Travel Stuff
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An Alpine Adventure
It’s the morning after the night before, and reports of last night’s protests across France are all over the news. I heard sirens throughout the night, but there’s no sign that anything terrible happened, at least around the station and the hotel. The usually reliable OBB (Austrian Railways) website shows my first train to Geneva…
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Allez les travailleurs
In recent months, the UK has seen a number of strikes by both public and private workers. Doctors, nurses and yes, railway workers have all withdrawn their labour in a series of industrial disputes. Yet nobody does it quite like the French. And without resorting to cultural stereotypes, it’s a fact that the country endures…
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Bon voyage
A trip across Europe via train “Isn’t that for students and, well… young people?” It was a common reaction and frankly, who could blame them? Many of my friends and family members had posed the question when I happened to mention my plans to “go Inter-railing”. The very act of going on holiday to multiple…
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Take the weather with you
In recent years there seems to have been a shift in the hospitality sector. Hotels have taken a “back to basics” approach in order to save on costs – toiletries are not always provided in bathrooms, rooms are only cleaned on day three of a stay. There is, though, one constant that appears in just…
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Take it slowly. Very slowly.
Traveling from an airport into a city can be a challenging task. So it’s good that so many American airports offer shuttle services; a halfway house between an expensive private cab rise and the confusion of trying to find a bus that’s going anywhere near your accommodation. Over the years I’ve found the shuttle service…
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A bus, a battle and a beat
A day tour is always a good chance to explore the wider area. But as I’ve found over the years, the cheapest way is to organise the whole thing yourself. Websites offer trip out of Austin to San Antonio for upwards of $100. However, without a car, the DIY option is not as straightforward as…
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Dancing and Chicken Poop
“Keep Austin Weird” says the city’s slogan, and there are a million ways to do that in this city. But to prepare yourself for a weird weekend of entertainment, you need to line your stomach. And in around here it doesn’t get much better than some good old fashioned fried chicken. In many other parts…
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A University and a Willie
One key addition to many cities in recent years has been the E-scooter. They sometimes get a bad reputation, and on a late evening in Austin it’s easy to see why. There are literally hundreds of these things darting about, often ridden by people who’ve had a few drinks. And there’s no shortage of choice…
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Post pandemic blues
I’m belatedly writing this in September 2022, some six months after my first trip to the States post Covid. The whole world knows that everything ground to a halt for the best part of two years, and even though borders had been reopened, in March this year there were still a whole load of forms…
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Monumental Krakow
It’s my final day in Poland, so just enough time to head beyond the Old Town and check out another market. The Stary Kleparz is Krakow’s oldest continuously operating market, having existed since the mid fourteenth century. On a chilly Monday morning, it’s mainly a local crowd seeking out the best bargains for fresh meat,…
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