The 2000 Year Old German City of Mainz...and the Gutenberg Museum

Driving in the dark on the autobahn in Germany in winter for four hours is no picnic, especially with non-existent street lights, but Steven did it. Thank goodness we've been blessed with ideal traveling weather sans snow for the 13 days we were on the road. Mainz was to be our last stop before home.

We arrived at our airbnb late around 6:45 pm and met our host and got settled. Reason for an apartment instead of a hotel was to do laundry. We put on three loads that night and got it all clean and dry before we left the next day. Nothing worse than coming home and having to lug all those clothes to our basement and bring it all up again. Needless to say it was a late night for some if us because we decided to explore the old city. It was the 12th day of Christmas the day before, so Jan. 6th was Epiphany and everything in Bavaria was closed as it was a state holiday in the Catholic south where we stayed in Nürnberg.

I chose Mainz as our last stop for the number one reason that the Gutenberg Museum was there. As an avid historian, I was keen to see a working printing press, especially like the ones Gutenberg created, and also to see three surviving copies of his printed bibles of which only 49 remain. But more on that later.

Mainz, what's left of the old town is strikingly beautiful. It is situated on the Rhine River and was a hub for trade back in Roman times, and cultivated artists and craftsmen and people who lived there of historical note. Sadly for Mainz, it was heavily bombed during the allied air strikes during WWII. Not much is left of the otiginal half-timbered and baroque houses of the wealthy merchants. You can see the old, mixed with the new, and many buildings have since been lovingly restored, but as you view old photos of the devastation you cannot help but be incredibly sad about the destruction and suffering caused by war and how futile it always is. 

We walked along the narrow, dark grey, basalt cobbled streets gazing up at the lit houses and also soft yellow Christmas lights and stars still strung across the narrow streets while peeking into boutique shops selling unique clothing and articles for your home with steep prices to match. The lights above sway gently in the breeze as we walked along searching for dinner. We wanted Italian and found a good one in the old town, but it was completely full, so we made our way to our second choice and were glad we did. Pasta for dinner!

We had to wait to visit St. Stephen's until morning to see the most precious thing in that cathedral...its stained glass. Now, from the outside, this church looks quite ordinary; pale yellow limestone with red sandstone at its corners and rounded spires. It was heavily bombed during the war and all of its medieval and renaissance stained glass was shattered and much of the inside and outer walls were destroyed too. One priest made it his life mission to rebuild this church and it was lovingly restored over the years, but the new windows remained clear. Then something extraordinary happened. The priest wrote to a very famous and very old artist in 1970 whose work he greatly admired, telling him about the church and about the windows. He asked him to come to Mainz for a commission to create new stained glass windows for the entire church. The artist was a Russian Jew, one of the types of people who had been persecuted by the Nazis. But this artist was also a deeply religious and forgiving man and he told the priest that he would love to do it - that artist was Marc Chagall.

Chagall had a vision of what he wanted, and that vision was blue. In the past, the most vibrant blues in the world were derived from a semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli that was ground down to a powder and mixed with linseed oil or egg to create colour pigments for art, most notably for the blue of Mary's cloak. Chagall worked with over 26 different blues to create the effect of peace, harmony and a connection between Christians and Jews. He finished his last window at the advanced age of 98 and died three months later, not seeing the effect of all his work. His assistant who had worked closely with him for 26 years finished the rest of the interior.

Now, walk with me and imagine entering a sea of blue illuminated walls like the vastness of the ocean enveloping you in a feeling of stillness and harmony. The figures on the windows in contrast of flashes of yellow and red and stand out from the blue. And as in all churches with stained glass, the pictures tell a story, and this one is of hope and forgiveness and peace. Sit down in a plain wooden pew and gaze around you, drinking in the blue and feeling the love that the artist pored into his work wash over you and be at peace. Beautiful! 

The next stop was St. Martin's Cathedral and it was very old, built upon the ruins of a Roman temple. Outside, the red sandstone was striking against the pale grey blue sky of winter. Inside, massive rectangular columns anchored to the stone floor reached upwards, connected to one another by rounded arches. The windows were small with rounded arches as well signalling that this was a Romanesque church. The altar was unususual in that there were more than a dozen steps to climb, thus elevating the choir area high above the crowds for better viewing. What was also unusual was what appeared to be two altars at both ends of the cathedral. 

In one corner to the side was the beautiful hand carved nativity set, life size. The backdrop was a forest of fir trees still giving off a strong evergreen scent. The trees were simply adorned with an assortment of straw braided stars in intricate patterns as all the Christmas trees seem to be in the European churches. Big stone edifices of baroque nobles lined each column with hands folded in prayer, their eyes raised to the heavens asking forgiveness for their sins, while angels above raised a stone curtain to the heavens representing hope, while skeletons leered from below and behind reminding everyone that death is inevitable.

While we were there, an organ concert started and we were graced with music from the old pipes for almost an hour as we gazed around and enjoyed sitting out of the cold, for surprisingly, this cathedral was heated! Yes! It is rare to find a heated cathedral in Europe, and they seem to be the oldest ones built on Roman sites. There were old iron vents along the far walls of the church with warm air rising from the engineered hypocausts below, a Roman engineering marvel. Not that you felt much of the heat from the benches, but it did take the edge off the cold, and we were grateful for it. 

Onwards to explore the old market which was quite lively with Saturday shoppers buying fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, meats and pastries. A rare Renaissance fountain which miracuously survived the bombs, stood to the side, heavily decorated with lively figures and soft pastel painted guild houses surrounded the square. It was at this market that we found our shop from our childhood, E.Otto Schmidt Lebkuchen from Nürnberg. My sister and I rushed in with anticipation to buy a decorated tin of Nürnberg filled with lebkuchen, stöllen cake! Elise lebkuchen, dominoes and my favourite, spekulatius spiced cookies. Alas, the Christmas visitors to the city had almost completely cleaned out their inventory and not one tin was to be had, along with much of anything. The windows were all decked out with tins and cookies and we asked to buy some from the window displays, but the clerk refused saying she was not allowed! What?!? We had come all this way, only to have our hopes dashed. We settled on a package of Elise lebkuchen and butter crescent cookies and ate one as we left for the Gutenberg Museum.

I was really looking forward to this museum since it's the reason we chose to come to Mainz. Plus, we hadn't been to many museums on our road trip except for the day before in Nürnberg, so I very much wanted to see Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, the original Bibles he produced, and to learn more about him.

We were not disappointed! Now the thing is, I don't like to be hurried when going through a museum, and everyone likes to see different things, so as par for the course, we all split up and went our separate ways, agreeing to meet back at the cafe in a couple of hours.

It was like a treasure trove for me. Old books that were printed using various models of printing presses from Gutenberg's original model. So what did I learn about Gutenberg? First, he came from a wealthy family, but surprisingly, no painted portraits survive of him which is highly unusual as the son of a well to do family back in the first half of the 1400s. Second, he got his idea of a printing press from watching how old wine making presses from Roman times worked. He was not the first person to create a printing press as most people think. Printing presses were already around and the method was to use a block of wood to engrave a series of letters, even pictures on it, ink it and print it. However, the process of making these blocks was very time consuming and expensive and the results were often blurred or imprecise. One block could only print one page. Gutenberg's claim to fame was inventing a better mousetrap as it were.

He created a system of movable type where he could design his own font, create a mold of that letter, pour in lead and voila, a bunch of letters that he could rearrange on a tray to create words and sentences. He would ink them with what looked like fist sized sheep skin puffs in black ink originally, then other sections in the bible that should stand out were in red or blue. Then the whole board was locked together and placed on the board while a piece of vellum or parchment was carefully lowered onto the board. The whole thing was then moved under a giant screw and then a lever was pulled hard twice to press the inked letters to the vellum. The whole thing was then rolled back, the arm with the paper lifted, and the very first page of the bible was printed! The clearness of the letters was as precise and detailed as if it were hand written by monks.

Latin was the written language of the time and Gutenberg decided to originally print 140 copies of the Bible in Latin, but soon raised the number to 180 copies after commissions started pouring in. He sold the Bible as loose leaf sheets, printed on two sides and not bound. The buyer would then take the loose sheets and have them illuminated by their favourite artists with coloured pictures and gilt and each Bible was then bound in a cover of the buyer's choosing and was as ornate as he wished. Thus, all 180 copies of the Bible were actually quite unique because of the illumination. Only 49 original Bibles exist today, and of those 49, three are in the Gutenberg Museum, two full ones and one half one in a bomb proof vault with high security in a darkened room. The Bibles are quite big and heavy and come in two volumes even though each page is double sided. Fun fact, the pope did not get a copy of one of the first printed Bibles! 

The importance of the invention of using movable type in a printing press on the world was as astounding, rapid and world changing as the invention of computers in our lifetime. It was also instrumental in spreading the Protestant Reformation in the church later when Martin Luther came on the scene in the next century and made the Bible accessible in the common language of German instead of Latin which only the clergy or educated nobles could read.

The museum also showed how ink was made from different colours using natural materials like semi precious stones, bark, spices, metals and the like and how they were ground down to powders and boiled and mixed with other fixatives to create the ink.

In addition, there were many old printing presses to admire, although the ones from the 1400s no longer exist. Ironically, the press that allowed the Reformation to spread rapidly, was indirectly the cause of the terrible and tragic religious wars between Protestants and Catholics or more commonly known as the Thirty Years War which swept across Europe between 1618 to 1648 on a level of destruction of property and horrific deaths of innocent civilians not seen again until the 20th century. The war was fought almost exclusively in Germany with battles fought over and over again in the same places with the mostly agrarian population suffering the most. This war, originally of religion, quickly became a war of territorial rights as all wars seem to be. Much of Germany was destroyed in those fanatic times and the loss of population and suffering of the people in Europe,and especially Germany, was staggering. The Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist as a ruling entity. Who will ever know what great minds were lost in that war of attrition and what culture was forever destroyed in art, literature, architecture and science. 

Later on, I saw a couple of demonstrations of a reproduction of a 15th century press using Gutenberg's movable type and was even inspired to buy one page of a copy of the Bible in the gift shop. The original Bibles are priceless and one single page has been sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ironically, Gutenberg never profited from his invention of movable type and died penniless. 

There were a lot of other things we missed in Mainz like the discovery of a Roman amphitheatre right beside the train station. As usual, new construction in Europe always involves finding something ancient underneath. The amphitheatre has been exposed, but it is still an archeological digging site, so not open to the public. Well worth a return visit one day!

Vienna in a Nutshell

So who goes to Vienna for three days and never steps foot inside a museum...ahem, that'd be us. Yeah, but in our defense, the whole city is a museum and we got there the day before New Year's Eve, so of course we had to get the 'lay of the land', so to speak and check out what to do on New Year's Eve. That meant spending a lot of time outdoors just walking around because my God, Vienna is beautiful at this time of year. All dressed up like a diva in fancy dress with twinkly lights and ginormous street chandeliers, booths selling Glüwein and hot cider in whimsical mugs that were shaped like lucky leprecauns, lucky pigs, or lucky pilze (red mushrooms with white spots). There was skating happening too, right at the Rathaus Square. Trees were not in the way; they merely put fences around them and strung fairy lights in the trees and the rink became a labyrinth of trails with people skating more or less in one direction with pop music playing. A skate rental place was set up and the Christmas Market satisfied everyone with enough soul warming sausages, potatoes, soup, and of course a variety of warm alcoholic drinks.

The crowd was in a good mood and were buying up wigs and animal hats from vendors like mad. Popular headwear included a white Mozart wig, a chicken hat, a turkey hat, a piggy bonnet, and red lighted devil horns. We got our 'teen angel' the red, lighted horns to better keep track of her in the growing crowds of people as the sun went down and Vienna glowed in the darkness like a golden jewel. We walked through the pedestrian streets and stopped at all the squares which all had a different theme. 

The square in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral was jammed with people at a free concert, but also with those wanting a view of the 700 year old church inside. We lined up to go inside too and had just finished blessing ourselves with the very cold holy water (medieval churches are NOT heated), when the gates suddenly closed to the inner church and a man stated that a Mass was about to begin so no more tourists. I grabbed Steven and said that we were going to Mass. He came under protest, but we nabbed some seats and I went off and took some photos while the camera crew was setting up to record the Mass since there would be a full choir and orchestra playing with the archbishop/cardinal of Vienna presiding. The orchestra and choir rivaled the TSO in quality and the acoustics in the church were excellent.

It was soon standing room only with people even crowding the centre aisles. They parted like the Red Sea when the archbishop and the altar servers, other priests and deacons made their way slowly to the front in golden embroidered robes with the altar boys solemnly swinging incense burners this way and that 'til the church was in a fog. The archbishop was in good spirits, smiling and nodding and blessing and waving to the crowds who were snapping photos of him and his entourage as the orchestra played and the choir sang. Two video screens were set up further down the church to watch the Mass. I didn't understand a word of it, but did know when to stand and sit. Curiously, there was no Eucharest given out, but the archbishop did surprise all the English speakers with a New Year's blessing for all in English! 

Afterwards, everyone went back to taking photos of the nativity crib and the beautiful altar area. 

So what did I learn about Vienna? 

1) No admission to enter a church - That's right, no paying to enter the house of God, (like in London for instance), but people gave money anyway by lighting the beeswax candles for their loved ones. This helps toward the upkeep of the cathedral which always has ongoing renovation projects to keep these ancient structures in good condition for you and me to enjoy. I think they do need to be a little more commercial and maybe sell things like ornaments or holy statues and prayer beads or even post cards maybe at the entrance to help fund renos.

2) Viennese Coffee Houses - There are a few famous ones like the Schwarzenberg Café, Landtmann's Café, and Café Central. They are famous because they are very old, had important guests in the past for lunch or dinner, and have very beautiful, traditional,coffee house decor which include paneling, beautiful chandeliers, mirrors, and lots of seats close together. You are expected to seat yourself as tradition dictates, but also because they are always very busy, so you have to almost stake out a table where people are finishing up and nab it before the next person does. Like Paris, you can stay as long as you want; no one will ask you to leave. The atmosphere is jovial and talkative with many discussions going on. The food is good too with my favourite Vienna (Wien) specialty, Weiner schnitzel ( Vienna's schnitzel), which is yummy served with Viennese potato salad that contains cider vinegar, mustard, potatoes, parsley, and salt and pepper. Delicious!  You can also get strong Viennese coffee and Oma's hot chocolate made from real chocolate and of course there is the delicate apple strudel to try or the famous layered cake, sacher torte. Coffee is ALWAYS served with a glass of water. The waiters here are very distinguished and are usually older white haired gentleman and you will be treated like royalty. What's not to love about that?

3) Every building is a museum - That's right, Vienna, at least the old city, came away from WWII virtually unscathed, so their heavily baroque architecture is there for you to enjoy as are all of Austria's cities. High ceilings with frescoes and ornate stucco are ever present with elaborate chandeliers, even in people's homes. There are also strict laws and regulations to keep the old windows and exteriors of the buildings as they were 300 years ago or more. Most people therefore will erect inner windows with the double-paned glass to keep out the drafts while retaining the old glass. The old, detailed wooden doors must also remain intact and cared for. One of my favourite buildings was the baroque National Library within a palace. Wow! Ancient books in wood paneled bookcases. Statues, frescoes on the ceiling, ornate gilded stucco ornamentation and huge Earth globes from the 17th and 18th centuries on pedestals. We were lucky to see an exhibit on medieval parchment books from the 12th century onward with their bright painted pictures using ground up gems and their extraordinarily beautiful calligraphy. Best of all, we were allowed photos without a flash to better remember them later. Thank you, Vienna!

4) Most people speak English - Unlike Germany, most Austrians are fluent in English and are eager to practice it, especially those under 50. Even Steven's cousins want to send their young children to English private schools in Austria seeking to have them fully fluent in at least three if not four different languages giving them a distinct advantage to live anywhere in the European Union and travel to where the jobs are. Little five year old Constantine for example speaks only Italian with his mother, German with his father, Croatian with his grandparents, and they have a native English tutor for him until they can get him into an English school. He understood everything I said and spoke to me in English quite well. His family are even considering moving to Ireland for a year to further solidify his fluency!

5) Classical music is a big part of Viennese culture - Everyone is expected to know how to play at least one instrument well. (Steven's cousins  are excellent violinists). Music is a serious part of their education and not an afterthought to be cut when there are funding issues like in Ontario. You can easily go to see a classical music concert quite cheaply, especially students who often go for a reduced price. When we went to a concert, Elowyn's ticket was free. It is their belief to imbue children with the knowledge and understanding and love of music at an early age; therefore money, or the lack of it should not be a deterrent to enjoy classical music. I was blown away at this excellent philosophy!

6) Viennese people like to waltz - Everyone knows how to waltz in Vienna from a young age onwards. There is the famous Viennese Ball and many other balls to attend and waltzing is a part of it. On New Year's Eve, there was one section of the city totally devoted to classical music attended by packed crowds young and old, who were appreciative of the orchestra playing on stage in tails. Big, elaborately lit chandeliers swayed above the pedestrian street and the music of Strauss and other composers were heard with people spontaneously walzing in the streets with their parkas on. Elowyn's eyes lit up as she was taught walzing in school, so she waltzed to the music of the Blue Danube with her Daddy on the square, glowing with happiness. It is also the 150th anniversary of the Blue Danube Walz, so it was heavily promoted this year with dancing lessons being given on the street. On New Year's Eve, the first song of the new year was The Blue Danube Walz and traditionally, everyone starts waltzing at the stroke of midnight in Vienna as they watch the fireworks explode above them. We did too! And kept warm in the bargain! 

7) Mozart's legacy is everywhere you look - Mozart is truly the revered composer of Vienna. His image is everywhere, from the palaces and concert halls he performed in, to the Mozart balls made famous by the chocolatier, Fürst that are wrapped in blue and silver paper and are not to be confused with the less tasty and sweeter gold and red paper chocolates that are also called Mozart Kugeln. (This what happens when you don't get a patent)! There are statues here and there and schools and buildings named after him. And, you can always catch a concert with his music. For kids, there were rubber ducks molded to look like him playing violin. His image is everywhere on store fronts, magnets, tea towels, puzzles, CDs, and so much more. How ironic that this great man who is so famous today for his innovative music, died penniless and unappreciated, buried in a mass grave without a headstone. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Vienna. So much to see and do! I do regret not having time to visit the Albertina Museum with the impressionists, especially since they had an exhibit on my favourite artist, Van Gogh. Just a good excuse to go back!

Til next time!

Christmas Eve Mass in Germany

I was determined to get the whole family to Christmas Eve Mass here in Ratingen, but it didn't quite work out the way I planned. 

First, I did my research and found out online that the big church in our town, St. Peter and Paul, was having two Masses on Christmas Eve; 6pm and midnight Mass with caroling and organ music 30 min before. We all left at 5:15 since it's only a one minute walk from us. We entered the church from the back only to discover people standing about and every seat was taken, EVERY ONE. And even the extra uncomfortable seats that looked like they were made for very short children were set up too and those were taken too. 

Steven grumbled that he wasn't standing for two hours and wouldn't stay without a seat. This started a mutiny and Elowyn declared that she too wasn't staying. I glared at both of them and discussed the situation with my sister who agreed that we could come back for the midnight Mass. Steven said he wasn't coming back as he had made the effort and I decided that if the atheist didn't want to return, so be it and we all left.

Back home, we made our seafood dinner with two courses and a break in between while we watched Christmas movies like, 'A Christmas Carol' and my favourite, 'It's a wonderful  Life'. We left our place at 10:30 giving A LOT of time to get there, secure seats and admire the nativity crib. Walking quickly we arrived to a darkened church and tried all the doors, but they were locked! WHAT?!? Could I have possibly have made a mistake with the time? We started walking back, but I had a feeling there had to be a Mass, so I said that I'd walk back and wait outside for a half hour since it was mild out anyway. Elowyn declared she was not waiting, so off I went on my own and waited. Other people were trying the doors of the church and started walking away in the same direction as the Protestant Church around the corner whose bells were ringing and bonging, calling people to church.

I decided to go too since I'd never seen the inside of that old church. I walked in and was given a Christmas booklet and entered the inner doors to discover the church lit with candles and with small lantern candles at the end of each pew. It was full of people, but there were still some seats, so I sat near the back in the middle after asking one man in German if the pew was free. I settled in and took in my surroundings.

The church was very plain and looked modern inside. The walls had been stuccoed in white. There were no familiar statues, no stations of the cross, no statue of Mary, the holy water receptacle was dry, no stained glass, and no pews for kneeling. There was no altar either, just stands for people to give a lecture. A big evergreen tree with lights stood in the corner, so that was encouraging, but the rest was very unfamiliar.

As I was looking around, I heard someone hissing, 'Kat, Kat!' I turned around and was glad to see Elowyn and Krista in a side pew to my right. I went to join them. The service began with a song, familiar in music, but not in words. The rest of the hour was spent with people from the congregation getting up and saying a reading. There were no responses from the people and everyone remained seated on the uncomfortable benches. There was a sermon 
that went on for a very very long time and I picked out words such as internet and facebook and a lot about sleeping. The minister must have mentioned it at least 10 times! 

I started to hear the bonging of the Catholic Church and knew that there was a Mass after all! At that moment I wanted to leave, but it would have been very rude to leave before the service was over.

Finally, the long sermon ended and Stille Nacht was sung and a Fröhe Weihnachten from the priest and out we went.

We hurried to the Catholic Church and found that there were still some seats left, so we sat down and allowed ourselves to gaze around us. It was magical. Strange yet familiar with an enormous Advent wreath crowning the altar high in the air with the strong scent of evergreens from the forest of trees gracing the back of the altar. There was a lifesize scene of the Nativity as well and red ribbons and candles cast a warm glow on the grey stone walls of this 13th century church. 

The Mass was in German, but the traditions were the same and we could follow along and knew where we were in the proceedings. Then the singing from the choir began and I felt goosebumps run across my shoulders as their lovely voices soared into the highest reaches of the vaulted ceilings in tune to the cellos, violins and trumpets who accompanied them. We sang along too. It was such a beautiful Mass. 

We left after it was all over with a warm glow in our hearts. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

What Every Good Christmas Market Should Have

Think of Germany during the Advent season and their famous Christmas Markets come to mind. People actually come here at this time of year ONLY for a Christmas market tour! There are actual tour buses full of American, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Chinese tourists to name a few that travel around the biggest cities for Christmas Markets! One city a day! Boggles the mind, doesn't it, but then you go to one yourself and get all caught up in the jovial excitement of the people and lights and scents of the market and feel like you're part of it all...until some old German guy with a waxed mustache tries to pommel you for deigning to cut the steady human traffic flow to get to the other side...but that's another story.

I think I'm a bit of an authority on Christmas Markets by now having been to about 15 of them in 7 cities, (so far), and by and large, there are some things that are essential to their success. 

1) Glühwein - Pronounced Gloo-wine and otherwise known as mulled wine. This is the time when each market gets to present their own wine and spice mixture. These spices include cinnamon, clove, star anise, orange and/or lemon peel and their heavenly aroma will guide you to the market. The most popular glühwein is red, but at some of the bigger markets, white or rosé wine has popped up as an alternative, as well as a warm yellow drink topped with whipped cream called Eierlikör made from a Dutch liquor called Advocaat. This is a creamy drink that contains dry white wine, dark rum, ground cloves, bourbon vanilla, honey, and a pinch of brown rock sugar and gingerbread spices on top. It is particularly potent, so don't be fooled by that not so innocent whipped cream on top. It comes with a straw to avoid a frothy moustache as you drink that creamy goodness. Some regional markets also have hot ciders or hot apple wine. And for a real pick me up, there is Feuerzangebowle, (fire tongs bowl). Above a vat of glühwein is a metal trough filled with a cone of sugar; rum is poured over the sugar and lit on fire. The fire carmelizes the sugar which drains into the wine below. It's a really cool thing to see being made. And let's not forget that for the kinder (children), there is a kinderpunsch (punch) which looks like and tastes surprisingly like glüwein, but without the alcohol. Finally, there is hot chocolate usually topped with whipped cream when you are all glüweined out or want something sweeter to warm you up.

Each market has their own unique mug with the city name, but also the market area on it. Some are beautifully coloured mugs with lively coloured pictures of the market, while others are shaped like a small boot or a snowman, and then there are the tall, narrow frosted glass mugs with huge handles to hold while wearing a mitten. They are inscribed with gold writing and include golden silhouettes of the city cathedral or Rathaus (city hall). These elegant glasses are my favourite!

Prices of the drinks vary. You'll usually pay about €3 for the drink itself if it's alcoholic with the pfand, (deposit) for the mug on top. The pfand can vary. I've seen it for as little as €1 in our little town of Ratingen, and as much as €3 for the pfand in the bigger cities where the tourists visit, knowing that many of them will take the mug home as a souvenir. The non-alcoholic drinks usually range from €1 to as much as €2.50 depending on the market. Most people drink up and go back for their deposit so they can buy another drink!

2) Regional Food - Ahhhhh! It's all about the food isn't it?!? At the markets, you can smell the roasted chestnuts or marrons before you can see them. They are very popular here in Europe and taste great. Also, the bratwurst in a crispy bun is a staple. In Aachen there were half metre sized bratwurst! Also, there are huge pots of soup, soft pretzels and Gebrannt Mandeln (burnt sugared almonds) whose cinnamon scent wafts over the market. Every market has regional favourites as well. For instance, in Paris, crêpes and raclette is very popular. In Germany, a big favourite for everyone is chocolate covered fruit on a stick and those delicious potato pancakes that are crispy on the outside and steamy hot and soft on the inside. In the Netherlands, smoked or raw herring fish is huge while in Belgium, everyone loves the waffles and the frites. There is always something for everyone.

3) Christmas Lights - What would a Christmas Market be without lights? Lots of them, thousands; the more the better. And a central focus is needed to bind them together in a glorious display. This could be a giant Christmas tree, or a May Pole topped with a golden star with lights cascading down from the centre like flowing ribbons and radiating outward. Or it could be an enormous Printen cookie like Aachen is famous for, studded with head sized almonds. These are not coloured lights either; they are always a warm white to better illuminate the market and to also resemble stars.

4) Music - Not all Christmas Markets have music, but the best ones do. If it's not piped music, it's live music with carolers or brass bands or string instruments. In Essen, a whole troupe was playing Pachebel's Canon and people stopped to listen and stood quietly, lost in the poignant notes with smiles on their faces. Music is also played at all the carousels as children go round and round on brighly coloured horses or magical beasts.

5) Market Stalls - These market stalls come in many designs and usually resemble small huts. The most festive and traditional ones are made of dark wood resembling tiny Black Forest chalets and are decorated with real pine bows, twinkling lights, red ribbons and gleaming gold balls (much like the one in our town). What is sold? Anything and everything from beautifully carved nativity sets and cribs, unique hats, famous blown glass balls and figurines, wooden nutcrackers, lead soldiers and fairy tale ornaments painted with enamel, exquisite paper geometric paper stars with cut outs for lights, tin cookie cutters, beeswax candles, wooden toys, and ceramic domed tealight holders carved with the city's famous buildings and high lights and so much more. The stalls are lit inside and out with fairy lights and decorated with fresh evergreen bows and whatever they're selling. The stalls that sell food have electrical outlets too for ovens, grills and stoves to make food on the spot.

6) Location and Backdrop - All European towns and cities have a big market square, no matter how small they are where people can gather. The squares could have a focal point like an elaborate fountain, or a statue of a prominent local person. In spring, summer and fall, they have tables and chairs and canopies set up by the local restaurants surrounding them and the squares are primarily meeting places for friends and friends to gather. On certain days of the week, they are transformed into fresh food markets, or are places for a concert or to celebrate a festival such as Oktoberfest, Schützenfest, St. Martinsfest, Carneval, the first of May, or Easter...the list goes on and on! But from Advent on, it's solely for the Christmas market. In some cities like Köln, Rothenburg, Aachen or Dresden, the magnificent cathedrals and churches are the background with the elaborate stone or half timbered Rathaus included. The guildhall of the masters could also be located on the square and it's always beautiful to see centuries old buildings decorated with garland, wreaths and lights creating a magical backdrop. Ruhr Cities like Essen whose old churches and buildings were utterly obliterated during the allied bombing raids of WWII have no older beautiful buildings and instead try extra hard to be special by having more lights, lots of music, beautifully decorated stalls and medieval artisan areas to generate interest from locals and visitors alike.

7) Carousels - These are very popular in Europe and you will always find at least one in even the smallest market, while the bigger ones in the cities have several. When the markets get crowded at night time and kids start to get cranky, savvy parents head for the carousel and let their little ones ride around and around while they stand, sip their Glüwein and listen to the carousel music and watch the frowns on their kids transform into smiles.

8) Ferris Wheels - Only the bigger cities have one of these, and they are fantastic for getting an overall view of all the lights of the Christmas Market. Bring your camera. Click!

Some of the markets are only open for the four weeks before Christmas, yet others close after the twelve days of Christmas which end on Jan. 5th. Either way, it has been a great experience and something that brightens the dark days before the winter solstice.

Paris: The City of Light

The City of Light and even more so now that it's The Christmas season of Advent in Paris. Here it is the end of November and we've been blessed with the most extraordinary weather. Mild temperatures, dry and even sunny at times.

There were going to be four of us so we opted to rent a beautiful old apartment called appropriately, 'Perfectly Paris' for the space and convenience and chose the area of village-like Montmartre in the 18th Arrondissement (or district) which is the highest geographical area of Paris. It is home to many artists and students and small shop owners. The people here are friendly and jovial and welcome you to Paris with open arms.

We took the train to Paris from Düsseldorf. Why? Because it costs about the same, but there are no annoying security checks, luggage inspections or restrictions on liquids or food that you can bring with you. There's free wifi on the train too and a food/bar car if you want to buy lunch.

We arrived at Gare du Nord train station and took a 10 minute taxi ride to our late 19th century apartment just steps away from the iconic Abbesses Métro Station with its scrolling Art Nouveau ironwork frame. Our apartment was amazing! Up one floor along a wide circular wooden staircase to our French blue door. We were welcomed by our apartment assistant Georgina from the Perfectly Paris organization. And it WAS perfect! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms with tub and shower, a full kitchen, full dining room and full living room all tastefully decorated with beautiful cranberry quilts and tapestries, as well as Old Parisian maps, and stylish, but comfortable furniture with Cluny tapestry pillows throughout. It was fully stocked with travel and photo books on France, Paris and other European countries, as well as a good array of other books, DVDs and games.

We settled in and then left to explore the city. Here are some of the many highlights:

1) Le Metro - this is the densest subway system in the world with 16 lines and currently 303 stations and counting. It is also one of the oldest and as such it is unfortunately not accessible for people with a disability as there are A LOT of stairs up and down. There are some escalators too, but most of them go up, not down, and there is the occasional elevator...but don't count on it. If we ever wondered why the Parisians are so slim, one of the reasons is because they do a helluva lot of walking. We clocked way more steps here in this city than in London.

Each Metro line is colour coded like Toronto and has many transfer points and zones. The farther you travel, the more you pay. Toronto is trying to do this as well, making it more expensive for people outside Toronto to come in to work, but making it cheaper for people who live in the city to get to work. This is fair, as people outside of Toronto do not pay taxes to supplement the subway upkeep and improvement costs even though they use it. The Paris Métro is also integrated with the RER lines, like our GO trains except you can use the Métro tickets on the RER.

The stations themselves are sometimes very similar on the same line except for the colour of the tiles, or sometimes, very different with artwork. Like Toronto, the Louvre Museum stop has statues representing what's in their museum like The Venus de Milo.

Some lines like line 1 have solid glass partitions along the entire platform. The train must stop in an exact spot that lines up with the

2) Surviving the Louvre - Lord, this thing is HUGE! You can't see everything in one or two or even three visits, so don't even try to. Why? You'll be too tired, that's why. Just to get into the place is a challenge. We entered through the Métro where you arrive at a department store complex underground, much like the Eaton Centre except these are high end stores like Le Printemps or the chocolate store, Maxim's. You keep walking until you hit your first security line. Bag scan, body scan through a machine, then a pat down and wand scan from security. You are free to go until you reach the glass pyramid area where the second scan of your bag and person takes place in case they missed something. Then up the escalator and just before the exhibits, the third bag check and ticket check before you can enter.

This is the time to choose just one area to look at. We chose the Denon wing that held the Mona Lisa and was mostly Italian paintings. Wander around and take photos which are allowed. We smelled the Mona Lisa area before we saw it as dozens of people were in front of the painting holding up their cameras or iPhones high to snap a photo. This being Europe, the smell of ripe underarm pits hung strongly in the air. Get in, look, and get out was our motto. There were other things to see. Besides, she's under glass, creating a glare, and you cannot get within 20 feet of her as there is a metal barrier. So, move on.

3) Napoleon's Tomb (aka Les Invalides) - You have to see this place; it's the biggest, most spectacular mausoleum that I've ever seen. The massive gilded doors at the entrance tell you you're somewhere important. Love him or hate him, Napoleon left his mark, not just in Paris, but France itself and in the constitutions and systems of countries all over the world. One oddity was Napoleon's taxidermied white horse. Bit of a shock since in all the hero paintings of Napoleon, this stallion is on its hind legs, mane flowing, looking pretty majestic with Napoleon on his back. In contrast, the stuffed horse in front of me was beige, skinny and short...I guess to fit its rider. Still, a little disappointing. Not so, all the old cannon lined up in the courtyard, aged to a patina of verdigris and all facing outward. You could just imagine Napoleon lining them all up and shooting a volley of grapeshot down the streets of Paris, or wherever else he was afoot.

4) Cluny Museum -

5) Orsay Museum - This museum is mainly known for their vast collection of Impressionist paintings, including Realism and post-impressionism, and many sculptures as well.. The collection is housed in an old Parisian train station that they were about to tear down back in the day until someone had the bright idea to turn it into a light filled museum. Imagine seeing all your favourite pieces in one place arranged sporadically: Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Sisley, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Cezanne, Manet, Pissarro, Matisse, Bazille, Boudin, Rodin Seurat, Guillaumin. Also, Whistler's Mother was a big draw. The main thing to remember about the impressionists is that their paintings were full of light, they used short brush strokes and pure, unmixed colours. There were many statues too in the main hall to gaze upon. It was awesome!


6) Orangerie Museum - An Orangerie is like a giant greenhouse full of light used to grow oranges, along with lemons and warm, sunloving trees. They grew oranges to mask the stench of the palace close by. We had to line up for this one, but not for very long. The highlight were two huge oval rooms depicting vast canvases in a circular pattern as Monet painted his waterlilies. One room shows them by day, and the other in shadows at dusk. We sat and gazed in wonder at the range of blues, turquoise, lavenders and purples before us. It had a calming effect. I think they could have added some appropriate classical music for a better experience. There were also many Renoir paintings and a whole exhibit on American painters folk art. There was an American Exhibit from the 1930s too with the iconic portrait of American Gothic by Grant Wood.

7) Rodin Museum - Have to say, this gem was my favourite museum because it was so different from the others.

8) Notre Dame Cathedral -

9) Sainte Chapelle - Lovely little chapel that leaves you utterly gobsmacked with its beauty. It is basically a skeleton of stone with walls of medieval stained glass in brilliant colours reaching almost to the ceiling. Look up and the same ceiling is a sea of lapis blue with golden stars painted on its surface. The pillars and walls are also painted in gorgeous reds and blues with golden patterns of fleur de lis or castles or diamond grids with roses. The altar area stretches up in a series if arches with singing angels while painted wooden statues of ancient kings line the walls beneath the windows. Look down to an intricate tiled floor with patterns and designs. 

The best part about Sainte Chapelle is that we came at night time as well to hear a classical concert of Pachebel's Canon and Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the darkened chapel with only the golden dome at the front which lit the harpsichord, three violins and one cello to perfection. An emotional highlight was when the lead violinist stepped down to the centre aisle and slowly walked the length of the chapel while playing the most exquisite music from his violin. We all agreed it was like magic.

10) Sacre Coeur Basilica -

11) Galleries Lafayette -

12) Christmas Windows -

13) The Roue of Paris (giant Ferris wheel) - This giant wheel was at la Place de Concorde where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were assassinated by the guillotine along with thousands of the nobility during the Reign of Terror in the late 17th century.We didn't have a long wait and a bonus was that the young pod operator said I spoke French really well, which I don't, but what a flirt! We secured a pod for the three of us and up we went, oohing and ahhing over the view of Paris by night. The highlight came when we were at the top and the Eiffel Tower suddenly started to twinkle and sparke with thousands of lights. It was awesome!

14) Café Angelina -

15) Arc de Triomphe -

16) Champs Élyssées -

17) La Défense and le Grand Arche -

18) Gourmet Food -

19) Salvador Dali Museum -

20) Decorative Arts Museum - this museum of art and design is actually part of the west wing of the Louvre, but the entrance is different.

21) The Left Bank - Called the Left Bank because it is the left side of the Seine River that runs through the city. It is also on the side of the Louvre for easy reference. What this area is known for is the long parade of artists selling their artwork. Many decades ago, most of it was probably original, but today, most of it is mass produced

22) The Latin Quarter -

23) Montmartre -

24) Tuileries Garden - We cut through the gardens on our way to somewhere else. It was deserted, but had statues around. I'm guessing it's a really nice place in spring and summer with flowers and fountains.

25) Cemetary of Montmartre - Wow! Eerily creepy with those tall and narrow hut-like stone mausoleums over the dead; all packed closely together with only a narrow footpath between them. Each had an iron door with an ornate metal grid. Many doors were rusted shut from disuse, but if you peeked inside, there was a stone or wooden pulpit to kneel on and say prayers for the dead with a small stained glass window to look at for inspiration. Even more creepy! Most graves dated back to the 1800s, but there were some recent burials too. When a family's rent runs out, bones are dug up, cremated and scattered over a designated area. You can choose 10, 30, 50 years, or in perpetuity. However, the ancestors are expected to maintain the grave because the ground does heave with frost and stone cracks and windows break. One heartrending grave was the statue of a mother in grief over the grave of 20 year old son. Wild cats slink in and out of the mausoleums, making them their home. As the light started to fade, there's a decided chill in the air and my sister and I both agreed it was time to leave the world of the dead and join the world of the living.

Locked Out

Well, the 'fun' never ends...ahem! 

We live in an apartment with a back door that leads to all the recycling bins in a small enclosed alleyway. Today, I was on my way down to the basement to do some laundry when I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone by throwing out some cardboard on the way. I went down to street level, left the laundry by the stairs and opened the back door to put the box in the blue bin. I noticed another box blown by the wind to an overgrown vine covered area, so leaned over the fence to retrieve it when I heard an ominous click. The wind had closed the door!

I went to open it, but it didn't budge. I had my house keys on me so looked for the key hole...no key hole. At this point, I was looking around for options. I thought of banging on the door, but no one was around except Elowyn who knew I was going down to do laundry, but who also had her headphones on and was watching videos whilst watching TV and all the windows were closed...so no help there. There was an elderly lady on the third floor, but she had gone out shopping for market day and everyone else was at work. Elowyn would have to be my salvation.

The area I was in was approx 1.5m x 4m enclosed by a high wooden fence on three sides and the wall of the apartment on the other. One fence was at waist level. I peered over at a mess of vines and the construction site of deep mud, various digging machines, piles of wood and stone and debris. I looked down at the slippers I was wearing and was fully prepared to lose them in the mud. The construction crew were in the pit pouring concrete and the din of the cement mixing truck did not bode well for someone hearing me. 

I contemplated just hanging out until someone else came home to throw out recycling, but it was only 3pm, and it would be at least 2 hours or more before people came home, and being late November, it was chilly outside and I didn't have a coat on. I heard Steven's voice in my head, 'wallet, keys, phone', and cursed having not brought my phone with me.  Lord! I didn't want to hear any, "I told you so later". 

I looked back at the fence and the vines on the other side. I didn't know what was under said vines, and was wary about stepping on something, so reached over and started to pull them out and toss them in the bio bin close by. This went on for 20 min., but now my nose was starting to run and I felt really chilled.

The construction guys were still pouring concrete all this time and were still in the pit and couldn't see me. What a dilemma. I waited another ten minutes and finally, the engines stopped and one construction dude climbed out of the pit. Knowing this might be my only chance for a long time, I yelled as loud as I could to catch his attention while waving my arms frantically.

Thank God, he heard and saw me and came over looking puzzled. Now was the moment of truth. I had been outside in the cold for 30 minutes planning my escape. I spoke in careful, if very simple German to him of my plan.

"Hallo, wie gehts?" (Hi, how are you?)

He grinned and said he was well. Then asked how I was. This was when it got dicey. I had to make him understand that I wanted him to go to the street in front of the apartment, ring the bell that said my name, K.Hille and wait for my daughter to buzz him in, then to go in, walk to the back of the apartment, open the door, and end my icebox experience. So this is what I said:

"Enschuldigen, mein Deutsch is ganz schlimm. Ich bin sehr kalt, aber Ich hat die papier und denn die tur ist geschlossen. Der ist kein schlossel. Kanst du gehe zum die Hause und klinge die Klinge bei K. Hille? Meine Tochter will anrufen, dann du kommst zuruck und ofen die tur fur mich. bitte. Okay?"

He scratched his head. Because this is what I had actually said:

"I'm sorry, my German is very bad. I am very cold, but I have the paper and the door is closed. He is not a key. Can you go home and sound the blade at K. Hille? My daughter wants to call you, then you come back and open the door for me please, okay?"

I figured hand gestures were the next order of business since he wasn't quite getting it and now the other construction guys were giving him smack and whistling and laughing and here the poor guy was trying to understand me. I repeated words this time, but didn't know the word for bell, so mimicked pressing a bell and saying bzzzzzzzzz! He got it right away this time, about the buzzer pressing thing anyway and I made motions that my daughter would open the front door on the buzz. He got out a piece of paper and wrote my name on it for the right button to press and then after 10 minutes of repeating my very poor instructions and despite the other guy's heckling, off he went.

At this point, I started to say a few 'Hail Mary's for good measure and threw in an 'Our Father' for good measure waiting on pins and needles for what seemed an interminably long time when finally, the back door opened and there stood my unlikely hero.

I broke out into a big smile, my teeth chattering, my nose red and running, my eyes watering from the cold, but oh so happy! I shook his hand and thanked him again and again while he waved to his friends and stuck out his chest. He'll have a story to tell his family tonight!

I was shivering now, but there was my wet laundry still waiting, so I walked to the basement, put it on and climbed up the three flights of stairs to our apartment. I knocked on the door and Elowyn answered.

"Where were you?"

"Locked out!"

"Really?!?"

"Yes!" 

"You actually helped by buzzing in the construction guy". 

Then I told her the whole story and she looked amazed, then started laughing. "I'm going to tell Daddy!" 

"Why don't you make me a tea instead.' 'Plus I'm going to need two blankets to warm up". 

Moral of the story, take your phone, keys and wallet when leaving the apartment...even if it's just to do laundry.

Brrrrrrrrrr!

Misadventures by Train from Paris

There are all sorts of advantages traveling by train these days: less security checks, no lost luggage or waiting around for luggage to come down a carousel, no restrictions on liquids or food being brought with you, more legroom, wider seats, better scenery and sometimes even less time spent in travel if you factor in the time you have to spend at an airport waiting for your plane, and of course it costs less if traveling second class.

So, that's sounds great, yes? Why wouldn't everyone travel by train then? That's exactly what I thought; especially the part about no restrictions on liquids and food being brought home with you, because we were in Paris after all, so of course we're bringing home cheeses, wine, mustards, fine chocolates, delectable macarons, chestnut and chocolate spreads, jams and sauces; a regular traveling pantry I'd say!

Our journey by taxi was actually enjoyable being picked up by a roomy Mercedes as it were. The friendly taxi guy spoke some frenglish which went well with our frenglish so we got on well and learned a few things. He brought us right up close to the sparkling Gare du Nord, and I say sparkling because the last time I was there 30 years ago, it was a dank, dirty and dingy place with filthy floors, beggars everywhere and very rude vendors who ripped you off for a small, stale sandwich. Now, it's a gleaming palace in comparison with a new glittery red bear like piece of art in front. But, before you get into this gleaming transportation hub, you must traverse 30 metres of being swarmed by pickpockets and so called beggars who really intend to distract and steal from you, and in fact, work in gangs of 5 or more. We learned this from everyone we met and actually had some dicey encounters ourselves, but that's another story.

So, we waded through the these annoyances clutching luggage and valuable Paris delicacies to the 'palace' because once inside, the gendarmerie were an ominous presence and there was nary a pickpocketer or 'beggar' to bother you.

Following Steven's advice (he'd traveled home two days before my sister and I with Elowyn), we got out of the cold and went by elevator upstairs to a Relay Store which is a book/magazine/snack/coffee store. We scored two comfortable seats in the warm store and ordered a coffee while we waited for our track to show up on the digital board. This is shown 30 min. before the train leaves.

When it was, we went back down and queued for security. This was new, didn't queue in Düsseldorf, but we were in Paris who is on high alert for terrorists and was like this in every museum and attraction we visited, so it was part of the new normal. In fact, the week we were there, the police had foiled some kind of terrorist plot and arrested a bunch of people.

Anyway, as luck would have it, our train was attached to another train and we would be separating in Brussels. Because of this, we had to walk a good 200 m all the way to the very last car on the train. Finally got in, stored our luggage and blissfully sank into our seats for the 3hr 55 min ride...or so we thought.

All went smoothly despite a family with four, count em FOUR babies under three years old. Two of them were twins, none of them were happy and all of them wore diapers, smelly diapers. It's hard to have an appetite when crying babies are being changed out of their poopy diapers RIGHT in the train cabin! I later checked out the facilities and in this day and age you'd think someone would design an area for a parent to change their child's diaper in a clean, safe, and well ventilated place! Maybe there was such a place in another car, but for convenience sake of her crying children, the mother changed them right there and everyone else had to suffer through the galling smell while we all covered our noses and breathed through our scarves to survive the diaper exchange. Lord!

The train was fast and arrived in Brussels on time where we separated our train and moved on towards Germany. In Köln, the family with all the babies got off and the rest of us breathed a sigh of relief thinking our troubles were over, but no, they were just about to begin.

We made good time and the train engineer announced we were about to arrive in the hauptbahnhof in Düsseldorf. We packed up our devices, got our coats on, and our luggage and queued in the aisles to get off as the train pulled in to the dark station at 8pm. We waited and waited until suddenly, the engineer said in four languages, "Close the doors, nobody is allowed off!" That was curious! One German guy looked out the darkened window and peered at the signpost and said in German," This is not Düsseldorf!" Now, our whole car was straining towards the window to see if it was true until the engineer said, "Sorry, we are not in Düsseldorf, we are in Sollingen!" WHAT?!? Now our train erupted with everyone talking at once. I asked German guy where Sollingen was and he said it was 45 km Northwest of Köln and no where near Düsseldorf which is straight north from Köln. Now we were in a pickle. What the hell happened?!? At first, we were joking about it and I said that the engineer had too much glüwein (mulled wine) until someone said ominously, "But, this is a FRENCH train!" It was then that we all got silent and worried, especially the Germans.

The engineer came on again sounding exasperated and apologized again and said we'd be at our destination soon. We started crawling along, then stopping and everyone seemed worried. I asked German guy why we were going so slow. He said that the engineer had made a terrible mistake by going on the wrong track and not to have noticed it for 45 km because all the trains were on schedules and now we were not on course and it was dangerous to proceed with other high speed trains on the same track, there could be a collision. I texted Steven and told him we'd be late and didn't know when we'd get in, and that we had missed our connecting train.

Ten minutes later, the engineer announced confidently that NOW we had arrived in Düsseldorf, but German guy looked out his window and said, it's impossible, it takes more than 10 min. to get to Düsseldorf from Solingen especially in a very slow train. And he was right, because a few moments later, an audibly agitated engineer announced this was NOT Düsseldorf after all and to close the doors.

All the passengers were talking at this point wondering if the engineer was incompetent, or 'in his cups' as one guy said. The train crawled on, stopping and going.

We finally arrived at our destination 45 min. late and hurried to catch the next connecting train to Ratingen. By this time, we were tired and it was much colder in the dark evening air, but we caught the next train which goes every 30 min. and settled down for the short ride.

I had texted Steven that we were coming, so he was coming by car to pick us up. We had arrived, went down the ramps, but no Steven.

Where are you? I texted.
Right here by the buses.
What buses?
Right at the only exit.
We ARE at the only exit and there's no one here.
We are on the street. (I texted the intersection names then took a photo of the train station sign too for good measure).
You got off at the wrong stop, you're 6 km away!

Then my phone died. Yeah...

Having a power bar came in handy, but it was buried in my purse, then I had to find the right cord. And finally I said to my sister, let's get back on the next train and go further. So, up the long ramps we trudged to the platform while my phone started juicing up. Then of course, I was locked out of my phone and needed the SIM number. Finally unlocked the dumb phone and texted Steven to stay where he was and wait for us.

Thankfully he got the message and did wait. We got on the next train and arrived home two hours behind schedule. ThalysTrain is getting a letter from me.

Good to be home. Today we try the Beaujolais wine to celebrate.

Would I travel by train again? Yes! But maybe, not a French train!