My Last Day in Germany

All good things have to end and so my last day arrived. I did not have to board my train from Bulley until 10.30 in the morning so had some time to finish my packing a take my breakfast.

I was awake early enough and then it happened, the noise of planes circling around. I thought we were under siege and then I remembered that somewhere in the area there was an airport. After the war it was mainly used by the Americans but now known as Frankfurt Hahn Airport. As you can see it was earlier in the hands of the Americans, but now attached to Frankfurt.

I thought I was in a Hollywood film with the noise of the planes thundering through the Mosel valley, but I was wrong. It was a normal event and the local vineyard authorities, whoever they were, were spraying the vines against their various complaints, one of which being mildew, from a helicopter. Ok understood, you cannot have all the hard work of producing grapes for wine disappearing under a mildew attack,.

I was ready with my camera poised to take a few action photos when the helicopter disappeared and all was quiet. Just my luck. No problem, said my son’s mother-in-law, the helicopter will return. It had to refuel on the top of the mountain somewhere. Apparently they have to fly upwards to get the fuel because if they would fill the tank around the Mosel river on the bottom of the valley, they would be too heavy to ascend to the vines. The things you learn as a golden oldie. Eventually the helicopter blade turning sound returned and they were back. It was not easy to find them in the background of green vines, but with my usual accomplished talent, I took a photo, no many photos, from the window of the breakfast room.

Sorry for the poor quality, but I only had my point and shoot camera with me. The DSLR Nikon would have been too big. Eventually the Hollywood film was finished and after breakfast and saying goodbyes, I departed. 

My son took me to the station at Bulley. He planned three-quarters of an hour to get there, although the drive was “normally” about 20-30 mintues. He must have had a sixth sense. When you approach the village of Bulley the last part is crossing the River Mosel on a bridge to arrive at the station and then we saw that nothing was moving. All the cars on the bridge were standing and we were the next to go onto the bridge. We then saw the disturbance. The bridge is not exactly meant for heavy traffic and two cars in different directions could pass each other taking care. Unfortunately an idiot of a lorry driver with Rumanian number plates decided to cross the bridge, meaning that he had blocked everything and was creeping centimetre by centimetre along the bridge. We had to watch and wait until he cleared the bridge without knocking cars from the opposite direction into the river. I could have walked across the river with my case, but No. 2 son said wait, we have enough time and let’s see what happens. The lorry survived and so did we and we arrived at the station where my son placed me on the platform and organised my ticket. The Swiss railway organised all my tickets, but the last return part of the journey from Bulley to Koblenz was not in their repertoire. I hugged No. 2 son and stepped on the train to Koblenz, where I had 10 minutes to wait for my direct train to Basel, Switzerland, but….. Yes it happened again. In Koblenz there was a 10 minute delay for the connection, due to railway work. This did not bother me too much as I like to have some spare time on my railway journeys, although Koblenz is not the most pretty station on the German network.

The train arrived and I took my seat. At the next stop, I think it was Main am Rhein, it was discovered that one of the wagon doors on the train was blocked, another 10 minutes delay. I then took the opportunity to tell a young lady in german railway uniform, that I did not like my reserved seat as it was not facing the direction the train was going, but the other direction and whether she had something else. She was very kind an helpful and found a love single window seat in the next carriage travelling forwards. Yes, I know I am very fussy sometimes.

Eventually we arrived in Basel with 30 minutes delay which was the exact 30 minutes I needed for my programmed next train. However, Basel being international, there was another choice and I caught the train destined for Lugano which was non-stop to Olten, where I had to change trains for my destination in Solothurn. I was keeping Mr. Swiss informed during the Swiss part of the journey of my progress, my telephone now on the Swiss network.

I arrived in Olten and what did I see? The train had engine problems and was standing still in Mägenwil. Where is Mägenwil you are thinking, and yes so was I. However the next connection for Solothurn was just five minutes away. At least it would have been if the train was not blocked by another train standing still in Mägenwil - are you with me? This train arrived with 10 minutes delay. I would mention it was a hot sunny day and my last train did have an apologising note not he door to say “sorry for the inconvenience, but the air-conditioning in this train is not working”.

I eventually arrived in Solothurn station to be met by Mr. Swiss who had been searching for a parking place on the station, meaning I had to wheel my case up the slope to meet him. The main thing was I was home again. 

I promise that is my last report of my Odyssey to the valley of the river Mosel. No, there is a wedding report to come, but the official photos have not yet arrived. Watch this space.

Welcome to Germany

Yes I am back - everyone clap and be happy, although I am still getting sorted out.

It all began at 9.00 a.m. when I boarded the local train on my way to Germany. Luckily the first stop was a station where I could connect with my train to Mannheim, so I did not have to mess around with searching for connections, that all came later. My next connection was from Mannheim to Koblenz and then a little slow train to my end station of a place called Bulley where my son picked me up. Sounds good, it is better to reserve seats on the main German trains to ensure that you do not have to stand throughout the journey. What could be better? Actually something could have been better. If the train that arrived at Koblenz for the last leg of the trip was not delayed for five minutes I would have had an easy five minutes more to cross from platform 3 to platform 9 with my suitcase. Instead I did a Speedy Gonzales to ensure that the train did not disappear and I caught it with 30 seconds to spare. They had already warned us that the train would not wait because of the delay from Koblenz. You think that might have been stress?? Wait until I tell you about the return journey at the end of this prize suspicious blogging session. 

Somewhere on the train journey I saw these from the window. I do not know if you have something like this in your countries, but they are a method of creating electricity from the wind force. Giant windmills that probably turn a turbine and you can plug your hairdryer or radio into the socket and you have action. They have even planted some of these in the english channel in water: a good subject for a photo on a boring journey.

When we arrived at Main in Germany, the river Rhine decided to accompany us. The big happening was Koblenz when the River Mosel and Rhine got together and then the train continued side by side with the River Mosel. The little slow train to my destination, Bulley, was accompanied by grape vines all the way. They plant them all over the place as making wine is the big thing in the Mosel Valley. My daughter-in-law’s parents have a couple of hectors and their wine business has been for years in the family. 

My daughter-in-law’s family also have a guest house and rooms, so I had no problem for accommodation. If anyone would like to spend their holidays in the area, just let me know. I have all the details. They have guests from all over the world. The photo shows the vines in front of their house and on the left at the bottom you see a little bit of the River Mosel. On the opposite bank you can see more vines rising. It is not an easy job to look after the vines on those slopes and I was told that it is a big advantage if you have one leg about two thirds shorter that the other as it makes looking after the vines a little easier when standing on the slopes. I must say it all looks very pretty and picturesque, but there is a lot of work behind it all. And the grapes? They are growing every day under the sun, but at the moment about half way there. The big event is in September/October when they are picked and turned into wine. Not exactly like Jesus at the wedding feast when he did it with water,  but very similar. Will be back tomorrow with more - yes, I think I might start a vineyard in my garden. It looks very pretty, but probably I will have to get planning permission.

WordPress Daily Prompt: Journey

Tell us about a journey - whether a physical trip you took or an emotional one.
Photographers: show us JOURNEY

I have flown the route Zürich-London so often over the last 40 years, that I think I know almost every mark on the landscapes passing below. At the beginning when I was still a single woman, flying was expensive for my budget, so it was the train from Victoria Station in London, the ferry from Folkestone to Calais and the train departing in the late evening from Calais to Basel in Switzerland: the last part of the journey being Basel-Zürich where I was then living.

Over the years flying became less expensive, and out of convenience grounds the family Anglo Swiss travelled by air. I now travel on my own. The children do their own journeys today, live their own lives and Mr. Swiss stays in Switzerland whilst I visit my aging father (now 97 years old) in London.

The journey has not changed very much. Taking the train from Solothurn (my local town) to Zürich Airport, going through the customs formalities and eventually boarding the plane. Over the years boarding a plane has become a internet process. The document is now completed at home the day before you leave on your own computer. The boarding card is now replaced by a sheet of paper.

I used to look forward to the meals on the plane: nothing master-chef, but a nicely arranged plate with a Swiss meat/cheese selection and your choice of drink. A desert was also served, perhaps some cake with a creamy dressing and fruit. It was all part of the adventure. And today? a sandwich with a cheese spread and a small chocolate bar for a sweet touch. Drinks are also provided and you can still choose what you would like, although I would warn against Swiss Airline coffee. I just stick to plain water.

So let us have a look out of the window. Take off was some time ago, when you get that strange feeling that the distance between the soles of your feet and mother earth amounts to a few thousand kilometres. If you are lucky it is a clear day and you can actually see what is below: resembling a legoland. If you have clouds, then you are drifting through a sea of the unknown. If the weather is bad, then your body will resemble a floating container filled with unpleasant feelings. You cannot see the bumps and levels of the atmosphere; it is all an internal feeling. No problem, the paper bags are contained in the back pockets of the seat in front if you feel that your last meal wants to make a re-visit.

There are two flying routes to London; you cross over Luxembourg and then France and eventually below you can see water. That is when I wonder what happens if the plane decides to take a dip and I am glad that I watched the stewardess when she did her dance with the lifebelt demonstration. However, the English Channel is a matter of about 10-15 minutes and afterwards you can see land again. If you take the route direct South over the coast you see a few unknown seaside towns of England and lots of green fields boarded by hedges with roads in between. If you take the other route, which is my favourite, you cross the coast at Southend, seeing Canvey Island opposite, and follow the River Thames until it reaches London. I generally land at London City airport, it being only about half an hour from my destination.

My ex school friend usually meets me with her car and we drive off to her home, calling in on my dad on the way. Sometimes the half hour journey can take as long as the journey from Zürich to London if it is the so-called rush-hour.

My next trip will be around October everything going well. That will be the week when the Daily Prompt will be ignored.

Getting Ready

I think I am getting a bit too old for this travelling thing. They only let me out of the country once a year so I am just not used to it any more. This morning was spent with some last minute shopping. I didn't find my adapter after all for plugging my telephone and camera charger in in England, but our local Supermarket had them. Mr. Swiss said they are the right ones as the prongs are square and not round like ours. So that problem was dealt with. I then had to go to the bank to stock up on English money. I even found a purse at home full of English coins, including some pound coins, so that came in handy. In my days in England we had pound notes, but then it was also 20 Swiss Francs to the pound and not four and a half Francs as today.

The afternoon was spent with preparations such as loading up my mobile telephone, getting the camera ready and fit and looking for passports and identity cards. Then I got through a pile of ironing from the washing I did yesterday evening. I have very independent men at home who know how the machines work, but we woman have a feeling that we have to do it. Arn't we silly. This afternoon I got the case packed. I have still got a lot of room in it for the shopping I will do in London. The last time I went I brought about 10 books back with me.

The final triumph was when I said I would get my train ticket return to Zürich Airport today at the station (see picture above - our local station). Mr. Swiss said you can get that over the computer. Now that was fun. I found the web site and had to register. I attempted to register 3 times, and it was third time lucky. I have a half day pass for Swiss trains. That means I only pay half price anywhere I go. The pass costs 333 Swiss Francs for 3 years, but Swiss trains are Rolls Royces on train lines, so you really get the benefit of the pass after two train journeys. I now have a piece of paper with my name and journey on it to be used as a train ticket tomorrow. Doesn't the world change. Even my flight ticket is just a piece of paper. I remember the little booklets we used to have. So tomorrow morning I will wave goodbye to my 3 cats and Mr. Swiss as well and I am bound for London until next week on Wednesday.