We set the alarm for 6:30 so we could have a relaxed start to the day, as it turned out it was probably a bit early as it gave us time to remember all the things we haven’t done such as getting the timer plugs out of the shed and the lamps out of the loft so we just went with the ‘leave the lights on’ option! After having breakfast I did the washing up then it was just a case of checking we had everything in the cases, pulling all the blinds and getting ready to leave. We had decided we would walk to the station even though it is very cold and trying hard to rain. We made it to the station before the heavens opened and got on the train from Bracknell to Reading, all on time, we got a seat so far so good! We arrived in Reading to find that most of the trains were running late, but as they all leave from the same platform we decided we would go to the platform and get on the next fast train to Paddington. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case, I am not sure where it had come from but by the time it got to Reading it was standing room only so we decided to wait for the next one, this was a little better, we both got a seat although not next to each other and although it was scheduled to be 2 trains before ours we managed to arrive in Paddington at the time we had originally planned. Despite the tube strike yesterday the Hammersmith and city line was running ok, although again quite busy so 3.5 hours after we set off from home we arrived in Kings Cross St Pancras. We went to M&S to pick up a sandwich and some water as we were not sure about the meal on the train then went through to the train. Check-in was relatively smooth, a lot easier than flying, despite the fact our bag was selected for a check as they didn’t seem to like the tripod! Going through passport control you actually get a stamp in your passport, something that hasn’t happened in Europe for quite some time and you can visit duty free! We ate one of our sandwiches while we were waiting to board then 20 minutes before we were due to leave they called us to board. We were in carriage 1 right at the back of the train, so we settled in for the journey. We were served lunch, which I had some of but Chris didn’t bother, but we both had a drink and some coffee which is probably what we needed most. We arrived on time to a damp Paris and walked from Gare du Nord around to Gare du Est which is where the Strasbourg train departs. We have an hour and a half to do the journey which actually only took about 10 minutes so after a walk around the station we finally found somewhere that was selling drinks so we ordered a couple of beers, luckily the server spoke really good English and pointed out to us that rather than a can we could have beer on draft if we wanted so we did that. Once we finished our drinks we thought we would have another walk round to station to keep warm but the platform was announced for our train so we went and got on. You have to show your COVID pass before you are allowed to the ticket gate, but the system seems to work really well. We have seats on the upper deck which would be fantastic if it wasn’t dark out! But they are very comfortable and right next to the bar carriage so what more could you ask for. The train is due to take just under 2 hours to reach Strasbourg so we settled in for a comfortable ride. We arrived on time at Strasbourg then was the challenge of finding the hotel. It looked really easy on the map and I am sure if it had been light it would have been fine, but unfortunately it took us a couple of attempts to find it! They have increased security in the area so rather bizarrely we had to open our cases but they didn’t really look at anything and didn’t worry about our rucksacks which seems a little strange. Anyway we eventually found the hotel which is in a great location and when we went up to our room it is lovely we have a sofa and a balcony that looks out over the canals. We unpacked then went down to the bar for a drink before heading back to the room for a coffee and hopefully a good nights sleep.
