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Yeah and I'm not likely to get to Diamond, I think it's a lot of work and requires mostly heads in beds to get there.

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For quite some time I have been a fan of Detektiv Wilsberg, an ongoing German television series which very deftly combines comedy with the crime thriller genre. Georg Wilsberg owns an antiquarian bookshop in Münster and appears to live there as well, which serves as a base for his various exploits. His niece Alex is a lawyer and his best friend Ekki works for the Münster tax office as a tax investigator. His relationship with the Münster police is a bit of the love hate variety, but the range of characters in this series really makes me wonder why the English haven't bought broadcasting rights to the series. The antiquarian bookshop used for the Wilsberg series actually exists, as Antiquariat Michael Solder at Frauenstraße 49/50. It was my first destination upon arrival in Münster, but unfortunately the shop was closed and Michael Solder was enjoying his summer holidays.


A bus stop in Münster full of second hand books


Frauenstraße, where Antiquariat Solder doubled up as Antiquariat Wilsberg for location filming


Me in front of Antiquariat Wilsberg, in reality Antiquariat Solder


Brauhaus Pinkus Müller, which is quite near the Antiquariat Wilsberg location

Münster is one of those lesser known German cities that exudes charm in almost every corner and although it was extensively rebuilt after the war it is a jewel. I began by walking part of the promenade which encircles the central old city, following the course of ancient city walls. I then ended up in one of Münster's charming cafes, the hipster Pension Schmidt (which is anything but a Pension!). Each table has a different décor with period furniture and accessories. From there I enjoyed visiting the old town, finding some nice bookshops and old churches before finally reaching Münster Dom, the cathedral, which has just emerged from several years of restoration work. While Osnabrück is supposedly a Protestant city, Münster celebrates the Catholic faith. However, the cathedral, with its light and airy spaces and lack of iconography, reminded me more of a Protestant church.


I loved this bookshop in the middle of Münster


A tailor's shop in the backstreets of the historical center of Münster, a rare sight these days


Old townhouse, Erbdrostenhof, in the center of Münster


The Clemenskirche



Interior of the Clemenskirche

I finished up the day with a couple of beers in the renowned Pinkus Müller brewery, before crossing the small street to have some schnitzel in the restaurant on the opposite side, Cavete - that way I supported and gave money to both establishments! Münster has a population, I believe, of around 300,000, of which a tenth are students. That makes the city particularly vibrant with a great café and bar scene. I only scratched the surface, so I will go back there sometime in the not too distant future.


Café Pension Schmidt, with furnishings that look like they've been transported from the DDR (the former East Germany)


The münster (cathedral) of Münster


Inside the cathedral of Münster


Inside the mechanics of the clock on Münster cathedral

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I have completed a number of interesting hikes in the Niederrhein region but this one stands out as one of the best. For a start, the towns of Weeze and Goch are charming and full of interesting historical buildings and churches. Weeze is very much a small town but its claim to fame is Niederrhein airport (NRN), which is one of Ryanair's many European bases (although there are fewer flights than there were before the pandemic). Goch is a bigger town with a pleasant pedestrian area with shops, cafes and endless German bakeries. I am a fan of most of these local chain bakeries, namely Horsthemke, Bolten, Kamps and many more, but I chose an independent baker at the end of my walk in Goch for coffee and sweet pastries. Interestingly, just after the war Goch had a Canadian Bürgermeister (mayor of the town) with a Scottish name: Balfour. If there is time to see just one thing in Goch, it has to be the Rathaus (town hall), which is quite unlike any town hall I have seen anywhere else.


There are some lovely old houses in the town of Weeze in the Niederrhein region of Germany


The walk followed the Niers river most of the way to Goch


The trail is very pretty and bucolic most of the way

The walk itself was a delight. Instead of following asphalt farm and forest roads, the route followed the Niers Wanderweg, a very attractive small path along the Niers river. In places the path level was not far above the water level, but there were no issues with wet, submerged sections (despite warnings in the Rother book), despite all the rain we had in summer 2023. The water in the Niers river, dark and muddy, flowed surprisingly swiftly, just slightly under my walking pace. I suppose I must have walked fast, because I achieved the walk in 2h55 rather than the 3h30 advertised by Rother (that doesn't include the 15 extra minutes to get from Weeze station to the start point of the walk). There are no difficulties with finding the way because the route description was very clear and you just have to follow the black and white squares painted on trees and posts.


Impossible to escape the presence of these wind farms in Germany


Water sports on the Niers river


A cable ferry where you pull yourself across the river


A major railway route, the Boxteler Bahn, ran through the country between Weeze and Goch which connected St Petersburg to London

The one part of the walk on asphalt was at Schloss Kalbeck (not open for visitors and you shouldn't walk past the gate). 100 years ago, when there was a train line with service from St Petersburg to Vlissingen in the Netherlands (from where one could take the boat to England), Schloss Kalbeck had it's own little station! The walk leads you down a shaded alley with affords plenty of protection from the sun, the only annoyance being the number of cars sharing the same road. Back beside the Niers river, the remainder of the walk was a scenic delight, until the first matchboxes - sorry, houses - began to appear, showing that we were getting close to Goch. I used the €49 Deutschlandticket to travel via Krefeld to Weeze, then back from Goch.


The section of the route on asphalt near Schloss Kalbeck was very pleasant


On a couple of occasions, approaching Goch, the walk heads away from the river into open countryside
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The original gate to the town of Goch


The Rathaus (town hall) in Goch

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The trip to Cologne/Bonn airport was not as smooth as it could have been and it was good that I left a huge margin. Regional and S-Bahn trains from Köln Messe/Deutz to the airport were affected by cancellations and delays, with some trains packed like jars of sausages so you couldn't even board the train. I eventually got there and once in the terminal building it was plain sailing - or plane sailing. Note to self: there are Kamps bakery outlets landside at Cologne/Bonn airport, so don't ever stop at the dumps in Messe/Deutz station again.


The Eurowings check-in area in Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)


Boarding the Eurowings flight to Zurich (ZRH)

This time I was on a BASIC fare with Eurowings so there was no lounge access. I whiled away the time in the terminal by doing some flight research and noted that the flight had some 15 minutes delay. In the end that delay became 8 minutes at departure and 3 minutes at arrival in Zurich, which was pretty good because I had a pre-booked train ticket for Montreux later. Boarding was once again a stress free experience but I don't understand the seat allocation algorithm. Loads of empty rows with everyone jammed into all the seats, including middle seats, in the rows towards the rear. So everyone just spread out but my seat neighbour, a very down to earth Ruhrpott person from Dortmund, remained beside me for an interesting exchange about life in the Ruhr.


We didn't board by an external staircase - I took this from a window on the airbridge near where it is attached to the aircraft


Standard cabin interior on the Eurowings Airbus 320

The all male cabin crew offered an easygoing and friendly service. They began by hawking upgrades to more legroom seats for EUR20 and Biz Class seats for EUR55. There wasn't a single taker. Talk about a bad deal especially for such a short flight! I enjoyed the views of the Rhine and the city of Bonn as we took off. From the inflight catering menu I had a Veltins beer (EUR4,50) and just relaxed during the short flight.

Rating 8*
Seat 22F
Aircraft 320
Registration D-ABZE


Lovely views of the Rhine river after take-off from Cologne Bonn Airport


I ordered a Veltins beer from the Buy on Board trolley


In south Germany the Rhine river runs along the German Swiss border

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Here we go, with the €9 Ticket last year I said that I would never again travel from Switzerland to the Düsseldorf area using regional trains. And here I am doing it again, this time with the €49 Ticket. Truth was, I had a slightly complicated set of movements this summer, unexpectedly having to travel between Montreux and the Ruhrgebiet quite a few times. Air fares were still quite high, except for a ticket from Cologne/Bonn CGN to Zurich ZRH which cost only €79.99, and train fares were up there with the clouds too. So, I determined to save money on just this trip and have a true Deutschlandticket masochistic self flagellation experience.


Lake Geneva in the early morning, at Rivaz near Vevey


In the regional train between Basel and Offenburg

It started well at 06h30 in Montreux with every train and bus on the way to Basel being on time. The routing was:

Territet - Montreux (bus)
Montreux - Lausanne
Lausanne - Bern
Bern - Basel SBB (arr. 09h32)
- 1st class CHF20.40
- Super Saver (billet dégriffé)

In Basel I had time for a quick strong coffee in the Café Elisabethen (actually just inside the church of the same name) and a visit to Bider & Tanner to use up a frequent reader gift voucher (a German language crime story called Endstation Engadin). I then walked quickly over to Basel Bad German railway station, which was no mean feat with the ongoing sultry weather and heat.


Leaving the train in Offenburg


The Café Voyage, a traditional café with sandwiches and patisserie in front of Offenburg station

The German part of today's marathon started not so well, with the first train being cancelled. This has been a continual annoyance this summer, with every second train and bus being cancelled without warning. Last year the €9 ticket had its own problems with overcrowding, but at least most trains as shown in the DB app and online timetable actually existed and took place as scheduled. Glancing through the German language media, many outlets think that the €49 ticket has had the opposite effect to the benefits it was supposed to create, with such ideal concepts as being more ecological and getting people to leave their cars at home.


Karlsruhe main station


Interior of the train from Karlsruhe to Mainz, which is usually packed on this stretch

If you're going to try this madness and travel long distances with the €49 Deutschlandticket, then I have a couple of suggestions. When checking connections with the Deutsche Bahn app, piece the journey together in stages, not all in one go, using an intermediate city as a point of focus. With the shifting sands of delays and cancellations, things can change, sometimes for the better. Get yourself onto the platform at least 15 minutes before departure and try to calculate where the doors are going to be (I somehow became quite good at this). If you get onto the platform early, often the train will be sitting there waiting because it's at the start point of its itinerary.


A market within the main station of Mainz, selling local produce


Picture of the lower Rhine gorge, less dramatic but somehow spectacular all the same

offerendum

If I see it correctly this sausages and sweets are from Italy.

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Yes, I guess he is from Italy, I didn't pick that up when I was there. He seemed to be doing good business!

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Time given: 2h15. I completed this hike in 1h45, not counting visiting the Klettersteig climbing area and stopping for a short picnic later.


Near the start of the Balkhauser Tal circuit, as the route slopes up to the climbing area


The landscape of the Balkhauser Tal is really nice, despite being known as a coal mining region

Another unexpectedly beautiful walk in the Ruhrgebiet, this time near Hattingen just where the Ruhr river makes an enormous bend that resembles the plumbing underneath your kitchen sink. As the Rother book honestly declared, the Balkhauser Tal (valley) could be situated in the Black Forest or Allgäu regions of Germany, rather than in the heavily industrialised Ruhr region. Having made all these eulogies, I have to state that the walk did not have any amazing sections or anything that could be described as typically German. But it did have its own set of minor challenges, such as a slightly tricky climb up the other side of the valley after leaving the village of Nierendorf on the second part of the circuit. Here the trail was very overgrown, quite slippery and there were several fallen tree trunks which I found surprisingly difficult to climb over - I must be getting old! The other problem, for me anyway, was the extreme number of mosquitoes. This was not helped by the amount of still water everywhere, the remnants of recent rainfall, especially along the final stretch of the walk. This final part ran parallel to the main road and Ruhr river, along a small path, almost totally overgrown, which ran behind a trailer park.


Climbers preparing to scale the rock face at the Klettersteig area


In some places the way was a bit soggy, following some recent rainfall, but the trail was mostly like shown here

There are no issues whatsoever with finding the way and the route description in the book is perfectly clear. The key is to not climb up to Isenburg on the left (despite the temptation) and remain on the forest road. The Klettersteig climbing area which is point no. 2 is actually inaccurately shown on the map and is some way further south before twisting down to the village of Nierendorf. Unfortunately there is nothing in this village worthy of the visitor's attention, so it best to pass quickly through. Even the modern church, as we exit the village to climb up the other side of the valley, was somehow sterile.


Once at the highest point along the route, the view over the southern Ruhrgebiet was quite impressive


I like the slogan on this bench: "Love life".


And I just love this tree by the roadside, with the flowers

When you begin the initially steep climb on this second part of the walk you have to keep right as you head into the woods. The correct path is not apparently obvious and it seems more logical to keep straight on with the "main" path. Once at the top of the elongated hill the way becomes much clearer, although is quite soggy in places. At least there is a panoramic view over the amazingly green Ruhr once you reach the highest point. The walk follows a series of surfaced country roads, turning hard left (there are two roads heading off to the left) after the impressive water tower. One interesting point, as Wasserstraße descends towards the river Ruhr, is the Heidenstein on the left as we cross a small brook. The composition of this big erratic boulder has nothing to do with the geology of the Ruhr region and was carried a considerable distance by the retreating ice age glaciers before being deposited here in the middle of the brook.


The boulder (Heidenstein) in the middle of the stream is a glacial erratic which was transported a long way from somewhere else; in the last ice age the glaciers extended as far south as the Ruhrgebiet


This was the most overgrown and wild part of the whole hike


The beginning and the ending of the walk was at a small forest car park just beside the Ruhr river

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Another early morning flight which was scheduled to leave Düsseldorf at 06h55. I went through security at 6am on the dot and it was already busy, which was to be expected given that it was Monday morning. I had time for a hot breakfast and cappuccino in the Lufthansa lounge before boarding at A56, a downstairs bus gate.


At Düsseldorf airport DUS, boarding the flight to Geneva GVA


Cabin view in the Eurowings Airbus A319 DUS-GVA

We were driven to a part of the airport apron that must have been the most remote area possible, out where the runway and taxiway is built over the main Düsseldorf to Duisburg railway line. I don't enjoy the bus rides to these remote stands, but I do like climbing up the steps to board the plane. This time our plane, the smallest version of the Airbus 319 (and it looked old too), was parked oddly at right angles to the other planes that were parked there. The flight was nowhere near full and the cabin crew were once again hawking upgrades to more legroom seats, as well as "Biz Class". This time they didn't reveal the prices. There were no takers whatsoever. Following that, we had a 20 minutes wait while the plane was refuelled. Apparently DUS airport didn't have enough drivers to drive the refuelling truck out to the plane.


I love these views of the Rhine river after you take off from Düsseldorf


Onboard catering from the BoB trolley

As this was a Mileage Bargain ticket I received all the perks in addition to lounge access, such as Group 1 boarding (just to get on the bus, I know) and free seat selection, including extra legroom seats and emergency exit row seats, such as seat 9A. And as for the cabin crew, they were excellent, probably because they were older and no doubt belonged to the generation that were used to offering proper service on the previous incarnation of Eurowings. I had a "Sweet Deal" for €6, which included a good cup of Earl Grey tea (with top ups of hot water offered) and a very big chocolate chip cookie! There was a lot of turbulence as we descended over the Jura, until we finally emerged from the clouds. Arrival at Geneva was about 20 minutes behind schedule.

Rating 8%
Seat 9A
Aircraft 319
Registration D-AGWU


View over the Jura mountains on approach to Geneva


This is the train ticket machine in the baggage hall of Geneva airport with a message clearly stating that free tickets are no longer available on the TPG (Geneva public transport)

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When you have your place of studies or work in a certain place, you tend to form habits about your daily life, such as walking to work along the same route, going to the same building, getting the same things for lunch. In the end, you don't notice anything about where you are and you fall into a groove which is not groovy at all. I really don't like that state of affairs and I like to feel that I notice details and experience offbeat things that totally pass by other people. So I felt it was time to do an article about the sides of Sion that most people don't see or notice.


In Sion, crossing the Rhône river over to the rather ugly suburbs of Vissigen and Champsec at around 08h15 in the morning


Walking through Vissigen you get a mixture of recent modern (early to mid 20th century) with new builds, most of it making some post Soviet cities appear more attractive

Despite it's ugly modern nature when you approach Sion, there is a lot of interesting history there that reaches back hundreds of years. It was indeed in the modern parts where I wanted to find unusual elements which might make interesting photos. I had to visit my opthalmologist a couple of times during this period because of a slight scare with my eyes which turned out to be a false alarm. She has established her practice in the same building as the Moxy hotel out in Champsec, not a pretty part of town that spreads across the Rhône floodplain. Closer to the central part of Sion there are some buildings here and there that clearly date from the early part of the 20th century. Some of them have words painted on them, such as "Manufacture de chaussures". Many have been dwarfed by the endless creep of apartment blocks, all of which are horribly anonymous. There is an industrial quarter near the railway tracks, with an old mill, part of which has been converted into restaurants.


This is the Tamoil filling station in central Sion on Avenue de Tourbillon - you can see the café and shop underneath the overhang to the rear


Sion also possesses a mill near the railway tracks, a bit reminiscent of Midwest USA, part of which has been leased to restaurants and other businesses


Corona has taken its toll in Sion too, with lots of businesses closing

My favourite discovery was a cafe which feels like it is somehow underground, that is attached to a Tamoil filling station in central Sion. In all my time in Sion I had never stumbled on this place and it's only about 7 minutes walk from the Conservatoire. It also doubles up as a local small PAM supermarket, with excellent coffee and bakery products, and it has it's own wine cellar with prices that you would pay the winegrowers!


A busy intersection further along Avenue de Tourbillon


The pharmacy just beside the Coop City in central Sion


Place du Midi in the heart of Sion, which borders the old town - more about this another time!

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Geneva airport was very busy this morning and Air France had warned me in advance about a security check with reduced numbers of security personnel. So I was grateful to have priority services, such as fast track through security. I had less time than planned to enjoy breakfast in the lounge, because I went to the gate early to avail myself of priority boarding. On this trip I was carrying a large bag of VHS video cassettes (remember how those took up space?), but there was no problem boarding the flight with them.


Boarding my Air France (operated by Hop!) flight at Geneva


The Jura mountains, after take-off from Geneva

A bus drove us to a remote stand where we climbed stairs to board the A220 plane, something I always enjoy doing. These planes are slightly unusual in that they have a row of three seats on the left and a row of two on the right. I seem to recall that the Jumbolinos from the Crossair days (late 90s, early 2000s) had a similar configuration. The welcome I received onboard was incredible, with the purser saying that she had kept a whole row free for me, despite the flight being quite heavily booked. This was the first row of Economy, which seemed to have more legroom than the other standard seats. To complement this, the purser brought me the welcome pack from Business, which was a small bottle of Thonon water and a large wrapped sanitary cloth.


Seating on Hop! planes - three seats on the left (facing the rear)


And two seats on the right hand side (facing the rear)

This was a flight to finally relax on and it was the best one that I have had with Air France for several years, far better than those flights I did in Business during the pandemic. Catering was basic, a small sandwich containing cream cheese and cucumber that was surprisingly good (I have to say, if anything served in a plane turns out to be good then it is always a surprise for me). I opted for a can of Perrier water, which had me crossing my legs before landing. Interestingly, we flew right over our destination, Charles de Gaulle airport, before turning 180° over central Paris and coming in to land. I have never seen CDG airport from above, at an altitude from where I could really identify details at the airport.

Rating 9%
Seat 7D - 7F
Aircraft 223
Registration F-HZUO


Economy class catering on the Geneva to Paris flight


Overflying Charles de Gaulle airport CDG at Paris

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I think that the bus transfer from Paris CDG terminal 2F to 2G is one of the most uncomfortable travel transfer ordeals anywhere. It is just awful even though it is only 12-15 minutes in a bus which is usually jammed. At least the transfer bus is efficient and frequent. The business lounge in 2G, on the other hand, is quite pleasant and worth spending some time in, with a reasonable food and drink offering.


Inside the Air France business lounge in terminal 2F at Paris CDG airport


Reasonable food selection in the Terminal 2G lounge at CDG airport

This part of today's trip was operated by Hop!, a subsidiary that has somehow managed to survive within the Air France universe. Terminal 2G is like a separate airport and it resembles one of those smaller bases where the low cost carriers operate from. So the boarding gate leads to one of the walkways which adjoin parked planes, all Embraers in the case of Hop! This flight was absolutely fine and the cabin crew made you feel welcome enough. But it came as a stark contrast to the VIP treatment I received on the previous flight, so it somehow felt less good. The Embraer is a smaller aircraft and so there are less seats, but it was totally full except for some seats in Business.


Boarding the Hop! plane at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport


Inflight catering in Economy class on the Hop! flight to Düsseldorf

Catering was exactly the same as that on the GVA-CDG flight, a vegetarian sandwich with cream cheese and cucumber (seconds were offered, but there were few takers, except me!). There was no wine but beer was freely offered, along with soft drinks, juice and water. Arrival was bang on time at Düsseldorf.

Rating 7*
Seat 4C
Aircraft E70
Registration F-HBXC


Seating in the cramped Embraer aircraft that Air France uses for it's Hop! subsidiary


Leaving the Hop! aircraft at Düsseldorf airport DUS

Fabo.sk

I still have never flown from T2G somehow. Not in a rush to change it, either.

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Actually, I quite like it as long as I don't have to change terminals. It is like a separate small airport and there are some food and drink outlets, as well as shops. The lounge is quite pleasant and reasonably roomy, but it can get crowded at peak times. The Air France staff in Terminal 2G seem to be pretty pleasant too.

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Time given: 3h30
Completed: 2h50


A nice bakery and café brightens up the town of Marienbaum


Near the beginning of the hike the route follows the edge of the Uedemer Hochwald forest


Parts of the way through the forest may appear straight and boring, but the place has a magical feeling about it

In January of this year I had completed a hike in the same part of Germany, the border region with the Netherlands, which had seen fierce fighting during the 2nd world war. The grey January weather and lack of foliage was somehow appropriate to the theme of that walk, but it was beautiful all the same. Here is a link to my report of that hike in the Reichswald:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35388108-post4.html


This was a walk of great beauty and I would be happy to repeat it


Enough firewood there for a couple of winters


A bucolic enclosure of ponies in the middle of the forest

The Uedamer Wald was full of colour and beauty on the late summer's day I chose to do the hike. Surprisingly, I managed to achieve the walk in 40 minutes less than the time indicated in the Rother book. A lot of it was along forest tracks but there was plenty of variety to please everyone. In some parts of the forest I was able to capture the sun's rays shafting down between the trees. There was an incredible variety of forest habitat and a quite a few points of interest along the way. At one point the forest opened out to reveal a large field with foals in it, who ambled up to me in the hope of getting sugarlumps. At this point the walk followed a small path through the woods and, towards the end of the hike, there was another section on small grassy paths.


This is the Villa Reichswald, which I believe was used as luxury holiday hotel up until the mid 1940s


This is an information board about the Boxteler Bahn railway which passed through the forest


At Villa Reichswald, the walk turns back towards the north, on the way back to Marienbaum

Once again, the area conceals a lot of history. The Villa Reichswald was used as a holiday destination back in the 1930s and now houses a restaurant and a café (I tend to self cater on these walks, so I didn't try it). There was also, as on the walk along the river Niers to Goch, a now dismantled rail route called the Boxteler Bahn that cut through the forest. It was part of the fastest route from London to Berlin and existed from 1881 to the 1940s. The famous Blue Brabant trains plied this route from 1908 to the late 1930s and achieved an average speed of 78kph. Lastly, the start and end point of this route is the quiet town of Marienbaum, which has a very attractive church if you can gain entry to it.


Re-entering the town of Marienbaum, with its lovely church


Interior of the Marienbaum church, here during the rehearsal for a wedding - usually the church is closed, so I was lucky to gain access