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Curt is an avid traveler who has been sharing his travel stories on the Internet since 1994. Read more about Curt and his travel blog.
Monthly Archives: August 2006
Drinking in Pasadena
One of my friends, who goes all the way back to junior high with me, finished his PhD a few months ago and is doing a residency at UCLA. His wife was out of town on business, so we decided to do a guys weekend. I arrived early Friday evening. My friend and his wife are living with her parents, and her father cooked us a great dinner. After that, my friend and I proceeded to Old Town Pasadena to do some serious drinking. However, neither of us Einsteins considered the fact that we had already done some serious drinking during dinner, so the evening rapidly devolved into sloppy drunkenness.
Posted in Travel Tagged Beer, California, Gordon Biersch, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Smarties Leave a comment
Delay in follow-up
I had hoped to post some follow-up on my travels, but I came home from Europe with a nasty cold, so I’ve spent most of my time catching up on sleep. In some sense, I was lucky that I didn’t … Continue reading
Long story short, I’m home.
Missed connection
It looks like I’ll make it home tonight, but I’ll be a lot later than anticipated. I missed the connection to Phoenix here in Minneapolis, but I got a boarding pass for a later flight to Las Vegas, then to … Continue reading
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En route
The first flight segment is done, but it was the shortest. I have two to go, if all goes well. I’m having a beer at the airport in Iceland, which gave me a chance to use most of my remaining … Continue reading
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Heathrow
After all the horror stories I’ve heard about Heathrow for the last six days, I arrived at the airport this morning, got through the security outside the terminal, checked in, went through the normal security checkpoint, cleared an emergency passport … Continue reading
All journeys end
I’ve just boarded the bus to Heathrow from Oxford, where I’ve spent the past two days with a buddy from college. It’s here that I begin what will probably not be a pleasant journey home. The security situation at the … Continue reading
Waiting for a flight
I’ve had a pleasant four-day stay in Ireland, but today I head across the Irish Sea to England. I’ll spend a couple nights there before returning to the US. Here at the airport in Dublin, everything at the security checkpoint … Continue reading
Guinness Storehouse
I toured the Guinness Storehouse here in Dublin today. I won’t elaborate much about this tour. It goes without saying there was a pint of Guinness at the end of the tour, which is of course said to be the world’s freshest Guinness. However, to their credit, they served it in a top-floor bar with a 360-degree panoramic view of Dublin.
Old Bushmills Distillery
After a whole day of waiting, I was able to tour the Old Bushmills distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, home of my very favorite whiskey.
Posted in Travel Tagged Bushmills, County Antrim, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Whiskey Leave a comment
I’m sure someone I know is waking up this morning, turning on CNN, and hearing about violence in Northern Ireland. I didn’t hear about it until an hour or so ago myself, so it hasn’t affected me, other than increased traffic. Police with machine guns were checking cars on the bridge in Derry, and I didn’t know why until later.
Northern Ireland
I’m in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, where I spent the night in a farmhouse bed-and-breakfast about six miles from Bushmills. Today I’m hoping to see Giant’s Causeway and tour the Bushmills distillery, if it’s open.
Posted in Travel Tagged Bushmills, County Antrim, Giant's Causeway, Ireland, Northern Ireland Leave a comment
Pub stop in Ireland
I’m in Ireland, and for the first time on this trip, I’ve rented a car. I left the airport in Dublin maybe an hour ago, and I started driving north until I found a little roadside pub. I’ve had a pounding headache all day.
Weight
I had a discussion with a cousin of mine a few days before I started this voyage. He was joking that I might gain 20 pounds during this trip because of all the beer I’d be drinking, which is perfectly reasonable.
German women, French language, Chinese food
New day, new place. I’m once again passing time on a train, this time bound for Cologne via Hagen. I had a fun day in Kassel. My friend met me at the train station, and after we dropped my bags … Continue reading
One night in Munich: Posh restaurants and English Gardens
The gods have recently forgiven me, and we had some really pleasant weather for walking around the city. We walked through the city square, all the way to the English Gardens, where the recent rain has filled the streams nearly to overflowing.
Munich: Bavarian beer
I’m waiting in a bar near where my friend lives in Munich. She had to work late, so she’s not home yet. I thought I’d have a beer while waiting for her. Until just now, I had forgotten how good Bavarian beer is.
Weekend in Eisenstadt, Austria, and Bratislava, Slovakia
We saw the castle on the hill in Bratislava, Slovakia, walked around the old city, where we had a nice lunch in an outdoor restaurant. I had goulash, which I still hadn’t eaten on this trip, despite where I’ve traveled. We only spent a few hours in Slovakia and then went back to Austria.
Posted in Travel Tagged Austria, Bratislava, Buschenshank, Eisenstadt, Germany, Goulash, Munich, Salzburg, Slovakia, Vienna Leave a comment
Underground in Austria
I’m still here in Austria. I’m in Eisenstadt right now, staying with a friend. I met the friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s daughter at the airport in Linz, and then we drove to Altaussee, where we rented a charming … Continue reading
Arrival and beer drinking in Linz, Austria
I arrived in Linz yesterday afternoon. I did a little sightseeing, and then found a beergarden. Good beer and decent food, outside among the trees on a beautiful summer evening … did I need more? Frankly, this is not such … Continue reading
Austria
I crossed the border into Austria about an hour ago. I’ve often said that Austria is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and the route I’m traveling today has done nothing to change my mind. I’m going … Continue reading
Great steak dinner in Ljubljana, Slovenia
I had the best meal of my trip this evening here in Ljubljana. I’d walked past a little hole-in-the-wall place with a sign that read “home cooking” several times since yesterday, so tonight I walked in. I don’t even know the name of the place.
Posted in Travel Tagged Beef, Beer, Home Cooking, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Steak, Western Slovenia 1 Comment
Sightseeing and comfortable weather in Ljubljana, Slovenia
I had a brief but funny moment at the border yesterday. The Croatian border guard opened my passport, flipped through the pages for a moment, and said, “Mr. Gilman, where are you going today?” Answering wasn’t so easy for me. “I can’t pronounce it,” I said. “It’s Loo … Lube …” Then, one of the two beautiful young Slovenian women sharing my compartment laughed and said, “Ljubljana.” I guess the answer was okay. The border guard stamped my passport.