Travels around the Continent
"Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn" (We want to stay what we are) - Luxembourg motto Luxembourg is a country that I had never visited before, unless you count briefly passing through it on an overnight coach trip to Italy with my parents in 1970. Having got a taste for free travel with my Freedom …
"The best things in life are free." Having recently reached the state pensionable age of 66, my London-wide Oyster 60+ card was replaced with a Freedom Pass, which additionally gives free off-peak bus travel anywhere in England. When I first turned 60 I tested my 60+ Oyster Card by visiting within a week all of …
Continue reading "Freedom Pass workout – Manchester to Woodford for free"
"Between Scylla and Charybdis" After a three month gap since my previous excursion to Europe, I decided to head south on a short trip in the hope of catching some warmth. Day 1 - Tuesday 27th February 2024 - London to NaplesAs usual when I fly to my initial destination, I was going to depart …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 11 – Naples and Sicily"
“La France est un livre dont chaque chapitre est une découverte.” (France is a book in which every chapter is a discovery.) - Gustave Flaubert Having renewed my Carte Advantage Senior from the beginning of 2023, during one of SNCF's periodic half-price sales, I realised that I had not yet used it this year. So …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 10 – French Frustrations"
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "Iron Curtain" has descended across the continent" (Winston Churchill) [Continuing the account of the trip made with my wife to visit a number of Hanseatic ports.] Day 7 – Tuesday 17th October 2023 – Stralsund to Szczecin via ŚwinoujścieThe Mecklenburg-Pomeranian day rover tickets that …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 9 – Hanseatic Holiday – Part Two: Poland"
"All power to the merchants" (Motto of the Hanseatic League) The Hanseatic League, or Hansa, was a loose confederation of city states mainly located along the Baltic coast, but with outposts as far afield as London, Bergen, Bruges and Novgorod. In its heyday in the Middles Ages it dominated maritime trade in the Baltic and …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 9 – Hanseatic Holiday – Part One: Germany"
"I'm the street you walkThe language you talkI am the city"ABBA Day 7 - Tuesday 19th September 2023 - StockholmHaving not done any exploring of Stockholm upon my arrival the previous evening, I got up early to go for a wander to familiarise myself with the layout of the city before the attractions I wished …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 8 – Finland and Sweden – Part Two: Sweden"
“I have to live in Finland. I could never fully leave this country; it would end me and mean the death of my art.” (Jean Sibelius) I generally avoid travelling in the summer as it often more expensive and I don't get on with exploring in very hot weather. For my latest trip, I decided …
Continue reading "Europe Explored – Trip 8 – Finland and Sweden – Part One: Finland"
"Rain Rain Go Away" (Nursery Rhyme) Day 8 – Sunday 14th May 2023 – Košice to Debrecen (via Tokaj)I woke early, and skipping breakfast, left my hotel at 7:20am for the short walk across the park to Košice station. I was catching the 0801 train, which eventually was going on to Budapest, but I was …
Continue reading "Europe Explored Trip 7 – To Slovakia and Hungary – Part Three: Hungary"
"Šťastie praje pripraveným" (Fortune favours the prepared) - Slovak proverb Day 4 - Wednesday 10th May 2023 - Berlin to BratislavaI caught a tram from my hotel to Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The train lines at Berlin Hauptbahnhof are at two levels Hoch (High) or Tief (Deep) with shops and other station facilities sandwiched between. Having arrived …
Continue reading "Europe Explored Trip 7 – To Slovakia and Hungary – Part Two: Slovakia"