Interrail Trail 2023

A 81-day adventure by Interrail Trail 2023 Read more

Follow Insights Calendar Photos Share

Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Bratislava Bound
November 8, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ 🌙 10 °C
🚉 # 22

After a little hiccup with the check-in 🤭 I arrived safely. The old town looks lovely 😍

Until tomorrow....
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Bratislava Old Town
November 9, 2023 in Slovakia
Exploring 👣the Old Town: squares, winding streets, and statues...'Man at Work' was a favourite 😆
1 like
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Bussing Bratislava
November 9, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Tourist 🚌 #2

Taking in the sights with an audio guided bus ride... in my element, of course 🤭
1 like
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
UFO Bridge
November 9, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Slovak National Uprising Bridge. 95m up, the view of the Danube 😍 and not just the view from the loo!

Interesting fact, the bridge spans 431m across the river and is unique as the world's longest bridge with only 1 plyon and 1 cable-stayed plane... impressive engineering!Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Sex Machines Museum
November 10, 2023 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C
🚉 # 23 to Prague 🇨🇿

A wander to Charles Bridge, and I bumped into this Museum! Having decided that my trip has been very cultured throughout, I took a break and went in 🤭

My personal favourite is the 'portable' machine and the exercise bike 🚲 😆Read more
TravelerWonder how many school trip bookings they get? 🤪
11/11/23Reply
Traveler😆
11/11/23Reply
1 like
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Walking Prague
November 11, 2023 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
A first cold and wet walking tour 🌧

The astronomical clock is a very interesting piece of technological history 🤓 First installed in 1410 using a series of weights and gears, built at a time when it was believed 🌎 was the centre of the universe, it still correctly calculates 24-hour time and a representation of the solar system!

Oh, and by the way, I found this lovely lady in an Irish Pub 😍Read more
1 like
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Unofficial World of Banksy
November 11, 2023 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
Banksy ✊️

I have engaged a lot with Banksy work in the past. This time, it feels different, and it's me that has changed! Czech beer to finish 🍺

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
1 like
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Charles Bridge
November 12, 2023 in Czech Republic ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
A last wander through the streets of Prague to snap Charles Bridge before heading to the station to catch intercity 🚉 # 24.

Berlin, here I come! Which brings Week 10 to a close, 👣 114, 063
TravelerGute Reise nach Berlin!
11/12/23ReplyTranslate
TravelerDanke! (I might message you later if I need any more tips... 😘)
11/12/23Reply
Traveler👍 Just get a travelcard first for the length of your stay.
11/12/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Berliner Fernsehturm
November 13, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Hop On Off 🚍

After completing a loop to try and get my bearing, I hopped off at Berlin's 📺 Tower.

368m Tall, with a viewing platform at 203m, you can see Berlin was divided East and West through the architecture 🏢Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
East Side Gallery
November 13, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Next, I hopped off at the East Side Gallery. A 1316m continous section of Berlin Wall on the Spree banks, now an open air art gallery with the murals painted directly onto the Wall, which I walked with a cuppa break needed from the cold 🥶

A few of my favourites, including famous socialist 💋 designed to show onlookers that 'Our relationship is closer than that between capitalist countries. It is not about who profits; it's based on humanity, love, and peace.'

Dishonest like the rest of the talk about brotherhood, with the Eastern bloc held together by force - and everybody knew it.Read more
TravelerWhere are you staying in Berlin?
11/13/23Reply
TravelerI am staying at the Meininger right next to the east side gallery, next to Ostbhanhof Station.
11/14/23Reply
TravelerWarschauer Straße S-Bahn isn’t too far, which I used a lot - opposite there is the East Side Mall which has a good supermarket in its basement.
11/14/23Reply
1 like
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
1
3 3
Bussing Berlin
November 14, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 12 °C
Hop Off and On #2

I did a second loop to take in the sights, hopping off at a few more stops before diving into the detail 🤓

My picture of the Brandenburger Tor was spoilt by the restoration work underway due to a recent climate demonstration 🫣

https://youtu.be/AhnI6vCV49I?feature=sharedRead more
Traveler There was a lot of work being done to this earlier in the year. Did you find the location of Hitler’s bunker near here? There’s an information board indicating the site. It’s about 100 yards away from the back of the Holocaust Memorial, away from the Brandenburger Tor, heading towards Potsdamer Platz.
11/15/23Reply
TravelerSo much work being done, it's really hard to take photos! There are platz that are complete construction sites! Yes, found the bunker, it's a car park...🤭
11/16/23Reply
TravelerYep!
11/16/23Reply
4 more comments
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Berlin Wall 1961 to 1989
November 14, 2023 in Germany
The East Gallery, Berlin Wall Musuem, Checkpoint Charlie, and the DDR Museum outline the history of the Berlin Wall.

The defeat of the Nazi dictatorship by the allies did not bring peace, but instead, the East-West conflict of the Cold War. A divided Berlin brought the West close to the Soviet Front, and emigration from East to West Germany 🇩🇪 resulted in the Berlin Wall overnight on 13th August 1961.

The German Democratic Republic aimed to keep East Germans under Communism, implementing it into everyday life: school, work, even car ownership. The Trabent... a 16-year wait if you wanted to have your own car 🚗

It was definitely a welcome break from all this history at a local bar!Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Topography of Terror
November 15, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Third Reich, its rise and fall...

It reminds you to remember the importance of and value ways to hold power to account, cultivate tolerance, and accept differences in the knowledge that all humanity suffers when we forget this 💛Read more
TravelerThis was the most moving museum/place I visited. Lots of history on that street - the Gestapo headquarters were partly under the museum and the DDR Stasi offices were across the road…
11/17/23Reply
TravelerI agree... had to have a minute or two during and after...😥
11/17/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
2 3
Wandering Berlin
November 16, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
Strolling for the last time through the city, I sought out the memorial for the booking burning that took place on 10th May 1933.

The Nazi German Student Association's Main Office for Press and Propaganda announced a nationwide initiative "against the un-German spirit", creating a literary blacklists that included Jewish, Marxist, Socialist, anti-family, and anti-German literature. It is estimated 20,000 books were burnt in the platz.

The memorial includes a quote from a Heinrich Heine 1817 play that says “Where they burn books, they will also burn people”, one hundred years before the book burning in Bebelplatz.

I needed Currywrust to help to bring me a little cheer 😋Read more
Traveler Those stalls aren’t usually there - you’re honoured!
11/17/23Reply
TravelerI was very annoyed at this as it really spoilt visiting the platz! 😔
11/17/23Reply
Traveler Fries? POMMES!! (Pronounced “Pommers”)
11/17/23Reply
TravelerOK OK I will update it....
11/17/23Reply
Traveler🍟🤪😀👏
11/18/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Reichstag
November 16, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
Audio Guide 🎧 in hand, I walk the people's dome atop the Reichstag. The views 😍

The glass dome symbolises transparency and that people remain above the government.
TravelerI’ve only been inside once, in 1990. Back then you just walked up and paid at the entrance. None of the faff of booking a time slot across the road.
11/17/23Reply
TravelerIt's free now, no need to pay and the booking is super easy!
11/17/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery
November 17, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 4 °C
Audio Guide 🎧 in hand, this gallery is in a former railway station. New artists discovered!

https://www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/ham…
TravelerThere’s some weird stuff in there. I went a couple of years ago. The Hauptbahnhof nearby is almost as artistic :)
11/17/23Reply
0 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Fotografiska Museum
November 17, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C
A key exhibition theme: Race.

Angelica Bass, Humane Project: a direct reflection of skin colour, attempting to document humanity's true colours rather than untrue labels such as "white", "red", "black" and "yellow".

https://angelicadass.com/photography/humanae

Brooke DiDonato: https://www.brookedidonato.com

Candice Breitz, Whiteface: covering white perspectives on race, racism and anti-racist movements, specifically the rising anxiety of white people in the wake of calls to dismantle white supremacy.

https://www.candicebreitz.net

Loved it ❤️...Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
1 2
Nürnberg Noel
November 18, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
Intercity 🚉# 25 arrived in Nürnberg... beautiful 😍

Although, it's beginning to look a lot like 🎄🎅... I'm not ready 😟
Traveler Looks like you’ve arrived for the Christmas markets - I’ve never seen the marketplace with stalls in it!
11/18/23Reply
Traveler That street by the way, is one you’ll see on lots of Nazi propaganda films of their parades in the 30s.
11/18/23Reply
Traveler It looks ace at night too.
11/18/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Nürnberg Trials Museum
November 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
The anger I felt visiting this museum was totally unexpected... 😡

I was in total disbelief that 4 countries responsible for so many crimes against humanity could be permitted to preside over such matters, including the scope and extent of international law being developed and applied retrospectively. The unacknowledged hypocrisy was just too much, and so I sent an email to the Museum ✊️

Yummy food afterwards made it a little better 😋Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Way of Human Rights?
November 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Who decided what is and is not a human right?

Why are human rights not implemented and protected by the state rather than remedied by individual action?

Article 25:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.

Rights have to be an objective, just like economic growth 📈Read more
TravelerThat was on my way into the city from the hotel where I stayed, first time I was there.
11/20/23Reply
TravelerWas it called 5 reasons? As the place I am staying is right off this too? Although I did discover further down the road windows with half-naked ladies in 🤭
11/20/23Reply
TravelerNo - I was not far from the station. Never noticed any half-naked ladies, dammit…
11/20/23Reply
Traveler😂 I think I have noted the street, I can let you know 🤣
11/20/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
2
Afraid of Stardust?
November 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
The exhibition shows the constant oscillation between positions, categories, and identities, and how entrenched binary systems can be replaced by ambivalence and openness.

I loved Leigh Bowery video! I interpret this as a protest against the boxes that society likes 💛💚💙💜🩷🧡♥️

That brings my last full week, Week 11, to an end! 👣 104,067.

https://www.kunstkulturquartier.de/kunsthalle-n…Read more
Traveler There was a great documentary on Keith Haring on iPlayer. Not sure if it’s still available though.
11/21/23Reply
TravelerThank you... Will have a look for this 😘
11/21/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
2
Nazi Rally Grounds
November 20, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
It is difficult to get your head around the size of the site and how big the Nazi party had wanted to make this place... 16km². Walking between the sites that remain, the Zeppelin Field was by far the most imposing.

Standing there where Hilter stood... a very strange feeling.Read more
Traveler The door behind you and the Führerkanzel down below were spooky, knowing that Hitler had been there and had walked down those steps.
11/21/23Reply
TravelerI know, I thought the same!
11/21/23Reply
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Train Travelling
November 21, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
Intercity 🚉 #26 didn't quite go to plan!

I was all smiles when I took this picture, all on time and on my way until I wasn't! I was informed my connecting train had been cancelled... after 9 hours of travelling, I finally arrived in Brussels...Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Royal Museum of Central Africa
November 22, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
After an unplanned early breakfast due to sharing with 😴, it turned out excellent with a wander through the city before my museum visit. This is the first museum that I have visited, which acknowledges that the majority of items were obtained during colonialism and is working to establish provenance, going as far as openly classifying an item as 'looted cultural property'.

The challenge is whether any of the items where provenence has established will be repatriated... I am not holding my breath 🥺

https://www.africamuseum.be/en/about_us/restitu…Read more
2 likes
Interrail Trail 2023 Traveler
Choco Story Museum
November 22, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
I had a salad for lunch, knowing full well that this museum included chocolate tasting 😋. I wasn't impressed by the approach of the museum, which did not mention colonialism, slavery or human rights abuses in its version of the history of Belgian chocolate. I sent another email 🤭

I wandered to find more chocolate... finding statue and chocolate forms of the manneken pis statue 😆Read more
2 likes