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I walked across Luxembourg

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Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#151

Post by ghaff »

johnwalkr wrote: post #130
resolutebat wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If, on the other hand, you experience Tokyo mostly by train/subway, your mental map is a bunch of islands, and it can be weird when you walk your way from one to another and suddenly your mental compass shifts. For the longest time, I thought the Hachiko crossing was east of Shibuya station, and my mind was blown when I walked to Shibuya from Roppongi and realized I had it backwards.

My mental model of Tokyo changed a lot when rental scooters became available. Especially traveling East-West, there are a lot of places much closer together than you'd think from the subway maps.

Especially in areas where a lot of subway lines get close together, subway maps often expand the area so you can be better see the stations/relationship between the lines. I tended to mostly take the subway into Boston as an undergrad and generally only walked in a fairly small area of the city. I remember once doing multiple line changes and realizing afterwards that my destination was about 3 blocks from where I started.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#152

Post by throwaway290 »

famahar wrote: post #137
throwaway290 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to invalidate your experience in any way but I think it is a special case of walking in any big city you have never been before. As long as it is sufficiently dense/walkable and you don't need to fear being robbed, it's magical. Taipei, Seoul, Bangkok, you name it...

I agree. I hated walking in the city I lived in Canada before moving to Tokyo. It wasnt very walkable and you really needed to plan for any type of long walk as you might end up in a place with no food or drink shops anywhere. The way Tokyo is zoned allows for every possible convenience I need within a mile of everywhere I walked. I felt extremely safe at all times too which made things way less stressful and allowed…

Agreed about mixed zoning, I should've mentioned that too. It does not necessarily go hand in hand with walkability, you also want to be able to buy eg. water especially if it's hot. But I guess it usually comes together with density

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#153

Post by pavlov »

dalbasal wrote: post #112
d-trieu wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The current King of Sweden decided that he had enough and dropped all except King of Sweden from his.

Bad move. Now it takes one move to dethrone him.

He’s castled with the Stockholm Royal Palace so there’s a bishop and knight defending him, at least.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#154

Post by sph »

jvm___ wrote: post #113
sph wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If one cannot afford to travel, videos such as these are a good alternative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgfd-uWTVwg (Kyoto under the rain) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgYPErtoljI (A stroll in a small town near Tokyo)

This was my early pandemic habit. Watch a long, walking only, YouTube video of some far off place. The best ones had no talking, just the ambient sounds and sometimes a on-screen note about something you were looking at. The fascinating thing was watching pre-pandemic videos and your own response to groups of people and hearing coughs inside buildings.

Yeah those videos kept a lot of us sane. My jam was Martijn Doolaard's series of him restoring a rustic country house in the Italian Alps.

I still put that on on days where city and modern living is too much and I need to remember what being in nature feels like.

I strongly recommend it to anyone.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#155

Post by ghaff »

dagw wrote: post #17
janosdebugs wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parking is a problem in a lot of European cities. Trains are probably a better choice for such trips in Europe.

Trains are probably a better choice for such trips in Europe. Having 'done' Europe both by train and by car, the trips end up being very different. Trains are great if you want to hit the major cities. With a car you can visit all kinds of small villages, rural areas and interesting nature that you cannot really reach by public transport.

Some places--whatever the continent--are certainly more amenable to not having a car than others. But, generally speaking, people also just generally adapt. If you're in a lot of cities without a car, you just mostly avoid taking trips outside the city very often because it's a pain to do. You tend to orient your activities around low friction most of the time.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#156

Post by earthboundkid »

kroltan wrote: post #138
pavlov wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe one day some really successful conqueror will be king of both Georgias, the one in North America and the one in Caucasus.

Or maybe a really specific conqueror? I could bet on what his name would be.

Drago the Dragon King.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#157

Post by arethuza »

dghf wrote: post #142
dalbasal wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Dutch law allowed the throne to pass to a female child, but the Grand Duchy was under different laws and was inherited by a claimant rather than the new Dutch queen. (Monarchy is pretty weird in practice.) Game of Thrones, with its campy portrayal of regal titles and announcements, kind of drives this point home. European aristocracy, especially those derived from germanic and other barbarian cultures, held titles…

Elizabeth was never Empress of India, not least because India became a republic in 1950, two years before her accession.

Yes - the title Emperor/Empress of India was abolished in 1948:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_India

So her father, George VI, was the last Emperor of India.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#158

Post by BitterPanda »

SSLy wrote: post #80
mcv wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have it too, but often forget to use it in favour of Google Maps, but Google Maps is terrible for anything not in a car or train, and OSM always has fantastic detail for hiking trails. Every vacation I find myself switching to Organic Maps. This vacation it helped us find a trail to a really beautiful waterfall in Switzerland.

Google Maps whole use case is finding restaurants and pubs in new places, and that's about it.

Organic maps has the same feature and they also have opening hours which is cool, Google Maps still has a lot more but for an Open-Source project it's quite decent

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#159

Post by gumby »

Symbiote wrote: post #66
dalbasal wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Dutch law allowed the throne to pass to a female child, but the Grand Duchy was under different laws and was inherited by a claimant rather than the new Dutch queen. (Monarchy is pretty weird in practice.) Game of Thrones, with its campy portrayal of regal titles and announcements, kind of drives this point home. European aristocracy, especially those derived from germanic and other barbarian cultures, held titles…

Queen Elizabeth II had so many titles they abbreviated them: (On accession.) "Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith." (At death.) "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwea…

The kings of England also claimed to be Kings of France until 1800.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#160

Post by kredd »

ghaff wrote: post #155
dagw wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trains are probably a better choice for such trips in Europe. Having 'done' Europe both by train and by car, the trips end up being very different. Trains are great if you want to hit the major cities. With a car you can visit all kinds of small villages, rural areas and interesting nature that you cannot really reach by public transport.

Some places--whatever the continent--are certainly more amenable to not having a car than others. But, generally speaking, people also just generally adapt. If you're in a lot of cities without a car, you just mostly avoid taking trips outside the city very often because it's a pain to do. You tend to orient your activities around low friction most of the time.

Depends on how long you go for? I usually pick a city for a week as a base, then use a combination of trains, buses and sometimes bikes to check out the outskirts. It adds to the adventure, even though it’s definitely more difficult. Surprisingly I haven’t been stuck anywhere, but generally I make sure I have plenty of time and options available to get back.
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