Early autumn holiday, 6 and 7 September 2019

Fritzlar.

I am very unimpressed with my phone. For the past two days it has refused to find 4g signals, with the result that most of my apps haven't worked. I have now forced it to find a perfectly good 4g signal and am back in communication, but the  draft blog post I made  in WPS Office, and I know I saved, has vanished!

So yesterday we first of all did a bit of shopping (Federweisse!), and got diesel, which we were annoyed about as the service station that had been selling it at €1.16 per litre the previous day had put it up to €1.22 overnight.

We then drove to Battenberg, which was disappointing as the aire was a long way out of town (although a lovely view)

and, despite its royal connections, there appeared not to be a great deal to see or do.

So we decided to visit the source of the Ruhr, which was not far away. The nearest access road was closed, as was the car park, because of road works, but you could, and we did, park up at the ski centre which was roughly a 2km walk from the source. So we trudged up there - and it was a bit of a trudge - finding a random adventure playground in the middle of nowhere

and fording what was to become the river, dry-shod.

The source itself was pleasant,

although not exactly brimming with water,

and I was pleased that there were seats provided before the walk downhill, which was rather cold, but enlivened by making friends with this lady:

We then drove to Frankenberg where the aire was in a swimming - pool car park, and hoped to swim this morning, but it was so wet and cold we didn't even consider it, but went shopping after breakfast and then drove up to the Eder dam, or as near to it as one can get in a motor home. These drives, and the little towns one goes through or stops at, are all so pretty. Well, the outskirts are less so, with their petrol stations and supermarkets and do on, but those are at least useful! And once beyond them, the towns are lovely.

As we did not stop at Battenberg, we are a day ahead of ourselves and have come to lovely Fritzlar, one of our favourite places 24 hours earlier than expected. The SW, needless to say, has gone for a walk, and I am looking forward to one in the morning. 

Early autumn holiday, 5 September

Siegen. 

The USP of Freudenberg turns out to be the half-timbered houses in its centre, built all at once after fire destroyed them not once, but twice, most recently in the 17th century (like Blandford Forum) and modernised in the 1970s.

After we had spent a pleasant half hour wandering around, we found a large supermarket, so the SW went for a walk and I did a bit of shopping. The pumpkins are in 

but no sign of any Federweisse as yet, alas. It will come soon, I expect. 

After that, we got some beer from the off-licence across he car park, and then headed on. We wanted the Satnav to take us into Siegen on our way to Netphen, which it duly did, but somehow missed the car park we were aiming for and I send to have misprogrammed it so while we thought it was taking us to Netphen, it thought we were going somewhere else! That got sorted out in the end, but alas, the aire in Netphen wouldn't do. It was a car park for a spa pool, but alas, the pool was closed for a couple of weeks which meant that the services were also out of use. It would have been nice! 

So we came away and back to this aire on the outskirts of Siegen, which is OK but rather full. I was very tired by then and totally out of cope, so had a nap and felt a bit better. 

But why are all the museums once would like to go to never open when one is in town? There are two here, neither open tomorrow! 

Early autumn holiday, 4 September 2019

Freudenberg

This morning we were our usual lazy selves and it was gone 10 before the Swan Whisperer went for another walk along the river he likes so much and I walked to DM (a German drugstore chain, like Superdrug only more so) and then to Lidl. It was a very pleasant walk, only had I known there was a Netto in the same car park as the DM, I'd have suggested we went there as our first stop and saved myself for what was to come.

The SW had decreed that we were going to visit Köln, and had found a P&R on the outskirts of the city, from which one could get a tram or a train into the city proper.

The first time I visited the city was almost exactly 49 years ago, and it wasn't until I re-read a piece I had written at the time that I discovered we had been taken on a cable car across the Rhein. I had absolutely no memory of any such thing, but it was still there, so we went on it. Much better value for money than the Dangleway, and lovely views across the river. 

We wished, when we got to the other side, that we had our swimming things with us, as there was a spa bath which looked lovely. However, we didn't, so we contented ourselves with a walk in the park before returning. 

We then went to the Hauptbahnhof and the SW had a very quick look at the Cathedral before we caught an S-Bahn back to the P&R (and we would have got a tram had we known the lift was not working - my knees do not like stairs. 

I fell asleep during the rather slow, rush hour drive to this little town, which I believe has some pretty houses to look at tomorrow. Sadly, the museum is only open at weekends, but I expect we shall have a pleasant walk. 

Early autumn holiday, 3 September

Düren, Germany

Today was one long drag across France 🇫🇷 and Belgium 🇧🇪, before arriving in Germany 🇩🇪.  I had bought some mirabelle plums in Carrefour when I went in there before we set off, so my first job was to render them into compôte while the SW went for a walk. 

This is not the nicest aire, but we have been here before and the SW likes it because it is near a river. 

Early autumn holiday, 2 September

Cité de l'Europe

So we are off again on our travels. We had the boys today, but didn't do much as the older one wasn't feeling great - we think and hope nothing worse than an adrenaline crash after a football tournament yesterday. Boy Two helped fetch and carry and we made pesto together as I had some basil that wanted used before we went away. He nearly ended up with our share as well, but luckily this was discovered before they went home, so we had pasta and pesto for supper, too!

We set off just after 7:30 and had such a clear run that we arrived in time for the 21:50, rather than the 22:50 we'd been booked on. Just as well, really, as we've never seen this aire so full. I suppose other people are getting away as soon as the schools go back, as we are! 

Another day, another RAF Museum

I set the alarm this morning for 07:15, leapt out of bed and showered, and returned to the bedroom to find that we had put the wrong time in our diaries and the train was actually the 10:23, not the 09:23 that we had thought.  So we had an extra hour to enjoy our breakfasts!

We were headed to Cosford, the RAF station and associated museum of that name, where we were to meet the Swan Whisperer's sister and her family as part of her significant birthday celebrations.  She - and we - would have loved us to have made a weekend of it, as the SW's other siblings had done, but sadly, this was not possible for a variety of reasons, not least that I am Planned to preach tomorrow morning!  So we just made a day of it by train.

We thought, at first, that we would miss our connection at Birmingham, since the emergency alarm went off and it transpired that a passenger had been taken ill.  So the train moved on to Coventry, the next station, where paramedics were waiting and we were about 12 minutes late by the time we set off.  Had our connection not been cross-platform, we wouldn't have made it, but we tumbled in just as the doors were closing and relaxed!  My sister-in-law and her husband met us at Cosford and drove us the few hundred yards to the museum (we were not sorry, as it was raining), where we had a sandwich and/or coffee, and then had an hour to look round the Museum.

Unlike Colindale, there was a very good educational corner which I think the Boys would have enjoyed, but I don't know what they would have made of the rest of the museum, which was mainly a display of aircraft from various eras, including Japanese and German ones from WWII.  And flying bombs and a V2 rocket.  The most interesting, though, was a Cold War display which did go into the various causes of the Cold War, and had some very informative panels contrasting life behind and in front of the Iron Curtain.

And there were also some interesting prototype planes, and a display I should have liked to have seen about the agents who were parachuted into France (often fed by my Aunt Barbara before and/or after).   However, time, and my energy levels, were running out so I went back to the visitor centre and we then drove round to the far side of the base where there was a garden centre that specialised in roses and afternoon teas.

We had a lovely tea - absolutely masses of sandwiches and scones, and a rather nasty-looking display of cakes.  I did eat a macaron, which was nice, but then there was a chocolate cup that I thought would be a truffle, but it was filled with something really nasty, not sure what!  So I ate my sister-in-law's cucumber sandwich, which she didn't want, to take the taste away!

All my s-i-l's brothers were there, with their wives, and all her descendants except for one son-in-law, who was indisposed.  But of course there were masses of photos.  I found it all very noisy and confusing, and wished I'd been sensible enough to follow the example of another sister-in-law, who has worn hearing aids for years and now knows when not to!

Anyway, we were dropped back at Cosford just in time to catch the train to Wolverhampton, and decided to risk getting a train 2 hours earlier than the one we'd booked on.  Nobody checked our tickets the entire journey, so that was all right!  And then home, two hours early, which was nice as I, for one, am very tired.  But it was a lovely day. 

The Moon, Mithras and Money!

So today was the last major Grandparent Duty day of the summer holidays - we do have them on Monday, but they will be helping us load the motor home for our next trip - and we hadn't seen the boys for two weeks while they were first in Italy and then staying with their other grandparents.

We couldn't meet at Warren Street, because the northbound Victoria Line is not stopping there pending escalator works, so we met in the courtyard of King's Cross.  First port of call was a Starbucks for coffee for the Swan Whisperer and me, and juice for the boys, and then we headed round the corner to the Institute of Physics where they had an exhibition about the moon landings just over 50 years ago.  There was an exhibition, of sorts - placards round the walls - but what there really was was educational activities for the children.  You could make a model showing how the moon orbits the earth and the earth, in turn, orbits the sun - I think The Boy already knew that, but it was news to Boy Two, who enjoyed making the models.  I, meanwhile, made a model of the moon, rather badly!  There was lego - you had to build your choice of three models wearing thick astronaut gloves, and then you had to do so with only your left hand, and/or with one eye closed, and/or only manipulating one piece at a time, to show the kind of conditions the astronauts laboured under.  And there was a lunar background you could take selfies in front of. 

(taken by The Boy).

When we had done all that, and sat on the sofa to read some of the books provided, suitable for all ages (I think The Boy might have enjoyed doing this a little longer), we headed off and took the Underground to Bank.  However, I don't know what we did wrong, but we ended up going up an enormous staircase that it said at the top had 128 steps.  My knees and my stamina definitely didn't like that, and I was fit for nothing by then, so we had to find somewhere to lunch.  The trouble was, all the places that sold nice-looking food seemed to be take-away only, and all the sit-down places didn't do very nice food!  I did see other branches of the nice-looking chains later, which had plenty of seats, but that's sods' law.  Anyway, we ended up in Leon, where the boys abandoned all thought of healthy eating and chose chicken nuggets (The Boy with a side order of chicken meze), while the Swan Whisperer had a chicken salad, and I had a halloumi wrap with a side of crushed pea salad, which I found I didn't really want, although it was delicious.  I shared it with the SW.

On our way to find somewhere to eat, we passed signs to the Mithraeum, and decided to call in.  Slightly daunted by being asked whether we had booked - we hadn't, of course - but luckily we didn't need to as it was fairly quiet.  We spent the first twenty minutes helping the boys find various objects on the display of artefacts, and then we descended to the lower floor, where we waited to be allowed down to the Temple proper, which was fabulous!  We know it's not authentic - it has been rebuilt a couple of times in a couple of locations - but it's still impressive.  Mostly, I think, because of very clever lighting.

Anyway, when we had finished there, we went up to the Bank of England to visit its museum, which I didn't think was as interesting as it might have been, but the Boys both seemed to enjoy it.  I think I was just too tired.  I was very amused at Boy Too saying, "Oh Gran, I was reading that!" when I went on to the next screen on a computer exhibition.  I promptly apologised and went back!  Both boys enjoyed the gold bar you were allowed to touch, and then we enjoyed a video about the gold vaults.

I think I would enjoy the museum more had I been less tired.  I let the SW take the boys home, and I, meanwhile had awful trouble finding the bus stop for the 35, but I did at last, and dozed comfortably all the way home.  Memo to self: Don't go out without paracetamol another time!