I've written before how easy we found it (outside of rush hour) with our bikes on the trains. But it's not just the trains that are set up for bikes / pushchairs / wheelchairs. The buses, as they are in many other countries, are very funky these days. First of all they have the double doors half-way down the bus which open wide enough to allow a passenger to get their bike, pram or wheelchair onto the vehicle. Secondly they have a hydraulic tilting action so that when the bus is at the stop it tilts towards the pavement so the step up to get on the bus isn't high.
Showing posts with label bicycle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bicycle. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Rollin' rollin' rollin'...
Carless for a week now, I have survived two days of commuting by bike, train and bus and in contrast to the last time I did this it is working out very well.
Monday morning dawned bright and clear, so I jumped enthusiastically onto my bike and peddled off to the station. Since the last time I was a member of the train commuting fraternity I am now equipped with a smart phone. With the Endomondo app so I am now able to race myself to work every day if i want. It turns out that the station is 3.55 miles from my house, and I cycled it on that first enthusiastic morning in 20 minutes and 50 seconds.
Monday morning dawned bright and clear, so I jumped enthusiastically onto my bike and peddled off to the station. Since the last time I was a member of the train commuting fraternity I am now equipped with a smart phone. With the Endomondo app so I am now able to race myself to work every day if i want. It turns out that the station is 3.55 miles from my house, and I cycled it on that first enthusiastic morning in 20 minutes and 50 seconds.
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Testing, testing... can anyone hear me?
It's been a while since I blogged (discounting the threat this morning to inflict something other than seat covers on an unsuspecting public) and I need to find out how to upload photos. Yes, my old brain has forgotten.
A touch of déja vu? Here we go again.
And here we go again! 4 years after the sad demise of Super Punto, the replacement car (the not so super, but totally huge Octavia) died on us. Followed a few months later by our other car, an 8 year old Golf Plus. It requires rather a lot of work, which will cost rather a lot of money, so while it is in the VW garage it's back to the bike-train-bus combo for me.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
The Car. It's here.
I just thought I'd mention that now I've got a car there definitely won't be any more blogging about my woeful experiences on German Public Transport.
However, since I've enjoyed the blogging exponentially more than I enjoyed the travelling (except for the fact that it offered a fantastic opportunity to Read More Books) I've decided to carry on.
But first, let's have a respectful silence for SuperPunto.
*the brass band plays Abide With Me in the background*
ALAS AND ALACK! (ha, there they are again!)
I don't have one single photo of the Super Punto. Not one.
Really, it is true: you don't always know what you've got 'till it's gone. There is a photo of the speeedo/milometer when it did 333,333kms and maybe one day I'll find that and post it.
But anyway.
That is the past.
We will move into the future. But before we do that, here's my favourite bike. Yes, indeed. Finally, here it is.
The Shiny New Bike
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. Some of us more anxiously than others...
The Skoda Octavia Combi/Estate/Station Wagon
I don't know any details apart from the fact that it has a massive boot. Four doors. It runs on Diesel. And I'll be checking the oil a lot more often than I have in the past.
:)
However, since I've enjoyed the blogging exponentially more than I enjoyed the travelling (except for the fact that it offered a fantastic opportunity to Read More Books) I've decided to carry on.
But first, let's have a respectful silence for SuperPunto.
*the brass band plays Abide With Me in the background*
ALAS AND ALACK! (ha, there they are again!)
I don't have one single photo of the Super Punto. Not one.
Really, it is true: you don't always know what you've got 'till it's gone. There is a photo of the speeedo/milometer when it did 333,333kms and maybe one day I'll find that and post it.
But anyway.
That is the past.
We will move into the future. But before we do that, here's my favourite bike. Yes, indeed. Finally, here it is.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. Some of us more anxiously than others...
I don't know any details apart from the fact that it has a massive boot. Four doors. It runs on Diesel. And I'll be checking the oil a lot more often than I have in the past.
:)
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Day 23 - Thusday, 5th August 2010
Train whistle blowing...
Well. Blog-wise today wasn't much cop at all. Sorry about that. I went for the early train (06:18 this morning) because I'm a bit soft in the head. But I also had a workshop this morning starting at 08:30 which meant that leaving at my normal time would have left me huffing and puffing to get there on time.
One thing I haven't mention is that the driver of the 87B which stops leaves Anrath station at 06:55 is very good looking indeedy.
Ohhh, errr!
This afternoon I went for the 16:17, which turned up two minutes late then went like the clappers to make up for it. I swear we took a left hand turn, at a traffic lights, at 70kmh on two wheels! So I used my new tactic of getting off at the earlier stop and then walking, not so briskly today for some reson, to the next stop. That bus, the 87B, was on time and i got the train to Mönchengladbach with no problems.
When I got to my bike I realised that I'd not chained it up this morning. By some miracle it was still there, as was my bicycle lock which was just sitting in the basket. That was a lucky escape.
I even got home without getting wet or anything.
Tomorrow is my last day at work before my annual summer holiday. I'll report periodically on how we get on without a car.
Well. Blog-wise today wasn't much cop at all. Sorry about that. I went for the early train (06:18 this morning) because I'm a bit soft in the head. But I also had a workshop this morning starting at 08:30 which meant that leaving at my normal time would have left me huffing and puffing to get there on time.
One thing I haven't mention is that the driver of the 87B which stops leaves Anrath station at 06:55 is very good looking indeedy.
Ohhh, errr!
This afternoon I went for the 16:17, which turned up two minutes late then went like the clappers to make up for it. I swear we took a left hand turn, at a traffic lights, at 70kmh on two wheels! So I used my new tactic of getting off at the earlier stop and then walking, not so briskly today for some reson, to the next stop. That bus, the 87B, was on time and i got the train to Mönchengladbach with no problems.
When I got to my bike I realised that I'd not chained it up this morning. By some miracle it was still there, as was my bicycle lock which was just sitting in the basket. That was a lucky escape.
I even got home without getting wet or anything.
Tomorrow is my last day at work before my annual summer holiday. I'll report periodically on how we get on without a car.
Monday, 19 July 2010
Day 10 - Monday, 19th July 2010
I thought it was too good to last...
This morning I had planned to go on the train earlier than my usual one, but Monday mornings are never (in my experience) a good day to try anything new.
Pity, though, because today would have been a good day to start. It all began so well, sunny, not too warm, left the house on time - and even remembered to put the bin out.
As I approached the station the 07:09 pulled out on its merry way to Düsseldorf. at 07:17 there came a crackly announcement. The 07:18 to Duisburg wouldn't be coming due to some kind of (unexplained) technical failure. Hrumph. Oh well, I could take the 07:33 to Düsseldorf, change at Neuss and head off to Osterath, from whence I could take the number 71 bus to my office.
Yippee, a new combination I haven't tried before. Only - after the drenching I and my baggage had on Friday I'd left my printed timetable at home to dry out. Curses! Not knowing what the margin of error is for that particular combination I decided to chance it and get off at Mönchengladbach and go via Neersen Schloß on the 36 and the 56.
That was a mistake. I managed to get a bus reasonably well (08:08 right outside the train station) but after that it was a bit of a disaster. When I go to Schloß Neersen I realised that my next bus would leave in half an hour. Well, it was a nice day, and there was a bakery nearby so I got a coffee and read some more of my book.
Not much though because very soon after I settled down four rather fat ducks waddled up and started tapping the glass of the bus shelter. An old fellow sitting by me said that they would do that for a while then wander off to the bakery where they would quack for a while until someone came out and gave them some crumbs.
But finally my bus arrived and I got to work at 09:15. Not a jourey I care to repeat.
Going home the 71 was late (that seems to be usual) so I missed the 87 and therefore my first train. But I got the 18:08 from Anrath directly to Erkelenz and managed to get a bit of food shopping done on the way home.
Despite the missing train, not a bad day, travel-wise.
This morning I had planned to go on the train earlier than my usual one, but Monday mornings are never (in my experience) a good day to try anything new.
Pity, though, because today would have been a good day to start. It all began so well, sunny, not too warm, left the house on time - and even remembered to put the bin out.
As I approached the station the 07:09 pulled out on its merry way to Düsseldorf. at 07:17 there came a crackly announcement. The 07:18 to Duisburg wouldn't be coming due to some kind of (unexplained) technical failure. Hrumph. Oh well, I could take the 07:33 to Düsseldorf, change at Neuss and head off to Osterath, from whence I could take the number 71 bus to my office.
Yippee, a new combination I haven't tried before. Only - after the drenching I and my baggage had on Friday I'd left my printed timetable at home to dry out. Curses! Not knowing what the margin of error is for that particular combination I decided to chance it and get off at Mönchengladbach and go via Neersen Schloß on the 36 and the 56.
That was a mistake. I managed to get a bus reasonably well (08:08 right outside the train station) but after that it was a bit of a disaster. When I go to Schloß Neersen I realised that my next bus would leave in half an hour. Well, it was a nice day, and there was a bakery nearby so I got a coffee and read some more of my book.
Not much though because very soon after I settled down four rather fat ducks waddled up and started tapping the glass of the bus shelter. An old fellow sitting by me said that they would do that for a while then wander off to the bakery where they would quack for a while until someone came out and gave them some crumbs.
But finally my bus arrived and I got to work at 09:15. Not a jourey I care to repeat.
Going home the 71 was late (that seems to be usual) so I missed the 87 and therefore my first train. But I got the 18:08 from Anrath directly to Erkelenz and managed to get a bit of food shopping done on the way home.
Despite the missing train, not a bad day, travel-wise.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Day 8 - Thursday, 15th July 2010
Nothing to see here, move along please
Despite the storms yesterday which have rendered several hundred kilometers of track useless, my train was just about on time today. I knew that because I looked at the Deutsche Bahn website and, because I absolutely don't trust it, I persisted with the hotline until I managed to speak to a nice young man about my train. Indeed, he reassured me, it's running a couple of minutes late, but it will make that up by the time you get to your stop.
In the event when we got to Viersen, which is the stop before mine, I lost my nerve and got off there. It meant I got to work about 25 minutes later than planned, but if I'd gone for my double-bus combo and missed it I would have been waiting at least an hour.
Coming home my journey was only made later by someone wanting me to do some work, how cheeky, so instead of doing my morning journey in reverse, I did the one where i have to wait 20 minutes at a middle bus stop. I had a little snigger as we passed Donk - as usual - then spent a nice 20 minutes sitting in a cool, shady bus stop reading my book.
How boring!
Despite the storms yesterday which have rendered several hundred kilometers of track useless, my train was just about on time today. I knew that because I looked at the Deutsche Bahn website and, because I absolutely don't trust it, I persisted with the hotline until I managed to speak to a nice young man about my train. Indeed, he reassured me, it's running a couple of minutes late, but it will make that up by the time you get to your stop.
In the event when we got to Viersen, which is the stop before mine, I lost my nerve and got off there. It meant I got to work about 25 minutes later than planned, but if I'd gone for my double-bus combo and missed it I would have been waiting at least an hour.
Coming home my journey was only made later by someone wanting me to do some work, how cheeky, so instead of doing my morning journey in reverse, I did the one where i have to wait 20 minutes at a middle bus stop. I had a little snigger as we passed Donk - as usual - then spent a nice 20 minutes sitting in a cool, shady bus stop reading my book.
How boring!
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Day 7 - Wednesday, 14th July 2010
The unthinkable happens
There were very few people waiting on the platform and so I had hopes that the trains were running pretty much as normal. But the first thing I heard was the announcement that the 07:09 and the 07:33 trains to Düsseldorf were cancelled. My train, the trusty 07:18 to Duisburg seemed to be on schedule. And indeed it said on the front it was really going all the way to Duisburg - yippee.
It was quite full and I was one of the last on so I had to stand, not a great hardship. But then there was a small commotion at the place where the Non-Body sits. A dapper gentleman in a suit, carrying a briefcase reached accross and shook the Non-Body's legs. At first there was no response and it seemed as though all the passengers were holding their breath. But the man didn't give up. This time he said, very loudly: please move your legs I want to sit there. There was spluttering and muttering but eventually the feet were withdrawn from the seat and the dapper gentleman sat down.
I have now become a nodding-acquaintance with a fellow passenger - one of the women from last evening - who gets on my bus. And that after only a week of commuting! The rest of the journey was totally uneventful exceptt that all the schoolchildren were very jolly and chattery because it was the last day of term today.
The journey home started well. On the radio they announced that all trains were running although there would be delays because some of the tracks had been reduced to single track.
1st bus: Just about on time
2nd bus: Caught it!
1st train: Caught it
2nd train: Caught it but it only made it as far as just past the second stop when the heavens opened and our second almighty storm of the week wreaked havoc on the trains. We lost electricity between us and Erkelenz, but further along from Erkelenz a tree took down some overhead lines then lay, inconveniently accross the tracks. Our train had to limp back to the previous stop.
Actually, it was going to push on to Aachen the final destination, but via Köln and it would take 2 hours (opposed to the half hour it should normally take). The rest of us, however, got off and ran through torrential rain to the front of the station.
While I was on the train I got a call from Chef who told me that it was extremely windy in Erkelenz and that he and the Gruesome Twosome had been cycling home from town when the bad weather struck. Indeed Gruesome #2 had been blown off her bike.
Predictably there were no Deutsche Bahn staff available to point us in the direction of buses. Actually, there were no buses scheduled or otherwise. Knowing how these situations pan out, I shouted above the noise of the rain that I was taking a taxi to Erkelenz and did anyone want to come. Blank looks. So I jumped in a taxi and 20 minutes later he let me out in slightly less than torrential rain where my bike is parked.
As the sky wasn't as black as it had been I decided to cycle home. Luckily the wind had died down and the rain started to slacken off. But I was still absolutely wringing wet when I got home. But at least it was a whole hour earlier than yesterday!
No idea how either of us will get to work tomorrow though. What an exciting life we lead!
There were very few people waiting on the platform and so I had hopes that the trains were running pretty much as normal. But the first thing I heard was the announcement that the 07:09 and the 07:33 trains to Düsseldorf were cancelled. My train, the trusty 07:18 to Duisburg seemed to be on schedule. And indeed it said on the front it was really going all the way to Duisburg - yippee.
It was quite full and I was one of the last on so I had to stand, not a great hardship. But then there was a small commotion at the place where the Non-Body sits. A dapper gentleman in a suit, carrying a briefcase reached accross and shook the Non-Body's legs. At first there was no response and it seemed as though all the passengers were holding their breath. But the man didn't give up. This time he said, very loudly: please move your legs I want to sit there. There was spluttering and muttering but eventually the feet were withdrawn from the seat and the dapper gentleman sat down.
I have now become a nodding-acquaintance with a fellow passenger - one of the women from last evening - who gets on my bus. And that after only a week of commuting! The rest of the journey was totally uneventful exceptt that all the schoolchildren were very jolly and chattery because it was the last day of term today.
The journey home started well. On the radio they announced that all trains were running although there would be delays because some of the tracks had been reduced to single track.
1st bus: Just about on time
2nd bus: Caught it!
1st train: Caught it
2nd train: Caught it but it only made it as far as just past the second stop when the heavens opened and our second almighty storm of the week wreaked havoc on the trains. We lost electricity between us and Erkelenz, but further along from Erkelenz a tree took down some overhead lines then lay, inconveniently accross the tracks. Our train had to limp back to the previous stop.
Actually, it was going to push on to Aachen the final destination, but via Köln and it would take 2 hours (opposed to the half hour it should normally take). The rest of us, however, got off and ran through torrential rain to the front of the station.
While I was on the train I got a call from Chef who told me that it was extremely windy in Erkelenz and that he and the Gruesome Twosome had been cycling home from town when the bad weather struck. Indeed Gruesome #2 had been blown off her bike.
Predictably there were no Deutsche Bahn staff available to point us in the direction of buses. Actually, there were no buses scheduled or otherwise. Knowing how these situations pan out, I shouted above the noise of the rain that I was taking a taxi to Erkelenz and did anyone want to come. Blank looks. So I jumped in a taxi and 20 minutes later he let me out in slightly less than torrential rain where my bike is parked.
As the sky wasn't as black as it had been I decided to cycle home. Luckily the wind had died down and the rain started to slacken off. But I was still absolutely wringing wet when I got home. But at least it was a whole hour earlier than yesterday!
No idea how either of us will get to work tomorrow though. What an exciting life we lead!
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Day 6 - Tuesday, 13th July 2010
Has it been a whole week already?
All things considered my first week as a public-transport commuter have not gone too badly. And then the storm happened and everything was up in the air.
Having checked the Deutsche Bahn website it appeared that although many trains have been cancelled, mine would leave on time. Yaayy. Accordingly I abandoned plans to take a bus to Mönchengladbach and then another 2 to Willich in favour of letting the train take the strain. As soon as I saw the hordes of people standing on the platform I nearly changed my mind, but there was then the miracle of an announcement that the Düsseldorf train would arrive any moment. It was a double-decker jobbie and the hordes of waiting passengers, some of whom i summised had been there for a long time from their grumbled commens as they shuffled past me, squashed themselves on the train. It pulled out, slowly and I was left, alone to ponder my possible foolhardiness as I watched the bus pull out too.
But then - oh wonder - my train arrived. Unfortunately in place of the usual destination of "Duisburg" it bore the legend Mönchengladbach. 2 stations before mine. Hmmm. Well, I know that a bus goes from Mönchengladbach so I hopped on, took up a seat and opened my book. Just before Mönchengladbach the automated announcement caused consternation when it announced that our next stop would be Aachen - which is about 40kms in the opposite direction.
Finally we were on the way again and as a bonus the train would now stop one stop further at Viersen. Where I knew - because the guy from work that i met on the bus yesterday morning had told me - that I could get a bus to my office. The train stopped and everyone piled off to catch the buses that have been laid on to take them to the parts that the trains can't currently reach. And promptly all congregated in the doorway so that nobody could move. That didn't exactly set me up for the rest of my journey, but with some pushing and shoving and then running around asking people about bus stops I finally discovered that I could take a bus to the bus station and from there to my office stop. As an aside: does absolutely EVERYONE listen to music while they travel? I don't think I saw anyone who wasn't wearing earphones of some description.
And that was that, or so I thought. Wisely I periodically checked the Deutsche Bahn website and finally established that I could go to my usual stop of Anrath and get the train at 18:08 which was annotated as being "pünktlich" - on time.
There's a lesson here, boys and girls. Don't trust anything you read on the internet. I took a bus. Then I took another bus. And arrived at a nearly deserted station, when the doubts began to set in. A couple of other people arrived, including a woman who had caught the same train/bus combo as me this morning. She had also checked the website. The doubts receded. They receded even more when a few other website checkers arrived.
"No trains today," called a cheerful bus driver.
"oh yes," we chorused. "It said so on the website."
"No trains today," called a passing car driver.
"Hmmm..." we said. It's an unmanned station, but there is an info thing so we pressed the button and eventually a disembodied voice asked us how he could help us. To cut the boringly long story short. There were no trains that day from Anrath. How could we have thought such a thing... Several of us called the Deutsche Bahn info number and received various different answers. There were definitely no trains. There would be a train. There were buses organised to take the place of the trains. There were no buses. We would have to take taxis. We coudn't take taxis because there were buses which we should wait for. Which weren't coming.
Meanwhile the cheerful bus driver announced he was driving to Schloß Neersen and anyone who wanted should get on. Which we did as there was nowhere to sit and no shade at the station. When we got to Schloß Neersen there were 3 of us waiting for the next bus - which was due in 45 minutes. I could have wept - this was my alternative route and if I'd stuck to my guns and gone for that I'd have been home by then.
Still, it was a bit of an adventure, and I had my book and (important for me: I wasn't in imminent danger of needing the loo). The two ladies waiting with me proved to be chatty. We talked of this and that and at one point one of them mentioned her daughter who "is a lot older than you". Hmm, I thought. "How old is she?" There is a sort of freedom in asking perfect strangers such personal questions.
"oh, she's 46" came the reply. At which I smiled quietly to myself. YES! (I'll enlighten you: I'm 46 and-a-half)
Finally, after a long wait and a lot of conversation about Train Journeys That Went Bad, the bus turned up and after a short while deposited us uneventfully in front of Mönchengladbach station.
The was obliging enough to arrive on time and I duly disembarked and switched to my bike shortly after 8pm.
Tomorrow I'm either going to ignore the DB website or I'm going to call them every half an hour to check their data.
One thing is for sure: the Deutsche Bahn were correct when they told me that they can't plan for a one-off event like the storm. I agree and accept that in such an instance my journey is going to be long and silly. But they really have to work on their provision of information to their passengers. Especially on their unmanned stations.
It really can't be that difficult to send someone around with a car and some blank posters with at least an info line number to call.
Grr.
Communing with nature and the Great Lipgloss Dilemma
Living in the country, as I do, there is some opportunity to observe wildlife. It is very flat around here with not much tree cover or even scrubland or bushes. Which means that generally what we get are hares, rabbits and various species of birds of prey. Buzzards are common but I never fail to catch my breath when I see one. They are beautiful.
Early on in the year there are also plenty of lapwings, or peewits. I love the way they flap around when someone comes close to their nest and try to distract potential predators.
Anyway, this morning I was pleased to see a huge hare sitting in a field. As I got closer I realised that he was staring down a heron who was standing perfectly still giving the hare his best beady eyed look. I turned my attention back to the road just in time to nearly run over a stoat. We've nearly bumped into deer in the past as we've been cycling around, and just as I come into town I often see a red squirrel bounding along the road.
Ain't nature great.
Oh yes. The Great Lipgloss Dilemmma. Yesterday I mentioned that the lipgloss I use was acting rather like fly-paper on all the little bugs that fly around in the mornings.
This evening as I was cycling back my lipgloss was long gone (I'm really not girly enough to re-apply it during the day) and there was nothing to stop the flies getting in my mouth. So now I can't decide which is worse: Flies on my lips or flies on my tongue.
Bleurch.
All things considered my first week as a public-transport commuter have not gone too badly. And then the storm happened and everything was up in the air.
Having checked the Deutsche Bahn website it appeared that although many trains have been cancelled, mine would leave on time. Yaayy. Accordingly I abandoned plans to take a bus to Mönchengladbach and then another 2 to Willich in favour of letting the train take the strain. As soon as I saw the hordes of people standing on the platform I nearly changed my mind, but there was then the miracle of an announcement that the Düsseldorf train would arrive any moment. It was a double-decker jobbie and the hordes of waiting passengers, some of whom i summised had been there for a long time from their grumbled commens as they shuffled past me, squashed themselves on the train. It pulled out, slowly and I was left, alone to ponder my possible foolhardiness as I watched the bus pull out too.
But then - oh wonder - my train arrived. Unfortunately in place of the usual destination of "Duisburg" it bore the legend Mönchengladbach. 2 stations before mine. Hmmm. Well, I know that a bus goes from Mönchengladbach so I hopped on, took up a seat and opened my book. Just before Mönchengladbach the automated announcement caused consternation when it announced that our next stop would be Aachen - which is about 40kms in the opposite direction.
Finally we were on the way again and as a bonus the train would now stop one stop further at Viersen. Where I knew - because the guy from work that i met on the bus yesterday morning had told me - that I could get a bus to my office. The train stopped and everyone piled off to catch the buses that have been laid on to take them to the parts that the trains can't currently reach. And promptly all congregated in the doorway so that nobody could move. That didn't exactly set me up for the rest of my journey, but with some pushing and shoving and then running around asking people about bus stops I finally discovered that I could take a bus to the bus station and from there to my office stop. As an aside: does absolutely EVERYONE listen to music while they travel? I don't think I saw anyone who wasn't wearing earphones of some description.
And that was that, or so I thought. Wisely I periodically checked the Deutsche Bahn website and finally established that I could go to my usual stop of Anrath and get the train at 18:08 which was annotated as being "pünktlich" - on time.
There's a lesson here, boys and girls. Don't trust anything you read on the internet. I took a bus. Then I took another bus. And arrived at a nearly deserted station, when the doubts began to set in. A couple of other people arrived, including a woman who had caught the same train/bus combo as me this morning. She had also checked the website. The doubts receded. They receded even more when a few other website checkers arrived.
"No trains today," called a cheerful bus driver.
"oh yes," we chorused. "It said so on the website."
"No trains today," called a passing car driver.
"Hmmm..." we said. It's an unmanned station, but there is an info thing so we pressed the button and eventually a disembodied voice asked us how he could help us. To cut the boringly long story short. There were no trains that day from Anrath. How could we have thought such a thing... Several of us called the Deutsche Bahn info number and received various different answers. There were definitely no trains. There would be a train. There were buses organised to take the place of the trains. There were no buses. We would have to take taxis. We coudn't take taxis because there were buses which we should wait for. Which weren't coming.
Meanwhile the cheerful bus driver announced he was driving to Schloß Neersen and anyone who wanted should get on. Which we did as there was nowhere to sit and no shade at the station. When we got to Schloß Neersen there were 3 of us waiting for the next bus - which was due in 45 minutes. I could have wept - this was my alternative route and if I'd stuck to my guns and gone for that I'd have been home by then.
Still, it was a bit of an adventure, and I had my book and (important for me: I wasn't in imminent danger of needing the loo). The two ladies waiting with me proved to be chatty. We talked of this and that and at one point one of them mentioned her daughter who "is a lot older than you". Hmm, I thought. "How old is she?" There is a sort of freedom in asking perfect strangers such personal questions.
"oh, she's 46" came the reply. At which I smiled quietly to myself. YES! (I'll enlighten you: I'm 46 and-a-half)
Finally, after a long wait and a lot of conversation about Train Journeys That Went Bad, the bus turned up and after a short while deposited us uneventfully in front of Mönchengladbach station.
The was obliging enough to arrive on time and I duly disembarked and switched to my bike shortly after 8pm.
Tomorrow I'm either going to ignore the DB website or I'm going to call them every half an hour to check their data.
One thing is for sure: the Deutsche Bahn were correct when they told me that they can't plan for a one-off event like the storm. I agree and accept that in such an instance my journey is going to be long and silly. But they really have to work on their provision of information to their passengers. Especially on their unmanned stations.
It really can't be that difficult to send someone around with a car and some blank posters with at least an info line number to call.
Grr.
Communing with nature and the Great Lipgloss Dilemma
Living in the country, as I do, there is some opportunity to observe wildlife. It is very flat around here with not much tree cover or even scrubland or bushes. Which means that generally what we get are hares, rabbits and various species of birds of prey. Buzzards are common but I never fail to catch my breath when I see one. They are beautiful.
Early on in the year there are also plenty of lapwings, or peewits. I love the way they flap around when someone comes close to their nest and try to distract potential predators.
Anyway, this morning I was pleased to see a huge hare sitting in a field. As I got closer I realised that he was staring down a heron who was standing perfectly still giving the hare his best beady eyed look. I turned my attention back to the road just in time to nearly run over a stoat. We've nearly bumped into deer in the past as we've been cycling around, and just as I come into town I often see a red squirrel bounding along the road.
Ain't nature great.
Oh yes. The Great Lipgloss Dilemmma. Yesterday I mentioned that the lipgloss I use was acting rather like fly-paper on all the little bugs that fly around in the mornings.
This evening as I was cycling back my lipgloss was long gone (I'm really not girly enough to re-apply it during the day) and there was nothing to stop the flies getting in my mouth. So now I can't decide which is worse: Flies on my lips or flies on my tongue.
Bleurch.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Day 5 - Monday, 12th July 2010
The Body isn't a Body
It was very warm all weekend and the heat didn't dissapate at all over Sunday night. This morning dawned bright and sunny and very warm at 05:30 already. This time I thought I'd try something New and Revolutionary. Instead of pulling on my jeans and stuffing my skirt into my basket - I thought I'd give Cycling Wearing a Skirt a go. It went quite well so I think I'll ditch taking a skirt to work and just wear the skirt from the start. Next: cycling in high-heeled sandles.
My train departs Erkelenz at 07:18 terminating at Duisburg, the one before it goes at 07:09 heading to Düsseldorf. But for some reason this morning it seems that the 07:09 train hadn't turned up because there were twice as many people getting on my train as usual. This offered exciting opportunities for checking The Body out. And indeed, it was there, but in deference to the hot weather this time it sported a short sleeved shirt and sleeveless jacket, but the headband was firmly in place over it's eyes. The change of clothes suggested that either someone at the train company takes care of the body and puts it in seasonal clothes - perhaps that person was on holiday last week and unable to carry out their Body Clothes Changing duties.
But what happened? We pulled out of Mönchengladbach as usual, and thankfully most people had got off there and I managed to get a seat affording me a great view of The Body. I rummaged around in my bag for my book (Molesworth, this week) and when I looked up again: the body was taking off the headband. He examined it carefully before folding it and putting it in an inner pocket. Then he took out some reading glasses, removed his feet from the opposite seat, took a newspaper out of an inner pocket and began to read as though nothing was more normal.
So on the one hand - I'm glad that I haven't been sharing a carriage with a body. On the other, it's vaguely disappointing... After that highlight the rest of the journey was uneventful apart from the fact that I met one of the guys from work (who lives in Mönchengladbach) when we both got of the bus. He imparted a little nugget of knowledge that could cut the number of my morning buses in half. If I get off one stop earlier (Viesen) I can get the 71 bus from there (instead of faffing about changing at the church bus stop) directly to our office. I may try it one day when I'm feeling brave about finding the bus stop.
At lunchtime the sky went an ominous shade of Extremely Dark Grey and the trees outside the office started swaying alarmingly. Suddenly it started to rain, and I had the misfortune to be outside at the time (having borrowed a car so I could have a lunchtime session at the gym). I walked about 50 metres and by the time I got to the car I looked as though someone had chucked two buckets of water over me.
Apparently in other parts of the state there were huge storms and winds (there was some talk on the radio of a tornado) but it wasn’t until Chef called me from Düsseldorf station to say that no trains were running that I realised just how bad the storm had been. Erkelenz, it seemed, had been right in the middle of it all. Luckily for me I have a colleague who lives not far from me who kindly dropped me off at Erkelenz station to recover my bike.
Chef wasn’t so lucky. There was a distinct lack of information at Düsseldorf station, and he had settled down for a long wait. After a few hours of this he recognised a couple of other people from his train and they clubbed together for a taxi. EUR 20 down the drain but as far as we know everyone is still sitting at the station waiting to leave...
For tomorrow morning, who knows what will happen. However I’ve scoped out a bus from Erkelenz to Mönchengladbach station and there’s a bus from there to quite close to my office. It’s very exciting!
The Perils of Lipgloss
There was another learning process this morning. As I've already explained I wear sunglasses while cycling, to keep the flies, pollen and whatever else is flying around out of my eyes. It works quite well - I have my normal glasses for if the sun goes away again.
But I'm also in the habit of applying lipstick before I leave the house. And since I'm a modern type of gal, I have been using the very shiny, very sticky lipgloss that is so fashionable right now. (Oh yes - the 80s are back with a vengeance)
And it is absolutely perfect for trapping little flies, ladybirds and whatever else is flying around. Yum.
It was very warm all weekend and the heat didn't dissapate at all over Sunday night. This morning dawned bright and sunny and very warm at 05:30 already. This time I thought I'd try something New and Revolutionary. Instead of pulling on my jeans and stuffing my skirt into my basket - I thought I'd give Cycling Wearing a Skirt a go. It went quite well so I think I'll ditch taking a skirt to work and just wear the skirt from the start. Next: cycling in high-heeled sandles.
My train departs Erkelenz at 07:18 terminating at Duisburg, the one before it goes at 07:09 heading to Düsseldorf. But for some reason this morning it seems that the 07:09 train hadn't turned up because there were twice as many people getting on my train as usual. This offered exciting opportunities for checking The Body out. And indeed, it was there, but in deference to the hot weather this time it sported a short sleeved shirt and sleeveless jacket, but the headband was firmly in place over it's eyes. The change of clothes suggested that either someone at the train company takes care of the body and puts it in seasonal clothes - perhaps that person was on holiday last week and unable to carry out their Body Clothes Changing duties.
But what happened? We pulled out of Mönchengladbach as usual, and thankfully most people had got off there and I managed to get a seat affording me a great view of The Body. I rummaged around in my bag for my book (Molesworth, this week) and when I looked up again: the body was taking off the headband. He examined it carefully before folding it and putting it in an inner pocket. Then he took out some reading glasses, removed his feet from the opposite seat, took a newspaper out of an inner pocket and began to read as though nothing was more normal.
So on the one hand - I'm glad that I haven't been sharing a carriage with a body. On the other, it's vaguely disappointing... After that highlight the rest of the journey was uneventful apart from the fact that I met one of the guys from work (who lives in Mönchengladbach) when we both got of the bus. He imparted a little nugget of knowledge that could cut the number of my morning buses in half. If I get off one stop earlier (Viesen) I can get the 71 bus from there (instead of faffing about changing at the church bus stop) directly to our office. I may try it one day when I'm feeling brave about finding the bus stop.
At lunchtime the sky went an ominous shade of Extremely Dark Grey and the trees outside the office started swaying alarmingly. Suddenly it started to rain, and I had the misfortune to be outside at the time (having borrowed a car so I could have a lunchtime session at the gym). I walked about 50 metres and by the time I got to the car I looked as though someone had chucked two buckets of water over me.
Apparently in other parts of the state there were huge storms and winds (there was some talk on the radio of a tornado) but it wasn’t until Chef called me from Düsseldorf station to say that no trains were running that I realised just how bad the storm had been. Erkelenz, it seemed, had been right in the middle of it all. Luckily for me I have a colleague who lives not far from me who kindly dropped me off at Erkelenz station to recover my bike.
Chef wasn’t so lucky. There was a distinct lack of information at Düsseldorf station, and he had settled down for a long wait. After a few hours of this he recognised a couple of other people from his train and they clubbed together for a taxi. EUR 20 down the drain but as far as we know everyone is still sitting at the station waiting to leave...
For tomorrow morning, who knows what will happen. However I’ve scoped out a bus from Erkelenz to Mönchengladbach station and there’s a bus from there to quite close to my office. It’s very exciting!
The Perils of Lipgloss
There was another learning process this morning. As I've already explained I wear sunglasses while cycling, to keep the flies, pollen and whatever else is flying around out of my eyes. It works quite well - I have my normal glasses for if the sun goes away again.
But I'm also in the habit of applying lipstick before I leave the house. And since I'm a modern type of gal, I have been using the very shiny, very sticky lipgloss that is so fashionable right now. (Oh yes - the 80s are back with a vengeance)
And it is absolutely perfect for trapping little flies, ladybirds and whatever else is flying around. Yum.
Saturday, 10 July 2010
The Body on the Train
Yesterday, as part of my ongoing research into commuters, I actually sat next to the chap who is either a very deep sleeper or, in fact, a body. I didn't want to sit next to him - or more precicely, his feet - but there was no other seat available and I really wanted to read some more of my book.
My idea had been to try to look at the date of the newspaper under his feet - it turned out not to be a newspaper but broadsheeet sized Media Markt flyer which had no discernable date showing. Curses.
CSI Erkelenz will continue after the (weekend) break.
My idea had been to try to look at the date of the newspaper under his feet - it turned out not to be a newspaper but broadsheeet sized Media Markt flyer which had no discernable date showing. Curses.
CSI Erkelenz will continue after the (weekend) break.
Friday, 9 July 2010
Day 4 - Friday, 9th July 2010
Wow, I'm actually updating the Blog on the day the journey took place. Either I'm addicted to blogging already or I lead a sad and lonely life where my only diversion is talking to invisible people about my daily commute.
Still, at least I'm not writing it in Elvish. Or Klingon. Yet.
This morning's journey was, again, uneventful. It being Friday and International Dress Down Day (TM) I decided that jeans and a t-shirt coupled with baby pink Chucks would be in order. And why not?
One thing that I've not yet mentioned about the bike part of the journey is that in the morning I travel sort of east south east, as Hornblower might put it. Which means that at 06:45am (what does the "0" stand for? Yep - "Oh my God it's early!" I know, I know. But the old ones really are the best.) Anyway, at 06:45am as I slalom my way along our narrow village street (there is no off road parking in that part of the village and sensible people are still abed with their cars sensibly parked outside) er... stop with the diversions already. As I slalom my way along our village street, between cars which actually start when you turn the ignition key and trundle along nicely, the sun is nicely angled to go over the top of my sunglasses and right into my eyeballs.
I only really wear them in the first place to protect my eyes against little insects and pollen. Usually it works pretty well, if only the sun didn't blind me and render me incapable of seeing most of the parked cars. Usually I bounce from one to another like some human pinball. Thank goodness there's only a few hundred metres of that before I get to what Gruesome #2 calls "the never ending road". Which is, in reality of course, about 700 metres of tarmac between our village and the next.
Actually it's quite a nice stretch of straight, smooth tarmac with hardly any traffic - if I am passed by three cars the whole time I'm on it I would consider that very heavy congestion.
But I'm saving the scintillating description of the bike journey for a slow brain day. Today it's all about the bus stop names. Really I only want to mention two of them, because this afternoon I tried the two bus journey to Mönchengladbach again. Not out of choice.
On Friday we can finish work at 15:15. That's a nice theory and usually most of us are there for a lot longer than that. Last week was a bit horrible, hours wise, so I thought that today if I made sure my PC was all shut down, and my bag ready to go, if I left Extremely Promptly I'd make the 15:17 bus.
I thought wrong, of course, and missed the bus completely. A quick consultation of my oracle, or printed pages from the Deutsche Bahn website, showed me that I could do the short bus, long bus, short train via Mönchengladback combination. A pity since I wanted to be back early-ish to take Gruesome #1 to a party. But never mind. The carless family have to be flexible and show solidarity.
You might recall that this bus combination starts with a short bus journey, followed by a 20 minute wait for the longer journey (and I was really hoping for some more first class entertainment again). However, my first bus arrived one minute early and I managed to get another bus right away. Great.
Not very entertaining though because the only other passengers were a trio of German fifteen-year old girls listening to dire German rap. Really. I usually go to lunch with someone I work with who has a tendency to have really loud metal music on the car hi-fi which makes my ears bleed (yes, Marlies, that's you). But I'll take any amount of that over Dire German Rap. Yuk.
But let's go back to Bus number one because I completely forgot to mention the stops. Usually I give the bus driver a cheery "Guten Tag" as I swish past him waving my season ticket. Sometimes they grunt "tag" back at me, sometimes they just ignore me and often they look like rabbits caught in the headlights. I must consult the Unwritten Rules of Commuting to see if that is a huge Faux Pas. Anyway, today's driver was a grumpy old git who just glared at me as though he'd just brushed all the seats putting pretty patterns in the pile and I was some kind of fiendish interloper who would sit on several of them and ruin his handiwork.
As if.
So, in this opressive atmosphere off we toodled. As it's a short journey I just looked out of the window wondering how annoyed the car drivers were getting at us moving so slowly when the automated announcement for the next stop made me choke on my own saliva.
"Nächste Halt: Donk" (next stop: Donk)
There are a few places round here called Something-donk. Wachtendonk is a particular favourite of mine. Hülsdonk. But Donk on it's own spoke to my inner seven year old and I let out a huge snort of a laugh. Which was cut off in its prime when I caught the fierce glance the driver gave me via the rear-view mirror. Blimey. So when the nächste Halt turned out to be Am Schwarzen Pfuhl (By the Black Puddle) I had to pretend to blow my nose. For about 3 minutes.
I tried to give Lord Volde-driver a cheery "Tchüss" as I stepped off his vehicle but it stuck in my throat and I just settled for a quick nod in his general direction. The stop, Schloß Neersen, is the end of the line for that bus, and the driver whizzes off to a point about 200 metres away and parks up, nose to the road for about 10 minutes before he comes out and does the route in reverse. I was so glad the next bus turned up so quickly because I was really worried what those malevolent eyes might do to me as he drove past.
Luckily the rest of the journey was completely normal, or my poor ol' heart probably wouldn't have coped with the excitement!
Still, at least I'm not writing it in Elvish. Or Klingon. Yet.
This morning's journey was, again, uneventful. It being Friday and International Dress Down Day (TM) I decided that jeans and a t-shirt coupled with baby pink Chucks would be in order. And why not?
One thing that I've not yet mentioned about the bike part of the journey is that in the morning I travel sort of east south east, as Hornblower might put it. Which means that at 06:45am (what does the "0" stand for? Yep - "Oh my God it's early!" I know, I know. But the old ones really are the best.) Anyway, at 06:45am as I slalom my way along our narrow village street (there is no off road parking in that part of the village and sensible people are still abed with their cars sensibly parked outside) er... stop with the diversions already. As I slalom my way along our village street, between cars which actually start when you turn the ignition key and trundle along nicely, the sun is nicely angled to go over the top of my sunglasses and right into my eyeballs.
I only really wear them in the first place to protect my eyes against little insects and pollen. Usually it works pretty well, if only the sun didn't blind me and render me incapable of seeing most of the parked cars. Usually I bounce from one to another like some human pinball. Thank goodness there's only a few hundred metres of that before I get to what Gruesome #2 calls "the never ending road". Which is, in reality of course, about 700 metres of tarmac between our village and the next.
Actually it's quite a nice stretch of straight, smooth tarmac with hardly any traffic - if I am passed by three cars the whole time I'm on it I would consider that very heavy congestion.
But I'm saving the scintillating description of the bike journey for a slow brain day. Today it's all about the bus stop names. Really I only want to mention two of them, because this afternoon I tried the two bus journey to Mönchengladbach again. Not out of choice.
On Friday we can finish work at 15:15. That's a nice theory and usually most of us are there for a lot longer than that. Last week was a bit horrible, hours wise, so I thought that today if I made sure my PC was all shut down, and my bag ready to go, if I left Extremely Promptly I'd make the 15:17 bus.
I thought wrong, of course, and missed the bus completely. A quick consultation of my oracle, or printed pages from the Deutsche Bahn website, showed me that I could do the short bus, long bus, short train via Mönchengladback combination. A pity since I wanted to be back early-ish to take Gruesome #1 to a party. But never mind. The carless family have to be flexible and show solidarity.
You might recall that this bus combination starts with a short bus journey, followed by a 20 minute wait for the longer journey (and I was really hoping for some more first class entertainment again). However, my first bus arrived one minute early and I managed to get another bus right away. Great.
Not very entertaining though because the only other passengers were a trio of German fifteen-year old girls listening to dire German rap. Really. I usually go to lunch with someone I work with who has a tendency to have really loud metal music on the car hi-fi which makes my ears bleed (yes, Marlies, that's you). But I'll take any amount of that over Dire German Rap. Yuk.
But let's go back to Bus number one because I completely forgot to mention the stops. Usually I give the bus driver a cheery "Guten Tag" as I swish past him waving my season ticket. Sometimes they grunt "tag" back at me, sometimes they just ignore me and often they look like rabbits caught in the headlights. I must consult the Unwritten Rules of Commuting to see if that is a huge Faux Pas. Anyway, today's driver was a grumpy old git who just glared at me as though he'd just brushed all the seats putting pretty patterns in the pile and I was some kind of fiendish interloper who would sit on several of them and ruin his handiwork.
As if.
So, in this opressive atmosphere off we toodled. As it's a short journey I just looked out of the window wondering how annoyed the car drivers were getting at us moving so slowly when the automated announcement for the next stop made me choke on my own saliva.
"Nächste Halt: Donk" (next stop: Donk)
There are a few places round here called Something-donk. Wachtendonk is a particular favourite of mine. Hülsdonk. But Donk on it's own spoke to my inner seven year old and I let out a huge snort of a laugh. Which was cut off in its prime when I caught the fierce glance the driver gave me via the rear-view mirror. Blimey. So when the nächste Halt turned out to be Am Schwarzen Pfuhl (By the Black Puddle) I had to pretend to blow my nose. For about 3 minutes.
I tried to give Lord Volde-driver a cheery "Tchüss" as I stepped off his vehicle but it stuck in my throat and I just settled for a quick nod in his general direction. The stop, Schloß Neersen, is the end of the line for that bus, and the driver whizzes off to a point about 200 metres away and parks up, nose to the road for about 10 minutes before he comes out and does the route in reverse. I was so glad the next bus turned up so quickly because I was really worried what those malevolent eyes might do to me as he drove past.
Luckily the rest of the journey was completely normal, or my poor ol' heart probably wouldn't have coped with the excitement!
Day 3 - Thursday, 8th July 2010
Totally uneventful! The morning journey is becoming routine, which is good as I seem now to be losing the panicy temptation to jump on the first train I see. Very good, that, because usually the first train I see is going to Aachen. Now, I really like Aachen, it's up there with my favourite German cities (Hamburg and Köln for anyone who is taking notes) but I don't work there. I work, by public transport, at least 2-and-a-half hours in the other direction.
Where was i? (not Aachen - haha)
Oh yes. As the journey is becoming routine I'm able to relax a little more during the journey and surrepticiously observe my fellow commuters. Here's where the (non-existant) spy-training comes in useful. The only one of note so far, that I've seen every day is a chappie who wears black trousers with a very chunky key-chain depending from the waistband, a very thick-looking blouson jacket and one of those winter-fleecy headbands. His is black and he wears it over his eyes rather like Top Cat's sleep mask. (that reference is only for those of you old enough to remember the rather fabulous Top Cat. Truly, they don't make 'em like that any more).
Back to the strange chappie. His clothing seems unseasonal, but that's not what is odd about him. Also what isn't odd about him is the fact that he appears to be fast asleep. He's already on the train when I get on and is still there when I get off. No. The strange thing is that he sits in one seat and has a newspaper spread on the seat and part-way up the seat back of the seet opposite him. Becuase he has his feet up.
I can't help but feel that he can only enjoy this level of commutery comfort on a provincial commuter train. I fear that were he to try it in, say, Düsseldorf - which is not the friendliest city in these parts, it has to be said - he would soon find half a dozen youths perched on his outstretched legs.
OH! Here's a thought. I haven't actually seen him move. Maybe he died some while ago and nobody, because if you thought the British were reserved you really ought to get over here, has tried to wake him...
Tomorrow morning I'm going to see if I can check the date on his newspaper. At least we'll be able to establish an approximate date of death.
For the second day in a row I'd taken a skirt to work and this time some spiffy high-heeled sandles, which all fit rather nicely into my very handsome clip-on basket.
Homeward bound - the afternoon found me leaving early to take #1 Gruesome and myself off to the doctor for some jabs (both of us) and an annual check-up (me). Oh am I going to have a regular day of go to work, come home from work with nothing in between? Probably. But not today.
This time I went for the number 56 bus (same bus stop, rather boringly) which leaves at 47 minutes past the hour. Having hastily changed back into my (literally) pedal-pushers I sprinted (ambled - you'd be mad to sprint in this weather) to the stop and - lo! - the bus was on time. This one took me to Schloß Neersen where I jumped off and waited for the number 36 to take me to Mönchengladbach main station.
Unfortunately this version of the journey lasts a good 20 minutes longer than the ones I've used up to now and that 20 minutes is spent at the bus stop. But with the lovely weather and the bus stop being in the shade, it was an opportunity to read more of my current book. (50 Great Short Stories edited by Milton Crane)
Boringly the 36 arrived on time and wasn't overflowing so I managed to get a nice set of seats on the shady side of the bus. And off we meandered to Mönchengladbach which isn't a particularly nice town to look at but the countryside on the way is quite nice. The bus filled up slowly and for the last few stops I had both bags on my knee which isn't exactly uncomfortable but it is hot.
I gave up reading because one of the passengers was entertaining the whole bus. First she was a rather large young lady who had at least 3 bags with her. She plumped herself down on one of those groups of 4 seats (2 facing 2) and put her handbag on the seat next to her then filled the two seats opposite with her feet and her other two bags. If I were a little old lady I'd have done that shoulder tapping, pointed comment making thing but I'm not old enough... my time will come, however, so look out all future transgressors of the Unwritten Laws of Commuting.
That doesn't sound particularly entertaining. Annoying, definitely, but entertaining? No. The next thing, though, had the rest of the passengers entranced as she took out her phone and proceeded to hold a long, loud and very indiscrete conversation with (as it turned out) her mother. It concerned her (the large passenger) health, a possible pregnancy with a question about paternity and some other feminine-stylee medical issues. Yeurch.
The conversation ended with the words "now, mum, don't breathe a word of that to anyone, I don't want people to know" at which there was first a stunned slience. Then the 4 teenage girls sitting behind me let out such a huge screech of laughter that the rest of the passengers had no option but to join in.
Why oh why do they do it?
The rest of the journey, bus and spiffy double-decker train departing from Platform 5 at 16:49 was uneventful. I have high hopes for Friday, for Fridays are renowned for being the day that the nutters come out.
Where was i? (not Aachen - haha)
Oh yes. As the journey is becoming routine I'm able to relax a little more during the journey and surrepticiously observe my fellow commuters. Here's where the (non-existant) spy-training comes in useful. The only one of note so far, that I've seen every day is a chappie who wears black trousers with a very chunky key-chain depending from the waistband, a very thick-looking blouson jacket and one of those winter-fleecy headbands. His is black and he wears it over his eyes rather like Top Cat's sleep mask. (that reference is only for those of you old enough to remember the rather fabulous Top Cat. Truly, they don't make 'em like that any more).
Back to the strange chappie. His clothing seems unseasonal, but that's not what is odd about him. Also what isn't odd about him is the fact that he appears to be fast asleep. He's already on the train when I get on and is still there when I get off. No. The strange thing is that he sits in one seat and has a newspaper spread on the seat and part-way up the seat back of the seet opposite him. Becuase he has his feet up.
I can't help but feel that he can only enjoy this level of commutery comfort on a provincial commuter train. I fear that were he to try it in, say, Düsseldorf - which is not the friendliest city in these parts, it has to be said - he would soon find half a dozen youths perched on his outstretched legs.
OH! Here's a thought. I haven't actually seen him move. Maybe he died some while ago and nobody, because if you thought the British were reserved you really ought to get over here, has tried to wake him...
Tomorrow morning I'm going to see if I can check the date on his newspaper. At least we'll be able to establish an approximate date of death.
For the second day in a row I'd taken a skirt to work and this time some spiffy high-heeled sandles, which all fit rather nicely into my very handsome clip-on basket.
Homeward bound - the afternoon found me leaving early to take #1 Gruesome and myself off to the doctor for some jabs (both of us) and an annual check-up (me). Oh am I going to have a regular day of go to work, come home from work with nothing in between? Probably. But not today.
This time I went for the number 56 bus (same bus stop, rather boringly) which leaves at 47 minutes past the hour. Having hastily changed back into my (literally) pedal-pushers I sprinted (ambled - you'd be mad to sprint in this weather) to the stop and - lo! - the bus was on time. This one took me to Schloß Neersen where I jumped off and waited for the number 36 to take me to Mönchengladbach main station.
Unfortunately this version of the journey lasts a good 20 minutes longer than the ones I've used up to now and that 20 minutes is spent at the bus stop. But with the lovely weather and the bus stop being in the shade, it was an opportunity to read more of my current book. (50 Great Short Stories edited by Milton Crane)
Boringly the 36 arrived on time and wasn't overflowing so I managed to get a nice set of seats on the shady side of the bus. And off we meandered to Mönchengladbach which isn't a particularly nice town to look at but the countryside on the way is quite nice. The bus filled up slowly and for the last few stops I had both bags on my knee which isn't exactly uncomfortable but it is hot.
I gave up reading because one of the passengers was entertaining the whole bus. First she was a rather large young lady who had at least 3 bags with her. She plumped herself down on one of those groups of 4 seats (2 facing 2) and put her handbag on the seat next to her then filled the two seats opposite with her feet and her other two bags. If I were a little old lady I'd have done that shoulder tapping, pointed comment making thing but I'm not old enough... my time will come, however, so look out all future transgressors of the Unwritten Laws of Commuting.
That doesn't sound particularly entertaining. Annoying, definitely, but entertaining? No. The next thing, though, had the rest of the passengers entranced as she took out her phone and proceeded to hold a long, loud and very indiscrete conversation with (as it turned out) her mother. It concerned her (the large passenger) health, a possible pregnancy with a question about paternity and some other feminine-stylee medical issues. Yeurch.
The conversation ended with the words "now, mum, don't breathe a word of that to anyone, I don't want people to know" at which there was first a stunned slience. Then the 4 teenage girls sitting behind me let out such a huge screech of laughter that the rest of the passengers had no option but to join in.
Why oh why do they do it?
The rest of the journey, bus and spiffy double-decker train departing from Platform 5 at 16:49 was uneventful. I have high hopes for Friday, for Fridays are renowned for being the day that the nutters come out.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Day 2 - Wednesday, 7th July 2010
I'd wised up a bit by Wednesday morning. That meant that instead of running around like a mad thing making packed lunches I merely took the pre-prepared ones out of the fridge.
But somehow I seemed to leave 5 minutes later than the planned 06:45 and so there was another session of mad pedalling but it all went well and this time the wised-up me got on the right train, grabbed a seat and settled into my book as though I'd been doing this for years.
In order to keep to the meticulous schedule that I'd downloaded from those kind people at Deutsche Bahn, I walked over to the correct bus stop (to do it in 3 minutes I'd have had to walk on my hands or something). After 5 minutes of waiting I was starting to get cros, and a little worried that I'd miss my connection. This particular bus only runs once an hour so it would make me seriously late. To add to my annoyance my mobile phone was out of juice, so there was nothing for itt but to wait. And then, of course, the bus turned up and I made my connection and everything seemed to be running like clockwork.
The return trip went well, which meant that all the buses arived on time, and I got my trains as scheduled. The return trip is 2 buses and 2 trains and the bike. The 2nd train was one of those funky double deckers but it was really full and I had to stand. It's a bit of a trial because my stop is the 2nd one, but for the first stop the platform is on the other side and the only place to stand is by the door... there was a lot of shuffling and pushing but as the train pulled out of the station I carried out a surrepticious limb check and I appeared to have everything still.
This time instead of heading home I had to stop at Aldi to pick up some groceries. Only having the two baskets, both full of my daily necessaries, really concentrated my mind, shopping wise which was good. I'm hoping that the grocery bills will come down while we slowly eat our way through our store cupboard and chest freezer. In the latter I am pretty sure there is some frozen beetroot that our neighbour gave us. The problem being that the neighbour was at our old place, and we've lived in this one for more than ten years. Hmmmm.
Luckily there was football on TV (Germany getting knocked out of the World Cup by Spain in the semi-final) and so it wasn't a toil getting the next day's lunches ready.
Collapsed in a heap in bed about 30 seconds after the Gruesome Twosome went to bed. I'm also going to be saving money on electricity since I'm not going to be watching TV or messing around on the 'net.
The Yorkshirewoman in me approves of all this money saving!
But somehow I seemed to leave 5 minutes later than the planned 06:45 and so there was another session of mad pedalling but it all went well and this time the wised-up me got on the right train, grabbed a seat and settled into my book as though I'd been doing this for years.
In order to keep to the meticulous schedule that I'd downloaded from those kind people at Deutsche Bahn, I walked over to the correct bus stop (to do it in 3 minutes I'd have had to walk on my hands or something). After 5 minutes of waiting I was starting to get cros, and a little worried that I'd miss my connection. This particular bus only runs once an hour so it would make me seriously late. To add to my annoyance my mobile phone was out of juice, so there was nothing for itt but to wait. And then, of course, the bus turned up and I made my connection and everything seemed to be running like clockwork.
The return trip went well, which meant that all the buses arived on time, and I got my trains as scheduled. The return trip is 2 buses and 2 trains and the bike. The 2nd train was one of those funky double deckers but it was really full and I had to stand. It's a bit of a trial because my stop is the 2nd one, but for the first stop the platform is on the other side and the only place to stand is by the door... there was a lot of shuffling and pushing but as the train pulled out of the station I carried out a surrepticious limb check and I appeared to have everything still.
This time instead of heading home I had to stop at Aldi to pick up some groceries. Only having the two baskets, both full of my daily necessaries, really concentrated my mind, shopping wise which was good. I'm hoping that the grocery bills will come down while we slowly eat our way through our store cupboard and chest freezer. In the latter I am pretty sure there is some frozen beetroot that our neighbour gave us. The problem being that the neighbour was at our old place, and we've lived in this one for more than ten years. Hmmmm.
Luckily there was football on TV (Germany getting knocked out of the World Cup by Spain in the semi-final) and so it wasn't a toil getting the next day's lunches ready.
Collapsed in a heap in bed about 30 seconds after the Gruesome Twosome went to bed. I'm also going to be saving money on electricity since I'm not going to be watching TV or messing around on the 'net.
The Yorkshirewoman in me approves of all this money saving!
Day One - Tuesday, 6th July 2010
Monday had been fairly warm and what with the heat and the excitement of getting the SNB coupled with the absolute fear of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no transport meant that I didn't sleep very much. But nevermind! The sun shone, the Gruesome Twosome were playing along and not arguing with each other over breakfast.
But, as usual, the morning started to run away from me and after a round of packed lunch making and stuffing things into a bag, and 42 admonitions to the Gruesomes not to miss their bus I jumped on my bike and commenced mad pedalling.
Suddenly, I was at the station, out of breath and looking for somewhere safe to put my bike. A week or two ago Chef, who parks his in the bike racks, had his panniers stolen, and I don't want anything untoward happening to my own bike. So I found one of Telekom's funky public phones and chained the bike to that.
As I came up onto the platform the train was there so I hopped on it. It was only at the next stop that I realised that I was, in fact, on the wrong train. I live in such a one horse town that I'd stupidly assumed that there was only one train in the morning. In fact I managed to get off two stops down the line, trying to look as though I meant it and waited for my train to happen along.
A quick word about the trains. They are not the newest things in the world but they're not bad and they are clean. Luckily for people like me who forget to check all the stops between where I get on and off, they have automated announcements and also usually a display showing the next stop. A good thing was that the train was fairly full but not crowded enough that people had to stand (but several did - it turns out that many of them only ride on the train for a stop or two)
After half an hour on the train it was time to switch to the bus. My information, downloaded from the Deutsche Bahn website, told me that I had to walk for 3 minutes to the bus stop then take the number 87 (fast bus) for 3 minutes to the stop at Anrath Kirche where I was to wait for 8 minutes then take the number 71 to my destination in Willich.
As I got off the train a bus pulled in. It was a number 38 but I asked anyway and, lo, it was going to where I wanted to be. It even stopped at the stop that my next bus would come to. 8 or so minutes later my bus turned up, I got on and off we toodled.
Result: I was at work. And I wasn't late or anything.
But then I had to get home again. At 17:17 I presented myself at my bus-stop to get the 71 back to the church to get the 87 back to the station. But the first bus was late and as it pulled up to the stop, I saw my other bus pulling out. Not good, as my train was due to leave ten minutes later.
I found the correct stop to get the 87 to the station, to find that the 38, which I'd taken that morning, was due to leave at 17:41. Probably too late for my train, but what the heck, there would be another - I'd only have to wait an hour at most. But that bus was also late - and when I asked the driver so that I could be sure I was on the right bus to the right place, he got all stroppy. Hmmmm.
As it happened I got to the station at 17:55 to find out that there was a direct train home at 18:08, so I took that. My bike was still where I'd left it which was a bit of a bonus.
25 minutes later I made my triumphant entrance at home and promptly collapsed on the sofa in a heap.
But, as usual, the morning started to run away from me and after a round of packed lunch making and stuffing things into a bag, and 42 admonitions to the Gruesomes not to miss their bus I jumped on my bike and commenced mad pedalling.
Suddenly, I was at the station, out of breath and looking for somewhere safe to put my bike. A week or two ago Chef, who parks his in the bike racks, had his panniers stolen, and I don't want anything untoward happening to my own bike. So I found one of Telekom's funky public phones and chained the bike to that.
As I came up onto the platform the train was there so I hopped on it. It was only at the next stop that I realised that I was, in fact, on the wrong train. I live in such a one horse town that I'd stupidly assumed that there was only one train in the morning. In fact I managed to get off two stops down the line, trying to look as though I meant it and waited for my train to happen along.
A quick word about the trains. They are not the newest things in the world but they're not bad and they are clean. Luckily for people like me who forget to check all the stops between where I get on and off, they have automated announcements and also usually a display showing the next stop. A good thing was that the train was fairly full but not crowded enough that people had to stand (but several did - it turns out that many of them only ride on the train for a stop or two)
After half an hour on the train it was time to switch to the bus. My information, downloaded from the Deutsche Bahn website, told me that I had to walk for 3 minutes to the bus stop then take the number 87 (fast bus) for 3 minutes to the stop at Anrath Kirche where I was to wait for 8 minutes then take the number 71 to my destination in Willich.
As I got off the train a bus pulled in. It was a number 38 but I asked anyway and, lo, it was going to where I wanted to be. It even stopped at the stop that my next bus would come to. 8 or so minutes later my bus turned up, I got on and off we toodled.
Result: I was at work. And I wasn't late or anything.
But then I had to get home again. At 17:17 I presented myself at my bus-stop to get the 71 back to the church to get the 87 back to the station. But the first bus was late and as it pulled up to the stop, I saw my other bus pulling out. Not good, as my train was due to leave ten minutes later.
I found the correct stop to get the 87 to the station, to find that the 38, which I'd taken that morning, was due to leave at 17:41. Probably too late for my train, but what the heck, there would be another - I'd only have to wait an hour at most. But that bus was also late - and when I asked the driver so that I could be sure I was on the right bus to the right place, he got all stroppy. Hmmmm.
As it happened I got to the station at 17:55 to find out that there was a direct train home at 18:08, so I took that. My bike was still where I'd left it which was a bit of a bonus.
25 minutes later I made my triumphant entrance at home and promptly collapsed on the sofa in a heap.
Preparing the ground (or: know your enemy)
Trying to play catch-up with the blogging here - it's my first week and i'm already 2 days in arrears...
On Monday I had to take another spontaneous day off work (oh the hardship, in the beautiful sunshine) to add to the one from the Day The Punto Died. That one, Friday, was spent mostly cleaning things, cutting grass and digging weeds. But it left the weekend free. Monday was a whole other proposition.
First I had to get on my old boneshaker and cycle the 5kms into town (note to self: measure that soon) to the station ticket office to purchase a monthly season ticket. Silly idea since I was also after a new bike, so I took the bus instead.
The individual return train-fare per day is around EUR 19 so I was expecting it to be hugely expensive. As it turned out at EUR 151 it's much cheaper than a month's worth of petrol. The second task was more expensive, but a lot of fun. The bike shop had some offers on so I got a Shiny New Bike (SNB) with a funky clip-on front basket. The SNB has 21 gears which seems rather over-the-top for these parts. We are very close to The Netherlands, in fact we used to be The Netherlands at various points of history and so it's not surprising to find out that it is as flat as the proverbial pancake (of which plenty are consumed in The Netherlands). It's not uncommon to see people whizzing around town on their trekking-bikes with their feet going nineteen-to-the-dozen because they're in the wrong gear. I try hard not to point and laugh.
But 21 gears! As I pedalled the SNB away from the shop I was busting to try one of them but there is nothing remotely resembling an incline on my way home, except the tiny hump-backed bridge which even my old legs could manage on the mono-geared boneshaker. But still, as I approached the bridge I clicked around with the gears until suddenly I was in mad-pedalling mode and heading down the other side of the bridge with my legs a blur to any passing pedestrians. That's when I realised the other funky thing about the SNB: the brakes are both on the handlebars and no amount of back-pedalling was going to slow me down. But wooooo. Gears. Great!
After that it remained only for me to affix the large, flat basket to the rear of the SNB and I was ready to go. Of course that short sentence doesn't convey the hours of fun to be had with tiny wing-nuts, bolts which are not quite long enough and one of those stupidly fiddly IKEA-Stylee screw-tightening-thingys.
On Monday I had to take another spontaneous day off work (oh the hardship, in the beautiful sunshine) to add to the one from the Day The Punto Died. That one, Friday, was spent mostly cleaning things, cutting grass and digging weeds. But it left the weekend free. Monday was a whole other proposition.
First I had to get on my old boneshaker and cycle the 5kms into town (note to self: measure that soon) to the station ticket office to purchase a monthly season ticket. Silly idea since I was also after a new bike, so I took the bus instead.
The individual return train-fare per day is around EUR 19 so I was expecting it to be hugely expensive. As it turned out at EUR 151 it's much cheaper than a month's worth of petrol. The second task was more expensive, but a lot of fun. The bike shop had some offers on so I got a Shiny New Bike (SNB) with a funky clip-on front basket. The SNB has 21 gears which seems rather over-the-top for these parts. We are very close to The Netherlands, in fact we used to be The Netherlands at various points of history and so it's not surprising to find out that it is as flat as the proverbial pancake (of which plenty are consumed in The Netherlands). It's not uncommon to see people whizzing around town on their trekking-bikes with their feet going nineteen-to-the-dozen because they're in the wrong gear. I try hard not to point and laugh.
But 21 gears! As I pedalled the SNB away from the shop I was busting to try one of them but there is nothing remotely resembling an incline on my way home, except the tiny hump-backed bridge which even my old legs could manage on the mono-geared boneshaker. But still, as I approached the bridge I clicked around with the gears until suddenly I was in mad-pedalling mode and heading down the other side of the bridge with my legs a blur to any passing pedestrians. That's when I realised the other funky thing about the SNB: the brakes are both on the handlebars and no amount of back-pedalling was going to slow me down. But wooooo. Gears. Great!
After that it remained only for me to affix the large, flat basket to the rear of the SNB and I was ready to go. Of course that short sentence doesn't convey the hours of fun to be had with tiny wing-nuts, bolts which are not quite long enough and one of those stupidly fiddly IKEA-Stylee screw-tightening-thingys.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
I declare this blog open...
And finally. I join the world of the blogger.
But after having resisted it for so long - and indeed blogging (after a fashion) elsewhere, why the sudden interest?
This story has its beginning in a small German town near the border with Holland. There I live with my other half (Chef) and the world famous Gruesome Twosome. We have relatively good public transport links between our town and the rest of the universe (by bus and train), and between the village where we live and the town (by bus) but in general it is necessary to have one, preferably two cars. Because, for instance, our bus service does not operate after 6pm or at weekends or on public holidays.
A few months ago Chef, who works in Düsseldorf, announced that his car was Kaput and would be to expensive to fix. Moreover he wanted to start going to work on the train as it would save money and the environment and - more importantly - he would be able to listen to music. Since he has to leave the house before the buses start the plan was for him to take the opportunity to get fit and go to the station on his bike.
Mother nature didn't really like this plan, and certainly didn't like the idea of me festering in bed until 6am and so it snowed. With a vengence. We haven't had that much snow here since who knows when. But eventually the snow went, and life settled down to normal. Chef pronounced himself more than satisfied with the train service, and cycling was working out well.
My car then started to show signs of reaching the end of a long and dusty road. I'd had to call out the breakdown service a few times and just recently they have taken to shaking their heads and double checking when I mention that it's done over 350,000 kms.
Friday, the 2nd of July was Punto's last journey. It made it into town to drop Gruesome #2 at school, then it made it to just outside town before it started to shake, rattle and roll in a most alarming fashion. To cut a long story short: the car is no more and an alternative way of travelling the 35kms to Willich, where I work, had to be found.
It's flat here so everyone has a pushbike. I'm no exception, and so in a moment of reckless enthusiasm I decided that I'd let the train take the strain. Chef had a bit of a chuckle, and we scratched our heads a little, and the result was that on Monday 5th July I became the proud owner of a shiny new bike with - gasp! - 21 gears and a rather groovy clip on basket.
This blog, then, will be a record of my journey to work. How I get on with my one-month trial season ticket. How often the German trains didn't live up to their reputation for a fearsome punctuality. And, probably, a record of what I read on those journeys. Because, let's face it, this is me. As much as I like riding my shiny new bike, and as much as I hate driving: reading is the stuff of life.
In fact, I rather suspect that Chef thinks that I sabotaged the car in order to get in some quality time with my books!
But after having resisted it for so long - and indeed blogging (after a fashion) elsewhere, why the sudden interest?
This story has its beginning in a small German town near the border with Holland. There I live with my other half (Chef) and the world famous Gruesome Twosome. We have relatively good public transport links between our town and the rest of the universe (by bus and train), and between the village where we live and the town (by bus) but in general it is necessary to have one, preferably two cars. Because, for instance, our bus service does not operate after 6pm or at weekends or on public holidays.
A few months ago Chef, who works in Düsseldorf, announced that his car was Kaput and would be to expensive to fix. Moreover he wanted to start going to work on the train as it would save money and the environment and - more importantly - he would be able to listen to music. Since he has to leave the house before the buses start the plan was for him to take the opportunity to get fit and go to the station on his bike.
Mother nature didn't really like this plan, and certainly didn't like the idea of me festering in bed until 6am and so it snowed. With a vengence. We haven't had that much snow here since who knows when. But eventually the snow went, and life settled down to normal. Chef pronounced himself more than satisfied with the train service, and cycling was working out well.
My car then started to show signs of reaching the end of a long and dusty road. I'd had to call out the breakdown service a few times and just recently they have taken to shaking their heads and double checking when I mention that it's done over 350,000 kms.
Friday, the 2nd of July was Punto's last journey. It made it into town to drop Gruesome #2 at school, then it made it to just outside town before it started to shake, rattle and roll in a most alarming fashion. To cut a long story short: the car is no more and an alternative way of travelling the 35kms to Willich, where I work, had to be found.
It's flat here so everyone has a pushbike. I'm no exception, and so in a moment of reckless enthusiasm I decided that I'd let the train take the strain. Chef had a bit of a chuckle, and we scratched our heads a little, and the result was that on Monday 5th July I became the proud owner of a shiny new bike with - gasp! - 21 gears and a rather groovy clip on basket.
This blog, then, will be a record of my journey to work. How I get on with my one-month trial season ticket. How often the German trains didn't live up to their reputation for a fearsome punctuality. And, probably, a record of what I read on those journeys. Because, let's face it, this is me. As much as I like riding my shiny new bike, and as much as I hate driving: reading is the stuff of life.
In fact, I rather suspect that Chef thinks that I sabotaged the car in order to get in some quality time with my books!
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