8th Jan - Arrival in Geneva

After a relatively quick flight to Geneva, I found my way to the Info Centre. To my delight I learned that the Swiss really know how to treat their visitors – they offer free public transport to visitors for their stay there! So I jumped on my free train ride & shortly afterwards was in the central train station. My hotel was located conveniently just across the road.
I fronted up for check in at the Hotel Warwick. The staff there were so polite & professional – a huge step up from most of the other countries I’d travelled to. And, I got a free upgrade to a business suite – beautiful!! I knew for the next 3 nights, I would be relaxed & comfy.

Minus 10 Degree Trip

After being in Copenhagen for 5 days, it was time for me to continue my travels. Part of me really didn’t want to leave – I was far too comfy here. But I had to push on, even though I was well-and-truly over travelling at this point.
I booked an early flight out, so had to be at the airport at 6am. That meant catching the train at 4:45am!! So, I headed out the door in temperature of minus 10 degrees, bracing myself & focusing on the end target – the station. Marie had offered to walk with me - I thought she was really kind in a very crazy way & declined the offer.
It was only a 10 min walk, but I was a bit nervous walking through the dark streets at that hour. I received a nice text from Bec as I was walking which made me feel thought of & protected in a way. I made it safely & there were even a couple of other people at the station at this time - incredible!

Back Up To Copenhagen

I’d booked a flight to Copenhagen so that I’d stay with friends (Marie & Mikael) during a time that I knew I’d be a bit down. And, besides, I really wanted to see them again before I headed back to Sydney as I may not see them again for a long time.
My arrival in Copenhagen after dark was cool (about minus 6 degrees) & crisp. Thankfully, I only had to catch one train that took me all the way through to Espaergarde. I got to Espaergarde station & was met by Marie – a sight for sore eyes - & we walked back to her house.

28th Dec - Arrival in Sweet Paris, Again

It was quite a way by train to Paris via Zurich. We had time enough at Zurich train station to grab a quick bite to eat in a smoke-filled cafe before connecting on to Paris.
Arriving in Paris late at night, there was no other acceptable option than grabbing a taxi to our hotel. I wasn’t expecting the high quality of Austria, even though it was still as expensive. And I’m glad my expectations weren’t set too high. The hotel was ok – clean & fairly roomy in a quite central location. We unpacked for the 4 nights we would stay there, then crashed. My second time in Paris this trip – people might think I’m becoming Bohemian!

24th Dec - Arrival in Salzburg on Christmas Eve

We arrived by train to Salzburg after a fairly easy trip. Instead of walking to the old town (an unacceptable solution for Bec), we grabbed a taxi & were shuttled to the end of the little alleyway where our boutique hotel was situated. To our delight, we had discovered our accommodation to be smack bang in the middle of all the action – directly adjacent to the Christkindl market which was more than bustling on this Christmas eve afternoon.
After checking in & getting some stuff unpacked, we headed to the markets, which were vast & crowed with merry revellers drinking mulled wine. We had soon joined them in the merriment of the occasion, indulging in the warm alcoholic beverage & enjoying the festive atmosphere. The markets had lots of wares, including of course, Christmas decorations of every variety (they take Christmas very seriously here in Europe). And there were also lots of sweet food delicacies (brezen, chocolates, etc) which we needed to try as part of our immersion into the Austrian culture. We made sure we mixed it with the locals, & even got a wee bit tipsy in the process.

Overnight Train Trip - Cairo to Aswan

After waiting a full hour at the train station, we boarded the sleeper train at about 9pm. Lucky me again as I scored a cabin of my own which allowed me to really spread & & relax into my little space. While the seats weren’t the comfiest, the bed was actually quite nice. I said no to the complimentary dinner offered - couldn’t fit another thing in after the big I’d had beforehand. And by 10:30pm I was out like a light.
I woke up at about 8am after sleeping quite well, even though it was a rocky ride. On going for my morning toilet stop, I noted a whole lot of huge red spots on my face & right arm. There must have been something in the pillow I slept on - possibly bed bugs it was suggested. Yuk! But I did feel refreshed & ready to take on the day.
I happened to find a pearl, probably from an earring, in my cabin. Thinking it was of little value to me, I gave it to the steward who was very pleased. At breakfast my wheat-free diet was forever thrown to the wind here in Egypt. The meal consisted of a croissant, white bread, white bread roll, biscuit, jam, butter & a cup of tea. I ate only the croissant with jam & butter, followed by a cuppa tea.

From Fulda to Cologne (Koln)

Pretty boring little train trip really. Only took a couple of hours of listening to Eckhardt Tolle's, The Power of Now, on my ipod & I was there.
Finding my hotel ended up being a bit of a nightmare. Firstly, finding someone who could tell me where to head, & then getting there.
Walking for 30 mins with a 18-20kg backpack on my back on a very warm day isn't my idea of fun. The budget hotel ended up being down the back end of the city. And when I got there, my little single room was located up 5 flights of stairs that I had to walk up with my pack - crap!

Some French Folk on the Train Trip to Weimar

On the train to Weimar, I met Guillaume & Celine, two friends travelling together from Strasburg, France. They’d been to Romania, Prague, Hungary in search of the wildness in the East of Europe. Even though they were once attacked by a dog, & found travelling around Romania devoid of tourism elements (semi-wild), they were surprised to find that the places they’d visited were fairly similar to towns in Western Europe.
We had a wonderful conversation the whole trip, discussing everything from whether to buy residential property in the current economic crisis, to the continuing plight of Australian Aboriginals, to where we’d been on our travel journeys. Best of all, we had some great laughs. It was just a pity I couldn’t have continued the train trip with them to Frankfurt. I did enjoy their company.

Train to Dresden

The train was 30 mins late. When it did arrive I realised most people had a reserved seat & I didn’t. A walk through the crowded first train car & no seats were available, with many people scrambling to find a free seat themselves.
Finally at the end of the next car, I found a single seat. I turned on my ipod, & watched the gorgeous Czech countryside go by to the tunes of Missy Higgins & Norah Jones. Beautiful & relaxing!
I don’t know how it managed to do it, but the train gained the 30 mins to make it to Dresden just about on time - amazing.

The Slow Train from Krakow to Prague

I got to the station in plenty of time to catch the 6:53am train. It was an old train with no compartments & announcements that were only in Polish/Czech. I wondered why it was a seven hour ride when it didn’t seem that far on the map. Now on the train, I can see why - it stops at a hell of a lot of stations, especially those in Poland. The countryside going by is beautiful. But there are lots of ugly industrial centres along the way also, particularly on the Polish side.
Strangely, as soon as we hit the Czech side, everything seemed to speed up.

Berlin to Warsaw

Another day, another train trip. This one was a six hour ride to Central Station in Warsaw, leaving at 12:29pm. There was a compartment of 6 people - a German (Peter), an English couple, a young Israeli woman, two Polish men, & me.
Peter was a railway engineer & we chatted consistently for over 3 hours until his stop arrived & he left. I had a bit of a challenging chat with the Israeli woman about the Israel/Palestinian conflict. I wanted to know why the Jewish people didn’t seem to appreciate that the Palestinian people also needed a homeland. That the constant conflict was extremely detrimental to the children who had only ever known conflict & war. She just said it was complicated & that no one could work out an answer. I felt that was a bit of a cop out, like she felt that nothing could be done so why try. It was a disappointing, but interesting, result.

I also located a wonderful warning sign on the train - see photo.
The train arrived at 6:20pm & after consulting with a few locals that could speak a bit of English, I finally found the direction of my hotel. A 25-min walk later, I arrived there.

13/14th July - Overnight Train from Stockholm to Oslo

My first overnight train in Europe was booked so that I could save a bit of money on a hotel room. Leaving fairly late in the eve, I'd had a final day wandering around Stockholm before going back to the hotel to pick up my bags.
Sharing a compartment with 4 other women, it was no different from the train rides in China. Being surrounded by strangers, I still felt the need to guard my little backpack containing all my valuables by keeping it between my legs all night.
Sleep just wasn't an option for me. The train was rattling away all eve, the bed rock hard & people walking back & forth all night. I was lucky to have maybe got 2 hours sleep if that.
But I did arrive in Oslo bright & early & ready for new sightseeing opportunities.

26th June - Train to Venice

Another stinking hot day in Italy, & heading further north increased the humidity. It was a long train ride - nearly 6 hours - on a regional train that like to stop at a lot of stations. I reminded myself of the money I was saving in not getting the fast train.
The Americans got on at Florence - a group of 10 uni students from California. I had to laugh when one of the girls asked a man (in English who couldn't speak English) if he would move to another compartment down the end of the carriage so she could be with her friends. And they wonder why they are so disliked as a nation across the world ("I want this, so can you do that?"). Moving past my initial resistance, I struck up a conversation with a couple of the young women (Vanessa & Sinead) & explained to them my original hesitation. They understood, & we began a fascinating conversation over the next 2 hours about the American culture, politics, discrimination, self-identity & everything in between. Wow! These two really changed my opinion on what Americans are like & gave me some hope of the way forward for their great nation.

18th June - Genoa to Florence

The 3-hour train trip had one change of trains at Pisa. The first part of this trip I rode 1st class, & 2nd from Pisa to Florence. Thankfully, it was a faster train than previous Italian train trips, & the little girl in the cabin was prancing around to provide entertainment for the trip. I sat next to an Italian policeman call Paul who remembered me from when I asked him for directions when I’d initially landed in Genoa. So we had a good chat until he finally fell asleep nearly all the way to Pisa.
I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa from the train, so didn’t feel as if I needed to come back out here to see it again close up. In Pisa I had a connection that I needed to make to get to Florence - only had to wait about 25 mins.
I've realised that the regional trains are a much cheaper option than their fast competitors if you have the extra time to spare. Which, funnily enough, I do.

16th June 09 - Nice to Genova, Italy

At 10am, I caught the slowest train to Genova in Italy. It was an intercity train, which usually run faster than the slower regional ones. However, because it is summer & everyone is by the seaside, the train takes that much longer. But what a pleasure it was to be sharing the 6-seat cabin with the people I did. Two people especially, Jean (from Colorado) & Dario (from Milano) were a treat & we had some great laughs together which made the trip seem a lot quicker than it was. It trip itself took just over 3 hours & took us in to Genova Piazza Principale station - the main station in Genova.

10th June 09 - Avignon to Nice

At midday I caught the TGV to Nice, taking over 3 hours to get there. I was fortunate enough to get a seat next to a woman called Laura from Ibiza in Spain, a like-minded individual heading towards Genoa in Italy to work on a yacht. We spoke for most of the trip about discrimination, religion, environmental sustainability, & Obama’s recent speech & health care policy - just a few small topics for the trip. The chat certainly made for a comfortable trip.
After getting a map & basic info from the Tourist Office at the train station, I decided that a 10 min walk with my bloody heavy backpack (I think I’m carrying around 18-20 kg all up) was not going to be on the agenda. So, instead of a taxi, I opted for the cheaper option - what they call a trambus (a tram). A lovely young student from Nice helped me buy my ticket then insisted on riding with me the two stops to my hop off point. We discussed his finance studies & his desire to visit Australia & live/work in the USA. A feel good conversation. I hopped off the trambus at Rue Massena & it didn’t take long to find the Hotel Regence located there.
After unpacking my bags to get my shorts & sandals out (it’s warm here), I ventured out for a wander feeling completely comfortable in this friendly city. As I strolled down the beachfront, I saw it - a tourist train, one of those little ones that take you to some of the pertinent city sites. Now, I’m old enough to know that looking like a dorky tourist is acceptable when you are almost completely anonymous, as I am in France. So I took the chance, purchased a ticket (7 euros) & jumped on board for the ride of my life (not!). We drove around for 45 mins which included a 20 min stop at a place overlooking the city. Thrilling!!!!!
After another long stroll, it was time for dinner - a delicious seafood risotto & wine - before heading back to the hotel for the eve.

27th May - London to Paris on the TGV

Zvroom!!! This train really does go fast. I was unlucky enough to be leaving London for Paris at a peak time & so had to pay peak rates (ouch). But I did get to sit in 1st class as they were the only seats left.
On arrival in Paris I first needed to change over some Pounds Sterling for Euros. I started a heated argument with the change bureau guy when charged 7 euros for changing 42 pounds - what a rip off! Lesson - don't change money at airports or train stations.
The ease of switching from the TGV to the Metro (Paris underground) made travelling easy & it wasn't long before I was nearly to my resting place for the next 5 days.

6 - My first hard sleeper train trip

The tour leader, Frank, briefed us on the challenges we would face on a train journey to Xi'an. This included: 6 beds to a compartment no bigger than a standard western toilet room; thieves that would attempt to take all your valuables from you as you sleep; smelly toilets with no/little wash facilities; & people without tickets who will sit outside your doorless compartment talking all night. I couldn’t wait to get onboard.

A private bus took us to a major train station a half hour from the city centre. There were incredible amounts of people heading to the trains. We all had to stick together for fear of being lost in the crowd & never being found again. And Frank walked ahead at his usual million miles an hour, occasionally waiting for us to catch up. I had to carry my backpack weighing all up about 20kg, which was a great incentive to never put on more weight cause this might be what it feels like. Of course, once through the turnstile (man punching tickets with a hole puncher), our compartment was all the way down the end of a very long train. When we got on, people were already settled into our beds & we had to move them on so we could get in.

There wasn’t any space to play around - a narrow corridor led to all the compartments. We had to get in, put our bags down & stay in our compartment until everyone was on the train & ready to go.
Frank's ‘random’ cabin assignments had me bunking down with all the Chinese folk, while the rest of the tour group got to stay together in one compartment. Travelling by yourself on a tour when everyone else is coupled up is almost like travelling completely alone at times. As it turned out, everything was great.

I shared the compartment with a wonderful elderly couple, & even though they couldn’t speak English, I had Frank on hand to almost constantly translate for me. The old woman, who I called Nani (Grandma), was a treat. I had to call her Nani cause seemingly it’s impolite to ask the elderly what their name is. Nani & I clicked instantly - obviously a past life connection somewhere along our line of reincarnations. We held hands & laughed every time we looked at each other. By the end of our journey, she wanted to adopt me as her child (an old child nevertheless) & have me come & live with her on their farm outside Xi’an. Very tempting indeed!

Frank had given us fair warning about the thieves in & around Xi’an. Sleeping on the train, I carefully weaved my hand through the straps of the daypack while clutching at it through the night. Thankfully, no one attempted to rob me - they probably saw the hold I had on my bag & had a good laugh instead.

At about 8:45am we arrived safely in one piece in Xi’an, then weaved through the multitudinous number of people at the train station towards our private bus waiting to take us to our hotel.