Thursday 28 June 2007
Day 2 Köln - Berlin, 587 Km
The Tibet Train-Trail Travellers’ Quartet is now fully formed. Carol joined in Köln and we got a taxi to the station at 8. The middle-aged woman driver was very excited that we were going to Tibet, she said that she would much rather meet the Dalai Llama than the Pope… but she also thought we were bonkers. We teased her, and she laughed. A good taxi ride.
The ICE train to Berlin was swish, but no more free refreshments. Grey, damp weather across the Ruhr industrial area. Breaks in the clouds as we passed the old East German border. The Inter-City Hotel in Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) is great – located directly on the station concourse and it gives out free travelpasses for all Berlin public transport. So we set off on the S-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse Station, favoured meeting place of spies, and had a bit of lunch at the “Ständige Vertretung” by the river. That’s the old location of the representatives of the West German government in East Berlin, and essentially is a picture gallery of artists, politicians, and rogues that serves Köln beer and food: an oasis of West Germany in East Germany, now made redundant by reunification… all beautifully bizarre, but with excellent food.
Then the Norman Foster dome on the Reichstag. A 45 minute wait to get in but quite mind-blowing when you get to the top. Mirrors, spirals, a view of the city, hard to describe but brilliant. Multiple reflections of yourself and others. A place at the top where people lie down to look up at a hole in the roof with the sky filling the field of view. How did Foster design a model of all this in order to make people understand just how exciting it would be when built?
An evening with a distant relative on my father’s side and her husband. Magda and Stefan drove up from Dresden to have a meal and walk with us. She’s a live wire, with a highly contagious laugh, and breasts that are getting spectacular now that she is pregnant again. Stefan is delighted with the breasts, but he feels that most of East Germany has gone down the tubes and so he wanted to go to a “proper” non-tourist part of Berlin. And so we did. Wandered around. Big wide streets with apartment blocks, mostly 19th century. Had a steak-type meal in a restaurant with lovely friendly people. Then a quiet bar with kirsch and coffee.
Tomorrow, Warsaw! But first we have to get the 06.47 “Berlin-Warszawa Express” which leaves from the lobby of the hotel.
The ICE train to Berlin was swish, but no more free refreshments. Grey, damp weather across the Ruhr industrial area. Breaks in the clouds as we passed the old East German border. The Inter-City Hotel in Berlin Ostbahnhof (East Station) is great – located directly on the station concourse and it gives out free travelpasses for all Berlin public transport. So we set off on the S-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse Station, favoured meeting place of spies, and had a bit of lunch at the “Ständige Vertretung” by the river. That’s the old location of the representatives of the West German government in East Berlin, and essentially is a picture gallery of artists, politicians, and rogues that serves Köln beer and food: an oasis of West Germany in East Germany, now made redundant by reunification… all beautifully bizarre, but with excellent food.
Then the Norman Foster dome on the Reichstag. A 45 minute wait to get in but quite mind-blowing when you get to the top. Mirrors, spirals, a view of the city, hard to describe but brilliant. Multiple reflections of yourself and others. A place at the top where people lie down to look up at a hole in the roof with the sky filling the field of view. How did Foster design a model of all this in order to make people understand just how exciting it would be when built?
An evening with a distant relative on my father’s side and her husband. Magda and Stefan drove up from Dresden to have a meal and walk with us. She’s a live wire, with a highly contagious laugh, and breasts that are getting spectacular now that she is pregnant again. Stefan is delighted with the breasts, but he feels that most of East Germany has gone down the tubes and so he wanted to go to a “proper” non-tourist part of Berlin. And so we did. Wandered around. Big wide streets with apartment blocks, mostly 19th century. Had a steak-type meal in a restaurant with lovely friendly people. Then a quiet bar with kirsch and coffee.
Tomorrow, Warsaw! But first we have to get the 06.47 “Berlin-Warszawa Express” which leaves from the lobby of the hotel.
Wednesday 27 June 2007
Diary. Day 1. Bristol - Köln. 791 Km.
For ages, I have been imagining the beginning of this trip. Of course, the reality is always subtly different – without that difference, there would hardly be any point in doing the journey!
I woke at 4.50 AM because my cheap transistor radio, packed in my bag, decided to wake me with its totally random alarm function. Of course, it was impossible to get back to sleep. So I went downstairs, remembered some more chores to do, bills to pay, emails to write to Tibet, and morning radio to listen to. Tony Blair is resigning today. Much more importantly, my longest-ever land journey is about to begin!
The BBC Radio Bristol outside broadcast car was easily visible because of what looks like a giant corkscrew on its roof. We stood outside in the bright windy morning and I answered the standard questions – “why?”; “what do you hope to see?” etc. Live on air to whoever listens in the morning. The Evening Post, on sale in the bookstall long before the evening, was carrying an article about the trip, lifted straight from the blurb I wrote for the press release. A cut-and-paste operation. Great picture though, taken yesterday in the same place.
The 09.30 to Paddington was standing at Platform 13. Martin commented on how saggy the seats were, but I was simply glad to get moving, on time. Free tea and coffee, nice quiet English people reading their complimentary copies of “The Times”. Glimpses of the Thames, the colour of milky coffee after the wet weather. Engineering works at Didcot, with a 10-minute delay. Pulling into Paddington. London stress. Bakerloo line “good service” (Jubilee line “serious delays”.) Down escalator broken. Tube train sometimes full, sometimes nearly empty on short journey under West End. Up escalator operational, phew.
Eurostar has a crap logo, invisible from afar. The check-in has been designed by a prison architect, as was the security area. Sudden panic: will they let us on with Swiss Army knives? Sue asked, the answer was “yes” but she got searched anyway. Luckily we did not have too long in the pit. We were called to board the Eurostar, only to discover that our “Leisure Select” class carriage has been substituted by a standard-class one. But we were relocated quite quickly. Glimpse of Parliament on its momentous changeover day (but is it really a change?) “Le Figaro” talking about the Blair legacy. Free champagne, with lots of top-ups. Three course meal (smoked salmon, baked cod, Bakewell Tart) with more wine. My mobile phone made a random call in my pocket. I was moaning about this, and a fellow passenger told me how his son had suggested a fix to that problem. Ten minutes of fiddling with phone to make that happen. Gave up Decided to ring Customer Services on 191 while the train was still in England, and to my amazement they answered quickly and told me how to fix the problem.
We found ourselves discussing the possible origins of corrugated iron. When was it invented? It is totally necessary for roof construction in windy colonies. I mentioned to the hostess that her service was the best we would get this side of China, and a passenger opposite became interested in our trip. His name was Alex Gordon. He was a train union (RMT) official from Bristol, so I showed him the Evening Post article. He told us that corrugated iron was invented by a Bristol company in the 1850’s, in Barton Hill. The company is now big in Australia. He also told us lots about the railway industry. The most fascinating item was that the management structure of the UK railways comes directly from the 19th century military – officers from the Raj were brought in to deal with it. Therefore, rank is terribly important, hence the different unions (RMT/ASLEF) for the different grades. Like the Civil Service. Also, military names for mess-rooms etc. Alex was a very knowledgeable man, and said that he would read this blog. If so – hello Alex!
The train was running over half an hour late, because of a fault. It pulled into Bruxelles Midi station. Rush hour. Subterranean stuff again. Computer ticket machines were relatively easy to find but then – STRESS – when I keyed in our two codes for the purchased tickets, the machine said “busy, please wait” (in French) for about five minutes. Ages! The ticket office queue was 40 metres long – no hope there. But finally, clunk, clunk, it started printing our tickets. It took a while to find out the departure platform, but I suddenly realised that it’s going to be a whole lot worse in China! The train was a bit late arriving and totally full, but the slow computer had printed out reservation tickets for the best table in the carriage. So all was well. We got served more food and drink. The weather was wet outside. We got to Köln on time. Carol was there, in a mild fret. We walked across the cathedral square and went to the Früh pub. Glorious! Fast service, great beer, and proper German food. Happy eaters. Taxi back to Carol’s house, internet connection, and diary writing.
The first day has gone well. Tough, with three trains and busy city connections. The others don’t believe me for a moment, but it will get easier from now. Only one train per day. No tight connections.
Tomorrow, Berlin!
I woke at 4.50 AM because my cheap transistor radio, packed in my bag, decided to wake me with its totally random alarm function. Of course, it was impossible to get back to sleep. So I went downstairs, remembered some more chores to do, bills to pay, emails to write to Tibet, and morning radio to listen to. Tony Blair is resigning today. Much more importantly, my longest-ever land journey is about to begin!
The BBC Radio Bristol outside broadcast car was easily visible because of what looks like a giant corkscrew on its roof. We stood outside in the bright windy morning and I answered the standard questions – “why?”; “what do you hope to see?” etc. Live on air to whoever listens in the morning. The Evening Post, on sale in the bookstall long before the evening, was carrying an article about the trip, lifted straight from the blurb I wrote for the press release. A cut-and-paste operation. Great picture though, taken yesterday in the same place.
The 09.30 to Paddington was standing at Platform 13. Martin commented on how saggy the seats were, but I was simply glad to get moving, on time. Free tea and coffee, nice quiet English people reading their complimentary copies of “The Times”. Glimpses of the Thames, the colour of milky coffee after the wet weather. Engineering works at Didcot, with a 10-minute delay. Pulling into Paddington. London stress. Bakerloo line “good service” (Jubilee line “serious delays”.) Down escalator broken. Tube train sometimes full, sometimes nearly empty on short journey under West End. Up escalator operational, phew.
Eurostar has a crap logo, invisible from afar. The check-in has been designed by a prison architect, as was the security area. Sudden panic: will they let us on with Swiss Army knives? Sue asked, the answer was “yes” but she got searched anyway. Luckily we did not have too long in the pit. We were called to board the Eurostar, only to discover that our “Leisure Select” class carriage has been substituted by a standard-class one. But we were relocated quite quickly. Glimpse of Parliament on its momentous changeover day (but is it really a change?) “Le Figaro” talking about the Blair legacy. Free champagne, with lots of top-ups. Three course meal (smoked salmon, baked cod, Bakewell Tart) with more wine. My mobile phone made a random call in my pocket. I was moaning about this, and a fellow passenger told me how his son had suggested a fix to that problem. Ten minutes of fiddling with phone to make that happen. Gave up Decided to ring Customer Services on 191 while the train was still in England, and to my amazement they answered quickly and told me how to fix the problem.
We found ourselves discussing the possible origins of corrugated iron. When was it invented? It is totally necessary for roof construction in windy colonies. I mentioned to the hostess that her service was the best we would get this side of China, and a passenger opposite became interested in our trip. His name was Alex Gordon. He was a train union (RMT) official from Bristol, so I showed him the Evening Post article. He told us that corrugated iron was invented by a Bristol company in the 1850’s, in Barton Hill. The company is now big in Australia. He also told us lots about the railway industry. The most fascinating item was that the management structure of the UK railways comes directly from the 19th century military – officers from the Raj were brought in to deal with it. Therefore, rank is terribly important, hence the different unions (RMT/ASLEF) for the different grades. Like the Civil Service. Also, military names for mess-rooms etc. Alex was a very knowledgeable man, and said that he would read this blog. If so – hello Alex!
The train was running over half an hour late, because of a fault. It pulled into Bruxelles Midi station. Rush hour. Subterranean stuff again. Computer ticket machines were relatively easy to find but then – STRESS – when I keyed in our two codes for the purchased tickets, the machine said “busy, please wait” (in French) for about five minutes. Ages! The ticket office queue was 40 metres long – no hope there. But finally, clunk, clunk, it started printing our tickets. It took a while to find out the departure platform, but I suddenly realised that it’s going to be a whole lot worse in China! The train was a bit late arriving and totally full, but the slow computer had printed out reservation tickets for the best table in the carriage. So all was well. We got served more food and drink. The weather was wet outside. We got to Köln on time. Carol was there, in a mild fret. We walked across the cathedral square and went to the Früh pub. Glorious! Fast service, great beer, and proper German food. Happy eaters. Taxi back to Carol’s house, internet connection, and diary writing.
The first day has gone well. Tough, with three trains and busy city connections. The others don’t believe me for a moment, but it will get easier from now. Only one train per day. No tight connections.
Tomorrow, Berlin!
Tuesday 26 June 2007
Wednesday 20 June 2007
Tuesday 19 June 2007
Thursday 14 June 2007
What this is all about.
The longest rail journey from Bristol Temple Meads?
We all travel by train – but our destination is usually somewhere in the UK or, more rarely, in another European country. However, the track reaches much further, into Asia. The southern route, through Turkey and beyond, has become difficult for travel due to political and military issues. However, the route across Russia and into China, and beyond, is both accessible and relatively comfortable. Travelling to China presents few obstacles beyond the need to get tickets, visas, and dealing with the long stretches of train journey. The railway line to Tibet, opened less than a year ago, provides a tempting destination for travellers – however, access to Tibet is still regulated and tickets for this train are very hard to obtain. A group of three of us – a Bristol University professor and two medical doctors, is therefore setting off from Bristol Temple Meads at 09.30 on Wed 27 June, with the aim of travelling to Beijing – a distance of 10,893 km – and (if circumstances permit) to travel on the new line to Lhasa, arriving there at 20.58 on Fri 20 July. We are being joined in Germany by the fourth member of our party, an artist and teacher.
Why are we embarking on this month-long journey?
Travelling by train shows us what lies between our point of departure and the destination. People get on and off, the countryside changes, it’s possible to break the journey to visit places en route, and it becomes useful to learn at least the basics of the languages spoken by fellow travellers. We shall be stopping in Germany and Poland on our way to Moscow. Several of us have family ties to those countries, and speak their languages. Russia presents a bigger challenge – but it’s worth having a go, particularly in the dining car in which fellow travellers are keen to engage in conversation to while away the days. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the world’s largest lake by volume, and Olkhon Island, on the lake, is said to be exceptionally beautiful and worth breaking the journey for. In contrast to its serene beauty, we arrive in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, at the beginning of the festival of Naadam, an ancient “Olympics” with three sports: horse-racing, archery, and wrestling. And so to Beijing, where we are due to arrive at 14.31 on Sun 15 July, to see this powerhouse of a city and to try to get tickets for the Tibet train. We shall try to learn enough Chinese en route to manage at least the basics of these tasks. In Tibet, the track finally runs out after having covered 14,947 km from Bristol. We continue through the Himalayas by jeep, past the Tibetan Mount Everest base camp, finally reaching Kathmandu in Nepal, and a return to UK by air.
All this variety of vistas, conversations, surprises, and insights into related cultures is not accessible to air travellers. The train, a 19th century invention, still has a major role to play in the 21st century.
Tom T
We all travel by train – but our destination is usually somewhere in the UK or, more rarely, in another European country. However, the track reaches much further, into Asia. The southern route, through Turkey and beyond, has become difficult for travel due to political and military issues. However, the route across Russia and into China, and beyond, is both accessible and relatively comfortable. Travelling to China presents few obstacles beyond the need to get tickets, visas, and dealing with the long stretches of train journey. The railway line to Tibet, opened less than a year ago, provides a tempting destination for travellers – however, access to Tibet is still regulated and tickets for this train are very hard to obtain. A group of three of us – a Bristol University professor and two medical doctors, is therefore setting off from Bristol Temple Meads at 09.30 on Wed 27 June, with the aim of travelling to Beijing – a distance of 10,893 km – and (if circumstances permit) to travel on the new line to Lhasa, arriving there at 20.58 on Fri 20 July. We are being joined in Germany by the fourth member of our party, an artist and teacher.
Why are we embarking on this month-long journey?
Travelling by train shows us what lies between our point of departure and the destination. People get on and off, the countryside changes, it’s possible to break the journey to visit places en route, and it becomes useful to learn at least the basics of the languages spoken by fellow travellers. We shall be stopping in Germany and Poland on our way to Moscow. Several of us have family ties to those countries, and speak their languages. Russia presents a bigger challenge – but it’s worth having a go, particularly in the dining car in which fellow travellers are keen to engage in conversation to while away the days. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the world’s largest lake by volume, and Olkhon Island, on the lake, is said to be exceptionally beautiful and worth breaking the journey for. In contrast to its serene beauty, we arrive in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, at the beginning of the festival of Naadam, an ancient “Olympics” with three sports: horse-racing, archery, and wrestling. And so to Beijing, where we are due to arrive at 14.31 on Sun 15 July, to see this powerhouse of a city and to try to get tickets for the Tibet train. We shall try to learn enough Chinese en route to manage at least the basics of these tasks. In Tibet, the track finally runs out after having covered 14,947 km from Bristol. We continue through the Himalayas by jeep, past the Tibetan Mount Everest base camp, finally reaching Kathmandu in Nepal, and a return to UK by air.
All this variety of vistas, conversations, surprises, and insights into related cultures is not accessible to air travellers. The train, a 19th century invention, still has a major role to play in the 21st century.
Tom T
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