To Oulu -reflections

Posted on 1st Mar 20261st Mar 2026 by insightndes

That was an amazing trip to Oulu and back.

Negatives: getting food poisoning and train delays. Germany really struggles to get trains to go on time. Eurostar also had its issues. I did have a 77 minute delay on the sleeper to Stockholm, but that worked in my favour. The sleeper Stockholm was also too hot and the curtains were poor allowing flashes of bright light into the cabin while travelling.

Questionable things: seeing people smoke on train platforms in Germany was strange, and also a bit objectionable. The speed that cars drive at in Hamburg is ridiculously high and not suited to the roads. Also objectionable.

Positives: the trains in Finland, Sweden and Denmark were great, excluding the sleeper. In time. The rolling stock was high quality throughout including Germany. Met some great people. The cycle facilities in Copenhagen and seeing so many cyclists was incredible. We should be doing this in the UK.

Exceeding expectations: The ferries between Stockholm and Helsinki were amazing, good prices, amazing views, great facilities. Finland in winter, incredible, stunning snowy landscapes.

Tips:

Don’t plan to catch the last train of the day.

Don’t make connections too tight.

Travel in your sports gear, make it multi purpose. (Sensibly)

Travel as light as possible.

Plan for the weather.

Don’t arrive late and leave early, it’s exhausting.

Staying for more than one night is more pleasant .

Rucksacks are better than wheelie luggage.

Make use of the late checkouts in hotels.

Carry just in case food and drink.

Make use of sleeper services.

Double check reservations.

Download apps for local public transport. They can be used to get the correct tickets and give directions.

Double check routes given by apps, sometimes they are sending you to the wrong place.

If in doubt, ask a local.

Chat to people on the trains.

Use tracking apps so friends and family can follow your progress. It’s fun and good for safety.

Give someone your itinerary- routes, hotels etc.

Look at and enjoy the landscape, as you travel through.

Travel

London to Hamburg-four countries in a day

Posted on 11th Feb 2026 by insightndes

It’s an early start to catch the 0816 Eurostar to Brussels. The ticket tells me to turn up at 0701.

Not off to a good start, there is a 24 minute delay. But this should not be a problem as there is plenty of time for the connection at Brussels,

We travel through Kent.

Difficult to get decent photos from the train in Kent.

Struggled getting decent photos in France too.

Arrived at Brussels Midi only 12 minutes late.

I checked the notice board for the train to Cologne. Spotted that there was an issue, it looked like the train was delayed and was leaving from a different station, Brussels-Nord. I confirmed this, and was told what train to catch.

Liège station is an interesting building

The next leg is to Hamburg. This train is also delayed, by maintenance work on the track.

Coming into Hamburg about ten minutes late.

Travel

St Pancras to München via Brussels

Posted on 11th May 2025 by insightndes

Early start at St Pancras means that I should get to München at a sensible time of 6pm local time. The ticket told me to be at St Pancras at ten to six. An early start.

We came to a stop. Announcements came periodically as the delay lengthened. The reason was eventually announced. A train had broken down in the tunnel so only one line was available. Trains were being sent in one direction and then the direction was being switched. Eventually we got going.

Eventually we made it to…

The next train left slightly late, a DB IC, heading for Frankfurt, but I was due to change at Frankfurt airport.

The train took a curious route due to work on the more direct line.

The ICE got further delayed so I bailed out at Köln, seeing that I could catch a slightly delayed train heading to München. This proved to be a good move as the train was mobbed at Frankfurt. I had a seat.

The bright sun is getting low near Stuttgart

Arrived at München around 9 local time. Three hours late although the final train was actually early . A long day.

Met some interesting people on the way. The Portuguese lawyer working for the EU who can speak about 7 languages, and the group returning from a family wedding in Eritrea. All evidently having grown up in Germany as shown by German being their preferred language.

Travel

Surrey to Wuppertal

Posted on 11th Nov 202411th Nov 2024 by insightndes

Now the international journey begins using the Interrail ticket.

The Interrail app is confused by the Farnham to Waterloo journey, thinking that I have to change at Woking, which I don’t, so I arrive early.

The cycle route was full of commuting cyclist. Some of which were very fast, some not so, and some who didn’t seem to be quite aware of what was going on.

Nice smooth journey across to Brussels Sud.

But things then start going awry. There is simply not enough time to make it from the Eurostar to the connecting train. A combination of being the wrong end of the train, passengers getting in the way and it being too far. Connection missed! Resulting in a two hour wait. Then the Köln train is shown with no platform and a bit of text suggesting that the train was going from another train. A quick check with the information confirms this and I am told to get on a local connecting train ton Brussels north. Not just a change of platform but a change of station.