5. A route emerges, planning the first half of the trip
Part 1: Liverpool to Vienna
Every good trip starts with a route, and having spent a considerable time researching on numerous apps and travel blogs (which I will share in a future post), I came up with a plan.I intended to split the sketched-out journey in two, as my wife Tricia and daughter Anna were planning on coming to Vienna to meet me. This would be approximately the halfway point of the journey.
In this post, I go through the stages of the first half of the trip, while the next post will look at the remainder of the trip. This section takes in three legs: a UK warm-up, a Dutch detour, and a proper cross-continent run through Germany, Czechia and Austria to finish in Vienna.
The UK Warm-Up
Monday 25th September, Liverpool
As it happened, a past pupil who I taught in Limerick 31 years ago, had made contact with me over the summer through social media. It turns out that Derek has been living near Liverpool for 12 years. Over some email communication during the course of several weeks, I arranged to meet him in Liverpool on what would become the first stage of my Interrail trip. I would book an easyJet flight from Belfast to Liverpool and stay in the city centre. As it would be only for one night, I didn't look for Home Exchange accommodation and would just book into a cheap hotel near the train station with breakfast included.
Tuesday 26th September, Birmingham
I have never been to Birmingham, but my friend Graeme and his partner Vicki who live there, have invited me to come and visit several times over the years, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend a few nights with them as I make my way down to London. The train journey from Liverpool to Birmingham seemed far too short to use up one of my seven Interrail travel days, but with the help of the Omio app, I was able to find and book a ticket for just £11.
Thursday 28th September, London
In my mind, this was always going to be the real starting point for my Interrail trip, though as you can count all train travel within a 24-hour period as one of your travel days, the early morning train from Birmingham to London Euston will be the first train journey officially to be included in my electronic ticket. I opted for an electronic ticket over a traditional paper one. The Eurostar departs from St. Pancras, a short walk from Euston and my two hour transit time seems adequate, even accounting for possible delays.
The Dutch Detour
Thursday 28th September, Amsterdam
The train arrives in Amsterdam around 7pm, so I should get to my accommodation by 8pm - a guest bedroom in the western suburbs with Boda and his partner Anne, booked through HomeExchange. It will have been a long day, with three different trains, so I will grab a quick bite to eat en route before heading to their apartment. They are just starting out with HomeExchange and are very keen to pick up some tips. Even though I have been to Amsterdam several times before, I have booked a guided walking tour for 10am the next morning and that evening I am going to Ziggo Dome indoor arena for The National's gig at 8pm.
Saturday 30th September, Voorschoten (NL)
Voorschoten is a small town just south of Leiden, about halfway between Amsterdam and The Hague. I am sure it doesn't appear on many Interrail itineraries! Our friends Ingrid and Michel have just moved from Leiden to their new house there. I am looking forward to spending Saturday with them and staying over in their guest bedroom. Tricia and I have known Ingrid, Michel and their family for 12 years, since we did a reciprocal house exchange with them in Leiden. They fell in love with Inishowen in Donegal where we live and have been back six or seven times since.
The Cross-Continent Run
Sunday 1st October, Berlin
Once the initial destinations above were all nailed down, the rest of the trip seemed to fall in place, as the train line options spread out towards Eastern Europe.
I have been to Germany three times, but have never visited Berlin, and given that 40 pages of Dispatches from the Barricades dealt with Berlin and the fall of the wall, this was always going to be one of my key destinations.
My accommodation here is a small apartment in an historical building in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood, where the owners Jeanne and Suzon's have asked me to look after their two cats. I have been told that the cats will be waiting patiently on my arrival, expecting to be fed on Sunday evening by 7pm!
In Berlin, I have two separate guided history tours booked with GuruWalk - Berlin Under the Swastika and From Marx to the Wall. I also hope to meet up with my cousin Malachy who has lived in Berlin for years and is working there as a teacher.
Wednesday 4th October, Prague
I have visited once Prague before, back in 1997 - it fact it was one of our very first home exchanges, when we swapped with a lovely couple called Ludek and Mila. The new Czech Republic was just finding its feet as independence had only been declared four years earlier.
We used the Praha metro extensively, so much so that the announcement warning of the doors closing is forever stuck in my brain and is the only phrase in Czech that I still remember - Ukončete, prosím, výstup a nástup, dveře se zavírají !!
I look forward to revisiting Prague and seeing how it has changed in the past 25 years. Pavel, the owner of the HomeExchange apartment I am staying in has perfect English and hopes to meet me in person to hear me speak some Irish which he is very interested in.
Friday 6th October, Vienna
This is the half-way point in the trip and Tricia and my daughter Anna are flying out to join me for the weekend. None of us has been to Vienna before. Our home exchange host Martina seems like a very adventurous person, as she will be trekking in Nepal while we stay in her apartment.
There seems to be plenty to do in Vienna and our three night stay will be way too short. We will have to find an Irish pub however to watch the RWC match between Ireland and Scotland on the Saturday evening! I am hoping that we will all enjoy the guided walking tour that I have booked for Sunday entitled Vienna like you have never seen it before!
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