When the train line through Mannheim up to Frankfurt was closed for repairs, I started taking the tram to work. It takes longer, but I do appreciate the opportunity to read for longer stretches than with the train. I have to change trams, and now get out a stop earlier to walk across a bridge over the Neckar by the Collini Center, and enjoy both the views from it, and the bridge itself, worthy of a few photos in my view!

Somehow, I managed a 50 km cycle today, over two stints: to work, and back. I definitely struggle on the ride back, after a normal day at work, and (whilst probably only marginally) back upstream along the Neckar.

Still, Ladenburg is always a welcome sight: my photo was rubbish in the end, though, since I moved the phone whilst it was still taking the night-time shot. Kind of arty, but pointlessly so. The cloud layer over the illuminated water tower could almost (well, not at all) have been an aurora.

I drove to work at my new job for the first time on Monday and it was indeed around 15 minutes quicker than my usual bike-train-bike commute - but it was miserable. Stop-start, drivers with different priorities and etiquettes, the concentration required, the noise. And then, the classic traffic jam on the way back which negated the time advantage, whilst maintaining all the downsides of the morning’s commute in.

Nope, I genuinely prefer the train, and the little bike sections make all the difference to how I start the working day.