The last troops were lifted off yesterday, just ahead of the strike.
Wapping's Wanders 2013 - Number 1 - Easter
- Thread starter Wapping
- Start date
The last troops were lifted off yesterday, just ahead of the strike.
Frenchies gave up
Strike off
Now on ferry eating breakfast
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Strike off
Now on ferry eating breakfast
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
NLC
Registered user
First few trains have been cancelled and trains are now running 1 to 1.5 hours behind.
NLC
Registered user
French drive through a la Tosser.
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17:15 in Vianden, after a bracing 240 miles in the fridge at 1c from St Omer.
One delay of 20 minutes due to a malfunctioning alarm (the invention of the devil) and the odd street fete, other than that a smooth run through.... Oh, and El Spaniard (aka Oscar) thought I had gone wrong near Bastogne.... But I hadn't (I did last time).... So he went wrong.... But he comes from Barcelona, so we don't care
Actually, he doesn't but so what
Now to get some of Luxembourg's finest down my gregory.
One delay of 20 minutes due to a malfunctioning alarm (the invention of the devil) and the odd street fete, other than that a smooth run through.... Oh, and El Spaniard (aka Oscar) thought I had gone wrong near Bastogne.... But I hadn't (I did last time).... So he went wrong.... But he comes from Barcelona, so we don't care
Actually, he doesn't but so what Now to get some of Luxembourg's finest down my gregory.
NLC
Registered user
Searching on the internet this morning in sunny and warm Luxembourg this made me laugh.
Despite that fact that it is freezing some cracking roads. Shame you have to be a bit careful in the corners.
Some photos so far:
Photo 1: A common view on my display. Good to see that the GS lets you know that you are freezing your bollocks off.
Photo 2: Tosser lunch. Fresh chicken.
Photo 3: Sat nav said to go down the closed road officer.
Photo 4: Where the fcuk can I get a headed jacket being simultaneously translated from English to Luxemborgish and French.
Hello everybody,
I have been living in Luxembourg for two years and I strongly recommend to everybody: AVOID LUXEMBOURG IF YOU CAN!!!
This country has absolutely nothing to offer. Only a depression for you (and for your family).
The weather is probably the worst in Europe. It rains, and rains, and rains all the year round. You live in constant darkness. Streets are empty. People stay indoors. Socializing is very limited. In general, luxembourgish society is closed and does not allow foreigners to integrate. Half of the people working in Luxembourg are either foreigners or french/belgian/german commuters. So, as a foreigner, you are no one special.
You are treated as a second-grade citizen. Luxembourgish are interested only in your money. It will be you who will rent their overpriced properties, which are far from being of good quality or in a nice location. You will not be able to buy the apartment yourself - the prices are so prohibitive, that even couples with good income can not afford to buy an average flat/house.
The Luxembourg city is an extremely expensive village. And it is sad. Sad buildings, sad people and sad life. Depression, darkness and artificial culture characterize this place.
There are no mountains here or close to here. There is no sea. There is just one sad lake and a dirty river.
According to the statistics, Luxembourg is supposed to be the richest country in the world. But it is far from being so. The high GDP per capita is caused by the fact that half of the work force commutes from abroad or does not have permanent residence here. Locals however think that because of this misleading economic indicator, they can ask horrendous prices for any service they provide. Rents are equal to Paris, New York or London. One luxembourgish pensioner showed me a studio of 35 m2 which he wanted to rent for 1000 EUR. I started to laugh about the price. The studio was 10 km from the centre. I asked him why is the price so high? His response was: "Look at Paris and London!" Luxembourg is not Paris or London!! Luxembourg is more similar to Minsk than to any other EU capital. Guys, there are cows, sheep and goats in the city centre, in the same area where the price of an apartment per m2 exceeds 6000 EUR. This is not normal!
Luxembourgish government protects interests of its citizens by blocking the area of land available for construction. It attracts the banking and investment fund industry by advantageous conditions. The banks save on taxes but their lux employees have to pay the price. The population density is lower than in neighboring Belgium or Germany, but the prices are two to four times higher. Many locals own big ugly houses which they divided into several flats. These flats are then rented expensively and with very unfavorable conditions. Consumer protection is also very poor here - as a tenant you have basically no rights - the reason is simple - most of the tenants are foreigners.
Expensive living, intensified by the provincial atmosphere, extremely bad weather, uninteresting landscape, and depressed people makes you think only about one thing: ESCAPE.
I recommend to all Banks, Investment Funds and International Institutions to avoid setting up a business here if they consider the satisfaction of their staff important. I also recommend to all the people who were offered a job here to avoid this trap.
Each of us has just one life, so why to waste it in Luxembourg.
Foxo.
I have been living in Luxembourg for two years and I strongly recommend to everybody: AVOID LUXEMBOURG IF YOU CAN!!!
This country has absolutely nothing to offer. Only a depression for you (and for your family).
The weather is probably the worst in Europe. It rains, and rains, and rains all the year round. You live in constant darkness. Streets are empty. People stay indoors. Socializing is very limited. In general, luxembourgish society is closed and does not allow foreigners to integrate. Half of the people working in Luxembourg are either foreigners or french/belgian/german commuters. So, as a foreigner, you are no one special.
You are treated as a second-grade citizen. Luxembourgish are interested only in your money. It will be you who will rent their overpriced properties, which are far from being of good quality or in a nice location. You will not be able to buy the apartment yourself - the prices are so prohibitive, that even couples with good income can not afford to buy an average flat/house.
The Luxembourg city is an extremely expensive village. And it is sad. Sad buildings, sad people and sad life. Depression, darkness and artificial culture characterize this place.
There are no mountains here or close to here. There is no sea. There is just one sad lake and a dirty river.
According to the statistics, Luxembourg is supposed to be the richest country in the world. But it is far from being so. The high GDP per capita is caused by the fact that half of the work force commutes from abroad or does not have permanent residence here. Locals however think that because of this misleading economic indicator, they can ask horrendous prices for any service they provide. Rents are equal to Paris, New York or London. One luxembourgish pensioner showed me a studio of 35 m2 which he wanted to rent for 1000 EUR. I started to laugh about the price. The studio was 10 km from the centre. I asked him why is the price so high? His response was: "Look at Paris and London!" Luxembourg is not Paris or London!! Luxembourg is more similar to Minsk than to any other EU capital. Guys, there are cows, sheep and goats in the city centre, in the same area where the price of an apartment per m2 exceeds 6000 EUR. This is not normal!
Luxembourgish government protects interests of its citizens by blocking the area of land available for construction. It attracts the banking and investment fund industry by advantageous conditions. The banks save on taxes but their lux employees have to pay the price. The population density is lower than in neighboring Belgium or Germany, but the prices are two to four times higher. Many locals own big ugly houses which they divided into several flats. These flats are then rented expensively and with very unfavorable conditions. Consumer protection is also very poor here - as a tenant you have basically no rights - the reason is simple - most of the tenants are foreigners.
Expensive living, intensified by the provincial atmosphere, extremely bad weather, uninteresting landscape, and depressed people makes you think only about one thing: ESCAPE.
I recommend to all Banks, Investment Funds and International Institutions to avoid setting up a business here if they consider the satisfaction of their staff important. I also recommend to all the people who were offered a job here to avoid this trap.
Each of us has just one life, so why to waste it in Luxembourg.
Foxo.
Despite that fact that it is freezing some cracking roads. Shame you have to be a bit careful in the corners.
Some photos so far:
Photo 1: A common view on my display. Good to see that the GS lets you know that you are freezing your bollocks off.
Photo 2: Tosser lunch. Fresh chicken.
Photo 3: Sat nav said to go down the closed road officer.
Photo 4: Where the fcuk can I get a headed jacket being simultaneously translated from English to Luxemborgish and French.
Attachments
NLC
Registered user
Tossers on tour (and a demonstration of Tossertalk)
Been neally 16 hours now! 
NLC
Registered user
Richard thanks for organising a cracking weekend away. Shame about the weather but we take what comes from Mother Nature. My sat nav managed to find some very cold weather enroute that saw my display reach -4c about 15 miles from Vianden 
. By the time I arrived at Calais it was a balmy 7c. The Eurotunnel terminal was quite empty when I arrived at around 2pm CET and I managed to change my departure from 1830pm for the princely sum of €2. Arrival en Angleterre was without incident except for the 35mph gusts on the M2 Medway Viaduct just outside of Rochester. The old girl would really fly if she had wings.
I have uploaded my photos here.
NLC
. By the time I arrived at Calais it was a balmy 7c. The Eurotunnel terminal was quite empty when I arrived at around 2pm CET and I managed to change my departure from 1830pm for the princely sum of €2. Arrival en Angleterre was without incident except for the 35mph gusts on the M2 Medway Viaduct just outside of Rochester. The old girl would really fly if she had wings.I have uploaded my photos here.
NLC
Attachments
A good Wander, I thought, my thanks to all who came along.
In a way we were lucky with the weather. Yes, it would have been nice to have ridden around at last year's 21C for the same weekend, instead of hovering between -3C and +3C but at least it was dry cold, the roads all very rideable very safely all day.
Despite the cold, we got all but a tiny bit of what I hoped to do, done. Peeling off at St Vith (to come back via Clervaux, instead of carrying on to Spa) on the second ride when it started to snow properly was simple pragmatism. The Wanders are a holiday, not an endurance test. None of us want to see anyone slide off or to stand around in the increasing cold for something as simple as a puncture.
Every jaunt has its heroes. The medals this time go to the two lady pillions (it can't be easy to sit all day in the cold) and to Paula, for trundling along with great cheerfulness on her ER 6, putting the lie to the theory that you need a huge tank, huge panniers, over 100 bhp ... Or even a shaft drive... to ride around in Europe. All you need is a bike of any sort and the will to give it a go
My thanks to all the rest of the Wanderers, for helping out with the rides and looking out for each other with good humour. With the cold it could really have been a struggle. That it all went well says plenty about all of you
Cheers,
Richard
PS For anyone looking for a good four days away, the routes over and back all work reasonably well. The two rideouts are fine, though there are lots of other alternatives. The hotel Petry in Viaden is pretty good value, staffed and run by nice people. That it is well placed to access a lot of the surrounding area's roads is a real bonus, too. Good maps to have? The usual Michelins and the ADAC 'ride out' routes map:
http://www.mapsman.com/store/product.php?id=102
I can definitely recommend the excellent service from the good folk at Mapsman, should anyone want an easy place to find good maps. Yes, you pay a bit of a premium to order the documents, but it's really easy.
There is a little bit of the pre-set ride back from Peronne to Calais that I would change. I cut twenty minutes off our estimated arrival time at the Chunnel by swinging across towards St Omer, then picking up the A26 for just (I think) three junctions. With a group of riders it makes a difference and works quite well. I will correct the Mapsource route to make the alteration; then post it up in a separate thread.
In a way we were lucky with the weather. Yes, it would have been nice to have ridden around at last year's 21C for the same weekend, instead of hovering between -3C and +3C but at least it was dry cold, the roads all very rideable very safely all day.
Despite the cold, we got all but a tiny bit of what I hoped to do, done. Peeling off at St Vith (to come back via Clervaux, instead of carrying on to Spa) on the second ride when it started to snow properly was simple pragmatism. The Wanders are a holiday, not an endurance test. None of us want to see anyone slide off or to stand around in the increasing cold for something as simple as a puncture.
Every jaunt has its heroes. The medals this time go to the two lady pillions (it can't be easy to sit all day in the cold) and to Paula, for trundling along with great cheerfulness on her ER 6, putting the lie to the theory that you need a huge tank, huge panniers, over 100 bhp ... Or even a shaft drive... to ride around in Europe. All you need is a bike of any sort and the will to give it a go
My thanks to all the rest of the Wanderers, for helping out with the rides and looking out for each other with good humour. With the cold it could really have been a struggle. That it all went well says plenty about all of you
Cheers,
Richard
PS For anyone looking for a good four days away, the routes over and back all work reasonably well. The two rideouts are fine, though there are lots of other alternatives. The hotel Petry in Viaden is pretty good value, staffed and run by nice people. That it is well placed to access a lot of the surrounding area's roads is a real bonus, too. Good maps to have? The usual Michelins and the ADAC 'ride out' routes map:
http://www.mapsman.com/store/product.php?id=102
I can definitely recommend the excellent service from the good folk at Mapsman, should anyone want an easy place to find good maps. Yes, you pay a bit of a premium to order the documents, but it's really easy.
There is a little bit of the pre-set ride back from Peronne to Calais that I would change. I cut twenty minutes off our estimated arrival time at the Chunnel by swinging across towards St Omer, then picking up the A26 for just (I think) three junctions. With a group of riders it makes a difference and works quite well. I will correct the Mapsource route to make the alteration; then post it up in a separate thread.
dxtans
Registered user
Well apart from the cold and odd snow flurry, I was quite surprised how much the gsa tyres were planted when going around the roads. As Richard states, hats off to the woman who rode pillion. I know Paulines hands where
about to 'drop off' after a few hours in the cold on the ride to Luxemburg. Great hotel by the way very
welcoming. Good ride out from the hotel and a good bunch of people on this trip. Pauline and I quite enjoyed this one. It was a long ride back, we took a pit-stop on the last leg, but managed to catch up with you guys heading up to the tunnel.
Thanks to Richard for another well organised trip !
dxtans
about to 'drop off' after a few hours in the cold on the ride to Luxemburg. Great hotel by the way very
welcoming. Good ride out from the hotel and a good bunch of people on this trip. Pauline and I quite enjoyed this one. It was a long ride back, we took a pit-stop on the last leg, but managed to catch up with you guys heading up to the tunnel.
Thanks to Richard for another well organised trip !
dxtans
Hi David,
Yup, it's over 300 miles coming back the way we did, so great that we could all get going at 08:30 and be in good time to catch the pre-booked 18:40 train.
It's possible to slip some more motorway in at the start and / or join the A26 earlier, which will drop the time taken by a chunk. We were all making good progress, so I opted to stick to the main roads, skipping out too much motorway, helped that it got warmer (if you can call 6C warm) as we rode up through France.
Any route will always be a compromise between fun, weather, the size (and speed) of the group, an excurrsion to show tourists something (I diverted into Bouillon) and really what bods want to do at ny one minute. As it was, I was really pleased that everyone cracked along, leaving me free to just cut the corner towards St Omer, instead of carrying on to the coast road at Cap Gris Nez.
What often slows it more than anything else is the fuel stops. We got a little unlucky as we ended up twice at what were little better than card only single pumpers, rather than at full-on serviced forecourts. I guess twenty to 30 minutes vanished between the two stops at Bouillon and Peronne. If you lose 20 or more minutes fueling, that's the equivalent of one coffee stop..... Or a later arrival. It's what makes touring fun. As it was I ran Paula's bike to near enough empty, as I didn't want to put in another stop just for her before the train; helped by knowing that I had left her a 10 miles leeway and that there is a garage within one mile of arrival in England. We could have picked up the A26 much much closer to Peronne, saving us lots of time and had a stop at the services around junction 5 or six..... Had it of been lashing down, that's exactly what I would have done..... Had it been snowing really hard, I would have stayed put in Vianden.
Yup, it's over 300 miles coming back the way we did, so great that we could all get going at 08:30 and be in good time to catch the pre-booked 18:40 train.
It's possible to slip some more motorway in at the start and / or join the A26 earlier, which will drop the time taken by a chunk. We were all making good progress, so I opted to stick to the main roads, skipping out too much motorway, helped that it got warmer (if you can call 6C warm) as we rode up through France.
Any route will always be a compromise between fun, weather, the size (and speed) of the group, an excurrsion to show tourists something (I diverted into Bouillon) and really what bods want to do at ny one minute. As it was, I was really pleased that everyone cracked along, leaving me free to just cut the corner towards St Omer, instead of carrying on to the coast road at Cap Gris Nez.
What often slows it more than anything else is the fuel stops. We got a little unlucky as we ended up twice at what were little better than card only single pumpers, rather than at full-on serviced forecourts. I guess twenty to 30 minutes vanished between the two stops at Bouillon and Peronne. If you lose 20 or more minutes fueling, that's the equivalent of one coffee stop..... Or a later arrival. It's what makes touring fun. As it was I ran Paula's bike to near enough empty, as I didn't want to put in another stop just for her before the train; helped by knowing that I had left her a 10 miles leeway and that there is a garage within one mile of arrival in England. We could have picked up the A26 much much closer to Peronne, saving us lots of time and had a stop at the services around junction 5 or six..... Had it of been lashing down, that's exactly what I would have done..... Had it been snowing really hard, I would have stayed put in Vianden.
Should always insist on having at least one GSA and a length of plastic pipe on all trips.
Just use them as a petrol tanker for everyone else when the going gets tough
Also useful for when someone pumps a lot of very odd German EU friendly low octane (high on sugar cane content) motion lotion into their tank.... "Because it looked cheapest"
The carburetted bike just about ran, though a bit like a kangaroo with piles
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