Karlsruhe has an interesting art gallery.  A fine selection of early German masters, a good 19th and 20th century collection, and some competent if unspectacular locals. Reputedly, there are other fine things there, but half the museum was closed — we have this effect sometimes.

Fortunately, although the main Wurth Gallery at Schwaebisch-Hall was closed, we were able to see the church exhibition of Riemenschneider  15th century wood sculpture — just 15 pieces, but stunningly intricate and moving.

In Stuttgart, an evening celebrating the sponsorship of IT in the University by local firms and worthies.  There was some music, which we had come to hear, including an avant-garde electronically aided piece based on 11 Sept 2001, which was excellent, but also four self-congratulatory speeches by said sponsors and worthies, and an excessively long talk which as it was both about IT and in German left us numbed, hungry and in need of some of the pleasant and refreshing wine mentioned above.

Deutsche Bahn looked as though it was going to do its customary impeccable job until halfway between Bonn and Koblenz it was announced that we would be delayed by about 21 minutes because of a diversion.  In some respects this was interesting, in that it took us up the opposite bank of the Rhine to the one which in the past the train has always followed, so we were able to look at a whole new set of castles and tight little towns. However, 21 minutes is a lot longer than DB normally schedules for a connection so we ended up with nearly an hour to spare in Heidelberg. Luckily the station bookstall had the largest selection of magazines, German and international, that I have ever seen so 70 minutes delay at 8pm on a journey that had started in York at 6am was not too great a hardship.

We did a bit of travelling about — using a regional ticket which allows up to 5 people to go anywhere in Baden-Wurrtemberg for a day for 29euros, by train, bus or tram.  Trams here are part of the S-bahn system, and travel really long distances — a sort of inter-urban.  Sitting behind the driver Heilbronn to Karlsruhe brought back the days of the early British Rail DMUs.

Highlight now ! The South German railway museum at Heilbronn.  Ex DB locoshed, nice roundhouse and turntable, fine selectioon of German steam locos, plus a Chapelon Pacific, which is not the one below — a DB P38 I think.

Delightfully, two were in steam, including the massive 2–10-0 below.

We were at an event in the museum until late in the evening — having the two locos simmering in the yard, ready for an excursion in the morning, was highly atmospheric.

Back via Paris, and time for lunch between trains.  Unfortunately the Gare du Nord left luggage still hasn’t learned to cope with the number of Eurostar users wanting  to deposit baggage, so was full, and the streets and cafes around full of travellers lugging their belongings. Fortunately, the cafes seem to have adapted better and were happy to serve around cases, rucsacs and surfboards (the last not ours).

The Neckar is the most intimate, the Rhine the international superhighway, yet with wonderful sights — castles which are medieval in origin with the paraphenalia of the modern world.

The photo below is from my favourite campsite (if I have to camp at all, which I hope not to do).  On either side of the river is a double track railway line, with a constant procession of freight, international and local passenger trains, complementing the river freight.

The best of Schwabian food accompanied the trip — plus wheat beer — but into Holland the rain and wind set in — Holland has an intimate relationship with water, and mud.  Camping in something the colour and consistency of chocolate soya.

Eurostar on the way back was delayed leaving by British passport officers understaffed and working to rule so we found out that, provided you are at the front of the Eurostar and make a prompt exit, you can get from St Pancras arrival to King’s Cross departure in 7 minutes, at a very brisk pace, having originally allowed 31 minutes for this transfer.

Returning, the bus ploughed through heavy rain most of the way, but Norwegian roads seem to be designed to shed water rather than retain it in puddles, so no problem.  Again Ryanair did Ok and with only 40 minutes between touch-down and train departure we nonetheless made it.  At this point puzzlement sets in.  The Cross Country Stansted to Brimingham stopped for signals outside Stansted, waited at least 5 minutes for a platform at Cambridge, dallied at Ely and March, and yet got into Peterborough on time. Another example of the totally absurd timing practices on Britain’s railways, whereby everything is so generously timed it’s almost impossible to ruin the company statistics by being late.  But realatively troule-free there and back again.

but the real Viking age experience was at the National Museum in Copenhagen.  In Denmark the Iron Age goes up to 1050AD or so, which includes the entire Viking period.  You have never seen such a cornucopia of objects.  Makes you wonder how careless all those ancient Danes were, losing so much stuff, or how rich they were, to be able to afford to bury such costly objects with their dead.  Or to acquire such wonderful foreign goodies from the Mediterranean world.  And it’s all so brilliantly displayed and lit.  All the text is in Danish and English, in equal size type.  Astonishing volume of finds.