Bills Posts

After a night and a mornings sailing, we have moved from Köln to Amsterdam. Two things are a bit of a blight on the cruise today both, I hasten to add, absolutely outside the control of Great Rail Journeys.

Firstly Dutch railways are on strike tomorrow. Not all trains are affected, but guess whose is. Yep. The second really annoying thing is I woke up with a massively ricked neck, down the left hand side. Agony to move. I started popping paracetamol, that helped a little. Everyone suggested I get a massage.

I booked one before we went on the canal river cruise, which even though I was in pain, I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately no slots available until 1600. Those of you with a certain frame of mind can get back in your cage. The Massage was on board ship.

The tour was very interesting, taking in the delights and issues of canal-culture. We ended up at the grand central,station which is only about ten minutes walk from the boat’s mooring.

Firstly, Thank You to Mark for last nights guest appearance on the blog, his occasional contributions are always welcome (Clive, if you ever wanted to do one, I’d love it).

So today saw us moving further up the Rhine to Königswinter where we visited and took a ride on The DrachenfelsBahn one of only four surviving rack (a cog wheel on the train engages with a rack between the rails to haul itself up the 1-in-5 slope). Because time was limited We only stayed at the top for about 30 minutes.

Back on the boat for a midday is departure, and we were on our way to Cologne (Köln) where I had not been since the early 1980’s. Obviously, things were different to what I recall them. It was nice though to revisit the magnificent Cathedral, and with the help of our guide learn a few more things about the city.

Goodbye…..

Today it’s Mark’s turn. We moved up the Moselle to Cochem. There were 3 locks all really tight but the sides of the valley were all covered in vines. There were tracks likes continuous ladders going up step sides where small trucks went up to collect the grapes. I thought it was interesting…..

About 2/3 of the way when we had been going too slow because of the traffic ahead the boat had to turn round as the river would not be wide enough later. The rest of the way the captain drove backwards.

So our time on the lovely little town was cut short but enough to buy some local wine and have a beer. Back on board for dinner ( rack of lamb. Lovely). Then leaving back down river overnight to Koblenz. The right way round.

It’s not often I would post a picture of food, but this is is classic stuff; Bratwurst im brotchen, mit Senf; Roast sausage, in bread with mustard. Now, it is roughly 40 years since I last had this meal in Germany. It remains to this day, one of my favourite fast foods. Might not be healthy, but it is delicious. I was determined to have at least one.

Today, we sailed from Ruddesheim to Koblenz. We’d had a Land train tour of the vineyards of Ruddesheim and got dropped off in the centre of town, which is only a few minutes walk from where the boat was berthed. I think it was around midday we set off for Koblenz.

To sail downstream through the Rhine Valley-Gorge is to float through the turbulence of Germanic history in chapters marked by Castles, built on what seemed to be the most awkward hillsides (are 160 metre high almost vertical cliffs really just hills?) – to even begin to appreciate the effort that must have been expended to build these places, you really do need to see it.

We arrived in Koblenz in time for afternoon tea, of which, we did not partake. Instead, we headed for the cable car that would take us over the Rhine to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, where we spent only just a few minutes (no, we certainly did not do the place justice. Time, unfortunately, was against us).

From the cable car,we tried to visit the Deutsches Eck, a large monument marking the meeting of the Moselle and the Rhine. Unfortunately, it was blocked off from the public due to an event taking place.

This is where I saw the imbiss and had the Brattie. A perfect end to that part of the day.

The ship berthed at Speyer, it would move after we had left the boat. I’d never heard of this city, but it has a lot of history. It also has an amazing science & Technology museum which unfortunately we were unable to visit and just drove past. Lots of aircraft on display outside, including a full sized 747 mounted about 100 feet in the air.

The kings castle of Heidelberg dominates the town below. We visited both today. The city is one of those places that I have heard so much about but had never gotten around to visiting, so it is nice to be able to that now, I have.

That occupied the morning. This afternoon we relaxed on board ship as it moved from our pick up point at Mannheim, also a city with a lot of history.

Unfortunately, I think the travel and sun, and a bit of over-eating caught up with me, so I went to bed early.

Leaving Strasbourg we had about an hours drive to reach what really is a lovely spot about 1,000 metres up in the hills that carry the Black Forest. I’m going to say that normally I really don’t like places that have been heavily commercialised for tourists, but for some reason I didn’t feel the same with this spot, Mummelsee, which most definitely has been (heavily commercialised).

Perhaps the reason was the chance to have a piece of Black Forest Gateaux, whilst in the Black Forest. Come on, it would have been churlish not to. So once again, I let myself be that tourist and I have to say it tasted really nice. I also went for a stroll around at least part of the lake, so I a genuinely say that I went for a walk in the Black Forest.

As we descended from those mountainous heights we had a brief walking experience in one of the small towns that cling to the hill side. It was a lovely experience.

In the afternoon, we went to Strasbourg City Centre. We had a level walk around and visited the lovely cathedral with the unusual organ with the pipes halfway up the wall, which really must be difficult for maintenance. Still, interesting.

It should start yesterday, with the journey to london, nothing special just a nice train journey. We had a nice meal in the evening (I’m missing out chunks of the day) at an Italian restaurant next to the hotel, but we didn’t linger too long as we had to be up at 0400 to get checked in for the 0701 Eurostar departure – nice rail journey to Paris.

Interesting drive across from Gare du Nord to Gare du Lyon, the amount of infrastructure work on the roadside needs to be seen to be believed, it was chaotic and sooo slow. We barely had time to grab stuff for lunch from a stand before getting the SNCF to Basel.

The SNCF run, in comparison to Paris was an entirely different kettle of fish. Between Dijon and Basel we were touching 302kmh (188mph). I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever been in a train. A double decker, and first class as well. Very comfortable – well almost, difficult to sleep in the seats.

On board the Amadeus now, heading up the Rhine. Next stop The Black Forest. I always think of “A Walk in the Black Forest” which in my head was played by Russ Conway, but actually it was Horst Jankowski. Either way, it’s still a favourite of mine.

I’ve been reading B&W photography, the latest issue.  There was an article that really made me pause and think about photography.  In particular, my style of photography, and what I take pictures of.  You see, one major problem I have (and I am sure that I have mentioned this somewhere in my blog) is that I really don’t have an artistic eye.  Even when, very occasionally I do take a picture that I like that is even slightly artistic it is almost invariably a fluke, a lucky chance.

For the most part then, I take pictures of what I see, when I see it.  There’s nothing wrong with that, even if I sometimes feel frustrated at my lack of artistic talent, taking pictures of what I see is fine..  So, what was it about the article that sparked this post? Let’s get specific;  B&W Photography, issue 303, Page 26 American Connections by Robin Bailey.  Now, please don’t get me wrong; I am most certainly not claiming my pictures are anywhere as near as good as his, exposure, composition, lighting, subject matter are all spot on, and they are lovely pictures.  If I had been in the same place, at the same time, would my pictures have been as good as his.  I very much doubt it, there is something about them that makes them really good.  But, the subject matter is the same as the kind of photo I would like to take.

The thing about my pictures is that they are easy, minimal thought about composition, mostly exposure left to the phone or the camera, lighting is when I take it – I do get up early, buts mainly to suite me, rather than it being specifically good for the picture.

What then can I do to add quality to the type of picture I like to take?  Well, how about doing all of the things I don’t do?  I need to think about that. 

We went to the Chairmakers today. It’s a pub just outside Waterlooville. They do a Sunday carvery, and it is a really nice one. Always delicious.

Every time I have a carvery, it reminds me of a time in 2011, was working on a contract. It meant being away from home. The hotel I stayed in didn’t have a restaurant, but it was right next to a Toby Carvery.

I was on the contract for about 15 months, actually, I really enjoyed the job, and was sorry when it came to an end. In between times, I worked out that I had somewhere around 240 carveries. That’s quite a lot, and I enjoyed every one of them. The staff at the Toby got to know me quite well. Who knows what they thought of me.

I have a map of the Browndown area at the waterfront in Stokes Bay. It has a lot of ley lines drawn over it. One problem I have is that it looks like it is a very old map and I am having difficulty relating the old map to today’s terrain.

Now, I know it sounds a bit bonkers, but I have set of dowsing rods that I have not yet put to the test, so it seems reasonable to take them to Browndown and put them through their paces.

I could film myself doing and give everybody a right laugh, unless of course…I find something. That’d be a turn up for the books wouldn’t it?

It’s like I’ve been saying, I know it’s bunkum, but wouldn’t it be fun if it were real?