Alternate Friday / 15th May 2020

We had a plan - possibly a cunning plan.


The plan was to spend this weekend on an intensive German language course at the University of Oxford then get an early flight on Monday to Basel and spend the rest of the week walking from hotel  to hotel through bits of the Black Forest, finished up in Freiburg - consuming copious beers, coffees and cakes en route (all of which we would have ordered in flawless newly-refreshed German).

A Walk in the Black Forest

But no.

University of Oxford were first to say "no, that won't be happening", followed in short order by a similar "nope" from British Airways and finally a "this isn't going to happen" from our travel company.

The last time I left Oxfordshire was a couple of months ago when I, rather optimistically I'll concede, spent time searching the German maps section of Stanfords to find maps of the Freiburg area.

Exploring - but only on paper

Hopefully, one day I'll get to unfold this map in situ, but for the time being I've put back in 'the big map box'.

So, rather than wandering across newly acquired maps, I've got lots of staycation time over the next few days to look at the photographs in my digital archive and at the maps in 'the big map box' - and to re-walk a few of the Headington parks and lanes.

Bury Knowle Park, Headington (15th May 2020)

Stoke Place, Headington (15th May 2020)

And, as I was composing this post - comes the expected but unwelcome news that the next planned walking trip has met a similar fate.  We won't be discovering the Traditions of South Tyrol in July either.

Traditions of South Tyrol (also cancelled)






1 comment:

Russ said...

Sorry to hear about the cancelled holiday plans especially South Tyrol - that's a lovely part of Italy. Hopefully you'll get another chance soon...