January 2019 – Returning to Te Ika-a-Māui

E11: Gutenberg – Görzig – Weißandt-Gölzau

Friday, July 20: Sunny and warm throughout

Halle, Alexandra’s (€11.4, bedroom with shared facilities, via airbnb)

Early morning at the dentist’s to check whether yesterday’s extraction had gone to plan, then a haircut and a brief visit to the office to finalise next semester’s timetable. Then it was a slow process of packing and trying to check that I had everything with me this time. Decided I would go into town by tram, as I had already brought to light that one train on today’s schedule had been replaced by another, with no seat reservation possible. Managed, however, to get some random lights working in the flat, although I should really read up on the mega new device onto how to set it up correctly, forgot only to turn off the video recorder, won’t be many new episodes of CSI anyhow.

If there had been a loose spanner in the works, then DB would have come crumbling down today. A couple of minutes’ delay in leaving the main station were almost immediately raised to about 10 within 100 m of leaving the station; although it didn’t get any worse further along the line, and thus no connections were endangered, there were announcements on the train about advising people not to change for a faster train in Brunswick, as the faster train was delayed, and you’d be quicker staying on this one. Read more…

E11: Gutenberg – Kösseln

Sunday, April 1: Overcast for nearly all of the day and quite cold

Hiking: 26.5 km

Home

Slept in just a little and was able to have my breakfast of an oversize yoghurt and a ready-made coffee in peace and quiet. Coffee tasted fine, wonder what it would be like if I put it in the microwave. Then a note had to be written to Nico to explain any lack of response on my behalf and everything else packed together. Oh, and lunch of two rye rolls with all of the 100 g packet of sliced sausage (Bierschinken) was made with the help of a little margarine from my hosts. I had cleared out the letterbox (at least, removed the newspaper Neues Deutschland) and so could deposit the key there when I left. Gloves and hat were ready for the cold day and I was ready to go @ 9:30. Tram was soon there for Franckeplatz, from there to the station and a slightly longer wait for the bus. Driver greeted me with, “Going to Petersberg?” which I negated, but was otherwise very friendly.

Not a long bus trip today and I knew where I had to go in Gutenberg. At the entrance to Räthern lost the signs again but picked then up fairly soon; again took a little time in Teicha, but then the track was well signed across town. Back at the railway track there was one last sign and at the entrance to the next town the one sign you needed to find the way back was hidden in the bushes. The remainder to Petersberg was sufficiently signed and I arrived in good spirits. Read more…

E11: Zappendorf – Gutenberg

Saturday, March 31: Drizzle to begin with and lasting until about midday, cloudy thereafter & quite cold

Hiking: 32.8 km

Nico’s

There was a bit more time this morning as more trams ran on a Saturday and I knew my way around the main station by now. A tram directly from the square seemed to want another couple of minutes so I wandered down to Franckeplatz and there had a few minutes to wait as well. Distances between stops seem to be very short here.

A variation on trams arriving at the station was with the line I took this morning – it went up the hill and stopped between the entrance to platform 1 and the bus station. This entailed a little detour to get my bread rolls but it was done in good time. Read more…

E11: Eisleben – Zappendorf

Friday, March 30: Sunny but very cold to begin with; becoming somewhat warmer during the day

Hiking: 24.6 km

Nico’s

As breakfast was not on the menu here I decided to be up just before 8:00 to see if I could make sense of the trams to get to the station, buy some breakfast and a ticket & leave on the 8:57 to Eisleben.

Almost immediately there was a tram waiting which I took. First stop on board was the ticket machine which coughed up a reasonably priced ticket. Then to make sense of the maze of lines and work out where to change for the station. There was a relatively good guiding system (complete map with diodes lit in various colors to highlight the route) and conclude I would have to change after two stops at Franckeplatz. There was a longer wait there (practically a Sunday) or the last three stops to the station. A tram to the station pulled up eventually and just before getting on I checked the ticket & realised it still had to be validated! Did do immediately but it might look strange to an inspector. Fortunately there were none. Read more…

E11: Wippra – Eisleben

Wednesday, March 28, 2018: Cloudy in the morning, turning to rain in the late afternoon and evening

Rüssel Pub, Wilhelm-Koenen-Str. 57A, 06526 Sangerhausen, spacious, modern single room with breakfast, amenities down the hall (share with only one other room), €29.8

I had everything together, including the jacket, headwear and gloves in case things should become any colder and was a bus too early to the station. The train was forecast late one minute by the time I had gotten down to the platform, but that would be survivable if it wasn’t DB. As it was, the delay was two minutes in the end and I could get my connections, which were quite numerous today. ICE to Göttingen where I ran across Richard on his way out; local trains for changing in Eichenberg, Leinefelde, and finally in Sangerhausen a bit of a bus tour with two lines needed to get me to the southwest of town where this place is. Went past a supermarket which I later visited. Read more…

Kia Ora!

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to another journey to the other side of the planet.

This time it’s the North Island, and the dates are February 9 – April 7, 2019.

Whanganui River Journey, February, 2015, just after starting

There is still unfinished business: The Whanganui River Journey still has to be filmed after the loss of the camera on the last trip (2015). And while in Ohakune, there’s plenty to do, and escape the crowds at the same time. Why not the Round the Mountain Track this time, instead of the Tongariro Northern Circuit? And perhaps shoot some views of Ruapehu in the sunset or sunrise. Read more…