In Erlangen, Germany...

The day started badly. I hit the sack later than my normal time of around 2200hrs, staying up until 1130hrs and feeling like I always feel when I have to fly somewhere the next day. Pre-occupied. I hadn't packed anything, that was the problem, and I knew I had it all to do in the morning even if I was only going away for two nights. There were other things bugging me too, but I won't go on about them as, while they are important, there's no point talking about everything, but let's say I was pre-occupied about many things and I get a strong feeling that I am fighting everybody and nobody appears to be on my side. I feel as if I am standing alone against the rest of the world; it's not a good feeling.

Waiting to fly at Heathrow...

After about five hours of sleep, probably less, but let's round it up, I noticed a phone was ringing at 0430hrs. In truth it woke me up. Who the fuck was it? My wife went to answer it because it was the landline and the phone was downstairs on the console table. The only person who calls us on the landline is the mother-in-law... but not on this occasion. I'm not a fan of phones ringing at the best of times, in fact I hate it with a vengeance especially at an ungodly hour . But things got weird. It was an old woman stating that she wasn't dead yet and when would we be going to see her. For a start, we didn't know her, although she lived close-by, but, for some uncanny reason, she knew my wife's name. It had to be a coincidence and, of course, it was. The telephone number she was after was very similar to our own, only one digit removed, and, as it turned out, her carer's name was the same as my wife's.

Anyway, she was old and probably suffering from some kind of dementia, but whatever the situation, she had woken me up two hours before the alarm sounding. There was to be no getting back to sleep and when I did eventually get up and the thought of packing entered my head, I found that I was losing my rag at virtually everything because I was tired and lacking in sleep. My suitcase was too big for a two-night journey but would have to do, I had pack everything in the dark, which made things worse, there was no bread in the house and barely time for a relaxing breakfast. In fact, there was no time for anything. I stormed out of the house, my head full of many different worries and grievances and all day I was unable to shake any of it. Everything was lingering, simmering, brewing. 

Approaching Frankfurt airport...

At 1823hrs I was sitting on a train to Nuremburg in Germany and I must say that I'm far from being happy about anything. The journey to this point, however, had been fairly smooth. The flight from Heathrow to Frankfurt was hassle-free and only lasted one hour from take-off to landing. Once on the ground I had a long queue for passport control, which always annoys me when I think of the small boars arriving uninvited on the south coast of the UK, but overall nothing had really phased me.

My original plan was to train it all the way from London via Brussels to Erlangen and I think that if I had done so and there had been no problems, I might have been at my destination earlier. When I reached Nuremburg I still had a 20-minute local train ride (the RE19) to Erlangen. I had been to Nuremburg before, back in 2016, a trip that took in Stuttgart, a trip to the Audi A8 factory and other interesting things that have been mentioned on this blog circa November 2016. Key in the word 'Stuttgart' and you will find it the post in question.

On the train to Nuremburg...

I flew out of Terminal Two (a very pleasant and quiet place where I would have liked to have spent more time). I spotted a Bill's restaurant but I felt they were going to take their time serving me so after sitting there for five or 10 minutes, I jumped up and headed for a Pret. After eating my breakfast I headed for Gate A17 and boarded a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt. I was too preoccupied to read and spent the time staring out of the window looking at the scattered clouds below me.

It was 1837hrs and I was on the train. Everything outside the window was in silhouette and I just wanted my hotel room. The train was due to arrive at Nuremburg at 1830hrs so I'm guessing we're close. I had spent a lot of time in the train's restaurant car where I ordered goulash with pasta, which was fine but it had been microwaved and they clearly didn't stir it properly as some of the meat was cold, which was a little off-putting. I didn't bother to complain. In addition to the goulash I had a non-alcohol beer, two in fact.

When we reached Nuremburg and had disembarked I had to find the train to Erlangan. Somebody at the information kiosk said it was on platform four but I found nothing there and returned to tell her so, Then she looked again and apologised, she meant platform 15. 

Room 431, Novotel, Erlangen...

The journey from Nuremburg to Erlangen was short, roughly 20 minutes. There was a woman sitting opposite me with a ginger cat in some kind of carrier. I could see him and he could see me. The woman was on the phone to somebody and looked happy.

We arrived, I took a cab to the Novotel, which I later discovered was only a 15-minute walk away and after checking in I went out to meet some colleagues in a restaurant close by. After dinner I went back to the hotel and crashed, but I'd left my electric toothbrush at home and had to go back to the front desk to get a toothbrush and some toothpaste, which came in a little paper sachet. There was no charge. 

I never sleep that well in hotels and tend to wake up in the early hours of the morning. I'd get up, wander around the room for a bit, look out of the window at the Esso garage four floors below and then resign myself to getting back in bed until the alarm sounded at 0600hrs.

Goulash and rice in Erlangen...

Breakfast was good and I had a lot of it: sausages, courgettes, roasted potatoes, an excellent fried egg, yoghurt with added cranberries and chia seeds, two cups of English breakfast tea and a slice of some kind of fruit cake. I'd be back for more the next morning, I thought, as I went back to room 431. The great thing about this room was its closeness to the elevator. It was the first room of the corridor.

After the work was done I did manage to take a little wander into the town centre of Erlangen and that was where I found a restaurant that combined a butchers and bread and cake shop. I ordered an apple Danish that would be my dessert, but the main course simply had to be the goulash (pictured right). I'd seen it on a hot display counter and thought this is it! It most certainly was it! That's a non-alcohol beer you can see, a bit soapy but it fitted the occasion. 

After the goulash, I headed back to the hotel but later came out again find the railway station, which was 15 minutes on foot and roughly a mile away. Walking there and back, as I did, meant I'd walked my daily two miles, but I was still down on previous weeks, although I knew I'd be walking the station in the morning. Now, I should have taken a cab, perhaps, but actually, carrying rather than pulling the suitcase whilst holding a smaller case AND having a 'man bag' or a shoulder bag for things like keys and glasses, worked well and was no hindrance. Who needs cabs? Clearly not me and I try not to take them unless it's absolutely necessary, ie the town I'm in is dodgy. Erlangen is not dodgy, you can walk around late at night without having to worry about it, not like in the UK.