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Can I just say how disappointed I am with German trains? Not the trains themselves, they are generally quite comfortable and staffed by pleasant people. No, the thing I despise is the running. They are, usually, as reliable as a busted watch. In fact, I asked the information desk at Cologne today if my train had been cancelled and the helpful woman said it was not and was, in fact, “Almost on time.” Says it all really because virtually every other train was very late or cancelled.
And why do they suggest that a late running train is not an inconvenience?
My train was, in fact, only ten minutes late. The thing is though, because of an earlier cancelled train all the reservations were reset to zero. Get a seat if you can, was the order of the day. I managed because people are nice.
But, ignoring that for a moment, my morning in cologne was excellent. Firstly because I’d had an excellent amount of sleep and, secondly because I discovered the Ludwig Museum, which is now my favourite contemporary art gallery.
I didn’t bother with the special exhibition on at the moment. It was sold out anyway but it didn’t matter. I boldly strolled into the permanent collection and was blown away.
It’s huge, so I’ll clearly have to return to cologne to see more but what I did see, I loved. Mostly.
I especially loved the Return to Turtle Island exhibition. It told the story of the indigenous natives of America by contrasting the show habit of owning enduring they stole and reinterpreting them back to their original meanings.
I have mentioned before in this blog how white explorers have a habit of naming things that already have names and this exhibition took it a step further.
For instance, above is a tinted monochrome photo from 1904 showing a group of wealthy people heading for Sagamore Dock on Green Island in Lake George. The original inhabitants of the area had a much better name for the lake than one shared by some obscure monarch. They called it Lake that shuts itself in.
The room is full of these sorts of images with the original names of places.
Then there’s the Jingle Dance, as performed by Marie Watt in her 13 Moons installation. She invites people to lightly shake the hanging things to make them jingle. A video shows her preparing then performing the traditional dance.
Turtle Island is part of a Native American creation myth which is well worth reading. Here’s a link. I do like a good creation myth.
The whole thing was a real eye opener and something I am keen on looking into. Sadly the gallery shop did not have a book on the exhibition. Not even in any language. They missed out on a sale there.
Train #12: Cologne hbf to Hamburg hbf
As I wrote above, the train arrived a mere ten minutes late and everyone piled on. The thing was that the seats and carriages no longer applied. It was everyone for themselves. And the train was packed. A lovely young woman gave me her seat after a man offered me his.
I am always amazed at the generosity of some of my fellow travellers.
The journey to Hamburg was full of trying to make time up, something that seems to be completely impossible. The train never really improved beyond the ten minutes.
Connection to my train to Copenhagen was going to be tight. It wasn’t originally. When I booked it, I figured half an hour would be plenty, particularly given how well I know Hamburg station. But that was before the train time and the platforms changed, and then it was delayed.
As each station went by, so did the time we were late by. Obviously there was no point in worrying. I sat back and read.
Then, somehow, we did make up time and arrived in Hamburg three minutes early. I guess it was just ironic that my train to Copenhagen had had its departure changed by three minutes earlier as well.
Train #13: Hamburg to Copenhagen Padborg
Sadly, there was no time to buy a bratwurst at Hamburg. That’s twice this trip. Vexing, to say the least.
And of course, the train left three minutes late.
All was going well as we headed towards the Danish border then, a surprise announcement. At Padborg, we were told that the train we were on would no longer be going to Copenhagen. Another train would arrive for us to catch. It would arrive in an hour. The only good thing in this was that we could stay on the train until the other train arrived.
And, of course, no reason was given. It’s a real pity I can’t avoid Germany when catching trains.
Eventually, we were told to leave the train and head up the platform where our new train would arrive soon. Which it did. And so…
Unexpected Train #13.1: Padborg to Copenhagen
And so with a “Welcome to Denmark” from the tannoy, we headed north. Again. At least we were out of Germany, I guess. However, I should not have relaxed.
We had a very slow, stop and start trip to Copenhagen. There were only two stops beforehand but then there were bits of single track which other trains kept beating us to. We had been told that the train should arrive at 01:16 but, clearly, this was for comedic effect because that time came and went quite quickly.
At one stage I had an email from my hotel asking if I still wanted the room because they had a policy that if you didn’t arrive by 03:00 they’d lock you out and throw away your room key. Maybe half the homeless I see, sleeping on benches, are just people locked out of their hotels.
Anyway, I wrote back and assured them I still wanted a bed but would still be a while. Inside I was hoping it wouldn’t be after 03:00. But that, as it turned out, was not the biggest concern.
No, you see as we arrived at Copenhagen Central, a loud message rang out saying the station was closing, and we had to either stay on the platforms or leave. There was a sudden rush for the escalator. I always maintain that I don’t rush for anything. This, however, is not true. I certainly rushed out of the station.
I managed to reach the hotel at 02:00, a full hour before lock out time. I checked in, relieved. The guy behind reception even gave me an apple.
Phew!
So as not to end this post on such a foul note, Sandra sent me this wonderful selfie from our trip to the winery. How could I possibly not include it.
We always sat together for breakfast and dinner at our end of the big dining table.
