....or so it seemed at the time. My final leg of the project was to Germany and a town on the outskirts of Stuggart.
Now those of you who have been following this blog since the beginning may have noticed that given the title of this blog there has been lots of planes and automobiles there hasn't been any trains to date. Well for the final overseas leg of my travels I had to get two trains from Stuggart airport on the S-Bahn metro like system. Living up to the national sterotype the trains were on time to the second and I very efficiently got myself across Stuggart to Bietigheim-Bissingen.My first hurdle on arriving at the station was trying to get someone to come and pick me up from the local office. Now I had been told to call when I arrived and they would send someone to get me. Seemed simple enough! However for the first on this trip I found having no personal language skills a real problem as I couldn't get anyone at first at the office who spoke English. The contact name I had been given was on holiday and I had rang at lunchtime. Finally they connected me to someone who spoke English and I was soon picked up ok.
Out of all of my visits this was the least friendly. They weren't rude and provided me all the help and time I needed but they clearly didn't see why my visit was needed and I can see why as to be fair to them they were probably the best organised of all the subsidiaries. However little things I had come to expect weren't there. No one asked if I wanted any lunch so I went the first day without any food and only got lunch on the second day when I asked where I could go out to buy some!
This followed through to the evening where they arranged for a driver, who didn't speak much English, to drop me at my hotel. He parked at the end of a cobbled street and pointed up it and then drove off! I managed to find the hotel ok but I soon found out that it had no restaurant so it meant a trip out in the cold and the rain to get some food.
The hotel itself was a little odd. It was called Reinhardts Hotel & Automobilia and doubled as a museum and shop for "high quality model and toy cars". I haven't been able to find out either at the time or via the web why someone had decided to do this. I thought maybe the owner had been a racing driver of some description given the posters around the hotel but this doesn't seem to be the case. The room was comfortable but a little cold so I decided to head straight off to get some food which was a mistake as I found that no restaurants opened until 6pm.
Now the town itself dates back to the 12th century town and is now protected as a historic monument in its own right. Many half-timbered buildings survive and modern structures have been carefully integrated to form "a visually pleasing harmony", which would have made walking around the pedestrian precincts very rewarding if it had been a warm sunny summers evening. However the night I was there it was pouring with rain and very cold and not much fun especially as I had an ear infection from all the flights I had been on and the cold and the wet seemed to make it worse.The other problem I soon found was that surprisingly their didn't appear to be many people who spoke English. Now in France, although I can't speak it, I can understand and read enough French to get by. However I know no German at all and when I finally found an open bar/ restaurant I couldn't understand the menu at all and the first waitress that had served me couldn't help me. Fortunately I got a second waitress who did speak English and took pity on this poor soaked, shivering pathetic Englishman and explained the menu to me. She also recommended a soap to warm me up and a beer to cheer me up - I certainly took her recommendation! I have to say I was so grateful to her kindness and at the end of the meal left her a healthy tip.
I got back to the hotel by 7pm and it was still cold and ended up climbing under the duvet fully clothed and reading a book. I was so glad this was the last overseas leg and my last night away as I felt so lonely and miserable. I also felt so helpless for not being able to speak a foreign language. Maybe I should have tried harder at school!
The next day went without incident and ended up back at the airport with a few hours to waste. I had a look around the Albatros Museum of Flight on the visitors terrace which contains exhibits that trace the history of civil aviation. It was ok but didn't keep my interest for long. I ended up sitting in departure lounge just wishing I was back at home. 13 flights, 3 Heathrow terminals, Gatwick and 9 overseas airports in just over 3 weeks had left very little enjoyment in travelling and I can honestly say that I have no interest in doing this full time for a living. The final visit of the project was much nearer to home in Basingstoke. It was all concluded with a final report that was well received by the CFO and Board.
Thanks to all of you who stuck with me through the blog. I will be popping back at times on topics that take interest and hopefully will finally bring you the Film Night Delta special that I promised ages ago. But until that time can I wish you all a successful, healthy and happy 2010.
Now given the main feature of this blog the music just had to be.....
