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4887. thoughtful - 7/22/2013 10:41:06 PM Yes, MsNo we took Tauck...this was our 6th tour with them and they really spoil you for going with anyone else...they just do it all so well with so many special touches. 4888. Wombat - 7/22/2013 10:46:57 PM Ah Budapest... Deep-fried breaded large mushroom caps stuffed with fois gras; grilled Lake Balaton pike-perch; salami heavily spiked with paprika.... My arteries harden.... 4889. thoughtful - 7/23/2013 1:47:44 PM Wombat I think I ate more cabbage (kapusta) in those 2 weeks than I had in the prior 6 months! 4890. alistairconnor - 7/23/2013 5:01:05 PM Oh lovely Tful. Was the river still high? Evidence of flood damage?
It's still in my master plan to do that ol' man danube on a bicycle. Not this year... retirement perhaps? 4891. Ms. No - 7/24/2013 8:58:03 AM K will be thrilled to hear you enjoyed your tour! I'm hoping to meet her in either Budapest or Prague in the spring while she's over checking in on various tours. 4892. alistairconnor - 7/24/2013 9:42:18 AM Budapest or Prague in the spring? You'll be shocked to learn that I still haven't been to either... Please consult as to travel schedule!
I went to Finland this spring, to visit the elder offspring before she came home from her foreign semester. That was fab, especially as it was the only time I saw the sun this spring... the weather was much better, and warmer, than France. Late August, we're planning a week in Croatia... never been there either. 4893. thoughtful - 7/24/2013 2:54:13 PM Surprisingly enough, we had perfect weather...every day was sunny and in the 70s, even in Budapest which we were warned would be very hot.
We were fortunate to go when we did as the trip was less expensive...most think it's too hot in July, and early trips did get cancelled or re-routed due to flooding including a major lock that was shut down for 2 weeks due to the water.
The only town that had any signs of flood damage was Passau where it was the worst in over 500 years. There were buildings that were being fixed and the smell of "damp" was apparent. Further there were water front cafes that simply couldn't afford to open any more. Down river, you could see some places where they were fixing edges and some trees and other wash, but for the most part it was terrific. Amazing especially after they pointed out the high water marks on the buildings. Apparently it was a huge community effort including college students and troops to do the clean up.
June 2013 flood:
 4894. thoughtful - 7/24/2013 2:57:42 PM AC from Passau to Vienna, the bike trail looked fabulous....all along the river so reasonably flat and the scenery is phenomenal...it was definitely a popular thing to do, but not at all crowded as to spoil the effect. I think there are boats that go along with you so you can stay comfortably aboard at night while you bike during the day. Or I'm sure they run land versions too where they truck your stuff to the next hotel. 4895. Trillium - 7/25/2013 12:42:46 AM Recent visitors from Germany describe cleanup work in the little riverside town where they lived in earlier years.
They said that the floods are expected, and so basements and ground floors are tiled for easier cleanup. Things that mustn't get wet were stored on upper floors.
Got me thinking about my damp basement and what it might look like with the right tile work? 4896. judithathome - 7/25/2013 5:46:21 AM Probably very good...and easy to mop whether there's been a flood or not! 4897. judithathome - 7/25/2013 5:48:22 AM I have a little hit, however...we live in a 50s ranch style house and had the kitchen countertops done over from yallow and green tile to white tile...with black grout. That was my idea...the tiler thought it was genius. 4898. thoughtful - 7/29/2013 2:17:44 PM If you're serving dark beer, put it on a red table cloth. Yum!
Bratislava:
 4899. alistairconnor - 7/31/2013 12:39:00 PM Oh ah mmm!
Beer. It seems to be a north/south thing in Europe : no country with a Mediterranean coastline has decent beer (or more accurately, none of the mass-market beers are any good). I will be getting a fix of the good stuff at the end of August in Munich (my nephew who lives there is having a wedding party), on the way through to Croatia (where I won't be expecting much of the beer, but I'm pretty sure the beaches will be better than Germany). 4900. thoughtful - 7/31/2013 2:24:18 PM So, on another forum I'm in a big argument about US food sucks....after having been to E Europe and finding all the produce tasting so fresh and with so much flavor, including delicious tomatoes, I'm finding US produce significantly lacking. And of course getting ridiculous pushback. For instance, people who say they raise their own organic veggies, and chickens and raise their own beef, and their food doesn't "suck". Or saying they take the time to hunt down good farmers at good farmers markets. Well duh! I've tried suggesting several times that they aren't experiencing the food that 98% of America "enjoys" and they should try it some time. Somehow, they aren't getting it that, if they have to go through all that effort to get fresh food, then QED, there's something wrong with the US food supply. They also don't seem aware that there are many areas of the country and inner cities where even supermarkets are not an option, let alone fruit and veggie stands. For the most part, I'm also finding that people who have been to Europe agree, and people who haven't, don't.
What's your experience? 4901. webfeet - 7/31/2013 2:42:08 PM Excellent voyage, thoughtful. Ive worked up quite an appetite reading the posts and appreciate the commentary and neat pictures.
Concerning the food, it is lamentably true. While a handful of people, like my sister and husband, who live in Amherst and Northhampton have a bounty of farmers markets to choose from, most of us who live in cities have to do without. Even our green market with high quality food does mot come close to the flavor of what they have here in France.
I ate a Monoprix cucumber yesterday and was just amazed. It was a 'madeleine' moment ; I forgot what a real, real cucumber tasted like. So, even here, supermarket food is much much better. But now we're in the Alps abd I am almost embarrassed to write how fresh, totally bio all the produce is, because belle mere knows this ailing farmer, Dede, who sells her like a blackmarket stash of potatoes zucchini, blah balh...
We ate sour cherries yesterday from his tree and I almost fainted.
There is such a gross inequality in food! 4902. thoughtful - 7/31/2013 3:39:04 PM Thanks webbie, I was sure it wasn't just me. 4903. alistairconnor - 7/31/2013 4:31:09 PM However it is completely possible to eat sucky produce in France. When I buy fruit and veg from the supermarket it's generally very blah. I prefer to buy from producers, not resellers, at the market, unless I really need something that's out of season locally. My favourite supplier is a guy whose farm is near where I lived for 20 years, and his produce is EXACTLY like what I used to grow myself. He also supplies raw milk, and meat (beef, veal, sometimes lamb, always poultry) when they have sacrificed a beast.
I would really prefer to skip tomatoes completely for 8 or 9 months of the year, rather than eat the tomato-like entities that come out of factories in Holland or Spain.
Oh and I try not to buy anything from Spain (your Monoprix cucumber, Bibiche?) because it's produced in worse than third world conditions, illegal immigrant workers in functional slavery. 4904. alistairconnor - 7/31/2013 4:32:56 PM Current facebook meme :
"The key to healthy eating? Avoid any food that has a TV commercial." 4905. arkymalarky - 7/31/2013 4:59:52 PM Haha!
I'm really lucky to live in a state that can grow pretty much anything, so we have access to a lot of good fresh fruits and vegetables at good prices. But we never buy them at Walmart expecting to get anything that tastes good. We just grab for convenience sometimes. Unfortunately the grocery stores not much better. At our Colorado place we shop at sn organic coop which has really good food, but its expensive. The Kroger / King sooper in Boulder also has excellent produce. 4906. thoughtful - 7/31/2013 6:49:03 PM Love that meme, AC!
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