Taking the night train from Prague to Krakow was certainly an experience! You have to reserve what’s called a ‘couchette’, which is basically when the compartments to seat 6 people are converted into four beds. It’s like a bunk bed each side with a tiny walkway down the middle. The train itself looked like some old rusted Slavic freight train, with the steel-framed windows that pull down to half way so you can lean out of them, and doors in the main walkway and sleeping compartments with horizontal metal bars across – so you feel like you’re in a strange horizontal prison for the night. The ‘bathroom’ is entirely avocado green plastic from top to bottom, apart from some rusted pipes under the toilet, and has no running water (at least that I could find!). The ... read more

I am writing this blog on a train from Schwandorf in Germany, going to Prague. This train has compartments to sit 6 people rather than rows of seats. It’s like the Hogwarts Express!....and I very much hope there’s a trolley lady I can buy chocolate frogs from! After my trip to Bacharach, I went to see my friend Anna and her partner Joseph who live in Heilbronn, and who kindly offered to put me up for a few nights. It took a couple of trains to get there, going from Bacharach to Mainz; Mainz to Mannheim; and Mannheim to Heilbronn, but I finally arrived. Anna and I had a nice dinner and catch up by the Neckarsulm river before catching a bus back to her apartment. Anna is fluent in German (and French) so catching buses ... read more

So after my last blog, I decided to walk back into the city centre of Bruges and climb the bell tower. I paid the 10 Euros and started up the spiral staircase on the marble stairs. So far so good! As I carried on climbing the stairs got more and more narrow, and kept changing materials between wood, marble, and stone. There was only one staircase for people climbing up and down, so there was a lot of squeezing past other people while trying not to slip on your arse! There were a few platforms you could stop at to catch your breath, and read something historic about the tower. The way up was comparatively fine until about two thirds of the way up, when the staircase became TINY!! The steps were about 6 inches wide ... read more