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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 4, 2018 18:35:10 GMT -5
As mentioned, previously, I am currently in Niederonz Switzerland. The nearest town of any size is Solothurn. Earliest records of Solothurn date back to 15 or 20 AD, with history of the Romans visiting the area. The village itself is quite old, not unlike many villages of this country...   This evening, after dinner in Niederonz, I found my way to the quaint village of Solothurn...   As good fortune would have it, Solothurn has a neat little tobacco shop... Tabakkeller...   So, I decided to pick a few things up...  |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 4, 2018 18:36:02 GMT -5
I also picked up half a dozen Cuban Partagas Serie de No. 4's....
All in all a good evening....
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Post by trailboss on Dec 4, 2018 18:54:02 GMT -5
Switzerland is a beautiful country, the architecture is second to none.... nice looking tobacco shop!
Are the prices about the same all across the EU on tobacco’s Dino, or does it vary much?
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 4, 2018 18:57:24 GMT -5
Switzerland is a beautiful country, the architecture is second to none.... nice looking tobacco shop! Are the prices about the same all across the EU on tobacco’s Dino, or does it vary much? I'm not sure I can answer that Charlie. It's the first Tobacco Shop I've visited here thus far. ;-) |
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Post by mwps70 on Dec 5, 2018 9:10:05 GMT -5
I am greatly enjoying your travels around the states and around the world. I am very jealous although I know it isn't all fun and games when there is work involved.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Dec 5, 2018 9:35:09 GMT -5
Great pictures, Dino...thanks for sharing your travels with us.
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Screaming Jazz
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Enjoying a peaceful night
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Favorite Pipe: Tsuge Sandblasted Bent Billiard
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Post by Screaming Jazz on Dec 5, 2018 16:48:43 GMT -5
You go to Switzerland and all but one of the blends you buy are available in the US? I'd be looking for as many EU only blends I could find.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 21:29:59 GMT -5
I also picked up half a dozen Cuban Partagas Serie de No. 4's.... All in all a good evening.... About that an the Bolivar petite corona's and the only two Cuban cigars worth getting IMHO. Cuban's just hasn't been the same since Russia stop subsidizing in '94. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 6, 2018 2:13:02 GMT -5
You go to Switzerland and all but one of the blends you buy are available in the US? I'd be looking for as many EU only blends I could find. Unfortunately, that's all they had, besides some Pouch Tobacco's that didn't interest me. All of the tins they had i either have or don't want. Solothurn's not a big place. Bern is over an hour away and by the time I get through with meetings in the afternoon don't have time to hit their shops. |
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Screaming Jazz
Junior Member
Enjoying a peaceful night
Posts: 247
Favorite Pipe: Tsuge Sandblasted Bent Billiard
Favorite Tobacco: HH Vintage Syrian
Location:
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Post by Screaming Jazz on Dec 6, 2018 14:43:47 GMT -5
You go to Switzerland and all but one of the blends you buy are available in the US? I'd be looking for as many EU only blends I could find. Unfortunately, that's all they had, besides some Pouch Tobacco's that didn't interest me. All of the tins they had i either have or don't want. Solothurn's not a big place. Bern is over an hour away and by the time I get through with meetings in the afternoon don't have time to hit their shops. That's fair. I can always get behind people smoking Capstan Blue! |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 8, 2018 7:49:29 GMT -5
Well Pipe Fans, it's been a couple of days since I really posted anything, so now that I'm on a train from Switzerland to Germany, with wifi, I think I'll use this time to update the ol Travelin Pipe Thread. ;-) Since posting last we've had a chance to visit the village of Emmental, tour their cheese factory, have some wonderful Swiss Fondue, drink some home made plumb schnapps, visit a "nano brewery", go to a great hockey game between Langenthal & Olten (arch rivals), drink beer and eat a great bacon cheddar burger @ another brew pub owned by one of my Swiss friends sister and her husband. Oh, and drink plenty of other beer, scotch and smoke a few more cigars and pipes along the way. ;-) All after work of course.  December 6 is Samichlaus in Switzerland. The day ol Saint Nick puts treats in the galoshes of the young children that were good. One of the treats is a Grittibänzen, a small loaf of bread in the shape of santa claus. Our company, being genuinely Swiss, ensured that every employee had their own, as well as some for their children... Here's mine, with a tangerine. Samichlaus knows I was a good boy! ;-)  Emmental Cheese Factory...  Climbed a massive hill, with unbelievable views, with a WWI Monument on top...  After recovering from climbing this crazy steep hill, with pipe full of MM965 and puffin up the entire way, I took in the sights and enjoyed a wee dram or 7 of some home made schnapps... apple, plumb, cherry and even potato... Check out this view...  The cool thing is that that peak in the middle of the picture is where we were the week before. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 8, 2018 7:59:40 GMT -5
So, after getting my own santa bread, eating Swiss Fondue, climbing a massive hill, drinking plenty of Schnapps, enjoying several pipes and a cigar or two, we decided that the day wasn't over! It was time to head to a "Nano Brewery" (apparently much smaller than a Micro Brewery)... The young brothers that own this place are passionate about beer. One of them is a mechanical engineer, the other a chemist. Pretty cool combination and definitely some interesting beer... Though I am pretty much a "BEER" flavored beer fan, (not much for fruit flavored beers) I enjoyed much of what they offered.... not so much...     |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 8, 2018 8:05:39 GMT -5
The only problem with the nano brewery was that I couldn't smoke a pipe up there. No problem, we found our way back over to Solothurn, walked the cobble stoned streets, ate some local cuisine, enjoyed the Samichlaus festivities and.... SMOKED my Pipe! ;-) Only took one picture this evening...  Last night it was dinner @ the 49 Brew Pub & and the hockey game...   |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 8, 2018 8:12:50 GMT -5
Well, like I said, that was this week. This is today...   The good news is that another beer and lunch is on the way. Here's to hoping the next hotel has a place to enjoy a pipe or three ;-) |
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Post by trailboss on Dec 8, 2018 11:45:20 GMT -5
Cool pictures, and some really great places to visit...The beer, bacon burgers, cheese, Samichlaus, you might need to jump on the treadmill at the hotel... that is the regimen that Man vs food uses in his travels!  |
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Post by Legend Lover on Dec 8, 2018 15:31:06 GMT -5
The view from that hill is breathtaking. Nice documentary, bonanzadriver. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 14, 2018 12:01:42 GMT -5
Well pipe fans, I've been sitting here (not in first class) comfortably in 9A, for the last 7 hours, with the seat to my right empty, @ 36,000 feet and enjoying a cup of coffee. Ok, ok, haven't been enjoying a cup of coffee the whole way. There was lunch. ;-). After finishing some reports I've got about an hour of laptop battery left, so I thought I'd get online and see what's happenin on the patch. I was hoping to take this opportunity to upload some more photos but alas, can't seem to get logged onto Imgur.com :-( Soooo, I guess I'll peruse for a while and see what's new. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Dec 14, 2018 12:33:22 GMT -5
Well pipe fans, I've been sitting here (not in first class) comfortably in 9A, for the last 7 hours, with the seat to my right empty, @ 36,000 feet and enjoying a cup of coffee. Ok, ok, haven't been enjoying a cup of coffee the whole way. There was lunch. ;-). After finishing some reports I've got about an hour of laptop battery left, so I thought I'd get online and see what's happenin on the patch. I was hoping to take this opportunity to upload some more photos but alas, can't seem to get logged onto Imgur.com :-( Soooo, I guess I'll peruse for a while and see what's new. it's pretty cool that you're on here from 36,000 feet. Safe home, buddy. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 14, 2018 12:36:13 GMT -5
Well pipe fans, I've been sitting here (not in first class) comfortably in 9A, for the last 7 hours, with the seat to my right empty, @ 36,000 feet and enjoying a cup of coffee. Ok, ok, haven't been enjoying a cup of coffee the whole way. There was lunch. ;-). After finishing some reports I've got about an hour of laptop battery left, so I thought I'd get online and see what's happenin on the patch. I was hoping to take this opportunity to upload some more photos but alas, can't seem to get logged onto Imgur.com :-( Soooo, I guess I'll peruse for a while and see what's new. it's pretty cool that you're on here from 36,000 feet. Safe home, buddy. Thanks mate. I hate that I didn't get a chance to swing by your neck of the woods and say g'day. ;-) Butttttt, will be back at least 2 or 3 times this upcoming year with plans to swing through Scotland on one of em. Will make sure to reach out and meet up then Paddy. Dino |
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Post by Legend Lover on Dec 14, 2018 12:37:07 GMT -5
it's pretty cool that you're on here from 36,000 feet. Safe home, buddy. Thanks mate. I hate that I didn't get a chance to swing by your neck of the woods and say g'day. ;-) Butttttt, will be back at least 2 or 3 times this upcoming year with plans to swing through Scotland on one of em. Will make sure to reach out and meet up then Paddy. Dino If we can get that to work it would be awesome. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 14, 2018 23:29:24 GMT -5
Got home a few hours ago. To my great surprise and delight I was met at the airport by my three youngest kids, Seth, Nick & Jenni. What a home coming.
Will spend some time tomorrow importing and editing pics and will post over the weekend.
Great to be home.
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Post by trailboss on Dec 14, 2018 23:34:56 GMT -5
Glad you made it home safely Dino!
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Post by kxg on Dec 14, 2018 23:56:38 GMT -5
It is always good to go and even better to get home; glad your trip was safe, thanks for sharing it with us.
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Post by Legend Lover on Dec 15, 2018 5:50:28 GMT -5
Got home a few hours ago. To my great surprise and delight I was met at the airport by my three youngest kids, Seth, Nick & Jenni. What a home coming. Will spend some time tomorrow importing and editing pics and will post over the weekend. Great to be home. Looking forward to the next instalment. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 15, 2018 11:07:35 GMT -5
The last photo I posted was the train ride to Gotha Germany on Saturday a week ago. That evening we met with some of our international colleagues and had dinner @ the Pagenhaus restaurant in the Freidenstein Castle, just across from our hotel. After a wonderful dinner we walked back to the hotel. I inquired at the front desk as to whether or not there was a smoking lounge available, like the one I had at the last hotel in Switzerland. She replied that there was no smoking lounge but that my room, being a suite on one of the corners of the building, was indeed a smoking room. I was surprised at this, stating that I did not notice any smell or any ashtrays for that matter. She smiled and replied that the maids work very hard at keeping the rooms smelling nice. ;-) So, after retiring to my room that evening I tipped open the windows, found the ashtray and enjoyed a few bowls...      Ok, ok, yeah I know, the interior looks like grandma's place. But hey, I was in Gotha Germany, With a corner suite that had a view of a Castle and I could SMOKE MY PIPE in MY ROOM! It was Pipe Smokers HEAVEN! Ok, that might be taking it a bit far, we all know that my mancave is my pipe smokers heaven, but still, it was a pretty good runner up. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 15, 2018 11:15:21 GMT -5
This next post will be short on description, but full of pics... The next morning, Sunday, we decided to hop in the 8 passenger van the company had arranged for us, and made a trip to Prague. Although it was a good bit away from us, it was autobahn almost the whole way so we were able to cruise at close to 162kph, or 100mph the whole way. ;-) Prague was by far the most amazing city we visited on this trip. The history an architecture of this city is almost indescribable. We visited the Castle, Cathedral, Palace, Bridges and Shops of Prague. Spending only about 6 hours there, but what a 6 hours!        |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 15, 2018 11:26:05 GMT -5
The rest of the week our gracious hosts had something planned for us each evening... Monday we ventured down to the historic center of Gotha and experienced the Christmas Village, with all of its centuries old traditions such as Gluehwein (glow wine) or hot spice wine, various roasted nuts, pastries and confectioneries. Not to mention the wonderful availability of beer!. Though a bit cold, I was able to enjoy my pipe throughout most of this evening. Tuesday We went over to Erfurt, enjoyed it's Christmas Village as well as going to an indoor gokart track. We had 25 folks in total at the event. We ran 3 different heats, and despite catching a lot of crap from all of the youngsters at the beginning of the races, I was the oldest guy standing on the podium at the end of the evening. The young man that took first place was 25, I took 2nd. ;-)  The bathroom doors were pretty entertaining here...  After the races we had some more Gluehwein and a wonderful steak dinner... Here I am with me mate Dan from the U.K. ;-)  And Thomas from Taiwan...  Oh, and some of our Gluehwein...  Walking through the storybook streets of Erfurt..  The thousand year old church in Gotha...  |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 15, 2018 11:37:01 GMT -5
Wednesday Night we went up into the mountains, about an hour outside of Gotha, and went rafting down the bobsled runs in these huge inflatable bobsleds that hold 6 people. Had an absolute blast. Then went to a great little restaurant for a wonderful meal. The restaurant's true owner...  Gustav The "live fire" area on the deck for smoking...  |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Dec 15, 2018 11:41:00 GMT -5
Thursday's sessions were over after lunch. We caught a train from Gotha to Frankfurt, spent the night at a hotel near the airport and the next day, Friday, started our journey home.
Although I met some fantastic people and had a wonderful time, I gotta tell ya, 19 days is too long of a trip.
I am thoroughly enjoying being back in my home with my family and being able to smoke any pipe I want full of any tobacco I can find on the shelf.
Business dictates that I will be heading over to Europe and Asia on a fairly regular basis, but luckily it won't be for that long again.
Time for some Earl Grey and a pipe me thinks.... ;-)
ttfn
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2018 11:47:04 GMT -5
Dino ^^^^^^ thanks for sharing part of your trip with pictures. Glad you made it home safe. Looks like you had a great time, this weekend should be about relaxing a bit....eh👌👍👍
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