Train holiday - day 13

 Long trip home. Train to Cologne, the. Change to Brussels, then Eurostar to London, the. Dodgy train to Cambridge, then a lift home from Simon. Much appreciated as awful weather causing many problems in the UK

Home around 23:00

Train holiday - day 12

 Free day in Berlin, in the rain.

Walk down Oriannstrasse and into ‘Modular’ for arty stuff and coffee. Then some clothes shops and down the Ubahn to Stokx and bought a coat and top for Jo.

Then a poor meal with everyone together.

Train holiday - day 11

 Thursday, so off to Berlin.

Early to a bus to Dresden. A long coffee stop and then train to Berlin.

We forgo the late walking tour and head off on our own.

A pair of boots from Campers for Jo.

Then dinner up the tower.

Late for bed

Felt straight at home in Berlin

Train holiday - day 10

 Today still in Prague.

Free day. First to the Kafka museum which was ok. Nothing original which is a shame, excepting some early publications. 

Coffee and the. O the old Jewish cemetery, and synagogue. Very emotive and old.

We bought a ‘chimney cake’ each which was very nice.

Finished with a cheap meal in the large shopping mall.

A pretty good day, but not feeling about Prague.

Train holiday - day 8

 So up early to coach the train first to Vienna, and then on to Prague. A long journey of around 6 hours.

Finally a bus to a very nice hotel.

A bottle of fizz to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.

Train holiday - day 9

 Funny day today. Early tour with a strange lady. Fast visits to castle and old town, and the Charles bridge. So many people; I switched off. Lots of pretty stuff to look at and photograph. Just got bored with it.

Back to hotel for a nap, then mooch around shopping centre. Not feeling it today.

Train holiday - day 7

 So free day today.

First to the Synagogue which was emotional. Then to the ex-secret police HQ. First the police were part of the ‘arrow cross party’, then quick costume change, and then Soviet secret police. Keeping rank and everything. Very bleak to put it mildly.

Then a Hungarian meal of wild boar stew and back to the hotel.

Train holiday - day 6

 Coach tour of the city, including statues and the big church on top of the big hill above the city, and cathedral in the city.

Hilarious and awful ‘children’s railway’ ride in the hills. Very full of noisy kids. Really terrible but funny for it.

Took Kevin the tour guide off for a meal.

Train holiday - day 5

 Managed to find the sewer entrance from The Third Man.

Then heading off on train to Budapest.

Train was rather full, and arrived late. Big coach to the very nice hotel with big rooms.

Night tour up to the hill above the city. Then a buffet meal which was a good laugh. Had loads of food, including fois gras and beef tarter.

Train holiday - day 4

 Still in Vienna.

Took in the museum of modern art which was ok. Then design museum which was fab.

Greek for dinner. Then back to hotel for an early night.

Train holiday - day 3

 In Vienna.

Early breakfast, then coach to the Schonbrunn palace for a mouch around the gardens, followed by a guided tour of the palace. All very palacey. Very crowded and pretty. You get a sense of the postwar red occupation slightly tainting the city. It must have very hard.

Then broke away from the group and went into the city, into the Hapsburg crypt which was amazing. Then the National library which was very ornate but disappointing.

Finally a piccy of the Goethe statue, a nice early bratwurst, sourkraut, and frites, broke back to the hotel via Spar.

Train holiday - day 2

 So train journey that went on and on and on and on.

So left the hotel back on the coach to the station. An hour to hang around and left on the train late.

First leg was 3 hours or so, then change at Munich, then another 4 hours. One very numb bum later. Finally a short coach ride to the hotel. Then a reasonable meal and bed. The hotel much better than in Frankfurt.

Rubbish photos from the train.

Train holiday - day 1

Wake up in the Montcalm hotel near the Barbican. So set off from St Pancras on the Eurostar, off to Brussels. Then change trains for the ICE to Frankfurt.

Long day getting to the hotel around 17:30. Food rather poor and got overcharged for my single beer. So had to go back for a refund. Very Faulty Towers.

Not sure about the fellow 14 tourists, but we shall see

Rich and David

Jo and Martin?

Francis and mouthy