Railing to the Netherlands

[sierra_le_oli]

Yesterday I caught the 6:59 laptop train to Brussels. Lucky, because if I'd travelled on Thursday as originally intended, I wouldn't have been travelling. Belgian Railways are having a mouvement social for 24 hours starting at 10pm. Funny thing is, I'm carrying various items in my bag to avoid the Royal Mail strikes

Comments

[sollersuk]

Full agreement about rail vs flying. I liked the railways in the Netherlands very much. I had to get to and from places that were beautifully accessible by yacht but rather out of the way by land, and even so I had no problems.

I also liked the trains in Spain. We spent a couple of weeks in northern Spain, travelling by rail between Madrid, Santiago de Compostela and Burgos - very long journeys but very comfortable and reasonable; particularly when the nice lady in the travel agency in Santiago de Compostela pointed out that a) there was a special offer for the day we were travelling and b) first class would only cost a few euros more. God bless Hugo "Spanish in Three Months": without it I wouldn't have been able to discuss the fares with her.

My ambition, next year or the year after, is to go all the way down to Spain by rail. However, English fares being what they are we will probably have to drive from Manchester to London.

[liasbluestone]

Does the train in Spain stay mainly in the plain?

[sollersuk]

No, though that's the immediate thought; it runs most delightfully through the mountains. It was a wonderful way to see the landscape - mountains, mountains in the distance (genuinely blue and purple, much to my daughter's pleasure), rolling hills with old towns on them.

[sierra_le_oli]

I had to sprint to catch my train from "Slough" to Den Haag and had a moment of worry while standing in front of the ticket machine. Until I realised that I didn't have to think about complicated fare structures or what time I was travelling, it was easy!

I hadn't thought of doing Spain by rail, sounds good, I'll check it out.

[totkat]

Travelling by train is so much less awful than travelling by plane (unless it's first class on either, which is just perfectly civilised thankyouverymuch). Any day of the week I'd rather get to closer and middling Europe by train than by plane. I always feel stressy, greasy, dehydrated and icky after being on a plane, plus airports are -never- in convenient locations.

[furrfu]

My last plane trip to Gothenburg was awful: the stress and time wastage of airport travel neatly combined with punctured eardrums from the (de)compression on the plane (because they were in a hurry on the return leg?).

I don't think you gain much time flying (what with the stupid "check in two hours before departure"), and it's SO UNPLEASANT. I don't want to fly again for the foreseeable.

[swaldman]

I always try to use non-planes when I can. For .nl I tend to do the train->overnight ferry->train thing, because it's a lot cheaper than Eurostar (and if you don't count the time that you're asleep, actually faster too).

For reasons of emissions, of less hassle, of far more comfort compared to economy class, of (this is a big one) AVOIDING AIRPORTS (I hate airports), of scenery...
Unfortunately not of cost, if the UK railways are involved. Yes, this is why (well one reason) why people still fly from London to Edinburgh :-/