Early autumn holiday, 27 September 2023

L'Argentière-La-Bessée

We are approximarely half way through our holiday, so we changed our sheets, towels, etc, which took up the first part of the morning and it was not until 11:00 that we set out for our walk. Not my favourite walk of these holidays, I must admit, as it was quite steep in places, and much of it on a footpath through woods.

It was the sort of walk I enjoy having done, but don't specially enjoy doing!

Our first port of call was a local Intermarché for a bit of shopping and the SW to have coffee, and then we drove down here to L'Argentière-La-Bessée, stopping on the Col de Lauteret to have a rather late lunch.

It is not the most beautiful Camping-Car Park, as it is surrounded by hydro-electric works, but it is not far from the town, which looks worth seeing. And there is a mirabelle tree which has shed its load, so we picked up a bowlful of windfalls and stewed them to have with yoghurt or fromage blanc tomorrow! 

Early autumn holiday, 26 September 2023

Notre-Dame-de-Mesage, Auvergne

The weather has - tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon - been being absolutely glorious, warm and sunny. But it is autumn, and early mornings and late evenings are chilly, if not cold. This, of course, means that there is a heavy dew overnight, and my feet got soaked when I went out for an early-morning dash round the playing-fields before breakfast! I was delighted to find some field mushrooms, which made a wonderful addition to the meal! 

After breakfast, our first port of call was a supermarket, and we were delighted to find, while we were there, that it had a launderette in the car park.

We are just under half-way through our holiday, so decided to profit from the occasion to do a load of laundry. I shopped and the SW got diesel and then his coffee while this was happening. Unfortunately, though, the dryer wasn't working, and although it did take the worst off, our clothes were by no means dry. However, Park4Night is very good at telling you where there are public laundry facilities, and I discovered there was one within a few minutes of where we are staying tonight, so we had lunch and then spent most of the afternoon driving down here. 

We drove down past Grenoble, and the turnoff to Villard-de-Lans, wishing that we were going there for the Mountain Cup again - so many wonderful memories, so many friends made, so much fun had.... I do realise it's uneconomic to hold it now, and the rink is not particularly helpful, but I know I'm not the only one to miss it badly. Not that I skate any more, and it's only a dream...but we did have such fun! 

Anyway, we got here at last. We are parked up in the car park of a tennis-court/football pitch complex, and there is a constant stream of cars dropping off children for practice! I could be in Walthamstow on a Monday night - the main difference being the adults don't go in with their children to register them, but just turf them out of the car and drive off. 

The SW has gone for a walk which he says looks lovely - I'm hoping to do a shorter version with him in the morning - and I will start supper soon. I had been going to do a chicken casserole, but we are not quite level this evening, and that sort of dish is easier to cook on the level, so we'll have Leberkäse with an egg and chips and a fried tomato, I think. The casserole can wait - and by then I will have bought leeks and mushrooms, which always improves it! Last night's fishcakes, by the way, were delicious, but did fall apart rather.... And I have finished my gooseberry chutney!

Early autumn holiday, 25 September 2023

Saint-André-du-Vieux-Jonc

We did like the campsite we were in last night, mostly because the owner was so nice. He not only took orders for bread last night, he even delivered it! And he let us put off registering, etc, until we were about to leave.

First port of call was a Super U; didn't need much, but got almost everything we did need, except I forgot fizzy water. But then there was a problem with the hab door, which didn't want to lock, and the Swan Whisperer didn't remember that this has happened before or how to fix it. However, he managed in the end, and we drove to Besançon, where we parked up at what we think is the citadel.

We had lunch, and the SW went for a quick  explore, but I was very sleepy and, indeed, ended up dozing most of the way to here, near Bourg-en-Bresse, which is a lovely little aire for 5 motor homes, gravel pitches separated by bushes, in a park (photos on Facebook).

The SW is sat outside reading, but I made fishcakes for tonight's supper and put them in the fridge to firm up (I am very bad at making fishcakes, but they will taste good,whatever!) and then went  for a wander and got soaked testing the taps on the services! So am in my pyjamas, but as another motor home has now joined us, don't quite like to go out to do a tai chi practice! Oh well! 

Early autumn holiday, 24 September 2023

Geneuille, Franche-Comté

Gérardmer, it transpires, is pronounced "Jeremy" (or thereabouts) because the name derives from Gérard d'Alsace, who established a tower or hunting lodge or something on the banks of the Jamagne (local river); the suffix "mer" coming from an old Oil language word meaning the garden. Hence its pronunciation; conversely the nearby villages of Longemer and Retournemer take their name from "mare", the water body in old French, but which explains why their suffix is pronounced "mère". 

So that is where we were this morning. I got up first and went to the bakery for a baguette and pains aux raisins, which threw me by having chocolate in them. No thanks! But the baguette was sourdough and lovely! It was a glorious morning, but very cold and very misty.

The bakery was only across the road, so when I got back the Swan Whisperer was still getting dressed, so I started to get breakfast. 

This was a disaster! There was nothing wrong with the baguette or the scrambled eggs, but first I knocked the aeropress over, spilling all my coffee grounds into the sink (It could have been worse - it could have been on the floor!), and then, when I had ground a new lot, the straining lid fell off the aeropress and into my cup, taking all the grounds with it. The Swan Whisperer rescued it, but the resulting brew was so weak and (by then) a bit cold that I had to have another cup after our walk. Most unlike me - I usually only have one cup a day, and perhaps a small cup after tai chi on Wednesdays. 

Anyway, after breakfast we did go for a walk, which was lovely. We didn't go all round the lake - it is 6 km all the way round, and the SW, who did it yesterday evening, said the path was very uneven and unpleasant to walk on. He also didn't really want to do it again! So we contented ourself with walking to the lake and round a bit of it before heading back to town - about 3 km in total. 

Then it was time for church, which we were able to listen to on livestream from our home church, and when it was finished we headed south towards this village which is, I think, near Besançon. We stopped for lunch en route, so didn't get to this campsite until about 5. Nobody in reception, so I rang the proprietor who said to settle in and he would come and see us in due course.

He's just been - lovely man; we are to register and settle up, etc, in the morning, and have ordered our baguette and croissants for 8:30! It is a pleasant campsite - I've not taken any photos yet - but very basic, but on the banks of the Ognon - the river Onion!!! Photos of Gérardmer on Facebook. 

Early autumn holiday, 23 September

Gérardmer, or Gérômé, as it is pronounced locally.

So we are back in France, but not before shopping in Germany! I was delighted to score both Federweißer and a basket of squash to take home (I am about to drink at least some of the Federweißer!), among other things. 

We also stopped off at a DM, where I got various travel-sized bits and bobs.

Then we tried to get back into France, but roadworks on the bridge meant access was basically for cars and small vans only, and just too narrow for us, so we followed the lorry route which took us practically half way to Münich (I exaggerate) before getting back. We found out, too late, too late, that there would have been an intermediate route we could have taken, which would probably have been a great deal quicker. And then, if course, the Satnav had reset itself so it took us through the Saint-Dié tunnel, which we had asked it not to do! Pity it can't pay the toll for us, too!

We eventually arrived here and parked up in an enormous aire, which is free during the day, and just €7 overnight. I should have liked to have accompanied the SW on his walk, but feel rather tired and a bit achey - not unwell, just stiff - so decided it could wait until tomorrow, even though most of the shops will be shut. 

Early autumn holiday, 22 Se[ptember 2023

Kehl, Germany.

It's days like today when you know why you have a motor home and go on touring holidays rather than spending the time in one place!

We got up early this morning and we're away by 09:30, retracing our steps about 20 km to visit the town of Bitche (pronounced "Beach") which we had gone through yesterday and looked worth visiting.

Indeed it was. The motorhome aire was free, although we only used it to empty grey water (I believe buying water and rinsing one's loo out did cost about €2, but we didn't need to do that), and actually parked in the main car park. What we had come to visit was the Citadelle, which was up rather a steep slope - to my irritation, I couldn't manage it without a couple of stops for breath. But I got there in the end, and the SW was very patient with me!

Once we got there, we discovered that there was a path all the way round, about 1km long, and fairly flat, which they recommended you walk round, so that's what we did. It was seriously lovely, views both over the town and of the citadel itself, now a monument.

When we had gone all round it, we went back to the van and headed to a local Intermarché, where I did a shopping and the SW got diesel. I don't know why people say the French are unhelpful - this is almost never true in my experience, and today was no exception; the bill came to a little more than the authorised limit for contactless, and I'd left my credit cards in the WoMo - so she suggested I pay in two lots! Which I did. Very helpful.

Then it was time to head on - not very far today, just to Kehl, where we have been so many times before, usually much later in the year as a base for the Christmas markets in Strasbourg. The SW set the Satnav to cross the Rhine at a barrage - forget its name - and then take us up-river towards Kehl. It was lovely - you can't see the actual Rhine, as it is up a high embankment, but there is a small stream or canal flowing alongside - presumably for overflow purposes - which obviously has a lot of fish in it. We saw loads of heron, a coot or two, masses of swans, and a cormorant. I could not think what the latter was called, and had to have recourse to the silly poem about laying eggs in paper bags.

The aire is fuller than it usually is in December (such a surprise!) but there was still room for us. I would have liked to have gone into Kehl to shop, but when push came to shove, I realised I would get over-tired if I did; I still have to pace myself a bit despite being massively better. The SW set off to go to Strasbourg, but he missed a tram and then it started to rain, so he came back. And I had bought us choucroute for supper - we were, after all, in Alsace - so we have just eaten that, and I think it is time to close our shutters for the night. 

Early autumn holiday, 21 September 2023

Obersteinbach, Alsace 

I slept badly last night, with the result that I went back to sleep after my alarm clock had gone off, and didn't stir until gone 9. This put us late for the morning, and it wasn't until about 11:45 that we found ourselves in the blissfully warm waters of Thermapolis. We have been here twice before, and it was as good as ever, and rather less crowded. After a wonderful massage and pummelling that left me very relaxed and sleepy, we thought we had better do some shopping before lunch. 

However, when we arrived at the nearest E Leclerc, we found that the car park was surrounded by height barriers, so there was no way in for the likes of us! Well, if they don't want our custom, they needn't have it. Their loss! 

We had, we realised, parked up by a bakery, so I went in and bought a multigrain baguette and a couple of chaussons de pommes, and we had a nice lunch, albeit without the carrot salad the Swan Whisperer has been longing for (I didn't buy it when we arrived as we had some coleslaw to finish; that has now happened). 

Then it was time to head on to our next port of call, here at Obersteinbach. We have been here before , too, but it stopped being a France Passion host during the pandemic. I was delighted to see that it has started up again - it has now put in loos and a picnic area, as well as the barn where you can see the goats.

We bought some yoghurt at the farm shop, plus a saucisson sec and a couple of goats' cheeses, one pepper and one "Garden vegetables". And an ice-cream cone each.

As we have Plans for tomorrow, and want to get away early, the SW decided to go for a walk in the woods, as he does love it. However, the sky looked very threatening and just as he said he was about to go, the heavens opened! That was a fairly short shower, though, and he dodged the raindrops to go up to the border and see a rock formation he likes.

And then he came back and we had supper (tomato and vegetable sauce with tortellini and cheese), and it is raining and raining! I do love to hear the rain on the roof, but I hope it will be away before morning. 

Early Autumn Holiday, 20 September 2023

Amnéville. 

Bother, bother, bother! We realised today that I had - and the Swan Whisperer had not noticed I had - misdated the spreadsheet, so we have a day less than we thought. It actually doesn't really matter, though, as the campsite where we had been going to go on 29 September closes the next day for the winter, so we can just leave it out and have the planned rest day then. I think, though, we might have to find a launderette a little earlier, we shall see!

I wish I could say that the Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, but he is not yet quite able for that, but he did go for a walk/jog before breakfast. After it, we both went for a walk into the village of Montaigu, which wasn't particularly attractive.

Then I went to the farm shop where we were staying and bought some pâté, eggs and some "porc en gelée", which will make a nice meal sometime.

Then it was time to head on, first looking for a burger bar in a London bus which was supposed to be in the village, but we didn't find it, and then stopping at the next village to go to the bakery, where we bought quiches and a lemon and a rhubarb tart for lunch (so we haven't had the pâté yet, after all!).

We arrived here in Amnéville at about 16:30, and after taking on more water (we will use the rest of the services in the morning), we had a cup of tea, and then the Swan Whisperer went for a walk and I read and knitted. Tomorrow we will go to the Thermapolis, our main reason for going this way. I hope the weather will remain as glorious as it has been all day - even now, at 20:15, it is still very warm. 

Early autumn holiday, 19 September 2023

Montagu, near Laon

We didn't hurry this morning; the Swan Whisperer went to get croissants and a lovely fresh baguette for breakfast, and after it he emptied the loo and the grey, although he didn't bother taking on any more water as we already had plenty. 

We decided to drive most of the way on the motorway, as it would have been much slower on non--toll roads. However, first we went to the Auchan on the outskirts of Calais and I did a shop and the SW tried to buy gas, but neither he nor the cashier could make the cage open, so he gave up and had coffee instead. 

After that, it was a matter of driving along a rather dull motorway. We stopped for lunch in a service area, and then didn't stop again until we came off the motorway when the SW made another attempt to get gas, this time successfully.

It was not long after that that we arrived at this France Passion farm, where we were warmly welcomed. The shop won't be open until tomorrow morning, but we hope to buy some charcuterie there. And maybe some eggs and some farm honey, we'll see what they have. 

Madame warned us that she closed the main gate at night, but didn't say what time, so the SW was reluctant to go for a walk in case he got locked out. We plan to have a walk tomorrow morning before we head on. He lay on his bed and read, and I did a tai chi practice, read and knitted, and then got supper, which was pre-prepared kidneys in madeira sauce, new potatoes and carrots, followed by the most delicious chocolate mousse with raspberries on the bottom. And I treated us to patisseries for lunch as it was the first full day of the holidays!

Early autumn holiday, 18 September 2023

Calais, Rue d'Asfeld motor home park

One reason why I was a little stressed when the trains went wrong yesterday was because I knew there wouldn't be much time to unpack and repack before heading off again this morning. 

I had done as much packing as I could before I went to Bradford, but still had to sort out my overnight bag, and decide what knitting, etc, I wanted to take with me. And pack the second crate with stuff we needed until the last minute - tea bags, coffee (which I nearly forgot)), Marmalade, etc. And even then there seemed to be an awful lot of things to pack into various nooks and crannies. And I regretted not having packed the tomato chutney when we had our belated dinner! 

We finally set off at about 10:45 and half an hour later - not that we had gone that far as the traffic was terrible due to a road closure and the new LTNs - had to turn sadly back as the Swan Whisperer had left his phone behind. However, we arrived in Sussex at about 12:45, just in time for lunch. After which I went to sleep, but the SW was very energetic getting the motor home, transferring stuff from the car, unpacking that which needed to be unpacked, etc. 

We left Sussex at about 16:40 and had an uneventful journey to Folkestone, arriving at the terminal in time to be offered a crossing an hour earlier than the one we had booked on. So we said yes please, and went straight through passport control, etc, and only had to wait a very few minutes in the holding pens. An uneventful crossing, during which we finished unpacking, and then we drove to this aire in Calais, which is pretty busy, and the Swan Whisperer got supper, which we have now eaten and are about to have a cup of tea before going to bed! 

I haven't taken any photos today, so here is one of the cream tea I had on Saturday. 

Saltaire and Haworth

This weekend I'm in Bradford for the New Chalet Club Annual General Meeting. As they try to do every other year, but for obvious reasons haven't been able to do since 2019, it is a residential weekend.

I came up by train from London yesterday, changing at Leeds, although I had to use Plan B and go to Bradford Interchange rather than Plan A to Bradford Forster Square (which is next door to the hotel) due to a signal failure. However, it is only a short walk from Bradford Interchange.

Always lovely to meet old friends and make new ones on the Friday evening, and today was the planned excursions. 

In the morning we went to Saltaire, the model village created by Titus Salt, and specifically the New Mill,

as they call it, now a Venue with an art gallery, café, and various shops - antique, jewellery, expensive outdoor wear, books and stationery, that sort of thing. I had a cup of coffee and then went up to the top floor where there was a history of the place, and also a film about Sir Titus, as he became, and how he really did try to make his workers' lives better! Mind you, he was very against drunkenness, and did not allow a pub in the village (the one on the main drag is called "Don't tell Titus"!), but did build an Institute where people could go in the evenings for classes or to socialise and play games, etc. 

All very interesting, but I wanted to go to a craft shop that was just near where we were to get the coach, and time was getting on, so I came away and went to the craft shop, where I got what I wanted. The woman running the shop was lovely, but very slow, and I was nearly late back!

We ate our packed lunches on the bus, like a pack of schoolgirls rather than the pensioners that a majority of us are, and soon arrived in Haworth. It was a long, hard pull up to the village from the coach park, but I managed far better than I expected! 

First port of call was the church, which was lovely, and there was a memorial poster about Patrick Brontë, the father, who seems to have been a lovely person! You get the impression that he was a strict, joyless type, but not at all - he campaigned for better conditions for those in the workhouses, etc, and preached a God of love, not fear.

But the church was lovely anyway! I loved the Communion table and the mosaic thing of the Madonna and child near the font (apparently made out of toast!). 

Then it was time to visit the Old Parsonage Museum, which was pretty much as you might expect it to be, but still interesting. And then I walked down to look at the rather twee shops and found some of our party having a cream tea in a café, so treated myself to one, too,

and then, as we were all tired, went back to the coach to await the rest of the party.

Back to Bradford, and I nipped into the mall across the street from the hotel as I needed to go to Superdrug - gf course went in the wrong entrance for it and had to walk all round before I found it. Now back at the hotel and resting before changing for our formal dinner. Tomorrow is the AGM and Book Sale, and then back to London before heading off again on Monday morning! 

Out and About

The best day of the summer so far - and according to the weather forecasters, it will be the only one - so we thought we had better make the most of it!

The Swan Whisperer wanted to visit the new Battersea Power Station, so we caught a P5 up there; to be honest, I didn't think much of it - it's just an expensive shopping mall with extortionate restaurants! 

(Not my photo, by the way!) We had a look round, but then came away and had lunch in Wagamama.  I had suggested having lunch there the other day, but the Boy said it wasn't nearly as nice as it used to be - and he's quite right, it isn't!  And about twice the price it used to be, too - but they still do free green tea, which I do like.  

After which, we went to catch a bus to Clapham Junction as the Swan Whisperer needed new sandals and trainers and that is now our nearest branch of Clark's.  Of course, the nearest bus stop was closed, so we had to walk to the next one, but that didn't matter.  

Shoe-shopping successfully accomplished - I saw a pair of good winter shoes I rather coveted, so I might go back tomorrow, especially as I have a £10 Asda voucher to spend, although I couldn't be bothered to go to Asda today - we walked down to the ice-cream shop and I treated us to a cone each.  And then a bus home!  Not a massively exciting day, but at least different!

Young V&A and 10 Ages of London

The Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green is an old friend - we've taken the Boys at least twice.  But it has now reopened after having been closed for two years, now calling itself  Young V&A and I, for one, wanted to see what they had done to it.  The Boys are probably a bit old for it now - they are 13 and almost 10, but I thought, well, we can always snark....

We had originally been going to meet them at Liverpool Street Station at 11:20, but their mother said she'd gathered you really needed to be there before 11 if you weren't going to have to queue for hours, so we met them at 10:20 (the time their train comes in on the Overground) instead, and went straight to the Central Line for the one stop to Bethnal Green.  There was no queue to get in, but we were very glad we had gone so early, as on our way out, at nearly noon, the queue snaked about round the block!

The Swan Whisperer was desperate for coffee, so we went to the museum café first of all, and he and the Boys all had coffee while I, adequately caffeinated for one day, had fizzy water.  Then we set off to explore - the first gallery we went to was aimed at children learning their letters and colours.  Round the other side of that floor, there were a lot of familiar exhibits, mostly with rather dumbed-down captions, inviting visitors to imagine they were doing thus and so.   The Rachel Whiteread dolls houses are still there, in a section called "Small Worlds", and I think the original ones - the ones that used to be in the V&A until the 1970s - were still there, but I didn't see them.  There were also Sindys and Barbys, and lots of other dolls and miniature things.

Then we went up to the second floor where they had the Design Galleries, aimed slightly more at people the Boys' age; this had a lot of seemingly random things, but grouped by type - shedloads of scooters, including a Microscooter that had a built-in suitcase!  Then all kinds of other design objects, from clothes to toothbrushes!  The Boys were beginning to flag by then and needing what they will insist on calling "the bathroom" - I enquired whether they planned to have a bath!  We eventually all used the facilities and came away, very glad that we had gone so relatively early.  

It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, and certainly looks fresh and new, with a more airy feel to it.  I think I should like to go back on my own one day in term time so that I can take as long as I want to look at things.

The Boy had asked if we could have lunch in Spitalfields Market, so we got a bus there, and spent awhile wandering around the market and deciding what to eat.  Finally we settled on the pasta restaurant that Boy Two said he'd been to before and really liked, and after filling up on pasta, we went to find the place where they were doing rolled ice-cream, which the Boy badly wanted to try (so did I!); I did a video of one being made which I'll post on Facebook.  It was fun to watch the ice cream being made, but really, when push came to shove, it was just rather good ice-cream, really!

We then had to decide how to spend the afternoon.  I had read about a walk called the 10 ages of London and we decided to do that.  A quick bus down to London Bridge started the walk in prehistory - only the Thames is left from then, and it was very different.  Then the Romans - we enjoyed seeing where the Roman bridge was, and a model of the mediaeval bridge in the church of St Magnus the Martyr - there was also a piece of wood that they think was part of the original bridge and whose tree would have been alive in Jesus' day!  We walked past the office building that contains the Roman baths - not available to visit today - and up to All-Hallows-by-the-Tower  where we admired the Saxon arch. 

On past St Olave's with its three skulls above the gateway (mediaeval),

and then to St Andrew Undershaft for the Tudors.  

A brisk walk then, past Fenchurch Street station (none of us had been there before, and I was gutted that my photo of it didn't come out) and across Eastcheap to Pudding Lane (both the Boy and I wanted to call it Pudding Mill Lane, but that is somewhere different!) where the Great Fire of London infamously broke out, and out the other end to Monument.  This, of course, was the Stuart era.  

The guided walk suggested going on down to find the only pub that is said to have survived the Great Fire (and, of course, the Blitz), but both Boy Too and I had Had Enough by then, so we decided Monument would have to Do for the Stuarts, and we ended up walking up King William Street to the Bank junction, where we could see the Mansion House (Georgian) and the Royal Exchange (Victorian), and we decided that we had seen more than enough 20th- and 21st-century buildings to count!  So we got on a bus back to Liverpool Street Station, where we got some refreshments and then met the Daughter for a quick cup of tea before she took the Boys home, and we wearily clambered on to the next homebound 35.  Both of us fell asleep on the bus, and how the Swan Whisperer thinks he'll have the energy to go to dance club, I do not know!

Meanwhile, I have never put quite so many links in one blog post before!  There will be more photos on Facebook.

70th birthday trip, Tuesday 27 June; travel day 14/15

So, it's over! We are home. I think I'm glad to be home, but I'm tired tonight. I've done the bare minimum of unpacking - everything else can wait till the morning!

We enjoyed our breakfast in the hotel this morning - pretty standard, really. Why do they all (except the one in Budapest) have identical coffee machines? Anyway, our train was at 10:36, but because it had taken half an hour to get from the station the previous day, we ordered a taxi for 09:45, and, of course, it only took ten minutes to get back to the station! Ah well!

The train, miraculously, was on time and we arrived in Köln at noon. We put our luggage in the consigne and headed out to the Cathedral which looms over the station. When we had looked round there, we wandered down to the river

and then through part of the old town, stopping to have lunch (Currywurst for the SW, plain Bratwurst for me) in a random café. As we weren't too sure how long it would take to retrieve our luggage, we headed back a little before we need have done.

The left-luggage system is very clever - you go to a locker, tell it how long you want it for: up to 2 hours, up to 24 hours, longer... and it tells you how much to pay, which you can do by cash or card, then the locker door opens and you put your stuff inside, and it issues you a ticket and a receipt. But the clever part is that the whole locker then moves down to a storage area, so when you come to retrieve it, you can go to any locker door, insert your ticket, and it brings your stuff up just as you put it in! Takes a minute or two, but that's all.  You don't have to remember your locker number or passcode like you had to in Copenhagen, which was the only other place we availed ourselves of such facilities (in Budapest, we just put our cases in the hotel luggage room, and they didn't even charge us!). 

Anyway, eventually we got on the Brussels train, and then there was more time to hang about until it was time for the Eurostar. I do wish one could rely on German trains to be on time, as we could have had much shorter connections, although perhaps not in Köln, as we like it there. 

They feed you on the Eurostar if you're in Standard Premier. The choice was between chicken salad, which the SW chose, and a falafel, hummus and quinoa salad, which I chose, which was very nice, although the falafel were a bit dry. This was followed by a very nice lemon tart. The SW had wine, and I had lemonade, which was Fever Tree and very nice, for a change. Not too sweet. 

And then a horribly hot Victoria Line  and a bus, and home. 

70th birthday trip, Monday 26 June; travel day 13/15

Today was the last full day of our holiday. We were certainly not going to have breakfast in the hotel - CHF 27 per person!! But last night we had noticed a little bakery-cum-café across the road which looked as though it would do breakfasts, so went to explore this morning, and not only got some extremely good muesli and coffee, but also salads for lunch. The muesli came with a roll and butter, and we saved those for lunch, too.

There was a church clock which chimed every 15 minutes, but not between 22:00 and 07:00. However, at 07:00 it made up for the night's silence by ringing a peal of bells! Nice to wake up to! So after breakfast we wandered down to the church to have a look. I couldn't, however, take any photos of the interior as it was being used for a rehearsal - I assume by a local school, but with an orchestra of older people. We watched for a few minutes, and it looked good, with actors, dancers and gymnasts all aged about 10 or so.

Then it was time to check out of the hotel and head to the station for our train to Mannheim. Which was actually going to Hamburg via Köln - we could have gone straight to Köln and spent the night there. But we didn't. 

We had lovely seats on the train, in the panorama carriage, opposite one another. The only thing is they didn't recline and there was no footrest, bit still reasonably comfortable. And great views. 

We took a taxi to the hotel as it was further from public transport than I'd thought. It's not the nicest hotel - they only give you one duvet between two people, which I suppose is all right in the summer, but how on earth do people manage in the winter? It's literally the only place in this entire trip that hasn't had two duvets! Also only one pillow each, but a lovely and thick one so I haven't bothered to ask for another. And no, there were none in the wardrobe - we looked! Also no kettle or fridge, but not all hotels supply these.

The hotel recommended an Italian restaurant next door, which gave 10% off your main course if you flashed your room key. The SW had pizza, and I had a rather spicy pasta with crayfish, followed by ice cream which wasn't nearly as nice as the stuff we had at the Achensee.

One really nice thing about this hotel is that it faces on to the Rhein, so we have a lovely view from our room.

70th birthday trip, Sunday 25 June; travel day 12/15

Although I think I shall be glad to get home on Tuesday, it was sad to say goodbye to the Achensee for another year.

The bus stops practically outside or hotel, and it was one of the few that goes to Jenbach without having to change at Maurach. We were in good time for our train to Innsbruck, and even found a seat, but when the train got to Innsbruck, we think its locomotive broke down or something (it was headed to Rimini), thus causing a last minute platform change to the Zürich express. Which was rammed! I'm so glad I did book seats, as it was standing room only for those who hadn't. The train did empty a bit as we approached the Swiss border, and we could probably have got seats in 1st class but it would have been a hassle to move our luggage, so we didn't.

We arrived in Zürich on time, and the Swan Whisperer had done his homework and discovered what tram we needed to get to the hotel, where to catch it, and where to get off! He had even bought tickets, not that anybody checked.

After our experience in Hamburg, I was afraid that a "Boutique" hotel would always be nasty, but this one isn't at all. Quite the reverse! And it has Wi-Fi - or I wouldn't be posting this today, as Switzerland is not covered by our roaming policy, so very expensive, and we have firmly turned off data on our phones!

After a cup of tea, we went out to see what we could see. This turned out to be the Rigiblick funicular, which goes  up a very steep hill, stopping three times on the way. At the top you can walk up to a viewpoint, but it looked horribly steep, so we didn't, but contented ourselves with the views of Lake Zürich from the top of the funicular.

Then we not only took the funicular down again, but also a tram to the lakeside itself, which was lovely, if got. We were amused by an animatronic heron, which was remarkably lifelike!

Our tickets were about to expire, so we got the next tram back and treated ourselves to supper in a nearby restaurant. We both chose rösti, and very good they were, too, but filling to the point that we didn't have room for pudding (just as well, at Swiss prices!). 

70th birthday trip, Saturday 24 June

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, of course, stopping off at the Dorfladen (village shop) on his way back to get fresh rolls for breakfast. This apartment has a coffee machine so we were able to enjoy a decent cup of coffee (or two!) with our breakfast.

After which the SW went off to walk up the Karwendel and back (sooner him than me!) and I had meant to go into Maurach to get something for supper, but got held up trying to book seats on all of our remaining trains, which took far longer than it should have done, and there were no first class seats left on the Innsbruck-Zürich train tomorrow. Have got us second class seats in the quiet coach though.

So by the time I was ready to go out, most of the morning had gone, and I wasn't  going to get back to Pertisau until about 13:30. So I rang the SW and suggested he come and join me and we could have lunch at Klingler's, which we know from experience is good.

So when I had finished my shopping, I went down to the Achenseebahn station there and watched the world go by, mostly hang-gliders landing in the field,

and a train came past, which was lovely. So, incidentally, was our lunch - the SW, who said he had had a large slice of apfelstrudel on top of Karwendel, had two sausages with bread and mustard, and I had Leberkäse (nothing to do with either liver or cheese, but a sort of cross between a sausage and luncheon-meat) with a fried egg on top, and some chips, which the SW ate most of. Then I had a scoop of strawberry and a scoop of raspberry ice cream with whipped cream on top, and the SW had an iced coffee, ditto!

Then we caught the bus back to Pertisau and rested for a bit, and then decided to go out for a walk in the warmth of the evening. We had hoped to get to the Dripping Rock, but when it came to it, I was too tired (and so, I expect, was the SW, although I don't expect him to admit it) , so we just went about a kilometre along the lake shore and back again. And then drank beer, and I suppose one of us will have to get supper soon. More photos on Facebook. 

And tomorrow we start for home, taking three days over it! 

70th birthday trip, Friday 23 June; travel day 11/15

The weather, which has been absolutely glorious for the past 2 1/2 weeks, has broken and it has rained most of the day. But as we have been on a train most of the day, that wasn't a problem.

The hotel breakfast was lovely, and I rescued some hard-boiled eggs and paté and bananas to have later, although we couldn't make sandwiches as the beeswax wraps hadn't been washed. But we now have breakfast, and perhaps lunch. stuff for a couple of days!

It shouldn't take the whole day to go from Vienna to Jenbach by train, but we quite literally went the pretty way! I wanted to go on the Semmeringbahn to Graz, and then the SW discovered that the direct route from Graz to Innsbruck also went straight through the mountains and was very scenic, even though it did take 6 1/2 hours to do it.

It was, actually, a very pleasant ride, even though I did nap for a bit on the second leg. I don't know though, why Austrian and Hungarian "Inter-city" trains have to be quite so tatty - this one was made up of any old coaches strung together. Not nearly as smart or as comfortable as the Railjets!

I had been a bit worried about today, as I didn't know whether there would be any taxis at Jenbach, and if there were, whether they would be willing to go up to Pertisau (the last bus and train having long since gone). And I hadn't booked our accommodation through Booking.com (who didn't have any nice places), and had stupidly left the confirmation email on my computer at home, so wasn't 100% sure of it. But all was well, and we were just in time to get a meal in the restaurant. The food was good, but the service was dire - we won't go back.

Then it was time to explore our apartment, and honestly, I kid you not, it is much bigger than our flat at home. Can we swap? Huge sitting-room with dining annex, kitchen twice the size of ours, shower room and separate loo, big bedroom. Only thing is no chairs in the bedroom, and I do like to put my clothes over a chair at night!

It is raining! 

70th birthday trip, Thursday 22 June; travel day 10/15

We were finishing a late breakfast (fried tomatoes on toast, which the Swan Whisperer hadn't known was a thing, but is now totally converted!) when the landlord arrived and wanted to be paid! I hadn't realised we hadn't already done so. The SW had no luck setting up an IBAN to do this, so I did and he paid me back.

Anyway, our taxi turned up a few minutes early and we had half an hour to wait for our train. I wandered off into the very seaside-resort square behind (or perhaps in front of) the station where I got us each a coffee - quite the nicest coffee I had in Hungary.

Our train was pretty punctual, and we arrived in good time to change at Budapest Kelenfold, but I was a bit concerned as the train before ours was running 20 minutes late. However, it went through in time not to hold our train up, and we enjoyed the journey to Vienna, including a large beer each!

The quickest way to our hotel was a train to the next station, Matzleindorfer Platz, which was covered by our passes, so we did that, and then the hotel was just around the corner. 

The SW went out to have a quick look at the city, and I stayed in the cool and read the new St Mary's book that came out today. We tried to have supper in the hotel restaurant, but it appeared to be closed, so we ate in the bar instead. It was okay, but only okay. Hope the breakfast is better.

The room is great - lots of room, lovely view, and even a bath in the bathroom! First time we've met one of those! But why do hotels have either far too many pillows or not enough? This one only provides one pillow, and I know I could ask for another at reception, but I cba! I have my inflatable pillow which works well as an under-pillow. 

70th birthday trip, Wednesday 21 June

Today was always going to be a rest day, and I didn't realise quite how badly we needed one until we had it!

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, while it was still cool - I went back to sleep the second he'd gone, and didn't stir until he came back, having stopped to do some shopping on the way. Sadly, some of the eggs he bought were bad, which is very rare nowadays. But we quickly changed our minds about having an omelette for lunch! Later in the morning the SW went to Lidl, quite a long way away, but "I'm not going to that Spar again!" and got rolls, ham, beer and ice-cream!

I, meanwhile, was having a very happy morning reading and dozing and doing puzzles on my tablet. I did get up and shower at some stage before lunch, I think.

Mid-afternoon, however, I got my second wind and the SW and I went for a really enjoyable swim in the lake. It's incredibly shallow, you can go about 200 metres before it even comes up to your waist so doesn't make for good swimming, but it was cool, and we spent a very happy 45 minutes splashing around, swimming a bit, floating a bit, and generally enjoying ourselves.

If the SW hadn't suggested we eat supper on the terrace, I'd have got straight back into my nightie after showering, but as it was, I did dress again. And we did eat on the terrace - it was cooling by then - and after supper I went down to the lake again to see if there were any bats, but I didn't see any and then a couple of people came down for a twilight swim, so I came away. 

70th birthday trip, Tuesday 20 June. Travel day 9/15

Photo: Robert Smyth

I am confused about how many travel days we have actually used! I thought it was 10, but may have miscounted, as the app says 9. Oh well, that's the right way round.

We discovered that one of our breakfast eggs had broken, so we had to share the last one between us, but we had a tomato, too. 

Our train left from Budapest Déli station, which was new to us. And, for almost the first time this holiday, it was on time. It was only a little over an hour to Balatonlelle, which is on the shores of Lake Balaton. 

The apartment is okay, very near the lake but feels rather far from anywhere else!  And, too silly, the landlady who let us in was wearing identical trousers to mine - Lidl's best from last year! What are the odds? 

The Swan Whisperer did go back into town to buy food, and of course we both wandered to the lake. He went for a swim, but I didn't want to.

We walked to a nearby restaurant, but it felt an awful long way there, and my main course ought to have been delicious, but was far too salty. I am very tired tonight, and just want a quiet day doing nothing tomorrow, although I shall feel guilty if I don't make my step count, and break my current streak of 20 days!

70th birthday trip, Monday 19 June; travel day 8/15

This morning we enjoyed breakfast on the balcony of our apartment before setting off to walk the couple of kilometres to the Puszta Animal Park. This is a sort of zoo/safari park, only you walk round it rather than drive. It had lots of traditional Hungarian animals, like grey cattle and mangalica pigs, and lots of ducks and geese. We had a quick cup of coffee before we started our walk round. It was thoroughly enjoyable. One of the nicest things, almost, was the wealth of insect life and plants that we used to play with as children, like burdock and barley-grass, that you never see nowadays in England. Lots of  wild flowers beside the road, too.

We had hoped to lunch out, but the place that might have done us a meal (not the restaurant we ate at last night) was closed, so in the end we got a couple of filled rolls from a nearby grocery, and topped them up with ham and tomato. Followed by a peach. 

Then it was time to go - Angela had kindly let us stay on until 14:30, and she arrived to say goodbye shortly after that. It was not a long walk to the station, although our train was (of course) about 15 minutes late. But still in plenty of time for the connection, which was also late! We were only about 10 minutes late arriving in Budapest, and then it was easy to find our trolleybus back to the hotel.

We stopped off at Lidl to buy some salad for supper and some bread for the morning, and then straight to the hotel. The SW popped out again to get some beer, and I had a shower, badly needed, and got into my night clothes. He has gone out for another explore - don't know how he can find the energy. I have none! Over 13k steps today! 

70th birthday trip, Sunday 18 June; travel day 7/15

This morning we firmly boiled eggs in the kettle, rather than face the revolting hotel breakfast! Then the Swan Whisperer made sandwiches - cream cheese ham and tomato - and we packed the bare minimum into our overnight bags and stuffed the rest into our suitcases. We checked out of the hotel, leaving our suitcases behind, and headed off to find the English church.

I am not sure we would have found it but - miraculously - the people sitting next to us on the tram were on their way to the church and we had only to go with them! God is so nice, sometimes. The actual chapel was upstairs, and quite difficult to find. The service was quite long as there was a baptism, and a farewell to a diplomatic family who were moving on, and a presentation to a couple of people who had been confirmed in Vienna last weekend.

After the inevitable coffee (surprisingly drinkable), it was time to go, and we went on a direct metro line to Keleti station. This time, our first train was 20 minutes late, but that didn't affect our connection to Hortobágy, which was hot, slow, second-class only and on time!  It was a beautiful journey across the Hungarian plains,

some cultivation but not much, and scattered farms or ranches reminding me of Kate Seredy's The Good Master! 

We walked the couple of hundred metres to our accommodation only to find the gates locked and nobody at home. Again, miraculously, the proprietor of the holiday lets next door was in her garden and realised what had happened, so she rang the landlady of this place, Angela (sloth a hard g, like Frau Merkel), who was round within a couple of minutes to let us in. She had no English, so sent for a very nice young man called Mark - son? Toyboy? Neighbour? - who did speak English and we were soon sorted. A very nice studio apartment  with a shared kitchen, except we are the only people here, so not shared!

After a rest and a cup of tea, we set out to find the only restaurant in town that would be open. We ordered a sharing plate - allegedly for two people. Big mistake, and I do mean big - it would have fed, if not the five thousand, then at least six people.

The proprietor did offer us a box for the leftovers, but when would we have eaten them? We don't have a microwave in Budapest!

Then we wandered slowly back to the apartment via the church and are now relaxing before bed. 

70th birthday trip, Saturday 17th June

The day began with a huge disappointment - the hotel breakfast was utterly vile! Only white bread, with margarine rather than butter; squash instead of fruit juice; the eggs were slabs of cold over-cookedness; and, almost worst of all, the coffee was not only Instant but tasted burnt! Not doing that again - there is a Lidl at the end of the street and we have eggs and fruit juice and so on now! Plus ham to make sandwiches out of from for the train tomorrow!  I just wish we had a coffee-maker of some kind. 

So the first port of call was a coffee shop just down the road for a decent cup of coffee! Then round the corner and on to a trolley-bus which took us down to the Houses of Parliament. We walked along the river to the Chain Bridge, but this was closed to pedestrians so we took a bus over it and up to Fisherman's Bastion. After a walk round there, we caught another bus that took us to the major tram and bus interchange, and then a tram to see where it would go. Which was, usefully, past the station we shall need on Tuesday and down to a metro interchange which took us up to the station we shall want tomorrow!

By then it was lunch time and we found a little café that did us a sandwich and some very nice lemonade, and then caught another trolleybus to Hero Square, from where we walked back to the hotel via Andrassy Utca with its embassies and smart residences.  And also via the coffee shop we had patronised this morning as they had delicious cakes! 

We then flaked out for awhile, and then in late afternoon the Swan Whisperer, who had already been for a run in the morning, got restless again so he went out for a walk and on the way back saw a restaurant he thought would do nicely for supper. Which it did. 

70th birthday trip, Friday 16 June; travel day 6/15

Another long day of travel. Originally, we had been going to go to Budapest via Vienna and change trains there, but I remembered that years ago we had caught a direct train, and a bit of work with the timetable showed us we still could, so I reserved two seats on the 11:24.

We decided to breakfast in the hotel (although had I realised there was a McDonald's next door we might not have - I have a shaming taste for their Sausage and Egg McMuffins!). I was very restrained and just added fruit to my normal egg and toast (bread, in this case); the Swan Whisperer, who at home  thinks two slices of toast is almost greedy (although he does have an egg when we are in the motor home), was less restrained!  He did go for a walk after breakfast, though, which I didn't!

We found the train easily enough, and it was very nearly on time (only 12 minutes late in Budapest - that's practically early!). And then a long run to Budapest via Brno and Bratislava. We bought lunch on the train - it was delivered to our seats by a very nice waitress.

I should have liked a traditional meal with Czech dumplings, but the SW, unsurprisingly, wasn't very hungry, and I didn't want our appetites to be mismatched all day, so we just had a bowl of goulash soup (very good) and I had a slice of Czech honey cake. Later the SW got some rhubarb crumble, and I had some salted almonds.

When we arrived in Budapest, we had a terrible fright as one of my hearing aids fell out! Thankfully, the other one alerted me to its loss. We dashed back to the train, but no joy, so the SW retraced our steps towards the exit and, miracle of miracles, found it, not trodden on or anything! Phew! Much thankfulnesd. I suppose my neck pillow had dislodged it slightly. 

We took a taxi to the hotel, which had honoured my plea not to make us walk up too many stairs - our room is on the ground floor! After settling in, we researched local restaurants, and I realised that it was on our first Inter-rail holiday, ten years ago now, that I had first asked Google maps about local restaurants!

The first one we tried would have been lovely, but it was far too hot, and I realised I would feel faint if we stayed there any longer, so we came away and ate in the second one. I had cabbage stuffed with mangalica pork,

and very good it was, too, washed down with Apérol spritz

, and the SW had duck washed down with red wine. Then he discovered his phone was missing, so dashed back to the first restaurant to see if he had left it there, which he had, while I paid and said goodbye. Phew!

And so back to the hotel for bed. There is a Lidl a few yards away - we could easily be at home! 

70th birthday trip, Thursday 15 June. Travel day 5/15

We shook the dust of the so-called "hotel" off our feet quite early this morning, and got breakfast in the station. We had about an hour to wait, so took it in turns to go for a leg-stretch before heading down to the platform for our train to Prague. This was pretty much on time (amazing!) and we found our booked seats with no trouble.

The journey was uneventful, although we both got cold in the air-conditioning - I ended up changing into trousers (I had been wearing shorts) in the train loo!

There were engineering works on the line which held the train up, and we were about 30 minutes late getting to Prague, but that didn't matter as we were still in plenty of time to get to the hotel, a few minutes walk away, and freshen up before going out to meet our friend at the Výtopna Railway Restaurant, just round the corner.

The restaurant's USP is that it delivers your food and drink by model railway!

It has a sister branch in Vienna, featured in this video. I didn't expect much of the food but, actually, it was one of the most delicious burgers I have had for a long time! And it was lovely to see our friend again and catch up!

Tonight's hotel is very different from last night's - much more comfortable! And a great view from our bed, too! 

70th birthday trip, Wednesday 14 June; travel day 4/15.

Today was my 70th birthday. Many thanks, by the way, to all who took a moment to wish me a happy day. I appreciate it, although Facebook doesn't make it easy to see all the greetings!

The day started very well. We didn't get up early, but when we did get up, we went out for a very good breakfast at a nearby café. Then we checked out of the hostel and put our luggage in the facilities there before catching a bus down to Gammel Strand where we joined a canal boat tour, which was really fabulous, apart from the slightly irritating courier (but then they all are). However, she was knowledgeable and spoke excellent English, and we both thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We walked back, as our 24-hour tickets had expired. 

Our train was due to leave at 3, so we reclaimed our luggage and sat in the lounge of the hostel for a bit, but then decided to go and see whether the 1st class lounge at the station would give us any free food. Only fruit, but a seriously delicious peach!  So I went and bought us a couple of sandwiches, but of course the Swan Whisperer said he had had a large breakfast (true!) and wasn't hungry, thus neatly making me feel guilty for wanting something to eat. So I  only had half a sandwich then, rather cross because I knew that if we waited to eat until we were on the train, the SW would then not want any dinner - and I would. However, it was moot, as the train, of course, was an hour late. Remind me never, ever to travel in Scandinavia by train again! To be fair, the local S-bahn trains, which our inter-rail passes also covered, were frequent and on time.

Then they said that some of the coaches were at Odense and we should take the next train and change there. Couldn't find first class on that train, but we did get seats in the end. Of course, when we got to Odense, no sign of any coaches, but eventually the train from Copenhagen pulled in, and then four more coaches came to join it from the other direction. Of course, the coach numbers bore no resemblance to those on which we had been booked, but we found two seats in first class and eventually arrived in Hamburg only an hour late. No refreshment car, of course, that would have been too much to ask, although the guard did bring bottles of water and a few sweets. 

But oh dear, the hotel is a disaster! The room is so tiny there is barely room for the bed, even the bathroom is bigger, and I have had to sleep on the wrong side as there is no night table or anything on the inside. No kettle or anything (glad I bought ours), no breakfast (we can get that in the station), and, worst of all, we had to walk up the flights of stairs. The concierge did try to help us with our cases, but she was breathing nearly as badly as I was! 

There was no way I was going to go down those stairs and back up, so the SW went out and got us currywurst and chips, which were very nice (and by then it was nearly 10, so even the SW admitted to being hungry!). Of course, they only gave us one key card, which he had to take to get in the front door, so I had to sit in the dark until he got back (as in so many hotels, you need to put the key card in a slot before the electricity will work), so I had a shower. But I am very glad we don't have to stay in this flea-pit longer than overnight!