Day 18: Antwerpen-home

We were fairly lazy this morning and didn't go down to breakfast until about 09:00; it seemed odd to hear so many British voices in the dining-room, and we realised we simply hadn't encountered many other English-speaking travellers during the holiday.  The breakfast was good, except the juice was nasty and the coffee was so weak it couldn't crawl out of the cup.  If a coffee machine says "Expresso" on it, it's a fair bet the regular coffee will be weaker than weak.

I discovered that my black cardigan was missing, and realised I must have left it in the restaurant the previous evening.  This was locked, but the kind receptionist said he would look for it as soon as someone came in with the key, which was due to happen around 12:00.  We were not leaving Antwerpen until about 3:00 so we left our luggage at the hotel, and set off to explore.

We bought day tickets for public transport, but were foiled as we couldn't see where the tram we wanted left from, only to discover that it was, in fact, a metro!  Once we sorted that out, we got to the Groene Markt, and had a lovely walk round the old centre of the town.  Including, quite accidentally, the red light area where the poor women sit in the windows and parade their charms.... I felt rather sorry for them. The Swan Whisperer was most embarrassed, as he hadn't realised that was why that particular street was pedestrianised....

Then we decided to go for a tram ride there and back again, which was a mistake as a child was sick, which reduced me to curled up in foetal position with my eyes screwed shut and my fingers in my ears.  But I was able to move to the back of the tram and carry on looking out of the window.  We ended up in a very Moslem/Turkish area - I was tempted to go and buy some flatbreads and/or hummus to take home, but there wasn't time. 

We found somewhere to have lunch, and then took a final tram back to the hotel, got our luggage and the next train to Brussels.  Only we nearly failed to get out at the right station as I had dozed off and the Swan Whisperer assumed I'd say when it was time to get off!

And so on to the Eurostar - and I slept the entire way through the tunnel and was very confused as I'd heard them say they were going to stop briefly in Calais Fréthun, and the next thing I knew they were stopping at Ashford instead!  And so to St Pancras, and the Victoria Line, and a 355 bus, and home.

It was a really lovely holiday!  I wish it were all to do over again!

Day 17; Train Day 10: Hamburg to Antwerpen

The train was on time when it got to Hamburg, thankfully, so we got in, were shown to our sleeper, and went straight to bed. I was on the bottom bunk, and turned myself round so that me head was by the window, as that way I could get out left side first, which is what I'm used to - it's way easier to brace yourself if you are lying the right way round. Plus I could lie there and look out of the window, which was lovely.

The train was due to spend 3 hours in Hannover, splitting up and joining together again, but something must have gone wrong, as it was well over an hour late when we woke up. Not that we had slept terribly well with all the bumps and bashes as carriages were split off and joined together, but once the train started moving again it was lovely and I, for one, slept very soundly but not long enough.

We had a private shower and loo, but our shower was broken. The SW went to one further down that was empty, but I decided I wouldn't actually reek if I made do with wipes for once, so I did. Breakfast was provided, but not desperately satisfactory, so when we arrived in Utrecht we headed to the nearest Starbucks (I know, but maybe it's different, abroad) for coffee. We would have liked to have explored, but the SW looked outside and said that he was sure Utrecht was a very nice city, but all he could see was a building-site! So we got the next train south, decided we were too tired to explore Rotterdam, or Roosedaal, where we also had to change trains, and came straight to Antwerpen.

I regret to say we spent the afternoon watching the British Grand Prix and the Tour de France, but we did go out to stretch our legs before supper.

Day 16; Train day 9: Stralsund to Hamburg

We thought that, because today was a train day and we could, we would take the train right out to the end of the line, to a place called Ostbadsee Binz on Rügen Island. This was a lovely journey, across causeways and bridges, at one place with the sea on both sides. However, what we really would have liked to have seen - and I think we did see a bit, from the train, was the extraordinary resort barracks Hitler caused to have built at Prora, just down the line. Ostbadsee Binz looked as though the only really good thing was the beach, and it wasn't really beach weather, so we got on the train to Hamburg. Actually, the train was to go all the way to Stuttgart, but we were only going as far as Hamburg.

When we got here, we found the station full of very shouty people in fancy dress, which was rather disconcerting of it! So we put our luggage in a locker, and then caught a tourist bus to see the sights.  Which were mostly water - lakes and canals and so on.  After which, we were both hot and sleepy, so we went into a coffee shop and I had something called a frozen orange green tea, which seemed to be mostly orange juice with ice and mint; most refreshing. The SW had a milkshake.

We then walked down the main shopping drag - stopping for a pee at a random department store - to the Rathaus, and pottered around there for awhile, watching a boat come through the lock and so on. Then we walked up the lake or canal or whatever it was back to the station, and after a bit more pottering round the station, we had a very leisurely meal in a random restaurant, and are now sitting in the waiting-room on platform 14 waiting for the night train to Utrecht, which will probably be late! 

Day 15: Stralsund in the rain

Actually, it only rained in the afternoon, and for a holiday where we must spend a great deal of time out-of-doors, we have been very lucky with the weather.

After breakfast, we caught a bus up to a very large shopping mall called Strelapark, where we had been told we could buy a suitcase, which we duly did. The two anchor stores of the mall are a MediaMarkt and a Citti hypermarket.  The Swan Whisperer went off to look round the former, while I bought milk and butter in the latter. Don't let anybody tell you that the Germans don't do hypermarkets n they jolly well do in Stralsund!

We dropped our purchases back in the hotel, and went off to explore the harbour area, and incidentally eat a delicious lunch of fried herring and salad; at which point the heavens opened. So we hopped on a sightseeing tour, which was not very good, and I fell asleep, but it was a chance to see more of the town and the ancient fortifications.

Then we bought ice-creams; the SW enjoyed his, but mine was rather sweet nothing, so we walked back to.the hotel to eat tea and watermelon and peaches and strawberries. Then the SW was just about to.go out for another walk when the heavens REALLY opened, thunder and everything, so he didn't go out until we both went to find some supper. The first place we tried was full and the waiter blithely wished us a pleasant evening, which made me cross, but we ended up.in a nice little place that did us duck.or chicken, and then back to the hotel.

Day 14; Train day 8: Magdeburg-Berlin-Stralsund

Wouldn't you think German trains could run on time? One has this fantasy that they do, but in reality they are far, far worse than British ones. I don't think we've been on a single train run by Deutsche Bahn that has been on time, and they have mostly been st least 15 minutes late, if not more!

Yesterday's trains were no exception. The first train, to Berlin, was late, and the slow train got there first!  We went all the way to the Ostbahnhof, as I had remembered a supermarket that sold sweet sprinkles like they sell herbs. But it was a Rewe, which are ubiquitous, and the sprinkles are now all available in the UK, which they weren't 5 years ago. Did buy some salads for lunch, though.

We then took the S-bahn back to the Hauptbahnhof, which had only just opened last time we were there, and had been in the middle of a building site. It still is, rather, but there has been a lot of development.  We looked at the sightseeing boats on the river and wished we had more time.

Then down to wait for our train to Stralsund and to be very tempted be the Berlin-Warsaw express on the next platform, but eventually our train arrived, 20 minutes late of course, and we went to Stralsund, eating lunch en route.

The hotel here is very nice but I must remember, in future, to ask for rooms on a lower floor if there is no lift, as it is a 3rd floor walk-up and my knees do not like stairs. And although there is, allegedly, free WiFi, it doesn't really work. So I have bought roaming, which is EE and just as fast, and very little more expensive than what I paid for it in Magdeburg. But why are the prices coming down on Monday? 

The SW's suitcase has disintegrated big-time, so we need to go and buy another. I had suggested he use my old one, as I bought myself a lightweight one for this trip, but he took his own. Big mistake!

Day 13: Train day 7: Hameln

"Hamelin's town in Brunswick"
- actually Lower Saxony
"By famous Hanover city"
- 45 minutes away by S-bahn
"The river Weser, deep and wide"
- not very either compared with some rivers
"washes its walls on the southern side" - um, no, western, I'm afraid!

Browning's errors of fact notwithstanding, Hamelin, or Hameln, is worth a visit.  Especially the museum, which costs €5.00, but worth it. Right now they have a special exhibition on the Pied Piper, in addition to their normal one, but there is also a lot about the history of the town and lots of early tools, and a mammoth skull, they found in the Weser.

The town makes much of the events of 1284, and there are rats everywhere - statues, images on paving-stones and, of course, souvenirs!  Wooden ones, mostly, but I saw some soft toy versions, too.

Coming back was a bit trying, as German trains are no more reliable than English trains are - less, in many ways - and the S-bahn had fallen over, so we had to wait ages in the cold -and it is cold; it doesn't seem possible that a week ago we were sweltering in >30 heat. But the train came in the end, and we just made our connection back to Magdeburg. Which was also >15 minutes late. I don't think we've been on a single train in Germany that hasn't been, except the Harz-Elbe express, and that is run by Connex, who have, I think, learned something since they lost their UK franchises!

Day 12: Magdeburg

Another rest day, and I, for one, really needed it. Went back to bed, and to sleep after breakfast and dozed on and off all morning and most of the afternoon. The SW went out for a walk in the morning, but I think he was just as happy to rest in the afternoon, too.

About 4:30, though, I got my second wind and we went out and had a very quick look at the weekly market that was just coming to an end outside the Rathaus; we then bought a day pass for the trams and spent a very happy hour going round and round and finding where they went.

Then we had an early supper at a local resto that Google Maps said was good - it was!  I had zanderfilet again. The back through the showing mall, stopping off for an ice-cream en route, and buying some more cheese in the supermarket. Earlier we had replaced our Melamine cups, which were getting very stained.