The tour leader and guide on our recent Düsseldorf trip, did
a sterling job by providing us with an interesting and varied programme of
places to visit, pubs to try and beers to enjoy. He also looked after all the
transport arrangements, going so far as purchasing the requisite number of tickets, using group
offers wherever possible. We then shared the costs between ourselves. This was
the same arrangement which applied on the visit we made to Jihlava, in the Czech
Republic, two years ago.
I’m sure our guide won’t mind me describing him as something
of a “public transport buff”; but then he did work as bus driver of several
years, prior to retirement. He is well
known in CAMRA circles for promoting buses and trains as a means of getting to
and from the pub, and contributed the section in the “Gateway to Kent Pub
Guide” entitled “By bus or train to the pub.” This is something I am all in
favour of, especially as it is surprising to learn that many people are unaware
of the public transport links in their own area; preferring instead to jump
into their car and drive to a particular pub.
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Trolley bus - central Solingen |
It’s a bit different when holidaying abroad, and whilst some
people might decide to hire a car, it kind of defeats the object when it is
beer you are after. Most European countries seem to have better public
transport systems than what we have in the UK.
They attract more investment and are often fully integrated, meaning it is
possible to switch from trains to buses and then onto trams or even the
underground; all on the same ticket.
On my own forays abroad, I have normally done a bit of
homework prior to departing, and have sussed out train times or details of bus
routes etc, in order to get to a particular location and back. Sometimes though
it is nice to just sit back and let someone else do all the donkey-work.
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This was the second unusual mode of transport of the day,
and a quite amazing one at that. Our group tickets were valid on this most
unusual of railways, so we ascended to the platforms and waited for one of the
two-car trains to arrive. We didn’t have to wait long as during the week, the
trains run at four minute intervals. Once aboard, we settled down to enjoy the
ride.
Werther Brücke station |
I was sitting directly behind the driver’s cab, so had an
excellent view as we travelled along, suspended in the air. For the first few
stops, the track follows the course of the street, and it seemed strange passing
houses and businesses at just below roof level, but before long we noticed the
train was following the course of the River Wupper, some 40 feet below us.
It seems incredulous in this day and age that a railway
could be constructed above a river, but I strongly suspect that at the turn of
the last century the Wupper river was not the pleasant water-course it is
today. There was a industrial purpose to the railway back then, as there were
many factories and other works along the banks of the river and, as we noticed, agro-chemical giant Bayer still has a presence there today.
After a journey of around 25 minutes, we alighted at Werther
Brücke station which is three stops from the end of the line. We were making
for the Wuppertaler Brauhaus, which is a large brew-house housed in a former
swimming baths. Our route took us through a busy pedestrianised shopping area, which
didn’t look promising as a location for a brew-pub, but we eventually found the
place we were looking for, tucked away in a pleasant location well away from the
shops.
As the Wuppertaler Brauhaus is somewhere worthy of its own
post, I will end here and cover this excellent brew-pub and beer garden in a
separate article.
4 comments:
Very much enjoying this one. Fun.
I agree with Dave.
The detail about transport is always great in your blogs Paul, and I really need to go back to Wuppertal.
One of my good friends is a Jerry.He's a tiler by trade and goes by the nickname of Kraut The Grout which he likes very much.
He also has a very good sense of humour which goes against the old cliche about them being a humourless lot.
He put up a wall of brick slips for me recently and when I informed him they were from one hundred year old bricks that came from Poland he instantly disagreed saying " I can't see any of our bullet holes in them. "
Anyway,I digress.It's many years since I've been to Germany and I'm trying to persuade the missus to accompany me on a trip but she's a little nervous having seen so much news on the TV about the migration problem.
What were your experiences on the trip.
A great read by the way.
The railway was definitely fun, but it’s easy to see why these overhead systems never really caught on, despite their popularity today.
Glad you enjoyed the article Prof, and your friend’s joke about the bricks made me laugh. It’s worth noting though, on a more serious note, that many buildings in Berlin still have bullet marks – almost certainly Russian ones! The myth about the Germans not having a sense of humour, definitely isn’t true, and I have an example of my own which disproves this, which I will reveal in the next post.
Your missus will be fine visiting Germany, as it’s one of the safest countries in the world. I have been visiting the Federal Republic, on a regular basis, for the last decade or so, and have never once felt threatened, or indeed unsafe. Obviously the normal common sense measures, which one would take in any big city apply, but I have staggered back to my hotel, late at night, on many an occasion without any hint of trouble.
As for potential problems arising from migration, the media have exaggerated this out of all proportion; as might be expected, so enjoy your trip.
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