Spendthrift Shoestring

The Allure of a Deserted Train Station

Haiger, Germany.

Three Departure Boards

Belgrade. May 2008.

Frankfurt. September 2008. (Better Frankfurt departure board image here.)

London Stansted. May 2008.

Ryanair Gets More Domestic

Today Ryanair announced that from November on, they'll be flying four domestic routes between Madrid and Alicante, Palma, Santiago de Compostela, and Valencia. Ryanair has been amping up domestic flights within larger countries over the last several months. With these routes, I'm counting 18 domestic routes running or planned to run within Spain, including routes to the Canary Islands.

That's nothing compared to the 22 routes Ryanair runs or plans to run within Italy. Ryanair also flies 16 domestic routes within the UK, most of them to and from Derry or Belfast in Northern Ireland. The airline also maintains three domestic routes apiece in France and Germany.

I'm ready to say that this domestic route approach is turning into the key route map development of 2008 for Ryanair. I expected the airline to slowly but consistently open up additional destinations in places like Bulgaria, Ukraine, Israel, and Turkey over the course of the year. None of that has happened, at least not yet. Instead, we've got more and more domestic routes. In some markets, this approach to route development is clearly designed to provide an alternative to flailing local carriers; in France and Germany, the goal seems to be to simply mark territory, subtly hinting at what might happen if the airline decided to expand domestic routes more fully.

Bristol Hotel, Frankfurt

I spent Sunday night at the Bristol Hotel in Frankfurt, a property I found on the Tablet Hotels site. I've never used Tablet Hotels to find a hotel before; the site's listings tend to stretch far beyond my budget. But I was intrigued by the boutique hotel with a "small" single room for just €70 per night, and I booked a room.

I'm so glad I did. After a week of very simple, budget accommodations in the Balkans, Bristol was just what the doctor ordered. My room was big enough, done in a crisp black and white aesthetic, and boasted free Wi-Fi. There's also a fantastic breakfast spread. The jam selection alone is worth a mention. Location-wise, Bristol is also a winner, just a few blocks from the main train station.

A little style, a nice breakfast, a good bed, an ideal location, and friendly staff for €70. I understand that for some of my readers, €70 isn't cheap for a night in a hotel; that acknowledged, in the context of the extortionate nightly rates charged for hotels of far lower quality across Europe, Bristol represents an awfully good value.

Germany: Some Images from Marburg (& Deutsche Bahn)

Morning paper and coffee on the train.

Signage, Marburg.

A twist on the theme of self-medication, Marburg.

Quaint Marburg.

Five German Discoveries

I really enjoyed the time I had in Germany before and after my Balkans adventure. I haven't spent any time in Germany since 2006, and it was great to immerse myself in German idioms for several days.

Following is a list of five discoveries that delighted and intrigued me.

1. Milka with Daim. The mere sight of Milka's violet wrapping paper makes me hungry. I know that my love of milk chocolate disqualifies me from the good chocolate snob leagues, but I don't really care. Everyone knows that nothing makes milk chocolate better than liberal sprinklings of toffee throughout. This confection does just that, and it's dreamily perfect. Apparently, drfossie agrees.

2. Turkish language signage. This may not be new at all, but my recollection is that most public signage in Germany—regarding, say, which objects should not be thrown into toilets—has historically been restricted to German, English, French, Italian, and occasionally Spanish. The appearance of the Turkish language in such contexts is a no-brainer, considering that Germans of Turkish descent comprise the largest immigrant group in Germany by far. (Incidentally, I was also much more aware of the presence of Deutschtürken/innen in the German media on this visit. One media phenomenon, Gülcan Kamps (née Karahanci) seemed to follow me everywhere I went.)

3. How awesome the Süddeutsche Zeitung is. I think it might just be the best newspaper in the world. I really enjoyed Robert Knight's article in Monday's edition on the Germanization of southern Carinthia. It was fifty years ago this autumn that the southern Austrian state limited bilingual education dramatically. Knight writes about the introduction of bilingual education in the first years after the Second World War. The system was the brainchild of Josef Tischler, an ethnic Slovene who for a time was a member of the state government. Tischler sought to create a "second Switzerland" in Carinthia, within which Slovenian and German would coexist fruitfully. Alas, as we all know, Carinthia chose a more provincial path.

4. Great trashy pop tunes. Every time I turned on VIVA I came across delightful poppy songs, like "Florida Lady" by Frauenarzt & Manny Marc featuring Alexander Marcus, which samples Fancy's drastically underappreciated 1984 disco tune "Slice Me Nice." Also satisfying: sugary "2 Herzen" by Kate & Ben; the moody "So Soll Es Bleiben" by Ich & Ich; and, because shame is unknown to me, "Häschenparty" by Schnuffel.

5. Air Berlin. Free drinks, a sandwich, and newspapers and magazines on my cheap flight? Yes please.