The lead up

1 October 2009

Jason says: Getting to departure was intense. Work event on Saturday, half marathon on Sunday, 3 days to wrap up work….meetings, reports, last minute firefighting. Amongst this my MacBook seemingly died which prompted me to cuss and yell. I was going to be denied email, music, videos and the new Nick Hornby audiobook. Fortunately, later that night I revived the machine and all was right with the world…although I suspect my tantrum caused me to lose points with Catherine. Anyway, amateur IT repairs and last minute packing meant that I went to bed too late (2:30am) and got up too early (5:30am). But, we got out the door on time.

Transport-wise, so far so good. Trains to Brussels then into Germany were roomy, comfortable and fast. However, food for pseudo-vegetarians is in short supply.

Catherine says: I couldn't possibly comment on Jason's Pre Journey Tension (PJT). Suffice to say I recognise that the relationship with aforementioned MacBook laptop is pivotal to Jason's existence.

The journey was unbelievably easy. It's far harder to cross London by train than it is to cross the Channel and traverse three European countries. Maybe the legendary German efficiency, which ensure trains arrive on time, are clean quiet and spacious is a factor. The only flaw was the lack of on board veggie cuisine. You can have Bratwurst, Knackfurst and Hahnchenknusperfilet to your heart's delight but meat free brings expressions of concern and sharp intakes of breath. Deutsche Bahn must have got a very good deal on end of line salami and emmenthal cheese. Our market research, albeit it not totally scientific, revealed that the ONLY sandwich available on DB trains is the "Salami mit Emmenthal" variety. That is, apart from the Fitness Baguette, which involves unfeasibly large quantities of chicken mayonnaise stuffed into a 12" baguette. Presumably the fitness element refers to the effort needed in lifting it.

We arrived in Bielefeld, via Brussels and Cologne, expecting nothing more than a dull provincial town. Maybe Coventry or Fresno on a wet Sunday afternoon (more likely to be wet in Coventry). The reason for visiting was that it seemed to be the closest we could get to the seat of the Mollring dynasty at Hucker Kreutz. More to come on Bielefeld....