Showing posts with label WiFi / Hotspots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WiFi / Hotspots. Show all posts

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Friday … What a gem… Hot Spot et.al.


I have been having a difficult time getting good reception with my mobile surf stick, so I have been hanging out at every Mc’Ds that I can find.  But their wifi can only be used once per day, so  I bought 10 hours of Wifi time from  T-Mobile (10 hours valid for 30 days… paid directly online using Paypal).

Yesterday when I was in Bingen provisioning (I had run out of Prosecco and Brie), I decided to stop at a bakery - which turned out to be a full-scale cafeteria. Since it was late afternoon, I decided to have dinner there (baked fish filet and lots of potato salad – about 9€). It was good standard Bürgerliche Essen (Bürg. Ess. - German cuisine). Amazingly, the restaurant was filled with really senior citizens, all socializing with their friends.

Turns out this place is also  a T-mobile Hotspot -  so I quickly ran out to my car and got my laptop. I was such a ‘happy camper’!! This morning around 10, I went back. This time, the place was filled with business people (engineers and sales types - with large charts, work papers, PCs, IPADs) many of whom were speaking in English. Similar to the US, a waitress went from table-to-table offering more coffee – in English no less. The free coffee refill was untypical enough, but the waitress ‘happily’ speaking English – wow!! I only stayed for an hour, but as I was leaving I noticed that many of the people who were still there, had been there when I arrived. So I guess it is a real daytime hangout.  It is cafeteria style and the seating area is big and airy.. and there is also a glass enclosed dining area which gives you the feeling of sitting outside.

The bottom line: If you are in Bingen and are looking for a place to eat or get take-out for your journey, this is the place to go: Bäckhaus Lüning, Saarlandstrasse 66a, Bingen. They are open 7 days a week form at 8am to 6pm. I will be sure to put it on the website!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Technical nightmare .. well sort of


After shopping,  I stopped at McD’s in Ingelheim (just outside of Mainz, near Binger, but smaller than Bingen). Since Monday or Tuesday are usually Rühetag (quiet day) and most local restaurants are closed, I planned to have dinner there and post my blog.

Getting online was very problematic, so I finally left my food and took my laptop to the counter and asked for assistance.  The staff was very helpful, but to no avail. The network was ‘eingeshrank’ (limited, blocked).  Finally, the manager came out and unblocked it and I was able to enjoy an hour of catching up on my reading.  Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance, almost all young people speak some English. But be sure you use the words ‘Hotspot’ or ‘WeeFee’. If you say ‘wifi’ the way we pronounce it, no one will have a clue what you are talking about!!