September rolls around again

It’s now time for Ray’s annual September tour in Germany. Ray toured there last year, I toured with him in the UK in November 2025.

This September, we return to some favourite venues and I visit some new ones. 

The picture above shows the places we will visit. There is one missing.

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Travelogue:

I started very early at Oxford Parkway station with a coffee and croissant, on my way to Marylebone and then St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Brussels. 

Train was on time and we are trundling through the still parched countryside that is gradually starting to turn green again. Now slowing down, going past the modern folly known as HS2. Thinking of the things that the HS2 funding could have helped many more people with greater benefits than saving a few minutes travel time between London and Birmingham.

Took the Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus then Victoria north to St Pancras, avoiding the closures on the Circle and Met lines. Amazing how much walking you do when you take the tube. I felt like a rabbit going along tunnels underground. Then there are the Disney-like lines snaking through to the Eurostar gate. The border check worked well. I got to use the electronic gate. Very smooth. It’s nice when technology does work.

Tips for Eurostar travellers 

If you are changing at Brussels then get a seat as near the front of the train as you can. It’s then a short walk and down the stairs to change to another platform. 

Don’t expect much of the WiFi service when going through the UK. It uses 4G and 5G and there are many tunnels. It’s 50 mins to France and then the wi-fi picks up better but still patchy.

The transfer time at Brussels Midi was only 20 minutes but the platforms were adjacent which meant I was on the train to Cologne just 4 minutes after stepping off the Eurostar. However, no time to get anything to eat, although I did get a smack on the Eurostar.

Deutsche Bahn use technology well. The screens show the upcoming stations and arrival times plus a map of the route. The ICE (Inter-City Express) trains are pretty good and run almost to time. Also the Wi-Fi now works!!

With 50 minutes transfer time in Cologne, I had time to look for something to eat. I found Asia Gourmet and had crispy duck with noodles and vegetables. €14.20.

Next was the long haul – Cologne up to Hamburg, some 450 km by road and 4 hours on the train. Trundling smoothly through the German countryside. Remarkably green compared to England. Mostly flat farm land and forests. The excitement was spotting a hot air balloon!!

Tomorrow I take a short train ride to Elmshorn to meet Ray. We have three shows – Winsen, Bad Bentheim and Wangelnstedt – before driving back up through Hamburg to Flensburg for the day sail on an old wooden fishing boat.

I wish you a good night.