Guess I won´t be visiting the USA until 2007....

[Stahlsturm]

EC politicians finally got their asses up and decided on introducing new passports with biometric ID at the end of 2006. *sighs*

[newportstorm]

Hang in there. We'll still be here in 2007...I hope :eek:

Cheers!

[chazwicke]

LOL Good one, Newport!

[fretlessman71]

Stahl, we'll be sure to send you some real beer so you don't get the cravings TOO bad..... :D

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Hang in there. We'll still be here in 2007...I hope :eek:

I would hope so. Over half of my family lives over there and I´d like to see them again.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Stahl, we'll be sure to send you some real beer so you don't get the cravings TOO bad..... :D

Yeah... Right... Take a look at the list again and resume thine weeping, hähähähä.

[fretlessman71]

Actually, we all have a secret desire to travel to Germany and lose our passports, only to spend the next few years stowing away in the basement of a brewery..... MMMMMMmmmmmm.... ;)

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Actually, we all have a secret desire to travel to Germany and lose our passports, only to spend the next few years stowing away in the basement of a brewery..... MMMMMMmmmmmm.... ;)

LOL
You don´t have to loose your passport for that. German immigration law is very benign towards US citizens. After "importing" my wife I´m somewhat of an expert on that particular legal branch, hehehe.

[fretlessman71]

Legal, or IL-legal? ;)

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Legal, or IL-legal? ;)

Legal of course. But we did stretch the rules a few times. In order to successfully bend rules you need to know them first.

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Actually, we all have a secret desire to travel to Germany and lose our passports, only to spend the next few years stowing away in the basement of a brewery..... MMMMMMmmmmmm....

I've heard that jails in Germany have a beer ration...

S.

Sturm, umlauts over the "ha" As? Wouldn't that make you pronounce them: Hay (more or less)? ;)

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by steveh
I've heard that jails in Germany have a beer ration...

I assure you that´s a MYTH. You don´t want to see a german jail from the inside, they are full of russians and albanians who will stab you with a skrewdriver for looking the wrong way.

Originally posted by steveh
Sturm, umlauts over the "ha" As? Wouldn't that make you pronounce them: Hay (more or less)? ;)

I don´t actually know how to spell it out so you´d know how to pronounce it. It´s more a sharp "heh" than "hay" though.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
I assure you that´s a MYTH. You don´t want to see a german jail from the inside, they are full of russians and albanians who will stab you with a skrewdriver for looking the wrong way.

LOL!!

Oh, and Damn! on the myth. ;)

S.

[Stahlsturm]

Visit our beergardens, avoid the jails :D

[MeridianFC]

It's a myth? This completely changes my plan for the next World Cup.

[steveh]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
It's a myth? This completely changes my plan for the next World Cup.

I know, I KNOW! I always figured my immigration plan would be to get arrested stealing Maß Krugs from the Oktoberfest -- free room and board, and beer! ;)

S.

[chazwicke]

It is nearly impossible to steal those litre mugs. Especially from the Hofbrau haus. My table was very near one of the doors one evening and I watched them stop lots people and take mugs away. even some that were well hidden. I have a litre mug that a friend of mine supposedly took from an Oktoberfest tent several years ago. I beginning to wonder if he didn't just buy one somewhere and tell me it came from a fest tent.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
It's a myth? This completely changes my plan for the next World Cup.

Hehe, keep your hooliganism at home, will ya ? :D

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by steveh
I know, I KNOW! I always figured my immigration plan would be to get arrested stealing Maß Krugs from the Oktoberfest -- free room and board, and beer! ;)

LOL
The only felons our government allows to stay are Russians, Albanians and generally everyone of middle eastern or african descent. Usually their felonies are things they´d get executed for in their home countries as well and we can´t subject them to such inhuman treatment, can we ? Do´t get me started on that issue... *grumble*

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by chazwicke
It is nearly impossible to steal those litre mugs. Especially from the Hofbrau haus. My table was very near one of the doors one evening and I watched them stop lots people and take mugs away. even some that were well hidden. I have a litre mug that a friend of mine supposedly took from an Oktoberfest tent several years ago. I beginning to wonder if he didn't just buy one somewhere and tell me it came from a fest tent.

Stolen Maßkrüge are the reason why beer at the Oktoberfest is so outragously expensive. Despite controls everywhere there´s a few thousand every year that somehow get displaced. I think it would be more fair to install a 20 €UR deposit per Maßkrug but of course that´d be too much effort and people are paying for the most part.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
Usually their felonies are things they´d get executed for in their home countries as well and we can´t subject them to such inhuman treatment, can we ?

LOL!

AFA Maß go, you're right Chaz, the HB really keeps an eye out, but - as Sturm refers - the Oktoberfest is a little easier. What most tents do, especially HB, is serve in un-labeled Krugs. Less tempting to take home.

And Sturm, I've been to smaller fests where they ask for a deposit on the glassware - and the deposit was so minimal (I swear this time, no senility) that I chose to take home the nice Häller Löwenbräu Weizen glass I'd been drinking from! ;)

S.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by steveh
LOL!

AFA Maß go, you're right Chaz, the HB really keeps an eye out, but - as Sturm refers - the Oktoberfest is a little easier. What most tents do, especially HB, is serve in un-labeled Krugs. Less tempting to take home.

And Sturm, I've been to smaller fests where they ask for a deposit on the glassware - and the deposit was so minimal (I swear this time, no senility) that I chose to take home the nice Häller Löwenbräu Weizen glass I'd been drinking from!

S.

You can buy those unlabeled glass Krüge (plural of Krug :P) in every glass ware store for under 10 $. I guess stealing them (or trying to) is more out of misunderstood "sportsmanship" than actual need to aquire something rare and special.

[chazwicke]

I have 2 unlabeled Litre mugs which I received as a gift some time ago.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I have 2 unlabeled Litre mugs which I received as a gift some time ago.

I prefer clay over glass krüge. Especially in Summer it keeps your brew cool a lot longer.

[chazwicke]

I've got plenty of them too. I rarely use the litre mugs as they are heavy and too big for most of my brews. The glass is very thick though.

[Stahlsturm]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I've got plenty of them too. I rarely use the litre mugs as they are heavy and too big for most of my brews. The glass is very thick though.

Never say a 1 liter beer is too big in Bayern unless you want to be considered a woman :P

[MeridianFC]

I love the 1l krug.

"Honey, I'm just going to have one or two beers......."

:)

[steveh]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
Never say a 1 liter beer is too big in Bayern unless you want to be considered a woman :P

Sturm, do you drink Starkbier from a 1l Krug? I could only bring myself to get a half liter at the Salvator Keller - wanted to leave room for more beer to come that day!

S.

Tho, I was drinking Maibock from the Maß! Hic.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
Never say a 1 liter beer is too big in Bayern unless you want to be considered a woman :P

When I pour a beer it is usually from a smaller bottle. My personal record for litres in one session was 8. and yes it was in Munchen.

Ordering a half pint in England is also sometimes considered womanly.

[Richard English]

At most beer festivals in England these days the price of your glass is included in the admission fee. So no problem with security; no problem with people forgetting glasses - indeed, no problem!

And many organisers decorate the galss with the details of the festival thus helping act as a reminder (should reminder be needed) about the following year's event.

[unkle bik]

Originally posted by Stahlsturm
EC politicians finally got their asses up and decided on introducing new passports with biometric ID at the end of 2006. *sighs*

What exactly is a "biometric ID"?
And why do you have to wait until 2007 anyhow?
Don't you have a passport now that you can use?

Just curious and bit uneducated.

[Richard English]

Its a new US requirement to help prevent terrorists getting into the USA. Biometric passports and fingerprint readers should help prevent impersonation.

Let's just hope nobody tells the terrorists that you can cross the Canada/US border (the longest in the world) without anyone even asking you to stop, let alone prove who you are.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
Let's just hope nobody tells the terrorists that you can cross the Canada/US border (the longest in the world) without anyone even asking you to stop, let alone prove who you are.

Well, that's not exactly true all along the border. The last time I crossed I had to show proof of residency - and that was long before 9/11.

S.

And on the way back to the U.S., I had to swear I had no beer or liquor!

[chazwicke]

I know folks who have recently had a difficult time at the NY crossings.

[Richard English]

Hey, let's hope those terrorists go across the New York crossings, then, and not across any one of the hundreds of unpatrolled roads all along that 3,000 odd miles.

[unkle bik]

Crossing the US/Canada border used to be a snap. A ten to twenty minute wait at the bridges or tunnels. Now, that has changed. Our family experienced an hour and half wait on the bridge both going to Canada and coming back.

They wanted ID for everyone in the car, including my 14 yr. old son. They also made me remove my sunglasses.

BTW, Richard, I don't want terrorists coming across ANY of our borders. NY or otherwise.

[Richard English]

Quote, "...BTW, Richard, I don't want terrorists coming across ANY of our borders. NY or otherwise...."

I think we would all echo that thought. My slightly jaded remarks come about because of the USA's very stringent regulations which have caused much inconvenience and expense to travellers from most European countries but which have not, I suggest, done very much at all to deter terrorists.

After all, if you were a terrorist would YOU choose to come into, say, Washington DC when you could come in via many, many entry points where the security is far less.

We all wish to protect our countries against terrorism and, goodness knows, we've had our fair share of it in London, but I remain to be convinced that the US Government's restrictions on personal freedom have done much to help in the aim of keeping terrorism at bay.

[threecb]

Originally posted by steveh
And on the way back to the U.S., I had to swear I had no beer or liquor!

Yeah, I lied, too.;)

[steveh]

Originally posted by threecb
Yeah, I lied, too.;)

I have no idea what you're talking about.

S.

Richard, I think you'd be surprised at how many of those 3000 miles don't actually have roads - let alone what you might bump into along those stretches of hinterland...

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Richard English
Quote, "...BTW, Richard, I don't want terrorists coming across ANY of our borders. NY or otherwise...."

I think we would all echo that thought. My slightly jaded remarks come about because of the USA's very stringent regulations which have caused much inconvenience and expense to travellers from most European countries but which have not, I suggest, done very much at all to deter terrorists.

After all, if you were a terrorist would YOU choose to come into, say, Washington DC when you could come in via many, many entry points where the security is far less.

We all wish to protect our countries against terrorism and, goodness knows, we've had our fair share of it in London, but I remain to be convinced that the US Government's restrictions on personal freedom have done much to help in the aim of keeping terrorism at bay.


I had a difficult time sending back even food from England. I was in Fortnum and Mason and brought my load to the shipping counter as is my usual habit and was told that last March the US had imposed strict new rules with regard to shipping in groceries and foodstuffs. And F & M could no longer ship to the states. Something to do with bio terrorism. So the woman packaged and wrapped everthing up for me and even gave me boxes and I was going to mail them myself but instead I just hand carried them. The check in at Dulles did not involve them looking through any of my stuff.

Several years ago I traveled from Montana up to Canada and there was a manned border crossing whit a wide cut through the forests as far as I could see in each direction along the border. about as wide as a football field. Don't really know if there were cameras or some sort or surveillance along that cut though.

[Richard English]

Quote "...Richard, I think you'd be surprised at how many of those 3000 miles don't actually have roads - let alone what you might bump into along those stretches of hinterland......"

That's true. I didn't mean to imply it would be like falling off a log - just that it would be a lot easier than going via JFK. Let's face it, the US/Mexico border is much shorter yet there are thousands of illegal immigrants through that one.

[MeridianFC]

Can't you still just walk across the border without so much as a how'dya do?

If somebody wants into this country they're getting in. I watched the the FBI's Joint Anti Terrorism Task Force arresting folks in a counterfeit id sting on Columbia Road yesterday. All those folks got in somehow.

You just can't have as big a border as we have and hope biometric id, or what have you, is going to work.

[chazwicke]

On the corner across from my office in Annandale every morning there are between 100-200 Latin males standing out waiting for day jobs. The Immigration Service sometimes patrols the area and also stops vehicles that stop to hire these guys. Mainly landscape and construction trucks. While some of my female employees no longer go across the street to the 7 11 because of the whistles and calls I really do not mind them. They are there because they want to work and are doing jobs that others wont do for the same wage. Hell, I've considered hiring them myself and may do so next time I have 10 yards of mulch delivered.

[wortchillergoal]

A woman I work with has ended up in a tough but funny situation as the US tries to get rid of people here illegaly. Her parents came here from Italy and became citizens. They went back to italy for a two year visit and she was born over there. There was a paper work snafu and now some 28 plus years later our government says she is not a citizen. She is going through all kinds of paperwork to clear the mess up.

I do have to agree with Richard about the US/ Canada border. I am sure terrorists don't care if ther are roads or what wildlife they might run into. It seems that we need more attention there instead of people who want to send real crumpets to us from England.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by wortchillergoal

It seems that we need more attention there instead of people who want to send real crumpets to us from England.

Well it was Stilton, biscuits, chutneys and even haggis and not crumpets

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Well it was Stilton, biscuits, chutneys and even haggis and not crumpets

Crumpets were meant more for the point but I stand corrected. I am impressed though. Do you eat haggis?

[chazwicke]

Actually I have had haggis and I liked it. The haggis I brought back was canned and as a gag gift for my office.

I knew you were just making a point. ;)

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Actually I have had haggis and I liked it. The haggis I brought back was canned and as a gag gift for my office.

I knew you were just making a point. ;)

I knew you knew. I was trying to cover the puck so to speak. I was also trying to get to 1000 last night and that sequence of words was one of the first in my head.