Day 44 – Germany and France

Düsseldorf was so busy at this time of the morning but we managed to get comfy sofas in Starbucks so we could work out what to do next. After an hour of running between the ticket desk and my girlfriend, we finally had reserved trains and would at last be getting to Nice today! It wasn’t all that easy of course, as our train to Mannheim was delayed. We were told that the train to Paris, which usually leaves 5 minutes after the Düsseldorf-Mannheim train gets in, waits for it even if it is delayed.

I was glad that this wasn’t just a rumour and we didn’t miss our next train. We found seats on the train but this time, there were electronic messages above them saying when they had been reserved. Unfortunately, my seat was reserved at the next stop and after moving, noticed that my girlfriend’s seat reserved for the stop after that. My girlfriend took mine and I went up to the ‘lobby’ area between the doors and toilets to stand and wait. What a gentleman.

Because the trains were getting delayed more and more, the screen on the train was telling us we only had 4 minutes to get our next to Paris, and that meant we would need to do a bit of excersise and run to the next platform. It wasn’t even there because it got delayed too! We ran for nothing! Our seats were opposite a young couple, where the girl appeared to have an engagement ring and they were being overly romantic and cuddly. My girlfriend obviously didn’t want to compete and left me to find empty seats to lie down on and sleep. She did return later though as people reserved her seats.

It was Bastille day in France and it was so busy. The platforms were teeming with people and it would take you quite a while to get to the other side of the station. All the prices were also so high and it took us a long time to get anything to eat at a reasonable price. We ended up leaving the station to find a shop. Paris has quite a few train stations and we had arrived at the wrong one (not by accident). We needed to get 2 metro lines and travel to the other side of the city in 10 minutes. It was much easier than I thought it was going to be, even on this French Holiday.

It seemed that everyone was going to Nice for a weekend break because we had to queue to even get on the platform. We eventually got a cute train compartment that was sealed off from one side so that people weren’t passing by you all the time.

We still hadn’t found anywhere to stay and it was becoming more of a problem. The whole journey consisted of us looking up places to stay and trying to reconnect to the temperamental internet. At last we found a cheap apartment, but could only move into it tomorrow.

As we still couldn’t find anywhere for tonight – of course we couldn’t, it was Bastille Day – we just booked the cheapest hotel we could find, which was still pretty pricey, but at least it was a bed. The weather was so warm and sunny, a complete contrast to Amsterdam (I was still wearing trousers and regretting it now).

The hotel was very fancy and professional. It was one of the best places of luxury we experienced throughout our journey and after the last couple of days travelling, we couldn’t think of a better time to avail of it. We did feel guilty about the price and so we went to the shop to see if we could get something to eat there, instead of eating in a restaurant. Nothing spectacular but just cheap. I also sneaked into a hostel and stole a couple of maps and information leaflets about Nice.

The rest of the night consisted of us laid up in a nice comfortable bed, watching a flat screen television show the Bastille Day concert under the Eiffel Tower. It could have been nice to go to that but finding accommodation in Paris would be much trickier than in Nice, and we would not be up for that. Listening to fireworks going off outside, it was basically the start of our holiday. We always said that the South of France will be a weeks holiday at the end, just to calm down from all the stress built up from the trains and hostel searching. It was a good start.