Smooth Journey

Saturday, July 16, was our trip to Ripon - all done by train, except for the last 15 minutes or so from Harrogate.

We started with about an hour to spare from our hometown. Actually, the train journey from Ludwigsburg to Stuttgart takes just a bit more than 10 minutes, but there have been so many problems with trains there recently, that we did not want to risk anything and were there rather early. 

The TGV to Paris Est arrived on time and left Stuttgart with us and our luggage on board, and only about 5 minutes delay - for the German railway, anything under 6 minutes does not even count as delay. 

A few hours later, we got off the TGV and followed the signs to Gare du Nord, only a 10 minute walk away. There, we had an hour or so time for the check in process and border control, first the French authorities and then the British ones. Our brandnew passports came into use, our tickets were stamped and eventually, we were allowed on board the Eurostar.

It left on time but we had two unplanned service stops along the way, both lasting only a few minutes but meaning a total delay of 15 minutes. No problem for us - we had planned our journey generously enough to allow for much longer delays, and still ended up with having about two hours in London.

Before reaching that point, the Euro Tunnel had to be crossed - a first for both of us. I say Euro Tunnel because that was what I saw on the wall just as we entered. The official name is Channel Tunnel, and you can read all the facts such as length, depth and so on here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel

The roughly 20 minutes inside the tunnel were totally unremarkable. You see nothing but black through the windows; unlike other railway tunnels, there are hardly any lights. You can hear the noise the train makes, and I am pretty sure that at some stage I heard the rumble of another train passing ours, and something that probably had to do with ventilation. Most of the time, I shut my eyes and tried not to dwell on how deep underneath the Sea we were. I freely admit that it was my least favourite part of the journey, but over quick enough to be easily bearable.

Changing from St. Pancras to King‘s Cross in London was even easier than in Paris - just across the road, really. We now had plenty of time and found a place for a leisurely coffee and a flapjack (me) and brownie (my sister). We enjoyed watching people of all sorts walk by, and eventually went to our train to Leeds. It was on the dot and very modern - we could even have ordered snacks and drinks via our phones, to be brought directly to our seats. But there was no need for that, as my sister had made sandwiches for both of us, and we had plenty of water with us.

Looking out at the slowly changing countryside moving northwards from London, it was obvious that this beautiful island has been suffering as much from lack of rain as the continent. Further north, the landscape started to look a little greener.

In Leeds, changing trains for the last time was even easier, as we know that station quite well. Again, the local train was on time, and it was good to see the familiar names of the places that train stops at on its way to Harrogate.

My sister-in-law met us there at the station, and I am not ashamed to say that I welled up on seeing her - last time we saw each other was in March 2019!

The drive to Ripon was so familiar, and entering the town felt like coming home. We found our cottage ready for us and had mugs of tea with Angela before unpacking and finally calling it a day.

The photos on this post are a combination of my own and my sister‘s. There will be of course many, many more in the days (and probably weeks) to come.