I finally arrived in Bath! Actually, I’m on my third night here already as I start to write this post, but I only now found the time to reflect on my journey and the first couple of days in Merry England. And what a journey it was. When I planned my trip in December I was able to choose from a flight operated by EasyJet to Bristol Airport, which would have cost about €30 and lasted approx. 3 hours, and going by train, costing about €130 involving three transfers and taking about 15 hours. So which option did I go for? You guessed it, I chose the train ride.
So why did I go for the more expensive, arduous and longer trip? Of course I would like to say that I was inspired by trials and tribulations of Greta and that I wanted to follow her example. That was part of it, but I wouldn’t be completely honest, if I pretended that this was my prime motivation. Actually I don’t have a precise reason, but the entire Erasmus exchange feels like a big adventure to me and I felt that taking the longer route would give me the opportunity to appreciate this fact more than the “easy” way travelling by plane would. The irony of the fact that I would take the Eurostar train from Brussels, the EU Capital, to London, the heart of Brexit darkness (cue the dramatic music), was not lost on me and also nudged me towards taking the train ride.
My journey comprised of the following trips
- Berlin → Cologne
- Cologne → Brussels
- Brussels → London
- London → Bath
Unfortunately on my first train, the one going to Cologne I was witness to an extremely hostile attitude by an older German woman, who shooed away a black child that was no older than six, from a seat that she had reserved. I normally don’t have a problem with people insisting on sitting on the seats they have reserved, but the manner in which this woman talked to the kid was simply revolting. Her tone was very brutal and there was no hint of sympathy in the way she communicated. I don’t know if her attitude was racist or if she was simply an embittered person, but the whole situation made me feel very uncomfortable and kind of glad that I left Germany.
I gave her a dirty look, but that was just about all the social courage I could muster up. The rest of the journey up to Brussels was pretty uneventful and not that interesting, so I won’t bore you with any details. I think the most interesting thing that happened to me during that part of my travels was that I got a paper cut from my train ticket.
Once I arrived in Brussels I had to board the Eurostar train, which would take me straight to London. What I didn’t realize was that this would be preceded by a security check similar to one at an airport. I, being the scatterbrained person that I am, did not inform myself properly ahead of time and actually took my good Opinel folding blade with me as my bread knife. Unfortunately the security officer that told me to unpack my bag was immune to my (usually) irresistible charms and would not believe me that I did not intend to commit an act of international terrorism using a 7 cm blade. So in the end I had to throw away the knife, which was made especially painful by the fact that it was a gift. So if you ever happen to travel with the Eurostar in the future, make sure to leave your edged weapons at home or only bring your ceremonial swords with you, because those are apparently fine. Also bringing munitions from either of the two world wars is not that great of an idea either. Who would have guessed. Nevertheless, having made this sacrifice, I was eventually allowed to board the Eurostar.
After about two hours of going through thick fog and passing through the Channel Tunnel, I at last arrived in the United Kingdom. Zipping through the French and English countryside was actually quite fun and the landscape that was blanketed by an opaque haze had a melancholic beauty to it. I used this time to plan the next step of my journey: Getting from King’s Cross in London to Paddington Station, where I would finally board the train to Bath.
Having arrived in London, I realized what it must feel like to try to orient oneself in Berlin for the first time. I was completely lost and ran in circles for about thirty minutes before I figured out where to go to in order to transfer to Paddington station. Having been approximately 12 hours on the road by this point did not really help and I started to become increasingly exhausted and found it hard to cope with the masses of people around me. Also, I am quite shy and I’d rather run around like a chicken with its head cut off than ask anybody for directions. But to cut a long story short, I eventually managed to transfer to Paddington station, where I boarded the train to Bath after a stay of about an hour.
The train ride to Bath was also quite pleasant, although my Harry-Potter-esque fantasy of sharing a cabin with two other exchange students that would become my best friends was left unfulfilled. I guess I’ll have to make friends some other way then. After about an hour the train arrived at my final destination, Bath.
In Bath, I decided to find my bearings and figure out where to go next. I had to get to my Airbnb, which was located somewhere outside the city. First, naturally, I had to take some vanity selfies and document my arrival. This turned out to be a decision with serious consequences due to the fact that during the process of taking the photos, my phone suddenly died and would not turn back on. This would have usually been no problem, because I do not own a smartphone. For my Erasmus semester however, I decided to take my late aunt’s iPhone with me to make the stay in Bath easier. Having a smartphone with me, I decided to save all the important information on it, which included the address of the Airbnb and how to get to it. So after my phone decided it had enough of me, I panicked and did not know what to do next. I knew which Bus I had to take, but not where I would have to get off and even if I had known, in my panic I completely forgot the address of my Airbnb.
So here I was, standing at Bath Central station, with a sinking feeling spreading through my gut. At this point I suddenly felt the weight of the luggage that I had been carrying around for hours and I decided to sit down. I was clueless as to what I should do next and in a moment of desperation took out my laptop in the hope that I could connect to a public hotspot. My prayers were answered and after agreeing to give away all my private information, I was allowed to connect to the internet. I quickly wrote down all the essential details my host had given me and with some newfound confidence went to find the bus stop. I eventually got to it and after finding the courage (lol) to ask the bus driver whether he stops at the station where I was told to disembark, I sat down and calmed down a bit. The bus driver was accompanied by three of his colleagues, with some of them talking with such a heavy dialect that I could barely understand them. There was one bus driver in particular, whose accent sounded Jamaican to me. Then I saw him and realized that he was an older white man.
After the bus departed, I quickly noticed that there was neither a display showing the next stop nor was there any other way of identifying the position of the bus. So after driving approximately 10 minutes with not idea of where I was, I overcame my reluctance and asked the group of bus drivers when I had to get off. At this point I forgot the name of the station that my host had sent me and I instead told them the name of the street I was going to. They deliberated for a moment on this and then signalled to me that they would tell me once we arrived. After some time an older woman approached the group of drivers and told them that she knew a better way of getting to my destination. The older bus driver told me to go with her, and so I did. She graciously accompanied me for a while and before our paths separated told me how to continue to get to my destination. I thanked her and said my goodbyes and was filled with an appreciation of the accommodating nature of the people I had met so far in Bath. After what turned out to be more like 16 hours of travelling, I finally arrived at my Airbnb and got some well deserved rest.
The next updates on my time in Bath should come out in one or two weeks, so stay tuned! I will also try to capture the atmosphere on the 31st of January, the so-called Brexit day. I hope that you are enjoying accompanying me on my little adventure! 🙂
Can’t wait to read your next posｔｓ！
Really enjoying the blog! Keep it coming!
When I read the narrative, I could really put myself in the plot and the scenery. Thank you, my dear son, for sharing these special moments with us. I look forward to further interesting and special moments that we shall be able to share with you.