Alsace Walk 2007, Day 7 – 21st July 2007

I slept well and had a good breakfast in the coffee shop at the front of the hotel. To my surprise the packing wasn’t as horrendous as I thought it might be and the suitcase closed first time. Nevertheless it was around 10am by the time I handed in my key and asked for directions to the railway station. It turned out to be a short walk and not too difficult with the case and the rucksack (now really heavy as it had my p.c. in it).

I got to the station at about 10:20am, only to discover that I had missed the train to Strasbourg by 10 minutes and that the next train was at 11:30am. I had asked the train times in my best French and was surprised (but secretly relieved) when the ticket man replied in English (the first time this happened on the whole holiday).

I decided to have a last look around the town and towed my suitcase and rucksack around with me as I trolled around the squares and the city walls for just over an hour killing time.

When I got back to the station there was a train waiting on the single line track. It was very modern and new looking. After a little confusion amongst the crowd waiting it was confirmed that this was the train to Strasbourg and we all climbed on. Once the train was under way the guard came round and checked the tickets. When I showed him mine he said that I should have stamped it in the machine on the platform before getting on. I played dumb and he said, “Are you a foreigner?” “Yes”, “OK, it doesn’t matter” and he pressed on.

I bid a silent farewell to the hills of Alsace as the train headed north. I felt very sad to be leaving. It had been a great holiday, and I really wasn’t ready for it to be over.

The train journey was only 30 minutes and when I got to Strasbourg I found that the station seemed to lack lifts and a left luggage office, though I was to discover later, when I no longer needed either that it had both. I had 2.5 hours to kill in Strasbourg so I dragged my suitcase and lugged my rucksack around the city.

The first thing I discovered was that the front of the railway station has been made to look all “space-age” by covering it in glass. To my mind it looked more like a sausage or perhaps an inflated condom!



I walked up round the centre. I’m sure it was pretty, but the weather was cloudy and I was feeling a little blue.


I found a café for a beer in a busy square called something like “Place du Homme de Fer” or something like that.


I had a very nice beer, but when I tried to order a second one and something to eat the waiter disappeared. I sat there for 30 minutes and eventually gave up. I headed back towards the station and crossed the bridge over the Rhine again.



You can see the brasserie I tried next in the photo, the place with the red awning. I sat and waited 10 minutes before I got a menu and then promptly left when I realised that the only beers this “brasserie” did where Kronenbourg and Heineken!

So there was nothing for it – head back to the station. I had a sandwich and a nice beer standing at the bar in the basement area of the station and then checked out the newsagents. I was stunned to see they had the new Harry Potter for sale. The thought of the 5 hour train journey made it irresistible.

I then had 30 minutes waiting in the booking hall before the platform for the train back to Brussels was announced. I was surprised to see one of the two couples that had been walking the same trail and ignoring me waiting for the Brussels train too. They weren’t Dutch at all they were Belgian – and probably the least friendly Belgians I had ever met!

The journey flashed by thanks to Harry Potter. The only remarkable thing was the lack of toilets on the train. As far as I could make out there were only 2 operating toilets on the whole train, and of course no buffet either.

I got off the train at the Luxembourg station in Brussels and took a cab to Julie’s house. She had lent me the keys as she was off on holiday in Germany with Alan, or so I thought.

After dropping my bags and failing to get connected to Julie’s wireless internet I went to a very nice Italian restaurant (you know the type, no pizza on the menu) and had an excellent meal of tomatoes with mozzarella followed by kidneys Italian sty;e. I was just finishing the meal when I got a call from Julie to say she was back in town with Alan and Alan’s daughter as Julie had fallen and broken her ankle! I still had a bed, but not the apartment to myself (not a problem, and with Alan’s help the next day I managed to connect to the internet).

I planned to go to “The Bank” for a cider and a read of Harry Potter, but on my way there I got a phone call from another Hash buddy reminding me that today was Belgian National Day and to tell me there was a large crowd of my friends were heading to the park outside the palace to watch the fireworks, and would I like to join them?

Inevitably the trams didn’t run all the way into town because of the celebrations and so I was late and then I couldn’t find my friends in the mêlée until after the fireworks, which were, as usual, spectacular.

I didn’t have my camera with me but I managed to get these photos on my mobile phone.







Afterwards Lawrence and Tiffany and I went for just one last beer and then it was back to Julie’s – the holiday was officially over.