The “hopefully” is because the information on the internet about buses to Alexandroupoli is a bit vague (“every four hours”) and I won’t be able to get more details until I reach Thessaloniki (or Thessalonica, or Selanik, according to your preference).
Continue readingInterrail day ten – (Sannicandro di) Bari (and sort of to Igoumenitsa)
7 May
I say “sort of” because while I’ll be setting off this evening, I won’t get to Greece until tomorrow. So I’m spending today in the village of Sannicandro, just outside Bari, because that is where Ida and Genti live.
Continue readingInterrail day nine – Florence to Bari
7 May
Can you believe I’ve been doing this for nine days now? And I’m not even halfway 😂
Continue readingInterrail day eight – Ferrara to Firenze
5 May
That’s Florence, to you. I was going to set off bright and early to see as much of it as possible, but it took so long to upload last night’s post that I changed my mind and went for a later train. That meant that instead of having anxiety dreams about missing trains, I just dreamed highlights from A Room with a View, which was much more pleasant.
Continue readingInterrail day seven – Ferrara
4 May
Another staying-put day, as Ferrara is one of my key destinations. It contains the Biblioteca Ariostea, a very old library named after Ludovico Ariosto, who wrote Orlando Furioso and is Ferrara’s most famous son. Less famously, the library features in my novel, Daughters of Fire.
Continue readingInterrail day six – the Bernina Express!
3 May
Or, more informatively, Zurich to Ferrara through the Alps. This is one of the bits of my trip that I have been most looking forward to. There’s a special, scenic, narrow-gauge train through the mountains called the Bernina Express that is reputed to be one of the most spectacular train routes in the world. And it’s included in my Interrail pass!
Continue readingInterrail day five – Leiden to Zurich via Cologne
2 May
This is quite an exciting day for me because I have never been to Germany or Switzerland (except airside at airports, which doesn’t count). Up until now I had at least been to whichever country I was visiting before, if not the particular city
Continue readingInterrail day four – Leiden
1 May
This is Sunday, the day of rest, and I could do with a rest after all that travel, so I’m glad I have nowhere to go today. Instead, I’m just enjoying a sunny day in Leiden.
Continue readingInterrail day three – Bruges to Leiden
30 Apr
Thankfully I slept a lot better in Heidi’s attic than in Hotel Barry. I did slip coming down the vertiginous, smooth wooden steps in my socks while carrying a rucksack, but fortunately managed to keep my balance and only hurt the soles of my feet rather than breaking my neck.
Continue readingInterrail day two – Brussels to Bruges
29 Apr
Well it was not a great night. Hotel Barry won’t be getting a complimentary review for its lumpy pillows and pokey bathroom, although it wasn’t their fault that a man (who was presumably either mentally ill or extremely drunk) yowled outside the window at 2am. A late night rummage in my logically-packed bag for ear plugs solved that problem, but I have booked somewhere else for the way back.
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K C Murdarasi 