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.