MikeFromLFE

This is a travel blog about our meanderings round Europe by train (mostly). I live in Leicestershire, England 🇬🇧 with my wife & cat. I'm a retired Healthcare Scientist & Health Service Manager 🔬 I cycle, sketch, try to grow stuff on our allotment, play petanque (badly), exercise with TaiChi & Quigung, and I twiddle with amateur radio. My wife & I enjoy European rail travel. Mental health is a personal & family challenge. Leftie tree-hugging remainer 🇪🇺 #allotment #cycling #petanque #TaiChi #mentalHealth #AmateurRadio #Leicester #Leicestershire #interrail

https://cupoftea.social/@MikeFromLFE

Autumn 2021 : Bus Passes at the Ready - East of England

September 29, 2024•1,121 words

This was our first Big Bus Trip - and we decided to go to the English East Coast back in September 2021. September of that year was a couple of months after all the legal Covid restrictions had been lifted in England (19th July 2021) so it was a chance to stretch our legs a little. It was never going to be a pure bus trip because to get to our intended start & finish points (Cleethorpes & York) we needed to use trains - but we have a Disabled Rail Pass between us. As you will see below ...

Summer 2024 : A Day trip to London

September 29, 2024•997 words

Now - on with the story - The weather forecast wasn't promising - but Summer 2024 has been a very mixed bag so far. We decided to go by train from Northampton which has a huge car park (without much in the way of Blue Badge disabled parking though) and isn't too far from where Kasa is living at the moment. Northampton Station is very pleasant in the entrance areas with a coffee shop and WH Smiths on the upstairs concourse - as we'd missed the train and the service is half hourly Sacha (my wife...

Summer 2024 : Home, Home Again!

September 29, 2024•557 words

I was awake before the ferry docked at Harwich, but that wasn't a problem as it gave me time to reflect and get my bearings. As usual we were turfed out of our cabin smartish upon the car decks being opened - no time for a leisurely start really. I understand the reasoning and that the cabins all have to be serviced, but it does seem a bit frantic. We had a wait of over an hour on the platform at Harwich International station (Parkeston Quay is a much better name) and it was certainly a chilly...

Summer 2024 : Hoek van Holland in Holland

September 29, 2024•433 words

My phone has been misbehaving - so I took the drastic step of transferring the Interrail passes to my wife's phone. She's now in charge! I couldn't get it to charge overnight and although it appeared to charge while we were at breakfast I couldn't get the screen to show anything. I tried again mid-afternoon and hey presto! Here we are. Apart from that we've had a great day! The hotel stopped serving breakfast at 9.15 so we had to get up and going! They were happy to have our suitcase in their...

Summer 2024 : How can sitting be so tiring?

September 29, 2024•521 words

That was an entertaining half hour! We don't follow football but we're aware of the Euro tournament that's on at the moment. We decided to eat this evening in a local bar in Hook of Holland (The Harwich) and the footie was on the big screen. Georgia and Turkey were battling it out in the pouring rain somewhere in Germany. Once it got to injury time the Georgian goalkeeper decided to join the rest of his mates around the Turkish goal. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake - the whole of the b...

Summer 2024 : Back to Berlin

September 29, 2024•441 words

After last night's Italian I had indigestion in the night again and subsequently am really tired today - it's a good job that today was going to be straightforward It was rather odd that the station at Binz had so few seats - there were constantly people standing around. Goodness only knows what it's like in the height of summer. But on the plus side, I did manage to buy a bottle of Vita Cola from the station buffet (this was the GDR answer to Coca cola) - it was OK but I'm not going to be impo...

Summer 2024 : What a scorcher - Binz day 3

September 29, 2024•254 words

We got up at a sensible time today and at breakfast I found the croissants! No where near the other bread of course. There was no plan for today, but knowing it was likely to be warmer we set off walking beyond the fountain at the 'end' of the promenade - it's not really the end but it's where the shops and cafes stop. We sat for quite a while in the shade - it was getting hotter by the moment before the little black flies became too much. We got as far as the Muther Turm - which I was deligh...

Summer 2024 : Lazy day 2 in Binz

September 29, 2024•207 words

Yesterday evening we eat in a burger place, it was just fine - not too much and not too expensive. The desserts were a bit odd though - almost all frozen yoghurt based. We ordered an ice cream cookie each, but something got lost in translation as we got one to share (which was OK). Today was planned to be a lazy day and the weather helped with that decision. We stayed in the hotel room reading, dozing and watching the rain outside until after lunchtime. Once there was a break in the sky we pott...

Summer 2024: Binz - day 1

September 29, 2024•411 words

(now with photos!) Published on June 14, 2024 | Edit post | Del We had a decent lie in this morning knowing that there was nothing specific to get up for and breakfast was available until 11. It was a decent breakfast but strangely lacking in croissants. Mind you - I had severe indigestion in the night, so I needed a bit of sleep to recover. Was it the pasta, or was it the wine? When we got back to our room after breakfast housekeeping had been to make the beds - and despite having rinsed them...

Summer 2024 : Stralsund To Binz

September 29, 2024•387 words

We knew that we didn't have to rush out this morning so we took our time and had a bit of a lie in, and a slow breakfast. I don't know what that 'cold' I had yesterday afternoon was, but it has pretty much gone. I got weary this afternoon. I'm wondering if it's an allergic reaction to Lime Trees (Linden) - theres a lot of them about. I took an anti-alergy tablet this morning, but I'm not sure it's had any effect. When we got to the station we found there was a direct train due to leave in 20 m...

Summer 2024 : Strolling in Stralsund

September 29, 2024•301 words

Slept very well but it was hot, at silly o'clock I found a fan in the corner of the room and set it running which helped a lot. I doubt it's connected, but this afternoon I seem to have started a cold. Sneezing, scratchy throat and nose, some joint pains - I'm trying to hold them at bay with the full extent of my drug arsenal - paracetamol! The breakfast is advertised as costing €25 each - I'm sorry, but if that's a €25 breakfast then I'm still dreaming! Walking around Stralsund I couldn't he...

Summer 2024 : The Molli train & Stralsund

September 29, 2024•291 words

We both slept really badly last night - I'm putting my night down to the Schnitzel - and I've had a grumbly stomach all day. My wife is struggling with her knee and back. Sigh, the joy of ageing! At Wismar station we learned that the train line towards Berlin is still closed - so whatever perturbed us on Sunday is still a problem. The train from Wismar has the smallest first class area I've ever seen - 6 seats in total with possibly less leg room than in Standard class, but... the seats were l...

Summer 2024 : Wandering round Wismar

September 29, 2024•399 words

Yesterday evening's meal was a simple pizza and pasta affair in a side street restaurant - cheap, filling and satisfying - just right for old, tired bodies. Our first task after breakfast was to buy a replacement walking stick. I'd asked advice on Mastodon and the reply was confirmed by the hotel receptionist - we needed to go to a Sanithaus shop and there was one near where we were heading anyway - so off we went. Not directly, because we stopped to look around the St Nicholas church - which ...

Summer 2024 : Onwards To Wismar

September 29, 2024•519 words

I had a mixed night in the Schulz Hotel - I woke up with a nosebleed which is bad enough, but then it's a case of trying to prevent the bed looking like it's been slept in by a serial axe-murderer! Then my feet and ankles started itching! It was about an hour before I got off again. It's just as well we didn't need to rush this morning. Mrs Mike had the bright idea of taking a couple of rolls with some cheese for our lunch. It's years since I've 'stolen' breakfast food to eat later - it still f...

Summer 2024 : A day in Berlin

September 29, 2024•280 words

I slept better last night than I have in ages! The hotel has a communal kitchen - I found the mug and made my wife a cup of tea while she was in the shower - and what a splendid shower it is. It's a pity the floor is so slippery! Very good breakfast that will set us up for what looks to be a hot day. We spent the morning looking at the art on the East Side Gallery walls and brushing up on the history of Berlin in the mid 20th century. The artworks were better than I expected, some being truly...

Summer 2024 : Haarlem to Berlin - is a long way!

September 29, 2024•191 words

After a rotten night's sleep we were awake and had the coffee machine on before our B&B host had delivered breakfast. Somehow we managed to get up and ready in - for us - record time. The effect of that was that we got to Amsterdam in plenty of time to wait for our train, and to discover the difficulties of buying two cup of Starbucks coffee, two lumps of cake and then trying to get through the ticket barrier using the phone in the other hand! There was some confusion about our seat reserv...

Summer 2024 : A day in Haarlem

September 29, 2024•312 words

We had a really good meal at Casa Di Papi yesterday evening followed by their homemade Limoncello - I rarely drink alcohol so it was a bit of a surprise (in a good way!) We slept very well, only really coming to life when our host knocked on the door with breakfast at 8.30am We set off walking to The Museum of the Mind in overcast weather, which didn't last - it started to rain, and the rain became torrential, with some hail at one point. We took shelter - as best as we could - under a tree in...

Summer 2024: Europoort to Haarlem

September 29, 2024•301 words

We had a generally good night on The Pride of Hull although inexplicably I had an upset stomach in the night. This settled by mid morning. Breakfast was good although I saved some of my Continental Breakfast for a later snack. I cannot understand the design decision that put three sides of the cabin bed against a wall - otherwise it was very comfortable. While my ethical concerns about the way P&O Ferries treated their staff recently remain, I must confess to liking the service and the sh...

Summer 2024 : Day 1 - Leicester to Hull Ferry Terminal

September 29, 2024•284 words

Today counts as a success! The taxi arrived at out house about 10 minutes early and despite taking a very odd route through the centre of Leicester got us to tge railway station we'll before the anticipated time. This meant that we could get an earlier train to Sheffield. EMR we're being miserly with the sandwiches and I had to go and ask for them. Not that the Ploughman's Roll was particularly appetising when I got it. Anyway - arriving at Sheffield I discovered it was a simple cross platfor...

Mike's Top Travel Tips!

September 29, 2024•516 words

We've organised and been on several trips, travelling independently by train and ferry. I've developed a few 'rules of thumb'. You may not agree with them all, but I hope they give you food for thought. I'm a huge fan of compression travel cubes - they save space, but more importantly, allow for organisation in a packed suitcase. Save those socks and pants that are developing holes or where the elastic is losing its twang and take them on holiday - instead of bringing them home to wash, throw ...

USA & Canada in 2002

September 29, 2024•986 words

One of our trips that comes up a lot in both conversation and on Mastodon is the six week trip we made for our 25th Wedding Anniversary in September 2002. I'll give you a description of it here. The whole idea was born out of a journey I made through work a year or so before. I'd been sent on a training course to Dallas in Texas, and I'd agreed to go a week early and to make my own way from New York to Dallas by train. The training provider paid for all the flights, I paid for the train (and a ...

An Introduction

September 29, 2024•153 words

We are slowly being able to do the mammoth 6 week long #Interrail trip that we planned and booked just as Covid hit the world. Unravelling that was more problematic than planning and booking it all! There was only one hotel who refused to refund us - but we got that back from our travel insurer. Family circumstances have changed a lot since 2020 and we can no longer commit to 6 weeks away from the UK - so we are trying to do the trip in parts. In 2024 we flew to Budapest (Excellent service wit...

Dashing Across Europe in 2017

September 29, 2024•1,392 words

This is a retrospective report (by 7 years) of a very successful & happy trip we took in April & May 2017. This involved a couple of extremely long travelling days that I would not contemplate doing now. It was also before my wife really developed the issues she now has with walking any sort of distance. I can't truly remember what the object of the trip was - if indeed there was one. It's maybe a reflection of the time that the trip was somewhat serendipitous rather than having a plan ...