Rhein Spotting

After a hard days work in Mainz, I returned home. The fairly recently built (okay, less than a decade ago) ICE route from Cologne to Frankfurt was built at a considerable distance from the River Rhein (or Rhine for the English) as no track inside the river valley would have allowed the high speed required for this service. It reduces travel time to Frankfurt considerably but at the cost of not being able to see the River between Bingen and Koblenz, a trip I always used to enjoy.

Returning from Mainz, I had the choice between the two trains and since it didn't make any difference as far as catching my connection in Cologne, I chose to take a slower EC train and maybe even get some photographs this time.

Of course it rained for the first 15 minutes or so, which means that taking pictures was not easy. Though I tried...

Castle Pfalzgrafenstein in Kaub

Somewhere after a couple of bends, the rain stopped and the sky slowly started to clear up.


There are castles on just about every peak and promontory along the valley. Best way to protect yourself, of course, against marauding forces throughout history. At least before people were able to take to the skies...

The other thing the River Rhein is known for is, of course, its wine. The vinyards are steep and made of slate which stores the sunshine in the daytime and keeps passing its warmth on to the roots of the vines.
Another reason why the wines from these areas are very special is the steepness of the hills which basically prohibits the use of any kind of machinery. I'm trying to remember what I learned during the wine tastings I interpreted in the Eighties, I think they said that you had to walk around each vine 17 times in a year - and that sounds like a lot of hard work in these hills.


Only one thing is missing in the above picture, i.e. a campground right on the river banks. They get flooded every other year or so, sometimes more than once in a year, but people still like to park their caravans there. Which is understandable, with that view!


At places like this, high water sometimes not only covers the road, but in cases of really bad spring floods, even the rail tracks...

Boppard

By the way, it was the Romans who brought the wine to the area, and quite a few of the towns there can trace their roots back to that era.

Earliest traces of human settlement in the Boppard area, however, date back to about 11,000 BC. The Romans later founded Vicus Baudobriga (Bodobriga, Bontobrica). Since the name seems to be of Celtic origin, an (earlier) Celtic settlement is assumed. Under the Merovingians it became a royal residence, and over time moved back and forth between counts, bishops or electors (Kurfürsten) of the German Emperor.

Father Rhine

The river gets wider and wider south of Koblenz. Approaching the city is quite impressive too - too bad the view is so obscured by trees and houses that taking pictures from the train didn't work this time.

Only 2.5 hrs to go until the European Cup semi-finals

It was the day of the semi-final match between Germany and Turkey, and people were getting ready to go to the public viewing areas in some of Germany's bigger cities. No viewing area on the train, however...

After Koblenz, the tracks did no longer follow the river and the trip became somewhat prosaic.


Then about 10 to 15 minutes before Cologne, I saw this mountain of an apartment building rising out of the middle of nowhere. What a sight - though the people living there won't mind, probably, since noone will be able to block their view...

Cologne Cathedral - well, its towers anyway

In Cologne, I changed trains. Nothing much to report about that, other than that I was sharing a table with a German who was going to the Netherlands for a conference the next day. And was an avid football fan. And I was curious, too, how the match went. Modern as the trains are, there are no live football games...

To make a long story short, ICE trains offer in some carriages local radio programs to be accessed by headphones, and as I started to listen, I saw the longing in the eyes of the guy at my table.
First time I interpreted a football match commentary! It wasn't that difficult though as the Dutch commentators were not really experts in what they were doing unlike the Germans or the British - and so I was able to leave out most of their innate chatter and focus on the main parts.

By the time I got home, the match was over, of course. The last three goals were made when I was standing at a tram stop opposite a pub - I guess there were a lot of Turkish people in there...

No Trainz to Mainz

Tuesday evening I took the train to Mainz, Germany, for a next day meeting. I actually got there only one hour late which was amazing really in view of the fact that there were no trains running in the last segment of my trip due to a major problem with the railway's electricity lines.

You think Germans are perfect organizers? Hell no! Even though lots of travelers were stranded and quite lost at times for hours, there was only 1 staff member of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) on duty at the information desk at Frankfurt Airport Station when I arrived there at 22.18h. Trains were still arriving, not to mention planes from all over the world...

Yes, all of ONE single gentleman who was clearly out of his depth. Especially considering that there are really two parts to the station, at least 500 m apart, the Fernbahnhof (for long distance trains such as, for example, the ICE high speed trains and the Regionalbahnhof (for regional and local trains), as they are called.

Everyone else had gone home, it seems, and whoever was in charge of emergency procedures probably had gone home too. I don't know when the technical problem occurred but I heard that someone had encountered the same problem as early as 18.30h though it may have started even earlier than that.

To cut a long frustrating story short:
After running back and forth between the two stations and not finding ANY official at the regional station, I asked the information guy at the long distance station for a taxi voucher because no regional trains were going my way. He told me to take the 23.29 IC train to Mainz. I was wary for I had heard that only ICE trains could pass the problem area because they have their own tracks and electricity lines but no, he was adamant. So I went to the platform to wait as, of course, the so-called Lounge was closed already...

At 23.10h I asked the chief conductor of yet another ICE train whether he was aware of what was going on, just to check whether the conductors knew anything as the conductor on my train had not informed us about it before pulling into the airport station. He raised his right eyebrow, checked his WAP railway phone, didn't find anything and then called someone to check whether what I was telling him was true - and then found out that the 23.29h train wasn't running either.

The general remedy seems to have been telling people to take the train to Frankfurt and take it from there which the announcer then did.

Actually, one of our delegates did so at about 19.30h. He got into Mainz - normally 25 minutes away by local train - around 22.00h after having been told in Frankfurt proper to get on some obscure little train - which got him into some obscure little town in the middle of nowhere where it ended, leaving him stranded without any clue to his whereabouts. He ended up taking a taxi...

I refused to listen to any such advice just sending me away but unfortunately, the misinformation guy wouldn't budge and give me a taxi voucher, even when I found three other travelers that wanted to go to the same destination. I was tired, furious and very noisy, drawing a lot of attention. He still didn't budge and claimed those were his orders. It was 23.25 by that time and I really wanted to get to my hotel before dawn, so eventually I said "fine, I will go to Frankfurt if you print out my traveling instructions all the way to Mainz so I know what I'm doing". At least then I would know what time I'd get into Mainz which might help my case for a taxi.

He checked his computer, checked it again, made a phone call - then opened his drawer and got out a taxi voucher... Ha!

With all the aggro, it still seems I was the first one not to accept the crap advice and make a fuss. I hope the other people standing in line learned from me and put their foot down as well...

To summarize the problem:
The man at the information counter didn't really know what he was doing. Probably because noone told him much.

The people who made the station announcements didn't know what they were doing. Probably because noone told them much.

The train drivers at the regional station didn't know what to tell people. Probably because... well, you get my drift.

Conductors on trains approaching the area, such as on the ICE I was on, didn't know anything about the massive problems and therefore advised people wrongly. Because noone had told them anything.

And I found out the next day that even the staff at Mainz Central Station ticket office didn't know anything about it, so they kept selling tickets for trains that didn't run...

I am sure the information guy did the best he could - he deserves a pat on the shoulder, he really got stuck between the rock and a hard place. Though he should have complained much earlier to his superiors about not placing (or leaving) more staff at the station until the last trains were gone, told the travelers accordingly and then handed out taxi vouchers.

As far as the manager in charge is concerned who left people stranded throughout the region with no or only stupid and wrong advice, no staff to ask or be reassured by - I suggest that he pays for the additional damage to the railways caused by his inaptitude and is fired. Alternatively, he could be demoted to information counter staff without opportunity for promotion...

PS: check out this photograph of the Fernbahnhof - the information counter is at the far end in the center of the photograph.

Food on my Mind

I mentioned earlier that in Warwick I had a Cream Tea and that it was not exactly what the doctor had ordered. The time has come for me, too, to lose some weight and get in better shape.

It is amazing how one thinks about food much more when one is trying to consume less of it! At least it is for me, maybe because I enjoy it (or rather all the bad parts of it) so much.

Anyway, I have started to study food again, and not just the calories! At home it is not so much of a problem, especially not with something like www.dieetinzicht.nl (Dutch only) within reach to tell me of all sorts of things about the properties of lots of foodstuff or work out the values for own recipes. It is different when being served set menues during conferences - but I will find a solution for that too.

Fortunately I am not alone - Schatz is joining the weightloss programm. In addition to watching his food intake, he will start working out at a gym nearby his office tomorrow. As I will in a few weeks time, until then I will do the Kees and walk.

No need to worry though, Kees, for we will not be a match for you.

Oh by the way, this is what Schatz cooked yesterday evening:

Asparagus with chervil and sunflower seeds (and potatoes and thin slices of smoked turkey)

Probably the most sinful of the meal were the sunflower seeds but even they could not change the fact that this is exactly what the doctor ordered...

Royal Leamington Spa to Warwick and back

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a few days in Leamington. In Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England - to be exact. Contrary to earlier visits, I did not mainly focus on pubs, restaurants and maybe a few shops - though I saw the inside of a few of those this time as well - but decided to spend some of my time walking through areas of town I had never explored before. And when I was told that Warwick was not five miles away as I had always thought but only one, I decided to walk there, too. As I found out later, it was a bit further than a mile to the center of Warwick...

Mentioned in the Domesday Book as Lamintone in 1086, Leamington might have remained a small village near Warwick (pop. 301 in 1801 vs. 45114 in 2001), had the healing properties of its salty spa waters - already known about in Roman times - not been rediscovered.

The old town was - and is - located south of the River Leam only. Today, you find in its center small shops, cafes, restaurants and take-aways.

Not sure this studio is still open...

The Parish Church of All Saints, an example of Victorian gothic, dates back to the 19th century, although a church has been located on that very site just south of the Leam for over 900 years,

Parish Church and Pump Rooms

The Royal Pump Rooms and Baths opened close to the river in 1814, and Leamington soon became popular with the wealthy spa crowd. Numerous Georgian townhouses were built for the visitors to stay.

After the great flood of 1997, the Pump Rooms were re-developed and today house an art gallery and museum, a library, tourist information, assembly rooms and a cafe.

On the other side of the river, the new parts of town were built from about 1800 onward. Across the bridge from the Pump Rooms the Parade starts.

Town Hall

At the bottom of the Parade, the Town Hall is located. Major stores line the Parade further up, as well as some hotels and a shopping mall.

Upper Parade

I strolled up and down the Parade, visited a few shops but with the rain and all, went back to the guest house fairly soon. Along the way, I passed quite a few people wearing white anoraks and pulling a small luggage trolley, all headed in the same direction:

The Bowling Greens

Initially, I had wondered about the trolleys but when I saw where they were heading, I understood. It seems there was going to be some lawn bowling championship in the days to come, so everyone got in as much practice time as possible. And I wouldn't want to carry a set of bowls in my handbag either...

Grass Bowling Practice

By the way, if you've ever seen a lawn bowling match, you will know that it requires much more skill than you might think, putting it in line with curling or snooker. And making it about as interesting - though the fascination of these sports is very much in the eye of the beholder. Lawn Bowling dates back to as early as the 13th century, possibly the 12th, and today is played throughout the Commonwealth by people of all ages and the annual British Championships carry serious price money.


The next day, in view of blue skies and fluffy white clouds, I decided to take that walk to Warwick that I had promised myself, once my head had cleared up (a bit of fluff was left but that put me in line with the sky) from the previous night's frolicking in restaurants and pubs. Not far from the guest house (and opposite the Bowling Greens) is a small pub called The Cricketers.


There are no cricket grounds in sight, but I guess bowling jackets might not have looked as good on the walls as the cricket paraphernalia displayed there.

I then crossed the River Leam and walked up Dale Street.

Dale Street north of Regent Street

On the right are the stately townhouses of the City Center, with nice apartments for the obviously well-to-do. On the left, the terraced houses were relatively small, in various states of upkeep and several are for sale.

The Two Sides of Dale Street

Up at Warwick Street (sic!) I turned west towards Warwick. To the east are restaurants and shops for a few blocks, but to the west the area turns residential very quickly. And the terraced houses turn into stately homes.

Mill House Terrace

Just about on the edge of Leamington is Mill House Terrace. I am not sure how old the Terrace is but it looked peaceful and quiet, even though it was only a couple of hundred yards from a nearby major roundabout.

A couple of further roundabouts down the road and I was in Warwick and greeted by the first of many typical half-timbered Tudor houses. A pub, as it were.

Millwright Arms on Coten End, Warwick

From their website:

The Millwright Arms is first listed as a pub in 1880 but the building, a timber framed structure of two stories and attics, was built circa 1600 or slightly later. Initially, this had been the St. Nicholas Parish Poorhouse which was closed when the Warwick Union Workhouse was established in 1838 not far from here. The building was sold in 1851 by a local charity and by 1857 Thomas Davis, a millwright and machinist, had set up in the building and had established a beerhouse cum waiting room for his customers.

Warwick itself was built on the banks of the River Avon in 914 by Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great and sister of Mercian king Edward the Elder, as a defence against Danish (Viking) invaders. The defences were to be the basis of Warwick Castle and probably replaced older wooden fortifications built by Alfred in order to protect the kingdom of Wessex from the Danes, albeit without much success.
The town proper wasbuilt on a small hill which controlled not only the river valley but also the river crossing on the road to London and the roads to Stratford, Coventry and the salt way to Droitwich.

Despite all these efforts, the Danes invaded Mercia in 1016 and burned down much of Warwick.

Fire was the scourge of Warwick again, when large parts of the town were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1697.

Several important or at least interesting mediaeval buildings survived the fire and can be seen to this day as you approach the town center, such as for example:

The Roebuck on Smith Street

At the upper end of Smith Street:

Houses just outside the East Gate

Not much is left of the old mediaeval wall that the gate was set in, though.

Jury Street, seen from the East Gate

Or close to the Castle Walls:

Oken's House in Castle Street

The building is about 500 years old and was the home of Thomas Oken, believed to be the richest man in Warwick at the time, who made a fortune dealing in wool and woven fabrics. He died on 29th July 1573 and left most of his money and valuables to aid the poor and to fund education and housing in Warwick. Today the building houses the Thomas Oken Tea Rooms.

And last but by no means least:

Lord Leycester Hospital, the town's medieaval Guildhall.

"The group of buildings which, by the way never were a medical establishment, were raised by the Guilds of St. George, the Holy Trinity and of the Virgin Mary around 1400 and were home to them until 1571, when they were acquired by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, as a home for retired aged or infirm ex-servicemen and their wives. By the 1950's, the "Brethrens' Quarters were no longer fit for use. The buildings were restoren between 1958 and 1966, and their quarters were modernised". (From the plaques at the Hospital Site)

Unfortunately, the Leycester was just about to close when I arrived, so some outside pictures and a glance through the entrance gate were all I managed.

Lord Leycester Hospital - Gate; Woodwork; Entrance to the Inner Court

While walking around town I remembered an almost-forgotten CreamTea I once had in Warwick. Besides, I started to feel my feet. It was already rather late in the afternoon and I could not remember where the tea rooms were that I had enjoyed so much about 15 years ago. Neither did I want to backtrack to Oken House and so I simply sat down outside a small coffee and tea shop on Market Place. Not remembering what goes onto the scone first, clotted cream or jam, I tried both - first putting on the jam worked somewhat better for me though. Maybe the cream wasn't thick enough...

Clotted Cream on Jam - or Jam on Clotted Cream?

Either way, it was sweet, it was fat, and accompanied by a few cups of hot strong tea it was just what the doctor ordered. Okay, more the opposite of what she ordered but I felt sinful that day.
After this short break I walked on, thinking of catching the bus back to Leamington but then got sidetracked on the way when I passed Mill Street, where many of the Tudor houses survived the Great Fire.

entering Mill Street

Mill Street close to Castle Hill

Mill Street ends at the foot of the Castle Hill but unfortunately you cannot see much of Warwick Castle from there, just one tower and some of the castle wall are towering over you from the top of the hill.

When I finally reached the busstop, I discovered that the next bus was not scheduled for another 45 minutes and so I decided to simply walk back to Leamington, albeit along another route. A little further down the road, where a bridge crossed the River Avon, I was offered about the only view of the Castle that showed more than half a turret or a piece of the wall.

Warwick Castle

The Castle proper was first built as a Norman motte-and-bailey fort after the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century, with the raising of today's castle starting in 1264. Until a few years ago, the castle was actually owned by the Earls of Warwick until a few years ago when it was sold first to Madam Tussaud's and then on to an entertainment group which is now using Warwick Castle as a sort of mediaeval theme park.

Anyway, there was far too little time left for visiting the Castle and getting my £ 17.50 worth of castle rooms, knights jousting, falconry, archery, etc. - some other time.

And I was by now rather tired and so I walked back to Leamington, another 2 km along a major road with some older and some more recent housing developments. Later, I found out I could have walked along the river itself... pity!

Back at the guest house, I quickly changed shoes, put the camera in my bag, and walked another mile or so to join a friend for dinner and the pub quiz at his local... and of course walked back in the middle of the night!


The next morning, it was already time to leave again and I took the train from Leamington to Birmingham International Train Station and, lo and behold, it was only 12 minutes late. A few steps from the platforms, passengers board the driverless Skylink, a small maglev train which takes them to the actual Birmingham International Airport in under a minute.

Skylink maglev train arriving

Looking out the front window towards the airport

Time had flown quickly, and I was flying home. I will not wait as long as this time before I go back - that's a promise.

Kill that Lobster

Some people don't like wakes, they fear that people only attend to eat and drink and be merry at the dead person's expense.

Others - including me - are quite in favour of them. A funeral is to acknowledge death even though part of the ritual will be remembering the life of the person, but a wake is to cherish life. To remember the person in question in words, songs or pictures, to comfort each other, and to celebrate life as such.

At a recent wake we remembered, drank, talked, cried, laughed, hugged, smiled, comforted, were comforted, and definitely celebrated the life of a friend, and the privilege of having been part of it, with all our hearts. It was exactly the right thing to do, a memorable gathering of friends and family.

I also learned something new: to a Chinese person, "sláinte" sounds a bit like you were trying to say "kill that lobster" in Chinese...

Here's to you, Karin - kill that lobster!!!

Strawberry Hoard

Not far from where Schatz has his office, a farmer decided he could make easier - and possibly more - money from his strawberry field by letting people pick their own instead of taking them to the market.

His giant strawberry-on-wheels by the road, however, reminded me that I hadn't checked our own strawberry field for a while. So when we came home, I went to collect our own giant strawberries:

Such a treasure should, of course, be served in a silver bowl - which I did.


Oh, and here's a glimpse of our very own strawberry field:

The unforgettable DORF

Some thought they are basically extinct, some thought they only featured in oldtimer rallies these days but Schatz and I did see a DORF at Jork Viking Market, parked right near the entrance.

An original DORF!

Jork Viking Market, Part 2: Fight Show

Normally, Early Medieval fight shows follow one of several patterns:

• King A attacks the lands of King B. They trade insults, maybe have a fight of champions, then bash each others' heads in. Works well with large numbers of warriors (150+), especially when line fights are included such as during the Danish Moesgard market during the last weekend of July.

• Thorstein the Wild enters a village with his men with the intention of pillaging and plundering. Well, they might have some other intentions, too, but in view of all the families on their weekend outings they pretend they don't. Usually short exchange of demands and insults, followed by 48 seconds of fighting. Often used in small locations and with small groups of warriors.

• The fighters present just want to find out who the best fighter of the market is - they fight a so-called Circle, man against man, with or without honour (without or with backstabbing allowed). When the Circle is all that is shown, the audience is welcome to watch but at times is considered more of a nuisance than anything else.

• Someone explains to the audience the various weapons that existed during the Early Middle Ages, who would own what and then have two warriors demonstrate how one would fight with the weapons. Very educational, often used with very small groups of warriors. Can get tedious after a while if too much is narrated.

Often, of course, the fight show consists of a mix of events, and sometimes new, rather enjoyable bits are added, as happened in Jork on May 24.

The 30 minute fight show started with an unusual overture:

A band of wild Vikings, lead by Einar (names all fictitional), enters the village of Jork and demands silver, children and women from the locals. They try to grab a child or two, pry some rings from fingers but meet no real opposition.

When over the hill comes Sigurd, a local cobbler. He walks up to Einar as if this were the most normal thing you do under these circumstances and starts to reason with him. Alas, to no avail. So Sigurd appeals to Einar's honour. Einar is a very honourable man, of course, and thus immediately agrees to a fight between the two to settle the issue once and for all.

But wait, in a duel you should have a second and when Sigurd agrees, Einar places one of his men nearby. Oh, and a rich man should also have a second second, and a third. And since that looks strange, there should be a fourth second and so forth.

And before Sigurd can say "hey" or "wait a minute" or "what the hell do you think you are doing here with your thirds and fourths and fifths and sixths and sevenths and eighths", all of Einar's men are placed in a close circle around the two.

Einar placing his umpteenth second around Sigurd

I suppose you can see it coming just like we did: before Sigurd can draw his sword, Einar's men overwhelm him, beat him unconscious and drag him quickly to a remote corner of the field. Einar, of course, is more than happy with his band of Vikings...

Einar flashing a big grin

Just in time they turn away from poor Sigurd. For now Eric, the fisherman, approaches. He also believes in the honesty of men and falls for Einar's spiel - and ends up right next to Sigurd.

When next Thorgil, the cooper, approaches, Sigurd weakly tries to warn him by raising a hand but falls unconscious again. And once again, Einar outsmarts the local yokel.

But then little Leif appears, seemingly from nowhere. He doesn't look like much but he carries a somewhat heavy-looking leather bag.

Einar stops him and asks him whether he too wants to fight for his village. Leif shakes his head. He wouldn't dream of trying to fight such a mighty warrior, he has come to bring the invaders a bag of silver as tribute. Einar smiles and commends little Leif for his actions. When Leif announces he will now give the bag to their leader, Einar steps forward greedily but is thoroughly surprised when Leif walks right past him and turns to Bjarni who, if truth be told, looks much more fearsome than Einar.
With a flourish bow, Leif gives the bag to Bjarni, then quickly steps aside as Einar - and everyone else - tries to grab the bag from Bjarni... and while they squabble and pull and push and start to hit each other in the stomach or on the chin, little Leif raises his village neighbours and together they attack the unsuspecting invaders who have just discovered that the heavy bag of silver was filled with nothing but river stones...

Leif, Sigurd, Erik, and Thorgil celebrating their victory

The audience - not just the kids, mind you - got quite involved. They tried to warn the somewhat simple Jork villagers of Einar's treachery, and there was, of course, happy cheering when Einar and his men were outsmarted and the villagers once again gained control of their village.

And this humourous overture laid the groundstone for the audience's reactions to the rest of the show:

• Two clans fighting for the supremacy of the area - two "armies" clashing against each other.

Dragon and Raven Clans battling it out

• Then each clan fights a Circle of Honour (man against man, no backstabbing) to establish their best fighter each.

About to see Odin's face...

• And finally, the two winners fight each other to the death, to be raised by Odin to feast at his table in Valhalla.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and so did the audience. Our thanks go to Timm, the Jomsvikings and guests.

The fighters at Jork