Thursday, May 07, 2009

Getting Back Home from the Garage

When we lived in west London my Vauxhall garage was quite a long way away. Getting there to hand in the car for service or repairs took about fifteen minutes, but getting back home by bus was a totally different kettle of fish!

First I had to walk to Richmond station (10-15 min), then wait for the bus. Well, you know about buses, how they seem to hunt in packs like wolves. It could take anything between a few minutes and, let's say, twenty minutes. If traffic was not too bad, what with negotiating through the very crowded centre of Richmond, the bus ride took roughly another twenty minutes. Add to that nearly ten minutes to walk to our flat. I make that approximately an hour.

Now take a look at these pictures to see what the corresponding walk back (35 min) from the garage through the German countryside offers. Which would you prefer?

DSC_0747_20090507_1264   DSC_0750_20090507_1267 fxd

DSC_0755_20090507_1272 fxd   DSC_0759_20090507_1276

DSC_0765_20090507_1282    Not the most difficult decision to make, was it?

11 comments:

Zuzana said...

I would love the walk! I almost can not decide which picture I like the best.;)
I love the the rapeseed fields, which are so representative of spring. But I think my favourite is still the right one in the second row, of the serene, lush and green path.;)

swenglishexpat said...

Protege - That walk almost looks better in pictures than reality! But it is truly beautiful, particularly at this time of year. The colours! Have a lovely weekend, perhaps around your garden? :-)

Veronica said...

I agree with Protege regarding the photos; but I notice that (I think) the fence is electrified ... the reason why the grass stays greener on the other side of the fence?
And I guess you don't still have the Vauxhall

LadyFi said...

Wow - that's gorgeous and rural! Kind of looks like the countryside in Britain - but definitely not like Richmond!

swenglishexpat said...

Veronica - Unfortunately I used Windows Live Writer to write this post, which limits the picture size on your PC even if you click on it. The fence has barbed wire at the bottom and the middle, but the top one is actually one of those broad "textile" ones for horses (softer I guess) held in position by something that looks "electric". BTW I still have the Vauxhall, 18 years old this year! We have a Volvo for Sunday best as well.

LadyFi - In general it is flatter around here, but it could perhaps be like Richmond, Yorkshire?!

Gutsy Living said...

You're right. That decision would have been easy on a nice sunny day, which is what you have. How serene. It must be transportation day as my friend guest-blogged on mine about San Francisco and eco-travel.

swenglishexpat said...

GW - You are right, it's nice on a sunny and most importantly, dry day, because the dirt road between the fields can get very muddy. Then you need rubber boots!

CanadianSwiss said...

Beautiful setting for a walk! And if you feel bit lazy, you could always ride the horse ;-)

swenglishexpat said...

CS - Lazy? Me? I ran back to the garage the following morning to pick up the car.

lillian said...

beautiful! I'd love to run there !!

swenglishexpat said...

Lillian - It would be hard not to enjoy it! ;-)