Day trip to Paris, 2nd March 2024

Bread basket at Bouillon Julien - seven thick crust slices tightly packed onto a basket

Long story short: we had a chance to spend last Saturday in Paris, and so we did!

We were there for less than 12 hours. Yes, it sounds preposterous, but we embraced the absurdness of it with efficiency and organisation: we identified a few things we could do, but left ample margin to do so, booked a restaurant for lunch, and then executed with precision.

It really helps to live close to St. Pancras, so we could walk to the station and be there less than an hour after waking up. So, we were on time, and so was our train.

St Pancras concourse in the morning, and Tracey Emin's neon in the background. Our Eurostar train is to the left, waiting for us. A person wearing a high visibility vest waits by the travelator in the distance.
St Pancras concourse in the morning, Tracey Emin’s neon “I want my time with you” and our Eurostar train waiting for us
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Tuesday, 18/07/2023: Cochem to Trier

Porta Nigra in Trier

On this day, we left the cosy town of Cochem and slowly started retracing our steps back to London. Figuratively, that is: we were taking trains, not walking!

And so we again witnessed the terraces on the slopes of the Mosel, and went through the tunnels, and crossed its bridges one more time. I’ll spare you the images and videos—you have more in the earlier posts 😏

Arriving in Trier, a former Roman city and the oldest town in Germany, we felt like stepping back into that hustle and bustle sphere we had left behind in Luxembourg. Suddenly, there was people everywhere, of all ages —not just retired people and young families, and not everyone was on holiday!

Strange sensation!

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Monday, 17/07/2023 (II): Weingut Hieronimi

Weinkeller Hieronimi - the building façade

It was our last day in Cochem and we still hadn’t had the chance to visit any of their wine bars. The shame!

I had bookmarked a few in my early research, but their strange timetables and ours didn’t quite seem to align.

However, after our kaffee und kuchen, we felt energised and determined to walk to this winery on the other side of the Mosel, crossing its imposing bridge, even if we weren’t quite sure of what to expect. Would it be open? Had it been open? Will it be open?

You can imagine what happened next: the place that websites and maps point you to was, in fact, shut.

But there was a sign inviting us to go round the corner and see… And when we went down the steps, we found a nice looking garden, but with a shut gate as well. Ahh! We would not be able to “take our shoes off and sip wine in the garden while the sun sets” as the owner of our hotel had described.

Although… we saw some people drinking wine under a canopy next door. It seemed to be part of the same wine bar, so we tentatively walked into the dark, cool space, and enquired: would it be possible to try out some wines?

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Saturday, 15/07/2023 (II): Immich Anker

Weingut Immich-Anker - entrance to the cellar

The second winery we were going to visit on this day was just a 5 minute drive away, in Enkirch.

Daniel met us outside the winery building, and told us how the omnipresent Mosel slate stone was so important for them in many ways: as the soil in which the vines grow, and as the literal fabric of the building, as it was also made of slate! He also told us how the building was used as an strategic observation tower during war times, as it is tall and has an even taller tower!

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