Railway Journeys
Continental Railway Journeys: Paris.
Continental Railway Journeys to Paris. 2017. We treated you to Salzburg recently… (Salzburg blog). We treated you before on our first ever continental railway trip to Paris in 2016. But we didn’t tell you about our short stay last year.
A Return to Salzburg.
A Return to Salzburg But first… We would like to introduce you to Sonny. Bobby’s grandson. The new recruit to the team of Mindfully Bertie. His title is “YouTube Technician”. But we think his ten year old IT skills will go way beyond YouTube. As the only grandson at the time, he and Diddley had…
The Wonderful Great Little Trains of Wales.
The Great Little Trains of Wales. The Great Little Trains of Wales are simply wonderful. They are everybody’s childhood dream of what a toy railway should be. They are Thomas the Tank Engine in miniature. They mostly have fascinating histories of bygone days, when the original purpose was quite different to now. Some are born…
I Don’t Believe It – Brighton Station!
Brighton. I don’t believe it! Bobby and I went to Brighton. By train. Given that this is Southern Rail, a certain amount of optimism is needed. Or blind faith. As we approached the station, a posh woman on the train intercom announced we were arriving at Gatwick Airport. We all laughed and acknowledged that Southern…
Bob the Big Noisy Engine (with apologies to the Rev W Awdry).
Bob the Big Noisy Engine. This is the story of Bob the Big Noisy Engine. A tale of triumph over adversity. Honesty over lies and deceit. Contentment over greed. Happiness over anger. It is a true story. All the characters are real. Bobby wrote it in 1999 on a bike ride. In his head. The…
A Day in the Life of a Trainspotter.
Trainspotter. Way back in 1954 Bobby’s dad, Sid, bought him an Ian Allan Train spotting book. He still has it. That, allied to Sid’s own keen interest in all things mechanical, led to his son’s enduring interest in such things. Given that being a trainspotter was the main hobby of schoolboys in 1954 it is…
Continental Railway Journeys: Lammersdorf
Back to Lammersdorf. In Continental Railway Journeys Austria, you heard how Bobby got the idea of coming to a less well know part of this wonderful country from English people in a Country Walking Magazine article. Amazingly, but due to his being an obsessive collector, as a result of that heatwave, staying indoors, sorting out…
Continental Railway Journeys in Germany.
Continental Railway Journeys in Germany. Well here we are back in Lammersdorf, Austria. Writing blogs from an idyllic office. Tom is the new owner of the hotel. Upholding the recent tradition of Dutchmen owning it. He has agreed to be interviewed by me later in the holiday.
Continental Railway Journeys to Venice.
Venice. So the romance was over before it had even begun (see Brief Encounter). Good luck Giz A La (Gisele). It was fun. So, here I am. Venice. Walking out of the station, you look down on the Grand Canal. On a scene quite unimaginable the first time. But for a first time you really…
Brief Encounter on a Journey.
Continental Train Journeys with Bertie… A Brief Encounter. I am a little embarrassed this week. Bobby is so keen to tell you about the journey to Venice that I feel a little “excluded”. I did after all spend most of the journey hidden in a rucksack while he was in full flow. Bobby… “You’re jealous….