On Friday, 18 August 2023 at 06:00:45 UTC+1, Mark Olson wrote:

> We were interrogated by both the Austrian and German border police[1]
> on the way back to Munich. Bus was almost 2 hours late departing from
> Bolzano, with limited and wrong updates on ETA. Hours late getting
> back in the wee hours, but luckily we we already checked into our
> aparthotel 2 days prior.
<snip>

Strange.

On this year's trip there were several border queues:
Austria into Germany; we only witnessed this on the autoroute (we were
going in the other direction) but there was a queue of several km and
everyone was being inspected.

Slovenia into Austria; again only witnessed from the other lane but there
was a 17km queue!

Germany into Austria; a 12km queue that we were part of. The traffic
was crawling (we filtered) and at the head of the queue (at the border)
were armed police with a large, tented area (big enough for vehicles to
be driven into for inspection) off to one side. Simon thought he saw
X-Ray equipment, so who knows what was going on. Note a different
crossing to the one we used from Germany into Austria.

So, strangely, it seems all these countries, within the EU and further
actually within Schengen managed to control their borders! Who
knew.

Stephen Packer wrote:

> On Friday, 18 August 2023 at 06:00:45 UTC+1, Mark Olson wrote:
>
> > We were interrogated by both the Austrian and German border
> > police[1] on the way back to Munich. Bus was almost 2 hours late
> > departing from Bolzano, with limited and wrong updates on ETA.
> > Hours late getting back in the wee hours, but luckily we we already
> > checked into our aparthotel 2 days prior.
> <snip>
>
> Strange.
>
> On this year's trip there were several border queues:
> Austria into Germany; we only witnessed this on the autoroute (we were
> going in the other direction) but there was a queue of several km and
> everyone was being inspected.
>
> Slovenia into Austria; again only witnessed from the other lane but
> there was a 17km queue!
>
> Germany into Austria; a 12km queue that we were part of. The traffic
> was crawling (we filtered) and at the head of the queue (at the
> border) were armed police with a large, tented area (big enough for
> vehicles to be driven into for inspection) off to one side. Simon
> thought he saw X-Ray equipment, so who knows what was going on. Note
> a different crossing to the one we used from Germany into Austria.
>
> So, strangely, it seems all these countries, within the EU and
> further actually within Schengen managed to control their borders!
> Who knew.

The Schengen agreement allows for border checks if there is a security
threat ie. there has just been a terrorist attack. There are also
random checks but they are limited to a certain number of hours a
month. Dutch used to check the Belgian border but that was 9-5 so
wasn't really effective.

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/schengen-area/temporary-reintroduction-border-control_en
All Dutch borders are controlled by face recognition cameras now but
the Germans are still a bit touchy about that sort of thing.
We went Calais - Dover last week and checks take about 1-1.5 hrs now.
Slightly irritating when immigration peers at your passport photo, asks
you to take the sunglasses off and wind the back windows down etc when
the FR cameras here at the border can recognise you at night, in the
car as you whizz past at 100km/h.

--

Geoff
NTV650

Mark Olson wrote:

> GeoffC <me@invalid.nl> wrote:
> > Mark Olson wrote:
>
> >> Oh, and the Otzi museuem in Bolzano was definitely worth the side
> >> trip, although I'll never ever take the fucking Flixbus again in my
> >> life so long as I still am drawing breath.
> >
> >
> > Sounds like you had a good time, did you see any water rats swimming
> > down the river?
>
> No, but we did see a few people (literally) swanning about in a giant
> swan-shaped pedalo.

I think the rental place is just below the beer boat, close to the lock.
I spotted something swimming past and at first I thought it was a
beaver, turned out to be a water rat.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aptckoyvaobmks0kr4i_A41nZU-hKQ?e=5bfi9J

>
> > Flixbus is cheap and that's it really.
>
> Don't forget nasty...
>
> We were interrogated by both the Austrian and German border police[1]
> on the way back to Munich.

Haha they are Bavarian Border Police and they don't fuck about, similar
style to the 'Black Sheriffs' who police the metro in Munich.
I think the authorities view Flixbus as the preferred means of
transport for all sorts of riffraff. You see them regularly at the
French or German border parked up with all the luggage pulled out for
the sniffer dogs.

--

Geoff
NTV650

GeoffC <me@invalid.nl> wrote:
> Mark Olson wrote:

>> We were interrogated by both the Austrian and German border police[1]
>> on the way back to Munich.
>
> Haha they are Bavarian Border Police and they don't fuck about, similar
> style to the 'Black Sheriffs' who police the metro in Munich.
> I think the authorities view Flixbus as the preferred means of
> transport for all sorts of riffraff. You see them regularly at the
> French or German border parked up with all the luggage pulled out for
> the sniffer dogs.

Speaking of riffraff...

As we walked through the park outside Prague Central Station on the
way to our train this morning we passed a group of dodgy looking folk
were sat on a bench drinking heavily, one of them casually setting
out a few lines of Bolivian Marching Powder on her phone... but they
weren't hassling anyone I guess, so live and let live, eh?

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

Mark Olson wrote:

> GeoffC <me@invalid.nl> wrote:
> > Mark Olson wrote:
>
> >> We were interrogated by both the Austrian and German border
> police[1] >> on the way back to Munich.
> >
> > Haha they are Bavarian Border Police and they don't fuck about,
> > similar style to the 'Black Sheriffs' who police the metro in
> > Munich. I think the authorities view Flixbus as the preferred
> > means of transport for all sorts of riffraff. You see them
> > regularly at the French or German border parked up with all the
> > luggage pulled out for the sniffer dogs.
>
> Speaking of riffraff...
>
> As we walked through the park outside Prague Central Station on the
> way to our train this morning we passed a group of dodgy looking folk
> were sat on a bench drinking heavily, one of them casually setting
> out a few lines of Bolivian Marching Powder on her phone... but they
> weren't hassling anyone I guess, so live and let live, eh?

Yes, we caught the wrong tram one day and ended up here:

https://goo.gl/maps/P8DdajYCUPNUAPqr8

All sorts of drug and alcohol problems there, not a pretty sight.

--

Geoff
NTV650

On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
>
>
> As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this morning,
> after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard at Prague Castle
> (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
>

Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/

--
The erstwhile Thomas
FJR1300, R1200GS & ST1100 (in memoriam)

Turby <xsurf@xmail.com> wrote:
> On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
>>
>>
>> As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this morning,
>> after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard at Prague Castle
>> (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
>>
>
> Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
> this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/

Ha! If only we had known about that place, but we were approaching
the brewery/restaurant from the other direction. Not sorry we stopped
at Strahov, though. The food and beer were excellent.

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

On 28/08/2023 03:07, Turby wrote:
> On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
>>
>>
>> As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this morning,
>> after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard at Prague Castle
>> (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
>>
>
> Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
> this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
>

MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

YTC#1 <bdp@ytc1-spambin.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> On 28/08/2023 03:07, Turby wrote:
>> On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this morning,
>>> after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard at Prague Castle
>>> (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
>>>
>>
>> Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
>> this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
>> https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
>>
>
> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.

Sorry guv, all out of Cheddar buckets, can I interest you in a pot
of lard?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9qjBaMQwVejbTYJ7

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

On 28/08/2023 21:07, Mark Olson wrote:
> YTC#1 <bdp@ytc1-spambin.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>
>> On 28/08/2023 03:07, Turby wrote:
>>> On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this morning,
>>>> after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard at Prague Castle
>>>> (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
>>>>
>>>
>>> Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
>>> this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
>>> https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
>>>
>>
>> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
>
> Sorry guv, all out of Cheddar buckets, can I interest you in a pot
> of lard?
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9qjBaMQwVejbTYJ7
>
Even google translate usually does better than that

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

YTC#1 wrote:

>
>
> On 28/08/2023 21:07, Mark Olson wrote:
> >YTC#1 <bdp@ytc1-spambin.co.uk> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > On 28/08/2023 03:07, Turby wrote:
> > > > On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this
> > > > > morning, after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard
> > > > > at Prague Castle (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading.
> > > > And found this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
> > > >
https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
> > > >
> > >
> > > MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
> >
> > Sorry guv, all out of Cheddar buckets, can I interest you in a pot
> > of lard?
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9qjBaMQwVejbTYJ7
> >
> Even google translate usually does better than that

So what should it be then?

--

Geoff
NTV650

On 29/08/2023 12:12, GeoffC wrote:
> YTC#1 wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On 28/08/2023 21:07, Mark Olson wrote:
>>> YTC#1 <bdp@ytc1-spambin.co.uk> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 28/08/2023 03:07, Turby wrote:
>>>>> On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this
>>>>>> morning, after accidentally seeing the changing of the guard
>>>>>> at Prague Castle (not something I'd ordinarily seek out).
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading.
>>>>> And found this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
>>>>>
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
>>>
>>> Sorry guv, all out of Cheddar buckets, can I interest you in a pot
>>> of lard?
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9qjBaMQwVejbTYJ7
>>>
>> Even google translate usually does better than that
>
> So what should it be then?
>
>

Nope, I take that back, they all translate back to "Pot of lard"

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

YTC#1 wrote:

>
>
> On 29/08/2023 12:12, GeoffC wrote:
> > YTC#1 wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 28/08/2023 21:07, Mark Olson wrote:
> >>>YTC#1 <bdp@ytc1-spambin.co.uk> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On 28/08/2023 03:07, Turby wrote:
> > > > > > On 8/17/2023 12:39 PM, Mark Olson wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > As it happens we did the Strahov Monastery Brewery this
> > > > > > > morning, after accidentally seeing the changing of the
> > > > > > > guard at Prague Castle (not something I'd ordinarily seek
> > > > > > > out).
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map
> > > > > > reading. And found this - a must-see if I wasn't a
> > > > > > vegetarian:
> > > > > >
> >
https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
> > > >
> > > > Sorry guv, all out of Cheddar buckets, can I interest you in a
> > > > pot of lard?
> > > >
> > > > https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y9qjBaMQwVejbTYJ7
> > > >
> > > Even google translate usually does better than that
> >
> > So what should it be then?
> >
> >
>
> Nope, I take that back, they all translate back to "Pot of lard"

I suppose you could try "pork dripping" but pot of lard sounds good. It
tastes good too, hmmmmmmm...Griebenschmalz.
That reminds me, I have the Statins chat next week.

--

Geoff
NTV650

YTC#1 wrote:
> Turby wrote:
> > Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
> > this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
> > https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
> >
> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.

The pot of stewed cheese at Simpsons on Cornhill is something everyone should experience at least once. Often only once.

On 29/08/2023 18:56, ogden wrote:
>YTC#1 wrote:
>> Turby wrote:
>> > Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map reading. And found
>> > this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian:
>> > https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
>> >
>> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
>
>The pot of stewed cheese at Simpsons on Cornhill is something everyone should experience at least once. Often only once.

It's been shut down.

https://simpsonstavern.co.uk/food/

--
Geoff
NTV 650

geoffC wrote:
> ogden wrote:
> >YTC#1 wrote:
> >> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
> >
> >The pot of stewed cheese at Simpsons on Cornhill is something everyone should experience at least once. Often only once.
>
> It's been shut down.

I know.

They're trying to reopen though.

It'll be a shame if it closes permanently, but if they've not bothered to buy out the lease in almost 350 years of operating, it's quite the fuckup.

On 29/08/2023 21:55, geoffC wrote:
> On 29/08/2023 18:56, ogden wrote:
>> YTC#1 wrote:
>>> Turby wrote: > Just catching up and as usual, I got sucked into map
>>> reading. And found > this - a must-see if I wasn't a vegetarian: >
>>> https://www.google.com/maps/place/FATFUCK+smash+burgers/@50.0858813,14.3825753,19z/
>>> >
>>> MMMMMMmmmm, I'll have a Bucket Of Cheddar Sauce please.
>>
>> The pot of stewed cheese at Simpsons on Cornhill is something everyone
>> should experience at least once. Often only once.
>
> It's been shut down.
>
> https://simpsonstavern.co.uk/food/

Oh, hard cheese.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 29/08/2023 16:23, YTC#1 wrote:
>
> Nope, I take that back, they all translate back to "Pot of lard"

For some reason, Roy Hattersley's name comes to mind...

On Tuesday, 29 August 2023 at 23:13:24 UTC+1, Mike Fleming wrote:
> On 29/08/2023 16:23, YTC#1 wrote:
> >
> > Nope, I take that back, they all translate back to "Pot of lard"
> For some reason, Roy Hattersley's name comes to mind...

Boris Johnson for a more contemporary feel, although bin-bag
full of custard seems more appropriate for the prisoner-to-be.

On 30/08/2023 08:36, Stephen Packer wrote:
> On Tuesday, 29 August 2023 at 23:13:24 UTC+1, Mike Fleming wrote:
>> On 29/08/2023 16:23, YTC#1 wrote:
>>>
>>> Nope, I take that back, they all translate back to "Pot of lard"
>> For some reason, Roy Hattersley's name comes to mind...
>
> Boris Johnson for a more contemporary feel, although bin-bag
> full of custard seems more appropriate for the prisoner-to-be.

I feel I have whooshed you.

https://hignfy.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rt._Hon._Tub_of_Lard_MP

On Thursday, 31 August 2023 at 21:22:02 UTC+1, Mike Fleming wrote:
> On 30/08/2023 08:36, Stephen Packer wrote:
> > On Tuesday, 29 August 2023 at 23:13:24 UTC+1, Mike Fleming wrote:
> >> On 29/08/2023 16:23, YTC#1 wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Nope, I take that back, they all translate back to "Pot of lard"
> >> For some reason, Roy Hattersley's name comes to mind...
> >
> > Boris Johnson for a more contemporary feel, although bin-bag
> > full of custard seems more appropriate for the prisoner-to-be.
> I feel I have whooshed you.
>
> https://hignfy.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rt._Hon._Tub_of_Lard_MP

Not at all.

I just thought any opportunity to criticise someone who wrecked the
country was too good to miss.