Old Old Blogs

Below, in date order, you will find all the old blogs and emails we have sent out.

Information Email - 11 December

hi,

Thanks very much for responding to the birthday invitation.

 I am really delighted that you said you will be joining and sharing time with friends and giving me an opportunity to show you at least a small part of Germany.

The celebrations will take place in the old town of Bacharach on the Rhine river. Bacharach (mittelrheinentdecken.de)

Many more details will follow, but in order that you can get going with travel and other arrangements, herewith the essentials of staying and getting there.

I have booked you (and everyone) a hotel / apartment room at the Hotel in Bacharach - Hotel Altkölnischer Hof (altkoelnischer-hof.de), for the nights of the 11th, 12th and 13th july.

The rooms cost between about Euro 65 and 80 per person per night (depending on the room a bit). The hotel with nearby apartments is in the centre of the small town, with walking distance of the train station.

The train station, (https://maps.app.goo.gl/QoVsHY1wnA2AvJZRA), is located 1 hour from Frankfurt am Main airport, and 2 hours from Köln (Cologne) airport. Here are the ways to get there:

-Flights to Frankfurt am Main airport, I Hr by direct regular train.

-Flights to Köln (Cologne) airport, 2 Hr with one change, but flights are cheaper, and you get a longer and more scenic ride along the river. (get to Köln well before dawn to enjoy the train ride)

-Flights to Frankfurt Hahn, this on paper is the closest airport, probably the cheapest flights, but very poor public transport connection, only consider if you really want to hire a car.

-Train: this is a slightly longer but delightful journey, I used to do it four or five times a year. From london, change at Brussels and Köln (Cologne) Deutsche Bahn. Eurostar sell tickets to cologne (with a change) but the optimum dates, for when the tickets are released needs researching. (get to Köln well before dawn to enjoy the train ride)

-Driving, its about 2Hrs from Köln

One other thing, in small town Germany, restaurants  tend to shut kitchens by 20.00, try to get there in there before the early evening, in order to enjoy a bite.

I look forward to seeing you all there and hearing from you soon.

Invitation - 25 September

It would be great if you all would join me on reaching 70 years. There have been many a good party over the past years and I hope we can all make a wonderful occasion of it to celebrate friendships at the next one as well. Below are some memories from past events and hopefully there is the wine from the last one to be drunk.
We are going to gather in a town along the river Rhine in Germany for a long weekend between Friday the 11th and Monday the 14th of July next year.
The region is located between Cologne and Frankfurt and is easily reached by train from both airports in less than an hour. If you have never been, here is a link to an overview of the region: Romantischer Rhein
There are many great places to stay, and I will arrange for everyone to be nearby once I know who and how many will be there.
So, what next, it would be great to know you are coming to the party by the end of October.
I will then work out a plan, places to stay, things to do and so on and get back to you to finalise arrangements for you. Of course, all special requests will be catered for in the meantime, just ask.
Rsvp:
andreasghosh@hotmail.com
+447718971999