Ruhr reversals: a German journey full of surprises

Simon Calder's Travel Week

SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE: £1 FOR 3 MONTHS April 21, 2023 View in browser Surprises: a rewarding journey should have plenty, with good experiences outnumbering the bad. My trip to Germany this week has scored strongly positive, with many new discoveries in the strange and wonderful realm of travel. Duisburg's "landscape park" where you are invited to clamber through the past, carefully Get inspired... Best of the Midwest With glacial lakes and a killer brewery scene, the US's heartland has much to offer, from outdoorsy adventures in Minnesota to Cincinnati charm Peak performance The best places to stay in the Peak District for a relaxing break in the national park, from restored spa hotels to converted 17th-century manor houses Cat culture Welcome to Kotor, Montenegro's medieval town where felines rule the roost - and it comes with a side of Unesco World Heritage clout Simon's dispatches The National Express coach to Stansted airport now has a polite notice inviting passengers to tip the driver. While rewarding the driver is common on tourist coaches, I don't recall anything similar on any form of transport. The cash-only gratuities are proving popular with drivers – though the firm tells me that fewer than half report being rewarded by passengers since the scheme began. How long until pilots leave a collection dish outside the flight deck so passengers can thank them tangibly for a perfect landing?   Read more: Why coaches are the unsung sustainability superheroes of our roads   On which subject: I was surprised to see a Ryanair Boeing 737 Max deployed for the one-hour flight to Dortmund; the improved fuel burn is most effective on much longer flights. It was the first time I have flown on the new jet. The airline has its own very particular design: squeezing an extra eight seats into the same sized plane as the older version. Yet the aircraft felt more roomy and comfortable.   Arrival at Dortmund airport provided another first: the aircraft pushes back on arrival rather than departure. After a textbook touchdown, the pilots brought the aircraft to a halt but told us not to unbuckle. Then a tug appeared and nudged us into the parking space. The reversal of the aircraft – and standard practice – means the plane is ready to depart as soon as all the passengers are on board and the doors are closed.   Travelling in Germany is a reliable joy, even – or perhaps especially – in the coal and steel heartland. I was astonished by the creative energy that has transformed the former power plant for the nation into rough-edged tourist attractions on, well, an industrial scale. In the Duisburg landschaftspark ("landscape park") yesterday afternoon, spring blossom softened the view of rusty girders – the skeletal remains of heavy industry. The visitor can clamber, carefully, through the past.   How to plan the perfect train trip around Germany   The present, meanwhile, is a time of industrial strife for transport in Germany. This morning, the nation's railways are silent because of a strike. Even when things are working normally, lower your expectations of exquisite precision: not one of the seven trains I have taken this week has been on time. Yesterday it was the turn of airport staff at Dusseldorf and Hamburg to walk out, with dozens of flights cancelled. Yet travelling in Germany always brings something to smile about: right now I am following a chap with a Che Guevara tote bag – bursting with bars of Toblerone. Socialism or chocolate, as the Argentinian revolutionary never quite said.   Read our Germany travel guide Tip of the week: Ryanair leniency for UK-Ireland passengers On UK-Ireland flights, passports are not legally needed by British and Irish citizens due to the provisions of the Common Travel Area. But Ryanair normally insists upon all passengers on such flights holding a valid passport. However, due to the strike at HM Passport Office and postal delays, the airline says: "Until 5 May 2023, British and Irish passengers travelling on Ryanair flights between Ireland and the UK can travel without a valid passport or Irish passport card but must carry an expired passport or a valid driving licence."   How the Common Travel Area can help travellers without a passport Deal of the week: 10% off summer Eurostar Eurostar is running a useful and straightforward online promotion on its summer fares: until midnight next Wednesday, 26 April, you can save 10 per cent on all Standard and Standard Premier return tickets between 6 June and 23 August. Use the discount code EARTH23 at checkout. On a test booking for a London-Paris trip, outbound on 1 August and back a week later, the lowest return fare falls from £88 to £79.20.   Read our latest Paris city guide £99 £20 for 1 year ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more SUBSCRIBE NOW Question of the week: Best day trips from Lisbon? Q We have eight days in Lisbon. Do you have recommendations for some day trips?   A The easiest is the short hop by rail along the north shore of the Tagus out to the Atlantic at Estoril and Cascais. Estoril feels like a throwback to holiday glamour in the 1930s, while Cascais is chic but with a wild side. From Cais do Sodré station at the southwest of Lisbon city centre, trains to Estoril take barely half-an-hour, a few minutes' longer to Cascais. For some adventurous walking you can go one step beyond – to the eastern end of mainland Europe. Take bus 403 from Cascais bus station to the village of Azoia, and follow the road to the rocky cape, presided over by a lighthouse on the edge of a towering cliff – where a needle announces it is the "Ponto Mais Ocidental do Continente Europeu".   Cascais guide: Where to eat, drink, shop and stay at Lisbon's perfect seaside counterpart   If you are prepared to rent a car for a day, the obvious choice is the Setubal peninsula immediately south of the 25 April Bridge (Lisbon's take on California's Golden Gate). Beach and seafood at Caparica; a gorgeous corrugated coastline; the drama of Cabo Espichel, location for a vast, windswept monastery; and the city of Setubal itself, a relaxed fishing and ferry port with an atmospheric old quarter. The highlight: the old Camara Municipal (town hall) with a bar on the top floor overlooking the main square.   Read our travel guide to Portugal   STAT OF THE WEEK 17 Maximum number of years before High Speed 2 trains serve Euston station in central London. Transport secretary Mark Harper told MPs the final link would open when Manchester gets its HS2 connection – between 2035 and 2040. What you might have missed... Sweet revenge: Couple angry with Airbnb host leave water running for weeks Royal journey: Travel advice for London over the Coronation weekend Heathrow strike: Terminal 5 security staff plan eight days of walk-outs in May SIMON'S DIARY Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in 'Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast' – available free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or Acast. Every day from Monday to Friday I tackle a top travel story, or explore a topic in more detail than usual in 'Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast' – available free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or Acast. I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It's also an easy way to contact me. My direct messages are open and I read all DMs, though regrettably I can't respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts @SimonCalder I find the easiest way to rush out stories is to tweet them. It's also an easy way to contact me. My direct messages are open and I read all DMs, though regrettably I can't respond to every one. Let me know your thoughts @SimonCalder Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 5.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. Follow me on @Simon_Calder Each Saturday and Sunday I take questions live at 5.30pm British time on Instagram Live – from wherever I happen to be in the world – so please do come and say hello. Follow me on @Simon_Calder Or you can find me on TikTok. Come and have a look at what I have been up to as I bring you top travel topics and report on the latest changes in a minute or less via @caldertravel Or you can find me on TikTok. Come and have a look at what I have been up to as I bring you top travel topics and report on the latest changes in a minute or less via @caldertravel INDYBEST / BEST TRAVEL BUYS Trtl's £40 travel pillow makes overnight flights a breeze Never stress about a long-haul flight again - here's what our travel writer thought. 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