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The Germany Thread
Thanks, @Ghost of LL. I know I've got travel planning fatigue when I've read that post several times in one of the 50 tabs I have open, and it completely failed to register when I asked that. I think I'll look into some daytrip options and let the grad pick. Partnachklamm looks like our speed, and the boys would love one of the alpine coasters. I do like the idea of getting out with a car for at least one day. But then, I also forget that Salzburg is close enough for a wild card day trip if he wanted to say he's been to Austria. Too many options... @longhorndude, was your Dachau tour an informal local one? I was planning on just the self-guided tour since that was my prior experience, but I never thought of looking for a smaller private guide. Found a well-reviewed one called "In Their Shoes," and it might be valuable to have someone other than Dad who could provide some actual expert historical context and things to think about in... these times.
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Trump’s America
So right now I'm enjoying rereading Catch 22 along with my HS senior. I'm pleasantly surprised it hasn't been cut from the curriculum, because it makes for fantastic ledge reading: “Milo's planes were a familiar sight. They had freedom of passage everywhere, and one day Milo contracted with the American military authorities to bomb the German-held highway bridge at Orvieto and with the German military authorities to defend the highway bridge at Orvieto with antiaircraft fire against his own attack. His fee for attacking the bridge for America was the total cost of the operation plus six percent, and his fee from Germany for defending the bridge was the same cost-plus-six agreement augmented by a merit bonus of a thousand dollars for every American plane he shot down. The consummation of these deals represented an important victory for private enterprise, he pointed out, since the armies of both countries were socialized institutions. Once the contracts were signed, there seemed to be no point in using the resources of the syndicate to bomb and defend the bridge, inasmuch as both governments had ample men and materiel right there to do so and were perfectly happy to contribute them, and in the end Milo realized a fantastic profit from both halves of his project for doing nothing more than signing his name twice.” I'd forgotten it's like the bookfag version of Idiocracy.
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The Germany Thread
@Carl Spackler , that's a good point, and I probably am brushing off the whole area too quickly based on limited prior experience with Neuschwanstein. I think I was also leaning on the Switzerland portion of the trip which I didn't detail (5 days in Wengen/Lauterbrunnen vallley) to scratch der Alpen-itch. That said, I do have that accidental flex day in there. Do you think a day trip would be enough to hit some of the high points? Rent a car for the day maybe? If so, I could offer up some choices of things to see and do so it doesn't seem like I'm some kind of vacation fascist, ruling the itinerary with an iron fist, and... uh...
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The Germany Thread
Not sure what dates you're looking at or from where, but a few things I've been working out: Flights: Been hammering Google Flights with permutations. We're doing an early June open jaw into either FRA or MUC and out ZRH. Because my boys are both around 6'3", my wife has had three spine surgeries, and I'm a fatass Surly 2%, gotta do premium economy. Anything involving the direct AUS-FRA Lufthansa flight is running 12k+ for four right now, and AUS in general is so much more expensive we're probably going to fly out of DFW. Best price so far is DFW --> MUC actually (not direct), but there are options from DFW and IAH to both FRA and MUC that are all falling in a similar range ($8-9k total for four premium economy). I figure it's getting time to buy. Hotels/points: Was planning mostly on booking direct, but right now I've got an offer through my CC portal that gives me an 4 extra points per dollar if I book through Hotels.com. I'd quit using them because their rewards program went to shit, but getting the extra CC points may make it worthwhile. I'm not worthy of the points game on the other thread, though a big chunk of this trip is coming from points I've accumulated over several years. AI: way more helpful than I could have expected (I avoid it for work). Putting my rough itinerary in was great for picking up conflicts with (or opportunities for) holidays/Sundays which notoriously close things down, and helping consolidate and streamline plans. Still gotta double check for weird hallucinations, but overall a win. Weltenburg: Been once before, so I have a sentimental attachment. The earliest reference to brewing is that the Master Brewer died in 1050, so they date it from that. It might not be spectacular enough to go out of your way to visit, but it's a nice chill boat ride down the Danube and back from Kelheim, and the beer (especially the dunkel) is excellent with a pretty Baroque/early rococo style abbey. I've always told my boys that if I live until 2050 I want to go for their millennial brewing celebration, but I figure I should hedge my bets and take them now while I have the chance. This is kinda out of the way of what you're looking at, though. While I haven't been to Andechs, I'll bet you could get a similar vibe there (minus the boat trip) closer to where you're headed.
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Switzerland Thread?
Any thoughts on where to stay for a night in Zurich? We'd have the afternoon to wander around and probably fly out late morning, but no big plans. Glad it's only one night, as hotel prices there start at ludicrous speed and rapidly go plaid.
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The Germany Thread
Grüß dich, Arschlöcher. Working on my younger son's HS graduation trip in June, and he wants to do Bavaria and the Swiss alps (posted those questions in the Switzerland thread). I haven't been over there in 25 years, and this will be the family's first trip to Europe. I'm trying not to exhaust everyone with bouncing all over the place, but rather hope to approach this trip as inspiring future travel rather than a Griswoldian mission to see all the things. I've been to Regensburg before and it's about our speed (smaller, laid back), so I'm thinking about basically splitting the time between there and Munich as bases. Boys will be 18 and 21, so there will be biergarten visits and giving them space to do things on their own, which also seems to flow better with a slower paced visit. Gemini and I have come up with the concept of a plan as follows: Day 1: Arrive Regensburg, looking at staying at a vacation rental in the Altstadt so everything is walkable (not planning on renting a car this trip). Decompress and acclimate. Day 2: Walk around the Altstadt, let them do some shopping, visit the bridge etc., dinner at somewhere like Kneitinger. Day 3: We're not Catholic, but this happens to be the Corpus Christi holiday, so it seems like a fortunate opportunity to see what should be impressive services in the cathedral and hopefully a performance of the famed boys' choir, followed by the procession. As long as we're cosplaying Catholic, spend the rest of the day drinking beer at Spitalgarten or something and hanging out with locals on the Jahninsel so they can check out frauleins. Day 4: Day trip to Kloster Weltenburg (oldest brewing monastery in the world) via Danube riverboat. Indulging beer nerd dad. Day 5: Flex day, because I accidentally left this out while planning. Furk. Either stay in Regensburg or head to Munich, do a day trip of some sort, or use this for whatever you assholes castigate me for leaving off the plan. Day 6: Munich, staying near Viktualienmarkt (looking at a couple rooms at Hotel Platzl). If we're just arriving, wander around, get bearings, see Altstadt stuff, eat Doner Kebap und Brezeln. Day 7: Start at the Deutsches Museum in the morning, back to the Altstadt when we've had enough. Day 8: Happens to be my wife's birthday, so we'll try to do something nice like a picnic in the Englischer Garten, let the boys visit the surfing wave after forcing them to take nice family portraits in the park for mom. Dinner somewhere like Augustinerkeller. Day 9: Dachau in the morning. Boys need to see it. Be depressed in the afternoon and evening. Maybe an ironic dinner at Hofbrauhaus to drive it home. Day 10: Try to cheer up, train to Wengen and Alpenstuff. Any ideas for the accidental flex day? Even moving at a relaxed pace, there's obviously a shit ton of stuff we could add on (BMW museum, Olympicpark although I understand it's being renovated, yadda yadda), so we could just fill that in spontaneously with anything that grabs their interest. I could go for an "oldest brewery rivalry" stop at Weihenstephan between Regensburg and Munich or a visit to Andechs, but it's not supposed to be about me and I don't want to induce brewery fatigue for my patient but non-beer-drinking wife. I know the big classic thing I'm not including is Neuschwanstein, but my enthusiasm level is low as I found it overrated years ago, the boys give zero fucks about the Cinderella castle, and we're not really going for the Asian tourist vibe (nowaisis). I didn't really want to use a whole day of travel and hiking up the hill for one nice view of a pretty castle exterior, but obviously I'm a surly asshole.
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Switzerland Thread?
Thanks for the great info in the thread. Going to do Bavaria (will post questions in the Germany thread) and the Swiss Alps as part of my younger one's HS grad trip this summer. It'll be me, the wife, and the boys (21 and 18), first family trip to Europe and I haven't been in over 25 years. We're not big city, Michelin starred restaurant types and are more chill and interested in quiet and being outside, so after a lot of reading and Gemini research (which has been pretty helpful), I think I've decided to just use Wengen as a base for our time in Der Schweiz rather than bouncing around and trying to Griswold it. Seems like that should give a good representative experience, and rather than trying to see everything, I'm looking at it as a trip to inspire them to go back in the future. A prelim plan would be: Day 1: Arrive in Wengen from Munich, just booked rooms at Hotel Schoenegg (which is almost already full), thanks to @rage-a-holic for the rec. Wander around town for the rest of the day. Day 2: Back down to Interlaken to do a kayak paddle on Lake Brienz (will be my wife's jam). @Your Mom, any recs on companies? Stop in Lauterbrunnen on the way back to do Truemmelbach Falls. Gemini suggests tacking on a cablecar loop through Muerren back to Lauterbrunnen. Day 3: Early train to Jungfraujoch. Do that stuff avoiding as much tourist hell as possible. Hike down the Eiger Trail on the way back. Day 4: Find some hiking to do, Gemini suggested the Panorama Trail, Lauberhorn, Schynige Platte area? Any thoughts there? Possible Day 5: Depending on flight schedules and prices, may have an extra flex day to give some spontaneity, chill, or more hiking for those who want to. Next day head out for ZRH to stay the night before flying out. Does that seem like a reasonable approach? Any miserable tourist traps I'm getting us into, or gems I'm missing?
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Iceland
That was my assumption as well. I certainly don't have any direct experience, but AI, which is never wrong or enshittened, tells me there's something called the Russell-McPherron Effect which results in increased activity around the equinoxes. Something about magnetic field alignment and the sun breaking wind when you sing Don't Worry Be Happy or some such fake news round-earth science bullshit. I was thinking that time of year would give us at least a shot at seeing it while still having enough daylight to see some of the other cool shit. Because what kind of shitty planet is this if it doesn't grant me every whim at my convenience, amirite?
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Iceland
Great thread, amazing pics and recommendations! We're sending our younger one off to college this year and I was thinking about this as our first "empty nest" trip, looking at late September. We both have seeing the aurora on our bucket list, and looking at the decline of our parents and other folks, time to stop putting those things off. Gemini says late September is great time to visit, anyone tried that?
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Surly kids who can't get into UT
Great points and discussion, thanks all. I'm not super in touch with current med school admissions, but agree that what I have generally heard is that it's better to crush your major with eye popping numbers at Reputable State than to "show you can handle a challenge" with a more middling performance in a brutal major at Gunner U . For all the bullshit about "holistic evaluation," it's still the numbers that get you in the door. I am involved in the residency process, and aside from idle curiosity, IDGAF where you did undergrad or what your GPA was. I'll use your major to stereotype your personality. It's then all about your med school and if you can get some comparative data out of them these days, and at least for now your non P/F USMLE. For better or worse, medicine is still about playing the long game. The points about trying to do engineering without the mindset are very helpful, because the best guidance I want to give him as he decides is for him to find a path that is right for him and leads to fulfillment and contentment in the end (see @jimmyjazz above). If that's in medicine then great (I have my own reservations, cynicism, and concerns beyond the scope of this thread) and I'll be behind him 100%, but having an off-ramp or branch point to find his way is also important, as I've seen too many cases of "medicine or bust" that end unhappily. Didn't mean to let that take a negative turn, though, because right now he sees a wide open superhighway in front of him, and I'm excited to give the best guidance I can as he makes his way. Because as much as we'll miss him, he ain't moving back in.
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Surly kids who can't get into UT
Thanks, y'all! He will actually get in-state tuition because he's a member of a Native American tribe with historical ties to CO on my wife's side. We had actually thought that only applied at CSU since it's the land grant university, but it's any CO state school. Somehow we missed that for the first year his brother was in school at Western. A niche situation to be sure, but worth pursuing if you think your kid could possibly be eligible. He wants to go to medical school, so his options for a major are pretty wide open. My guidance has been to be sure he picks a major he both enjoys and could find an alternate career pathway in if he decides not to go the med school route. That would probably be biomed engineering (whatever that means) if he goes to Mines. He wouldn't really be taking advantage of the things they're best at unfortunately, although I keep pointing out to him that he could get a minor in Space Mining. Chicks would dig that.
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Surly kids who can't get into UT
Kindly indulge a proud dad in a little bragging... He got his acceptance today from Mines which, although he fit their admitted profile student pretty well, I didn't consider a sure thing at all. Really proud of this great kid. He's also accepted to CSU, and got their top tier OOS scholarship offer, although things like that will change since he'll have to get reclassified as in state when the dust settles at any CO school. Haven't heard from CU yet. It'll get interesting now that he has some choices. I feel like the student body at Mines (collaborative fun nerds) is his tribe, but despite being great at the maths, engineering hasn't been his main mindset for undergrad. He'll have to decide between that and a more open and bigger experience at CSU. Interestingly, one of his good friends (and a great kid) also got into Mines, which I thought was pretty cool for a mediumish HS class of ~120. We'll see if that affects his thinking. Good luck and Godspeed to all you Surly parents as the crazy season accelerates!
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Vinyl
Thanks. Despite my trepidation about an all-in-one, the Spinplay does look nice, and would cost less than putting the JBL with a decent set of bluetooth speakers. Not many reviews out there yet, though it looks to be better than the junk out there on Amazon. I guess I need to decide about the simplicity of that (great for a dorm) vs the flexibility of adding bluetooth speakers he can take places.
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Vinyl
I'm out of my element here, like a child wandering into the middle of a movie, but my son wants a setup for Christmas and I'm trying to figure it out. It'll be going off with him to his dorm somewhere next year, so the use case isn't going to be audiophile hipsterism cred, but something functional and space-efficient that won't hurt too much if it gets screwed up. I quickly eliminated the all in one units as I understand they're hot garbage. What I was leaning toward at this point was something with a built in phono amp and bluetooth transmitter. That way I could get him a pair of portable bluetooth speakers which could serve a dual purpose when he wants to take them to do outdoors stuff. Or if he wants to get some wired speakers at some point, he could go that route. Wirecutter, which seems reasonably reliable, likes the JBL Spinner BT for that purpose, but any other ideas or thoughts about that plan? I'd like to keep it in the neighborhood of $400 for the turntable.
- RIP, Mani