Visiting Germany

[MichaelZWilliamson]

So how far from Vienna to Landstuhl? Don't make me come down there.

[MichaelZWilliamson]

That's a little far. I didn't realize Austria was almost as large as the state of Maine.

But seriously, that's the far end of the country, dammit. Anyone closer?

[cobaltbomb]

i do live closer to landshut, maybe 200 km to the south in a village near kufstein tirol.
if you want to come along, my local shooting range is open on wednesday and friday evening.
or we could go for a ski tour in the backcountry if you want

[MichaelZWilliamson]

I'll mostly be visiting injured/wounded, but I should have some evenings free and possibly one day on the weekend. Can you email me? mzmadmike at gmail

[MichaelZWilliamson]

Below is my location from late Tues 11 Jan to late Mon 17 Jan




Okay, we are booked into Hotel Christine in Landstuhl (http://www.hotel-christine.com/english/index.htm).


I've misplaced emails from a couple of people, so please email me back.

[Marc]

Hello Michael!

How was your visit?


Cheers,

Marc

[MichaelZWilliamson]

Took a day trip to Paris.

Germany > France.

Can't figure out why they wanted to invade.

Very much enjoyed Heidelberg, Kaiserslautern and Landstuhl, and the visits with the troops.

[Marc]

Hello!

Heidelberg is a very nice city, my parents live not far from there, just a bit more south-west, about 6km from the french border at a small city called "Rastatt".
The mixture of people, old towns/small cities and food at the german-french border (on both sides) is very nice, you really can see and feel that in the last centuries the "ownership" of the left and right side of the rhine in that area switched several times. We really enjoy going shopping for french food (seafood, cheese, fruits) on the french side, and the french come over for (german bread, meats, cakes and nowadays gasoline and cigarettes). Thats the positive effect of the open borders.

If you ever have a chance to visit the area, then do it!

Btw., i quite enjoid reading "Contact with Chaos" on the weekend. Any chance on a follow up on the storyline?


Cheers,

Marc

[MichaelZWilliamson]

Marc, I'm sure I will at some point. I'm writing sequels to The Weapon and Do Unto Others... at the moment. Thanks.

French prices on everything are ridiculous. 6.50 Euros for a Coke that I pay $1 for here? And I get free refills? 7 euros for orange juice?

[Marc]

Hello!

Marc, I'm sure I will at some point. I'm writing sequels to The Weapon and Do Unto Others... at the moment. Thanks.

Sounds cool, will get em again via the "Web Subscriptions" from Baen.

French prices on everything are ridiculous. 6.50 Euros for a Coke that I pay $1 for here? And I get free refills? 7 euros for orange juice?

Well, these are Paris prices and most likely you have been staying at the more touristy establishments there when doing a day trip. I was living 5 weeks in Paris about a year ago (company buissness) and I frequented the more "normal parisienne" restaurants/shops. Prices where still higher then here in Vienna, but MUCH less then in the typical "tourist trap" places. I had my bike with me and was biking every day about 20km from Appartment to the lab forth and back and I took every second evening a detour to a different restaurant, which I had programmed in my GPS beforehand.

For instance, I could get a very good 3-course evening menue with a nice glass of a Bordeaux for 22€ (including 10% tip) and had a score of good restaurants to choose from each such evening. You just have to look out for such places and get advice from locals.

And shopping in the smaller supermarkets (the cheeses!!!) was also quite ok price wise. Belly was getting a bit bigger though during the stay there...

Cheers,

Marc

[MichaelZWilliamson]

Couldn't bring cheese home. However, Deux Magots prices were only slightly upscale and well worth it.