Big Five Oh Trip

5 weeks interrailing round Europe as my big treat to myself for the year I turn 50. And hopefully as a taster for many adventures to come. Leggi altro

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Inizio del viaggio
27 febbraio 2023
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
On my way
27 febbraio 2023, Inghilterra ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C
The adventure starts here!
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ViaggiatoreWandering where you are heading off to first? Stroud station still looking inviting! Xxxxx
27/02/23RispostaTradurre
ViaggiatoreFirst stop is Amsterdam. Last time I was there was for Jenny's 50th (I think it must have been her 50th).
27/02/23RispostaTradurre
ViaggiatoreLet the adventures commence! X
27/02/23RispostaTradurre
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3 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
London St Pancras
27 febbraio 2023, Inghilterra ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Very early for my train. Better than late, of course! Next stop Amsterdam.
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3 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Eurostar
27 febbraio 2023, Inghilterra ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
Moving...

(These will get more interesting in a few hours!)
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3 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Arrived Amsterdam
27 febbraio 2023, Olanda ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Made it to Amsterdam and found my hotel. Oh my goodness, had forgotten how beautiful Amsterdam is. I will enjoy having a good wander tomorrow.
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ViaggiatoreAm jealous already!
27/02/23RispostaTradurre
1 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Morning wandering round Amsterdam
28 febbraio 2023, Olanda ⋅ ❄️ 1 °C
Chilly morning walking around Amsterdam, looking at canals, bikes, buildings and the amazing plants everyone seems to have outside their building
S.
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Evening in Amsterdam
28 febbraio 2023, Olanda ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C
I may have eaten too many chips!

But I think I probably walked enough to work them off (22812 steps).

Amsterdam quite pretty at night too. I do love city canals and rivers at night, with the reflections of the lights in the water.

Early-ish start tomorrow, so I can get the train to Berlin. I think my feet will be happy to have a day on a train, though I imagine I'll still get a decent number of steps in.Leggi altro
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1 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Foggy Amsterdam morning
1 marzo 2023, Olanda ⋅ ⛅ -1 °C
Left Amsterdam in a thick fog. So thick I had to check on Google maps that I was actually in front of the railway station.

First time using the interrail pass QR code to get me through a station barrier and it worked perfectly.Leggi altro
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1 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Train from Amsterdam to Berlin
1 marzo 2023, Olanda
Quite a long journey, but it was comfortable and warm. More leg room and also felt like wider seats than in UK.

I got kicked out of the first seat as someone had reserved it (reservations weren't showing so knew that was a risk), but found another further down the train and the conductor kindly let me know that it was not reserved so I'd be able to stay in it for the whole journey.

I love seeing the differences in house shape as we go through towns and cities, and spotting solar panels and windmills.

I went to the buffet and ordered everything in German. Feels good to be somewhere I can (kinda - A level was a long time ago) speak the language. And I got a nice cup of tea!Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreI absolutely didn’t follow your link for a 15% discount on Eurorailing and end up in a three hour rabbit hole of dreams…….I’m so doing this one day. I might have to wait until I’m 60 though!
01/03/23RispostaTradurre
ViaggiatoreYou will get there. xxx
01/03/23RispostaTradurre
1 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Arrived in Berlin
1 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C
And now I'm in Berlin. In Charlottenburg. Much bigger and more modern hotel room. And a lift rather than a gazillion super steep stairs.

Also S-Bahn trains are included in interrail, so I may not get as many steps in here. Am here till Saturday. Then may go to Munich, but not definite yet.Leggi altro
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1 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Morning wander in Charlottenburg
2 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Had quite a lie-in (the bed in this hotel is soooooo comfortable) and did a bit of pattern-making, but did get out when it was still morning.

Walked down a couple of S-bahn stops to get a feel for this area and also to find a jazz bar that I would like to go to this evening if I have any ability to stay awake.

Then jumped on the S-bahn at Zoologischer Garden and headed east.Leggi altro
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Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
On the s-bahn
2 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
I really love how the S-bahn allows you to see lots of the city. Unfortunately most of the photos I took are doubled up with reflections of me.

I took the S-bahn out to Ostbanhof to see the East Side Gallery.Leggi altro
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Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
East Side Gallery
2 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Wow! A remaining bit of the wall that artists came and painted with their own impression of the wall coming down. They have been updated and I think there may also be some new ones too. Very powerful.
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Afternoon wander in East Berlin
2 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
I then wandered around a bit on the East side. I found an art centre, but only found one exhibition in it (I feel there was probably more, but it wasn't obvious). It was a photo exhibition of different sides of Istanbul, which was very good, so glad I did see it.

It felt very scrappy in that area, but there were nice parks and cool wall art and it seems there's lots of building going on and it feels more modern and upbeat the closer I got to Jannowitzbruecke S-bahn station.Leggi altro
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Hackescher Markt
2 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C
And finally (unless I do make it out to the jazz bar, which I feel is unlikely), a few pics from Hackescher Market, which was one of those 'let's jump of the tube* here' moments.

*Not the tube, I know, but it something I quite enjoy doing on the tube and seeing where I end up.

A lovely little market with artisan jewellery and bags and hats and scarves and so on (no, I didn't buy anything - there is NO room in the bag).

And a nice Italian restaurant where I decided I would have a late lunch/early dinner, having only had a pastry all day. The salad was HUGE but lovely. I had a basic spaghetti pomodoro which was exactly what I needed. And a nice cold beer. Perfect.

Now back in the room, with a box of lemon and ginger tea and some waffles. There's a chance I will have a siesta and then go out to the jazz bar later. But there's probably a much bigger chance that I will veg out in front of a boxset and do some drawing before getting an early night.Leggi altro
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ViaggiatoreThe architecture is gorgeous!
02/03/23RispostaTradurre
ViaggiatoreIt is indeed.
03/03/23RispostaTradurre
3 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Nice buildings near Tiergarten
3 marzo 2023, Germania
Got the S-bahn a few stops down to Tiergarten so I could have long walk through the big park.
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Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Nature bath in Tiergarten
3 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
It's still a bit early in the year, so the trees were all quite bare, but it was still lovely to walk through.
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3 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Statues and monuments
3 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C
Some statues and monuments in or close to Tiergarten
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Interesting Buildings
3 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Some interesting buildings after Tiergarten and near Alexanderplatz
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Aufwiedersehen Berlin
4 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
Off to Munich for a day and a bit.
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Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Hallo München
4 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Longish (5 hours), but comfortable, journey from Berlin to Munich. Sadly, my seat had no window, and the people in front were using the coat hanger thing, so couldn't even get glimpses out that small gap. One of my favourite things about train travel is watching the world go by - the changes in landscape, the differences in buildings, and the glimpses of people in different environments. But it did mean I got a good amount of reading done and finished my first book of the trip (The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferante).

This hotel is very lovely. I think it's quite new (or newly refurbished if not new entirely). Beautiful wallpaper and some high-end touches, including a Nespresso (type) machine (sadly don't think that will give me booked water for my herbal teas) and a fridge and wider than normal single bed with three different types of pillow. And the receptionist was very nice and printed my Bologna Book Fair ticket, which I had forgotten to print before I left Stroud.

I ventured out to look for food and wandered toward the old town (I'm pretty sure). I caught glimpses of a lot of beautiful old buildings so I am going to have a wonderful explore tomorrow. And there should be a bunch of photos tomorrow, I think.

I'm also planning to go to a museum because it has a €1 entrance fee on a Sunday (have been avoiding them so far, because they're all charging over €20 and I would REALLY need to know there are things I want to see inside to pay that (on this particular trip, anyway). (Sidenote, we are so lucky at how many of our museums in the UK are free to enter - let's make sure they stay that way.)

I went Italian again (definitely my default!) and was definitely a non-vegan day, as well. Spinach and ricotta ravioli and Tiramisu. I am pleased with how much I have been able to eat vegan, though. I hope I'm not fed up with Italian food by the time I get to Italy.

And then I navigated myself back to the hotel, at night, without needing to check my phone once. I was especially proud of that, as I was constantly getting myself turned around in Berlin, even with Google Maps.

Only here tonight and tomorrow night and then off to Italy.Leggi altro
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3 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Beautiful buildings
5 marzo 2023, Germania
So many beautiful buildings!
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Statues and other 3D art
5 marzo 2023, Germania
So I really like Munich! I have so money photos I have to break them up into different chunks.

There are LOADS of statues and decorative people or animals holding up plinths and the like. And I saw (but didn't photograph) loads more in the Bavarian National MuseumLeggi altro
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1 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Colourful buildings
5 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
There are SO MANY beautifully coloured buildings.
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
More beautiful buildings
5 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
And more. There are a lot of beautiful buildings (at least according to my taste)
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2 mi piace
Big Five Oh Trip Viaggiatore
Street art and similar
5 marzo 2023, Germania ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Even found some street art
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3 mi piace