chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich
tesco 24h
offy wrote:

    > James Silverton <not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.net> wrote:
    >
    > []
    >
    >>I don't really doubt that tap water in most of the original EU
    >>is essentially safe but I suspect it is safest to behave like
    >>Europeans and use bottled water.
    >
    >
    > It depends on the Europeans. I don't drink bottled water at home, though
    > I sometimes filter the tap water. As a kid, the water tasted very good
    > where I lived, in both Scotland and Norway. I hated the water in
    > Edinburgh (a 'big city' by comparison to where I grew up) when I was at
    > school there, though I still drank it. I only turned away from tap water
    > when I moved to Philadelphia at age 18. It was heavily chlorinated, and
    > tasted vile. In Boston, where I lived longer, it was a bit better, and
    > fine after filtering.

Although I often used distilled water for coffee, I never
felt any need to avoid tapwater until I moved to my present
apartment. I'm sure the water is "safe" enough, but it
tastes so strongly of chlorine that I found myself drinking
it only as a last resort. Consequently, I began buying
bottled water, but fortunately discovered the "Britta" and
"Pur" filter systems, which render water drinkable (and over
time are less expensive than constantly purchasing bottled
water).

    >

Mike wrote on Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:22:38 GMT:

??>> I don't really doubt that tap water in most of the
??>> original EU is essentially

??>> safe but I suspect it is safest to behave like Europeans
??>> and use bottled water. However, members of my family
??>> *have* suffered digestive upsets after drinking tap water
??>> there

ML> I think I'm a European but I never use bottled water.

ML> I wonder how you can be sure that the problems arose from
ML> the water they drank, or the food they ate, or the things
ML> they touched, or even the air they breathed.

Admittedly, it would not be statistically significant, but after
one series of unfortunate incidents the rest of my family gave
up drinking tap water, or at least boiled it before drinking, on
the European mainland and there was never a reoccurence of
gastric problems in at least five expeditions to Europe to
places like France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Denmark. I
can't be sure of causes but my experience is corroborated by an
awful lot of people and I've never seen French people drinking
other than bottled water in France.

James Silverton.

    > i will be traveling thru out russia (moscow and st. petersburg).
    > i did hear that the water there is really bad.

Moscow is okay, as far as I know.

    > i am thinking of packing lots of bottled water in my suit case
    > and then hopefully i will find good bottled water there. [...]
    > i wish there was some kind of easier way to get fresh water.
    > has anyone used anything else besides bottled water? or have
    > you just taken your chances?

Giardia is a large organism, so it's easy to filter out. I've
never used a filter when travelling but for this specific
purpose it does make sense.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

James Silverton <not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.net> wrote:

    > I
    > can't be sure of causes but my experience is corroborated by an
    > awful lot of people and I've never seen French people drinking
    > other than bottled water in France.

Well, it might depend where you see them drink it. I drink bottled water
outside, but at home, it's from the tap. What about an rte poll? Who,
among people living in Europe, drinks bottled water at home? Who
wouldn't drink the tap water for health reasons?

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
photos at http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer

In article <[email protected]. com>,
[email protected] says...
    > thanks for the feedback. i will be traveling thru out russia (moscow
    > and st. petersburg). i did hear that the water there is really bad. i
    > am thinking of packing lots of bottled water in my suit case and then
    > hopefully i will find good bottled water there. i just remember my
    > friend telling me that in some countries they bottle tap water like
    > martin pointed out about greece. i wish there was some kind of easier
    > way to get fresh water. has anyone used anything else besides bottled
    > water? or have you just taken your chances?

When traveling in places where the local water supply is iffy (not
Europe) I always buy sparkling water. Not that I prefer sparkling
water, but it's very unlikely to be refilled from the tap.

"Pamela_23" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...
    > thanks for the feedback. i will be traveling thru out russia (moscow
    > and st. petersburg). i did hear that the water there is really bad. i
    > am thinking of packing lots of bottled water in my suit case and then
    > hopefully i will find good bottled water there. i just remember my
    > friend telling me that in some countries they bottle tap water like
    > martin pointed out about greece. i wish there was some kind of easier
    > way to get fresh water. has anyone used anything else besides bottled
    > water? or have you just taken your chances?

You can't possibly pack enough water. If you have this problem and can't buy
good bottled water locally, I would suggest you pack a filter designed for
backpackers and run your drinking water through the filter. This will remove
or zap any critters. Your digestive system will have to deal with change of
mineral content. I also suggest you talk with your doctor about a
prescription for any medicines you may need if you have problems.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > Hey, I found this great thing. There's this product call a steripen
    > - a water purifier. i take it with me when I'm traveling on
    > business, especially when I have to go overseas. It uses u-v light to
    > zap the water and kill the germs. i have used mine for the last two
    > years and haven't gotten sick once. i used to pack a ton of water
    > (bottled) in my suitcase, but it got to be a pain and was so heavy to
    > carry. plus i needed the space for clothes and other business files. i
    > found out about it thru a friend, so i thought i would pass along this
    > thought to you.

From a recent thread on rec.backcountry:
    >Here's a new idea. It uses UV light to purify water in one minute:
    > http://uvaquastar.com/what_is_aquastar.php

You have to put this thing into the water bottle because the plastic or
glass in the bottle blocks the type of UV that kills the bugs.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

James Silverton writes:

    > Admittedly, it would not be statistically significant, but after
    > one series of unfortunate incidents the rest of my family gave
    > up drinking tap water, or at least boiled it before drinking, on
    > the European mainland and there was never a reoccurence of
    > gastric problems in at least five expeditions to Europe to
    > places like France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Denmark. I
    > can't be sure of causes but my experience is corroborated by an
    > awful lot of people and I've never seen French people drinking
    > other than bottled water in France.

The safety of tap water depends on its source, and that varies
enormously from one city to another. Large cities tend to watch their
supplies more closely than small cities, but they also put a greater
pressure on local sources of water and thus may have to treat water
extensively (with the risks this implies if the treatment doesn't
completely work).

Water in Paris, at least, is quite safe. I assume it is so in other
large cities as well. In small cities--anywhere in the world--you
have to be a lot more careful.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco 24h
offy writes:

    > Well, it might depend where you see them drink it. I drink bottled water
    > outside, but at home, it's from the tap. What about an rte poll? Who,
    > among people living in Europe, drinks bottled water at home? Who
    > wouldn't drink the tap water for health reasons?

I never drink bottled water in Paris, except at restaurants. The tap
water is fine.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:

    > Good point, Mixi - can one buy "distilled" water in Europe?

Yes, but it's hard to find.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 06:50:43 +0200, Mxsmanic <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:
    >> Good point, Mixi - can one buy "distilled" water in Europe?
    >Yes, but it's hard to find.

Most garages sell it.
--
Martin

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 20:56:57 -0500, "Donald Newcomb"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    ><[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news:[email protected] roups.com...
    >> Hey, I found this great thing. There's this product call a steripen
    >> - a water purifier. i take it with me when I'm traveling on
    >> business, especially when I have to go overseas. It uses u-v light to
    >> zap the water and kill the germs. i have used mine for the last two
    >> years and haven't gotten sick once. i used to pack a ton of water
    >> (bottled) in my suitcase, but it got to be a pain and was so heavy to
    >> carry. plus i needed the space for clothes and other business files. i
    >> found out about it thru a friend, so i thought i would pass along this
    >> thought to you.
    >From a recent thread on rec.backcountry:
    >>Here's a new idea. It uses UV light to purify water in one minute:
    >> http://uvaquastar.com/what_is_aquastar.php
    >You have to put this thing into the water bottle because the plastic or
    >glass in the bottle blocks the type of UV that kills the bugs.

AFAIR it's shown being used like that on their website. What does the
UV it emits do to your eyes?
--
Martin

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 17:09:56 -0700, "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Mxsmanic wrote:
    >> EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:
    >>
    >>
    >>>Tapwater in most civilized countries is
    >>>considered safe, but if you REALLY have such a
    >>>super-sensitive digestive system, you can buy bottled water
    >>>at any shop selling souvenirs and sundries (assumimg you
    >>>don't want to pay mini-bar prices at your hotel).
    >>
    >>
    >> Keep in mind that bottled water can upset sensitive tummies, too.
    >> Some mineral waters can have a laxative or diuretic effect, depending
    >> on what they contain.
    >Good point, Mixi - can one buy "distilled" water in Europe?
    > (Other than as a medical supply?)

In Halfords in UK and from most garages everywhere. People use it in
steam irons and car batteries
--
Martin

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 21:18:41 +0200, Martin wrote:

    > On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 19:19:49 +0200, Jens Arne Maennig
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >>Martin wrote:
    >>> Drip feed Ayinger?
    >>Have a look on my desk:
    >>http://jam.uttx.net/desk.jpg
    >
    > It's half full. Have you a machine in the corridor that sells half
    > litre bottles of beer too?

On my first job in Stuttgart I was in an office in the same building as a
truck depot. The basement had 3 vending machines. One for chocolates and
snacks, and 2 for different sorts of beer. All at discount prices. :-)
office rules were lax, to say the least and we almost always had a bottle
on the desk.

Imaginge what the truck drivers were like when they left for a long trip.
--
Tim C.

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:43:09 +0200, Martin wrote:

    > On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:16:09 +0200, Jens Arne Maennig
    > <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >>Martin wrote:
    >>> North West Europe? :-)
    >>North West Europe w/o islands?
    >>http://www.newstarget.com/001028.html
    >
    > The tap water in our house is safer to drink than the local beer.

I can believe that! :-)
--
Tim C.