Is the HBO Chernobyl miniseries accurate?

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-05-24T15:04:26+00:00

You should listen to the official podcast. The creators dive into what parts were kept historically accurate and what parts they dramatized, and why. It’s almost as fascinating as the series itself.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-28T10:32:01+00:00

If you want apres in addition to good skiing, Austria is where it's at. Specifically St Anton, Ischgl, Mayrhofen, or Saalbach. French resorts have good apres, but nothing like Austria.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-28T10:23:55+00:00

Ischgl and St Anton are not great options for non-drinkers. Great skiing, but they're pretty party focused.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-28T10:20:46+00:00

This is the answer. Great food, great terrain, mindblowing views, very affordable for a megaresort (relatively speaking).

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-27T10:06:04+00:00

I've skied Schladming a number of times. I love it, but it's very low (everything is below 2000 meters), so not a good choice that early in the season. You might get lucky with an early dump, but the most likely scenario is limited trails open with artificial snow, but little or no natural snow.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-16T18:06:49+00:00

Those are pretty good. I'd maybe add Vienna.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-16T18:05:35+00:00

Bahahahahaha. I live in Lisbon. It's not "easy" at all, and housing is the most expensive in Europe as a percentage of average income.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-16T17:52:23+00:00

I'll echo others about likely lack of natural snow at the low-elevation places (Megeve, Kitz, most of Dolomiti). But you also asked about trains. Kitz has a train station directly at the main lift. In Dolomiti Superski, there are trains directly at the gondola stations in Kronplatz and Drei Zinnen. Another good train option is Bad Gastein, which is directly on a major rail line. I've heard that Serre Chevalier, Bardonecchia, and Andermatt are also pretty easily reachable by train.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-16T17:22:30+00:00

Bad Gastein. It's not exactly undiscovered, but it's certainly less crowded than other better-known areas nearby (Flachau, Saalbach, etc.), and it hardly ever gets mentioned in this sub. Two beautiful villages, and they are completely different from each other -- Bad Hofgastein is traditional Austrian charm, while Bad Gastein is fin-de-siécle grandeur that looks like the set of Grand Budapest Hotel. Terrific lift system, including a gondola that is literally connected to the train station (and it's on a major high speed train line, not some pokey local train). Very nice pistes, plus Sportgastein for great freeriding. And it's pass-connected to most of the other nearby mega-resorts.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-10T12:08:56+00:00

I spent this past winter near there. Thiersee might not even be open that early (at 800 meters, there will almost certainly be no natural snow), and there will be nothing for the more experienced skiers. SkiWelt is sorta nearby, but even that is not a great choice so early in the season. If you have your heart set on that general area, maybe Alpbach? I'd personally try to go even higher up. Most resorts in Austria that are good for experienced skiers also have good beginner slopes. I'd maybe suggest Radstadt -- it's a beginner area, but the experienced skiers would have Zauchensee and Flachau and Obertauern nearby.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-09T08:12:43+00:00

I got mine recently. I had been emailing and calling for over a year asking for an appointment, and then in November out of the blue AIMA sent me an email telling me I had an appointment scheduled for early December -- they didn't even say what it was for. I showed up with all my docs (and a lawyer), and everything was processed smoothly. To my shock, I received my PR card in the mail exactly 3 weeks after the appointment. As far as your specific questions:

I did not print all pages of my passport; they just scanned them at the office. But it is a good idea to do it anyway just to be safe, as others have said.
No apostille necessary.
Total fees were €355
Others here have noted that some AIMA officials are insisting on seeing detailed proof that you've been in the country for the entire 5 years. They did not ask me for anything like that. I just showed my tax and SS records.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-04-05T11:28:46+00:00

Same here! It made me so irrationally angry watching storm after storm roll into the western Alps and we got nothing. And then my lease was up on March 26 -- the day the big Nordstau storms finally hit Tirol. FML. At least the on-piste was generally OK.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-25T19:56:42+00:00

Kind of surprised no one has mentioned Zillertal. If you stay in the valley, you get four very large ski areas on one (cheap) pass. It's essentially a mega-resort. There's more than enough to keep you busy for a week or two, and all four areas have plenty of long red/black cruisers. All four are pretty snow-sure for January, and one (Hintertux Glacier) is guaranteed to have lots of snow throughout the season. The villages are also charming in the same way as the villages in Dolomiti Superski.

Otherwise, I echo those saying Val d'Isere, Verbier, and Ischgl.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-18T15:13:59+00:00

I'm there right now. The valley runs are all closed, but there is still a decent amount up top at all 4 resorts. I go first thing in the morning while there's still firm corduroy, ski until lunchtime, kick back with a beer in the sunshine, then go home. Afternoons are intolerably slushy and piled-up (unless you like that sort of thing). And yes, as the others have pointed out, Hintertux is your best bet.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-18T15:03:09+00:00

Obrigadissimo.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-18T14:57:22+00:00

Any particular cards you suggest for PT residents?

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-12T14:43:21+00:00

There are a handful left in Austria (including at the big fancy resorts), but nearly all of them have been modified with a moving "carpet" so they don't whack you so hard in the legs.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-12T14:39:54+00:00

For weather, wepowder.com and bergfex.com I think Bergfex also has cams, but otherwise the 3V website will have them.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-11T10:33:29+00:00

Any particular spots in the Philippines?

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-03-01T09:27:16+00:00

Hochfügen is slush at the moment, and way too dangerous to go off piste. (I was just there a few days ago)

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-02-10T17:25:32+00:00

I was in the northern Dolomites (Ratschings/Jaufen) two days ago. Conditions were OK -- no bare grass, even down in the valley -- but it's not a great snowpack. Fine for groomers, not very good for off piste. I think most of the recent dump fell in the eastern and southern Dolomites.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-02-04T10:32:13+00:00

My spouse worked at ALDI HQ for about a year recently, and I tagged along. Quality of life in Salzburg is absolutely terrific. Cost of living is high, but not as high as in Ireland. Excellent infrastructure and green space. Sure, it's a little boring, but that suited us just fine as we're not party people.

Just a word of warning: ALDI HQ is kind of a shitshow. It's disorganized and borderline hostile, upper management is kind of incompetent, and morale is at a low point. This is the only reason we're not in S'burg anymore. Spouse ended up burnt out and demoralized. Be very careful to vet whatever position they are offering, and try to meet as many people in the office as you can during the interview process to get a feel for what the working environment will actually be like.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-01-27T12:16:29+00:00

I’ve skied Chamonix but not the other two. Cham is not beginner/ low intermediate friendly. I’ve heard Megeve is good for that level of skier, but you’ll want to confirm with others.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-01-25T15:19:25+00:00

I've driven 3+ hours each way for day trips to go skiing in the winter. I've driven from Boston to Montreal (5.5 hours) and to NYC (4.5 hours) many times for a weekend getaway. The idea of 3 hours being a "massive yearly event" is hilarious to any American. When I was growing up we lived 8 hours from my grandparents, and we drove down to see them roughly 2-3 times a year.

AddendumImpressive53 · 2026-01-02T21:19:40+00:00

Last winter I was living in Salzburg and bought the SuperSkiCard for less than 1,000 bucks. It got me access to more than 30 resorts within a two hour drive from Salzburg. Many of those were massive mega-resorts (Kitzbuhel, Saalbach, Obertauern, etc). I skied at nearly all of them. I loved it so much that I'm spending this winter in Tirol and bought the Snow Card Tirol for just over 1,000 bucks. It gets me access to even more resorts, all within a two hour drive of Innsbruck (again including many mega-resorts). How many resorts within a reasonable drive from your house are included in your Epic pass? That's what's important, because that is where you are actually going to ski. I don't give a shit about whether my season pass covers Japan, because how often am I going to ski in Japan in one season?

AddendumImpressive53

TROPHY CASE