Monthly Archives: January 2025

Are you from Stockholm?

Madrid Atocha railway station is horrendous. First up, it’s massive, which means they need a lot of signage. The signage competes with itself, making it very confusing. Then, of course, there are all the advertising signs which also claim your … Continue reading

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No photos at the Prado, please

You are not allowed to take photos in the Prado. While it did annoy me a bit, when I found so many St Sebastien’s, it did give me a wonderful opportunity to watch how people took sneaky photos. They could … Continue reading

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Nothing wrong with the tapas

Our train to Madrid was delayed by 50 minutes.  Mirinda was stunned. She kept repeating it, asking me to clarify. “Five, Oh?” She said incredulously. Eventually, convinced, she left me with the luggage and went for a walk. Train 7: … Continue reading

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Viva la France

We were going to have dinner at La Violette tonight but, when Mirinda dropped in to book it, she was told it was only open for lunch today. The fact that we were in Avignon and La Violette is our … Continue reading

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Second ugliest place in Germany

I make no secret about my love of Japanese food. And, while Mannheim may have little to recommend it in terms of beauty, it has an excellent Japanese restaurant. It is called Senju and I really recommend the ramen. If … Continue reading

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Drinks or emergency snacks

Say what you like about German ferry boat receptionists, but they are impervious to Gaz Charm. It’s a rare skill and very annoying. Mind you, she did redeem herself by letting us off the ferry while frantically searching for the … Continue reading

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These mandarins are not for the likes of you

And so our Grand Tour begins. Train 1: Vagnhärad to Norrköping We left the girls in the capable hands of the Belgians while Jonas drove us to Vagnhärad for our first train. KSP had volunteered but was then co-opted by … Continue reading

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Meeting the Belgians

After I complained about the weather yesterday, this morning we had a glimpse of blue sky and sun. Of course, it didn’t last. By around 11, as we took the recycling down to the big bins, the clouds, like locusts, … Continue reading

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Booking trains

Why, suddenly, is everyone saying ‘vibe’? It’s getting very annoying. I thought it was an abbreviation of vibrator but, apparently, not. It seems to mean ‘feeling’ or ‘mood’. If you ask me, it’s lazy and inherently overused. So, stop it. … Continue reading

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Trosa to Nyköping and back again

Yesterday, Nicoline had a problem with her car. It left her stranded outside ICA, refusing to work. She rang me but, because we were having lunch, and I’m super slack, I didn’t get the message for an hour. In that … Continue reading

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