Germany                      Guten Rutsch!                1 January 2025


   This seems to be one of the best New Year's celebrations I've ever
   experienced.  Everything was perfect: the company of friends, the
   city, and the festive atmosphere.  Around midnight, we poured out of
   the house and headed up the hill to watch the fireworks, meeting lots
   of people along the way who were setting them off right in the
   streets we were walking through.  I didn't hesitate to shout "Guten
   Rutsch!"  - the German New Year's greeting - to people, and they
   responded in kind.  One large group of people reacted particularly
   enthusiastically to my greeting, which was brilliant.

   I'm writing this note from a train heading to Saalfeld, which I
   reached via Nuremberg and from where I'll travel to Halle, where I'll
   make another connection before reaching home.  Yes, indeed, I'm
   travelling across all of Germany.  This morning, when I set off and
   arrived at Stuttgart Hbf, another small New Year's miracle occurred:
   the station entrance was closed, and reaching the platforms required
   a five to ten-minute walk around the building.  But I got lucky: I
   spotted a station worker with his maintenance vehicle and hitched a
   ride with him, as he didn't mind.  That's how I made it to the
   platforms.  Quite magical.





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