Trains to Strasbourg

(Featured image: Strasbourg Station).

We took the 11:17 train from Cologne to Mannheim. Then we had to change to catch the TVG from Mannheim to Strasbourg. We had a 47 minute window from the time the Intercity train from Cologne was supposed to arrive, to the time the TGV train was scheduled to leave Mannheim.

Shortly after departing from Cologne on our first train the conductor yelled a lengthy announcement in German, after which the other passengers started getting their bags down from the overhead rack, and putting their coats on. This was while the train was jolting along at about 120 km/h.

Luckily some fellow passengers translated that we were in a “faulty” carriage, and we all had to move along to the next one and take pot luck with the seating. Fortunately, for a two-and-a-half hour trip, there were spare seats in the next compartment.

We were a little stressed (apart from changing carriages) because the train from Cologne kept stopping and eventually was about an hour late, which completely ate into our time for changing trains at Mannheim. We thought we would have to wait a couple of hours to take a slower train to Strasbourg, and arrive somewhat later than we had planned.

However luck was with us, as the TVG train was 20 minutes late itself, and pulled into the adjacent platform shortly after we arrived, so were were able to catch it after all.

Me, relaxing in the first train:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV

The TGV train:

The TGV train was double-storey, and had a café carriage right next to ours. We arrived at Mannheim at 4:30 PM, and then took a short stroll to our hotel.
We passed a Christmas tree on our way to the hotel, in the failing light.

Then we ended up in a very pleasant hotel room:

Tomorrow we are off on the TGV again to Dijon, then on a local train to Beaune, from whence Helen’s sister is going to pick us up and drive us to their holiday house in Hérisson.