Angie arrived at 9:45am to pick us up just after breakfast. She joined us for coffee and we got the bags down the two flights of stairs, down the front stairs, and into her car. Off we went, heading for Lichtenfels about 15 minutes down the road.
Arrived after a short and pleasant trip, parked in the parking lot, and we went in to get the ticket. The first time we tried the ticket printing machine it gave us a 'kommunication error', but the second time we won and it gave us the printed tickets for each segment of our journey. Many thanks again to Angie and her mom Silvia for their knowledge of how to reserve the seats for the journey. This was much easier than standing in line.
Then we prowled the town for awhile to see what Lichtenfels was all about. It was a charming little place, a very small 'downtown' area that had lovely little shops and an excellent place to stop for coffee and an apple treat. Then back to the Banhof (train station) to get the train. Angie helped to get the gear up the elevator (which was stuck and she had to go up a flight of stairs and bring it down to us) and then we stood and waited for the train. The wind howled and the rain fell, the opposite of the last two days of fine weather, but we didn't care as we were undercover at the station. The train arrived, on schedule, and with hardly time to wave goodbye we were loaded in and gone. Many thanks to Angie for making this a truly excellent visit on our trip. She is a lovely young lady and very special to us.
OUr first stop, and train change, was Wurzburg, our next stop will be Frankfurt (I'm writing this on the train) where we will change trains again to head for Brussels. Then an overnight stay with a plan to head for London on Sunday, final stop in London, home with Leanne and Tara.
We made the train change at Wurzburg without incident, and got our luggage onto the Frankfurt-bound train. In her wisdom, Angie made the reservations allowing an hour for train changes in each station, perfect for Jan and I to have a quick coffee and snack and still find the next platform in lots of time, without stress.
After a couple of hours, we got to the Frankfurt station and made the platform change to the high-speed train bound for Brussels in Belgium. High-speed indeed, once I looked up to see a current speed of 261km/hr posted on the information board above our heads. That's quick, 240kmh is 150 miles per hour, not jet speeds but the scenery sure moves by quickly outside.
At last, Brussels, and a quick taxi ride to the hotel. We landed at Brussels North and got off. Tomorrow we leave on the EuroStar for London from Brussels Midi, right across from our hotel. For now, bed, exhausted.
