How Do You Tell Clean From Dirty Clothes When Travelling?
On trips like the one I’ve just done to Gdansk, I travel with enough underwear and socks for the trip, which is one per day and a spare.
Socks are easy to tell if they’re clean, as they are still in a ball, but how do you tell clean from dirty pants.
Hal;fway through the trip, I decided that if your clean pants are carried inside out you can always find them. After all, it is unlikely you would put a dirty pair back in the case with the possibly dirty side out.
I also usually take one new shirt still in its packaging and as many old ones as I need on holiday. That way, at least one will get to the day I need it, in absolutely pristine condition.
Planning Another Trip
Since my return from Gdansk, I’ve been thinking about another trip to Poland.
I would go a bit more southerly and probably start with two nights in Krakow. I would probably then go to Prague, possibly spending a night en route at either Wroclaw or Poznan.
From then it would be on to Dresden, a city I’ve always wanted to see. From there there would be an intermediate stop before Cologne, where I would run for home using a Eurostar ticket, as I outlined in this post.
So the trip would look something like this.
Day 1 – Krakow
Day 2 – Krakow
Day 3 – Wroclaw/Poznan/Other (?)
Day 4 – Prague
Day 5 – Prague
Day 6 – Dresden
Day 7 – Weimar/Nuremberg/Other (?)
Obviously, nothing is cast in stone and any suggestions would be gratefully received.
The DLR’s Superb New Station
The new Pudding Mill Lane station has now opened.
It is not fully open yet, as the lifts need to be tested and approved. But otherwise it is a station of which everyone can be proud. I think it is another example of how architects are creating quite a few new quality train and bus stations.
Note how the old station is now almost gone to allow Crossrail to emerge from underneath London.
Being Wise After The Event
The last two days of this trip were a bit hurried. Thinking about it a couple of days after I returned, I think I should have given myself another night in Berlin and come home via Cologne on the Friday.
This is possible at a cost of €154 in First Class leaving Berlin at 10:47. And then you have another for €99 Standard Premier on the Eurostar. This totals at €253
Alternatively you can buy the Berlin to Cologne ticket from DB for €117 and then buy a ticket from Cologne to London on Eurostar for €114. This route costs €231 and allows you to use any train you like between Cologne and Brussels.
I would think that on paper, the second route might not only be cheaper, but more convenient, as you could take a train to suit your Eurostar and perhaps have a good meal in Brussels, in the time you are waiting.
This joint ticket is available from several other cities like Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich. Munich to London in Standard Class costs £127, although I can’t seem to find a train to get to Brussels from Munich.
Enjoying The Sun On The Overground
I went to Richmond on the Overground and I caught this picture of a lady sunning herself, whilst waiting for a train on the eastbound platform of the North London line.
Enjoying The Sun On The Overground
As the line goes roughly east-west, quite a few eastbound platforms get lots of sun. I could have been caught enjoying the sun at several times in the past.
Try sunbathing on the Underground!
I Missed The Final Match Of The Season
I have been away all week and at no time did I check the time of the last Ipswich match of the season. After all Saturday matches start at 15:00 don’t they?
I knew that all matches were starting at the same time, but thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve been to a last match of the season in recent years.
Then last night I got in about ten to a house empty of food and went straight to bed and slept all night.
This morning, I watched the television spasmodically, whilst I did my holiday washing and had a bath. About nine, I went to the Angel to do my shopping and then had breakfast in Carluccio’s. I didn’t even buy a paper until I left to go to the match. I suppose it didn’t help that no London club, was involved in promotion or relegation from the Championship.
I had intended to do a couple of things before I took my usual 13:00 train, but because the Overground was closed, I got to Liverpool Street station early enough to get the 11:30 train, which would have meant only missing a bit of the match. So I went and had a cup of tea and came back for the 13:00 train.
Only when I was sitting in the train, did I switch my phone on and then I got a couple of texts with the teams.
As I walked back through the barriers at Liverpool Street, there was another fan, who hadn’t heard about the match time either.
I know it is all my fault, but I suspect, I’m not the only fan who lived away from his team, who missed this last match of the season.
Would I Go Back To Heidelberg?
I would! But I would certainly go by a different route.
Home From Heidelberg
To get back home from Heildeberg, I took the train to Brussels changing at Cologne. And as I usually do, I took one of the last Eurostars for London that arrived just after nine in the evening.
It was a long if beautiful journey from Heidelberg to Cologne, which went right up the western bank of the Rhine. Sadly my camera had expired, so the pictures will stay in my mind.
Would I Go Back To Berlin?
Yes! But I’d certainly find a better and cheaper way to come home.
In DB Style From Berlin To Heidelberg
I’d always wanted to go to Heidelberg, as it was probably the first German town, of which I knew the name. This was because I spent so much time from the age of about six watching one or other of my father’s Original Heidelberg printing machines. One is shown in this post. My simple job, was to call him, if the machines dropped any paper, which is a letterpress printer’s worst nightmare, as then other shets follow and paper goes everywhere, often damaging the intricately set type.
There is no museum in the town, but I just had to go.
So I bought an extremely expensive ticket at €215 for the journey, expecting a bit of DB TLC in First.
All I got was one cup of coffee which I had to pay €2.50 for.
My €2.50 Cup Of Coffee
But I suppose the seat was comfortable and I had most of the carriage to myself.
At least on my journey from Berlin to Warsaw, which is about the same distance, I paid only €79 and got a free cup of coffee and some biscuits that weren’t gluten-free.
As Berlin to Heidelberg is virtually the same distance as London to Edinburgh, I looked up the fares on the Scottish route. Today it would be £208, but tomorrow it would be £120. On the other hand for the German trip for say next Thursday, it will still be €215.
There is also one big difference in the UK, in that anybody, even Germans, over 60 can purchase for £30 a Senior Railcard, which reduces the prices I’ve shown by a third. And you can buy that at a ticket office, when you take your first journey. I did try to see if I could buy a DB Card, but the lady at the ticket office didn’t want to sell me one and didn’t have good English.
But the biggest difference between East Coast or Virgin and DB, is that on many long distance journeys you get snacks and endless tea and coffee thrown in with the ticket.
I have had customer service problems with Deutsche Barn in the past, most notably at Osnabruck.
No wonder the train was empty for most of the way!
The Anonymous Widower 