rosemarymeekistravellingbytrain

The last day of our holiday. We walked to the bus stop to catch a bus to Harwich town railway station. on our way a large container lorry stopped and it was the same driver that stopped last night. He said something like “remember me, I saw you last night, did you stay in the hotel?” We said that we did. he asked where we been, when we told him about our adventure he said that he had been in Oslo last week, then we told him we were on our way to catch the train home to Gloucester and he had been there recently too. He was causing quite a block on the road and cars and lorries were having to navigate around him. he was such a friendly man.

Eventually the bus arrived and we asked to be dropped off at Harwich Town station. When we had been on the bus for 20 minutes or so the driver stopped and told us and the other passengers that he was going to get a cup of coffee and a sandwich for his lunch. When he came back he asked us which station we needed, we said Harwich Town, he then said we were here, it was just a short walk down the road. Off we went, followed his instructions and came to a station, but it wasn’t Harwich Town it was Dovercourt.

The station was deserted and we decided to get on any train that came our way that was going to London Liverpool Street, which we did with no problems.  It is quite a way from Liverpool Street to Paddington Station our ticket included underground fares so we took the Circle Line which went straight there.  We had half an hour to wait for our train but it was on time and we boarded without delay.

We got off at Stroud where there is a short walk to the bus station. From there we caught a bus to Charfield and our Norwegian adventure had come to a close.

 

Our final day on the continent and we woke to a sunny Amsterdam morning. Our train was due to leave at 10:27am which meant we didn’t have to rush and we knew where the train station was therefore the pressure was off. 

Amsterdam station is large and it took us a while to find our platform. We were going to have to change trains and had to find out which station to get off at to catch the connecting train to the Hoek of Holland. I had bought a flexible ticket for this part of the journey which meant we could catch any train. The timetable I had provisionally planned  would get us to the ferry terminal station at 12:02 which gave us an hour leeway before boarding the ferry. We were at Amsterdam station and saw a train to Rotterdam Central station (where we had to change trains) and decided to get on it even though it was earlier than planned.  After a few stops we realised it was a train that stopped at every station and would get to Rotterdam central at 12:30 cutting down our spare time. We had to wait 10 minutes or so for the connecting train to take us to the  Hoek of Holland and the ferry terminal. On arrival it was straight onto the ferry which was already boarding. There were not many foot passengers, quite a lot of cars and lorries. The captain expected the crossing to be fair and calm, the channel was so smooth.

We were on the boat for about 6 hours and spent the time talking about the last three weeks and our Norwegian adventure. The lights of England came into view but it was another hour before we docked and made our way to our hotel. As we were walking we were talking and looking around a large container lorry pulled up by us and asked if we were lost and needed any help. We declined but thanked him, it was a very nice thing for him to have done. At the hotel we checked in and collected John’s coat and our back door ke, found our room, showered and enjoyed a bit of uk tv before sleeping soundly.   

A day to explore and we were both looking forward to it as we had heard so many good things about Amsterdam. First of all made our way to the Anne Frank house museum and on arriving discovered you can only enter if you have pre-booked a ticket online. Otherwise at 3:30pm you can queue and buy tickets at the door but the queues are massive. 
I decided to buy tickets online but as I only had my phone with me it was a bit tricky. After about half an hour I succeeded and we had a booked time slot for later in the afternoon which meant we had time to look around in the daylight. 

On the map that John had bought there were little camera icons showing the best photographic opportunities in the city. One of them was 5 canal bridges all together in a picturesque setting. We set off following the map, it is a lovely city with small cobbled streets, canals with waterside houses towering above in the typical Dutch style. 

Everywhere there are bicycles, people riding them or parked against bridges and against lampposts or in the numerous cycle racks scattered across the city. We arrived at the designated photo spot but I didn’t take a picture, it didn’t appeal to me so we found a restaurant next to a canal. 

It was very busy but we found a seat outside and enjoyed a glass of beer in the sunshine. 

We gradually made our way back to the Anne Frank house and went inside to view this moment of history. We were both struck by the hushed tones that everyone adopted as they made their way through the museum, it was very thought provoking. It showed many sides of the people and what they were going through during that terrible time. There was constant fear for people like Anne and her family. There was was courage and bravery of the people that helped the Jewish community and there were the people that betrayed them, everyone desperate in different ways. 

We walked quietly back to our hotel each deep in thought about what we had seen. After a stop in our room for an hour we went out again to see more of Amsterdam night life. 

We couldn’t decide which way to walk, the streets were busy and we ended up following the crowd again. This time it led us into the red light district. There were streets with large shop windows bathed in red lights, and standing in each one was a woman dressed only in underwear moving in a sultry way. We couldn’t figure out how anyone who wanted to spend time with them would go about it, would they knock on the window. It was very busy and weird but we couldn’t help looking along with everyone else. There are walking tours of the red light district that is how popular it is. It was quite late after our meandering so we found our way back to the hotel. 

We received an email last night informing us that there were changes to our train timetable for today, therefore we got up early, had a quick breakfast and headed to the station to investigate. 

The customer service desk was easy to find but the person at the desk was very abrupt. Our journey today is complicated we change trains several times and our original timetable said there was a bus replacing the train at one point. Eventually the customer service advisor understood what I was trying to explain and he printed off a new itinerary for us. No bus now but there would be four changes of train with not much time between stops, just 6 or 8 minutes. John would go ahead and I would make it by the skin of my teeth. ​

It was the most difficult journey of our whole trip, even though it would take us 6 hours we couldn’t really settle on any train because of the frequent changes. The scenery was very flat and the same for miles and miles. ​

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It was a dash from one train to another and we were pleased to see Amsterdam station. 

Finding our hotel wasn’t too difficult, John bought a tourist map which made it easy as it was a straight road from the station. We found our room, had a cup of tea and a rest then went out to experience Amsterdam on a warm Saturday evening. ​

It was very busy everywhere and every 10 minutes or so we came to a canal and junctions of roads, we just went with the flow of the people. On most of the streets there was a heady atmosphere coming from the many shops that sold “seeds”, many cafes had signs that said they sold cannabis and there were advertisements for magic mushrooms and an assortment of other substances that are legal to be sold in Amsterdam. We didn’t try anything, just wandered around experiencing the strange world of Amsterdam. There were take away food shops everywhere, obviously the need for food goes hand in hand with drugs. We did indulge in a slice of take away pizza. 

An early start from Copenhagen to catch our train to Hamburg. 

With a large station like Copenhagen it takes a while to figure out which platform our train will leave from. 

We are staying in the same hotel as we did on our way up to Norway, therefore we knew where we were going when we got off the train which made it easier. 

We had arrived in Hamburg early afternoon which gave us an hour of daylight to have a look around which we didn’t have time to do last time. 

There were two points of interest that we were advised to visit whilst we were in Copenhagen, The Tivoli Gardens and The Little Mermaid. 

Our hotel receptionist was very helpful and suggested we bought a hop on hop off bus ticket. So we did and found a bus going in the right direction. After a couple of hours riding around the suburbs of Copenhagen, several changes of bus and a long walk we found the Little Mermaid. 

Like all tourist attractions it was busy, although notices ask visitors not to climb on the statue, whilst we were there people were climbing onto it to get their picture taken. We managed to get a photograph when there was a change over of people. We then headed for the Tivoli gardens and found they were closed for winter refurbishment. 

I also wanted to see the iconic view of Copenhagen where there are colourful houses by a canal. I looked at postcards and discovered it was a place called Nyhavn, so off we went in search of it. 

Nyhavn was a very attractive area and we stopped for a drink to absorb the atmosphere. We were entertained by Dutch football fans singing their songs. It was an amazing sound resounding around the square. 

Copenhagen has many quirky streets, we liked it as a general city but don’t feel the need to make a return visit. I suppose I had a romantic vision of “wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen” as in the song but in reality it wasn’t like that. 

So off to the train station to see another city. 

We left Narvik train station at 10:50am heading south towards Boden. 

The scenery was beautiful once  again Norway is a feast for the eyes. ​The temperature reading on the train notifications said it was -17 degrees outside. ​Arriving in Boden 5:20pm we had three quarters of an hour to wait before boarding a night train to Stockholm. We were going to spend the night on a sleeper train, all part of the ‘Europe by train ‘ experience. 

The sleeper compartment was very small but we had our own bathroom which was a bonus. The bunk beds were very comfortable and the gentle rocking of the train soon sent us to sleep. Once or twice we woke in the night and looked out of the window. The weather was atrocious with blizzards but the train continued speeding through the night. ​

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We arrived in Stockholm at 6:30 am and went to the Royal Viking Hotel which was next to the station for breakfast. ​

​We then caught a train to Copenhagen arriving at 15:30pm. Our hotel for the next two nights would be another Comfort Hotel, my preference to a sleeper carriage. 

9:50 am this morning, time to catch a bus from Svolvaer to Narvik. This is the weak link in our three week Norway adventure. One last look at the Lofoten islands. 

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There are no trains on the Lofoten islands, there is only one major road that leads north onto the mainland, there is an airport and there are many ferries. We arrived by ferry from the south and didn’t want to retrace our steps so we opted for the bus. 

It isn’t possible to buy the tickets for the bus in advance they are bought from the driver. There are only two buses a day so it was important we caught it. It was a bit like a national express bus, the side opened for us to put our bags in which gave us more room inside. 

The journey would take about 4 and a half hours through some of Norway’s most beautiful scenery. ​

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The islands are now linked by bridges, some of which are spectacular, before the bus had to get on and off ferries making the journey much longer. The road wound its way high up through mountain passes which were covered in snow. 

All the vehicles in Norway have to fit special tyres during the winter period, it is compulsory, so the bus made it’s way through the snowy landscape with ease. ​

​There were quite a lot of passengers, it is obviously a vital link for the Lofoten communities. Several times it stopped for a quarter of an hour to link with buses from outlying villages. 

We arrived in Narvik late afternoon, it was extremely cold, the temperature had dropped several times on our journey to-10 degrees. 

As always when we arrive in a new place it takes us a while to get our bearings. Luckily places like the bus station and train station are usually close together and have visitor information available also the maps app on my iPhone has been invaluable. First impressions of Narvik on leaving the bus station that it is extremely cold, this is the furthest north we have been and it is a long way above the arctic circle so cold was expected. Also there is a lot of snow. The immediate thing that struck us was that every street was uphill, Narvik is built at the base of a mountain on the edge of a fjord. 

Dominating the skyline is a huge ski run lit up in all its glory. We are staying at the Breidablikk Guesthouse which is between the ski slope and train station. 

It is a very quaint b & b, very welcoming. After checking in we unpacked then went out to look around as we are staying only one night we had to make the most of it. Once again our priority was to find the train station, as we had arrived by bus we thought the train station would be close by but it wasn’t so we had to get directions from the guesthouse owner and go out to find it. 

Luckily it was straightforward and we carried on walking into the shopping centre to find something to eat. The guesthouse person recommended we go to the fish market restaurant but it was closed on Monday’s so we had to look for something else. 

We didn’t stay out too long because it was so cold and dark with snow and ice everywhere on the footpaths and roads, we were relieved to get back to the guesthouse in one piece. As we got ready for bed we looked out of the window and were amazed to see the sky ablaze with Northern Lights, they were spectacular, the best we had seen so far. They lasted for half an hour or so before fading away. We showered and got ready for bed and watched tv for a while. When we looked through the window again they were back better than ever. It was an amazing display, the whole sky was filled with dancing lights, we were so lucky to witness such a phenomenon. They lasted a very long time and although we were tired we couldn’t bring ourselves to go to bed and miss out on anything. It was well past midnight before they started to fade. I woke in the night about 3am and John was up looking out of the window again, they were back, brighter than ever. I was so tired I couldn’t stay awake. The lights continued to dance around the skies as I went to sleep. 

We awoke to another glorious sunrise at 7:30 am,there is no time for a lie in today as we are going on a tour of the Lofoten islands with a Lofoten Lights guide, Mauricio. An Italian who came to the islands 20 years ago and stayed. He picked us up from our hotel along with a Spanish couple and that was our group, very intimate. Opposite our hotel there are several wooden structures that look like roof shapes. It turns out they are huge fish drying racks. Svolvaer is a centre for catching cod, they have an annual cod festival at the end of march. The cod are hung in pairs by their tails over the wooden structures and are left for 4 or 5 months to dry. 

To begin with the fishermen put nets over them to stop the seagulls eating them but after a few weeks when they begin to dry out the seagulls aren’t interested. Dried salt cod is part of the staple diet in Norway. The fish heads are cut off and used separately as fertiliser.

Mauricio took us to a few small villages where fishing is the only employment. Next we went to the beach. 

Apparently the sand is white but today it was frozen solid and covered in snow the temperature is -5 degrees but it feels much colder because of the breeze from the Atlantic Ocean. 

Straight ahead of us across the sea is Greenland. Some hardy Norwegians were in the sea surfing. 

Although it was beautiful we were pleased to get back into the minibus out of the chill. ​​

​We then went to a village where we could warm up with coffee and cake. Once again it was a fishing village but with access to the ocean and fjord it hasn’t much wider fishing opportunities. (Mauricio is the one with the red jacket John is talking to him)

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It had been a glorious day and we returned to our hotel as dusk began to fall. 

After a lie in we had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel. Late morning we went out for a walk around Svolvaer, 

It was another beautifully sunny day with clear skies. 

It isn’t a very large town but it has many streets interlinked, a bit like a maze and we found ourselves retracing our steps many times. 

We eventually found a route around the harbour where we could look back at our hotel and appreciate the beautiful setting. 

The snow was very deep and crisp and even and my boots and I enjoyed the walk. 

Eventually the sun set on another perfect day. ​

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