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  1. #1
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    panama hat's Avatar
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    A funny thing happened on the way to <insert country here>

    As TD is populated by people from all over the globe it would be fun to see how we perceived oddity in our travels.

    Many of us have travelled a bit, so let's share some anecdotes that have been odd, vile, disgusting, funny, idiosyncratic, sad - one visit at a time. Could be Thailand, anywhere or even home.


    I'll start with



    As mentioned a few days ago I was on a business trip to Sweden when working out of Amsterdam - always liked Sweden and Swedes. Stockholm is quite nice along the water's edge and I once had a Swedish girlfriend from Lidköping while on a class trip to London a long time ago. Ah, Meg . . .

    Anyway, I digress. The meetings were scheduled for Thursday and Friday and as I wasn't too fond of Holland I almost always spent my weekends in whichever country I had scheduled my visits for.

    I mentioned this to the GM of the company I was visiting and he invited me to a party he was having on the Saturday. This was the IT world so the GM was in his late 30s.

    I arrived on the Saturday and there were about 20 people there, in various states of inebriation - the food was good and the drink was plenty - his house outside of Stockholm was very nice.

    As the day wore on and the Swedes started getting past the 'slightly inebriated' stage they started to talk about how they were Vikings, or descendants of Vikings . . . and a lot of chest-thumping came along with it when Åke went to his chicken coop (this was in his country house, remember) took out a few chooks and passed them to his friends.

    They then decided to rip the heads off these chickens while extolling the massive Viking-ness of it all.


    Yup - ripped them clean off . . . one of the weirdest things I have ever seen in my life and this was in EUROPE


    Ok, that's my first story - please feel free to share a story - see if we can do them one at a time


  2. #2
    Thailand Expat helge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    this was in EUROPE
    No it was not

    Asia starts just east of Copenhagen


    You are welcome

    Weird people indeed

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by helge View Post
    No it was not

    Asia starts just east of Copenhagen. You are welcome Weird people indeed
    And the Scandi wars start again . . . (I hope you've recovered from your last hangover, helge ))

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat
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    Ok, in an attempt to balance it out before lom throws a pickled Surströmming at helge . . .



    My next anecdote takes us to Denmark, Kopenhagen to be precise. Always loved the Danes, brilliant people. I spent a bit of time working just across the German border at the port in Eckenrförde and there were heaps of Danes in town, especially at week-ends . . . usually soused up to the gills thanks to cheaper German alcohol (sound familiar, helge? )

    So, picked up at the airport by the IT head of our Danish partner - I had flown in from Paris and wanted to spend the week-end (see above re. week-ends) in Kopenhagen.
    The IT head was an old hippie, including the shoulder-length hair - a stoner from way back - his name was so apt - the English translation is Starman. The hotel had screwed up my reservations and there was a lot going on in the city the rest of the week, something EU-related, I think.

    So, Ken kindly offered for me to stay at his house for the duration, Thu-Sun. He lived in an older building in Kopenhagen, I don't remember where but it took us about half an hour to the office from his place.

    Friday night he asked me if I'd like to go to dinner and then Christiania afterwards for ... umm ... relaxation.

    Suit (me) and casual (Ken) and we went to Christiania after a very nice meal and were waking around happily when we noticed a teen/tween woman dancing in the street and coming towards us - yes, dancing and singing . . . seeming rather happy about life.

    As she drew level with us, out of the blue, she gave me the biggest slap in the face I'd ever experienced (and I spent a few years in a boarding school run by monks who enjoyed he odd bit of corporal punishment. Again, thanks dad), sang a few words in Danish and continued dancing and singing down the street.

    Ken 'Starman" was pissing himself laughing and responded to my question as to why me and not him or both us . . . "You're wearing a suit in Christiania, what do you expect".

    Danes

    Last edited by panama hat; 23-11-2020 at 10:29 AM. Reason: edit: pic hosting probs

  5. #5
    I'm in Jail

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    A suit there ! You utter turkey.

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat
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    Umm, ok . . . you did read that we went there from work . . . and meetings.

    Anyway, you must have had the odd noteworthy travel experience to share . . .


    I may have misread LD's post . . . to provide a bit of background:

    Christiania:

    What is Freetown Christiania?


    Christiania is a former military base that sat abandoned for many years before becoming the neighborhood we know today. In 1971, a group of hippies broke down the barricades and began squatting there. Nowadays, approximately 900 people live in the area, comprising a community that has its own rules and regulations completely independent of the Danish government.

    Christiania has been famous for many years thanks to the permanent stalls along Pusher Street—or ‘The Green Light District’, as it was once known—that sold all types of cannabis (illegal elsewhere in Denmark).





    Last edited by panama hat; 23-11-2020 at 11:05 AM.

  7. #7
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    So an illegal hippie commune

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat Saint Willy's Avatar
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    A funny thing happened on the way to &lt;insert country here&gt;-welsh-flag-jpg

    I was working on a project with a team from around the globe. Mostly online but a few times we had to meet face to face in Wales for a few days to check and align our work. One time we were scheduled to be in Cardiff one the same week as the UK motor rally and every hotel in Cardiff was full, so we had been put up in a Bed and Breafkast about half way to Swansea and shared a taxi in and out each day.

    Friday evening we had finshed for the day and were getting a lift home, we made up an Aussie, a Kiwi, a French Canadian and a Syrian. We were discussing where to watch the Rugby that night (I think it was the six nations) and converstation centered around we had already been in Cardiff last evening and Swansea was only another 11 miles from our BnB. The taxi driver politely interuppted, and said could he give his opinion?

    Sure, we said.

    He said, "I dont reccomend going to Swansea. I'd go back to Cardiff, if I were you."

    We asked why, he said "Well, they're just different, not really friendly and they talk funny."

    We found that amusing given we practically covered the globe of different accents, and he thought a 22 mile difference in towns meant the accent would be an issue.
    Warning: Be cautious if you are a fragile pink

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheRealKW View Post
    We found that amusing given we practically covered the globe of different accents, and he thought a 22 mile difference in towns meant the accent would be an issue.
    Europe, gotta love it.

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