This post is another anoraky one, so unless you are visiting Amsterdam and have luggage, I’d move along to another blog entry..! I thought some of you might like to know how the left luggage service works now. Although the station is being redeveloped, there is still a big left luggage area and a security guy on duty at the entrance. There is no traditional service though, you have to use lockers and the automated system. If you read this blog you will know of my luggage issues, so my first mission this morning was working out how to use […]
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Distance covered so far: 494km, GMT +1, Weather: 1C, sunny I visited North Shields yesterday afternoon to board “Princess Seaways”, the daily DFDS ferry to Imjuden. The only attractions in North Shields appear to the visitor to be the ferry port and a Mega Bowl, so don’t ever make a special trip out here! Once aboard (another mammoth workout session with the baggage, this time with extra climbing) I did a deal with the Purser and upgraded to Commodore Class for what seemed like a pretty reasonable E 50. For this I got a cabin 8012 (more like a suite), […]
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Up until yesterday all my blogging had pretty much been from my Mac at home. Having a day in Newcastle on the way out has been a really smart move, as I got to practice photographing and blogging in “real world” conditions. There might be a flaw in my thinking there, as I don’t know how comparable the “real world” of the Quayside in Newcastle might be to the Siberian tundra – the locals are both friendly, but one is a bit more chilly and and has a more limited phone signal. First up was a trial of moving my […]
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Distance covered so far: 150km. Time zone: GMT. Weather: 3 C, sunny. This afternoon I travelled to Newcastle, where I am getting the DFDS ferry to Amsterdam tomorrow. It was a small step – just 150km out of 12500km, but my first taste of life on the rails! It was immediately apparent that I have too much baggage. People stare at me like I am some sort of demented human pack horse or mad English Sherpa. I managed to cart it about (just), but the real killer is going up flights of stairs, which feels like a heavy work out […]
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Trans Siberian 3rd Class train toilet (image courtesy of Way to Russia) The subject of slightly unsanitary bathrooms on dodgy trains seems to be a popular one. I have heard much about this including some words of insight and wisdom. Please don’t read this blog unless you have already had your tea today.. The quality seems to vary quite a bit by train type and class of travel. The slowest and least popular Trans-Siberian trains probably have facilities something like the picture below in their 3rd class (quite similar actually to what I see sometimes on the East Coast mainline […]
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For some reason the bags look bigger in real life! Apologies if this post is a bit “anoraky” to non train types amongst you, but if you reading this as a prospective first time Trans-Siberian traveller I hope it might be of some help. If however you are just reading this to see if I’ve been detained somewhere cold yet, there is nothing to see here, so please move along to another post. This is my revised and I think final list for my trip. It is designed to work for a two to three week train journey followed by […]
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All I need now is a sherpa! It crossed my mind the other day that with a temperature difference of over 60 degrees between some of the cities, its no surprise that I’m struggling to fit my wardrobe into just one bag. Ulan Bator will be be -32 C on Friday, and on the same day Bangkok will be +32 C. The ideal solution is a full time porter who speaks seven languages and can carry 100 kg balanced on his head, but I think he might be hard to find. Then there is the issue of getting “Passepartout” his […]
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Now that I have most of my tickets, here is an update on the final plan. I remain hopeful that its a plan so cunning that you can brush your teeth with it. Here it is: Leg 1 Edinburgh – Newcastle East Coast 150 km/93 miles 1 stop Leg 2 Newcastle – Amsterdam DFDS “Princes Seaways” 494 km/251 miles Leg 3 Amsterdam – Warsaw […]
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EN447 composition Amsterdam – Warsaw Having spent much time trying to work out what sort of train I might be boarding in Amsterdam, and then in Warsaw, I have made a bit of a breakthrough today. There is actually a “specialist” (anorak) site that can tell you the exact make up of most European trains, carriage by carriage. Its called vagonWEB. It actually has a lot more information the the timetables can tell you. So here goes – my train from Amsterdam is the EN447, popularly called the “Jan Kiepura”. With the new timetable, its a no longer a Russian […]
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All my documents safely stored on my 2GB IronKey I’m back at Toad Hall today after a few days in London. On Friday I collected my passport (now with all four visas) and my paper Trans-Siberian rail tickets for my journey as far as Beijing. It feels like I’m almost there with the planning now.. Before I packed up my trip dossier for the final time today I scanned and copied all my important documents. I have decided on a three fold system in case I lose something, or worst case, have it stolen. Firstly, I have a spare copy […]
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