoric sites in the world, with pictures and information readily available from many sources, but going there provides a sense of scale and of place that I think is impossible to gain in any other way.

How did I get there? I walked. OK, only from the new visitor centre, which is about a mile and half from the stones. It saved me a long wait for the shuttle bus, but it also seemed appropriate that I should approach this most ancient site in the same manner as the people who built it and used it must have done. It also helps a lot with the sense of scale and place that I mentioned: the path from the visitor centre leads over a gentle ridge, so that as you come around a corner of woodland, the landscape opens up, dropping gently to a river valley in the distance, with Stonehenge itself a small and almost continuous cluster of stone on a low rise about a mile ahead. Dotted around all over the visible landscape are barrows (burial mounds) and other earthworks, some newer than Stonehenge and some even older.

From the ridge top, a well-worn path leads down to the stones, and I joined the steady stream of people heading towards them. Ahead, I could also see the shuttle bus stop, and the much denser mass of people walking the last hundred metres to and from the stones, and around them. It seems ironic (or perhaps very fitting) that Stonehenge, apparently built as a temple some 4,500 years ago, should once again have become an object of ritual visitation; perhaps the sheer number of people now taking part makes up for the lack of formality in the observance.

The number of tourists visiting Stonehenge means that the site is also a study in how to balance the competing requirements of access and conservation. There are something like a million visitors each year; it would be very easy for the site to be "loved to death" - as indeed was happening up to 1977, when the stones were roped off and the public prevented from getting closer to them than a few metres. I would have liked to get closer, even between the stones; I think the layout would have made more sense from the inside. But if I could, everyone could; and then something unique and irreplaceable would be worn away, footstep by footstep, touch by touch. The current arrangements, with a path and grassed area providing a complete circuit of the stones for visitors, are probably as good a compromise as might be hoped for.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on August 07, 2015, 12:50:59 AM
Nice. :)

I've also been to the ropes. You should have waited until night and then snuck inside. That would be cool.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 07, 2015, 07:51:34 PM
You should have waited until night and then snuck inside. That would be cool.
Cool, but likely to lead to me being arrested and prosecuted :(

Also, I might run into people who've booked a "Stone Circle access" visit with English Heritage - since this costs £30 a head, they probably wouldn't be happy with an interloper coming over the fence. Some digging on the English Heritage website has revealed that such visits are available, at specified times outside normal opening hours (so early morning or late evening), with lots of restrictions on what people taking part can do.

Wikipedia thinks that there is public access to the stones at the solstices and equinoxes, but I'm not sure of the extent to which this is true.

I've also been to the ropes.
When did you go? If it was before 2013, you might like to consider going back some time: the A344 (the road running immediately north of Stonehenge) has now been closed, which I'm sure must make the whole site a lot quieter.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on August 08, 2015, 12:40:38 AM
It was 2001 so well before then. Maybe on my next trip over. :)

Exilihenge!
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on August 10, 2015, 03:40:09 PM
I'm not sure we have enough funds in the bank to build a henge :P
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on August 10, 2015, 09:38:57 PM
Just takes some elbow grease.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 10, 2015, 10:19:13 PM
I'm not sure we have enough funds in the bank to build a henge :P
It depends how big you want it, and what it's made of. We could probably do one made of polystyrene a couple of centimetres high (cue This Is Spinal Tap).

Just takes some elbow grease.
I don't think that's a particularly robust structural material...
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on August 10, 2015, 10:43:50 PM
Does elbow grease come in cans? We could make a can henge...
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on August 26, 2015, 08:56:52 PM
As advertised in the "Going to be away" thread, I am once again travelling in Europe, this time Spain and France. I flew to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain on Sunday, and have since made my way via Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona to Nîmes, almost on the coast in southern France. All this travel has been by train, of course. So far everything has gone according to plan: I've had a couple of late trains, but nothing with onward connections to worry about.

At the moment, I'm sitting at an outdoor restaurant table, digesting a rather good pizza, and lubricating it with some pleasant house red wine. Tomorrow I head into the Massif Central on some more scenic lines, hoping to avoid all the rail replacement bus services.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on August 30, 2015, 12:08:23 PM
Sounds like a good time, G. Think you'll pop over to the States again some day?
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 02, 2015, 11:25:28 PM
Sounds like a good time, G.
Yes, it was, definitely. Lots of places I hadn't been to before, along with some that I had visited previously, but not for a long time. I can see me doing some more trips like that, though perhaps not in the hottest part of the summer!

Think you'll pop over to the States again some day?
That's the plan: August 2017, for the solar eclipse, as I think I mentioned some while ago. That might well be another four or five-week mega-trip.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 03, 2015, 02:32:29 PM
Greetings from Sardinia! I arrived a couple of hours ago. The temperature is about 30C (88F), and I think I might melt if I spend too long outside. Fortunately (and deliberately) I have a hotel room with air-conditioning - I'm tempted to shelter here for a couple of hours.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on September 03, 2015, 07:56:55 PM
I've been out working in those temperatures up against a radiant wall. :P
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 03, 2015, 07:59:45 PM
It's grim and cold and wet back here :P
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 03, 2015, 09:09:57 PM
I've been out working in those temperatures up against a radiant wall. :P
Lucky you! I went out again anyway; there was a breeze, and I tried to keep on the shady side of the street, so in fact I have not dissolved into a puddle of sweat. It probably felt worse because, as Jubal implies, the temperature in the UK when I set off was more like 60F (15C). Hopefully I will acclimatise somewhat over the next few days.

Tomorrow I will spend the morning sightseeing in Cagliari, and then head northeast to Arbatax on the east coast.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 03, 2015, 10:01:04 PM
Glad to hear: non-dissolved Glaurungs are the best sort thereof :)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 04, 2015, 08:08:51 AM
The UK Met Office forecast for Cagliari showed a 10% chance of rain much of the time I'm here. It looks as if all those 10s have rolled up together: there's a thunderstorm here at the moment. If I'm lucky it will clear the air and reduce the temperature compared to yesterday.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 04, 2015, 11:31:50 AM
Ah well - and yes, thunderstorms do tend to have a good effect on the subsequent atmosphere :)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 04, 2015, 01:51:13 PM
Alas, it feels just as humid as it did yesterday, but it's cloudy so there's less direct heat from the sun. Still not ideal for walking around a very hilly city, let alone going up the 40m or so high watchtower at the highest point, but I'm only slightly melted and the views were worth it. Unexpected bonus: hearing church bells all over the city ringing for midday.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 04, 2015, 08:24:02 PM
Pratchett said, as I recall, "million to one chances come up nine times out of ten"; I can't confirm that, but I can say that 10% chances can happen twice a day. I got off my three-hour coach journey from Cagliari soon after 6pm, and within 30 minutes I was sheltering from a torrential thunderstorm. Fortunately, 30 minutes after that, it had moved on again, in time for me to catch a bus from the open-air bus stop.

Meanwhile, this afternoon's journey was thoroughly enjoyable, through some spectacular near mountainous scenery. Hopefully tomorrow's train journey will be better.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 04, 2015, 10:27:03 PM
I hope the probability of better weather is good. Or a million to one. Either will do :)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 05, 2015, 11:52:44 AM
Today seems to be a 90% day :) It's bright and clear, with some high cloud to reduce the intensity of the sunlight. At sea level, where I started the morning, it was fairly cool, but still very humid; now I'm at 700m altitude, it's a bit cooler, much drier and a lot more comfortable.

How did I get up to 700m? One of probably the top 10 scenic rail journeys in Europe: from Arbatax on the coast, up the escarpment around Lanusei, and into the mountains to Sadali. It used to be an ordinary passenger railway; now it has only a tourist service in the summer, marketed as the "Trenino Verde" (little green train). The route should have been part of the tour I did last October, but was cut due to engineering works - I'm very glad to have done it now.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Pentagathus on September 05, 2015, 04:33:00 PM
Choo choo bitches!
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on September 06, 2015, 02:46:38 AM
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 06, 2015, 10:00:46 AM
Are we going to end up back at that skyrim mod that replaced the dragons with trains?
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 06, 2015, 01:06:44 PM
It probably says a lot about me that I'm more interested to know what type of locomotive that is than why it's on fire :P
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 06, 2015, 08:21:56 PM
Meanwhile, today's journey was another scenic one: Mandas to Sorgono and back, south - north through the middle of the island. It's not as impressive as yesterday's, but still well worth it: high hills, wide vistas of plains, deep wooded river valleys.

It's quite a contrast in colours - the open country (anywhere with grass, basically) is now brown after a long hot summer. There's some relief from olive trees, evergreen oaks and eucalyptus, but all of these seem to be various shades of dusty grey-green as well. Meanwhile the wooded valleys are much more verdant, especially when you're under the trees. The ground is still very dry, but the trees evidently have roots that reach down to the water.

Also, since I've not mentioned the weather yet (I'm English - weather is important), it's been cool and dry all day. Being at altitudes in the 500-700m probably has something to do with the coolness. I will be back in Cagliari for a few hours tomorrow before I fly home; I fear it will still be hot and humid there :(
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 06, 2015, 08:56:30 PM
Yes, altitude can make a lot of difference once it gets to that sort of height.

Glad it's all going well :)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 17, 2015, 07:39:11 AM
I'm off again, for another week in Europe. The first half is as previously advertised: Kosovo and Macedonia. The second half has changed fairly dramatically: instead of Greece, I'm going to Germany. This is driven mainly by all the air fares back from Greece being unaffordable by the time I got round to booking. However, it was also coloured by the fact that the cross-border train is replaced by a bus, due to the refugee situation. I definitely still want to visit Athens, Thessaloniki, and the rest of the country, but it will be on another trip.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on September 27, 2015, 02:28:03 PM
So how was it, G?
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on September 27, 2015, 11:59:46 PM
It was good: an interesting and enjoyable mix of activities, cultures and scenery (and weather, of course!). I have a write-up under way, country by country; I was hoping to get it done tonight but it's not going to happen now. Here is the first bit:

Switzerland
This one wasn't on the advertised list, but I had a 5-hour stopover between flights on the way to Kosovo, in Geneva. It was pouring rain when I arrived, so my original idea of having a wander around the city on foot didn't last long. Instead, courtesy of the tickets for 80 minutes' unlimited travel, issued free in the airport arrivals hall, I meandered around the city on trams. While Geneva is known for hosting a large part of the UN, a multitude of other international organisations, and CERN, I can confirm that in fact it is also inhabited by ordinary people, living in ordinary buildings and doing ordinary work. There are small industrial premises, offices, supermarkets, bakeries, bars, blocks of flats and suburban houses. All quite neat and tidy, as you'd expect in Switzerland, but definitely ordinary.

In a stroke of irony, the rain stopped and the skies started clearing shortly before my flight to Kosovo took off.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on September 30, 2015, 10:35:51 PM
Real people in Geneva? Whatever next!

Which is to say I'm looking forward to the next bit :)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on October 09, 2015, 07:52:02 PM
The "next bit" is still on my to-do list; I'm aware that Kosovo and Macedonia are a bit more exotic and more interesting than Geneva. However, in the meantime, I'm off on yet another trip - Germany this time. I'm flying to Hannover tonight, meandering across the country for a few days, and flying back from Berlin on Wednesday. I'm not sure how much I will be posting while I'm away.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on October 09, 2015, 10:59:42 PM
Have fun :)
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: comrade_general on October 10, 2015, 02:53:34 AM
Like the Joob said.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Pentagathus on October 10, 2015, 10:29:20 PM
What i said.
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Glaurung on March 10, 2016, 10:22:24 PM
Time to revive this one again. I'm aware that I still haven't posted about Kosovo and Macedonia from last September - as so often, once I've procrastinated over it, it's permanently low priority.

In the meantime, I have (at last!) organised another foreign trip, and, probably to no-one's surprise, it's Germany once again. This time it's Bremen and Hamburg, in the north; I fly out tomorrow morning, and back on Monday evening. There might be opportunities for reports while I'm out there, but don't hold your breath!
Title: Re: Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels
Post by: Jubal on March 10, 2016, 11:04:54 PM
Have fun! :)