As the bells from the church up the road from where I live rang 10:00 on Friday night, I rounded the corner to my house and was inside my flat a minute later. Phew!
To rewind: Getting up on Friday morning at 7:00, we were ready well before my sister-in-law arrived at 20 to 9:00 to drive us to Harrogate Station.
There, we took the 9:36 LNER Azuma train directly to London, no change necessary. It was a comfortable journey of just under 3 hours.
In London, we quickly walked across the street to St. Pancras, and unlike last year, we breezed through luggage and border control in less than 15 minutes.
The Eurostar left St. Pancras almost on time, but even a minor delay would not have worried us, since we had more than an hour in Paris. We arrived at Gare du Nord at about 1/4 to 5 pm. That station is not only huge and crowded, it is also dirty and VERY smelly - not exactly a great arrival point for tourists who are looking forward to a holiday in Paris. But this was not what we were here for, of course, and we walked the 10 minutes or so to Gare de L'Est without further ado.
That walk is, as I have mentioned before, very impractical and not at all tourist-friendly. It lacks good signposting, plus there are steep, long steps to manage - no elevator/lift, no ramps. I wonder what people with prams, pushchairs or in a wheelchair do.
Of course we made it, and Gare de L'Est is so much nicer than its northern neighbour - cleaner, well organised, not smelly at all.
Our TGV to Stuttgart was delayed by half an hour. We were not exactly happy about it (there comes a time during a long voyage when all you really want is GET HOME), but we used the time to buy food for the evening on the train, and do some people-watching. And believe me, there was plenty to watch!
Finally on the TGV, we watched the sun set over the French (and later German) countryside and arrived in Stuttgart just past 9:30 pm.
No detour via Esslingen was necessary, which was a big relief. We caught a local train with only a few minutes to spare, and arrived in Ludwigsburg at 9:55 pm.
- - -
Saturday: The original plan was that O.K. and I would spend the weekend separately; the village band were to perform in a nearby village, and I was going to do all the usual stuff that needs doing after a holiday, shopping, washing etc.
But the village fest was cancelled due to bad weather, and so O.K. drove up late afternoon to spend the rest of the weekend with me.
Of course I went to see my Mum early afternoon; with my sister, the three of us had coffee and cake on Mum's lovely balcony, surrounded by summer flowers at their best.
Later, O.K. and I went into town to have a meal at the Turkish grill/bar/restaurant where I had been not long ago with my girlfriends. We enjoyed our food but stayed longer than intended, as it began to rain - actually, it was pouring - and we waited for it to let up a bit before walking home.
Sunday was very wet - and very windy! - with only about an hour early afternoon when it was not raining. We dashed out for a quick walk; for the last quarter the rain started again. Never mind; I had ironing to do, and we finally settled on a place for our September holiday (more about that in another post).
As usual, O.K. had to leave not long after our evening meal. My holiday was now well and truly over.
Another photo-less post, but I did not feel like taking pictures of my food (or the ironing :-D).
Hi dear Meike. Glad you made it home safely - interesting hearing about the state of the French train stations - I do recall they are not tourist friendly. Hope this will be a good week as you get back into the swing of regular life and hope the weather improves.........although the rain is probably helping the those summer flowers stay lovely at your Mum's! We desperately need rain here but none forecast all week. We fly to the Northeast early Thurs. and it should be somewhat cooler there which we will enjoy.
ReplyDeleteWill be interested to hear about plans for your next trip. September is not far off!
Hugs - Mary
Rain was and is still very welcome here, but of course there will always be gardeners and farmers for who the rain has come too late or too early.
DeleteAnd naturally, many who have organised festivities or other things that depend on dry weather are disappointed. Such is life!
Yes, September is not far off. I will have a few very busy weeks in between holidays :-)
Have a safe flight and a good, relaxing time in the Northeast!
Home - safe and sound - Hooray, Meike! I would be so nervous to make all of those connections on the way home but you and your sister are seasoned travelers and so you make it sound so easy! Welcome home!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen!
DeleteNone of it was complicated; of course every connection means a risk of missing it, so the less changes between trains and stations, the better. Actually, there were only three changes - one in London, one in Paris and one in Stuttgart. I have had more changes on shorter trips!
I'm pleased to read that your journey went smoothly. It is always good to return home, refreshed after being in a different place. It is especially nice that you have people that you care about in both places!
ReplyDeleteI am very fortunate in having not one, but THREE places where I feel at home and three families to love and feel loved - my original home in Ludwigsburg, O.K.'s village and his family, and of course Ripon and family & friends in Yorkshire.
DeleteI enjoyed reading about your Yorkshire trip and nice to see you made the best of it regardless of the weather! It sounds like quite the journey though! Have you thought of flying?
DeleteHave you ever been here in Spring? It’s my favourite time of year, May is lovely in England… of course weather isn’t guaranteed but it’s so pretty with the new blooms of Spring in full blossom. :)
Hello Anonymous! Yes of course we have thought of flying, and up until last year, we always flew - but it still took us an entire day: Getting to the airport from Ludwigsburg to Stuttgart takes about an hour, and you have to be there two hours in advance. Then the actual flight to Manchester, then the Transpennine Express to Leeds, then a local train to Harrogate - it's a full day, plus all the hassle involved in air travel, not to speak of the CO footprint... :-)
DeleteYes, I have been to Ripon in spring, it was beautiful! Have a look at this 2012 post, for instance:
https://librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.com/2012/05/good-day.html
But since I am with O.K., due to his work we always go aways together in May, so another holiday around that time is not possible.
Thank you for the final Yorkshire entry with the return trip. I travelled to Kassel to the Documenta exhibition a few years ago on Eurostar via Brussels and Cologne and Frankfurt. I like the experience of train travel to see and understand more of the country I am visiting. I travelled via Paris and Gare du Nord and Gare de L'Est when visiting Basel.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I mentioned you on Steve Reed's blog, Shadows and Light, yesterday because he showed an old photo of a place in your part of Germany. he invites you to take a look.
I agree - it makes a big difference whether one just flies overhead or rides through a country at ground level. And once you're aboard the train, usually you can just lean back and look out of the window.
DeleteHow long did your trip to Kassel take?
Thank you! I will look at Steve's blog in a minute.
You got home safely as Mary said. Three homes: that's what I call security.
ReplyDeleteA wet and windy night. Sunday nights which I once dreaded I now enjoy.
Dinner in a Turkish restaurant is an ideal homecoming. Why is a Grill so enticing ?
*Across the street and into the grill.* E.B. White. The New Yorker online.
*Across the river and into Harry's Bar.* George Plimpton. New York Times online.
Both are satires on Hemingway's Venice novel, Across the River & Into the Trees*.
Church bells were pealing as you neared home Friday night, a nice touch.
Sad that religion is now a no-go area. Secularists don't like churches and mosques.
Security, and a blessing. So many poor people have no place to call home, while I have three. Seems unfair but I have not done anything to "deserve" this just as they have not done anything to "deserve" their lot.
DeleteThe bells from the churches in my neigbhourhood (one just up the road, others near enough to hear them) punctuate my day. I miss them when I can not hear them.
G.K. Chesterton said there was much horror in Christian history.
DeleteChurch bells which haunted Joan of Arc were a consolation to Chesterton.
N.T. (Tom) Wright, Alisa Childers, Doug Wilson & Os Guinness are my
favourite Christian apologists on YouTube; Francesca Stavrakopoulou
my favourite atheist; she says she will not convert on her deathbed.
Jonathan Black's occult book *The Sacred History* has a chapter entitled
*Joan and the Key to the Small Door* all about Joan of Arc.
*Jean-Francois Millet -The Angelus.* YouTube. Van Gogh Museum.
*Saint Joan - Joan of Arc. Full Monologue. G.B. Shaw.* YouTube.
Shaw was agnostic and was puzzled by Chesterton's faith.
* Klute. Bree's audition. Shaw's St. Joan.* YouTube.
Delete- The bells come down from Heaven and the echo lingers.
Yes I agree, you are blessed to have three places you feel are home. I have one, the home where we raised our children who are adults now. It is filled with happy memories.
ReplyDeleteThere are many happy memories for me in my original hometown, too. I was born and have grown up here, and the house where we lived and the one where my grandparents lived (and where my sister and I spent a lot of time) are still there. Currently, my old school is being pulled down to make room for larger school; it feels odd to see it going, many (not only good) memories attached.
Delete