As many of you will know by now, I don't do "Golden Pints", as the concept is a little past its sell-by date, and can come over as rather naff. What I do instead is take a look back over the past year and reflect on the highlights, with a particular emphasis on beer and travel. As there's quite a bit to get through, I've decided to break things down into two parts. This first one is a brief overview of 2017. The second installment will look at a few specifics.
Like 2016, last year was quite tame, and something of a mixed bag. I did manage four separate visits to Germany; one of which was an unexpected business trip, but apart from a brief stop over in Belgium to change trains, that was the extent of my foreign travel. On the home front, nights away were largely confined to trips up to Norfolk to visit my father. Unfortunately dad’s Alzheimer’s is slowly getting worse, and sadly on each visit there seems to be less and less of the father I remember and love.
Like 2016, last year was quite tame, and something of a mixed bag. I did manage four separate visits to Germany; one of which was an unexpected business trip, but apart from a brief stop over in Belgium to change trains, that was the extent of my foreign travel. On the home front, nights away were largely confined to trips up to Norfolk to visit my father. Unfortunately dad’s Alzheimer’s is slowly getting worse, and sadly on each visit there seems to be less and less of the father I remember and love.
At the end of each year I like to look back at what I have
achieved in various areas of my life. With just three and a half years before I
reach state retirement age, there is still quite a lot to accomplish before I can swap
the nine to five with something
different, and potentially more rewarding. Part of my strategy is to complete
the outstanding work on the house and pay off the mortgage.
The latter is progressing well, and there’s been some movement on the home-improvement front, although the major bathroom refurbishment has been put on hold until the new year. The delay this is not down to the inability of the great British workman to turn up when he’s supposed to, but rather because there is far too much choice in relation to wall tiles, bathroom suites and associated fittings, and it took Mrs PBT’s and I rather a long time to choose.
The latter is progressing well, and there’s been some movement on the home-improvement front, although the major bathroom refurbishment has been put on hold until the new year. The delay this is not down to the inability of the great British workman to turn up when he’s supposed to, but rather because there is far too much choice in relation to wall tiles, bathroom suites and associated fittings, and it took Mrs PBT’s and I rather a long time to choose.
Back in February, I succumbed to pressure from my son and
his friend to accompany them to Munich.
This was the first of last year’s visits to Germany,
although the trip was slightly against my better judgement. This was because I
view the Bavarian capital as a "summer city", and considered that the cold bleak
days of February would not show the city in its best light.
I was correct in that assertion, but we still had a good
time, and the boys enjoyed their visit to BMW Welt. They even persuade me to
join the tour of the adjacent car plant; something which took a full two hours
and several kilometres on foot to accomplish. I wouldn’t have minded the later
had I not already been for a lengthy walk around the nearby Olympia
Park.
I was back in the Federal
Republic a month later; this time
to the city of Cologne, on a
business trip. I had been by my boss asked to step in at the last minute to
help staff the company stand at the International Dental Show (IDS). This
event, which takes place every two years, is the largest dental show in the
world, and is a “must attend” event for any company involved in the field of
dentistry.
Unlike previous shows, where we have driven over in a hired
van, this year we shipped the exhibits over in advanced and travelled across to
Cologne by train. This involved
taking the Eurostar service from Ebbsfleet to Brussels,
and then switching onto the Thalys train, direct to Cologne.
This was a fast, comfortable and very civilised way to travel, with minimum
check-in times at Ebbsfleet and just a 45 minute stop-over in Brussels.
What’s more, there are no limits on baggage and no restrictions on liquids
either.
We didn’t see much of Cologne,
as the exhibition was very busy, and there were a couple of nights where we
were dining out with customers. We’d all been to Cologne
before though, so that didn’t really matter, and on the plus side we picked up
several new overseas customers. We managed one night at a traditional Cologne
beer hall, in the shape of Früh am Dom.
The place was absolutely rammed, but our waiter found us a
table right in the bowels of the building. Our Polish colleague was pleased
because she had her Schnitzel and Sauerkraut fix (so did I, as it
happens). I was pleased at the chance to
down a fair few Stanges of Kölsch.
I was back in Cologne
two months later, this time as part of a group of CAMRA beer enthusiasts. The
trip was actually to the neighbouring Rhineland city of Düsseldorf,
but we spent a day in Cologne which
included lunch at Malzmühle; a Kölsch brew-pub at the far end of the Alte
Markt, which I had always wanted to visit on previous trips to the city, but
never quite managed it.
Our day in Cologne
also saw us visiting Brauerei Sünner, a traditional brewery on the other side
of the River Rhine, and one where the Kölsch style of beer is said to have
originated. After a fascinating tour around the brewery, we concluded with an
excellent evening meal, at the small beer garden attached to the brewery.
Düsseldorf though was the main focus of our visit, and gave
us the chance to enjoy the city’s own, unique style of beer, known as Alt Bier.
The latter is a top-fermented, copper-coloured beer which, apart from being
served on the cold side, is quite similar to an English ale. We sampled the
majority of the Alt Biers produced in Düsseldorf, and we also managed a tour
around Schumacher; the city’s oldest brewery (see Part Two).
The highlight of the Düsseldorf trip was the day out we had
to the nearby conurbation of Solingen
and Wuppertal. After travelling by
trolley-bus (remember those), from the former to the latter, we had a ride on
the highly unusual, Wuppertal Suspension Railway.
Known in German as the Schwebebahn, this 110 year
old Suspension Railway operates at a height of around 40 feet above
the River Wupper, and runs for a distance of just over 8 miles from Vohwinkel
to Oberbarmen. We took advantage of this unusual mode of transport to
visit the Wuppertaler Brauhaus; a large and spacious brew-pub, which occupies a
former public swimming baths. On our return journey to Solingen,
we visited another brew-pub in the in the small village
of Gräfrath.
(See Part Two, best beers).
And so to our family holiday, and my fourth visit to Germany.
We again visited the unspoilt medieval city of Regensburg on the River Danube,
in eastern Bavaria, and like the
previous year, our took place at the end of September. However, whilst
we had very little in the way of rain, the temperatures were much cooler than the previous year, but it was still a nice family break, in an attractive city. If you
don’t know Regensburg, I can highly
recommend a visit.
We spent the first day of our holiday in Munich,
having flown in the night before. Our stay just happened to coincide with
Oktoberfest; that well known fortnight's celebration of beer and all things Bavarian. (See part Two, Bucket List).
To be continued.................................
To be continued.................................