The Off Topic Topic

[Maladict]

Poetry

[derspiess]

They have already complained about that to me

One time we took a German friend of ours and his family to the nearby Hofbrauhaus.  He seemed okay with the beer and atmosphere but lost his shit when the "Alpen Echos" band took stage.

On the flip side  . . . I once took part in a corporate outing/bonding experience in Germany years ago.  It was an American western theme with rodeo-like stunts, skits, and a guy dressed in black playing Johnny Cash songs.   

Awesome.  Even more so if they got a bunch of things wrong and the singer had a noticeable accent.

[Josquius]

I've done a fair bit of traveling alone and staying in hostels while doing so. It has its up- and downsides. It's actually very social as you'll meet lots and lots of new interesting people. Many more than I do when I travel with someone else and infinitely more than when I travelled for business and stayed in fancy hotels alone. Staying in hostels is so-so, but most of the time it is acceptable. You get really annoying people rarely, but if you do it really sucks. That said, it's the only way travelling for like 8 weeks a year is affordable with my current income.

It also depends highly on the city the hostel is in. The last two I stayed at (about a decade ago  ) couldn't have been more different.
The one in Rome was full of annoying teenagers drinking and screaming all night, glad I didn't stay more than a night.
On the other hand, all the people in the hostel in Kiev were actually really interesting to talk to and hang out with. 

Truth.
Now at a much nicer hostel in Barcelona..... it's got typical british tourists and shouty Portuguese.
Go somewhere a bit more obscure though and it's nicer.

[barkdreg]

Currently nursing a hangover in a hostel in Yerevan, Armenia.
About half the time I book a private room in a hostel. Meet people and be able to sleep.

[Liep]

Currently nursing a hangover in a hostel in Yerevan, Armenia.
About half the time I book a private room in a hostel. Meet people and be able to sleep.

In Yerevan I imagine that it's still fairly cheap to book a private room. How's Armenia? I really want to go there.

[Josquius]

Currently nursing a hangover in a hostel in Yerevan, Armenia.
About half the time I book a private room in a hostel. Meet people and be able to sleep.

Depends on the place I think.  Some hostels private room people can be a bit isolated.
But yes. These days i go private wherever I can. My friend is an unemployed yank though and wants shared rooms.

[Savonarola]

School starts in early August in this part of Florida; so we're already seeing "Back to school" specials at the stores.  Alstom is having a drive for back to school supplies for needy children.  We're still in the same building as GE who is also having a back to school drive for needy children.  We were told explicitly not to put our back to school donations in the GE box; lest some poor child think that his new backpack was the donation of a GE employee rather than an Alstom one.  Imagine the humiliation he would feel.   

[derspiess]

School starts in early August in this part of Florida; so we're already seeing "Back to school" specials at the stores.  Alstom is having a drive for back to school supplies for needy children.  We're still in the same building as GE who is also having a back to school drive for needy children.  We were told explicitly not to put our back to school donations in the GE box; lest some poor child think that his new backpack was the donation of a GE employee rather than an Alstom one.  Imagine the humiliation he would feel.   

We had a very similar directive from our site manager at my last company.  Some of the senior managers take donation drives very, very seriously.

Our district's school year doesn't start til August 29 this year.  I swear it started two weeks earlier last year. 

[crazy canuck]

Is traveling alone pretty common in Europe?  To me it seems like, well, a foreign concept.  And the idea of staying in a hostel creeps me out.  NEED MAH PERSONAL SPACE

I had a great time travelling alone in Europe back in the day.  I met all kinds of people I would not have met if travelling with others.  Hostels were a great place to meet people, learn what they were doing and perhaps travel with them for a few days. 

[celedhring]

I don't do it as often as I used to, but yeah, I travelled alone a lot in my 20s. Great way to see places and meet people, since you're on your own and can improvise and change plans on the fly.

[Ed Anger]

I only stay in 3 star hotels or higher.

[crazy canuck]

since you're on your own and can improvise and change plans on the fly.

Yeah, that was a big part of it, I would wake up thinking I would go one place, meet some people who were doing something else that sounded more interesting and off I would go.  It was great fun.   A few years later I traveled with my wife.  It was also a lot of fun but a completely different experience.

[CountDeMoney]

Jesus H. Simon & Schuster Christ, I am choking out the next motherfucker that sends me a document who doesn't know the difference between "e.g." and "i.e."

[Admiral Yi]

My friend is a ... yank

[Duque de Bragança]

My friend is a ... yank

Could be worse for Tyr. I mean, what if he were a Francophone?