Flying is dull. Airports are hell. There's always another way to get home. And anyway, Europe isn't all that big. That might sound silly, but if you've ever travelled by land across any other continent, you'll know what I mean.
I got home from Salzburg via two trains, three buses, and a ferry. About a week in all, which gave me time for a modest bit of sightseeing. Stuttgart was the pleasant surprise along the way: by the standards of the cities I've visited in central and eastern Europe, it was fairly unremarkable, but by the standards of cities in provincial England, it was pretty much heaven on earth.
The final leg, Amsterdam to North Shields, was of course via the ferry route that many of you will already know well. Previously, my only ocean journeys had been channel crossings as a child, plus more recently short hops from Helsinki to Tallinn and from Buenos Aires to Montevideo. This was the first time I'd ever been out of sight of land. It was also the first time I'd ever seen my home town from the east, having previously inspected it from all other angles, including from above (on a clear day you get a good view when the plane is approaching Newcastle airport).
Admittedly I had always imagined a more exotic ending to my first ever night at sea. Venice, perhaps, or the towers of Manhattan looming through the mist? Instead I got grey drizzle and a short walk uphill to the Metro station at Meadow Well. Back to reality with a splat.
Well, anyway, I'm home now but not for long. This is just the end of part one for my 2023 travels. Part two commences in a few weeks. Plenty more to squeeze in before Christmas. Stay tuned.
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| Rosengarten in Stuttgart At the far north-east end of the Unterer Schlossgarten |
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| Stuttgart central library Very impressive, but I still prefer creaking doorways and dusty carpets. And withered old library assistants, looking at you disapprovingly over the top of their glasses. |
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| On the left: that's not the most encouraging graphic. On the right: I don't think I want to know. |
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| Frankfurt |
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| Looking west across Frankfurt from the top of the cathedral, 66 metres up. 328 steps of narrow spiral staircase to get this photo. Note the combination of old town (centre) and new town (top right). |
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| Vintage furnishings at my very cheap Dusseldorf hotel. Note how the clock radio panel has come away from its mounting. I wonder if it was an RAF bomb that knocked it loose. |
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| Edd vs Food #127 Falafel and sundries At the Kebaphaus am Feuersee, Silberburgstraße 151, 70176 Stuttgart |
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| Sun rising in the southeast, while the ferry heads northwest |
