Getting the train to Berlin from Leipzig. Not difficult and not far from the hotel to the station. In an effort to ensure we were all coping, the lovely Sonia from Martin Randall checked that everyone not on the group flight was ok and knew what they were doing. I agreed to leave early in the same taxi as an elderly Australian lady who was off to The Hague. Came downstairs 5 mins before the set time to discover she’d left without me. Good start. Also some of the people who were flying had had their flight cancelled by BA without a word and without anyone answering the phone, the email etc. When last seen they were on a 5 hour coach ride to Hamburg as Martin Randall had bought them all tickets.

Train ride to Berlin went without a hitch despite the combination of reading about the new Covid variant whilst the woman next to me sniffed and coughed.

Arriving at the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin, discovered there was nowhere to store luggage. All the lockers were full. Lot of thought and lunch later, booked a private storage company to leave it in an off licence run by a Sri Lankan gentleman to whom I apologised when he mentioned colonialism. If I never see it again, let’s hope the insurance will pay.

I did manage some tourism but it was still over 30 degrees and, in a city, with the heat pinging up off the concrete, it’s worse.

The next picture below is one of the captions above. It is appalling but we need to remember that this is what Fascism and the demonisation of ‘the other’ leads to.

Eventually, I reclaimed my suitcase – a nice chat about cricket with the guy whose shop it was – and went back to the station. Had a drink and a club sandwich in a hotel bar outside – as recommended by https://www.seat61.com/index-mobile.htm. He is the expert on all things railway.

The sleeper train to Brussels was an eye opener. It’s been put on by this start up (there was a leaflet in the cabin asking for investors to expand their service). The carriages are sleepers from the 70s I would reckon. They looked vaguely familiar anyway. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Sean Connery had sidled in in the middle of the night, suit perfectly pressed and gun in his hand, asking me to hide him. I feel my days as a Bond girl may be over though and the bunks (three to a cabin) are a bit small for canoodling. I had a cabin to myself and am pleased to report that I can still climb on a chair and a table before vaulting into the middle bunk.

Of course I missed the Eurostar……. However, they changed my ticket for a later one without a charge and I was (eventually) able to change my GWR ticket. Had to pay extra for that one, obvs.

I have now made it to Paddington (no taxis at St Pancras) so I am going to post this Two words of wisdom before I go – if you go on an organised tour and they offer you transport, take them up on it. Also, if you live outside London and have both a senior rail card and an Oyster card, you can get a discount on the latter. You have to get a TFL person to programme it but good to know that it’s there.