Despite setting the alarm, we couldn’t avoid the army of German tourists at breakfast. There they were, clearing the buffet of cheese, ham, croissants and coffee like a light armoured brigade. Susie located an empty table for two, only to be abruptly told that it was taken because, ‘we are a group’. I was desperate to point out that the SS was also a group and that no beach towels were draped over the chairs. Fortunately my German isn’t up to those standards. Susie’s is however and she was quite prepared to sit down and claim the table for England. As Churchill might have said, “We shall fight them by the bacon, with the toast and shall never surrender”.

I gently steered Susie away with her walking stick and luckily one of the waiters found a table that had yet to be ‘occupied’. The staff were looking distinctly harassed and with some deft foraging we managed to have a reasonable breakfast. By the time we came to check out the German tourists had disappeared in their coaches and we were free to take a taxi to the railway station. Locating the correct platform and boarding the train was actually very easy and we rolled along past fields, stopping a few times, then some two and a half hours later getting off here in Bydgoczsz.

The hotel here dates back over 120 years and has wonderful Art Nouveau features both inside and out. Our room however is really only big enough for one person (and was made up as such). We paid for a room with a queen size bed. Whoever the queen was that occupied our room must have been on a crash diet. Susie went to reception and complained and though we were offered a larger room it only had twin beds, so after a bit of negotiation we’ve ended up with free breakfasts….

We had a short explore and located the Soap Museum. You’ll have to wait till tomorrow for the next enthralling episode about the history of dirt…unless two coach loads of Germans arrive tonight, in which case, we are are off…