We got up at 4:30, catching the S-Bahn at 5:15 to the Munich Hautbanhaus, where we arrived in pretty good time, and bought some food before getting on the train which would take us to Paris. This was a TGV train, and seats were assigned. And we were lucky that for about half of it, we had two seats each.
As we travelled West, we crossed flat farmland, then into the hilly areas of Germany, before crossing the Rhine into France at Strasbourg. We had already gone through Ausburg and Stuttgart, and had now left Germany. A pretty country indeed, with towns and cities having their own beauty.
But France seemed immediately different. I am not sure I can describe the difference, but it felt different. Perhaps that's my old prejudice speaking, but there it is. We travelled quite fast through France to arrive in Paris a few minutes late. However, I was reassured to learn that the distance between the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord was not great, and very walkable. So when we arrived, we got outside and walked to a local cafe for a lunch. Absolutely enjoyable, and much appreciated.
Walking to the Gare du Nord took only about fifteen minutes, but we had more difficulty than expected finding our train, and how to get on it. After some looking, we discovered the train, and were sitting there for a while before we realized that we had to go through a customs thing before getting on, and heard the announcement that this area was closing in a few minutes. Fortunately, one of the guards rushed us through, and we got on the train with about two minutes to spare, after great rushing.
This was also a TGV, travelling through the French countryside, and then through the tunnel to England. It was all fairly anticlimactic after all, but I'm still glad we did it. Arrived at St. Pancras Station, and then got to Dan's house about the time he arived.
We went out for supper that night, to a little restaurant in Balham. The walk was long, and the meal was good.
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