Setting off early Sunday morning means the trains are a bit spass. No trains from Farnham early enough so I am dropped off to get the first train of the day from Woking.
Early in Woking.
Lots of runners get on the train on the way to a half marathon.
The Brompton is essential for me to make it to St Pancras on time. The Interrail App does not even provide a connecting route from Woking to the Eurostar train that I am catching. It turns out that this is due to a number of underground trains not running due to maintenance work.
Waterloo
A quiet cycle ride gets me to St Pancras well in time.
Waiting area for Eurostar.
The Eurostar leaves 14 minutes late due to a technical issue with the train. We get underway.
Sunny in France
We are still ten minutes behind schedule when we arrive in Brussels but somehow I make a very tight change on to the train to Frankfurt Am Main. I did not expect to make this connection so I am two hours ahead of schedule.
Passing through Brussels Crossing the Rhine at KölnCrossing the Main at Frankfurt Changed trains at Frankfurt Glimpses of towns on route Arrived at a sunny Fulda
I conveniently have chosen a hotel 200m from the station.
There are plenty of pretty buildings in Fulda.
Stadtpfarrkirche St BlasiusStadtschlossh FuldaDom zu Fulda
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.
I was fit to travel the next day. Decided to reduce the odds of missing connections by catching an early train than planned.
I was traveling to Cologne, we were told there had been a problem with the staff arriving from a previous train. The train departed 40 minutes late. Following the announcements was interesting, as one train to München leapfrogged the other. They were going different routes.
Back to the next delayed train, again 40 minutes and a platform change. Now heading towards Brussels.
Interesting clouds near Liège.Heading into Brussels.
The lateness of the train meant that the comfortable cushion to get through border control was disappearing.
I discovered another issue. Somehow the Interrail app had booked the wrong date for the Eurostar, and I had not spotted this, so no seat on the train. Thankfully the very helpful Eurostar employee got me on with a ticket, which strangely had no meal guarantee written on it. I was not sure what this meant.
Then another delay, by possibly an hour, dueto problems in the Netherlands. This would make my next connection in London very tight.
We left 44 minutes late.
I pointed out my non guarantee of meal when I received this meal.
Not very large portion but ideal as my appetite was not back.
It was now dark so no pictures.
The reduction in delay from an hour to 45 minutes meant I made the Caledonian Sleeper well on time. A quick walk from St Pancras to Euston.
And next morning in the Highlands…
Approaching Inverness.Inverness Station
Then heading further north.
River CononCromarty Bridge in the distance Looking north from the train.
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
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.
Kent countryside
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.
France
Eventually we made it to…
Bruxelles.Waiting for the next train Sunny in Brussels
The next train left slightly late, a DB IC, heading for Frankfurt, but I was due to change at Frankfurt airport.
Leaving Brussels.The train took a curious route due to work on the more direct line.Near Groß Rohrheim
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.
Near Mannheim.MannheimStuttgartThe NeckerThe bright sun is getting low near StuttgartNear Kirchheim unter TeckSun really low near GessertshausenFinally München HBF
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.
The map taken from the Interrail app shows just how far the journey was, but misses the far north line and the detour to Oxfordshire.
From the Interrail app: 5784 km distance
15 trains on the Interrail ticket, 20 in total.
Seven countries.
Weather
Sunny almost throughout, but a big variation in temperature. Highest ,around 14 centigrade in Augsburg, lowest -10 in Bucharest.
Food
The food was good, but had to get creative in the meat centric countries. I had my first experience of a Lebanese restaurant in Bucharest, the very good Coin-Vert Libanez.
I had to fight through the snow and ice to get to it. A week later I had my second Lebanese restaurant experience in Paris.
Plenty of good food on this trip.
Hotels
I stayed in three Premier Inn plus rooms, three varieties of Ibis: budget, styles and no moniker, a Radisdon Individuals Schiller Park in Linz and Ramada by Wyndham in Bucharest.
Best bed:Premier Inn plus
Best shower: Premier Inn plus
Best view: Ramada by Wyndham
Best location: Hotel Schiller Park- in central location near the railway station.
Best breakfast: Ramada by Wyndham
Best rooms: Premier Inn plus
Most expensive: Premier Inn St Pancras
Best check out times: Ibis / check out by noon.
I like the simplicity of the Ibis Budget.
Locations
Both Augsburg and Linz were amazing places to visit. Smaller and not as busy as Vienna but interesting buildings and history. Bucharest lacked the beautiful buildings but the lake was beautiful.
Travelling by train emphasised the change in landscape and buildings. Farmhouses are tiny and ramshackled in Romanian but huge and well maintained in Austria and Germany.
People
As well as meeting the natives of each country that I visited I was surprised to meet people from so many other countries. I had conversations with Qataris, Russians, Albanians, Norwegians, New Zealanders, Moldovans, Canadians, Taiwanese and probably more. Talking to Austrians in German with their local accents was a joy, including a woman in her 90s from Vienna,
Cycling
Cycling was awful in Bucharest, but faster than cars. Driving in Bucharest also looks awful. Paris cycle way provision is good in Paris, but blocked by vehicles on the Sunday. Vienna was busy, Augsburg pleasant. I heard a tram hitting a car in Vienna and saw the massive crumpled side of the car, the tram just drove off. The closest I came to an accident was Inverness, where a car was being driven at 60 mph in a 30 zone, as I was turning right. The bike gave a good way to cross cities between stations and to get to hotels. It was also a great luggage trolley.
Is it possible to get from Paris to Inverness in a day by train? Yes, and with only one change.
Paris to Inverness
It’s an early start but not overly early from the hotel. Onto the Gare Du Nord.
Loaded onto the Eurostar.Leaving Paris
Speeding across FranceTurbines in the distance.Sunny with some mist Some foggynessInto KentSt Pancras Lunch or second breakfast at Giraffe , Kings Cross LNER Train to Inverness Loaded in the rack
FlatGranthamStill flatNewcastle Berwick on TweedEdinburgh Near Linlithgow Sun going down near LarbetNear DunblaneNear AuchteraderPerth – the motor mileInverness
Arrived at Inverness just after 8 having left London at 12 and Paris at 9:10 French time. 90 minutes to change in London, but 12 hours to get from Paris to Inverness.
A short walk to St Pancras station. As ever border control seems chaotic and the waiting area is packed and too hot.
St Pancras platform Leaving St Pancras Lunch under the sea.Arriving in ParisGare du NordIt’s not far to Gare de l‘estBoarding at Gare de L‘EstHeading out of ParisThe suburbs The TGV is fast. It reached 319kph.SupperArrived in Augsburg
Time for a quick late night tour.
Am FischertorDer DomIbis am Hauptbahnhof
A pleasant but long day. Also confusing language wise. German, French, English (and some Polish) being spoken on the train. French bartender spoke to me in French until I hesitated ,then he switched to German.
Den Haag HSChristmas decorations are up.Appeared to be no luggage racks on the train.Typical countryside near DelftNear SchiedamHollanders DiepBreda station
Breda station is poorly signposted plus two platforms are missing. Very confusing for a visitor.
Passing AntwerpArrived in Brussels.
I had a little time to look around Brussels
Cartoons are on some of the house walls.. Rue des Capuchins More cartoons. Rue Notre Damme de Graces.View across Brussels from Palais de Justice.At Judgy Vegan cafe
In the cellar of the Judgy Vegan.
A cartoon at Brussels zuid midi
Kerfuffle at the border control. I was asked if I have a flick knife. Turns out to be a multi tool in the bag.
Due to congestion at the Eurostar terminal we leave late. Eurostar, you have something to work on. The whole process of passing through border control is hectic and disorganised with lots of pinch points.
It’s turned to dusk as the Eurostar sets off. It’s dark by the time the Eurostar has a pause waiting for permission to enter the channel tunnel.
Pause near Fréthun,
Then it’s down into the tunnel and onto England.
Platform for Eurostar at St Pancras.
I unfolded the Brompton to make it easier to move with the luggage. A mistake as it turned out. I was directed to the lift which is tiny and therefore has a long queue of people with large amounts of luggage, push chairs and one bike. I am second to last in the queue. Poor design!
Tiny lift at St Pancras.
I am the last to leave.
When previously passing through Oxfordshire on the train I had spotted that the train line would be closed between Paddington and Reading due to HS2 workday, but it was possible to get to Reading using the Elizabeth Line. So I cycled to Tottenham Court Road to catch the Elizabeth Line. I discover that the Elizabeth Line in the central area of London is not running. I am directed to take the District Line to Ealing Broadway to catch the Elizabeth Line. It is chaos at the tube station.
The District Line has small, noisy and very warm carriages. It is an old line. The tube train is crowded.
Change at a busy Ealing Broadway.On the Elizabeth Line.
The Elizabeth Line has modern rolling stock. Nice and quiet but nowhere to put rubbish.
Reading- Elizabeth Line train across the platform.
The journey from St Pancras took far longer than normal so by the time I reach the Premier Inn at Didcot the kitchen is closed. So an emergency Macdonald’s it is.
Soggy burger and overly salty fries,Premier Inn room.
The room has seen better days. One light out and sink plug jammed. Welcome back to the UK.
Now the international journey begins using the Interrail ticket.
Starting at a crowded Farnham.
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.
Cycle route from Waterloo to St Pancras
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.
Packed for the Eurostar.Ready for the off at St Pancras.
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.
Brussels connecting train.
Next the Köln train leaves late. So I miss another connection.
Köln
A 50min wait in Köln. I finally arrived in Wuppertal four hours later than planned.
