Tour d´EFFORTS

On a sunny but cold morning I got onto the train in Hamburg to Cologne. Thanks to my seat reservation I had power supply and a comfortable table where I could place my computer. In the quiet atmosphere of a Sunday morning I was able to do quite a lot of work. In the Ruhrgebiet with stops every ten minutes at big stations the people getting on and off the train got a little bit disturbing because the train became really crowded.

The Thalys train from Cologne to Paris Gare du Nord was quiet as well, but there was less space although I was sitting in a seat where four seats are facing each other with a table in the middle. And no power supply! But thanks to my extra big battery of my computer it was no problem to survive without power.

Changing stations (from Gare du Nord to Gare St, Lazare) in Paris to catch the train to Le Havre was no problem, but to get a taxi to get from the station to the hotel took some waiting time (15 minutes) because there was a long queue.

But the hotel itself is wonderful! The Hotel Vent d´Ouest http://www.ventdouest.fr/ is appointed in a maritme, warm and cosy style. With models of old fashioned sailing yachts, painted signboards with whales, ships and divers helmets. So this martime flair is exactly to the topic of the EFFORTS project and my tour. Whether the old fashioned ship equipment they display in the corridors are real antiques I do not know, but they create a very nice atmosphere. I felt at home immediately. So if you ever come to Le Havre, I can recommend this hotel.