Ahhh unions

Last time, it didn't bother us so much - we weren't getting round so much. But today was the next in a series of strikes orchestrated by London Underground employees. If you're not aware, London Underground runs what is colloquially known as the Tube, moving more than 1 billion people a year. It's a vast network, with heaps of interconnecting lines, so you can almost _always_ find a way to get where you're going.

Anyway, this week, Rhiannon had to work in the city, meaning we can catch the Tube together, which is fun :) Until the union workers strike, throwing the entire transit system, and likely the city, into disarray

Saved by the hair on his chinny chin chin.....

So we found out, by a fluke of luck this evening, at around 9:30, that many of the flights into Paris tomorrow will be cancelled due to industrial action. Turns out there is more than just flights cancelled, and there are only two TGVs running to Paris from Toulouse (our present location)

So thanks for the heads up to Rhiannon's parents, we're now rebooked on a train departing at 6:05am. We would have had no idea, and simply shown up at 9:30 for our regularly scheduled train, to find out the next one was at 4:00pm, and probably already fully rebooked.

Still, for the last few days of a 2 months stretch, we're doing pretty well if this is the only major thing that's gone wrong.

We're just hoping that getting to the airport at 4:00am will get Trevor and Judy rebooked onto a different flight.

The train in Spain falls mainly... in it's standards

Horrible Spanish train! We were in first class, which was full of seats like scratchy material lounges from the seventies. All brown and orange and yuck. Very slow train. We didn’t get reservations because we didn’t think they’d be necessary. They weren’t required on the last Spanish train we were on and we couldn’t book reservations when we first tried.

Finally an apartment!

Had to get up early to catch four different trains. We were meant to have a long wait at Port Bou for our last train, but there was one about to leave for Barcelona and since it didn’t require a reservation we hopped on it and arrived in Barcelona an hour and a half earlier than we’d expected. Nice surprise. This was a very good Spanish train too, despite only being second class.

Found our Apartment suite. Absolutely stunning with gorgeous big black tiles throughout and nice furniture. Was great to have a kitchen again. Walked over to a close supermarket and had great fun picking out stuff we could cook. Very tired, so didn’t go out. Just had a nice night in cooking dinner, watching movies and drinking sparkling wine.

TGV - a slight recant

Ok - we caught another TGV today (Marseille to Peripegnon) - and were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't the same as the other day.

For a start, there was more room. There also seemed to be power at all the First class seats. Quite why the conductor on the last train told us no TGVs have them is beyond me.

So, yes, I recant some of my statements, notably the ones about space, and power. Actually, it wasn't overheated either, so I'll recant that too. I won't recant my comments on the stupidity of the platforms and organisation etc.

So sorry, TGV :)

Mini train and old, old city

There were a couple of self walking tours noted on our map. Did the first one through old town. Fascinating. Plaques along the way to read. Cute, little streets. Although, they don’t seem to clean them at all. We found the Italian ones a lot cleaner. There was one very old street (Rue Grand). Dated as around 600 BC (Marseille is France’s oldest city) with a very old cool looking building that had been literally turned to match the new layout of the street when it was changed. Hard to imagine a building being turned.

Washing machine's really do eat socks!

Headed out to a nearby laverie (Laundromat) to obviously get our washing done... and out of the way. All easily sorted out, except the machine seemed to have taken a big bite out of one of my new sock. There was a huge hole in it! At least it was just a sock. Went to a close American style diner for lunch. I ordered cheese fries, which turned out to be cheese wedges. Delicious! Andy got some chicken wings.

Caught our train to Marseille. We knew that Marseille was probably going to be a bit dirtier and less safe than other places we’ve been. There were dodgy seeming people in the main station and metro stations, but we had no problem and the metro tickets were cheap, so yay. Found our Etap easily. Nicer than the last Etap, this one even had a bath (although no plug... but we fixed this). Out we went for a walk. Up to a fort, with awesome looking stone and nice views over the port. Burgers for dinner, nice and rare-ish. Yum!

TGV < ICE.

Dear France,

Your train system is atrocious and disgusting. You market your trains as being the best in Europe, and are the only network that absolutely requires additional fares for railpass holders. Your additional fares are not justified. I would rather travel on Regional trains.

- Every other western country uses numerical identifiers for their platforms. Why must you use letters. It's as if you're being different for the point of being different.

- Every other western country has the same train, on the same platform, at the same time, for it's regular run. ICE1001 will always be on platform 4, at 8:30am for instance. Always. Guests can look at multiple small departures boards, or quickly glance at a big one. Having trains often departing on different platforms, and only updating your big screen at the last moment causes two major problems. 1) Every passenger for the entire train station stands in front of it, staring it at, causing problems passing through the station, or seeing the screen. 2) Every rushes at the last minute to the platform.

- Your "First Class" is backwards, and worse than 2nd class Romanian or 'RE' style trains. They are more cramped, more uncomfortable, and cause much more sore ass than any other train we've been on. The cabin is over heated, and what the hell is the deal with no powerpoints? We've been on second class RE trains that have powerpoints, yet you can't put them in first class ? Get Real. Do ANY business travelers regularly use the trains ?

- Please remember that non-French speaking people, as well as tourists, use your trains. If it's good enough for every other country to announce things in as many as 4 different languages, it wouldn't kill you. It is pure and simple ARROGANCE to not cater to German, Italian or even Dutch speaking travellers. And that's without even mentioning the language that's widely known and identified as being the international language.

- Two trains, two separate route numbers, one platform, one destination. What the fuck is this ? If your engines can't cope with longer trains, run more trains, more frequently, like everyone else. This bullshit of having TWO separate trains, going from Lyon to Nice, leaving the same platform, at the same time is stupid and utterly nonsensical.

- Reservation essential? This is just a hollow ploy for money. The carriage is not even half full (probably because your train system is so fucking useless it's not worth paying for first class.)

If I NEVER had to catch another TGV, I'd be a very, very happy little man. I don't care that the RE (sorry, TER, you have to be different again don't you) trains are slower, and stop more often. I'd prefer to be on them. At least they have power.

The Golden Pass

The Golden Pass is a section of Swiss railway, that takes in some of the most beautiful countryside. It's pretty spectacular in summer, and I'd love to do it in winter. We initially did only the section from Luzerne to Interlaken, which is where all the following (partial stream-of-conciousness) came from. I'd highly recommend this train route to anyone.

To start with, a short 30 second glimpse along side Lake Brienz

Train to Salzburg

On our way into Graz, we’d already noticed the huge mountains, found ourselves looking down at verdant, green valleys with little villages, surrounded by the towering mountains, lots of low lying cloud, which the ever-present rain kept breaking through.

Romanian Lightning Storm !

It is 3:10am, or 2:10am, take your pick dependant on the time zone. We’ve just passed through another station, and neither of us are really sleeping. But it’s ok we’re awake because over to the south it’s relatively flat and there is an absolutely astounding lightning storm. We’ve never seen anything like it.

Border crossing, with Stamps !

Ok, so it’s Romania not Transylvania, but still. We’ve been on plenty of trains, and crossed multiple borders already, however not only is this our first very long trip (11 hours) but it’s also our first border crossing.

From Prague to Vienna

So the other day, we were catching a train from Frankfurt to Dresden. Now it turns out this is the same train that goes from Frankfurt via Dresden and Prague, to Vienna. So this is the 3rd time we’ve been on this train. Not necessarily the exact same train, but the same route – EC173. And when we got on a Frankfurt way back when, a Canadian backpacker got on at the last second, asking if this was going to Prague, and hoping to be on the right train, so we had a good chat for a while. Imagine my surprise when I went for a little walk just now, to find the same guy sitting further down in one of the other first class carriages. What are the chances?

Cologne and Bonn

As I sit on the train departing from Cologne for Frankfurt, I have an opportunity to review the past day or so. We got to Cologne fairly late in the evening, and tired as always, to find yet another hotel room without a kettle, so we went for a stroll, then ate our bacon/egg sandwiches we purchased back in Amsterdam.

Day 1 in Brussels

After a smooth, quick ride on the Eurostar, through relatively flat, green farm lands of france and Belgium, we got to Brussels Midi, and jumped on a local train to De Brouckere. The local train was kind of like a tram, more than a train, but ran underground. Very clean.

St Pancras

So this morning was somewhat of a clusterfk. No trains on the jubilee line.

Of Trains and Journeys....

I've always wanted to do one of those magical long train journeys, like the Indian Pacific, or the Trans-Siberian. The massive, long trips that go for days on end where you cross miles of countryside, or even countries at a time.
As a slight nod to this, we chose to do an overnight train from Rome to Venice. We're buying a Eurail Pass for our next trip, so I'm sure there will be more of these things.

Don't get me wrong...

I recognise the rights of unions, or even non-union employees, to strike, if they feel they aren't getting a fair deal. That makes perfect sense to me. In particular right now, I'm talking about the BA strikes

Isle Of Man Steam Train & Castle Rushen

As part of our trip to the Isle of Man, we caught the Steam Train from the capital Douglas, down to Castletown. The purpose of this trip was partly to see some of the scenery on the island, and visit Castle Rushen, but also just to ride on a steam train.. cause you see, we're just little kids at heart.

Quick Picks...

Videos from our train trip down to Castletown, Isle of Man... See below the line.