Nubblite Travel Thread

[Mr. Blonde]

Of course not. Who would? Now, ask yourself if that is the reality for most Americans.

also FWIW my current job doesn't drug test at all, and it's the worst job i've ever had.

Fact of the matter is I want out of this job so badly i'm not willing to risk failing a drug test on an opportunity out of it. If wherever I work has random or scheduled drug tests during employment (after initial drug test), then I fully plan on keeping a synthetic piss system at my work.

[Saint DH]

It seems like most places do an initial screening and after that only test if there is reasonable suspicion/accident/injury.

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

so true on the so many hot asian women in vegas front... have fun fellas, wish I could join ya!

[Orgazmo]

Tits and I are looking for a vacation in early July and Vegas normally turns into our default.

When will you be there, Blonde?

[Mr. Blonde]

around 11AM on the 3rd till around the same time on the 5th.

[DJ FC]

FC will be in Vegas from July 29 to Aug 1.

[f3lix]

FC, what happened to you hosting Olympics?

[DJ FC]

Friend's bachelor party and wedding.

[angry pancake]

AP is going to skip Thailand this year as Mrs. Pancake wants to go to New York City again for February. So AP is headed to fucking Portugal late January from JFK and return to JFK to pick up Mrs. Pancake.

Why Portugal? Fair question good nubblites. 1) I've never been and thought it might be cool to check out. I never thought I'd like Spain until I went. So, Portugal has been on the list for a while. 2) I got the round trip for under $600. That's hard to pass up. 3) I get a day layover (more like 22ish hours) in Finland and that's probably enough for me to check out the scenery in Helsinki and get my ass back to the Airport by early the next a.m. I have no idea what I'm going to do in one night in Helsinki.

So, if anybody is in NYC first week of February. Holla at the brotha.

[DJ FC]

That seems like the most out-of-your-way journey possible to get to Lisbon.

[angry pancake]

I don't mind the layover in Helsinki. Kinda of a bonus for me and I get to practice speaking Russian again on people other than my neighbors. Getting to Lisbon hasn't been easy in the past. There's one train per day to and from Madrid. Vueling and other inexpensive airlines really don't make it easy either. Barcelona to Lisbon has more options but usually cost a lot more than say Barcelona and someplace higher on the destination food chain I'd rather go. Strangely enough, it was a lot more expensive trying to fly TAP directly from the US to Lisbon. But next to nothing as an add-on from Helsinki. Point being, I was going to have to connect somewhere in Europe anyway. I doesn't matter to me where.

[thekremlin]

At least you're not flying TAP.

[DJ FC]

Originally Posted by angry pancake

I don't mind the layover in Helsinki. Kinda of a bonus for me and I get to practice speaking Russian again on people other than my neighbors. Getting to Lisbon hasn't been easy in the past. There's one train per day to and from Madrid. Vueling and other inexpensive airlines really don't make it easy either. Barcelona to Lisbon has more options but usually cost a lot more than say Barcelona and someplace higher on the destination food chain I'd rather go. Strangely enough, it was a lot more expensive trying to fly TAP directly from the US to Lisbon. But next to nothing as an add-on from Helsinki. Point being, I was going to have to connect somewhere in Europe anyway. I doesn't matter to me where.

But Helsinki is sooooooo far away.

Are there really no good flights to Lisbon? That should be like a 6 hour flight. Instead you'll be doing like 9 to Helsinki and then 4 back to Lisbon.

[thekremlin]

Too bad you're not going to Thailand.

Hajime - Robot Restaurant - YouTube

Hajime - Robot Restaurant - YouTube

[f3lix]

In London July 24th-30th.

[Ugly Bastard]

Damn... might miss you in the Midwest.

[thekremlin]

In Gothenburg, Sweden July 7-10.
In Glasgow, Scotland July 13-15.
In Reykjavik, Iceland July 19-22.

[angry pancake]

Originally Posted by DJ FC

But Helsinki is sooooooo far away.

Are there really no good flights to Lisbon? That should be like a 6 hour flight. Instead you'll be doing like 9 to Helsinki and then 4 back to Lisbon.

Not really. Ideally I'd much rather fly directly nonstop into Lisbon. There's not many of those flights and I couldn't find any for the days I chose. It's 8 hours from NYC to Helsinki --get a one day layover. Then the 4 hour flight early the next morning. It is about 12 hours in the air total. But the breaking it up makes it more palatable.

The other options had all had other issues as well. Boston to Madrid is 7 hours. But the NYC to Boston is 3.5 (including a layover and switching planes). Another two hour layover in Barajas before heading to Lisbon --which isn't bad considering there's maybe 1 flight per day. All totaling 16 hours and 30 minutes according to Kayak. That to me seems to be the bigger ass-whip. And it's $500 more to do it that way.

Some of the other options were connecting into Istanbul. Barcelona is really the easiest city to get to Lisbon from and I wasn't even thinking about that when I book this trip.

[Ugly Bastard]

Originally Posted by angry pancake

It is about 12 hours in the air total. But the breaking it up makes it more palatable.

Really? I'd much rather just get it all done at once and not deal with multiple trips through security and all of the other bullshit associated with multiple flights.

[angry pancake]

Originally Posted by Ugly Bastard

Really? I'd much rather just get it all done at once and not deal with multiple trips through security and all of the other bullshit associated with multiple flights.

I might change my opinion on this by the time I get back. If AP could get a nonstop from New York to Lisbon that date, he probably would. That option didn't exist at the time of booking. Security shouldn't be effected if Helsinki is like other places over there. Pretty sure have to go through customs upon arrival and still have to go through security to get to the connecting flight. AP only takes one backpack that makes doing this much easier.

AP typically moves around a lot when over there anyways. Frequently staying in one place only a few nights before moving on. No bags, no Mrs. Pancake, no hotel reservations. It's pretty easy.

[f3lix]

No hotel reservations? Do you stay in hotels or somewhere else?

[Ugly Bastard]

He stays in hostels with kremlin.

[angry pancake]

AP just does not make reservations. They're not needed. There are way too many places to stay throughout whatever city AP finds himself in. AP has walked the streets of Paris past "better" places with a lower rack rates while looking for the one that was reserved. AP isn't too picky, he usually stays in sombody's house in places like Bruges. Gasthaus in Keggerland and all of Netherlands not named Amsterdam. It's kind of typical really.

Many people rent out extra rooms in those areas. They typically have separate entries and are isolated from the main home. So those are really more like unlicensed hotels. The gasthaus or whatever they're called are just hotels attached to a restaurant/bar. But most of the time it's just a standard run of the mill hotel like any that I would have booked a reservation for. I'm usually out on the "bathroom is down the hall" type of places. I usually need a pretty good reason to go for that. AP travels super extra light figuring anything forgotten can be picked up there. The hotel is just a place to sleep and brush the teeth and etc. The sights are what its about.

When Mrs. Pancake in in tow, it's a different story. We drop $200+ per night at fancy schmancy places and she still bitches about it. The hotel is the vacation for Mrs. Pancake.

And if it turns out that maybe a reservation is a good idea. For those times when arriving late into the city or just don't feel like wandering around. Otherwise, I just want to get to a hotel. Almost any TI (tourist info booth) can book you a room right then and there. I've also jumped on hotels.com or easyjet.com to book rooms in Europe in a pinch. But never had trouble finding a place crash. Ever.

[thekremlin]

You know what we haven't done in a while?

TYPICAL KREMLIN TRAVEL REPORT!

(Photos/videos to come)

I am now about halfway through what I refer (to myself) to as the Summer of Fun. I haven't decided where the SoF officially started, and whether or not the late June trip to Barcelona is included. Barca is a really incredible and I would be happy to do a write-up, but the weekend there was a pretty standard girlfriend trip.... beach, good restaurants, enjoying the laid-back city.

Three weekends ago, went to Gottenburg, Sweden with some BJJ buddies. One of our friends moved out there (he's originally from there) and, well, we missed him. Also, one of our friends was on leave from Afghanistan, and wanted a big weekend. Since my friends are pretty broke, we went with the absolute cheapest flight, 7 AM friday morning, running a cost of about 35 GBP round-trip. ("35 pounds round-trip to sweden" is as good an answer to "Why move to England?" as I can give.) A bunch of us (15ish) claimed a bar in Fulham Thursday night and drank until closing time, and our DD drove us to the airport. Drunkenly boarded the plane, slept until landing, then slept as our Swedish friend drove us to his flat.

Began to drink. Drinking pretty much all we did this weekend. Swedish guy was always the biggest drunk of all of us, and he had a sidekick who made him look like a lightweight. Don't think I sobered up all weekend.

Probably goes without saying, but Swedish clubs are tits. Not only are the girls gorgeous, but they're really easy to approach, especially if you're not Swedish-looking. One time being a balding jew worked in my favor. Both nights, didn't leave the clubs until daylight, and pretty much a 100% success rate for the single guys among us. Was also my first real test of relationship-loyalty, and in boring fashion, I passed. Despite going to clubs two nights, spent less than 300 GBP the whole weekend including flight and lodgings (free, friend's flat.)

Next weekend was Tough Mudder in Scotland. Flew out after work, rented a car from the airport, and drove to a cottage north of Glasgow. If you've ever watched rally-car racing, that's what the country roads were like, and one of the guys is a go-kart fiend, so he was driving up and down the road at top speeds repeatedly. The cottage itself was perfect, quiet and in the middle of a field of wheat, cows walking around and no noise outside. This is what the characters in "Withnail and I" (which I recommend) were looking for.

Tough Mudder was a fucking blast. The race was on the grounds of a castle in the middle of nowhere, and the terrain was all cliffs, mountains, green, gorgeous. The race was 12 miles long, so I've been working on my running for the past six weeks or so. Turned out the distance wasn't that bad, because you have to wait in line at every obstacle, so you can catch your breath. The main challenge was just the constant hills; there was pretty much zero flat ground, and my quads definitely felt it. The very first obstacle was a plunge into ice-cold water which had the positive effect of filling us with adrenaline. The other most memorable obstacle was a tarp you have to slide across while wires hang down with live voltage, and throw a shock into your asshole. In general; mud everywhere, sometimes you had to wade through mud up to your waist, other times you just ran through shitty muddy paths and had to try not to twist your ankle. The whole thing was a ton of fun and I will definitely do this again next chance I get. Also on the upside, by completing we won some cash from FC, who bet against us for the second time in a week. Kapow!

This past weekend, went to Reykjavik, Iceland with my girlfriend. Left Thursday afternoon, had a great meal that night of smoked puffin, whale sashimi, and whale steaks, which were obscenely good. I wouldn't find out until the next day that it was very unethical to eat this dish. I'm secretly glad I didn't know. Whale is filthy good, and knowing what I know now I will probably not eat it again. Also munched on an icelandic specialty which is shark-meat that they bury underground until it rots, and serve it up in tiny cubes on toothpicks. I took one bite.... it's exactly as bad as it sounds, an acquired taste I don't want to acquire.

Friday morning, whale-watching. First we went by the island where the puffins breed. If you didn't know, I'm a total birdfag, so I got a huge kick out of puffins, who are like penguins crossed with parrots. Then we cruised out to the middle of nowhere and looked for whales. We saw 5 or 6 of them, each coming up several times... whales are pretty cool, man. They were all Minke whales, if that means anything to anyone.

After that, went whitewater canoeing. This is why Iceland is so cool, there are dozens of outdoor activities to do that you just can't do in your hometown. Went over the first two big rapids pretty well, got capsized on the third, which was called "the keyhole." Basically you get thrown very close to a cliff on your right side, and you're supposed to lean into the cliff, because if you lean away, water bouncing off the cliff sweeps under your canoe and you flip. We flipped. I tried to come up for air, but couldn't, and was getting dragged along the side of the cliff. Eventually I stopped freaking out and realized I was stuck under the canoe, so I went deeper under and came out and up for air. My girlfriend was floating along about twenty meters downriver, and I had to climb back into the canoe and paddle over to pick her up. She was kind of freaked out, and didn't really talk for the next hour. Our group (five rafts and us, the one canoe) stopped at a cliff, and we had the option of jumping off into the river. I jumped from the highest part, about seven meters... doesn't sound like a lot, but it is long enough to jump and then realize "Wait a minute, I'm still falling?" before getting icy water up your nose and, if you don't clench, ass. This was the trial run of my gopro camera, and unfortunately I was shitty at getting footage and the camera ran out before the capsize/cliff jump, but I did capture one small rapid, I'll try to upload it tomorrow. After drying out in a sauna, we had a lamb BBQ before heading back to the city.

(Side note: rafting in our group that day was the German National Handball Team. Not sure why they weren't in London for Olympics. But I was a little nervous in the sauna, nothing makes a jew nervous like being in a small, ovenlike room with a pack of German Ubermensch.)

Back in Reykjavik, went bar-crawling. It was light out 24 hours a day, which is a) creepy, b) annoying at bedtime, c) really cool if you're doing a bar-crawl.

Saturday, visited some cool natural sightseeing spots, a geysir, a big waterfall, took some good photos and got some fresh air, nothing groundbreaking. After that we met up with our diving group at Silfra. Silfra is where the American and European continent meet... there are cracks in the ground where they come apart, the plates are moving away from each other at about 1 cm/ year. We went diving between them. The water is extremely cold, so we wore drysuits... even so, my balls shrunk to a size of zero. There isn't much sea-life, just some florescent green kelp, but the rock formations are very cool, and it is probably the best visibility in the world. On the second dive we went 18 meters into the crack, down into a cave.

I find drysuits harder to manage, buoyancy-wise, than a BCD. On the first dive, which was frequently close to the surface, I had a very hard time staying neutral. On the second dive I had it more under control for the most part, except for when I was ascending out of the cave. I basically overinflated on the ascent, and started rising at an uncontrolled pace. I had to grab hold of the wall and hold on, otherwise I could have gone all the way up to the surface. (Ascending from 18m to 0m very quickly is very dangerous.) I was wedged in a nook, using primarily my left arm to brace myself from rising straight up, and my purge was on my left arm. On a dry suit, you can purge by raising your left arm, which lets air out of the suit. I had to completely empty my lungs, wiggle like mad, and inch my left arm higher to purge some air. Managed to get neutral again, but it was a little hairy. I'll put up the gopro video tomorrow, which captures my panic pretty well..........

Sunday, we stopped at the Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport. Blue Lagoon is a very large natural spring, warm water, steam coming off it... it's nice... but not really that exciting. We stayed for about an hour and a half, and that was too long.

I would love to go back to Iceland and spend some more time there. Would be great to spend a week.... rent a car so you don't have to depend on tours, and you can get out and walk around. In the North you can rent snowmobiles, and given more time you can also rent ATVs, ride horses, hike everywhere, including glaciers. It's a great country, the landscapes are alien and impressive, and the people are pretty laid-back, in a tight-lipped Scandinavian kind of way.

SoF continues. This weekend, staying in London for start of Olympics, have tickets for tennis and soccer this weekend. Weekend after that, Amsterdam with the Argentinian I met in Brazil where, spoiler alert, drugs. Down-weekend after that, then my parents and the Argentinian are both in London for a weekend. Final weekend of the SoF will be in Poland, with a friend from Chicago, an Australian friend from Brazil trip, and FC? Think that depends which weekend it is....

Pictures and videos to come.

[f3lix]

I depart for London later today and arrive tomorrow morning.