Day 15: The downside of train travel
When I woke this morning it all seemed so simple. I'd get to Amsterdam Centraal station in plenty of time then travel to Berlin in comfort with one train change at Duisdorf. Simple, yes? I got to the station early as planned but my train wasn't showing on the board. So I went to the information desk and asked the gentleman about my train. His first comment was "you have a long journey ahead of you". I thought Berlin was quite a long way so I smiled and agreed "yes". Then the kind man proceeded to explain that, due to work on the tracks, trains from Germany were stopping at the border and not Amsterdam. He then proceeded to very kindly write down where I needed to go ...
I realised what he had meant. OK. I can manage that. Problem was that the first train was running 10 minutes late which meant I missed the second train and was stuck at Hilvensum. Looking at the timetable I'd have to wait at least an hour for the next train to Deventer.
Also studying the timetable was a woman I recognized from the station in Amsterdam. She had luggage so I plucked the courage to ask her if she was going to Berlin. She wasn't. But her English was excellent and she told me we were headed the same direction. When the next train headed vaguely in the right direction arrived she spoke to the conductor and worked out a quicker route with a couple more changes. That all worked and I ended up at Deventer for the next part of the adventure and had a really lovely chat with the woman. She was heading to a hiking trail for the weekend.
When I asked at the station the man told me I'd have to catch this bus then change at ... and then at ... and then at ... to get to the next stop and I could feel myself crumbling inside when a woman said "no, just wait until the next bus direct to Bad Bentheim". I have to admit the place name sounds ominous but I liked her advice and waited for that bus. It arrived and an hour later we crossed the border into Germany and arrived at Bad Bentheim (which, for the record, didn't look all that bad at all).
There was a train waiting but not the one I was booked on. The person at the station was a bit confused about my ticket but told me to just get on board. I did so and the train took me to Hanover. They told me I could change there for Berlin. When I got to Hanover there was a short moment of confusion where I met some other equally confused travelers to Berlin. Finally I got onto the Berlin train, in first class where my ticket had been and was able to treat myself to a refreshment.
That train took me all the way to Berlin!
But along the way I still got to see and enjoy lots of interesting scenery. I was surprised how much open space there is between cities in Holland and Germany.
It's been a hell of a day, but still lots of fun. I'm impressed with myself at how calmly I handled it all. Will tell you about where I'm staying in Berlin next time. For now I need to decide whether to go out, or fall into bed!