Not in Nargothrond, or, Glaurung's travels

[Glaurung]

Pratchett said, as I recall, "million to one chances come up nine times out of ten"; I can't confirm that, but I can say that 10% chances can happen twice a day. I got off my three-hour coach journey from Cagliari soon after 6pm, and within 30 minutes I was sheltering from a torrential thunderstorm. Fortunately, 30 minutes after that, it had moved on again, in time for me to catch a bus from the open-air bus stop.

Meanwhile, this afternoon's journey was thoroughly enjoyable, through some spectacular near mountainous scenery. Hopefully tomorrow's train journey will be better.

[Jubal]

I hope the probability of better weather is good. Or a million to one. Either will do

[Glaurung]

Today seems to be a 90% day It's bright and clear, with some high cloud to reduce the intensity of the sunlight. At sea level, where I started the morning, it was fairly cool, but still very humid; now I'm at 700m altitude, it's a bit cooler, much drier and a lot more comfortable.

How did I get up to 700m? One of probably the top 10 scenic rail journeys in Europe: from Arbatax on the coast, up the escarpment around Lanusei, and into the mountains to Sadali. It used to be an ordinary passenger railway; now it has only a tourist service in the summer, marketed as the "Trenino Verde" (little green train). The route should have been part of the tour I did last October, but was cut due to engineering works - I'm very glad to have done it now.

[Pentagathus]

Choo choo bitches!

[comrade_general]

Spoiler

[Jubal]

Are we going to end up back at that skyrim mod that replaced the dragons with trains?

[Glaurung]

It probably says a lot about me that I'm more interested to know what type of locomotive that is than why it's on fire

[Glaurung]

Meanwhile, today's journey was another scenic one: Mandas to Sorgono and back, south - north through the middle of the island. It's not as impressive as yesterday's, but still well worth it: high hills, wide vistas of plains, deep wooded river valleys.

It's quite a contrast in colours - the open country (anywhere with grass, basically) is now brown after a long hot summer. There's some relief from olive trees, evergreen oaks and eucalyptus, but all of these seem to be various shades of dusty grey-green as well. Meanwhile the wooded valleys are much more verdant, especially when you're under the trees. The ground is still very dry, but the trees evidently have roots that reach down to the water.

Also, since I've not mentioned the weather yet (I'm English - weather is important), it's been cool and dry all day. Being at altitudes in the 500-700m probably has something to do with the coolness. I will be back in Cagliari for a few hours tomorrow before I fly home; I fear it will still be hot and humid there

[Jubal]

Yes, altitude can make a lot of difference once it gets to that sort of height.

Glad it's all going well

[Glaurung]

I'm off again, for another week in Europe. The first half is as previously advertised: Kosovo and Macedonia. The second half has changed fairly dramatically: instead of Greece, I'm going to Germany. This is driven mainly by all the air fares back from Greece being unaffordable by the time I got round to booking. However, it was also coloured by the fact that the cross-border train is replaced by a bus, due to the refugee situation. I definitely still want to visit Athens, Thessaloniki, and the rest of the country, but it will be on another trip.

[comrade_general]

So how was it, G?

[Glaurung]

It was good: an interesting and enjoyable mix of activities, cultures and scenery (and weather, of course!). I have a write-up under way, country by country; I was hoping to get it done tonight but it's not going to happen now. Here is the first bit:

Switzerland
This one wasn't on the advertised list, but I had a 5-hour stopover between flights on the way to Kosovo, in Geneva. It was pouring rain when I arrived, so my original idea of having a wander around the city on foot didn't last long. Instead, courtesy of the tickets for 80 minutes' unlimited travel, issued free in the airport arrivals hall, I meandered around the city on trams. While Geneva is known for hosting a large part of the UN, a multitude of other international organisations, and CERN, I can confirm that in fact it is also inhabited by ordinary people, living in ordinary buildings and doing ordinary work. There are small industrial premises, offices, supermarkets, bakeries, bars, blocks of flats and suburban houses. All quite neat and tidy, as you'd expect in Switzerland, but definitely ordinary.

In a stroke of irony, the rain stopped and the skies started clearing shortly before my flight to Kosovo took off.

[Jubal]

Real people in Geneva? Whatever next!

Which is to say I'm looking forward to the next bit

[Glaurung]

The "next bit" is still on my to-do list; I'm aware that Kosovo and Macedonia are a bit more exotic and more interesting than Geneva. However, in the meantime, I'm off on yet another trip - Germany this time. I'm flying to Hannover tonight, meandering across the country for a few days, and flying back from Berlin on Wednesday. I'm not sure how much I will be posting while I'm away.

[Jubal]

Have fun