T1B

With frequent flier miles via credit card spend piling up we decided to go to Europe. 214,000 AA miles later we had business class tickets for two round trip to Europe.


Two weeks and we aren’t checking bags


Legroom is decent


Dried meat in Madrid


I wouldn’t suggest Norway as a vacation spot for some of our board liberals as they would be constantly triggered. There are mostly blonde haired blue eyed people here. And they enforce their border. We started in Bergen.






They love them some seafood. These are Street food stalls at the fish market






Dinner for two


Here is the old fort built to keep out foreigners






Here are some original Bergen buildings that are still occupied but with some serious additional shoring







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Nice photos

The only thing that triggered me in Norway was its $9 beer.

They may be blonde a blue-eyed, but they're socialist. How can you handle even being around them?

I haven't got all day, Seater...

Nice! But why does Bergen have a question mark after the word? It gives it a Swedish chef-like feel.

Left Seater, what cities are you hitting up on your tour?

Wolfman wrote: ↑Sun Jun 30, 2019 11:38 pm https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-sc ... socialism/

They have universal healthcare. I thought you considered that socialism.

Norway is not a shithole country.

Germany is on the cusp.

Spain is a shithole country.


jmo

Couple of things, yes Norway has universal health care and sky high taxes along with tons of entitlement programs but they are a free market economy. They don’t have a minimum wage for example. Workers are paid their actual worth, not some arbitrary amount the government deems acceptable. They also don’t know the term living wage, instead some jobs are not meant to be permanent or for heads of households. Instead they are considered entry or retirement jobs.

As for cities we will visit: Madrid, Bergen, Ulvik, Stavanger, Frankfurt. A good number of nights will be spent outside of major cities. For example we are doing a three day hike from Inn to Inn. We are also doing a two day paddle trip with an overnight at a small bed and breakfast.

Here are a few photos from yesterday, including a hike to a small lake on top of on of the mountains surrounding Bergen















Guess Indy Frisco or KC Scott arrived in town





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LS wrote:They also don’t know the term living wage, instead some jobs are not meant to be permanent or for heads of households.

Jizz mopping, for example.

Very nice pics.
Just wondering - I’m sure neither of you speak the language there. Are you able to get by OK with English?

Pretty much everybody in the major cities speak English.

It's the language of money.

Carson wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:44 pm Pretty much everybody in the major cities speak English.

That may be true in Europe. It doesn’t necessarily apply in the US.

Nice pics LS

Carson wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:44 pm Pretty much everybody in the major cities speak English.

Wrong

The wife speaks German. I speak Spanish passibly. So no issues in those countries. Damn near everyone so far in Norway speaks very good English. It is taught in the schools here.












Saw lots of interesting things in the grocery store in Ulvik











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Nice Duhron sized shopping cart.

That must be NorMex. Certainly doesn't look very TexMex or CaliMex.

NorMex meaning Norway Mexican then yes.

Screw_Michigan wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 5:10 pm

Carson wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:44 pm Pretty much everybody in the major cities speak English.

Wrong

Dumbfuck.

The dude in that pic is wearing a purse?
Is that how they roll in Norway?



I'm just asking for a friend. Hypothetically speaking.

Carson wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:33 pm Dumbfuck.

Speak for yourself.

Kierland wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:14 pm Nice Duhron sized shopping cart.

Either that guy is Bill de Blasio or that's a tiny freaking cart.

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Today was a 9 mile hike up a glacier valley to a lodge at the rim. At times we were climbing with both hands and feet. A series of 5 waterfalls paralleled the trail. The lodge has burbon, vodka and red wine, but sadly none of the JSC stuff.


















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It looks kind of gloomy. But I’m guessing you’re not roasting like I was in El Paso like I was a few weeks back.

Posting pics was hard out in the back country. We did a paddle trip and here are a few of those photos







Then the next day we hiked to a glacier where national ski teams were practicing.




















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Jsc810 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2019 4:24 pm After a very busy legislative session and then 4 days in the hospital, we just got back from eating and drinking across the French Riviera and then in Geneva, wonderful trip.

Among the incredible things we had was this wine, it simply is the best wine that I have ever had, and it is not even close. To me, it redefined what a red wine can be.

It's an excellent Bordeaux unlike the varietal wines which predominate in the States. The American wine industry is still wet behind the ears along with the so called craft beer industry. They are well intentioned but lack subtlety and, quite frankly, the craftsmanship of European vintners and brewers.

Dinsdale Melt here:

mvscal wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:31 pm The American wine industry is still wet behind the ears along with the so called craft beer industry.


Dinsdale Melt here:

Don't mind if I do...

First, it was a subtle, and far from humble brag. That's a ~$300 bottle (probably at least twice that in a restaurant.

And BTW -- where did those oh-so-experienced, not-wet-behind-the-ears winemakers from France get those Bordeaux grapes (hint -- not France)?

Many of the modern processes, biochemistry advances, and equipment improvements came from... the USA.

Dinsdale wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 11:02 pm And BTW -- where did those oh-so-experienced, not-wet-behind-the-ears winemakers from France get those Bordeaux grapes (hint -- not France)?

The real question is where did Napa get their grapes from? JSDeepStateCuck's conspicuous consumption aside, blends make better wines than varietals.

mvscal wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:31 pm The American wine industry is still wet behind the ears along with the so called craft beer industry. They are well intentioned but lack subtlety and, quite frankly, the craftsmanship of European vintners and brewers.

In an over-saturated market, you have to stand out to get noticed, move product. Yell and scream, do something outrageous in flavour, colour your tin or bottle, MACHO 8 ACE HOPSLAM BORDEAUX. Subtlety and understatement doesn't lend itself to sales.

mvscal wrote: ↑Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:51 amThe real question is where did Napa get their grapes from?

Great question. The correct answer is obviously "from all over the world." But it's a great question, because you inspired me to actually use the googles to look up Napa production by varietal (with the results showing about what I would have guessed, more or less). Acreage in Napa lens heavily to the Bordeaux side (cab, merlot, sauv blanc), which obviously came from... Bordeaux. They mix in some Burgundy (I can't believe people pay Napa-money for Chard, but a fool and his money are soon parted). And even some Tuscany. But they're all vinifera, which is of European origin.

But then the stupid Euros decided they wanted labrusca, and they killed their native shit... all of it (almost).

JSDeepStateCuck's conspicuous consumption aside, blends make better wines than varietals.

Wow -- seems you know more than the people who make and sell the shit for a living.

And the response to that is -- depends what you're blending. If you're going for something high-end, cofermentation is usually a better route, depending on the varietals. Syrah and viognier is a classic (both Rhone), usually 95-5 or thereabouts. Cab and merlot? Very common, both blended and cofermented. Throwing the kitchen sink of Bordeauxs isn't unheard of. It's all about matching/complimenting tannins/acidity, residual sugars (hopefully little), and different fruit accents to make a whole.

But fuck that -- Gimme an untainted cab or malbec. Fuck that pussy shit.

They are perfectly good grapes. Why ruin them by making them into wine? Fucking alkies.

mvspedo has a very shallow knowledge of wine and the wine industry.

Sin,
MA

Red Burgundy wines are generally 100% Pinot Noir.
Some Bordeaux wines are 100% Merlot (the predominant grape in Bordeaux). St Emilion, for one.

A few other points.

The French obviously have a couple thousand years head start on American producers, but that doesn't mean that we haven't learned anything.

A lot of varietals in the US are actually blends. By law, a wine in the US labeled as a varietal must have at least 75% of the specified grape. Many winemakers add fractional amounts of other varietals to round out the flavor. But if you have a particularly spectacular block of cab or Syrah, why not showcase the single grape?

That being said, American wineries do make some world class blends.

The Meritage Association was formed in 1988 by a small group of Sonoma County and Napa Valley, California vintners increasingly frustrated by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives regulations stipulating wines contain at least 75% of a specific grape to be labeled as a varietal. As interest grew in creating Bordeaux-style wines, which by their blended nature fail to qualify for varietal status, members sought to create a recognizable name for their blended wines.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritage

There's also a group called the "Rhone Rangers" that specialize in producing Rhone varietals and blends. This is a big thing in some of the Central California AVAs.
https://rhonerangers.org/who-we-are/mission

Tablas Creek produces an awesome array of Rhone wines from cuttings that they originally started importing in the 1980s.
https://tablascreek.com/story
The winery is actually a partnership with Chateaux de Beaucastel, one of the great estates of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. They are probably the only winery in the world (including France) that grows every Rhone varietal. They are most well known for their blends, but they also produce most of the varietals, which can be very interesting to drink individually. Syrah, Mouvedre, Grenache and Tannat can be especially good on their own.

The French are constrained by laws in each particular appellation as to what grapes and types of blend they can produce. In the US, you can mix just about anything as long as you don't call it a varietal. There are some really creative winemakers out there creating some great blends using mixtures of Bordeaux and Rhone grapes, and even adding Italian varietals and Zinfandel.

The winemaker at Tablas Creek has his own winery, Lone Madrone, where he creates some really interesting combos.
https://www.lonemadrone.com/

Here's another CA winery making Rhone style blends.

Sine Qua Non

Their wine has become so cultish that, basically, you can't buy it except from third party collectors for ridiculous prices.

I'm actually on their wait list but don't expect ever to be offered an allocation.

More hikes. This time to Pulpit Rock. It is a flat space that drops 604 meters down to the sea.











The next day we took a boat out to see Pulpit Rock from the sea.








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