traintraveller

Pictures attached Reached home yesterday evening after a 27 hours trip by ferry and train from the cold Shetland islands via London and Brussel. Back home and thinking already a bit for next year train/ferry trip. Unfortunately the situation in Arab region changed a lot this year and I not even plan it for next year. The islands were great except the cold .For next year the trip might be as follows: Via Germany to Poland, crossing the Baltic States crossing to Helsinki, via Stockholm to Norway and starting with ferries in Bergen, first to Shetland after that Faroe islands and than also by ferry to Iceland enetering Iceland probably on the wrong side and moving to Reykjavic and fly back, Have to do quite some planning still. This time the trip was short and cold ... read more

White Wife is the name of the most populair Shetland beer brewed by the Valhalla brewery. Tatstes good. This morning July 28th I started with Allen the second day trip. This time fully booked with 8 passengers and we left early morning for the most northern island of the Shetlands Unst, On our way we had to take two ferries , each about 10 minutes. Untill 13.00 hours it was raining but later the wind came and it became dry and sunny. But so cold. Great views again . Walking about beaches and hills. In the end we saw the most nordren island of UK. A small spot in see just 200m from the northern point of Unst. Came back at 18.30 and Allen dropped me at the museum restaurant where he had made a reservation ... read more

Arrived sunday july 24th in Inverness with the coach from Fort William. Weather was speldid and I made a long walk along the river Ness.Guesthouse Ardconnel is a small 6 rooms guest house. Beautiful interior but rather small room and they need to invest some in matrasses. Kind people. On monday I went on a long daytour, 14 hours, to Orkney Islands. First 2,5 hours by coach, than you reach John O Groats where the ferry to Orkney just arrived. John O Groats started his live as dutch Jan de Groot.. On that spot you can see also the last house of Scotland and the distance to London will be about 1000 km from there. The day was cold,real cold, with some rain in the morning. The ferry to Orkney only takes about 45 minutes and ... read more

Had made a reservation in the restaurant of the Alexandra Hotel where I stayed a few years ago. First I took half pint Foster for the waiter saaid they don t have bad scottish beer and Foster, Australian, brewed in Glasgow, is the best. probably he means the margin. The glas was special with the text Half Pint CE MO9. This means that one of the certifying companies started to make standards for beerglasses. Certainly a good business for a thing you don t have to do. Than I ordered an Ovenbaked pie case with char grilled fillet stonaway black pudding & marmelade with mashed potato cake. I dont know what s inside the Black Pudding and perhaps better keep it that way. Food was not bad and there was life music An old couple, really ... read more

Yesterday July 20th early train again .The 7.35 from Conolly Dublin to Belfast,in Belfast the ferry to Scotland and there a connecting train to Glasgow central. Arrived at Maclays Guesthouse end of the afternoon. The Guesthouse is quite big , 6 connecting houses with about 60 rooms.Found out during breakfast that I increase the average age by approx 1 Year to probably 24 years. However it s quiet but unfortunately no beer. In the center is a shop showing old sewingmachines of the type my mother used 50 years ago. A quick count, about 1000 on display. Took the hop on hop off sightseeing tour this morning and saved £ 2.-- by being a sr. Went in the afternoon to New Lanark about 1 hour from Glasgow. And again a saving of £ 1,50 by being ... read more

At monday 18th of July the nightporter made an early simple breakfast . After that I went to Heuston station for the irishrailtour to the west of Ireland.First by train to Galway. Met in the train Jennifer, a korean american lady with her kind of boyfriend Bob. Jennifer works for a lobby firm and earned the trip to Ireland as bonus, She says her work is helping politicians and companies. Bob says her work is selling favors. Bob is chef and coooks probably for the same people as she is working for.. They still both had the problem of jetlag and Jennifer seeing the cowas laying down in the meadows, yes the cows in Ireland do a lot of laying down, she wished to become a cow so she could sleep all day. I told her ... read more