In which Hermann takes Sid and Doris on the river ferry and then on to A Small Town in Germany.
Day 25 is August 24th when Doris’s birthday is celebrated by devotees of St Bartholemew all over the world, or where ever we happen to be. This morning the hotel presents a breakfast table with decoration, candles; the lady owner brings a rose and a bottle of hyper-local white wine (see views from yesterday’s walk). S has provided the Platininumum edition of the Guide to the Tour de France (though without G riding he is unsure who to support).
Once the latest offerings of sparrow poo are removed, Hermann is a little grumpy starting and makes a big pile of smoke but once running seems happy enough that Sid dares rumble down onto to river ferry. This is purely gratuitous ferry travel. but it also gives Sid the chance to inspect the automatic bollard-looping machine that he spotted from his balcony.
As Bonn museums do not open ’til Tuesday we look for diversion in Marksburg Castle, which is in excellent shape because nobody ever attacked it. The castle is presented as a view of life in the period which helps with our concentration on Ingenuity and Kindness as long as we keep out of the room of torture implements. It is owned by a charity started in the early 20th century in reaction to people not doing proper restorations. With tapestries, painted plaster and wood floors/seats, they have done a good job of making the place feel very hospitable.
Bonn was the capital of West Germany. And now it does feel like a small town as we walk in along the Rhine. We go to look for the Teno shop for birthday jewelry. It is shut, but there is some solace in birthday cakes.
The Living Hotel is usefully sited out on Museum Mile, handy for Tuesday’s trip to The Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sid wonders if we will have a Museum of the United Kingdom. It might be expensive for the Scots to leave, but then leaving the EU will probably be expensive for the English and Welsh. The Irish might peacefully decide on a one island, one European Ireland.
To distract themselves from these thoughts, S&D decide to take a tram back to the usefully-sited hotel, a process which takes approximately twice as long as walking, most of which time is spent in finding the tram. (Clue: It is underground.) We realise this is the first time we have been on public transport since lockdown.
Being usefully out on Museum Mile means the only restaurant nearby is the hotel’s Italian. Doris has a new book so we drink and eat with books and magazines. A companionable birthday dinner, though without the ceremony of the breakfast feast.