The last train from Clarksville and other Random Thoughts.

Striking Close but no Direct Hit.

We made it through the rail strike and out of Germany.  We are now in Amsterdam. Our first train from Cochem looked like the one most at risk as the two prior trains and the one after were cancelled for at least part of the route. Patti and I said a few prayers in hopes of getting out last night and God was willing.  We were concerned that the train would be stuffed with folks.  The only thing it was stuffed with was mountain bikers. In our car was about a dozen guys my age and a little older getting ready to hammer the trails. They were getting some talking to by the conductor as they completely jammed up about half of the car spilling way out of the bike transport section. While I could not understand the language I could tell he was saying that they were on now and that was that. 

Things got a little more interesting in Duisburg, the second to last stop from the German border.  When we opened our doors here the noise in our first class car bumped up a few notches and it just started to feel crowded. Not sure if I had mentioned this already, when Patti had purchased our Eurorail tickets she was unable to get anything other than first class. In keeping with our propensity to get a good a deal Patti picked up a few discounts that amounted to 10% off, so maybe it was close to a wash. Anyway, we were 20 minutes delayed from leaving this station. At about 10 minutes into the delay a stern threat came over the address system warning that the train was too full and any passengers not in a seat would be arrested. It was good to be sitting. 

High Speed. 

We changed trains in Koblenz and hopped on a high speed to Hamburg that we were going to get off in Koln and then on to Amsterdam. Patti remarked that it was nice to be in a high speed with no stops.  That is unless you are going the wrong direction. 

Terraced. 

We zipped down the rails by the steep valley walls that had been terraced over the centuries to provide some usable crop land. There were sections of active farming while there were sections that the only evidence that it may have been used for this purpose was some ancient bit of wall sticking out through to the undergrowth. While you cannot see them in this picture there were steep little single and double rail lines that would transport workers up and products down the terraces. 

Toilets of the Future. 

When traveling with the kids it is very convenient that the trains have bathroom facilities on them and as a bonus they are clean for the most part. However, it's Patti and bathrooms that we have to worry about now.  Not so much going to the bathroom but operating the bathroom. On one of our trains we had a replica toilet from the Starship Enterprise. With a whoosh the door would vanish into a wall to present the magical facility and reappear only with another whoosh the conceal the throne. None of use were used to this fanciness anywhere much less a train. As Patti stood there dumbfounded as to how to enter this enchanted room finally someone in the know imparted the secret wisdom to her. Press the button, just as the red arrow indicates. 

Tag Your It. 

You get to see a lot of things from the train including graffiti, some of it quite creative some of it not so much. One of the more interesting pieces of urban canvassing used mirror shards to highlight the message. Occasionally you will see a tag that seems to respect the work of the original. In one instance, there was a very well done set of words 'The Cure', the name of an 80's somber band. Someone, who apparently did not share in this fondness, instead of trashing it, placed a nicely lettered 'We Hate' in a different font right in front of it. 

Attention Please. 

I was very impressed with the crispness and clarity of the communications on the German and Swiss trains. My only complaint is that I still could not understand them. 

The world gone mad. Patti and John Drink from a $1500 Bottle of Wine. 

Patti and I are not big wine consumers. I have the occasional beer and Patti has some very occasional tastes of beer and wine as neither cooperate with her Fructose Malabsorbtion Disorder. After visiting the castle in St. Goar we strolled though town and the girls pulled us into a shop with something that caught their attention. In this shop we were immediately offered a shot of peach brandy. Sure, why not, it's after noon. The woman in this store then offered us Ice Wine. 

This is a rare wine and only produced in a very small set of regions like this one and not in major production areas like California. The grapes for Ice Wine are picked when frozen and pressed while still frozen.  Also, because the water in the grape is frozen and left behind in this process it takes many times more grapes to produce any given volume. We told her that we were not big wine drinkers but she wanted us to try this type of wine anyway. We proceeded through a few whites of different vintage, grape quality and harvest time and thanked her very much, not wanting to mislead her with an impression of our intent to buy. She kept bringing them out as I continued to tell her I was a beer barbarian. We were also having a great time chatting with her and the store was dead without us as the days crowds had long since departed. 

It was during our final attempted departure where she said she had something very special for us to try. I pleaded with her, honestly but not persuasively, to save it for a more refined palette. She said that it was really no trouble and it was in the way as she was reaching into the cooler. She poured us each a quarter glass of Ice Wine made with Red grapes. Apparently the Red Ice Wine is rare but this was even more rare as the skins were peeled off while the grapes were still frozen. It sells for about $250 in that region and she said its demand in the States has driven it to $1500. It was very good. I am not sure if this was in part a psychosomatic reaction or the fact that she had already poured us a few glasses before this. 

The kids were even in on the sampling with red and white Children's Wine. That is code for grape juice, the new gateway drug being aggressively marketed by the International Wine Retailers Association.

Training Diet. 

One of the things we seem to have everyday when traveling but never at home is Pringles. Of course they taste good, but their containers also have some utility for storing things that you don't want crushed like unframed paintings or pretzels. Also high on the menu is chocolate.  I like to eat this at home but not at the rate of 100 grams a day. A beer a day seems to be the cadence as I channel my inner monk. All of this is combining to place me in top shape for the self inflicted punishment of my 4th of July bike race.