Blogs from Europe - page 14473

The train was so late arriving at the Italian border that they refused to let it continue. Who the hell are they to criticise? We all had to pile off the train and wait for a connecting train to Venice. What arrived was a standard commuter train, which was full before we all got on it. This confused me as, according to my diary, it was a Saturday. As-per-usual, all the Italians were immaculate, and they were very unimpressed by all us scruffy (and by this point probably very smelly) Inter-railers. It was all right for them, as they hadn't just spent the night in the corridor of a grotty Yugoslavian train. Mind you, knowing the Italians, they would still look pristine. Some pratt in an army uniform was obviously taking the mickey, much to the ... read more

"Where the hell is Alexandroupoli?" I hear you ask, "and why would anyone want to go there?" I haven't got a clue and they wouldn't, but we had to change trains there. Of course our train was late arriving. Our connecting train had, presumably, also been late, but would have made sure that it had left before we arrived, so we had to spend a day in this armpit of a place. We went for something to eat. The prices advertised were not what we were charged and we had to get in a huge argument with the guy in charge who, like everyone, hated tourists. We couldn't fault the quality of his food however. We found the sea, planning on a swim, but with all the pollution floating in the water, a swim was out ... read more

The port was a lot further than I had remembered it in the taxi. Not only that, but all the signs were in the cryptic Greek giberish and I was never entirely sure whether I was going in the right direction. It wasn't long, however, until some Greek blokes on mopeds took pity on me and gave me a lift. My backpack made it very unsteady, but any worry about that was more than made up for by gratitude for the lift. Not that it mattered any more, but I was on the right road. I should have had more faith in my natural sense of direction, although it has let me down frequently and it was probably more luck than judgement. The port was lined with sleeping back-packers, so I find a space and joined ... read more

On the train south to Brindisi, I met four people from Finland - two blokes and two girls - who were heading for Corfu and let me tag along with them. When we arrived, it was some time before the ferry left, so we all got the bus to the beach to catch some rays. This also gave me a good chance to dry those clothes that I had washed in Florence. The Finish girls weren’t shy and they had their tops off before we had even sat down. We got on the ferry about three hours before it was due to leave, which was handy as it soon got very crowded. It cost extra to be allowed to sleep in the boat, so we all ended up on the top deck. It was actually very ... read more

The train to Pisa was only an hour or so from Florence so I was able to go there for an afternoon and then go back and take advantage of the free campsite again. Once there I needed to get a bus to where the leaning tower was. No problems working out which bus to get, just follow the crowds. Pisa only has its one tourist attraction, but there were enough people there to fill an entire city. Getting a glance at the tower was next to impossible, let alone a photograph that didn’t have the back of someone’s head in. I persisted. There were also a couple of large church buildings on the same site, which were worth looking round, and were in the same style as the tower. Someone who had been inter-railing a ... read more