Day 9 - Ancona and Milan, Italy
Day 10 - Milan to Zurich, Switzerland; Night train to Germany
With two and a half hours to kill, and feeling a bit hot and thirsty we head for a nearby McDonalds and again partake in milkshakes (expensive ones - about 4 Chabbos each, for your stock standard McDonalds Milkshake that we got in Milan for €1!) while also watching out for a triple-bendy-bus so we could get a photo for a friend of ours. After a while we retrieve our bags from the luggage locker we had put them in, contemplate having a shower from the showers at the station (12 Chabbos each for a shower!) since we wouldn't have an opportunity for a shower on our overnight train that night, but in the end decide it was just too expensive for a shower. We work out what platform our train would leave from, find a place to sit down and we wait until it eventually arrives (maybe even having an ice cream, like I did when last waiting at Zurich Station - can't remember if we did that or not!). Our train pulls into the platform about 30 minutes before departure, we find our carriage and start getting set up. This is a sleeper train, much the same as what I had taken from Dresden to Basel - in fact, this very train splits in two at Erfurt and one half goes to Berlin and the other half goes to Dresden. We're in the Berlin half, but we will only go as far as Halle (Saale) not too far from Leipzig. We aren't in a compartment of our own - we booked beds in a 4-berth Couchette, and we are in the two top bunks which suited me fine as it meant we could chuck all our stuff up on the big shelf above the corridor at the end of the two upper beds and not worry about having anything below. I re-oriented my bed so instead of having my head down the ladder/carriage side end, I had the pillow by the shelf and above the compartment door as that made much more sense to me and gave me more room - Dion did the same. The guard checked our tickets when the train was on the move, and told us our compartment companions would be getting on at Basel - an hour away. So we headed to the buffet car, which was a buffet counter in the middle of one of the sleeping cars - we had some food with us, but did look at the food options available before just getting a beer. We drank in the buffet area, while looking out the window as we course along to Basel. By the time we reach Basel, we've climbed into our beds to get as much sleep as possible as the next day will be long when we hear some kids in the corridor with their Mum as they go past. Dion makes a comment about how he couldn't stand to share a compartment with kids all night, when we hear the Mum and kids wander back and then our compartment opens - yes, the Mum and kids are in our compartment! The look on Dion's face was quite something, to say the least! Despite any of Dion's dire predictions, the Mum had the kids very quiet and to sleep pretty quickly - I don't know how it worked, whether the two kids shared a bunk or the Mum and one of the kids shared a bunk while the other had the other one but I wasn't awake for too much longer as we coursed across Germany in the night.
Day 11 - From Halle to Wernigerode via the Harz
For dinner that night, we didn't really know of the handful of restaurants that had 10% discounts in our book what their menu's were like save one - and that was the Hotel Altora's restaurant, because I'd been there before. We'd been warned that it can get quite busy and between 6pm and 8pm its best to book a table in advance, but we tried our luck and got a table although not one by the window where you get served by the train. I had the Schnitzel Jagerart (Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce) and it was very good - maybe not quite as good as I remembered, but still hit the spot. For dessert, we got the "Polarexpress" sundae which was every bit as nice as I remember - although we ordered these without looking at the Menu again and when trying to order them, the waitress couldn't understand what we meant until I tried saying it in a "German" way - instead of "Pohler", saying "Por-La" at which point she twigged. After dinner, we discussed what we might do the next day - seeing the steam train at Eisfelder Talmuhle seemed to spark Dion's enthusiasm for doing some riding on the Selketalbahn. How we went about it was the question - and so I spent some time studying the timetable and coming up with the possible permutations. After a while, I had them and there was 4 of them - one was pretty much an all-day trip, covering all the lines in one day except the Brocken; another was a morning half-day and we'd end up with much of the afternoon and all evening free; another was a free morning and then spend all afternoon and evening riding trains (in essence, a carbon copy of what I did the last time I visited); and another variation of an afternoon/evening trip. They were all put to Dion, who said lets just do the all day one. So we set our alarm accordingly, and called it a night.
Day 12 - All the Harz, Minus the Brocken
Day 13 - Climbing Hills for Views
Day 14 - To Hannover and Back to the UK
The train ticket we'd gotten earlier had intrigued me, especially since I knew when we'd got one in Cologne it had been valid for any train that day in that area. I translated the terms on the ticket using the WordLens app on my phone and sure enough, that same ticket would get us to the airport by train - no trouble. So we catch the train to Hannover Airport, find the area where we want to check in and then wait for the check-in counters to open - there being no self-check-in kiosks. We were flying British Airways back to Heathrow, aboard another Airbus A319. Eventually we check in, proceed through security with no trouble and await our flight. There was a hold-up boarding the plane - thanks to some less-than-stellar organising by the gate staff, they announced that everyone could board the plane and then decided to board the two mobility-restricted passengers one by one - while making everyone else wait, despite the fact they'd started checking tickets. We got on fairly early and had seats near the front, the idea being we could get off fairly quickly, get through immigration and then get our bags to go home as soon as possible but upon boarding the plane, we realised we were sitting next to one of the mobility impaired passengers who was in the aisle seat - and wouldn't be able to get out until all the passengers had left the plane, leaving us trapped in our seats till she was out! Oh well, what can you do? Dion also had an issue where he couldn't find his hoodie, and figured he'd left it in the gate lounge - and it had his wallet and everything in. He explained his predicament to the stewards, one of them went to check but couldn't find it. As he wandered back to our seats, he suddenly spotted it draped on one of the First Class seats - it must have just fallen off of where he had it, so all was well! We got a snack during the flight, as well as wine as British Airways offer complimentary alcohol in the air much in the way Air NZ do during Koru Hour, except on BA its every flight. After a largely uneventful flight (I guess - I don't recall much about what went on!), we touched down at Heathrow and taxied to Terminal 3. Dion made a comment about how it wasn't Terminal 5 - the terminal dedicated to solely British Airways flights but I didn't quite twig what he meant by that until I realied we were on a BA plane - I must have been well tired by then if the cogs weren't meshing together by that stage! Mind you, when I came back from Sweden I think we'd parked up at Terminal 4 and that was flying BA as well. Immigration was a breeze, most unlike the previous time I went through there and before long we had our bags, were on the tube home, changing to a bus for the distance between Wimbledon Station and South Wimbledon rather than walk. As always, when you get off the plane, you're essentially done and its over - but you have a commute ahead of you to get that last bit home, be it tube, train, or bus and it always takes far too long and always seems overly irritating.
Two weeks, Five countries, Eight stamps in the passport and god knows how many miles or kilometres later, our trip was overe. No time to sit around and reminisce right there and then, for it was edging midnight, we were tired and I had work in the morning - yes, straight back to it!
Euradventure: Done.
Summary
Quite a distance huh. So many countries in that one view! but interestingly, here's the same map with NZ next to it at what Google Maps says is the same scale. Puts it in context a bit.
Perception Before Going
When in NZ, I knew very little about Croatia other than it existed and was once part of Yugoslavia; that its flag had red and white checks on it; and that Grandad Ron used to mis-pronounce it "Crosha". Upon arriving in the UK, I became aware everyone seemed to be going there, and that it was in my own eyes, the "New Greece" where everyone went for their sailing holidays (whereas I'd always held the perception that going for a sailing holiday was something one did in Greece). Seemed like it would be pretty in parts, and safe to travel through.
How I Found It
Croatia is a very, very pretty country. Some of it isn't - Zagreb for instance just struck me as what I had in my mind as a former-Communist city, with large bland apartment blocks, a few grand statues, things that still needed improving from the impoverished Communist era set amongst brand new shiny things from the modern era. But the rest of the country that I experienced didn't feel like that - Dubrovnik was very classically old, but also fully set up for tourism and very impressive. The Adriatic coast is extremely scenic and pretty, and probably the real jewel during our time in Croatia was Podgora - not a typical place on the tourist trail, so we got a completely different kind of experience there and had an awesome time. I for one could not get over how warm, and clear the water was in Podgora or along the Croatian coast, while still looking very teal in colour. No wonder people go on sailing vacations in Croatia! I imagine you'd have equally a good experience in any of the smaller coastal towns along that stretch. Split was busy, and while nice it was a bit pricier and was almost a half-way type place between Dubrovnik and Zagreb - nice enough, but you'd be missing out if that's the only place you went to in Croatia (not that I probably spent long enough to make that judgement properly but nevertheless, that's my view!). Croatia is a member of the EU, but has yet to join Schengen (they are obligated to do so at some point) or adopt the Euro (obligated to do so also). Schengen is neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned, but as for the Kuna currency - as nice as having the Euro in Croatia would have been for us, I can't help but feel the Kuna helps keeps things cheap and if the Euro gets adopted, costs will soar. On the whole, a very nice country and very much deserving of the hype it gets. One last thing - since the actual native pronounciation of Croatia seems to be "Kratchya", Grandad Ron wasn't hugely out when he used to say "Crosha".
Would I go back?
Yes - of all the places, I would like to spend more time in Dubrovnik and see the place a bit more properly than we got to. I could be tempted for one of the week-long sail cruises between Dubrovnik and Split, but I'm also not so keen to spare the annual leave over and above other things on such a trip. Zagreb I probably wouldn't bother going back to, and I'm not sure there's much to see in the upper north around that area or beyond (I actually have no clue. There might be). I'd be quite happy to go back to Podgora as well, should I ever get the chance.
Perception Before Going
Bosnia was not on my radar of countries to go to; nothing on the whole Yugoslavian or Balkan area was really, and Croatia only ever made it on there because of my former colleague. You always hear of people going and holidaying in Croatia; but virtually never Bosnia. Why, is it dangerous? unsafe? are they still recovering from the War? I knew Dion had been there, he thought it was great but then he'd been to a whole bunch of "off the beaten track" countries in Eastern Europe. Not a place I felt comfortable going on my own or with anyone who hadn't been there before, but going with Dion who had been there before seemed to be okay.
How I Found It
Bosnia is an amazing country. Much like Croatia, the much more interesting and scenic parts are towards the south rather than the north. It is a very friendly, genuine country - it is set up for tourists, but it doesn't feel fake or over-touristed at all meaning you actually felt like you got to see the real country. Sure, there are still plenty of scars from the war but the country doesn't feel embryonic or shaky in any way and generally feels unspoilt. It is also clear that it is an up-and-coming destination - 10 years from now, once its shed this "unsafe" perception Bosnia will be very heavily on the map and everyone will be going there because its just so fantastic. Mostar especially is the jewel in the crown - its kind of like if instead of Queenstown having a lake, it had another set of high mountains and had a river running through it in a deep ravine with very old buildings. Even the trip by train between Sarajevo and Mostar is exceptionally scenic - surely that's going to become one of the world's great rail journeys when someone puts a proper tourist train on the line, rather than the normal service train. You can also tell its a when, not an if - any company looking to invest in tourism would have a safe bet in Bosnia. I'm very glad to have gone, and if I were to go back in 10+ years time I'm sure I'd find a very different place - Dion commented that in the 8 years since he visited, it had changed quite a bit. As for that incident with the gypsy boy trying to take my wallet, that seemed very untypical of the place and doesn't colour my new perception of the place at all.
Would I go back?
Yes. Very Yes. I probably wouldn't want to explore lots of the other parts of the country that I haven't seen or passed through - Banja Luka just did not look interesting enough for me. But there's still "real steam" to be seen in Bosnia, and I could be tempted to go see that. But I would be perfectly happy to go back to just Sarajevo and Mostar, In Mostar, I would say there's not much more for me to see - doing the tour of the area nearby which we missed out on would be interesting though. Sarajevo, there's probably easily more stuff to do and see there or nearby. Having said that, that doesn't mean Bosnia has bumped any unvisited countries or destinations out of the way on the "must go see" list (which doesn't actually exist as a written-down thing but is more just a concept. Maybe I should write it down...)
Perception Before Going
A country that has many ancient things as well as modern, a country which is one of the main ones in Europe and stands out for its history but not for anything much of the present day. Also, potentially has more thieves and pickpocketers than anywhere I've encountered so far.
How I Found It
In many ways, not quite what I had thought. Milan, certainly was much like what I imagined an Italian city to be, it had character but and seeing Como out the window did make me realise that a lot of places in Italy are little gems. But I guess I was most struck by how plain Ancona, a main tourist entry-exit point was, and how rather featureless or plain the countryside between Ancona and Milan was. It was flat - for some reason, I expected to be able to see a fair amount of hills. My mind's eye of Italy probably exists somewhere else in the country, maybe further south - there is a lot of this country that is yet to be visited. However, what little I did see so far hasn't "wowed" me as such.
Would I go back?
To Italy, yes - there is some stuff which must be seen yet, such as Venice, Florence and Rome. But as nice as it was, I wouldn't be fussed if I didn't go to Milan again nor Ancona. There is some stuff up round Lake Como way that I would like to do also, and Tirano which is at the end of the Swiss Bernina railway line - the route of the Glacier Express. So unlike Croatia and Bosnia, which I like the idea of visiting again (and visiting the places I've already seen) but have no real reason to, I have reasons to go back to Italy even though I don't really care much for going back to the places I visited this time.
Perception Before Going
This one is a bit different, as unlike the previous three countries which I had not been to before, I have been to Switzerland - at least twice, and even to Zurich where we were going to be for some time. So my perception this time was based on those experiences - although the ride through the Alps had some unknowns for me. What where those perceptions? that the train ride through the Alps would be fairly scenic and would involve travelling through many spirals; and that Zurich would look nice, but be hard to photograph again and be a bit pricey.
How I Found It
The train rip through the Alps was far more spectacular than I had anticipated - people should do that, it should be a thing. I didn't expect to see the normal service trains including a panorama car for maximum scenery viewing, and I didn't anticipate that most of the spirals on the route were in tunnels making it a little confusing working out which direction you had been facing before. Zurich was nice, hard to photograph and so much more expensive than I remember - in general, I think Switzerland is expensive. In this instance, despite the Chabbo being worth slightly less than the Euro, if Switzerland had the Euro surely prices would be forced to drop relative to what they are in the neighbouring countries. As good as that fondue was, it was not worth what we paid for it.
Would I go back?
I've been before - so would I go back? To the country, yes; Zurich, I could take or leave. I've been there twice now, and both times it felt like there was not much to do there, and I doubt I would achieve anything by returning but it might be a pass-through destination as part of another trip. But Switzerland itself is a nice country, and I feel its worth visiting elsewhere - maybe more the south. I would quite like to do the Gotthard route in winter, in one of those panorama carriages; but I would also like to do the Rhaetian Railway far up into the alps and along the Bernina line, where the Glacier Express runs. I would also love to do the Jungfrau, catching the train up into the mountain but feel like this is getting more and more of a pipe dream to be able to do that. Any of the aforementioned would require some serious saving, anyway. But to Switzerland, I will surely go back to.
Perception Before Going
This one is even tougher as if you've been following this blog at all, you'll have noted how many times I've been to Germany. My American flatmate even made the comment the other day that it was almost as if I'd moved to the wrong country! I'd even been to where we were going before, so I had a fair idea of what to expect - except this time it would be summer, not winter. So my perception was that it would be warmer, more steam trains on the Harz, good food and good beer, spend more time up the Brocken and we might actually get a view from up the Brocken this time too. Expectations for Hannover were I might be able to do a little bit of shopping if need be.
How I Found It
Much as I expected, really - warm weather, longer hours of daylight in which to take photos, there were more steam trains on the Harz, there was good food and good beer, and there was a view up the Brocken. Much like last time, I had visions of spending a lot of time up the Brocken and when it came to it, this did not happen - and now I'm wondering unless its a super-duper awesome day given the weather conditions whether its worth going up at all. Its either atrocious or too cold, or nice but insanely over-run with people and the costs of going up there are much more than if you decide not to. Wernigerode further endeared itself to me, the Hotel was excellent again all round (did have a few detractions) and being able to visit the Castle was very nice. As for Hannover, a nice place but deadly quiet on a Sunday and overall, nothing really of note to draw you there. Nice, but not a must do.
Would I go back?
C'mon. This is Germany. What do you think? For the country, of course I'll be back. In fact, my next two panned trips are to Germany - Munich for Oktoberfest at the end of September, and then the following weekend I go to Berlin! Would I go back to the Harz? I've been there twice now - once in winter, once in summer. To be honest, after my first visit I had ideas that I might be visiting the place a few times a year including hiring a car to chase some of the trains with. Now however, it seems with all I want to do and see plus various practicalities, going to the Harz for a weekend or even hiring a car to chase with is not a realisitic proposition. Having said that, I don't think this will be my last visit to the Harz - I think there is scope for one more visit, maybe again in winter and preferably when covered in snow. It is a place where if I don't get back to before I have to leave, I think I will feel as if I've missed out. But certainly next time I'm not sure I'll bother with the Brocken - as nice as it might be to finally visit the radio building up there, when you can get a 3 day pass for €32 minus the Brocken vs €74 with it, it really doesn't stack up does it.
I was going to do a "Good Parts" and "Bad Parts" part, but I think if you've read the blog you'll already know what they are. Unlike for instance by Big Germany Trip in April, I've learnt a lot about travelling since then - the pace of this trip was not too much, or too slow and as for lugging gear around, well there wasn't a huge amount of that.