Because of ongoing construction works in Stuttgart, we had to take a local train to Esslingen first and board the TGV to Paris there. Allowing for the notorious unreliability of German trains, we set off an hour earlier than we had to, starting from Ludwigsburg at 7:05.
Esslingen is a beautiful town, and we made use of the 1 hour 20 minutes there by strolling through some of the picturesque streets in their early Sunday morning quiet, and buying breakfast when the bakery opened.
The TGV took us to Paris with plenty of time for the 10 minute walk from Gare de l‘Est to Gare du Nord. There are steep longish steps in between, not easy to manage with luggage. Unsolicited, a young man helped first me and then my sister - rest assured neither of us let go of the handle of the suitcase for one second!
Checking in and border control were much quicker than last year, when all the Covid-related documents had to be checked on top of passports and tickets. Again, well over an hour in the waiting area meant we had time for a coffee.
The Eurostar whisked us through France, then the channel tunnel, and on to St. Pancras, London. Across the road with our luggage to King‘s Cross and a quick visit to a mini Waitrose for sandwiches to eat later on the train, and then we had a pleasant 3/4 of an hour or so outside on the sunny square in front of the station, with another coffee and plenty of people-watching.
The LNER train to York left bang on time, and we enjoyed watching the countryside getting greener the further north we came. Rain started in earnest some time after Grantham, and Yorkshire was wet, dark and windblown - as we had expected from both the forecast and my sister-in-law‘s text messages.
The connection in York was easily reached, and after another 35 minutes on the local train, we finally arrived in Harrogate where A (sister-in-law) picked us up. It‘s a short drive to Ripon, and in spite of the dismal weather, it felt like coming home.
It was almost precisely 9:00 pm as we opened the front door to ‚our‘ cottage - 14 hours after we had set off in the morning.
A quick cup of tea with A before she went home and left us to unpack.
A smooth journey, but a VERY long day.
Welcome. You were fortunate to miss Saturday's rail strike. The next one is 29th. I hope you are not travelling that day. Have a lovely stay in Yorkshire and I look forward to reading about it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel! We knew about the strike, my sil kept us informed. Travelling home will be on the 4th of August; no strike planned so far.
DeleteAs Rachel says - welcome indeed. I enjoyed reading this and travelling with you in spirit. I hope the weather improves for your stay.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat! Sunny and windy as we speak - possibly the only day in Ripon that should remain dry throughout while we‘re here, so off we go!
DeleteI feel exhausted just reading about it! ;) But I know you're used to it, and I'm glad you managed it without any major "hiccups" along the way. Esslingen looks like a nice town. I wish you a nice stay in Ripon - and not "too" much rain!
ReplyDeleteIt was exhausting, Monica - my usual train trips to and from O.K. are about 2,5 hours long, and even further afield it‘s rarely more than 6 hours, so 14 is quite a lot. But yes, all went well, no hiccups at all, and even though the weather was dismal and more like November than July last night, we knew it was not going to stay that way 😊
DeleteThat was a long day but how comforting to have your familiar spot at the end of it! Never been to Yorkshire but just your mention of London has made me "homesick".
ReplyDeleteA long trip but worth it, in my opinion!
DeleteAnd the rain that fell copiously last night just made sure the beautiful countryside remains so much more greener than where we live.
It helps that you have done that trip before because you made it sound so simple and smooth! Hooray that you are safely there and ready for some adventure. Your cottage looks lovely! Enjoy your stay, Meike!
ReplyDeleteIt helps that we are used to using public transport, Ellen - one has to be alert all the time and keep track of train times and possible delays or other changes.
DeleteThank you, we are enjoying our stay very much already after our first full day 😊
Good to see you back and glad your journey was trouble-free if somewhat long. However it was probably quicker for you that it would be for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Graham! To travel by public transport from Lewis to Ripon would certainly be a long trip, too. And you would need a ferry to cross the water - we just went underneath.
DeleteI hope you get some good days while you are back here in The People's Republic of Yorkshire. Welcome home comrade!
ReplyDeleteThank you, comrade! It does feel good to be here again. Our first proper day today was close to perfect.
DeleteEsslingen the bonny toon, and home baking too !
ReplyDeleteParis, the Eurostar to London, St Pancras & King's Cross - I was there in May.
All a bit breathless, but you are in beloved Ripon this evening.
Great to watch the countryside get greener as the locomotive headed to York.
Happy Holiday ! May the rain raineth not too rainily ...
This time, we never had to rush in order to catch our next connection, but instead had plenty of time to have coffees and watch people. The entire trip could have probably been cut down to 10 hours or so, but we were not willing to run the risk of missing one of the trains because of some delay or other.
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