Monday, 29-July-2024


Stuttgart was glorious, but neither fey forests, glorious hot springs, nor amazing company can halt the flow of time… and soon enough I found myself back on a major rail line, bags packed and stowed safely, forging my way toward a new destination.

Not my final destination of the trip, but exceptionally close – the final stop on the adventure, before I’d land in my new home of Ireland. The capital of the European Union, home of comic books, and the land of chocolates; Belgium.

The trains were simple and beautifully straightforward this time – no repeats of the “your pass doesn’t work” tomfoolery of France / Switzerland, just a clean and relaxing journey out of Germany and into Belgium – as a bonus, it was an unexpectedly nostalgic journey, as the stopover city of Koeln (Also known as Cologne to us English speakers) had something I hadn’t seen in ages, and absolutely wasn’t expecting – Dunkin’ Donuts! Hurrah, New England represent!

And Burger King, but I’d seen that before. Was a heck of a lot better here, though. And as a neat point – Burger King in Germany was effectively a vegan restaurant! A legit half of the menu was vegan, with a surprisingly small portion of the total menu being carnivorous or meat based… I’d hazard a guess that 70% was vegetarian or vegan, and I’ll freely admit that the burger was quite excellent. Expensive, but worth the extra cost over the United States.

So fortified, I saw the train ride though, and soon enough was settled into Belgium, enjoying some solitude and preparing myself for the adventures to come…