Europe 31 & 32 – Full Stop, The End
And they all lived happily ever after. Audio: Emirates in flight announcement, in Arabic
Europe 30 – Mr Nicholas Changes Trains
Yeah, look, there's only one train in this story, but if you thought I was not going to follow up the Isherwood reference of a couple of days ago with another (on the flimsiest of bases) then you have badly overestimated my creativity (or underestimated my laziness). Nor is it much of a story, frankly. [...]
Europe 29 – Le XIIIe siècle
A day in la Cité de Carcassonne. Some reading up on the Albigensian Crusade (C was a redoubt of the Cathars, I learn) and a short lecture is delivered in two versions for the boys on the feudal system and mediaeval military logistics, then we're off to the walled city. Which is every bit as [...]
Europe 28 – Goodbye to Berlin
I have left this too long, partly because it was such a waste of a day. Forewarned that Schönefeld Airport is a national joke and to be early to allow for inevitable delays, we were early, and were evitably processed with efficiency and rapidity. That left us with the best part of three hours to [...]
Europe 27 – Babylon
The way to do museums, with kids, is hit 'em early, while they're still waking up. Also, audio guides. "That queue will be at least an hour," said some bloke to some bloke I met in the queue, who relayed the message. Bloke didn't know what he was talking about, blessedly, and about half an [...]
Europe 26 – The Border
To travel by U-bahn is to be deceived. Overground, Berlin sprawls. I had promised the boys the day to do as they pleased, including to sleep in as long as they wanted. They took me at my word, and we slobbed about until after 11am, Seb and I making it all the way across the [...]
Europe 25 – The Holey Roaming Empire
I know the story. You know the story. Charles Babbage invented machine computing, but the technical sophistication of the time wasn't up to realising his dream. Alan Turing worked out the theoretical basis for computing during the day; while cracking Enigma, and incidentally laying the foundation for the hardware, at night. Then the Americans invented [...]