Thanksgiving Weekend

LHR: The Humongous BA Galleries Lounge

After a pleasant flight, we found our way through passport control and security in Terminal 5 all the way to this huge lounge, which is only one of a number of lounges here. 

It's gigantic. We've ordered a glass of champagne but almost everything else one might want is out on display for the taking. It would be easy to live here.

 

A Late BA Flight, But...

We should be able to make our connection at LHR with what was originally a two-hour layover.

The captain announces we won't be pushing back from the gate until 11:05 a.m., making us about 45 minutes late.

Air traffic control has the big say in it, of course.

Zurich: Last Day of this Trip

We enjoy a European-style breakfast in the Holiday Inn Express. The breakfast is okay but the coffee machines turn out some of the best brew we've ever tasted - we'll look for the Selecta brand again.

Guess what? A light snow is falling, not all that surprising for Zurich in late November. It's snowing in Mainz as well - a good time to be heading toward a dry family Thanksgiving weekend in Seattle.

We're now sitting in a quiet Aspire Lounge, awaiting our first of two flights today, ZRH-LHR on a BA 319, 20 minutes delayed.

Mainz to Zurich by Train

We didn't have to change trains and our (bargain) first class seats facing each other were quite comfortable for the four-hour forty-minute trip. 

We bought sandwiches, water, and wine and enjoyed a little picnic as we rode.

At Zurich we found with a minimum of nuisance the regional train that would take us to Rümlang, two blocks from our Holiday Inn Express.

Homeward bound tomorrow...

Mainz Hauptbahnhof

Mainz: Gutenberg Museum

We're all packed and ready to catch the train to Zurich at 12:40 p.m. Many European museums are closed Monday, including the Gutenberg Museum. However, today is Tuesday.

A brisk walk from the Hilton to the Gutenberg Museum took little more than five minutes, and 3€ each admitted two seniors to the three-story exhibit.

We took a couple of photos before noticing the "No Photos" sign, and spent the rest of our quick visit appreciating the mangnificent displays of printing presses and books, including the rare volumes housed in the third floor in a vault.

We're happy we managed this quick peek before leaving Mainz.

An impressive statue; however, we read inside that nobody has any idea of Johannesburg Gutenberg's actual appearance. His invention of movable type was an incredibly significant achievement.

The Dönor Kebab: Classic German Cuisine

Turkish immigrants brought the Dönor Kebab to Germany, where it has become as popular a fast food as sausages and hamburgers.

It's been awhile for us, but after a brisk walk in chilly weather we decided to indulge.

For three Euros (and the Euro is below US $1.07 today) we got ourselves a delicious mouthful of food.

 

Inside the Mainz Cathedral

Der Hohe Dom zu Mainz was founded over a thousand years ago.

We slipped inside this morning to admire its soaring structure.

A Train Ride Away: Nierstein and Bodenheim

We hiked a half mile or so over to the nearest train station on this cold and clear Sunday, and bought a day pass to ride a regional train as far as Nierstein.

This is the heart of the Rhine wine region but we found not much was open.

After a quick walk around Nierstein, we caught a train back to Bodenheim and set our sights on Uriger Weinkeller, well rated on Yelp and Trip Advisor.

One wouldn't have known it was open from the outside, but the inside was filled with happy Germans enjoying their Sunday afternoon.

We enjoyed two plates of snacks and a couple of glasses of white wine before catching the train back to Mainz and a pleasant walk back along the Rhine to the Hilton.

All in all a pleasant Sunday...