 Poster: A snowHead
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Sitter wrote: |
| ditto cheddar although this is something else available out there if you know where to look. |
I'd be interested to hear where, the only cheddar I've found in Austria has been the really crappy fake-coloured type, nothing like 'proper' cheddar. Closest I've found was something form St Johann (in Hofer, of all places, if anyone wants to know). Plenty of other great cheeses, but nothing beats cheddar.
Similarly 'proper' bacon is the only other thing I can't get hold of out here (can get English tea bags, but only Twinings' ENglish Breakfast, which is even more expensive here than the UK). In fairness, paracetamol/etc is a LOT cheaper in the UK too. |
Both Hofer and Lidl have had it in at times but friends of mine used to get it from Grisseman (Eurogast based out of Landeck). There was somewhere else that somebody managed to pick some up from but can't remember where.
There's an English shop in Salzburg that sells quite a lot of stuff too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| andy wrote: |
curry paste (for some reason - no clue why), .... totally overlooked the fact that they actually have some things called "supermarkets" there  (and the chillies etc. are ace, so the curry sauce got binned)
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Not sure if things have changed at all in the last 20 years but i found it almost impossible to find chillies or chilly powder in the Alps (or other Indian spices). I ended up having to get some from a cook in a big chalet.
Lots of people say coffee, but why? I look forward to French coffee in the Alps. Perhaps not quite as good as Italian but still....
They don't go in for toasters much so you could take one if you like toast (or you can just use the grill).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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French paracetamol is probably packaged together with a cellulite-reducing balm derived from a rare night-flowering plant grown only in Martinique and a homéopathique remedy for the "ennuis intestinaux" certain to be provoked by taking the kind of Paracetamol that costs 45p a box in Tesco. It's only available from a pharmacy which is closed daily from 12 - 1630 and it costs 23 euros for a 5 day course.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Ian Kenvyn wrote: |
| for when you need a warm cuddled feeling and no cuddlers are about. |
Personally I like to take my own cuddler but I gather the French do do nice ones.
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Wish I was doing a season instead of.... 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I have bought the car back to England from Switzerland for my major stock up before driving it all out mid November, just had a look at all the stuff piling up (a shrink would have a field day): porridge oats, marmite, masses of indian/thai herbs and spices, poppadums, cold and flu capsules, self-raising flour, `I could go on forever...a lot of english groceries are now in the Coop, but at a price. You have to be careful taking meat through customs though...they'll confiscate it if found.
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I would add to the list some supermarket multivitamins+iron and high strength vitamin C tablets.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Just had another thought..what about one of those ridiculously priced Norwegian Onesie romper suit things I saw in a London ski shop last week....yours for only £140 and so flattering!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Ski_AL, As you're going to Austria, you'll be able to get most things in the local supermarkets - even the smallest places have a Spar/Billa/MPreis/Mercur and will stock Nescafe or real coffee. And the deli counter will beat the average UK supermarket deli hands down, so good for cheeses, cold meats, bread etc. Larger towns, e.g. Saalfelden, have big Interspar or Hofer (Aldi) supermarkets.
What is expensive is OTC pills such as aspirin, painkillers, ibuleve gel etc. and it's no fun waking up with an alpine hangover and no pills in the house, only to find that the apotek is closed (and if it was open, would charge you €8 for a pack of ibrupufen that would have cost 19p in Tesco). Likewise some tummy-tablets, lemsips and rehydration sachets (buy own-brand from your local supermarket) can prove useful - and are hard to get in resort as supermarkets don't sell them, only the apotek.
And tea drinkers should take teabags - as many as you can carry.
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hand warmers 40 pair for £12 at Costco
A proper mug!
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You know it makes sense.
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The big new EuroSpar in Seefeld certainly carries a good range of spices. It's always one of the things I look for as I love a curry and can't get through a week without a chilli fix. I have usually been able to find just about everything I need in Austria. France is more of a problem.
I think that a toaster would be a good call. It's the most obvious thing missing from most places I have stayed.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Laptop, camera and none of the others above - chop the plug and get a local one, much more convenient - leave the UK behind for a few months, enjoy the local food and culture.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Samerberg Sue wrote: |
clarky999, you want me to pick some up for you this afternoon (bacon that is)? Take a peek at the web site and get back to me: http://www.british-allsorts.com/
He has plenty of smoked or unsmoked and I have to drive past him to get home this afternoon.  |
Excellent thanks!
They were the only things I've struggled to find, can get baked beans, curry/stir fry/fajita spices/sauces from the Spar next door. Now sorted for when I get all nostalgic for 'home' food (I brought about 3kgs of bacon out last year, but Trixi ate most of it while I was away!).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Cheddar, bacon and English tea bags - you can get pretty much any other foodstuff easily. Laptop + hard drive stocked with films/tv series, multi plug extension thing so you only need one euro adapter for all your UK schizzle. Books/Kindle with lots of e-books. Might seem weird now, but there'll be times you'll want to do other stuff than just ski or drink. |
If you are in France Cheddar and Bacon are actually readily available in Super U or Carrfour.
Most ski companies will bring out industrial sizes sacks of UK teabags so just steal a few.
What you really need is a laptop and a hard drive full of movies and tvshows.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Crumpets are about the only thing I bring out with me (gotta be Warburtons), everything else that tends to appear on people's lists I'm not too fussed on. Quite tempted to have a go at making my own crumpets this season...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
while we can buy all sorts of "bacon" and "cheddar" in our supermarkets, they are not a bit like the real thing. Farmhouse cheddar crumbles, most of the cheddar I can buy here folds it is that plastic and it does not crease! The bacon is wafer thin and only unsmoked, smoked uncooked bacon is unheard of, let alone getting any thick enough to grill on both sides.
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Pretty much sums it up 
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I've not seen anything approaching proper bacon in a French supermarket. Nor Cheddar, I think, though the lack of Cheddar bothers me not one jot when I'm in the heartland of Beaufort. Most pork pies are such rubbish, I don't miss them, though my sister lives near Fladbury, in Worcestershire, where the butcher makes the world's most perfect pork pies, which are really something special. I must remind her to bring some out to France at Christmas. http://www.fladburypies.com/
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I absolutely understand why the permanent ex-pats might crave 'a taste of home'. For just a season though I'm withIdris, on this one. Embrace the local culture, eat the local food, watch the local telly ...........at least that way there 'might' be something that puts a positive spin on having to come back when it is all over.
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pam w, You are not a permanent ex-pat as you are always popping back and forth between your holiday home and your main base in the UK. Some of us have much more tenuous links and end up missing things we may not have even eaten back in the UK.
I have not been back to the UK for 2 years now and my last trip was a flying one for a friend's funeral. I popped into M&S, Morrisons and Waitrose and picked up things I can never get hold of in a decent quality. I like to entertain my friends with examples of good British traditional dishes for which you do need good ingredients. Not easy to find here in some cases or cheap if you have them sent out by one of the companies supplying the Ex-Pat markets.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Lots of good suggestions here , so big thanks to everyone!
Got to admit, hadn't expected crumpets to feature so highly
I think as many of you have suggested, I'll probably try to embrace the local culture - although I'm not going to sacrifice on the coffee ... definitely going to be taking my preferred coffee out with me!
Fancy dress was definitely a good call too - will give this some thought over the next couple of weeks - don't think my lifeguard outfit is gonna be practical!
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Ski_AL, What is your preferred coffee? If it's supermarket rather than 'speciality' stuff, you can probably get it/better than it in most places (certainly can here anyway).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
I absolutely understand why the permanent ex-pats might crave 'a taste of home'
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grrrr - need fish and chips now
Strangely, I usually end up taking more German things back to UK than vice versa. Christmas always has a standing order for real Stollen, real Lebkuchen, Kasseler meat (HM customs didn't seem to care), jars of red cabbage (apparently German ones are better), Kraft Jäger sauce (seems to be one of the less common sauces), all because my grandparents lived in Bern, Berlin and Düsseldorf. Don't think my parents have sussed that Aldi/Lidl have all these things.
I'll probably bring back a christmas pud, some spare mince pies and brandy butter, christmas cake, and enough marmite to keep me going until august.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
You are not a permanent ex-pat
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Certainly not in France, but I have been a more "permanent" ex-pat in the past, in the US, Barbados, Fiji, Kenya and southern Africa. I found that I kind of stopped looking for the familiar things from back home, after a while (especially as they were inevitably more expensive) and just got on with the local stuff. There were usually some nice local things which made up for the lack of bacon or Corn Flakes and I'm sure the same is true in Austria. After the first few months, if visitors asked what they should bring, we generally didn't have any food stuffs we wanted badly enough to get people to bring them out. I did enjoy a good potter around a UK supermarket, though, after 18 months abroad.
The key item for most Brits in France, I think, are basic cheap builders tea-bags, as those Liptons ones are pretty vile. As I don't eat crumpets or pork pies in the UK (except the Fladbury ones) I'm happy to do without. I like British bacon, if it's good quality (which a lot isn't) but find lardons an adequate substitute and if I had to choose between eating only Cheddar or Beaufort for the rest of my life I'd go for the latter with no regrets. I do take an adequate supply of home made marmalade, though.
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Cheddar, Curly Willies, Marmite I mean, personally I'd have all these cheddar stinking ex-pats rounded up like cattle and gassed like badgers.
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You know it makes sense.
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I took most of my DVD collection. The ones I had already watched I traded with other chalet workers for ones I had not seen.
BBC Iplayer is possibly still not available outside the UK, if this is still the case I heard from several people during my season that there is a work around that means you can watch out of the uk. Worth getting that sorted before you leave. This could elevate you to god status.
If you plan to drive then a tow rope. Not essential, until it's really vital.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Lockets. Lemsip. Box of Xmas cards.
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Poster: A snowHead
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pretty much everything important has been covered
take a 4 plug 'bar' type extension cable, then you only need one UK->Europe adaptor and one plug to power 4 of your uk devices (common sense applies here eg do not connect 4 very high power devices eg hair straighteners + kettle + electric heater + iron at the same time or you might cause a fire)
some sort of tool kit may come in an handy (eg a screw driver that fits your bindings if you snowboard)
duck tape will come in handy at some point
take several pairs of earphones / headphones as you are very likely to break / loose them. think I went through 3-4 pairs in a season (lost in pub, broke on the mountain, lost somewhere else etc)
painkillers - look for the ones with caffeine in them as you might not be able to stomach coffee when you need an energy boost. also extra strength vitamic c / multivitamins are a good shout
lots of gloves. several sets coz you will loose them / holes will develop. include big thick loose fitting ones for when its really cold and some thin tight ones for underneath / on their own when its not so cold.
a gopro for park / powder / partying (delete as appropriate)
some people took a pillow which I was a bit jealous of as some places we lived had terrible pillows
a big towel - you can probably quite easily 'acquire' one from your employer but its not the same as a big thick one from home
pyjamas, slippers, and a tracksuit. plenty of nice warm comfy clothes for lounging about in / nipping to the shops
a smartphone, a laptop, an external hard drive. fill with music, films, and ebooks. ebook reader on the phone, music on the phone, movies on the laptop. also install Skype on your smartphone for a cheap way to call home - you can buy Skype credit for calling landlines and mobiles from anywhere with wifi - cheaper and more convenient that using phonecards in a phonebox when its -15c
summer clothes for spring - in ADH we would ride in the morning and sunbath in the afternoon - I came back with an awesome tan.
good portable speakers / ipod dock
I knew some people who took an xbox
depends how much you have space for...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
you will loose them
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LOSE 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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weird. my headphones are usually tethered pretty well to the mp3 player. certainly not loose. not lost or broke them yet, but then I don't ski listening to "music", and when I go to the pub/bar, I tend not to override their music.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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While I am fully aware that I have slightly odd tastes but all we bring back from the Uk are Lemsip (not really necessary as the ingredients are readily available), propoerly spiced picked beetroot (Baxters or Waitrose) and underwear. In my case because I really like John Lewis' fit and HID as M&S is so much cheaper and better vfm than anything else in Geneva.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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A battery powered alarm clock. Doesn't have to be an expensive one. You can't always rely on your phone having enough charge to last all night.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Seasons 1 to 4 of Breaking Bad on DVD if you haven't already watched them 
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Lizzard, LOL sorry! aswell is wrong as well, isnt it?
andy, one of the few times i decided to ride listening to music my arm someone managed to yank the cable free from the jack whilst connected to my phone. i also had a large set of headphones that i ended up still wearing around my neck when i got the to pub. took them off whilst playing pool (as they got in the way) and several shots (both at the table and the bar) later i managed to forget about them
i managed to buy headphones in resort but they were expensive and poor quality - hence i recommend a backup pair.
also a flask for coffee and a hip flask for alcohol
and one of those camel packs / thing for carrying water in a rucksack with a pipe that hangs out for drinking.
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| Quote: |
aswell is wrong as well, isnt it?
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Indeed it is, as is 'alot'. But not 'allot', which means something completely different.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| Quote: |
aswell is wrong as well, isnt it?
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Indeed it is, as is 'alot'. But not 'allot', which means something completely different. |
I'm sure this has been posted before, but here is the alot.
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FAQ
