I didn't just stop dead in Paris, I went on from there to Dusseldorf to meet my old school friend, Dinah, and spend the week with her at the fashion buying fiesta. At the end of it we went for a couple of days to Koblenz, where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet. It rained like mad the first day there, but we managed to get to aldstadt and have a bit of a look around. The weather improved and we had a much better day the following day.
Dinah had to fly out a day ahead of me so we got the train part of the way back to Dusseldorf and spent the day at Andernach - a town that had been recommended to us as worth a look. It was indeed. We left Dinah's luggage at the station after waiting for 20 minutes in a queue to ask the station master to look after it for the day. After a very pleasant walk around the town, along the river and lunch in the market place I farewelled Dinah and went back to the river having seen that there was a late afternoon trip to the local geyser. 
That was a surprise - I had no idea there was one in Germany. Then a quick train trip back to Koblenz and another trip to Aldstadt to find somewhere to eat. I am never good at deciding where to eat, and then I saw the Tapas bar/cafe so of course when in Germany eat Spanish. There was a Spanish family at the next table and they seemed to be enjoying their meal so I took that as a good sign. I had been sitting there for a while when I was finally noticed and the waitress took my order. I hoped that I had remembered enough to order something decent to eat (turned out I had). After quite a while waiting again I was asked if I would mind moving to a smaller table. There wasn't one when I sat down and of course I didn't mind at all. After that the waitress must have thought I was all right as she brought me a glass of wine gratis and my food materialised. Just as well it came when it did as I was very hungry by then.
Next day, last one in Europe, I met Rob on his return from England, at the Mainz railway station. 
There had been a bomb scare in the locker room so we had to wait a little while before leaving our luggage there for the day. For the first time we could not find a map at the railway station so we loosely followed directions to the tourist information centre, which turned out to be a very small temporary office in a tricky location sort of near the river. Armed with the map we then found the Gutenburg Museum which was fascinating and during lunch worked out how to see the Chagall stained glass windows in a church on the way back to the station. Great finish to the trip. Then off on the quick train direct to Frankfurt airport and onto Soeul for a five hour break and home at last just in time for breakfast with everyone at the market and a couple of films at the film festival ..
That was a surprise - I had no idea there was one in Germany. Then a quick train trip back to Koblenz and another trip to Aldstadt to find somewhere to eat. I am never good at deciding where to eat, and then I saw the Tapas bar/cafe so of course when in Germany eat Spanish. There was a Spanish family at the next table and they seemed to be enjoying their meal so I took that as a good sign. I had been sitting there for a while when I was finally noticed and the waitress took my order. I hoped that I had remembered enough to order something decent to eat (turned out I had). After quite a while waiting again I was asked if I would mind moving to a smaller table. There wasn't one when I sat down and of course I didn't mind at all. After that the waitress must have thought I was all right as she brought me a glass of wine gratis and my food materialised. Just as well it came when it did as I was very hungry by then.
Next day, last one in Europe, I met Rob on his return from England, at the Mainz railway station. 
There had been a bomb scare in the locker room so we had to wait a little while before leaving our luggage there for the day. For the first time we could not find a map at the railway station so we loosely followed directions to the tourist information centre, which turned out to be a very small temporary office in a tricky location sort of near the river. Armed with the map we then found the Gutenburg Museum which was fascinating and during lunch worked out how to see the Chagall stained glass windows in a church on the way back to the station. Great finish to the trip. Then off on the quick train direct to Frankfurt airport and onto Soeul for a five hour break and home at last just in time for breakfast with everyone at the market and a couple of films at the film festival ..
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