Postscript

I've come across my old youth hostel souvenir stamp book which shows hostels I stayed at. It probably alters some of the dates I have assumed in the account, as I guessed without the benefit of a diary, but at this point there's nothing gained by correcting the timeline.

Notting Hill

The last scenery pictures I took before leaving London for the USA were of the Notting Hill Carnival.

Wales

Another trip I made was to Bangor in North Wales.

It looks like I made a stopover at Chester since the trains passed there and took a picture of its Town Hall.

I visited Caenarfon Castle. You can see the car park in an aerial view in at Caenarfon's website.

Given that the picture of Charles below was taken at Penrhyn Castle and it was 3 miles out of Bangor, chances are that these 3 pictures are of the scenery on the way or views from the castle. I don't however remember how I travelled to and from the castle, whether by public transport or walking.

This is Charles, at the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum (see also here in Wikipedia) in Bangor.

Cornwall

I stayed with a friend in London and made excursions from there. One was to Cornwall, where I based myself in the picturesque village of Mousehole (pronounced Mouzel). All but one of the pictures are from around there or Land's End. The first photo appears to be of Exeter Cathedral, which is plausible as it's a transfer point for trains.

The sunny blue skies seem incongruous with perceptions of the UK, but it's really like that in Cornwall, the climate is milder there due to the location and the ocean currents.

Just enjoy the photos, I have little to add to them.

The First and Last House.

Haarlem

From Berlin I had only to head westwards to return to Amsterdam. An image search tells me that the photos are of Haarlem. I have a recollection of making a short visit, walking from the station down the main pedestrian street to the other end, and then back, so it's plausible I did this on the last day of validity of my Eurailpass.

The Grote Kerk.

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The main pedestrian street.

The last photo I took on the continent this trip, and possibly en route to Vlissingen where there used to be a ferry service to Sheerness. The better known ferry service was from Hoek van Holland (Hook of Holland) to Harwich, but I took the Vlissingen service because it was slightly cheaper. The ferry services have declined markedly since the completion of the Channel Tunnel in 1994.

Berlin

West Berlin that is, because in those days before the fall of the Wall, I could not enter E. Germany on my passport. But I could transit to enter W. Berlin. The segment was not covered by Eurailpass so I bought a point to point ticket from the closest city in W. Germany, Hannover. I remember the border officials were very intimidating.

This appears to be the World Fountain, part of Europa-Centre.

I contacted a friend of a friend from Australia, and he was kind enough to let me stay at his place. He took me to see the sights mentioned below.

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, in a somewhat underexposed shot.

City night scene.

Checkpoint Charlie. My Berlin friend also took me to see the border crossing inside Friedrichstraße Station. On the way, from the carriage I could see the abandoned subway stations that the W. Berlin subway trains passed through, looking very eerie. I must go see how they have restored those stations now that Germany is reunited again.

Schloß Charlottenberg

Probably taken in the grounds.

This water clock in the Europa-Center was two years old when I saw it.

I thought it was just another traditional farmhouse but a search shows that this is likely the Dahlem-Dorf U-Bahn station.

Graz

A friend of mine had been born in Graz before moving to Australia as a child but in 1982 I did not have a chance to visit it and report back. This time my excuse was that I had met two Austrian backpackers in Scotland in 1982 and decided to drop in on one of them this time. He, his friend and I ended up spending the day together and stayed out so late carousing that I never used my hostel bed but slept overnight at his family home before leaving the next day. I remember meeting his mother, seeing a jar on the window sill and asking, in my schoolboy German: Ist daß Honig am Fenster? It was, and she was pleased that I knew at least one sentence in German. In the photo, the two boys are sitting on the wall.

The Schloßberg clock tower seems to look a little different now.

I can't be sure if this is from Graz or my next destination.

At this point in the pictures I'm not sure how I got from Graz to Hannover to W. Berlin. There was a border Bavarian alps crossing on a cog railway. The Garmisch-Partenkirchen line could be it, but then why didn't I take more photos as the scenery is spectacular. I suspect it was an obscure crossing that I cannot trace at the moment.

I don't think I know the woman, she was just sharing the same gondola with me.

I do remember one moment from the trip. A German tourist was using one of the very first camcorders, expensive at that time. The conductor admired it and probably said I couldn't afford that. Sparen (save for it) was the German man's answer.