Another foray into Europe on many wheels!
- Thread starter gerarddwatts
- Start date
An interesting trip.
The overwhelming emotion seems to be...we managed to get away with that...
Is that what you want after a holiday? Not sure.
Not so bad if if was just me but it's also the wife's holiday...she's pretty robust, enjoys travelling and seeing new places/things, but reliant on my planning for her bodily comfort, and although we have done many bike trips together we are both no longer in the first flush of youth!
In fact had the trip gone as initially planned it should have been relatively straightforward; as it turned out virtually every sector was done on a wing and a prayer, hoping no one would turn up to claim the seats we were in, as when they cancel your train you can often find alternatives, but its too late to reserve seats....that is not the route to a relaxing holiday! Train times often changed on a daily basis.
Would I do it again? No.
I would happily, for example book a sleeper from Brussels to Venice or Prague because if it goes in shite the onus is on them to get you to the destination they have undertaken so to do...if you have had to undertake a set of 'legs', the onus is on you to find alternatives if any one of those 'legs' failed as happened when we had to find a hotel and a taxi on the way to Salzburg rather than possibly standing on a platform all night.
I certainly would not choose to use German railways on any sort of complicated trip...they are so unreliable and so often late as to make complex trips very vulnerable to disruption....we had one very skinny transfer in Munich on the way down that we managed by less thsn a minute...fine if you are attempting some sort of Palin-esque challenge...not so much if you are old folk without a support crew, attempting a trip without relying on a 'package' type arrangement....there are limits!
We did enjoy our trip....now we're back...it was actually cheaper than initially planned because the alternative hotels were cheaper than those planned, but we also lost a day each end, and had some very early starts in order to make up for cancelled trains.
At least we had the wherewithal to be able, if necessary, get a cab to the nearest airport and get tickets to Heathrow or Edinburgh!
Anyhow now knackered, home with the hound and able to enjoy a dram!
Good night!
The overwhelming emotion seems to be...we managed to get away with that...
Is that what you want after a holiday? Not sure.
Not so bad if if was just me but it's also the wife's holiday...she's pretty robust, enjoys travelling and seeing new places/things, but reliant on my planning for her bodily comfort, and although we have done many bike trips together we are both no longer in the first flush of youth!
In fact had the trip gone as initially planned it should have been relatively straightforward; as it turned out virtually every sector was done on a wing and a prayer, hoping no one would turn up to claim the seats we were in, as when they cancel your train you can often find alternatives, but its too late to reserve seats....that is not the route to a relaxing holiday! Train times often changed on a daily basis.
Would I do it again? No.
I would happily, for example book a sleeper from Brussels to Venice or Prague because if it goes in shite the onus is on them to get you to the destination they have undertaken so to do...if you have had to undertake a set of 'legs', the onus is on you to find alternatives if any one of those 'legs' failed as happened when we had to find a hotel and a taxi on the way to Salzburg rather than possibly standing on a platform all night.
I certainly would not choose to use German railways on any sort of complicated trip...they are so unreliable and so often late as to make complex trips very vulnerable to disruption....we had one very skinny transfer in Munich on the way down that we managed by less thsn a minute...fine if you are attempting some sort of Palin-esque challenge...not so much if you are old folk without a support crew, attempting a trip without relying on a 'package' type arrangement....there are limits!
We did enjoy our trip....now we're back...it was actually cheaper than initially planned because the alternative hotels were cheaper than those planned, but we also lost a day each end, and had some very early starts in order to make up for cancelled trains.
At least we had the wherewithal to be able, if necessary, get a cab to the nearest airport and get tickets to Heathrow or Edinburgh!
Anyhow now knackered, home with the hound and able to enjoy a dram!
Good night!
