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I walked across Luxembourg

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Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#171

Post by devoutsalsa »

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.

I did a Scotland road trip in February 2020. Through was hitting like 3 to 5 castles and/or historical sites per day. I think I drive about 6000km that month. It was fantastic.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#172

Post by mcntsh »

screye wrote: post #149
gullywhumper wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For my 30th birthday a group of friends and I walked the perimeter of Manhattan island. Except for a section along the Harlem river, there are paths along the water the entire way so it required almost no navigation. We picked up and dropped off friends along way that only wanted to do parts of the walk. And we stopped at several bars too, meeting other friends that just wanted to have a drink. We started at 8am and…

Manhattan is my favorite city to walk in alone. Manhattan can be enjoyed without ever bringing your gaze to the ground level. The diversity of architecture means that every block feels fresh. World renowned classics, the sheer scale of central park and the greatest hits of art-deco. Pair that with new spots like the Highline, Hudson yards, Little island.... and it keeps on giving. And then you come back down to earth…

I really do not like walking in Manhattan. The city blocks are so short so you're constantly having to cross hectic streets, an the grid nature of the city means you're pretty much walking in long, straight lines. In my opinion, it's hectic and at the same time monotonous.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#173

Post by macintux »

cpursley wrote: post #144
famahar wrote: post #19

I walked across Tokyo last weekend. Took me 20 hours. I suck at writing so all I'll say is that everyone should walk across a city. It's a magical experience. Turn off your your phone, bring a disposable camera and a compass and just walk. You'll discover so many personal insights.

You can't really walk across North American cities, they just don't have the pedestrian infrastructure.

Sadly true. I’ve walked miles across parts of Indianapolis where I’ve been at significant risk of being hit. No sidewalk, and bridges are hair-raising.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#174

Post by gwbas1c »

Wow, that looks like a lot of fun! Maybe I'd try and do something like that over a week.

I also looked and Rhode Island is 70km north to south. I don't know if it has as many pubs and hotels as Matt encountered, though.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#175

Post by tornato7 »

cpursley wrote: post #144
famahar wrote: post #19

I walked across Tokyo last weekend. Took me 20 hours. I suck at writing so all I'll say is that everyone should walk across a city. It's a magical experience. Turn off your your phone, bring a disposable camera and a compass and just walk. You'll discover so many personal insights.

You can't really walk across North American cities, they just don't have the pedestrian infrastructure.

Most cities have a coastline or a river that you can walk a great distance along.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#176

Post by tetrep »

famahar wrote: post #129
tetrep wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While a compass helps with orientation, it doesn't help you find where you are or where you're going, so a map might be a good addition (or a replacement, as I find it pretty trivial to orient myself in a city when given a map). Why a disposable camera? I would think any user preferred camera would be fine, even a cell phone (just put it in airplane mode to avoid distractions).

With a disposable you'll need to be more intentional about how you want to capture moments. You only have 20 shots and no extra features to create the "best" shot. You begin to really value moments when you know that it'll make the cut for one of the 20. And you don't over think it. Just a quick snap is all you can do. Every shot matters but at the same time doesn't.

Ah, okay. I'm pretty judicious with my camera use anyway so I didn't realize people needed help with that.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#177

Post by cdelsolar »

famahar wrote: post #19

I walked across Tokyo last weekend. Took me 20 hours. I suck at writing so all I'll say is that everyone should walk across a city. It's a magical experience. Turn off your your phone, bring a disposable camera and a compass and just walk. You'll discover so many personal insights.

I walked across most of Barcelona a few years ago, fantastic experience. On the few solo journeys I've made I get a ton of walking in like this, but yeah, you definitely need a rest day or two.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#178

Post by cdelsolar »

blululu wrote: post #116
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...

FWIW, I’ve walked across San Francisco many times and the longer I live there the more I enjoy traversing it. The city is beautiful, walkable, filled with nice spots to stop for snack/beverage and nearly half the expanse can be covered by walking through Golden Gate Park down to the ocean. I can’t vouch for most cities, but I suspect that a lot of them are much less pleasant underfoot.

One of my favorite things to do in SF, and I've done it a handful of times, is to rent a bike at the Embarcadero, and bike to Sausalito across the Golden Gate Bridge, have ice cream at Lappert's, wander around, and take the ferry back. Just wonderful days.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#179

Post by adrian_b »

developer93 wrote: post #89
martin_a wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah, don't worry, they (Deutsche Bahn) hit the hour mark quite often without any problems. Funny story on the side: German ICEs are only allowed up to Basel, so they will not cause any delays in the Swiss train network. The Swiss fear that we would destroy their fine-tuned system otherwise. :-D

It's funny because externally Germany somehow has the reputation of perfect punctuality, I can only assume that country stereotypes tend to be outdated.

When I have stayed for some time in Germany about twenty years ago, everything was still as expected from that reputation of perfect punctuality.

When I have stayed again for some time in Germany about ten years ago, in the same cities, everything was changed. A train that was not delayed was a miracle instead of being normal. Also everything was much dirtier, instead of being spotless, as before.

It was a quite shocking change after only ten years.

Re: I walked across Luxembourg

#180

Post by oblio »

gumby wrote: post #159
Symbiote wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

In 1800 England was closer to becoming a department of France, than France joining a personal union under England :-))

Of course, life turned out differently, but aristocratic claims are quite crazy. Who's the current King of Jerusalem, again? :-D

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