I added the five minute rail journey to my Interrail ticket get to the Prague main station to then catch the train to Dresden. This was my first Czech train, which was on a long journey to terminate at Hamburg Altona. I was only travelling on the early part of it’s journey.
Praha-Hlavni Nadrizi- the main station.
Onto the train.
Crossing the river leaving Prague, it splits.
The VltavaFurther downstream Lock system in the ElbeThe sun is getting low.Along the Elbe.
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.
It’s an early start to catch the 0816 Eurostar to Brussels. The ticket tells me to turn up at 0701.
It’s still dark at St Pancras
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,
Boarding at St Pancras
We travel through Kent.
Near AshfordNear Stanford- curious shaped hill.
Difficult to get decent photos from the train in Kent.
In France, near Lille
Struggled getting decent photos in France too.
Near Halle-Belgium Coming into Brussels 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.
Bonus train at Brussels-MidiTravelling two stops in Brussels Waiting for the train to CologneLeaving Brussels-North- late uInteresting bridge at Liège.Liège station is an interesting building Leaving LiègeAachenArrived in Köln a bit lateThe cathedral
The next leg is to Hamburg. This train is also delayed, by maintenance work on the track.
Crossing the RhineThe train is traveling a long distance.Düsseldorf-its raining Essen Dortmund Dortmund-Ems canal near MünsterComing into Hamburg about ten minutes late.Hamburg StationHotel View from room
Hamburg combines a massive port, industry with a beautiful city including two large lakes, Binnen Alster and the Außen Alster. Lots of history, lots of culture, lots to see. And the there is the Elbe, used by ships to reach Hamburg, which is inland. The container port is built on the Elbe.
Hamburg has a really good public transport system including the S Bahn.
Hamburg has a number of impressive churches.
View from the St Michaelis , including the Hamburger Dom.St MichaelisClose upSt Nicolai KircheSt. Katharinen KirchePetrikirche- the oldest site for a church.Altona Kirche
Not as old as the churches is the Elbtunnel opened 1911. You can cycle or walk through it, free of charge.
View down the tunnel from the north side.Looking up on the south side.
And then there is the Spiecherstadt. A complex of old warehouses next to canals. Now mainly repurposed.
A view of the warehouses next to a canal.
Some of the bridges have two levels.
Warehouses, picture taken from above the previous picture.
There are other interesting buildings.
Schanzenturm- now a hotel. Formerly the biggest water tower in Europe.FC St Pauli stadium, Grüner Bunker and Fernsehturm.
The former bunker now has a garden on top.
Hamburger Rathaus
Every year the Hamburger Dom takes place in Winter. It has its origins in the 11th century.
The port is huge, the third largest in Europe. The Elbe gives an advantage, bringing goods inland reducing costs, but the downside is as the ships are getting bigger they can no longer travel up the river.
A view from the Köhlbrandbrücke.Also from the Köhlbrandbrücke Cranes for moving containers
Hamburg is a a beautiful city but like many cities it suffers from the dominance of cars. The roads are crowded with cars and the seems to be little observance of the 50km/h speed limit. Unpleasant!
There is good provision for cyclists, but could be better. Occasionally the routes are not clear and there are frequent road works which particularly seem to affect the cycle paths. Touring Hamburg on the bike was fun.
And a tip for rainy days. Buy a HVV day ticket and travel on the U3 , which does a loop, mostly above ground, sometimes elevated.
