Chambéry to York

The last leg of the trip up through France and home. The TGV from Chambéry left around 30 minutes late which is a bit of a worry with a Eurostar to catch on Paris at Gare du Nord. Despite high speeds through France, we still had this delay arriving in Paris and the RER was operating a reduced frequency. So, we speed-walked to Metro Line 5 a few minutes walk from the Gare de Lyon. Not quite as fast as the RER, it is actually a more pleasant way to get to GDN.

With the time lost, we got through passport and security at GDN with only a couple of minutes before boarding. I think for future trips, longer leeway in Paris is better - walk the 5k, have a coffee and a pastry etc!!

We arrived in London, met John for tea (dinner?) and then on to York thanks to LNER.

First thoughts on a fantastic trip:

1) No regrets on the whistle stop - we wanted and needed that! In depth exploration can come later.
2) Auschwitz-Birkenau in Winter was so important in this time of political populism. It felt a timely reminder.
3) The Vasa museum in Stockholm was a highlight - hard to convey how good a museum that is.
4) Train travel is fantastic across Europe; great fun The people-watching and train theatre were a huge part of the trip.
5) We picked up a bit of the energy, positivity and co-operative spirit of Eastern Europe faced with war in Ukraine. The visible displays of pro-Ukraine support were powerful.
6) Europe is fantastically varied and it was such a privilege to dip a toe in so many places we had always wanted to visit.Читать далее