Exeter on Saturday

The weather forecast was pessimistic so I decided to go to the city and in case of rain I can visit museums, churches or go shopping. But when I reached the train station in Totnes the sun came out and everyone, except for me, was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. A short train ride brought me to Exeter. The walk from the train station to the city took 20 minutes and was always uphill. I took off my jacket!

On the way, I saw the entrance to a nice park around the castle, called Northern Haygarden, with a beautiful view over the river valley and the lower part of the town. Families were having picnics and students were hanging around. Exeter is a university city, so I saw lots of young people there. Right next to the park, there was the Exeter library and I had a green view of the park, a cafe latte, and a sandwich from a cafe. After this break, I wandered around the sunny city, heard a brilliant guitar player on the street, watched a wedding with an oldtimer near the cathedral, and started to explore this impressive church. It's hard to describe, so see the pictures! As a special treat, the choir was rehearsing this afternoon and it seemed like the angels were singing.

After leaving the cathedral, the sun was still shining and people were sitting on the grass enjoying the weather all around the church. I looked for the Victoria and Albert museum, which was recently restored and had a nice old-modern interior. I liked it! After that, I decided to go back to the railway station. But my feet were so tired that I stopped at a nice restaurant near the university called The Imperial. It was on a hill, full of young people, and you could sit outside on the lawn. To order, you had to remember your table number, go inside to order and pay, and the food would be brought to you. I got my drink immediately and even got a second drink for free (no idea why). When I came back to my table, two men were sitting there. They were complaining, but I invited them to stay. It was the first day my voice was back and it was more enjoyable than eating alone. Funny guys, they were from Ireland, meteorologists, and working for IBM to do weather forecasts for agriculture and the airforce. A few years ago, they moved from Ireland to Devon and like most people I talked to there, they are still in love with this region. They tried to guess where I was from, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria... no, a German with a cold! That was enough for them to praise wonderful Germany... It was a strange but very pleasant experience that everyone I talked to had such a positive and friendly view of Germany.

After this nice encounter with some locals, I caught the train back to Totnes.

Erica was at home and asked me to join for dinner or a glass of wine because a friend who has been living in South Africa for a year was expected. So I got to know Jonathan and also Kath, an old friend of Erica. Jonathan is a filmmaker and has traveled all over the world. Currently, he is on his way to Israel, where he will be filming with Daniel Barenboim, wow! But he is a down-to-earth guy, friendly, and interested in all kinds of people. We talked about children, parents, South Africa, politics, and Germany. He also admired Germany for its handling of the refugee issue, the kind people, and the well-organized administration. Wow again.

I fell asleep in bed, my voice was gone again, but I was a little bit proud to be German.