England, Home and Beauty?

We live next to some of the best farmland in Germany, and it is being built on. A few years ago -when I first came to Germany, in fact- a new airport terminal in Stuttgart was being built, and since we moved to Kemnat a massive exhibition centre was deemed necessary next to it –apparently the one in the city was too small. Of course, we were told, the exhibition centre was going to be the last project in the area.

Within two weeks of the exhibition centre being built the final, definitely last project was announced- a second runway. Apparently the low-cost companies flying here like it so much they want to fly more out of Stuttgart, but, sadly there isn’t the space for all their aeroplanes, and they can't fulfil their stated aim of “Making air travel possible for all”, apparently while employing as many people as they possibly can, if you believe the publicity.

We are assured, this will be the very, very, last project of them all. No more building. Definitely. Honest. –until 2020 when the capacity at the airport will be used up again.

Added to this, the exhaust planes spew out are really not good for people to breathe, or to have hanging around at 20 000 feet. And if this global warming theory is correct, they are helping to mess up the weather in a way that plays havoc with the livelihood of the poorest people in the world. I makes it hard for us to fly and to talk about loving our neighbour, either the local one who is about to loose farmland to the airport or the one further away about to loose land to the desert.

So we are going to try and use the train. We can't yet do this to Japan, but the UK is very possible now the train service from Stuttgart to Paris is up and running. Train travel costs more because the air industry is subsidised -they pay no tax on fuel. It’s not a massive amount more after we take into account the odd surcharges the airlines have invented, and staying overnight at Manchester Airport, and the taxi to and from the travel lodge, etc, and the extra charges for the boys on the plane, but it is enough to make us think twice.

On the other hand, part of this cost will be cushioned by the rail pass we can get for the UK, which will cover travel to and from London and a few more days besides, which means we can use it to visit people in the UK. The train is actually slightly quicker door to door as well. It’s certainly more comfortable, and we get to see more.

Of course with a train producing far, far less pollution than a plane, we won't be damaging what we see either.

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome...