Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Euro Star train took us from St Pancras to Amsterdam stopping at Lille, Brussels and Rotterdam en route. The journey took about three and a half hours. The train was busy and the wifi didn’t work but it was comfortable. Arriving into Centraal station we took a taxi to the beautiful Hilton Hotel, home […]

London, Uk

Train from derby to London took about 1hour 30ins. First class was nice with comfy seats and a free trolley service. We arrived into a busy St Pancras Station and made our way to the nearby Pullman Hotel. First stop, after checking out the hotel, was the British library next door. Interesting to see original […]

Warsaw, Poland

An easy day trip from Lotz. We left from Lotz Fabryczna, the most modern train station in Poland. The station is worth seeing. The ticket offices are housed in the East side of the station amidst the facades of large white town houses, a nod towards the old station and up above the ceiling is […]

Lotz, Poland

A simple Ryanair flight from Dublin or East Midlands lies Lotz, the third largest city in Poland. Ten minutes from the airport we arrived in Manufactura, the site of a former textile industry and now home to a mall, cafes, restaurants and most importantly, our hotel for the next three nights, Vienna House Andel’s. The […]

Derby, UK

We spent a few weeks in the UK to catch up with family and recharge the batteries. While there we celebrated Shea’s eight birthday, cheered on Derby Co, went to a LEGO exhibit in the museum and explored some of the beautiful Peak District. We took a trip to Milton Keynes for the bank holiday […]

Hamburg, Germany

Arriving in Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, the central railway station, was somewhat of an assault on the senses. The high glass windows and 70 meter wide roof shed light on the many restaurants, cafés and travelers within. It was a very different vibe than stepping off the ferry in Hiddensee with a handful of other passengers! Out […]

Rostock, Germany

We took the ferry from Hiddensee at midday as planned. But the ferry wasn’t going to Stralsund that day as planned. So we arrived in Schaprode and had to take a bus. The we took a train from Bergen to Stralsund and another train to Rostock. Arrived as planned 😜. Taxi to our hotel by […]

Hiddensee, Germany

In the 1920s the quiet sandy beaches of Hiddensee island drew fame as a bohemian retreat from the mainland. Today it’s mainly families and retirees who flock here but it still has a far away feel. Private cars are forbidden here so the sound of horses’ hooves and bicycle brakes replace the hooting of horns […]

Stralsund, Germany

Took the train to Stralsund and taxi to our hotel. We were down graded due to high numbers of tourists and busy hotel?! We were supposed to get an apt but got a room instead. It was fine, we had plenty of room and a great view of the old town too. The hotel couldn’t […]

Szczecin, Poland

We took a train from Gdansk to Szczecin, Poland. The journey took five hours. The train was comfortable and had the added bonus of being similar to the Hogwarts Express in Harry Potter with private carriages. Szczecin is located on the Odor River near the Baltic Sea and the German border in West Pomeranian. It […]