Anyone got any travel planned?

[Nemo2]

The world has truly become a smaller place.

Or is that simply attributable to the obesity epidemic?

 

[NW-Bound]

Speaking of obesity, I observe in my recent trip that Europeans are getting bigger too, though not to the extent of Americans.

Have not been to Asia in a long time, but from videos, I see that they are not as skinny as they used to be. Yep, bad carb is getting to the entire human race.

 

[explanade]

American fast food chains are popular among the European youth.

I recently saw a Vice report about UAE or one of those other small Gulf countries. There are fast food chains all over and they are full of locals. And they're getting fat.

 

[braumeister]

I'll never forget my first visit to Munich. It was the Spring of 1977 and McDonalds was still new over there. I was walking down a street that had several nice small restaurants, all nearly empty in the afternoon, and saw a line of people on the sidewalk waiting to get into Mickey D.

The big sign in the window advertised the Viertel Pfunder (quarter pounder) and they apparently couldn't crank them out fast enough.

I just shook my head and continued my walk.

 

[explanade]

Yeah but the big thing in Munich and other German cities are those beer halls and what do you get there, some kind of fried up sausage to eat with beer?

They're okay but not exactly the height of gourmet.

Plus down near the train station, there are a lot of little kebab and pizza places, not great dining.

 

[MichaelB]

No matter where I go, I always try to eat local cooking.

 

[braumeister]

Yeah but the big thing in Munich and other German cities are those beer halls and what do you get there, some kind of fried up sausage to eat with beer?

Sure, there are those options. But there is also a wide variety of very good food if you want it. Same as anywhere else.

 

[Lsbcal]

We just got back from a 2 week trip to the Canadian Rockies. Visited Banff, Jasper, and Waterton Lakes. Lots of nice hikes.

In Jasper we had a small cabin right near the Athabasca River. We ate out in town but had breakfast in the cabin and trail mix for the hikes. Here is a pic of Maligne Lake in Jasper park. We sat here on our little travel stools (3 legged, very light) and did watercolor paintings. Painting and drawing are good ways to cool one's heels for awhile. Forces you to really notice things.



And a pic of a glacier as seen along the Iceland Parkway between Banff and Jasper parks:


.

 

[explanade]

Where did you stay in Banff?

The prices were crazy, places that looked basically like motels in town going for like $1500 or more for just 4 nights.

 

[Lsbcal]

Where did you stay in Banff?

The prices were crazy, places that looked basically like motels in town going for like $1500 or more for just 4 nights.

We stayed at the Delta Marriott for $270 US. Yes, it was pricey and the room was small. We knew Banff would be pretty crowded and touristy (it was that way back in 1980) so we stayed just 4 nights. Still we enjoyed the town and the holiday atmosphere. In that kind of town it's best to get up early and try to beat the crowds.

 

[brett]

Great pics. You timed it right. We currently have lots of smoke for the forest fires. Fires in BC and another west of Banff.

One of the main roads is sometimes closed in the afternoon because of poor visibilty-smoke. Lots of smoke from time to time here in Calgary.

 

[Lsbcal]

The fires did give us some smoke on a few days but overall not a problem. Some hikes in Jasper park had mosquitoes and I am guessing that later in August might be fewer. That is when we generally visit the High Sierras.

 

[woodguy00]

Just booked 10 days in China for early October through Gate 1 Travel. We used them for a fly/drive in Costa Riaca about 6 years ago and were very pleased. I just can't see how they offer as much as they do for the prices.

We fly JFK to Beijing on a non-stop for 3 nights, then on to Xi'an and finally Shanghai.

 

[Nemo2]

The only part of Asia we've been to is NZ and AU so this will be great.

Psst.......they're not in Asia.

 

[Koogie]

Can you believe there are actually some antipodeans who won't even acknowledge that they are on the bottom of the planet ?

pffft...

 

[brokrken]

Nemo, We really likes Trieste. Really found some great restaurants, the people were nice and it was beautiful. I think the 2-3 days max is all you need, then you sort of run out of things to do. Although, you could people watch for days and never get tired of it. I, However, I tend to drink a lot when I people watch, so I'd just be slightly drunk the whole time

 

[Nemo2]

.....the people were nice and it was beautiful.

Thanks! With luck I'll get back there 'someday'...our upcoming Bulgaria/transatlantic is pretty much finalized......so we're looking out a year down the road.....figure we'll likely only do one (longer) trip next year...maximize the time on the ground/minimize the flying time.

 

[explanade]

Nemo, We really likes Trieste. Really found some great restaurants, the people were nice and it was beautiful. I think the 2-3 days max is all you need, then you sort of run out of things to do. Although, you could people watch for days and never get tired of it. I, However, I tend to drink a lot when I people watch, so I'd just be slightly drunk the whole time

Can you stay in Trieste and take day trips into Slovenia or would you have to drive far to reach interesting destinations?

 

[brokrken]

Can you stay in Trieste and take day trips into Slovenia or would you have to drive far to reach interesting destinations?

Yes, you can absolutely do that. From Trieste to Bled is only about 1.5-2 hour drive. But, again, in Trieste there isn't so much to do. If I were going to have a base and do day trips it would be Ljubljana. Then you'd be 45 minutes from Trieste, 45 from Bled, 45 from the caves. All approximate, of course.

 

[gayl]

Cruising Japan / Korea in October .... seemed like good timing months ago

 

[Souschef]

We just got back from a 2 week trip to the Canadian Rockies. Visited Banff, Jasper, and Waterton Lakes. Lots of nice hikes.

In Jasper we had a small cabin right near the Athabasca River. We ate out in town but had breakfast in the cabin and trail mix for the hikes. Here is a pic of Maligne Lake in Jasper park. We sat here on our little travel stools (3 legged, very light) and did watercolor paintings. Painting and drawing are good ways to cool one's heels for awhile. Forces you to really notice things.



And a pic of a glacier as seen along the Iceland Parkway between Banff and Jasper parks:


.

We took a Western Canada trip last year and loved it. On of the highlights was kayaking on the lake in Jasper to get some good pictures away from the trees.
To those that asked for pictures, our trip story is at
http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/westerncanada2015.pdf

 

[brett]

nemo...we are just starting to do some research on Kenya, Tanzania, and Morocco for the winter after next.

Have you been there? Any comments? Just picked up Rough Guide's First Time Africa and Fodor's African Safaris from the library. The Rough Guide is essentially a guide to Africa, where to go, where is safe, where not, etc. Seems good so far. Will go to web next.

 

[braumeister]

Cruising Japan / Korea in October .... seemed like good timing months ago

I'm sure it did. You should be fine as long as you're not making a port call in Pyongyang.

 

[Lsbcal]

We took a Western Canada trip last year and loved it. On of the highlights was kayaking on the lake in Jasper to get some good pictures away from the trees.
To those that asked for pictures, our trip story is at
http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/westerncanada2015.pdf

Nice travel report Souschef.

 

[97guns]

Just booked for a little 4 night trip to Seattle in early Sept., $600 for 2 includes airfare, hotel and car rental and we'll be squeezing in a gambling road trip to Reno before then.