Friday 19th February
During the morning we visited the British Museum to track down the Rosetta Stone. It was the first time we had seen the original which was so important to 19th century archaeologists in interpreting and cracking the hieroglyphs and their codes. The stone had been found in Egypt in the Napoleonic era and was written in three languages – hieroglyphs, demotic and Greek.
The Eurostar train departed London St Pancras International on time and soon we were speedily passing underground to Stratford and beyond the Olympic Park.
The Thames estuary was soon in sight as we passed the twin towers of the Dartford Crossing (bridge) before burrowing underground to Kent.
Soon we were under the Channel and emerging at Frethun near Calais. We passed under the road bridge close to the tunnel mouth upon which we have spent time watching the Eurostars and Shuttle trains. According to today’s Times newspaper, this most exposed section is likely to be covered over to prevent migrants boarding trains.
We arrived a little late in Brussels and had to run for the train to Cologne, making it with minutes to spare! Cologne was reached on time but late on a Friday leaves one with little to do in and around the station. We saw the Cathedral which is right next door to the station.
Our overnight sleeper train to Warsaw at first had only us in carriage 180! Soon it was time for sleep with the gentle roll of the carriage rocking us off into the land of nod.
