A disturbed sleep last night waiting for laundry to finish so I can do another load. I hate laundry day. Hopefully none of my shirts have shrunk to tank tops in the dryer.
Leaving Germany today and heading back to France. We need to reach the station before 7am to catch a train to Karlsruhe and meet the ICE to Paris. Initially we plan to ride the underground one stop to the station, but some somewhat suspicious looking groups of people push us to joining a few other commuters on the walk to the station.
The other two buy some pastries and a baguette for breakfast. Our train is a black and yellow regional set. We board early and have a set of four seats to ourselves and our luggage.
The train is only three minutes late into Karlsruhe, which is pretty good by DB standards. That gives us enough time to cross platforms and fund our boarding spot.
This time we are catching a high-speed ICE on the Karlsruhe to Paris run. For the first time, there is a large enough gap to fit our luggage in the overhead racks. I also decide to have a last meal of German food by going to the “bordrestaurant” and ordering a curry wurst with potato and crushed corn chips on top. The meal comes out of a reheated plastic bag, but it’s fine for train fast food.
The world outside is grey and foggy, mostly rural and not great for photographing. I have definitely taken fewer photos out of train windows on this trip than usual.
I nap for a while, catching up on what I missed. The onboard internet isn’t working properly, so I just use phone data for the rest of the time.
We arrive in Paris Est on time, which is surprising because of DB. No border checks helped.
Then we must reverse and go beyond our initial ride by catching Metro line 4 all the way to Montparnasse Bienvenue, which means running through a maze of smelly corridors with lots of stairs. Once again I regret having wheeled luggage instead of a backpack.
It’s a bit of a hike from Bienvenue to Gare Montparnasse, past the now abandoned black tower waiting for its renovation.
The others look for food while I wait impatiently with bags.
Eventually they return with some pastries and a baguette. Our train platform is displayed and we pass through the gates with our set reservations. It is another double decker TGV Inoui and we are on the top deck seated facing each other. An older lady takes the last seat, the train is absolutely packed.
We head out of Paris and into the farmlands, small forests and villages at up to 294 km/h. The stone farmhouses are so historic, a classic image of the French countryside.
Our destination is Rennes, somewhere we’ve only stopped before between trains to St Malo, now served directly by TGVs. The huge architecturally designed station is very modern and busy with passengers.
Our hotel is just up the main street. We check into our room with a loft, then head out for a lunch of galettes at Armelle, opposite the station. I really enjoy my buckwheat pancake, as does B, but Alex is put off by the flavour of the brown “healthy” flour.
I have long wanted to visit the castle town of Vitre, half an hour’s train ride away. The next departure is not for an hour, so we take a wander around the area. Most of the shops are closed on a Sunday, some are boarded up due to the recent marches and riots.
The old town centre is too far away, the area around feels a bit unsafe with panhandlers and addicts. Close to the hotel, the huge Museum of Bretagne looks interesting from the outside. It includes a library and science centre within. Once upon a time that would have made it a compulsory destination, but our kid is almost not a kid anymore.
The shops inside the station fail to keep our attention, so we head down to the platform to await our train to Vitre. Lucky we do, because it gets busy when the train arrives.
The regional service is quite comfortable and even has seat power. It’s only about half an hour to Vitre, a small town with a very historic centre and a well preserved castle.
We only have an hour to explore the castle before closing time, but that turns out to be plenty. It is very much a fairy tale castle on the outside, small, the towers topped with conical roofs. We pay to go on a tour of the walls, which involves some very steep spiral staircases. There are also some interesting paintings on display.
More than anything, it is the general atmosphere of the castle that makes it worth a visit. This is continued in the surrounding streets, with gorgeous half-timbered houses giving a medieval fairytale appearance to the town.
Half an hour later we are back in Rennes searching for dinner. Most restaurants are closed and those that are open only start their food service at seven pm. Disappointingly, we end up in McDonald’s at the station. There are differences with Australia in the menu, but it’s still fast food, not great food.
Then we go back to the hotel for the night, having had enough of trains and exploring for now.