GeorgeT Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Hey Philrad, didn`t you say you`ll post a Europa-TPR ? What are you waiting for...I´m curious...! Come on !!! Greeds...GeorgeT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 ^ Sorry, George! I had to travel to Maine, Boston and back this past weekend, so it was quite hectic with a quick turn-around. I will get to Europa tomorrow, I promise! I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for my reports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeT Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 I know how much you were looking forward to that...so of course I`m curious how it all turned out...! But you already mentioned that you had had a good time...so the most important thing is already said. You know, I raved a lot about Blue Fire, so I hope no one who travels so far, like you did, will be too dissapointed about Europa or especially B.F. GeorgeT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Europa Park - 10/1 First, I want to apologize for the delay in writing this one up. It has been a busy week and with the hack attempt, I figured it would be best to give the folks at TPR a few days to get things back in order. Thanks Robb and Elissa for all your hard work getting the site back up and running and for all the cool free stuff! Anywho, this is the one park that we decided to hit up during our trip to Germany. I had heard plenty of good reviews about Europa and a lot of people saying this was a must-do. I will say that it certainly didn't disappoint! Like Shaggy would say..."like, wow man?" Now I understand the quips about the American theme parks and their lack of theming ('cept Busch/Disney/Universal). This park has amazing theming and charm and getting a chance to visit during the Halloween theming was even better! Some simple things that I love about a good theme park: Clean and beautiful with plenty of good coasters and (of course) good beer! The only downfall was that it was a rather lengthy drive from Munich and the park closed at 6:00 PM, so unfortunately we did not get in all of the rides before closing. It was fun to drive on the Auto-Bahn, but I about crapped when we picked up the rental car (after I had booked an economy) and they hand me the keys to a friggin' full size Mercedes! Auto Bahn? Great fun. Driving in downtown Munich full of narrow, crowded streets with a brand new Mercedes? Get ready to poopen ze pantsen! Ride reviews: Blue Fire: Great addition for this park! The launch was not nearly as forceful as TTD/KK or Storm Runner but it didn't have to be. The hang time on the hill was interesting and the semi-slow corkscrew loop at the end lifted me off my seat (and made me lose all the change in my pocket)! I would like to see more of these coasters built...especially with those awesome (unrestricted) restraints! Silver Star: Another fun B&M hyper. I agree with those who say the trims on the hills have to go. It really takes away from the airtime and speed...but still a good ride. You simply can't go wrong with these coasters. Euro Mir: Biggest surprise in the park. This is without a doubt one of the coolest, original coasters I have ever ridden! We rode in the back backwards facing seat and the turns and spins were simply insane! Not to mention that this coaster takes the cake for coolest, most effed up lift hill ever! Not the scariest ride in the world and definitely not an airtime machine - just a very unique, awesome coaster! Euro Sat: Loved how they transformed this into a giant pumpkin! Not the most thrilling indoor coaster, but definitely kicks the crap out of Disaster Transport. I guess if you had to nitpick one thing about the park would be that they seemed to be lacking in the flat ride department. No biggie for me though as the park more than made up for it with the kick-ass theming and good collection of coasters! PS - Sorry for some of the darker images with the blue background. Not sure how my camera got put on the "Cornflower" setting, but it is something I will have to watch for next time! Yes, I will even miss you too excessive trim brakes on Silver Star....goodbye! (SOB!) Thanks for reading! Alas...the time has come to say goodbye. Goodbye EuroMaus...goodbye Russian TV Santa, goodbye SpookyCorn, goodbye Banana Splits on acid - I love you and will miss you all! Yep, you see right folks...no guard at the train crossing even though the train zips by at about 20MPH! See, the Germans have these things called responsibility and accountability. They assume that you are going to look both ways before crossing the railroad intersections. They assume that you are smart enough to pull down your lap bar on rides and to not be foolish enough to try and stand up on a ride. Therfore, there are no needs for additional seat belts on coasters, stapling, or double/triple checks security - dispatching was amazingly fast! The motto: "Hey, if you were dumb-ass enough to not pay attention and follow the rules then you probably deserved to fail!" God, I love Europe! Here we go with more of this random theming crap again! I am starting to think that Germans REALLY get into Halloween and love them some pumpkins! One of the restaurants, I believe. Wha? No Johnny Rockets, Panda Express, or Papa Johns? Especially statues that can pee out of their own mouth! And who doesn't like theming? While they may have lacked Mr. Roger's, they more than made up for it with great theming! They had a fairy-tale forest that sort of reminded me of Idlewild, but minus the awesomeness that is Mr. Roger's Neighborhood! We didn't get on this one - it sure looked fun though! Sorry for the crappy shot, but this is where you get the extreme hang-time in the barrel-roll. With the unique free-style restraint system, I was a little nervous about falling out! Try putting your hands up through this element! Along with a crazy bit of ejector air here. I'm a fan of big, fat loops! Only a couple pics of Blue Fire to share... More great theming! Fish nets with a fisherman showing why he REALLY likes fish! After the craziness that was Russia, we decided to tone it down a bit with some Scandinavian love. I would not have gotten wet on this rapid's ride if it weren't for those Scandinavian kids with their water cannons - damn you! Note: no seat belts needed on the rapids ride! When we bumped the wall near the waterfall, I was jolted hard enough to almost end up in another riders lap - pure untamed fun...love it! No joke...this is one effed-up coaster! After being chased by Snorky, Fleegle, Bingo and Drooper, we decided to make our escape to the mirrored glass buildings with the spinning coaster attached. The a-bomb must be kicking in pretty heavy now! Did I just say "mirrored glass buildings with a spinning coaster attached"? WTF? When I saw Snorky from the Banana Splits, I was getting very afraid that someone had slipped me a tab of acid during my experience with the Russian transvestite Santa! After being completely mesmerized by "It's a Russian World" we were thrust out of our strange hallucinatory world into the middle of a Halloween parade! Next election, I say we vote this dude in as our new Santa. How could kids not love the baby-blue silk sash and the hair...my God, the frickin' HAIR! I LOVE IT! It's like Jerry Garcia meets Ozzy Osborne (70's version) meets Liberace! I would like to see him with a few more jewels and sequins...maybe even some fish net stockings and a boob job? They had a "It's a Russian World" that was beyond awesome. However, I think it would have been better if they would have played "In a Big Country" by Big Country during the ride. If you are over 30, you might get that one. Let's take a quick trip to Russia! Mmmm...coaster Pr0n! Didn't get on the bobsled run. Too bad, cause it looked like a lot of fun. Hey, I made a rhymes! Children's play area - the slides looked awesome! Holy Sh#t! It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Next up...the obligatory Sky Tower shots. Kasplooshen! Any water ride in which you enter through a horse's arse is probably going to crack anyone's Top Ten! It was fun with an acceptable amount of wetness. First ride of the day...our first Aquatrax (I think)! Take note American parks: You must have Spooky-Corn at ALL Halloween events in 2010! I wanted Michael to snuggle up to the saggy-boobed pumpkin-headed German granny, but he was leary that Spooky-Corn was going to drop the punkin' on his head. ...bit! ...tiny... But only a little... Speaking of dead, they were fully decked for Halloween. Euro-Maus likes the green and wears flowers in his hair. Think he has ever visited the Haight or gone to a Dead show? Everything is sooo green at Ooropah, but why is the picture so blue? WTF? Being greeted by some B&M hotness is a very nice way to say: "Welcome, you American drunks!" Mickey's long lost cousin welcomes you to OoropahPahhhk. Hoorah, it's Euro-Maus...we're finally here! I wanted to have Michael take a pic when I was going 180KM, but I think he was too busy crapping his pants! This was almost as good as a bonus credit! It was interesting to try and use the German GPS! Luckily, I had mapped out the drive from the car rental to Europa so no worries there! So we rent a car from Sixt and I am expecting a small compact. This was what they gave us...holy crap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbolaaf Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Nice report. I went to Europapark a few days before (see my photo report of blue fire). Since its not that far for me as you i still like the park a lot. Its the best park out there from what i did this far (and thats a lot including the USA). Epcot is my second one. Did you sleep in one of the hotels ? They really themed well. Anyway thanks for the fun report. And next time: push the pedal to the metal when you're on the Autobahn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 ^Thank you for the kind comments - glad you liked my report! We did not get to stay at one of the themed hotels at the park because we had already booked a hotel for five nights in Munich well over a year in advance. I kinda wished that we would have been able to stay at the Italian Colosseum themed hotel - that looked great! I will say that Europa is one of the better theme parks I have ever visited. I cannot wait till I get back to Epcot in January...it has been at least fifteen years since I last visited so I will be interested to see all of the changes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryancrash Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Europa is one of my fave parks in the world. And from the photos, I'd say it looks even better decked out with Halloween decor! Can't wait to go back next Summer and ride Blue Fire. Oh yeah - Hotel Colliseo is amazing, easily one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at in my life. I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMorgan Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Philrad, Your comments about why there are no extra seatbelts, stapling, etc are SPOT ON! You've got the right idea about the European attitude of "Well, did you think to LOOK to see if the train was coming?" or "Did you not know that if you stand up on a logflume, you might fall out?" Great trip report, and funny captions, (especially about the long haired blue Santa Garcia JC Superstar figure). And, if you miss Oktoberfest, you can always check out my 2 part "Unofficial Guide to Oktoberfest": Part Eins: Part Zwei: Enjoy! (Note to monitors: I'm not sure what the policy is about posting links to Youtube at the moment here on the TPR forums. I DID try to post them at Coastertube, but the sight is apparently down now?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Your comments about why there are no extra seatbelts, stapling, etc are SPOT ON! You've got the right idea about the European attitude of "Well, did you think to LOOK to see if the train was coming?" or "Did you not know that if you stand up on a logflume, you might fall out?" I've actually been stapled a fair amount in Europe. Though usually on Intamin coasters. This might just be because the ride computer won't dispatch the train if the bars aren't down far enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 ^^Wow...awesome videos, Morgan! Watching them made me miss Oktoberfest and realize how much fun it was. I want to go back! I forgot to mention the difference between American and German Schnapps. We got a couple of those small bottles and I was expecting something like McGillicuddy's...it was more like grain alcohol with a slight flavor! That is some strong stuff there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I definitely need to go to Oktoberfest at some point in my life. Really enjoyed reading through your report. Europa Park looks awesome as usual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 Happy Halloween everyone! I am finally back to do my last installment of our European tour: the beautiful city of Amsterdam. While we did not have time to hit up any parks during our quick three day stay, we did manage to see and do a lot of the awesome things in the city. I could definitely live in this city...not that I am into legalized sex, mj, or kick-ass beer! Not sure if I should be offended, or laugh at the name of this store? Don't worry, I don't offend easily! I actually got a great deal on a new skirt w/matching heels here! Thanks for reading - Day Two coming soon featuring the Heineken Experience, windmills and of course....cheese! The coffee here is delicious! Make sure you stop in one of these during your visit. For some reason, this coffee made me hungry and tired though...how strange is that? They even had hanging condoms filled with stuff! The one in the lower right corner must have been John Holmes' or something. Ouch. They had a toy store where you could even by a vibrator that hooked up to your Ipod! Guess that gives a whole new meaning of "groove to the beat" or would that be "beat to the groove"?? This is the famous red-light district. You can't take pics of the ladies of the evening or a big man will come over, take your camera and stomp on it, then throw you in the canal! And yes...they had plenty of things pertaining to that naughty 'S' word! This one was dedicated to the foliage of Holland. After the awesomeness that was Manneken Pis, we decided to walk around a bit. Here is a vodka museum. See, I told you there were a lot of cool museums! Best. Fries. Ever! Of course, you have to eat them how the locals do - slathered in mayonnaise! They have about twenty different toppings for the fries, but we stuck with the most popular...and they didn't disappoint. These are definitely not your typical fast food fries! Manneken Pis translates into "little man urinating!" I believe they are named after a statue in Brussels where he pees into a fountain. Europe rocks so hard! Manneken Pis! Seriously, if you have never had these fries, hop on a plane and get to Europe now! This was one of our favorites: Bitterballen! It was like a meatball with breading that you dipped in spicy mustard. Really good, but not quite as kick ass as... And the awesome food! Ahhh...who are we kidding? We came for the beer! Amsterdam is not only about the legal sex, weed and beer...they have a great selection of must-do art museums like the Rembrandt and Van Gogh. I think this might be Central Terminal on Damrak. Europe has all the cool buildings and stuff. There are a lot of canals and water in Amsterdam, but you already knew that, right? So, why did I mention it? I don't know, dammit!!!! First stop after checking into the hotel...to the city tour bus! Seriously, these are a nice, affordable way to see a city that you have never visited. We did the one in Munich as well. I Amsterdam...yes I am, yes I am!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Awesome! awesome! awesome! I'm going to The Netherlands next semester to study abroad and I'll be REALLY close to Amsterdam so I'm totally diggin' your photos. Do share more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iplf Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Being Belgian, I'm practically obliged to respond to your post . The bitterballen are indeed amazing. You can buy them everywhere in Belgium too, but I guess they're even more popular in The Netherlands. You can even get them at McDonalds. And if you by a 'kroket' out of the wall, it's the same, but just longer. In Belgium 'kroketten' are long round potatos with a crust. We call the Dutch 'kroketten' 'vleeskroketten (meat kroketten)'. For a bag of 50 brand-bitterballen in the grocery store you pay 2,50 euro, which is a VERY low price. And everyone here owns a deepfry here btw. But the main reason I'm posting is the fries. I'm pretty sure these french fries from Manneken Pis tasted like an angel pissing sweet liquor on your tongue, but seriously, they're nowhere near as good as the most mediocre portion of french fries in Belgium. Next time, take the 2 hour drive to Belgium and go eat some REAL french fries. I guarantee you, you won't regret it!. I don't now how come, but the ONLY place with the real Belgian french fries is North Belgium (Flanders). Germany, Spain, Holland, South Belgium... You can find places saying they sell Belgian fries in all those countries, but often they're a disgrace to the real french fries! But well, I'm happy that you got the taste of semi-real french fries, hehe. See you in Belgium next year . Oh, and I love TR's that show some culture as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iplf Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 ^And Manneken Pis is indeed a very small statue in Brussels, but very famous as well. Strangely enough, when other countries put the Dutch word above a fries-shop, they always say 'frites', but in fact the word we use is 'frieten'. (as you can see the sign in Amsterdam says Vlaamse frites) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 But the main reason I'm posting is the fries. I'm pretty sure these french fries from Manneken Pis tasted like an angel pissing sweet liquor on your tongue, but seriously, they're nowhere near as good as the most mediocre portion of french fries in Belgium. Next time, take the 2 hour drive to Belgium and go eat some REAL french fries. I guarantee you, you won't regret it!. ^ Loved the angel comment! Seriously, I definitely would love travel to Belgium on my next adventure...the food in Europe is simply amazing and I know I would love it! I am trying my hand at making Belgian fries right now from a recipe I got off the internet. They are cooling now before the 2nd dip in the deep fryer...can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iplf Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 But the main reason I'm posting is the fries. I'm pretty sure these french fries from Manneken Pis tasted like an angel pissing sweet liquor on your tongue, but seriously, they're nowhere near as good as the most mediocre portion of french fries in Belgium. Next time, take the 2 hour drive to Belgium and go eat some REAL french fries. I guarantee you, you won't regret it!. ^ Loved the angel comment! Seriously, I definitely would love travel to Belgium on my next adventure...the food in Europe is simply amazing and I know I would love it! I am trying my hand at making Belgian fries right now from a recipe I got off the internet. They are cooling now before the 2nd dip in the deep fryer...can't wait! You won't But good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaman Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 "If you want coffee, you go to a cafe. You want marijuana, you go to a coffee shop." Awesome TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 But the main reason I'm posting is the fries. I'm pretty sure these french fries from Manneken Pis tasted like an angel pissing sweet liquor on your tongue, but seriously, they're nowhere near as good as the most mediocre portion of french fries in Belgium. Next time, take the 2 hour drive to Belgium and go eat some REAL french fries. I guarantee you, you won't regret it!. I don't now how come, but the ONLY place with the real Belgian french fries is North Belgium (Flanders). Germany, Spain, Holland, South Belgium... You can find places saying they sell Belgian fries in all those countries, but often they're a disgrace to the real french fries! But well, I'm happy that you got the taste of semi-real french fries, hehe. See you in Belgium next year . It's always funny to see how seriously Belgians take their fries! Yeah, I've had the real Flemish fries. They are better than what I got in Amsterdam. Yeah, they probably are the best fries I've had. But, then again, some of the worst fries I ever had were in Belgium as well. Some really nasty fast food place called Quick. YUCK! But that wasn't in Flanders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 If you have to put mayo on fries, they can't be that good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Great Trip report! Your talk about the Fries reminded me of the opening scene from the movie Pulp Fiction when Jules and Vincent are driving in the car. Vincent: You know what they put on French Fries in Holland instead of ketchup? Jules: What? Vincent: Mayonnaise. Jules: Godd*m. Vincent: I've seen'em do it, man. They f*ckin drown'em in that sh*t. I'll have to look up a recipe for 'Belgian' fries, and break out the deep fryer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iplf Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 But the main reason I'm posting is the fries. I'm pretty sure these french fries from Manneken Pis tasted like an angel pissing sweet liquor on your tongue, but seriously, they're nowhere near as good as the most mediocre portion of french fries in Belgium. Next time, take the 2 hour drive to Belgium and go eat some REAL french fries. I guarantee you, you won't regret it!. I don't now how come, but the ONLY place with the real Belgian french fries is North Belgium (Flanders). Germany, Spain, Holland, South Belgium... You can find places saying they sell Belgian fries in all those countries, but often they're a disgrace to the real french fries! But well, I'm happy that you got the taste of semi-real french fries, hehe. See you in Belgium next year . It's always funny to see how seriously Belgians take their fries! Yeah, I've had the real Flemish fries. They are better than what I got in Amsterdam. Yeah, they probably are the best fries I've had. But, then again, some of the worst fries I ever had were in Belgium as well. Some really nasty fast food place called Quick. YUCK! But that wasn't in Flanders. Political instability, child rapists/murderes (Marc Dutroux), family killings, pollution, the country with the most light in the world, a national soccer team that sucks big time... French fries (and chocolate and beer) are the only thing we van be proud of. Hehe, but you're right, we take it very seriously! And Quick indeed is awful. There used to be a lot of Quick restaurants in Belgium, but now they're are only a handful I guess, cause there A LOT worse than McDonalds (which is quite average). Making your own fries in the deep fryer is actually a pretty good idea and they taste delicious. However, different than the ones you can buy in a 'frituur' (fries restaurant/shop/take-away). One of the key points to make them is to bake them twice. That Pulp Fiction scene is so funny, hehe. I prefer ketchup though. Back on topic now, haha . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Political instability, child rapists/murderes (Marc Dutroux), family killings, pollution, the country with the most light in the world, a national soccer team that sucks big time... French fries (and chocolate and beer) are the only thing we van be proud of. You did also have the greatest cyclist of all time, but that's been a long time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Actually, my fries turned out pretty good last night! I even slathered them in mayo, although I had tried a recipe for home-made mayo that tasted like ass...so I scrapped that and reverted back to Hellmans mayo. Next time, I might even buy some tartar sauce as that is the way I used to eat McDonalds fries! They weren't nearly as good as the one's we had in Holland, but I will have to practice. I agree that cooking them twice does add some nice crunchiness while keeping the inside soft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbit Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Great Report! good to hear that you like Amsterdam. and great pictures. Stone's cafe is really really fun! have you seen the night in Amsterdam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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