After knowing each other for five years through H2G2, and both living in Germany, U129860 and U154942 decided it was time for their long-awaited get-together. The many lengthy conversations could be continued face to face, so to speak.

So - where to meet? And who else could we ask?

A line drawn between our two homes has its halfway point somewhere in the wilds between Trier and Mainz. Both these towns are nice places to meet and easy to reach. So, after waving fingers over the map and coming down somewhere vaguely in that area, Koblenz was picked as an alternative.

Who else lives around there?

Well, U190170 does - and at the moment, rumour has it that U232535 is living with her.

So with little ado, we fixed on a date, which was 29 March 2005, and booked our tickets to Koblenz. We all arrived at around 12 noon. U154942 from the South; 'The prettiest train journey of all - along the Rhine and past all those castles', U190170 and U232535 from the West; 'The prettiest train ride - along the Mosel with vinyards rising up on both sides' and U129860 through the not-so-pretty industrial town of Düsseldorf.

Coblence claims to be Germany's most beautiful 'corner'. The corner being the point at which the Moselle flows into the Rhine - this confluence being the origin of the town's name, via a few linguistic byways.

We spent most of the time in pubs and restaurants, but did enjoy the sights and had some pleasant Easter sunshine, only occasionally interrupted by some spots of rain, warming our backs as we enjoyed the quaint old town with its decorative buildings. The picture above is of the point of land where the two rivers meet. We stood there and then went to the beer garden, which is hiding in the trees, for an afternoon chat. And some !

We looked for someone to take a photo of all four of us together - Sho accosted a passer by... who turned out to be English!

We sat in a café near the station and waited for the train back to Luxembourg. Lucky and Reddyfreddy had some more , TC had some and Sho some . TC and Sho stayed on to eat as their trains left later. Unfortunately, it looks like Sho had eaten something at lunchtime that didn't agree with her and her indigestion got increasingly worse as the evening drew on. She returned home on the Thursday - having had lots of tests done. They found out that it was a rupture of a membrane at the top of the stomach, which means that she can't eat spicy food any more.

Sho's Pictures
Reddyfreddy's Pictures

Trillian's Child

07.04.05 Front Page

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