German hospitality, Bubbles in the water and the S…

German hospitality, Bubbles in the water and the Swiss

Been a few days, so let s have a look at what happened.

I had a trip up to Nuremburg to meet up with Annthea, took the train from Munich. As soon as I got there I went to book the special price for the train trip south to Switzerland. I was informed the special had to have 3 days advance booking and also can only be booked over the internet. So I had to get the more expensive ticket, and my credit card failed due to the car hire company not reversing my deposit for the car rental in Croatia. Argh, I managed to get some cash together (Thanks Dad) and was all booked up.


Annthea

I then too a train the wrong direction, quickly followed by taking the correct direction, towards where the Nuremburg trials court room is located. After a bit of traveling, looking at guide books and asking some questions I found it. It was closed for restoration. Argh. So I traipsed back to the station to check out the old city of Nuremburg. It s a pretty town, I was quite tired and not really in a big walk and sightseeing mood, but I did my best. I walked up the main street stopping at old churches, a café and even climbed a viewing tower in a castle. I ended up sitting in a café reading for an hour before I took another little walk to see the town walls and get back to the train station where I was meeting Annthea. I read some more, and then some more, and another few chapters, and then a bit more, I had an idea at what time Annthea was arriving, but I discovered that her phone wasn t working too well and her text messages hadn t got through to me. After 2 ½ hours of reading she appeared with some old family friends who were to host us that night.

It was a great night, looking at old photos, talking about Tasmania and eating some more German bratwurst. That night Annthea and I were sleeping in the same room and talked for hours, which was great.


The Zeppelin Grounds

Way too early the next morning, well not too early, but we didn t get a lot of sleep due to all the talking, we headed off back to Nuremburg to see a couple more relics of the second world war. The first was the Zeppelin Field, while you may have no idea what this place is, I can assure you have seen it. It s where Nazi rallies were held. Check the picture, that s where the speeches were made. An eerie feeling to stand in the same place that I know from the many history documentaries I have seen over the years.

The next stop was a museum that chronicled the rise of the Nazi s. An amazing walk through museum with an audio guide giving information about everything. Also some big video screens and lots of artifacts on display. It was quite a sad place, learning of what happened and it ended with some information about the Nuremburg Trials. I now know quite a bit more about that unbelievable period in history.

I was then whisked away for my 5 hour train trip south to St Gallen and to Tori. The train trip was filled with me learning about the early life of Heathcliffe in Wuthering Heights and trying to ignore the large group of late teens boys who had bought a couple of slabs and had a grand old time singing and harassing the other passengers.
At the station I met Tori and Raphael, her Swiss boy, and went for a drive to where he lived and where I was to be staying. He s quite a nice boy and it was great to see Tori so smitten with him, very cute!

That night we played some pool, had some more sausage (this time swiss) and just caught up on life. Next day we went for a bit of a drive back to St Gallen to have a look and also to buy a new power cord for the laptop, the power connection on the old one is kaput. All good now and cheaper than expected, plus I discovered I could use my card again! Horrah!

We drove for a bit through the country side, I had to try give Raphael enough time to stop the car when I saw a good photo, and it s not all that easy stopping on small winding roads.

We went up a mountain in a gondola and was amazed by the view, which, luckily for me, was clouded over. A bit of lunch followed and then back down and drove back via some small towns to Raphael s. A nice dinner and then I updated his MP3 collection with a heap of stuff he had never heard of. I also fell a little sick, I have a problem with bubbles, they don’t mix with my stomach. I’ll be ok, just no more mineral water.


The view from the mountain

A bit more pool (yes Benny, I lost all the games!). Watched Lola Rennt in the original German, and then off to bed.

That brings us to today, which involved seeing a waterfall which wasn t that high but had an impressive amount of water coming over it. Checking out a small town and searching for a copy of William Tell in English (no luck… Benny, you got one for me?). Also had a great bit of wind and rain while eating out lunch outside. It was a really nothing day, the only photos I took were of Tori and Raphael before I got on the train, which is where I am now.


Tori and Bat

On my previous train (2 hour trip) I was sitting opposite and next to a Swiss girl who was studying Biology and heading off to visit a friend. She asked lots of questions about Tasmania and I did a quick portrait of her. It s great when you are on a train just to have someone to talk to, makes it all go by so much quicker. No such luck on this train. I m about an hour away from Munich and an early night so I can jump on the train to the Netherlands tomorrow (only 9 hours traveling time!)