Very productive LabourStart retreat. Happy to say I wound-up on the Executive Committee. Unhappy I couldn't take a few more days off and spend some time in the city afterwards. Left Tuesday night, returned
Monday. Had an hour or three (and an equal number of luscious beers)
with an old friend the day I arrived and a few hours walking and talking
with him and another after our meeting was over.
The Hotel Chelten was a very nice little tourist hotel. Oddly dim breakfast room but the buffet breakfast quite pleasant. Wonderful terrace on the roof. Nice neighbourhood. Some pleasant reasonably-priced restaurants nearby. Five minutes at most to the nearest Metro station. Some interesting neighbourhoods within 20 minutes walk in several directions. 30 minutes walk to the old centre of the city.
Great rail connections all over Europe.
City walkable, Great beer. And by that I mean GREAT beer. Problem is, they have a great many really high-alcohol beers. Which don't taste like other 13%+ beers (i.e. like a light beer with rubbing alcohol added), but are actually quite tasty. Till now the high-alc winner in my little contest was a Sri Lankan stout at, I think, 12%). Found a touristy-funky little bar in the old city centre that served flights of beer. Wonderful little beer shops all over the place.
And an all-Tin-tin book and everything else Tin-tin shop.
Photos of the non-LabourStart bits of the trip HERE. Photos of the LabourStart bits HERE and an account of the retreat itself can be found HERE.
