BootsnAll Travel Network



Articles Tagged ‘Trains’

More articles about ‘Trains’
« Home

Over the Channel and Through the Woods

Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

Written at 11:00 PM on 10-24-06 in Oxford, England

I woke up the next day, rather reluctantly, and finished getting everything packed up. For a fourth day in a row, I missed the hostel’s breakfast. I preferred the bakery’s food anyway, and I had an extra ten euros to get rid of before I headed back to the UK. After acquiring breakfast (and a baguette for lunch), I headed off for the metro station.

I didn’t have any problem getting to the Gare Nord, Paris’ northern train station from which I’d be leaving. I’d picked up a ticket to London on my way home from the Luvre the previous day. This was an expensive ticket. Even with a eurail discount, it still cost me 75 euros; it might have been cheaper to fly. I preferred trains, though, because they were usually a lot less trouble to get on and off of. Oh, but I was wrong.

I knew I had to arrive half an hour early for check-in, but what I did not realize was the extensive screening process one had to go through to get on a train to London. What made it worse was that about halfway through the process, as I was about to have my passport checked, an alarm went off. Quickly the official who was about to view my passport put on a policeman’s coat and ushered myself and the other passengers back through the ticket gates. Other officers joined the effort and soon there was an announcement that all those on our train were to exit the train station and wait.

Well, if that’s how it was going to be—then I was just going to go get myself a coffee! I did that and by the time I’d sat down and started the drink, things seemed to be moving again. I took my coffee with me and rejoined the line, which had now quadrupled in length. I had no fears about missing the train, however, because if I did, then another fifty passengers would as well. I had also arrived early so by the time I got in line for the second time, I still had a half hour to go.

After having my ticket checked by a human and by a machine, and having my passport checked twice and going through a metal detect, I was in another line waiting to board the train. This line disintegrated utterly, however, just as soon as boarding commenced. I don’t think it was a British thing—so I can only assume it was French—but everyone that had formed into a neat line rushed forward into a blob. Likewise, people who had been sitting perched near the entrance seemed to have no compunctions about cutting in front of about 95% of the people waiting patiently. I’d grown accustomed to this tendency, but it still irked me a bit; I suppose it seems disrespectful and rude, but that’s just me imposing my own cultural views, and perhaps that’s not fair.

The train ride took about three hours and included gaining back the hour I had lost when I left the UK. I spent most of the time reading. When I got to London’s Waterloo station, I had a momentary navigational crisis, but soon I found out that I needed to go to the Paddington train station on the Bakerloo metro line. That was all I had to know. I took the metro (my backpack was beginning to chafe at this point) and arrived at the station only minutes before a train departed for Oxford. I quickly got a ticket from one of the automatic ticket machines and then hurried to board.

The train from London to Oxford took about an hour; again I spent the time reading. When I arrived, I knew my hostel’s address, but I didn’t have directions. Fortunately, there was a map at the train station (and so what if it was a bus-route map) and I was able to navigate the difficult two-minute trek to the hostel. The hostel was relatively cheap, better than I would’ve paid in London. The Oxford Backpackers seemed like a pretty cool place, but I wasn’t really concerned with that by the time I arrived. I was tired, and so after a short bit of reading, I dozed off in my bed until about 7PM. When I awoke, I was hungry and craving something substantial (and not just a baguette). I headed off to a place recommended by the reception—O’Neals—and ordered a burger and beer. An Irish pub, O’Neal’s was a pretty cool place, but once I finish, I decided to head back. I returned, sat down in the common room, and began catching up on my blog, which brings me to this moment.

Three days until I’m back. Cheers.

Just When I Thought I Was Better

Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

Written at 8:34 PM on 10-15-06 in Berlin, Germany

I felt better yesterday, but I feel worse today. Then again, yesterday I wasn’t stuck on a train where the only thing dividing smokers and non-smokers is a sheet of glass with an opening in it the size of a door.
[read on]

Cinque Terra

Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
Written at 10:23 AM, 10-4-06, somewhere between La Spezia and Rome. My evening at the Ostello Archi Rossi in Florence ended with relative quiet. After watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, we put on Last Samurai, which we (the other backpackers ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Small Triumphs

Friday, September 29th, 2006
Written at 7:38, 9-29-06 in Florence, Italy. There’s not much to be said for the 24 hours following my previous post, at least not very much that’s positive. The most positive thing I could say is that I am no longer ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Trying Couple Days

Thursday, September 7th, 2006
3:37 PM, 9-7-06 To say it’s been an interesting couple days would be a misstatement—“a trying couple days” is probably more appropriate. I’ve got a lot of time to cover, so expect this blog to be a long one. Simply put, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Trainhopping

Thursday, August 24th, 2006
7:38 AM, 8/24/06 What a day of travel. Yesterday we traveled by train, bus, and ferry over a period of about twelve hours. Needlessly to say, we were quite relieved when we stepped off the ferry in Ireland. We took a ... [Continue reading this entry]