Tag: snow

Environment, Tourism, Travel

To Oulu -reflections

Posted on by insightndes
The route (excluding within UK)

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.

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Travel

Copenhagen to Hamburg

Posted on by insightndes

Catching my first Danish train, to Hamburg.

The train
Leaving Copenhagen

There is still some snow about.

The fog struck again when crossing the bridge from Zealand to Fyn
Fog on the bridge
Unflattering picture of Odense
Odense

Crossed from Fyn to Jutland. Back to mainland Europe.

Another foggy bridge crossing
Ice on the sea near Kolding
Heading south

We enter Germany, At the border I am asked politely by a policeman why I was going to Hamburg, how long I was going to be there and where I was going next.

Wind turbines and saturated ground.
Audörfer See

Next it is a crossing of the Kiel Canal

The track loops round to gain height. Do we travel underneath the track that we will travel on.

The bridge in the distance
Still gaining height
Crossing Kiel Canal
The bridge disappearing in the distance.
There are some nice farm houses
Approaching Hamburg HBF
Hamburg HBF

Walked to the hotel.

Kunst Museum
Premier Inn

I always wondered what would happen if I took unwell on one of these trips. I found out when I started feeling a bit strange. This progressed to a very unpleasant evening, I must have picked up some kind of food poisoning.

Would I be in a fit state to continue?

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Environment, Tourism

Copenhagen

Posted on by insightndes

I am staying in a hotel where the room is modelled on a cabin.

It’s practical and located close to the station in the middle of the city.

I went off to get some food.

The central station
There are a lot of bikes.

Heading to a restaurant in the meat packing district.

Meat packing district
Food at the Gaza Grill
An interesting design

Copenhagen had proper infrastructure for cyclists. I came across a cycle flyover.

Cycle flyover
Looking towards Christianhavn

As I was walking I spotted a group coming out of a sauna and entering a swimming pool which still had some ice on top.

Swimming pool with sauna cabin to the right.

Next morning it was a stroll around Copenhagen to find some breakfast and explore.

Cycle queue for traffic lights.
Lots of commuter cyclists
Entering Christianshavn
Breakfast
Looking towards the centre

And back to the hotel.

The number of cyclists in the city was impressive, taking cars off the street. Everyone was wearing their normal clothes. It was noticeable that the cyclists followed the traffic signals. I had to keep my wits about me due to high numbers of cyclists, although they all seemed very attentive and careful.

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Tourism, Travel

Oulu-Helsinki-Stockholm-Lund-Copenhagen

Posted on by insightndes

It’s back on the train heading to Helsinki.

Boarding at Oulu
Ice on the window.

I had not reserved a seat. The train conductor pointed out that the train was going to get very full. She found a seat with a cancelled booking for me.

Ängeslevänjoki
Some of the trees are heavily laden with snow.
Snow on the overhead cables.

Some pretty houses on the way.

Crossing the frozen Oikolanjoki
Bright sunshine approaching Helsinki.
Disembarking At Helsinki Central

Its then on to a tram to go to the ferry.

Helsinki Cathedral

It’s warmed up in Helsinki do the snow is getting slightly slushy.

Government Palace

We get sightings of the different waterways from the tram.

Some interesting buildings on the way.

The tram arrives at the ferry terminal

The Gabriella from the tram.

Checking in and going through passport control is fast and straightforward.

View from the walkway.
Boarding

Off to find my cabin which is on the fifth deck, the level we entered on.

Bit of a maze
My cabin

The sun is setting as we leave Helsinki giving some magical views.

How close !

A wander round the boat, some food, then to bed. There is live music on board and a massive dinner buffet. However I got up for the breakfast buffet. Again with a view.

Local ferry
Arrived in Stockholm

Then it’s a trip with a bus and underground to the Central Station.

Next to the Slussen stop

Temperatures have risen since my previous visit.

View from the underground train

A little walk to the central station.

Klara Church
Central Station
And we’re off.
Crossing the Årastaviken
And the Igelstaviken
Passed through Norrkoping
Near Linkoping

The snow is reducing.

Gripenberg Castle

I changed to a regional train at Lund. No pictures as I spotted a train leaving before my planned connection so did a rapid change. Now I was 35 minutes ahead of schedule.

Malmo

The sky is grey with very low cloud.

Malmo sky

Disappointingly the crossing on the bridge from Sweden to Denmark is very foggy.

The bridge crossing.
Modern buildings not far from Copenhagen Airport
Arrived at Copenhagen station.
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Tourism

Oulu

Posted on by insightndes

Oulu is sixty miles south of the Artic circle and is this year’s European City of culture. Consequently there is a lot happening, even in February.

I walked from the station to the island Pikisaari, where I was staying. Walking mainly on compacted snow.

Oulu Cathedral in the distance.

Crossing over frozen waterways.

Passed the oldest restaurant, which is on Pikisaari.

The oldest restaurant , Sokeri-Jussin Kievari.

Onto my accommodation, TurusenSaha.

View from the room.

There is a supply of socks, eating area and cooking equipment.

The socks must be for those who have under estimated how cold it can be- outside. Very thoughtful.

I had a walk back to the centre.

Looking from Pikisaari to Oulu centre.
Icicles
Bobby
Oulu Market.

The market has a cafe, fish, meat shops and shops aimed at tourists.

After buying some provisions in a supermarket, I headed back to my accommodation. It’s now getting dark.

The library
Theatre

It’s all well lit up.

While walking back I spotted something strange.

What was going on?

Happening next week.

Holes in the ice are being cut to provide the competition pool.

On Pikisaari

The next day I was out and about.

Osprey and Salmon

Headed towards Nallikari Beach from Pikisaari.

Frozen one side of the bridge.
But not the other.

Cyclists are out despite the cold.

I went to see the ice sculptures that had been made the previous week. That must have been quite a spectacle when they were being made.

Team UK-Canada
Germany

I walked down to the beach.

Nallikari Beach

Where does the beach start and end?

I could tell when I was on the beach as the snow was soft.

I then started walking on the sea.

Standing on the sea.

There were tents scattered around and one man was fishing in a hole. No idea if he caught anything.

Heading back to Oulu via Pikisaari island. The steam generating industry buildings in the distance looked very atmospheric.

Looking towards the sea from the bridge heading onto Pikisaari.
Buildings on Pikisaari.

After having a coffee in Oulu centre and buying some food I headed back. It was snowing.

Bridge connecting Oulu to Pikisaari.

If there is snow covering the ground for a large part of the year the markings on the ground will be covered. The solution is to project the markings on to the snow.

After a night of snow.

The compacted snow got a dusting of soft snow overnight making it harder going as I headed to the station.

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Travel

Helsinki to Oulu

Posted on by insightndes

It’s a bright crisp morning, I have a good day for the trip north.

It’s off the local train at Helsinki.
Onto the IC23 to Oulu.

Not knowing any better I sat myself in first class which has a nice place to hang coats and store luggage. Plus it’s on the upper deck.

I way politely shifted to standard class.

Big houses on the way out of Helsinki.
A bridge across the frozen Keravanjoki
Expanse of blue sky and snow
The birches I tipped with white ice.
Lakes are just white.
White in the trees
Power production using wood chips?
A farm – Loumanloukko
Station at Kauhava
Bright sun.
Approaching Kannus
Frozen Lestijoki
Another frozen river.
Arrived at Oulu
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Tourism, Travel

Helsinki

Posted on by insightndes

It is cold and snowy in Helsinki.

Catching a tram.

I had plenty of time before checking in time for the hotel, so decided to ride the tram to the end of the line and get the flavour of Helsinki.

Uspenski Cathedral
Helsinki Cathedral
National Museum of Finland

Got to the end of the line having passed the central station. Hopped onto a different tram on the basis that it would go to the central station, which it did.

Central Station

It’s one stop up the line on the train to where I am staying.

From the local train.
Snowy forest near hotel.
The hotel is in the Tripla mall which is attached to the railway station.
Good views from the hotel dining room.
Hotel breakfast is very good.

Had some good food in Helsinki.

Soup
Finnish vegetable stew
A very hot Chinese dish in the mall.
View of the station from the restaurant
Sun about to rise Kaiseniemeniahti – frozen.

The snow is often not cleared but strewn with grit to help the grip. Most of the time this is fine but just occasionally I found a slippery patch.

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Tourism

Stockholm wander

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Had a little wander through Stockholm which is based on a series of islands.

St Clara church
Looking across Ladugårddlandsviken
Looking from Skeppsholmbron
Karl 12 and St Jacob’s Church

Decided to drop off my luggage at the hotel.

St Georgios Church
My hotel

And continue exploring on buses.

A bendy bus
Panghus

It got very cold once the sun went down, sub 10 degrees centigrade. I looked for an underground station and really struggled to find the entrance despite using the SL app. I didn’t quite know what I was looking for, eventually found a very inconspicuous entrance.

The underground is modern and efficient.
Adolf Fredrik Church
Tegnérgatan
Cinnamon bun with coffee
Lots of sculptures
There is some industry about.
View from Sussen

I purchased a 24 hour ticket for the public transport which I made good use of. The SL app was useful for navigation and buying tickets.

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Travel

Hamburg to Stockholm- through the night

Posted on by insightndes
The route showing the late start.
The train

I shared a cabin with five other travellers.

We crossed the divide between the Binnen Alster and the Außen Alster.

The train set off late evening? Travelling through Denmark in the early hours.

Just after crossing the border into Denmark- snow.

The train was a bit dated with a seventies vibe,

One of the toilets,
Sweden is snowy
The train was sending clouds of snow into the air.
Snowy village of Frinnaryd
Horses feeding on hay with a large barn behind.
There was a bit snow ingress through the window.
And between carriages.
Beginning to snow- Linköping
A bit rockier-Gläntan

Now getting close to Stockholm,

Hallsfjarden
Årstaviken
Frozen enough to skate
Riddarfjarden
Skating and walking on the Riddarfjarden
Very close to the Central Station
Arrived at Stockholm Central 77 minutes late.
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Environment, Tourism, Travel

Thurso to Bucharest and back- the summary

Posted on by insightndes

The journey

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.

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