Well Oppo, it's that time again...

"cabarne4" (cabarne4) 04/19/2014 at 16:54 • Filed to: trainlopnik

0

34

That's right, another installment of why the hell is he still writing? None of us actually care...

This is update number 3 in my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and I've promised to write about the whole trip. That's right, you can expect more of these posts bothering you well into your holiday weekend!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

When you last tuned in, I was facing a dreaded 9 hour layover in St. Louis. Well I'm happy to report that I didn't knaw my arm off, didn't murder any fellow traingoers, and failed at finding any alcohol (luckily there's some quite expensive beer on the train). I did, however, watch one ENTIRE movie!

Now I'm on my next train, en route to Kansas City. So, yeah. Missouri. For the next 5 and a half hours.

Sadly this train isn't an overnighter, so no double-decker viewliner cars. Just single level seats and a snack car in the rear.

Will I be sufficiently drunk upon arrival in Kansas City? Will there be a murder mystery involved? Will I actually make it to Flagstaff?

Stay tuned to find out!

UPDATE (#1?): Heineken and a movie on a very glare-y screen. Why do people drive places?

(Ignore the wrist brace. Got wrist surgery last week. Sad Jalop can't shift gears).

YSI-what can brown do for you > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 16:55

0

Where exactly are you headed?

cabarne4 > YSI-what can brown do for you 04/19/2014 at 16:56

0

Flagstaff, AZ. I've got college stuff to do for next semester.

YSI-what can brown do for you > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 16:59

0

Ah alright. I usually don't have to travel so I don't really deal with lay overs and trains and all that. Seems like a real pain though, hopefully the trip will go by quickly!

jkm7680 > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 17:00

0

Oooh Oooh, Eat a Rubber Hot Dog. Those are terrible.

Before eating it, get reasonably drunk. It'll make it taste less like a Condom wrapped around a sock.

cabarne4 > YSI-what can brown do for you 04/19/2014 at 17:02

1

It's comparable to driving cross country, only it's cheaper, doesn't require putting thousands of miles on my car, it's incredibly comfortable, you can walk around, stretch out, or sleep all while comfortably doing 80 mph, and you can drink the entire way (speaking off, to the snack car!).

Only issues (in the US): Sharing lines with freight traffic means getting stuck behind the occasional slow freight train, or behind backups when you reach the switchyard before the terminal. Also, poor schedules because it's not too popular here, which is why you wind up with 9 hour layovers. It really is a great way to travel though, if you're not in too much of a hurry.

cabarne4 > jkm7680 04/19/2014 at 17:03

0

That's literally what I'm just about to do. We're just now pulling out of STL, and I'm about to head to the snack car.

YSI-what can brown do for you > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 17:06

0

Yeah, after about 2 hours of driving, I am always about ready to go and take an hour break, particularly in my car. If we had those bullet trains here though, this would be much more appropriate and probably cheaper for country trips for most people.

cabarne4 > YSI-what can brown do for you 04/19/2014 at 17:08

0

Amtrak top tip: pack your own food and drink. I just spent $10 for a Snickers and a Corona (I didn't want to make it seem like I ONLY wanted beer, after all).

I failed to find beer back in STL, so now I have to pay outrageous beer prices. Oh well, such is life.

EDIT: side note, I'm switching to Heinekin. Corona is terrible without lime.

Jayhawk Jake > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 17:40

0

I wasn't paying attention earlier, where did you originate? And how much did the ticket cost?

I once looked into taking a train instead of a plane from Kansas to Houston, but it wasn't cheap enough for the travel time to not just pay more for a plane.

cabarne4 > Jayhawk Jake 04/19/2014 at 17:44

0

Originating in Little Rock, AR. Train ticket was around $400 round trip. Flight would've been closer to $800 round trip through Phoenix, then I would've had to rent a car the whole time I'm there just to get from Phoenix to Flagstaff. I'm in no hurry and didn't feel like putting the wear and tear on my car (also, just got wrist surgery last week, so I can't shift). Rail is the way to go.

Also, Corona is shit without lime. Heineken is a better train beer.

jkm7680 > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 17:59

0

Nice, nice.

Don't eat the Pizza. Cardboard A La Cheese.

cabarne4 > jkm7680 04/19/2014 at 18:03

0

I've had it before. Not great, but I've had worse.

jkm7680 > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 18:05

0

Oh Yes, I've had much worse.

Tip of the day: Act like a Meth Addict so nobody sits next to you. That means assume fetal position, and mumble incoherently.

cabarne4 > jkm7680 04/19/2014 at 18:07

0

Hahahahaha I just put my computer on the tray beside me, and sit in the window seat, and sit at an angle. People just walk on to the next seat. Besides there's like 12 people in this car.

jkm7680 > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 18:10

0

Haha, Last time I was on Amtrak I sat in the aisle seat, and dumped my shit on the window seat. I got a couple dirty looks, but Ehhh. It was worth it.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 18:26

0

I really like that movie a lot! I'd have chosen a different beer though... ;-)

cabarne4 > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 04/19/2014 at 18:36

0

500 Days of Summer. Was wondering if anyone would catch that. Haha...Sweet E30 screentime.I'll hide other movie screenshots in later updates. :P

And, it's either Heineken, Corona (without lime), or slightly-beer-flavored-water.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 19:18

0

Nothing wrong with the E30, but Gordon-Levitt's character "Don Jon" had a better car in my opinion.

I'll look out for more movies.

And, okay! Now Heineken seems to be a reasonable choice.

cabarne4 > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 04/19/2014 at 19:20

0

Oh yes, Don Jon. Gordon-Levitt is by far one of my favorite recent actors. Before 500 Days he really wasn't known.

Oh, and the movies are going to get harder. I even have quite a few German movies on here. ;) Good luck

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 19:47

0

I completely agree. He his versatile and enjoyable on the screen. I respect how he build his career after his early successes. By proving himself in smaller indie-movies where he didn't just play the "10 Things I Hate About You" and "500dos" rom-com nice guy - which he does magnificently - , he can now avoid type-casting. I sound like I have a crush on the guy. ;-)

I don't know whether you knew, but I'm German. Es könnte also peinlich werden, wenn ich die deutschen Filme nicht erkenne. Ich habe ja außerdem bereits gelesen, dass du die deutsche Sprache benutzt hast um die Obdachlosen abzuwimmeln. Warum sprichst du Deutsch? Hat das familiäre Gründe oder hast du es aus eigenem Interesse gelernt?

cabarne4 > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 04/19/2014 at 20:02

0

Nur Interessant für Deustch. Haha Ich habe Deutsch seit 9 Jahren in der Schule gelernen. Aber ich habe in die letzen 2 Jahren nicht gern Praciziert. Also jetzt mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut haha...

I've got the movies so I can practice a bit more. "Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei", "Eurotrip" (auf Deutsch), "Friendship!" (probably one of my favorite German movies), "Good Bye Lenin!" (another favorite), "Sherlock Holmes" (auch auf Deutsch), and some German snowboarding movies (Isenseven, if you know of the crew).

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 20:24

0

Nice! I'm watching movies/TV-shows in their original English version for more than a decade now and i'm still learning. "True Detective" for example was very difficult to understand and I had to rewind a few parts, since I didn't quite get it completely the first time. It's weird to know that you are doing it the other way round.

I have to go to bed now, it's way past 2am here and I'm half asleep already. But, if you were interested, I'd make a list of German movies you might want to check out tomorrow.

Godspeed!

Slave2anMG > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 20:35

0

Pity there's no proper dining car...the food in them is actually decent. The hot dogs are pretty bad. In March I took the train (11 hours each way) from NC to New York City...much more pleasant than flying, have A/C power and cell phone so I can actually work on the train. Screw flying.

cabarne4 > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 04/19/2014 at 20:39

0

Definitely! And, totally wanna go back to Germany. I've got a friend near Frankfurt, a friend studying in Deggendorf (north of Munich), and a friend in Austria, north of Salzburg.

cabarne4 > Slave2anMG 04/19/2014 at 20:43

0

I did Birmingham, AL to NYC as my first trip — that was a pretty good line.

This trip, I did Little Rock to St Louis — which had a dining car, though I got on the train near midnight. Caught breakfast just before reaching St. Louis. Now I'm on a train from St. Louis to Kansas City (which has a snack car, but no proper dining car), then I transfer to another train, which goes from Kansas City to Flagstaff, AZ (which will have dining service). Love travelling by train. Relaxed as shit, I can post to Oppo, and I don't have to have my privates scanned by the TSA. Also, drinking. I'm like 7 beers in right now.

Slave2anMG > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 20:53

0

B'ham to NYW was on the Crescent, name from the old Southern Rwy premier train the Crescent Limited that ran from New Orleans to NY.

I had to get my traingeek on and look at Amtrak...you're doing Texas Eagle (old Missouri Pacific RR train name) to Missouri River Runner (dunno) to the Southwest Chief (old Santa Fe train name). My NYC train is the Silver Star, a crack name train on the old Seaboard Air Line RR...I do like the way Amtrak kept many of the traditional names...

cabarne4 > Slave2anMG 04/19/2014 at 21:06

1

Yup yup. The return trip is gonna be fun, too. Flagstaff, AZ to LA, then LA to Little Rock. Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle, respectively. I've got a full day layover in LA.

Slave2anMG > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 21:10

0

Pity we don't get to ride this train - the Norfolk Southern Office Car train...

By the way, http://dixielandsoftware.net/Amtrak/status/… has some good info in case you're wondering about your train's status...

Agrajag > cabarne4 04/19/2014 at 21:26

1

Trains are awesome for that. Almost like a land cruise.

cabarne4 > Slave2anMG 04/19/2014 at 21:50

0

Office Car train? ...huh.

I just wish there was more Autotrain service, instead of just one train from Virginia to FL...

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > cabarne4 04/21/2014 at 10:42

1

So, here we go:

As you might have noticed by now, there are problems with German movies.

We can easily criticise Hollywood movies for overblown budgets and dumbing down everything. But the truth is that not everything made in Tinseltown is bad. Most of it is rather enjoyable. It's worth noting that German movies which are purely meant to entertain follow the same formula as their US counterparts. The German movie industry and audience is heavily influenced by Hollywood. So there are no noticeable differences in structure, story telling, characters, "feel" and overall technique. Compare this to Asian movies…

The real difference is, of course, the budget of German movies. It's significantly smaller, and finding money to produce a decent action flick is nearly impossible. In order to gather a decent budget you need funding from trusts like the Filmstiftung NRW. Quite often those trusts follow a cultural and educational goal. That's why the "high budget" productions are almost entirely set to a historic background covering German issues. And some of them do it well. It makes sense that the "feel" of a historic movie is enhanced by German actors speaking the correct language and filmmakers sensitive for the addressed issues. And because you can expect that those movies will also attract an audience outside of Germany as well those historic-drama movies will most likely return the investment in them. Because of budget concerns and the "educational value" German movies quite often feel forced and cramped - this is especially noticeable in Comedies.

This is a circle and one of the reasons why there are no movies like "Top Gun", "The Hangover" or "The Hobbit" produced in Germany. Too expensive, "no educational value", high risk and "the Americans do it better", so why try. This is changing a bit since the late 90s and movies clearly addressed to an international audience like "Cloud Atlas" are to a good part funded by German institutions and made by German filmmakers. So there is a silver lining.

After that long introduction, here is the list:

Das Boot – Although I'm pretty sure that you know this movie already, I have to mention it because it's simply one of the best movies ever made though pretty tough to understand in German, I'd guess.

Das Leben der Anderen – Also a very good movie period.

Herr Lehmann – One of my absolut favorites. If you want to get an insight into West Berlin of the late 80s and enjoy dry humor, this movie is essential. Enjoy a few beers while watching it!

Sonnenallee – One of the better Teen-Comedies – there are really awful ones - from Germany with a twist because it is set in the GDR (East Berlin to be precise)

Der Himmel über Berlin – This movie is difficult. It is loooong and maybe too experimental for its own good. But the cinematography and the portray of West Berlin in the 80s is marvellous.

Lola rennt – Of course! Very good movie! I like how Berlin is portrayed about a decade after the reunification. Basically everything is on the move in contrast to "Herr Lehmann", "Sonnenallee" and "Der Himmel über Berlin"

Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo – Drama about drugs and homeless children set in, you guessed it, West Berlin

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex

Das Experiment – There was a US-remake. I didn't watch it, but the original German version is good!

Elementarteilchen – A rather depressing movie based on a French book

Die Welle

Stalingrad – You don't need a big budget to produce a decent war movie. "Stalingrad" proofs it.

Die Brücke – Very moving war movie. Although it is from 1959 the message is still as strong as 50 years ago.

Pappa Ante Portas – For me one of the best German comedies ever made. Comedies are of course very difficult to understand for someone who is learning German.

Gegen die Wand – A highly acclaimed movie that gives the audience an insight into the lives of immigrants from Turkey

Im Juli – Very "warm" movie from the director of "Gegen die Wand". Watch, relax, enjoy…

Vincent will Meer

Soloalbum

Lammbock – Pretty basic Stoner-Movie, but entertaining

Bang Boom Bang – Also kind of a Stoner-Movie. This movie is set in the Ruhr for a change, this gives it a slightly different atmosphere.

Ein Freund von mir

Manta Manta – perhaps together with "Manta - Der Film" the only real car movie from Germany. Be warned, it's very cheesy and cheap! But for me, that's the point…

That's it for now. I will add movies below if I remember one I have missed here.

cabarne4 > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 04/22/2014 at 14:44

0

Great list! A few of them I've seen. Das Boot, Das Leben der Anderen, Die Welle, Das Experiment, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, and Lola Rennt.

I'll have to check the others out.

Some ones I like that you didn't list: Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei, Friendship!, and Good Bye Lenin!.

David Woods > cabarne4 04/30/2014 at 12:43

0

What are you watching, a foreign romance movie? I bet your eyes are currently filled with tears.

cabarne4 > David Woods 04/30/2014 at 17:53

0

Woodsie, you silly asshole. Haha it's 500 Days of Summer.