La France, l'Allemagne et plus 2019

==≠≠1 It was a grey overcast day for our 358 kilometre journey to Munich using the autobahn. According to the GPS system it looked like we would take around three hours however it took about an hour and a half longer.   It was an interesting journey as I expected that we would have no speed limit for the entirety of the journey.   However, the reality was different in that most of it was at a speed limit ranging from 60 kph to 120kph.   Not only that, there long periods where were moving at a snail’s pace either due to road works or to   moving from three lanes to two.   The countryside was green and undulating which again surprised me as I expected lots of flat land. Marienplatz Our hotel was one of a Leonardo chain called NYX and the best way to describe it was that it was very funky.   The lift was softly lit with a purple light and the furnishings were all very modern.   The room, whilst small, was all that we needed and very comfortable....

Black Forest Gateau We crossed the Rhine and into Germany and our first stop was Baden-Baden a spa town about 57kms from Strasbourg.   It is nestled in the Black Forest and is famous for the healing properties of its thermal waters.   It is a resort town that is picture perfect. The buildings are well cared for and the town looks wealthy and I did not see a beggar on the footpaths as we did in Strasbourg.   It is a place where pictures are worth a thousand words.     On arrival we had a cup of coffee and a piece of the iconic Black Forest Gateau which Bev could not resist and which I reluctantly was forced to share with her.   It was delicious but too much of it and I’ll likely be several kilos heavier by the time we arrive back in New Zealand.   Afterwards we wandered the town, which did have some very interesting buildings.   There was an interesting art exhibition most of which I didn’t like but some bits were v...

During my last visit here in 2011 I discovered that the Germans   had a Concentration Camp called Struthof which had been partially preserved as a memoriam and museum to the atrocities committed there.   I thought that Bev might be interested so we drove to a rather remote place on the side of a mountain.   The camp had been put there to mine a seam of granite and the prisoners were worked till they died. There was also a gas chamber for exterminating prisoners.   It is a very sombre place.   Unfortunately, due to it being Easter Sunday it was closed so all we could do was look at the enclosure and imagine being in that hell hole where life was measured in days rather than years.   Winters would have been gruelling and bleak due to the snow.   Even a nice day like yesterday was quite cool on the mountain.   We encountered a number of cyclists using the mountain as either a challenge or a training ground.   It was certainly one which wou...

Sleep problems aside we are feeling reasonably good, except Bev seems to have contracted a cold.   Perhaps it was the slowing down in Singapore that did it! Canal near our apartment Bikes are everywhere.  Outside the Gare de Strasbourgh This morning we picked up the car from Europcar.   It was quite a wait to talk with someone as the people before us were having problems.   In the French way there were loud, apparently angry, voices of disagreement and disappointment.   I felt that way at one point when they said they were going to take a deposit with was 33% in addition to the value of the rental.   Eek.   Despite that the customer service was very good. Our car for the three weeks is VW T-Roc which is the SUV version of the Golf.   I think I would still prefer to have the Golf but it seems that the rental car companies are now renting SUVs as that is what the market is demanding.   The nice thing it did have was Active...

We were up and on a bus to the airport for our flight to Basel, very early. We then had to change buses at the Central Transport terminal at Heathrow to get to Terminal 5.   Being the weekend, and a public holiday, the services were reduced.   We just missed a bus and settled down to wait for the next one anticipating it would arrive according to the timetable.   But it did not, so we went to get a train to Terminal 5 which we managed to miss by about a second.   Fifteen minutes later we were on the next one and headed for check in.   It took us a bit of time to get our boarding passes and when we tried to check our bags in, it would not take them.   A bored customer service agent told us we had missed our plane.   Fortunately, a less bored person put us onto the next flight which was seven hours later. Fortuitously, we were not charged (apparently a nice thing BA were doing for Easter).   We also had to buy new tickets for ou...

Our flight left for London at a very civilised time of 9am.   We were boarded very efficiently into the A380 which is a monster of an aircraft.   We were in Premium Economy which was full and from what I could see of economy class,   it too was very full.   They said they are updating the aircraft but this one certainly hasn’t been.   The service is very good but I have to say Premium Economy seats and food is not as good as you get on Air New Zealand. In fact, the only real difference between Premium Economy on Singapore Airlines and Economy is that there is more room between the seats and the seats are bigger and better.   I do like the A380.   It is very quiet compared to the B777.   Flying over southern India was interesting - while the day was theoretically clear, it was through a brown murk that you could see the land below, which   I guess was a combination of dust and other pollutants.   It makes one ...

Our flight left late for Singapore due to the inbound plane arriving late.   After the drama of non-entry into Singapore it was nice to get on board and finally be off for our European adventure.   I managed a good six hour sleep on the plane so hardly got to read anything or to watch much as before I knew it we were touching down in Singapore.   The weather looked great and at that point I thought that it was a pity we were going to be stuck inside for the day.   Prior to leaving we had booked a transit hotel for the day.   A rather expensive exercise as they charge in six hourly blocks.   That took a bit of anxiety away from how we might accommodate ourselves. In hindsight we could have just booked for twelve hours and saved a heap of money but we figured that out long after we had paid our money and checked in.   Our hotel We had a couple of hours to fill in prior to occupying our room and we found a place to hav...