introduction
European Vacation
We met the morning of the 28th at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, which is one of the nicest I have ever been to. It’s also the only airport that I have been to where the customs area is past the shops and restaurants after you get off the airplane – very strange. The flight was quick, only 6 1/2 hours and by my internal clock, we’d arrived just after 1 am. However, Holland was insisting that it was about 7 AM, but the fact that it was still very dark out didn’t do much to help convince my body otherwise. This is only the second time in my life I had been to Europe and was not used to the very short days. As we were driving away from the airport it was a very strange experience to try to convince myself that it was 7 AM the next day and not still the middle of the night. The sun finally showed itself at about 8:30 AM.
We had decided before we left to use trains as our mode of transportation throughout Europe, so we got a type of pass called the Eurail Selectpass which let you use your pass for only a certain number of countries and a certain number of days within a two month period. We decided to get the three country pass (Benelux, France Spain) for five days worth of trips. Before you buy the pass, they let you know that there may be certain “supplemental charges” on some routes. I guess I should have read a little closer, because in addition to the cost of the passes, the supplements for our trains added up to about $350, almost the cost of one of the passes. In the end, the passes were still a good deal and we did save money by having them, so I would use them again in the future. Just know that if all of your travel is between major cities, you’re gonna pay a little more than they let on when you buy the passes. The Man in Seat 61 was an invaluable website in the planning of the trip as far as the trains were concerned. Mark Smith runs a great site dedicated to rail travel in Europe as an alternative to flying and demystifies rail travel, giving some nice tips for first time train travelers. If you’re planning to travel Europe by rail, but you don’t know your couchette from a sleeper, this is the site for you.
Our first train was Amsterdam to Paris, aboard the high speed Thalys train. The Eurail Selectpass is a first class pass, meaning that you are expected to ride first class in your trains, but of course you are also allowed in tourist (second) class as well. For this trip, the train was booked in tourist class, so we were forced to get first class tickets. Shucks. The first class car was incredibly spacious, with just three seats across (2 + 1) and the service was impeccable. The train runs at a normal speed and stops in a few other cities in Amsterdam and Belgium before we stop in Brussels where another Thalys train was joined to ours. From Brussels, we use the shared tracks of the Eurostar train which is high speed all the way to Paris. It is hard to describe what it feels like to travel at 186 Mph (300 Km/h) on the ground but the best that I can describe it is the sound and feeling of being in an aircraft that is at take off speed but never quite gets off the ground. Instead, you just keep thundering down the runway until you reach your destination. A few hours later, we were in Paris only long enough for dinner, as we had to catch our night train to Barcelona.
We met Rick and Fanette for dinner and to give Rick some things that I had brought for him. We had about four hours to kill and spent just about all of it in a restaurant drinking waters after our dinner. We also got a Nutella crepe which I had head about and was eagerly waiting to try. Rick and Fanette had decide to fly to Spain and would meet us there the next day.
 I mentioned a “couchette” above and if you are like me two months ago, you have no idea what this is. It is a type of train car popular in Europe for long distance night trains that ride on the regular speed train network. It is a sort of youth hostel on wheels, where you share a small sleeping compartment with strangers. These are mixed sex rooms, and they are not private. On your ticket is printed your bed number instead of your seat number and you just kind of lay down as the train pulls into the night. There is a sheet and a small blanket and pillow and you sleep in your clothes. I had expected the ride to be noisy but it was actually very quiet inside the room. Pili slept better than I did, even after getting no sleep at all on my trans-Atlantic flight the night before. The bed was nice enough, but I didn’t get more than four hours of sleep. We pulled into a small border town called Portbou, Spain around 8 AM and had to make one more connection to Barcelona, where we arrive just before noon. This marked a new record for me as I had just been in five countries (United States, Holland, Belgium, France and Spain) in under 48 hours, having left Dulles airport at 6 PM two days prior. |
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Next: Barcelona