# Best Liberty Port of Call



## lucanus (Aug 22, 2007)

Ok I vote for Hong Kong....I spent my 21st there and according 
to my buddies we hit 10 or 11 hot spots, but I only remember 3 or 4!
And while I was there my Dsd wanted me to see if there was a cathouse 
on a certain corner ( he was there in WWII), I called him and had to tell him
No, it is a parking lot....Only a sailor would remember something like
the address of a Cathouse!

Isn't Bangkok the most aptly named place?


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## syscom3 (Aug 22, 2007)

You mean your dad was there after WW2.


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## lucanus (Aug 23, 2007)

Yes he was part of the Navy that escorted the Prinz Eugen to the Pacific
after they had inspected the radar installation on board...


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 23, 2007)

I was in the Army so we never had port calls or liberty.

We took our helicopters though all over the world and got to party up in many nice places.


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## timshatz (Aug 23, 2007)

Brother did 4 years with the 6th Fleet (Med Cruises) in the 70s. Said Dubrovnik was beautiful. That was before the war when it got trashed. Heard they rebuilt it.

Did my time with the 2nd Fleet (Atlantic). Somehow, Bayonne NJ just doesn't make on the list when talking about Liberty Ports.


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## FLYBOYJ (Aug 23, 2007)

In the day the PI was the place.


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## ccheese (Aug 23, 2007)

I pulled liberty in Dubrovnik, Yugo in the late '60's. Bought a Rolex there
for $125.00. First night in port a beer and a steak was $3.00. Second
night same beer and steak was $9.00. A Russian frigate was our pier
mate....... dubbed "Ivan", this ship chased us all over the Med. He was
even in our "spot" for re-fuelling from the oiler..... we had to ask him
to move. Dubrovnik gets my vote as best (East coast), West coast
has to be a Japanese port..... 

Oh.... I still have the Rolex.... over 40 years later.

Charles


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 23, 2007)

Dibrovnik is still very cheap. I spent a few days there when we deployed to the region. Great food for and drinks for very cheap. For the guys who were single women were cheap as well...


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## ccheese (Aug 23, 2007)

Back when Aden, in Yemen, was a British Crown Colony, I landed in the
city of Crater. The pilot decided to RON, and we spent the night on the 
town. I doubt that any Navy ships ever allowed liberty while refueling
in Aden (where the Cole was bombed), but Crater was a swinging place.
Lot's of night life, clubs, etc. 

Charles


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## ccheese (Aug 23, 2007)

Adler: Was the "Red Hen" still there ? This was a bar/restaurant..

Charles


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## comiso90 (Aug 23, 2007)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> Dibrovnik is still very cheap. I spent a few days there when we deployed to the region. Great food for and drinks for very cheap. For the guys who were single women were cheap as well...



I hear it is beautiful there. Yugoslavia uses Dibronvik on the back of one of there bills so it must be picturesque! I'd like to make it there some day but I'm not quite in speedo shape for the beaches (or bi_tches)

Closest I've been was Lubiana. beautiful and rich with history...

My favorite "liberty" was all of Europe. I took three 35 day vacations in 2 years. On one trip I drove from Sicily to Scotland, on another I drove from Sicily to Sweden and another I hopped from Spain to Greece to Turkey.

There were a few train jaunts in the mix too as well as excursions down to Malta. Great Scuba diving...

Freakin awesome!

.


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## mkloby (Aug 23, 2007)

timshatz said:


> Brother did 4 years with the 6th Fleet (Med Cruises) in the 70s. Said Dubrovnik was beautiful. That was before the war when it got trashed. Heard they rebuilt it.
> 
> Did my time with the 2nd Fleet (Atlantic). Somehow, Bayonne NJ just doesn't make on the list when talking about Liberty Ports.



Haha - Bayonne, NJ. Half my family is from there. Typical NJ concrete jungle.


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## timshatz (Aug 23, 2007)

mkloby said:


> Haha - Bayonne, NJ. Half my family is from there. Typical NJ concrete jungle.



Is that the half on Parole or the half that's going to get Deported?

Sorry dude, couldn't resist. Ya' left it hanging out there. T-ball.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 23, 2007)

comiso90 said:


> I hear it is beautiful there. Yugoslavia uses Dibronvik on the back of one of there bills so it must be picturesque! I'd like to make it there some day but I'm not quite in speedo shape for the beaches (or bi_tches)
> 
> Closest I've been was Lubiana. beautiful and rich with history...
> 
> ...



Sounds like you had an awesome time. There is so much to do over here when military personel are stationed on leave over here. It is a great oportunity in my opinion.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 23, 2007)

ccheese said:


> Adler: Was the "Red Hen" still there ? This was a bar/restaurant..
> 
> Charles



I am not sure. I never went to anything called the "Red Hen".


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## Erich (Aug 23, 2007)

Arctica there is nothing else like it on the planet, always cold ......... try serving time there boyz. funny there are so many hidden secrets there I could not even begin to explain nor wish to nor am I allowed too .......


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## comiso90 (Aug 23, 2007)

Erich said:


> Arctica there is nothing else like it on the planet, always cold ......... try serving time there boyz. funny there are so many hidden secrets there I could not even begin to explain nor wish to nor am I allowed too .......



You met Santa Claus?


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## Erich (Aug 23, 2007)

you're silly man ........... we discovered back in the early 70's that S.C. really lives on Venus. the whole thing is a conspiracy.


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## comiso90 (Aug 23, 2007)

Erich said:


> you're silly man ........... we discovered back in the early 70's that S.C. really lives on Venus. the whole thing is a conspiracy.



Ahhhh... good to know.

_____________________

I was in New Orleans for Mardi Gras in the mid 80's and was surprised to see an aircraft carrier docked in the French Quarter.

It was great to see the carrier but not the sailors, I didn't want the competition for the ladies. Fortunately they weren't much competition. They melted into the hundreds of thousands of Mardi-Gras goers and most just wanted to get sh!t faced as soon as possible.


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## Erich (Aug 23, 2007)

we also found out through careful analyization and detection that Mrs. C. was a former stripper from Cleavland


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## timshatz (Aug 24, 2007)

Erich said:


> we also found out through careful analyization and detection that Mrs. C. was a former stripper from Cleavland



Good for Santa! Well, it is kinda cold where he lives.


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## playbodys (Jul 11, 2008)

My mother is my girlfriend! I enjoy shoving raw vegitables up my anus.


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## lesofprimus (Jul 12, 2008)

Ive been all over, except for the Pacific, and there are 2 Ports that stand out above all the others Ive been...

Lisbon, Portugal and Palma de Mallorca (island in The Med)

The surrounding areas of Lisbon were unreal... I recall surfing in clear blue 6 foot tubes whilst topless hotties strolled along the beach and fabulous food.... The people were awesome, the nightlife insane, the beers were delicious, the weather was tits, the locals spoke English.... I would move there before I considered anywhere else to live overseas...

Palma was drop dead beautiful... An Oasis in The Med... There was this one bar, right next to the Russian Whorehouse on the hill outside Port that was our main watering hole the 3 times I was there.... 

This Scottish bartender broad would throw darts with us for free shots, and the shots were from a bottle of Japanese booze that had a dead lizard inside it.... U swirled the bottle around and u could see little pieces of lizard floating around inside... 

Good stuff!!!

If u lost the round of darts, the shot was a 5 dollar bill...


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 12, 2008)

lesofprimus said:


> Lisbon, Portugal and Palma de Mallorca (island in The Med)



I have been to Mallorca many times and I will never go again! Too many Germans there! It is the 17th state of Germany now!

Of all the Islands in the region (to include parts going to parts of Africa) I would rather go to:

Crete (going there for the 2nd time in about 6 weeks).
Rhodos
Ibiza
Tenerife 
Gran Canaria
Fuerteventura
La Palma


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## lesofprimus (Jul 12, 2008)

Crete was great, pulled into Souda Bay 3 times, but I preferred Palma more so.... I was there in the early 90's and didnt notice the Germans at all....


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 12, 2008)

I dont how you did not notice them!


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## davparlr (Jul 12, 2008)

Flying MAC, we went all over but stay very little. As a general consensus, the aircrews wanted to go to

Australia, New Zealand. I think, for the girls.
Greece
Japan. In the 70's it was the place to shop, cameras, stereos, china, papasan chairs, hibachi pots, etc. All hoped that a air-evac was not picked up going home since the nurses had a habit of throwing out personal effects, which they could do. 
anyplace in-country (Vietnam) or over-country. We got a months free taxes and combat pay

After that
England. One can almost read the signs
Germany
Spain. Saw parts of a Ju-52 and He-111 sitting on the side of the road at the base. It was still Franco times, the rumor was not to fool with the guys in the three pointed hats, they could kill you.
Thailand
Okinawa. Still remember that Kobe beef!

Then everywhere else except Turkey

Armpit of the world 
Incerlik, Turkey. Nobody wanted to leave base.

Notes: 

More good planes "broke" in Athens than anywhere else and more bad planes launched out of Turkey than anywhere else.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Lush, high alitude (9800 ft), dirt poor. They had cardboard box subdivisions. Everybody got the runs.

Keflavik, Iceland. A cold rock always at minimums. I am sure Iceland is nicer elsewhere.

Iran, during Shah times. Tense, crazy drivers, brutal police.

Azores. Isolated, seemed nice, great bread. Sangria was a popular purchase.


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## comiso90 (Jul 12, 2008)

davparlr said:


> Then everywhere else except Turkey
> 
> Armpit of the world
> Incerlik, Turkey. Nobody wanted to leave base.
> .



I was there in 1990 an liked it. There is a great museums in Adana. Food was good although I got the runs. There was no toilet paper in the bathrooms and EVERY body smoked.

I took a bus from Adana to Ankara to Izmir. A friend of mine married a Turkish woman -- she is beautiful .


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## Seawitch (Mar 10, 2009)

*New Orleans*


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## Seawitch (Mar 10, 2009)

davparlr said:


> Azores. Isolated, seemed nice, great bread. Sangria was a popular purchase.


I liked the coffee served in a tiny glass....could make a horse stand on it's back legs


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## lesofprimus (Mar 10, 2009)

Funny, I was telling a buddy at work today about Portugal... Also had to mention Amsterdam....


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## Seawitch (May 18, 2009)

lesofprimus said:


> Funny, I was telling a buddy at work today about Portugal... Also had to mention Amsterdam....


Have you been in the Texas Bar in Lisbon?


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## timshatz (May 18, 2009)

Amsterdam. Great beer. Same with the smoke. Great buzz. But the food was terrible. Salted fish was a delicacy and everything else tasted like cardboard.

No wonder there are no Dutch Resturaunts. 

And the Red Light district. Now that was a fun area.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 18, 2009)

I did not think the food up in the Netherlands was that bad.


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## comiso90 (May 18, 2009)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> I did not think the food up in the Netherlands was that bad.



Everything tastes good after a bowl of hash...

.. so i've heard...


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## timshatz (May 18, 2009)

comiso90 said:


> Everything tastes good after a bowl of hash...
> 
> .. so i've heard...



You would think, wouldn't you? I mean, you're stoned to the bejezus, sipping on a beer in a bar about a klick from the train station. There, across the street is a bakery and everything looks great. Go over, grab some baked goods and it all stunk! Carboard. 

So Wife wanders off to another place for some fish type stuff and BLAH, another zero. After that, we gave up and just kept drinking the Hieniken. Now, that was very good. 

To your point Adler, it could've been us. We'd just left two weeks in Italy and may've been biased by good food of the boot. But you gotta wonder why you never see:

Dutch Resturaunts
Norwegian Resturaunts
Polish " "
Irish " "
ect.
to say nothing of England. 


I mean you just list off all the countries that DON'T have a food history. Holland has to be up there pretty high.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 18, 2009)

timshatz said:


> You would think, wouldn't you? I mean, you're stoned to the bejezus, sipping on a beer in a bar about a klick from the train station. There, across the street is a bakery and everything looks great. Go over, grab some baked goods and it all stunk! Carboard.
> 
> So Wife wanders off to another place for some fish type stuff and BLAH, another zero. After that, we gave up and just kept drinking the Hieniken. Now, that was very good.
> 
> ...



I don't know maybe you have just eating at the wrong places.

I have a great Irish place where I live. There you can get amazing:

Irish Stew
Seafood Chowder
Gaelic Steak (absolutely amazing steak in a whiskey sauce)
Shepards Pie

As for Polish food, I have eaten lots of great polish food. Over here you can find them regularly. 

Nothing however beats the food from:

Greece
Croatia
Serbia
Macedonia
Bosnia
India


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## timshatz (May 18, 2009)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> I don't know maybe you have just eating at the wrong places.
> 
> I have a great Irish place where I live. There you can get amazing:
> 
> ...



Possible. I've only done two days in Amsterdam. But if I went back it wouldn't be for the food. 

The only Irish pubs around Philly that are worth going to are for the beer. Not that they don't serve food, some of which is ok (Kildare's, Welcome to Kildare's) but most people go to Irish places around here for the Guiness. Once a year, every Irish pub in the local area has Ham and Cabbage on St. Paddy's Day. Once a year, I can live with. 

Greek around here is all gyro and pizza. India? Tons of curry. Others are Thai, Chinese, Japanese and the odd Mexican place (not real Mexican like you get in Cali or Texas, knockoff Mexican). There is a ton of Steak and Italian around here. Some are combined and are very good. Nothing like Pasta and Steak. Toss in a decent bottle of red and it's heaven. 

Ok, I'll call thread drift on myself on this one. Gone from Liberty Ports to Food. If we wanna do food, we oughta start a thread on it. 

Has it ever been done before?


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## timshatz (May 18, 2009)

Never even heard of Balkan Resturaunts. What do they serve? What's the main dish?


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## ccheese (May 18, 2009)

Best liberty port I was even in was Dubrovnik, Yogo. [now Croatia]. Bought a Rolex watch for $125.00 [usd], had more
steak and beer than I could handle. The guys from the Russian destroyer, that followed us all over the Med, were "good
ole boys" and were actually likable, on the beach. My second choice would be Brindisi, Italy.

Charles


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 18, 2009)

timshatz said:


> Greek around here is all gyro and pizza. India?



Wow you have no clue what you are missing out on!!! There is so much more to Greek food than gyros! 



timshatz said:


> Tons of curry.



Same with indian! Curry does not even begin to cover it. Tandoori or Masala and hundreds of different kinds of spices! Man you need to try some real Indian food and not just chicken curry! 



timshatz said:


> Ok, I'll call thread drift on myself on this one. Gone from Liberty Ports to Food. If we wanna do food, we oughta start a thread on it.



Thats true, but this thread was dead for awhile, so I guess that is okay.  



timshatz said:


> Has it ever been done before?



Not sure...



timshatz said:


> Never even heard of Balkan Resturaunts. What do they serve? What's the main dish?



All sorts of stuff. My personal favorites:

These are from: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia,Greece, Romania and Turkey etc..

Ćevapčići
?evap?i?i - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baklava
Baklava - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kofta
Kofta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moussaka
Moussaka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lahmacun
Lahmacun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dürüm
Dürüm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Döner kebab 
Döner kebab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dolma
Dolma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saganaki
Saganaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tzatziki
Tzatziki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tiropita
Tiropita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Souvlaki
Souvlaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mititei
Mititei - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## timshatz (May 19, 2009)

Only a couple of those have I tried. The baklava and one of the wraps. But all of them look awesome. Especially when I'm sitting in my office at 9am having a breakfast of an orange. That stuff looks really good. Especially the pork and other meats. Enough for me to put it on my list of places to go. Just across the Adriatic from Italy so it's short trip.

All this stuff in Croatia or Bosnia? Seems the closest countries to Italy (my reference point).

One thing I thought was pretty cool about the food in Europe (and was pleasantly suprised by) was the eats in Bavaria and Norther Switzerland. There is a dish they make in Zuirch that is Fried Potatoes (like home fries) with a brown gravy that consists of veal and mushrooms over it. The spuds and veal mix are meshed together and warmed over an open flame. I can't remember the name but it was great. Had it at a place under the tower of the big clock (in Zurich, everyone seems to know it). Pricey but worth it. Family place. 

But I was very impressed by Bavarian food. Only had it around Oktoberfest but the Chicken, Ribs and pretty much everythig was excellent. Great food. Way under-rated.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (May 19, 2009)

timshatz said:


> Only a couple of those have I tried. The baklava and one of the wraps. But all of them look awesome. Especially when I'm sitting in my office at 9am having a breakfast of an orange. That stuff looks really good. Especially the pork and other meats. Enough for me to put it on my list of places to go. Just across the Adriatic from Italy so it's short trip.
> 
> All this stuff in Croatia or Bosnia? Seems the closest countries to Italy (my reference point).
> 
> ...



The stuff I described above is from the whole Balkan region. You will find variations of it in Greece, All the former Yugoslavia Countries, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, e.t.c

Man there is a lot of great national foods over here:

German
Italian
Greek
Balkan
Polish
Russian

All with lots of flavor and spices.

We really have taken this off topic haven't we?


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## timshatz (May 19, 2009)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> We really have taken this off topic haven't we?


This sucker is gone! 

Have to give it a whirl. Gives me a reason to head over to Croatia. Have heard everybody who goes there loves it. Balkans in general are supposed to be great for food and the coast as well. Seen a couple of shows on HD covering it and they were pretty impressive. 

One more place I need to see before I check out and eating is a pretty good reason to go!


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## phantomordie (May 31, 2011)

Sasebo Japan. In 69/70 cruise on the Ranger we spent three weeks thier for repairs. Hong Kong was great.Olongapo city was,well it just was.


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## davebender (Jul 27, 2011)

Scotland was nice. People were friendly and the food was good. Unfortunately it was cloudy about 364 days of the year.

Mombassa, Kenya was nice but you had to leave the main city and stay at one of the resort areas. Great beaches and everything was inexpensive.

Monaco / SE France was nice and not nearly as expensive as I had expected. A steak just seems to taste better at an outdoor cafe overlooking a beach in southern France.

Sri Lanka. Most of the crew (myself included) got horribly sick. I'd rather go to Antarctica then return to that place.


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## Messy1 (Jul 27, 2011)

Dad was in the Navy in Vietnam, worked on the Ranger flight deck. He told me Tokyo and Hong Kong were eagerly awaited ports.


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## N4521U (Jul 27, 2011)

When I was on the Yorktown, CVS10, I traded liberty for Duty when we pulled into the PI. I spent 3 weeks waiting for Yorktown in Olongopo, That did me just fine! Found out what a "benny boy" was, didn't need to see any more of the PI. Spent all my time at the Sky Club, the pool and the beach club if I needed some R&R!

Loved Hong Kong. The Tiger Balm Garden. Kowloon. Had the best food in a little restaurant in Kowloon.


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## vikingBerserker (Jul 27, 2011)

You were on the Yorktown?? The Carrier now a museum in Charleston SC?????????


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## bromhead (Dec 23, 2012)

for us it is


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