traveling back to the continent
I got up to another pretty day with a touch of grey. Well, maybe a large touch of grey. It wasn't threatening rain, though. I got myself packed and left my luggage at the desk as I still had time to walk around a little more before going to the train station. I went down into town and took a few photos of the surroundings. The local rocks really are nicely incorporated into the buildings. Most that are not just brick use a style with bricks at the corners and doors and the rocks embedded in mortar for the main portions of the walls. For the church, they'd actually cut the rocks away into somewhat fat bricks. It looked like a lot of work, but more solid than actual bricks. Near the church was a courtyard that is now apartments, but had doors marked "boys", "infants", and "girls" around it. Maybe it was once a school or a hospital, I'm not sure. I walked back to the lighthouse steps by the beach then up to retrieve my luggage. The desk clerk was again amazed I might just walk to the train station from there. I said it was mostly downhill, which it really is, and the up is nice and gradual.
Getting to the train station, there were people walking away showing the train was already there. Well, the car. Just one train car was allotted to the run this time. It looked so funny sitting there alone as it is engine and passenger compartments in one. I fought the feeling that it was really some restaurant or museum, as that's what I've seen housed in single cars before, and got on. Soon it was moving along back down the tracks to Norwich. At Norwich, I knew which train to take because I'd seen my destination on the way over. I had a bit of trouble getting off the London train, though. No one else in the car was getting on or off there, so no one else opened the door. I got my luggage together and went to it and found... nothing to open it with. After a moment of pushing on it here and there, I had to ask the car at large. "How do I open the door?" No one said anything, but since the trains are all different, that's not so surprising. "There's no buttons or levers." I added, and then after a brief pause, "or instructions." A little longer pause and someone said "Open the window." I looked around the window and there was a little lip to the top. I gave it a yank down and grabbed the handle as my answerer came up to help me with it. As we closed up the window and door again, the man with the whistle gave it a blow and the train was shortly off.
The train to Harwich Town was waiting and I got on it. Shortly it went. I got off it with a couple who seemed worried they'd not have enough time to get the door open even though this one had nice, clear buttons to do it, at Harwich International. I went to the counter for the ferry and sorted out my tickets. I'd been told I would just need a passport and my reservation number to get them. The woman didn't care for the number, figuring she could just find my name easily enough. That was good, since the only number I'd gotten had apparently been changed somewhere along the difficulties of using a USA credit card in UK from France that involved having to send a photo of my passport after calling them. She still couldn't find the reservation with my name until looking at other days. They'd made it for the day before. She didn't seem to care and just moved it over to the correct day.
Then I found that there's no place to stash luggage anymore. Not in international ports. I was trapped by the luggage... and it was starting to rain. I went out on the train platform and played with watercolor, then came in and did some work I actually needed to do anyway.
The ferry starts boarding quite early. It was the overnight and they make you buy a berth for the overnight, so I had a nice little room. Ship time was Central European, so I lost an hour walking onto it. I ate a bit and watched a show and went to bed because I knew I'd want to be well slept for tomorrow when I would give one more talk. That one wasn't quite ready, but I really was tired. The ship sailed right on time, Central European time. That is probably something they should point out when you are getting the reservation. I didn't really sleep well, after all. There seems to be a determination to use thick duvets even though the room is plenty warm for light blankets and I was too hot to sleep well.
Getting to the train station, there were people walking away showing the train was already there. Well, the car. Just one train car was allotted to the run this time. It looked so funny sitting there alone as it is engine and passenger compartments in one. I fought the feeling that it was really some restaurant or museum, as that's what I've seen housed in single cars before, and got on. Soon it was moving along back down the tracks to Norwich. At Norwich, I knew which train to take because I'd seen my destination on the way over. I had a bit of trouble getting off the London train, though. No one else in the car was getting on or off there, so no one else opened the door. I got my luggage together and went to it and found... nothing to open it with. After a moment of pushing on it here and there, I had to ask the car at large. "How do I open the door?" No one said anything, but since the trains are all different, that's not so surprising. "There's no buttons or levers." I added, and then after a brief pause, "or instructions." A little longer pause and someone said "Open the window." I looked around the window and there was a little lip to the top. I gave it a yank down and grabbed the handle as my answerer came up to help me with it. As we closed up the window and door again, the man with the whistle gave it a blow and the train was shortly off.
The train to Harwich Town was waiting and I got on it. Shortly it went. I got off it with a couple who seemed worried they'd not have enough time to get the door open even though this one had nice, clear buttons to do it, at Harwich International. I went to the counter for the ferry and sorted out my tickets. I'd been told I would just need a passport and my reservation number to get them. The woman didn't care for the number, figuring she could just find my name easily enough. That was good, since the only number I'd gotten had apparently been changed somewhere along the difficulties of using a USA credit card in UK from France that involved having to send a photo of my passport after calling them. She still couldn't find the reservation with my name until looking at other days. They'd made it for the day before. She didn't seem to care and just moved it over to the correct day.
Then I found that there's no place to stash luggage anymore. Not in international ports. I was trapped by the luggage... and it was starting to rain. I went out on the train platform and played with watercolor, then came in and did some work I actually needed to do anyway.
The ferry starts boarding quite early. It was the overnight and they make you buy a berth for the overnight, so I had a nice little room. Ship time was Central European, so I lost an hour walking onto it. I ate a bit and watched a show and went to bed because I knew I'd want to be well slept for tomorrow when I would give one more talk. That one wasn't quite ready, but I really was tired. The ship sailed right on time, Central European time. That is probably something they should point out when you are getting the reservation. I didn't really sleep well, after all. There seems to be a determination to use thick duvets even though the room is plenty warm for light blankets and I was too hot to sleep well.