House Hunters International - General Discussion

[aghst]

I thought the first home in Kaiserslautern looked more interesting inside with the beams.

The second one wasn't bad, with the spacious rooms under the slanting ceilings though.

The big house under construction, it was new but the design was so basic, uninspiring.

The 3 older kids all talked about wanting to see different countries.  I guess they mostly visited different German cities by train.

 

[chessiegal]

Europe has good train systems. It's easy to visit other countries by train. We mostly got around by train when visiting Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

[Chit Chat]

6 hours ago, aghst said:

I thought the first home in Kaiserslautern looked more interesting inside with the beams.

I liked the wood floors.  Those were really pretty.   They seemed like a happy family.  It was nice that she said he could choose the house, but he chose the one she liked best (and he seemed find with it).  It was nice to see them talk it through rationally & calmly!!  

I would've been concerned with the 3rd house because of the cost and hearing the other dogs barking so loudly.   

That would be fun to be able to take a train to so many places.  I would love that!  

[Grizzly]

When the mother asked one of the kids if they wanted the chocolate one, I said Yes, please.

My best friend's daughter lives in Kaiserslautern with her army fiancé. She is enjoying it. She goes all over Europe by train. I saw pictures of her weekend in Paris. What a life.

[aghst]

Trains in Europe are great but when you're traveling over 200 miles, it can be a very long trip with changes.

You weigh that against an hour or two on a low cost carrier flight.

For instance, Kaiserlautern to Berlin is a 7.5 hour drive in Google Maps, a distance of 662 kilometers, which is just over 400 miles.

The trains are around 7 hours with one or two changes.

A flight would be an hour but you'd have to be at the airport at least an hour before departure and once you arrive it may take time to reclaim bags, then transition to a train to get to the center of town.

Actually, Paris is closer.  So there are direct trains which take 2.5 hours or longer routes with changes which could be up to 4 hours.

Venice is over 900 kilometers away so drives are over 10 hours and trains range from 10 to 16 hours.  Now in that case, maybe they could get a sleeper car and find a schedule overnight.

They're also marketing some upscale train, like the newer Orient Express and some other routes on renovated cars with specific decor, evoking a past.

 

[Kimboweena]

On 9/19/2024 at 1:34 PM, proserpina65 said:

It does surprise me that UF canned him for it.  Good for them, I guess.

Why does that surprise you?

[seacliffsal]

I liked the couple/family moving to Germany.  Although they had wants/likes, they didn't really make a big deal about it.  I was surprised that they chose the second house as it had the smallest yard.  When people have a lot of kids and a large dog that really increases the number of factors/priorities one has to consider.  I just enjoyed the fact that they enjoyed each other.  I get very tired of some of the diva/demanding antics we see on this show so this was refreshing.  Oh, and the town itself seemed really nice.  But the pastries...those alone are reason enough to live there!!!

[aghst]

I'd heard of Rammstein base.

I guess it must be huge.  The agent said that there was an area near the base which was pretty much Americanized.

 

[Notabug]

3 minutes ago, aghst said:

I'd heard of Rammstein base.

I guess it must be huge.  The agent said that there was an area near the base which was pretty much Americanized.

 

American military presence is huge in that part of Germany, it is the basis of much of the economy.  Rammstein employs over 16,000 military and civilians.  The general area has multiple other US military facilities and more than 50,000 employees.  It is a city unto itself.

[proserpina65]

13 hours ago, Kimboweena said:

Why does that surprise you?

Because universities have a habit of sweeping allegations like this under the rug.  Like UA did for years.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, aghst said:

Trains in Europe are great but when you're traveling over 200 miles, it can be a very long trip with changes.

I did straight-through overnight trains when I was in Europe.  Amsterdam to Vienna, Vienna to Venice, Pisa to Granada, Toledo to Toulouse, Toulouse to Paris.  Mostly very nice and convenient.

[aghst]

I guess you can save a hotel room cost for one night with the overnight train trips.

But it depends on how much those sleeper trains are, how much luggage you can stow in those sleeper cars, because if you're traveling to Europe for a couple of weeks, some people will have a lot of luggage.

THe train trips I checked were listed as €99 from Kaiserslautern to Paris and Berlin.  That's not even a sleeper cabin I would guess.

[Notabug]

21 minutes ago, aghst said:

I guess you can save a hotel room cost for one night with the overnight train trips.

But it depends on how much those sleeper trains are, how much luggage you can stow in those sleeper cars, because if you're traveling to Europe for a couple of weeks, some people will have a lot of luggage.

THe train trips I checked were listed as €99 from Kaiserslautern to Paris and Berlin.  That's not even a sleeper cabin I would guess.

Its also possible to buy a Eurail Pass which would cover virtually all train travel within Europe for a specified number of days.  Anyone wanting to visit 3 or more cities would probably save money over the cost of airfare to multiple destinations.

I've taken trains in Britain and Scotland as well as the Eurostar round trip between London and Paris.  The trains are clean and modern and give you a great opportunity to see the countryside.  They're almost always right on time and they often take less time traveling between cities than it would take using a car.  Travel within London and the surrounding area is particularly quicker and easier by train compared to car.

[aghst]

Yeah I've taken the Eurostar and other train trips as long as 4-5 hours.

Haven't done the overnight.

Trains are great for city center to city center, up to a certain distance or duration.

After that, you're on a train just to ride a train.  It becomes more efficient to fly when the train trip is over 4-5 hours.

Also, post-covid, I'd prefer to limit time in a confined public space.  Obviously you can't help the 10+ hour flights but supposedly modern airliners circulate air through the cabins constantly during flight.

[chessiegal]

We're sailors, so we view travel as more than getting from point A to Point B. It's all about the journey. We took a fast train (over 100 mph) from Paris to Avignon, our homebase for visiting Provence. Out longest trip was from Hamburg to Munich, about 5 hours. Our travel agent (and as Rick Steves points out) had us in business class, not much more than coach. The trains were comfortable and most had free Wi-Fi. So relaxing with beautiful scenery along the way.

[CalicoKitty]

2 hours ago, Notabug said:

Its also possible to buy a Eurail Pass which would cover virtually all train travel within Europe for a specified number of days.  Anyone wanting to visit 3 or more cities would probably save money over the cost of airfare to multiple destinations.

I've taken trains in Britain and Scotland as well as the Eurostar round trip between London and Paris.  The trains are clean and modern and give you a great opportunity to see the countryside.  They're almost always right on time and they often take less time traveling between cities than it would take using a car.  Travel within London and the surrounding area is particularly quicker and easier by train compared to car.

I've been on some of the great trains in Europe, but I have discovered that sightseeing and train travel do not work for me.  I can not stay awake on a train.  The movement and the static noise are just too calming for me, and I sleep the entire trip.  Believe me, I've tried to stay awake, but I just can't.  But I sleep very well on overnight train trips, and on ships.  Basically I sleep well anywhere, but travel by train is my downfall.

[Pi237]

Always makes me laugh when they ooh and aah over ceiling beams.

“There’s the [insert Any country’s name here] charm I’ve been looking for!” 

[Grizzly]

36 minutes ago, Pi237 said:

Always makes me laugh when they ooh and aah over ceiling beams.

“There’s the [insert Any country’s name here] charm I’ve been looking for!” 

What was I thinking, I removed the wood beams in our family room. Guess I can't advertise the house as having American charm.