Ihadn’t been on a proper holiday since Grace died just over two years ago. I’m sure my sister won’t mind me saying that going up to Scotland to stay with her and my brother-in-law is a break rather than a holiday. So I decided to organise one for myself. Something that I hadn’t done for, well I suppose, ever. Grace used to organise our holidays. I would be told, “We are going to (say) Switzerland for the last two weeks in June. Make sure that you have booked your holidays”. Before we were married I didn’t organise holidays so much as head off in my car or on my bike and see where I ended up.
I decided to go with Great Rail Journeys (GRJ) to Zell am See. Three reasons (in the main) why I made that choice;

1. 1. Grace and I had gone with Great Rail Journeys in the past so I knew what to expect. I knew that if I wanted to find someone to talk to or have a drink with I could and that if I wanted to be on my own then I could do that as well.
   2. They did not want a ridiculous supplement for being a solo traveller. Some companies want 100%.
   3. Grace and I had a wonderful holiday in Zell am See about twenty-five years ago and I thought it would be a good place for my first solo trip.

Day 1 Wallington to Cologne

This should really start at day -2 when I had to go shopping for some new clothes. I hadn’t actually bought any clothes (apart from underwear and socks) for about four years. My smart but casual wardrobe was looking a bit more casual than smart. That was accomplished reasonably painlessly, although it did take two trips. I’m happy with what I bought although Grace would probably have said “booooring”.
Packing was also carried out without much drama, and I didn’t forget anything vital.

A combination of the 157 bus, the tram and an unusually on-time Thameslink train got me up to St Pancras just before twelve. I checked in with GRJ, decided to go straight through security and passport control and have a coffee at Café Nero, because that is what Grace and I used to do when we were waiting for the Eurostar. But Café Nero isn’t there anymore. They must have lost the franchise. So I made do with a beer instead, Leffe, because we were initially heading for Belgium.

I sat there sipping my beer, looking forward to my holiday, but also feeling a bit lost, a bit nervous and slightly tearful. I was going on holiday without Grace for the first time in thirty odd years.

The rest of the day was Eurostar to Brussels followed by the Thalys to Cologne. Apart from a short walk around the inspiring (not) area around Station Brussel-Zuid and the Thalys taking longer than normal, I assumed because of engineering works, there was not ready that much else to remark on. The journey across northern France and Belgium isn’t particularly attractive. So here are photos of the trains I travelled on.

We stayed over night at The Hotel Maritim in Cologne, a very pleasant hotel with a state of the art shower, complete with adjustable mood lighting.

Day 2 Cologne to Zell am See

It was an early start to catch the ICE ( I do like Germany’s ICE trains) to Munich. But not before breakfast including a croissant with Nutella, because Grace used to say that you couldn’t be sure that you were in continental Europe unless you had a croissant with Nutella for breakfast. Then we had a long day on the train(s) to Zell am See. The scenery on the first part of the journey is either flat industrial farm land or flat industrial, but as the train ventures further south, somewhere in the Stuttgart region, it changes to rolling hills. Approaching Munich, the Alps appear on the horizon.
I arrived in Munich about 12:30 so it was time for lunch. As far as I am concerned there is only one thing to have for lunch between trains in Germany, Bratwurst and Beer.

The next part of the journey slowed things down a bit. Instead of flying along at 280 km/hr, I changed to an EC train from Munich to a place called Schwarzach St Veit. It pootled its way through the really rather pretty alpine foothills at what felt like 25 km/hr.

At Schwarzach I caught a local train to Zell am See. It was a bit crowded and reservations did not seem to apply, the south London commuter instincts kicked in, there is a seat, no one else seems to want it ok, it’s mine.

The scenery gradually became more spectacular as I approached Zell am See. I arrived about 17:00 and from the station it was a five-minute walk to the hotel.

The Grand Hotel looked quite grand but in some ways was less grand than I hoped it would be. I won’t dwell on its short comings, because that’s not the point of this post. If you want a definitive hotel review try Trip Advisor. It had been a long day on the trains, so after dinner and a couple of beers I went to bed.