Any question answered...

You can get them on trainline, which is certainly easy (assuming you're in the UK.)

But it can be better to buy direct from the provider, which in this case is https://www.nsinternational.com

I've bought a lot of international tickets on Trainline, and it's usually fine, but a dutch forumer might suggest a better option.

Edit: and they did! haha

Greetings from Tilburg!

Excellent! We're off to Efteling, so will probably ask you other stupid questions about getting there from Tilburg next!

Ha! there's actually a 'bicycle highway' from here to there, the F261, so with a rental 'OV-fiets' you could maybe do that...

There's even a vid of the entire route

Or just take the bus 800 from Tilburg central station, they run straight to the theme park every half hour or so.

bus 800 from Tilburg central station

That's in the plan. Do you just buy tickets for that at Tilburg?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/373843/

Anyone know what Loop's "Experience" ones are like for gigs?

Yes either that, or via the Efteling website:

https://www.efteling.com/en/contact-route/public-transport

Greetings from Tilburg!

Is that where the tramshed was converted into a big library? How do you like it? Is it as cold and noisy as it looks?! Or is it as fun and groovy as it also looks?

Consider just buying them from a machine in Brussels. Other countries haven't fucked up their train ticketing as badly as we have.

Not cold or noisy at all, it's a great building/space: https://www.lochal.nl

The entire zone to the north of the station used to be a (huge) train maintenance area. The city has been redeveloping it over the past decade, the library building is called the LocHal (yes, the Hall where they worked on the Locs). Also, Loc brewery (...) a couple of doors down from there is worth a visit!

The best coffee spot in the 'Spoorzone' is Stoom013, which is located in a... train carriage.

PS: bring your skateboard

OK that's it for Tilburg promotion for the day, back to work ;-)

I got something similar (unused) from a friend which claims 16 dB reduction, not been to a gig yet, but quite enjoyed using them at the cinema recently with no obvious issues

I haven't tried those but my preferred earplugs for gigs are these Alpine ones.

I play in bands and used to be a tour driver/manager for a living and always wear ear protection for practice and gigs. The Alpine seem to be the sweet spot between usability, noise cancellation, sound quality and affordability. I can't seem to go more than a few months without losing a set of ear plugs so have never bothered with a fancier set but the Alpine are the best of the budget friendly options that I've tried.

using them at the cinema

That's a thing? You have sensitive hearing or something or are cinemas louder than I remember?

Cheers. I have a set of silicone music specific ones I bought years ago in Netherlands that looks similar to these but without the funky swapable filters thing. I might have a look into these. Do you actually find the swapable filters useful or is it a bit of a gimic?

are cinemas louder than I remember?

Most are quieter than they are supposed to be. Not enough sound insulation with the screen next door so too much leaking explosions so they turn the volume down.

To chip in, definite difference with the filters. I like the white (weakest) ones for gigs and rehearsals so I can still talk to people, but needed the gold (strongest) ones for next door's party last Saturday night. If you're happy putting them in deep enough I find them fine for sleeping in.

Yeah the swappable filters are quite handy to be honest. I wouldn't necessarily pick those earplugs over another set based on having them but they do mean they're a bit more versatile.

I've got the Loop experience plus. Think they're great.

Only thing i have to compare them to is the silicone moulded ear plugs that you get custom made. generally I use the Loops more

paid with my physical Mastercard. Hmmm…

I think the auth_max on pay at pump shows up in my bank app notifications as an app payment even though I don't use a payment app. Some lazy coding, I suspect.

Little bit of both, I think coming out of lockdown made me much more aware of it as my tolerance for it (and a lot of other things) has gone way down.

But it also means I don't hear the person next door rustling their sweet packets either

the person next door rustling their sweet packets

This and chomping popcorn is why I don't like the cinema.

Other countries haven't fucked up their train ticketing as badly as we have.

Germany would like a word.

To be fair the Deutschland-Ticket is as convenient (and cheap) as it's going to get 💁

Can anyone recommend a company for custom printed phone cases? I only need one, but the company i used a few times before has stopped, they just do phone stickers now

Try Phone Case Solved UK on Etsy.