Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmperez/

5 of the Best Holidays by Steam Train

For the real rail enthusiast there can be no better travel experience than to travel by steam train. Once the heart and soul of travel around the world, today, steam trains are only used for leisure travel, often taking in some of the most scenic and awe-inspiring routes around.

Here Great Rail Journeys highlights five of the best destinations to discover via steam train.

The Netherlands by Steam Train

With a rich history and an abundance of cultural and historical sights to enjoy, travelling through the Netherlands via steam train can be a great experience. As well as the option to arrive in historic Amsterdam via steam train, another popular route to explore is to take a steam train from Hoorn to Medemblik. The village of Hoorn is delightfully picturesque and the train will journey through the the Westfrisian countryside to Medemblik. A must for all steam train fans is a visit to the Hoorn Steam Train Museum, where restoration work on a number of steam trains is constantly underway.

Medemblik Windmill, pic: www.flickr.com/photos/dmperez

Scotland by Steam Train

There can be few more amazing places to board a steam train than the Highlands of Scotland. An area of exceptional beauty, steam travel gives travellers the ability to step back in time. One of the best routes to take is on the Jacobite Steam Train between Fort William and Mallaig.

Fort William is a delightful spot to start your exploration before travelling along Loch Linnhe and over the spectacular Glenfinnan Viaduct. This steam train route has everything – mountains, lakes, sea views and spectacular feats of railway engineering. What more could a railway enthusiast want?

Germany by Steam Train

Germany may not be the first place that springs to mind when it comes to steam train holidays but the country has some of the most spectacular scenery in Europe – and is well worth exploring by rail.

A great area to explore is Saxony. Travel along the Fichtelberg Mountain Steam Railway from Cranzahl in the Ore Mountains and see the steam train pull high into the mountains. While you are in the area exploring the exciting city of Dresden is certainly recommended too.

Devon by Steam Train

Another spectacularly beautiful destination to explore by steam train is the West of England, Devon and Cornwall particularly. An exciting itinerary that should leave you plenty of time to explore both the quaint towns and beautiful scenery of this impressive English county starts in the seaside town of Torquay before travelling via the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway along the 6.5km Paignton and Kingswear branch line: spectacular views of the Torbay coastline are guaranteed.

Belgium by Steam Train

A must for all serious railway enthusiasts is the Three Valleys Steam Railway, a 35 minute steam-train journey between Mariembourg and Treignes. A great location for a short break a visit to Belgium is never complete without of course a visit to the beautiful medieval city of Bruges or the interesting capital Brussels: and as an added bonus for real railway fans it is all within reach from the UK aboard the ultra-modern Eurostar.

This post was sponsored by Great Rail Journeys.

List posts eh, who needs ‘em? Hope you enjoy my twist on the top one reasons to visit the Dalmatian city of Zadar.

You really only need one reason to visit Zadar and that’s the Sea Organ.

One of the world’s most extraordinary pieces of public art doubles up as an ambient musical instrument. Designed by Nicola Basic and opened in 2005 as part of the project to re-generate the Riva, the Sea Organ is a system of 35 vertical pipes which have been built into the steps on the promenade and are ‘played’ by the motion of the rolling waves and wind from the Adriatic Sea.

Its harmonious sound is constantly changing in volume and tone, its subtle evolutions and repetitions of phrases bringing to mind what might happen if you put Karlheniz Stockhausen and Philip Glass in a mermaid’s cave under the sea. Or perhaps an Octopus’ Garden. And forgot to invite Ringo Starr. It is fascinating, beautiful and mesmeric. There is nothing similar in the world. The Sea Organ that is, not Ringo Starr.

Here’s a brief sound clip of it in action.

Alfred Hitchcock apparently rated Zadar’s sunset as ‘the most beautiful in the world’ and he probably wasn’t too far off-beam (no doubt there are many other worthy contenders, but well, he was from Leytonstone), so prepare for crowds if you come to see it at dusk.

Come back after dark though and you can also witness the Zadar Sun Salutation Lightshow in action. Just a little way along the promenade from the Sea Organ, it was part of the same regeneration project. It’s a solar-powered disc, illuminated by hundreds of lights which flash and constantly change colour through the night. Very popular with young, skipping whippersnappers and acolytes of Saturday Night Fever.

Oh, you want more do you? You ungrateful swines. Alright then, here are a few extra tasty morsels. They are extra, not ‘extra tasty.’ As in you have to pay extra to read them. I told you were ungrateful swines.

1. Churches, and lots of ‘em!

Zadar as a lot of churches. No, this didn’t impressa me much either – and nowhere near as much as our tour guide clearly hoped it would – but you can’t miss the rather fine, rounded 9th Century example of St Donat’s Church. It’s built on the remains of  the Roman Forum, where you can still see the drains where the blood of animal sacrifices once flowed and the notches on the columns, from which prisoners were manacled and flogged.

1. Ice Cream!

Now you’re talking. Ice Cream, or slastičarnica as the Croats memorably call it, is like honey to a bee as far as Zadanistrans (is that what they’re called? Possibly not) are concerned. Whatever you call it, everyone’s eating it everywhere, all the time. Reputedly the best place to go for an apres dinner gelato (sorry slastičarnica) is Donat’s, where you can expect to queue. Make sure you ask for one with Slag, which means cream. No wonder they call it slastičarnica.

1. Shiny Floors!

The Old Town streets are made from strikingly polished, pastel coloured marble, reminiscent of parts of Venice in places. Unsurprising perhaps, since the city was under Venetian rule for centuries. OK, maybe not something you’ll find flagged up in the guidebook admittedly, but it gives the city a cheery, clean sheen and anyway I only promised one reason, remember?

1. The Boat-ride Men of Zadar!

Sounds quite sinister doesn’t it? Or like a name for a particularly interminable, noodley 70s Prog Rock band.

Sadly it’s neither. They’ve just decided to erect a sign pointing you to the long line of ferry boatmen plying for tourist trade along the marina, which brings to mind David Shrigley’s sign for the Glasgow Armadillo.

1. Total lack of Reverence for Old Shit

If a building appears to be centuries old, intricate or beautiful, you can bet your pickled anchovies that it will have a load of graffiti scrawled all over it. Children frolic merrily among Roman ruins.

Most tellingly perhaps, the city’s oldest church, St Lovro, has been turned into a swanky, glass fronted coffee shop. In fairness it was also the site of the city’s oldest cafe. The square outside is a pleasant place to watch the lizards hogging the lamplight while you enjoy a shot of the local brew, the viscous and very sweet, transparent cherry liquer Maraschino.

1. Folk Singing

Group of waistcoated and cravatted men gather in pedestrianised areas, armed with accordions and their vocal chords to belt out fairly sentimental, but rather stirring, traditional folk songs. The style of song has a distinctly Italian flavour about it, but as with the food, you’re not supposed to say that…

And now for the BIG FINISH folks

1. It sounds like ta-daa!

Getting to Zadar by Train

You can reach Zadar (and Split) by train by going on a very scenic route from Zagreb, changing at Knin. The daytime train takes around 6 hours and there’s also an overnight sleeper. Zagreb itself is reached via Paris and Munich from the west, or by direct trains from Budapest and Belgrade. The ever-reliable Seat61 has full info on routes and prices, while this site provides a useful railway map of Croatia.

Thanks

I visited Zadar as part of a week-long cruise with Katarina Cruise Lines.  My journey started in the interesting, if industrial, city of Rijeka and nearby coastal resort Opatija, taking in the islands of Rab, Krk, Cres, Losinj and Molat. It’s a great way to see this part of Croatia, which has not yet completely succumbed to the lure of the tourist buck.

Image: Mikey Ashworth

There’s been a fair bit of fuss this week about the new service Google Maps has hatched with train ticket re-seller the Trainline, enabling people to map British train journeys with accurate timetables and route mapping. Obviously it’s a great idea (what took them so long anyway?), motivated in part by the London 2012 Olympics, and on the face of it seems like a no-brainer, but well, even the most cursory dabble with it will show you that as it stands, it’s not without its flaws…

Familiarity breeds comfort

First up, the good stuff. The interface is delivered with typical googlesque cleanliness and precision. We all know where we are with google maps by now after all, if it ain’t done broke etc…

View Larger Map

So how do you use it?

When you go to the standard google maps search screen and click Get Directions between your two points (including your specific location if you like, or just the nearest town) you’ll notice three little icons right below the search box which are obviously markers for train, driving or travelling on foot.

Route choices

Click on the little choo-choo, enter your date and time of travel if you like, and you instantly get a number of suggested routes delivered below. It’s certainly quicker and easier to use than trying to fathom one of the  many third-party booking sites and TOC sites currently available in the UK, that’s for sure, especially if you’re not from round these parts.

It gives you step-by-step directions for each leg of your journey, including walking time where changing, duration of each journey leg, total journey time and connections with other modes of public transport, indicated by their respective icons (Tube, bus etc).

Trainline again or…?

Below the respective route results there’s a section titled local agency information. This provides links to the individual operating companies running these routes…or does it?  When I searched for Edinburgh to Bath I got 3 TOC route links, but all of them sent them to the Trainline. And not for that specific journey result either, just their homepage. So there’s something which could do with a tweak right there.

Unless of course this is but a deliberate and sneaky ploy to tie you in to using the trainline. Shurely shome mihstake Scherlock? If that’s the case then at least they might click straight through to the route you’ve specified, rather than making do all that tiresome typing again. (I don’t know about you, but my stubby little fingers are practically worn down to useless, gummy stumps, what with all this tappy tippy tip tap malarkey I am forced to do to earn a crust.) And of course TL is not the cheapest way to book UK train tickets online. Your route operators are always ( ‘should that be usually?’ legal ed) going to be cheaper…

Pasty lovers rejoice!

Perhaps the best thing about it though (other than the simple fact that it is actually embedded in google maps, so you don’t need to ferret about on other sites to check your basic routes) is the map itself, which could not be clearer. That sweet little train icon pops up as clear as a red nose on a clown at the connecting point, showing you where you need to change trains.

Clicking on it brings up a box, even reminding you exactly how long you have to make your connection. Sales of Ginster’s pasties and damp, squished blueberry muffins are set to shoot through the roof at depressing stations across the land!

Bad mapping

I’m constantly agog at just how badly some rail sites (even massive national and international ones) handle their route mapping online. PDFs that you have to manipulate, zoom into or squint at, maps which just display it as the crow flies giving you little actual info about the route and where it stops, messy, overly complicated maps which look like someone has just scanned in the closest Ordnance Survey map they happen to have to hand, scribbled on with a dog-chewed biro, the list goes on and so do I.

Looking good

So, anyway, kudos to the project team for getting that all-important, ‘where am I going again?’ at a glance bit spot on. You can also filter it by 3 options: best route, less walking (if you happen to be rotund and lazy, like me) and fewer transfers.

But not always working so good…

Of course I’ve only played with my new toy a little so far (I don’t want to spoil the fun or I’ll have nothing to look forward to come Christmas) but the second search I did didn’t seem to work. It was from Edinburgh to Bristol, so not exactly a logistical conundrum I’m sure you’ll agree. I even made sure I’d chosen a journey time when the trains would definitely be running, cos I’m nice like that. And here’s the message I got:

Now, in the unlikely event that you’re still reading, you might think I’m just griping for the sake of it, but here’s the thing. This all looks like a quiet revolution in accessible online rail info, and in the wider context of what we’ve had to put up with maybe it is, but it’s been done before and on a far larger scale.

Enter Rome2Rio, a multi modal mapping site, also built on our trusty google maps, but for the WHOLE…WIDE…WORLD. A small team of software developers in the Australian outback (or possibly a city) have been quietly burrowing away at this site for at least a year and while it’s not yet perfect either, (it’s not obvious to see, for example how to tackle major overland journeys with it, creating a bias towards flying) it is pretty darn impressive, given the heap of complexities they no doubt have to contend with.

The site lets you plot your journey on the map, while also comparing the various modes of transport: rail, air, car – in terms of price, journey time and of course CO2 impact. And it is just as easy to on the eye and on the brain as most flight comparison sites. That’s got to be the clincher in my book. The day that international train travel is both as easy to book and inexpensive as flying is the day we can say ‘so long and thanks for all the pish’ to Mr Michael O’Leary and his brethren.

There’s a few decent multi-modal transport sites which cater well to those looking at rail, overland or flightless travel, and I include a few in that round-up post from way back when.

So there you have it. The Trainline have proved that they’re not just there to annoy us with the cheesiest adverts since the Gold Blend couple bagged the Dairylea contract, but instead have knocked their clammy little heads together with the google drones to make something genuinely useful, at a  time when literally billions of Johnny Foreigners will be flocking to our shores, with their fancy pastel mohair jumpers slung casually around their sickeningly tanned shoulders like they really couldn’t care just how chilly it actually is during British Summertime, to watch a group of grown men and women see how far they can throw a pointy stick.

But they ain’t the first and I hope they won’t be the last. Go Team GB!

The following post is published in association with Direct Travel.

While expanding travel trends have seen increased interest in low-price exotic beach holidays to far-flung places like Zanzibar, the Maldives and Indian Ocean islands, the statistics nevertheless remind us that the world’s most popular tourist destinations are still in Europe.

France and Italy remain the two most visited countries in the world – thanks in part to millennia of documented history and their former domination of world markets, alongside beautiful countryside and iconic cities such as Paris and Rome.

Indeed, for every long-haul flight to Thailand or Malaysia, a canny traveler would do well to remember what an amazing time can be had with a rucksack, some backpacker travel insurance for security, and an Interrail pass across Europe.

With high speed connections becoming more and more de rigeur, with networks connecting Paris and Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid and Milan, it is possible to enjoy a varied tour of some of Western Europe’s most famous locations in a short period of time.

Travellers who would have splashed out on luxury can instead spend a little money reserving sleeper cars and taking overnight trains, with the promise of waking up in a hazy dawn in one of the continent’s capitals.

Perhaps even more convincing, however, are the connections which rail travel provides to Eastern and formerly less accessible countries. Younger travelers and backpackers can eschew the conventional cities for an exploration of Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia.

The advantage to choosing rail options is also the flexibility of travel. Not only do many Interrail passes also offer discounts (or even full coverage) of boats and connections across water (especially useful for travel to Morocco from Spain, or up to Denmark and Sweden from Germany), they also allow you to choose when you travel, allowing space for surprises, last minute changes of plans, and the plans of new found friends.

It’s funny how we associate places with our heroes. When I got the chance to visit Louisville, Kentucky last year I jumped at it. Mainly because it’s the hometown of musical idols My Morning Jacket. The country rock band have a reasonable following stateside but are only just gaining airplay and acknowledgement in the UK with thier 6th album released last year.  Even though I didn’t get time to pursue the full pilgrimage I had in mind, walking the same hallowed streets felty quietly special to me, imbuing every song lyric with fresh meaning.

Apart from a certain fried chicken magnate and one of America’s premier sporting events, the Kentucky Derby, Louisville doesn’t offer up too many other claims to fame.

Ali at 70

The city’s best known living son is probably Muhammad Ali, who turns 70 today. I confess I’ve never held a great fascination with Ali, or for boxing in general, but the museum created in honour of the icnoic champ certainly packs a punch and had me walking away with plenty of admiration for the man.

Opened in 2005, the Muhammed Ali Center pays an impressive tribute to Ali who despite being three times World Heavyweight Champion, is now sadly ravaged by Parkinson’s Disease and seems to belong as a fond memory in our imagination and the sporting annals.

The Center tells Ali’s story with no small measure of flair and a suitably animated range of techniques, while also reflecting on a time of some social upheaval. And if you don’t care for boxing, well it doesn’t really matter since the museum is much more concerned with Ali the man, than the fighter.

Defining Moments

One panel displays the childhood bike that was stolen from him aged 8 and the policeman who befriended him and suggested he take up boxing lessons to help him stand up for himself. Another recreates the 1960s lunch counter where in racially segregated America he was forbidden entrance, along with all fellow black Americans, despite his standing as a national icon.

From the stairwell you can look out onto the swelling Ohio River, in which Ali was rumoured to have thrown his Olympic Gold Medal in protest at the divided country he had come home to. Ali’s growing political consciousness – and eventual activism – in the 60s and 70s is highlighted, showing how he frequently used his fame to speak out about racial inequality and the Vietnam War. His more recent years as a philanthropist are also covered.

Alongside the vast collection of photos, posters and memrobillia, such as his lavishly decoarted robe, are Ali’s own sketches and poetry which remind you what made him a truly memorable figure, beyond his obvious sporting prowess – his great wit, charisma, way with words and creative spark.

Film Footage

And of course there is liberal use of film footage which established his reputation as a legendary orator and performer across the globe, both in and out of the ring. The pre and post fight interviews and numerous chat show appearances are given pride of place, with the full footage of ‘the Rumble in the Jungle’, Ali’s famous 1974 comeback bout with George Foreman, dramatically projected onto the canvass floor of a specially constructed boxing ring which you look down on from above.

Get in the Ring

Good use is made of fun interactives too. You can try your hand on the punchbag (nowhere near as easy as it looks!), step into the ring to try on the training weights and punchbag for size and even pit yourself against a virtual Ali, as a projection of his weaving shadow toys with you and tests your reactions.

A basement floor is given over to visual art inspired by the great man while a surprisingly large chunk of the space is dedicated to Ali’s spiritual beliefs, which these days, rather than being pegged to the staunch Islamism he is famously associated with, are defined as being free from any one particular religion, promoting instead ‘a journey of love, truth, peace and understanding.’ Interestingly though the museum does not shy away from showing some of the less palatable views Ali subscribed to, such as his male chauvinism.

A Premature Memorial?

One of the last panels includes a recent statement from Ali. In this he says that he doesn’t feel sorry for himself and wants no one else to feel sorry for him, but ultimately it is hard to shake off the feeling that the museum has made a powerful memorial to a man who is still with us, even if not entirely as he is remembered in his prime.

Ali once said, ‘Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep insde them: a desire, a dream, a vision.’  This knock out museum champions its subject with palpable vision and is bound to inspire awe for Ali and his manifest greatness.

I’m grateful to the Kentucky Tourist Board who hosted me on this trip in April 2011.

If you are responsible for booking the business trips for your company then you will also be charged with making sure that you get the best value for money so that you keep in line with any cost savings that your company is trying to implement at the moment.

The best way that you can go about this is to make sure that you keep the costs of the trip’s bolt ons to an absolute minimum. This means things like taxis to the airport, private cars to pick clients and colleagues up from their houses, the cheapest possible train fares that you can find or a stress-free stay in an airport hotel before a flight … sometimes all of this is easier said than done.

In order to keep your booking of the business trips as efficient as possible then you will need to make sure that you centralise all of your bookings and if possible go through one particular travel website.

This is where companies like Holiday Extras come in; we cater for business travellers as well as those people who are traveling for pleasure. Our website is really easy to navigate and offers some great tips and ways to keep your costs down, this, alongside the huge number of customer reviews that have been left by the people who have used services like this before, makes it a really good way to make an informed choice about which services to book.

If you are planning a business trip for you or one of your colleagues and you need to look into airport parking (if they are making their own way to the airport) or train fares, then you will be able to find links to a comprehensive booking service on the Holiday Extra website.

Whether you are looking for a relaxing stay for your colleagues at one of the many airport hotels  dotted around the country, the cheapest train fare from Edinburgh to Gatwick airport, parking at Luton Airport or Gatwick parking then you’ll find a good choice of services to choose from.

For more information log on to Holiday Extras’ website where you will be also be able to book airport hotels as well as public transport to the airport of your choice if you are not going to be using the roads to get to the airport.

Pity poor Winnipeg. Even weather-hardened Canadians call it Winterpeg. In terms of its position on the Trans Canadian rail  map, the city has an uneviable challenge to live up to. It’s the half way point on Via Rail’s Canadian route, it’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, between Toronto and Vancouver, two dizzyingly vibrant Canadian cities while being the only major port of civilisation after miles of Ontarian Canadian Shield cragged wilderness and endless Prairie farmland.

It’s also the point where the train decamps to change crews, meaning that Via Rail passengers travelling beyond it get the chance to spend a few hours there. Now obviously this was all the time I had to explore myself and I fully accept that I probably skated the most cursory skim of the city’s surface, but let’s face it, first impressions count and first impressions are not great.

There’ s a heck of a lot of beigey/grey 60s & 70s concrete to take in, drab chain hotels and industrial sprawl. Whereas most Canadian cities have built extensive underground PATH systems to enable locals to ferret about in all weathers, Winnipeg has bizzarrely opted for an overground walkway system. The wide streets at 9am on a weekday were deserted, save for the odd forebodingly fast truck. Crossing the road was a military exercise. There were few faces about, most of them looked weatherbeaten, pinched and downtrodden. This was mid September but there was precious little evidence of fall colours abounding.  Even the air seemed a shade of grey.

Cow poo fills my nostrils as I venture out along Broadway. I spy the familiar Mansard roof of the Fairmont and wish I was inside succumbing to its comforts. A walk along the river seems like a good idea but it’s looking a little shut, as does the city in general at this time of day. I spy a series of inauspicious visual cues and can’t resist the temptation to capture them as snarky souvenirs…

Things to do in Winnipeg?

Attracted by some musical noise I head over a stretch of greenery towards a hideous construction reminsicnent of a giant, nightmarish climbing frame. It appears to be a new museum in the making: the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

It’s Canada’s first national musuem in 40 years. Apparently it is overbudget and with its planned opening date in serious doubt. Maybe it will do a  fine job of asserting the city’s cultural clout and will be as striking and handosme as Edmonton’s Alberta Art Gallery, but it’s something of an unavoidabale eyesore at this stage.

Anyway, back to the source of hubbub which dragged me over this way in the first place. I get closer and see a stage and the familiar smell of hotdogs and candy floss wafts over. It appears to be some sort of festival. There are a few hundred families camped out on the damp grass.

Once in earshot of the stage and its echoy microphone I see a grown man comparing proceedings with a muppet like puppet on his lap. It’s evidently an evangelical Christian pow-wow and it is deeply creepy. Our MC gabbing on in a squeaky voice about how ‘he really likes girls, but the nice girls only like boys who say no to drugs and yes to Jesus.’

Eventually I shudder my way towards Forks Market, the one and only Winnipeg recommendation my train guards had to give me. Things immediately begin to look up. It sits in the station’s old rail yard, so a number of old railcars have been very sweetly refurbished to host candy shops, gift shops and craft shops. There’s a large marquee hung from that bright, multicoloured tubular steel so popular with 1980s shopping centre town planners.

Admittedly Forks Market is no Jean Talon, but despite its modest size it serves a potent reminder of just how multi cultural a place Canada is. Alongside rumble inducing organic bakeries and praternaturally wholesome looking fruit n veg stands I find Ukranian, Costa Rican and Chilean food outlets. I check these out and weigh up ordering a plate of looney cakes, which I’m sorely tempted to try for the name alone, I opt instead for a simple, artery-hardening Pan Scrambler at Danny’s All Day Breakfast bar.

A slightly half hearted Winne the Pooh effigy takes pride of place in the barn’s rafters. The legend has it that Winnipeg inspired the naming of AA Milne’s beloved bear, in a round about fashion. Milne’s son Christopher Robin named his teddy bear Winnie the Pooh after Winnipeg, the bear found  (actually in White River, Ontario) by a WW1 Canadian soldier and named after the soldier’s home town and later exported to London Zoo. Winnipeg also makes a claim for the inspiration behind James Bond but that’s another story and I spied no dangling 007 in Forks Market…

I look out onto Red River, today a definite mud brown, transfixed for a moment by flocks of Canada Geese vying for attention with the endless Mearsk shipping containers rumbling across the rail bridge and feel myself gradually warming to the place…a little.

On my way back from the park I am heartily impressed by the North Forks Celebration Circle in the Heritage Park,  a sizeable piece of public art-cum-cultural diorama, packed with interesting First Nations history and language. It’s like getting a compacted Canadian history lesson inside a giant stone carved compass. The scale of it seems to echo that of the vast country whose story it tells.

Deeper into downtown I snap a number of vintage wall adverts. I’m a sucker for Americana of this kind,  I know they’re widespread in many North American cities, but Winnipeg’s are striking and largely in tact.

There’s a crowd gathering on the street outside Aqua Books. I fail to find out exactly who they are queing for at 10.30am but am  impressed none the less with the locals’ devotion. Maybe you have to swoop on whatever cultural opps that come your way in Winnipeg. Further along the street a no bones about it spit n sawdust saloon, Tex Mex country music bar High & Lonesome also intrigues me and almost makes me wish I was here of an evening to check it out.

Eventually my time is up. It takes me almost ten minutes to cross the road back to Union Station, good job I resisted a final once around the block. When I get back home a helpful Canuck points me to this song, the Weakerthans’ One Great City, with its plangent chorus of ‘I Hate Winnipeg.’

I’m glad to say I don’t hate Winnipeg, but I’m also glad I only gave it half a day. Maybe next time it’ll win me over.

Now it’s your turn. So tell me Winterpeggers , what essential stuff did I miss ?

Supprter Message

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The Artesia Paris to Venice sleeper train was the first I’d taken, back in 2008.  Because of this perhaps, it was massively exciting. It was also a surprise romantic weekend break, a late anniversary present. A blissful stay in the Five Star Hotel Bauer Palladio, a converted convent on the Guidecca island with its own private motorboat shuttle, certainly helped make it a memorable trip and the journey itself was fun, but it wasn’t perfect.

The station was the problem. The Artesia departed from Gare de Paris Bercy, a little way out of the city centre, on the right bank of the Seine . I’m not sure what the station’s like now, but  it was a chaotic mess at the time. Large sections of it were sectioned off, appearing to be under going construction. We couldn’t find the  promised executive lounge or indeed anywhere to sit.

The station was massively crowded and seemed way too small to accommodate the passengers from its two Italy-bound sleeper services. Our platform attendant checking in and boarding passengers seemed a bit too shifty for the role, with his dodgy teeth and bright red leather biker’s jacket I almost took him for an opportunistic scammer.

The majority of the passengers, either Italian or French, looked as stone faced and bored as most London commuters. It may have been a mundane journey for them, but we were literally bouncing off the corridor walls with giddy excitement about the whole affair.  Our kindly Italian conductor made our beds ups shortly after boarding and by the time we were settled dinner was served.

The food itself was a little… odd.. School dinner-like pasta traybakes followed by some sort of marzipan tart.  But we enjoyed ourselves anyway, giggling as the wine bottle slide around our table at dinner, while we watched one passenger dilligently scoop up all the unclaimed dishes of parmesen cheese on other tables, for his own personal EU parmesan mountain.

Florian on board the Artesia sleeper train, Vallorbe

Our cabin was perfectly cosy, secure and well equipped and even though we missed most the Alpine scenery by shuttling through it in the darkness, there was still something thrilling about waking fitfully in the night to find yourself in France, then later Switzerland and Italy.

Introducing the Thello Sleeper

Anyway, all this is a bit of personal preamble to frame the news that the Artesia has been replaced with a new service, a joint venture between Trenitalia and international transport group Veolia Transdev, due to launch next week on December 11th.

Thello has a swish new site (a big improvement on Trenitalia’s previous lacklustre attempt) with a few nice images of the shared couchette cars and triple-bedded family cabins, which augers well for the service itself.

At the moment it’s in French only, but from a quick squizz even I could deduce that a single journey in a 6 bed couchette starts at a pocket pleasing 35 Euros including continental breakfast, while at the other end of the comfort scale a private cabin, with en suite toliet and shower, costs up to 145 euro per person. They offer tickets at 3 price levels.

I like the look of thier pillows, hope it’s not just some clever design trickery pokery…

The route itself remains unchanged:

Paris – Dijon – Milan – Brescia – Padova – Verona – Maestra – Venice

It departs Paris from the more central Gare de Lyon. The journey takes a little longer than Artesia’s, around 14 hours, leaving at 19.45 from Paris or 19.57 from Venice. Looks like a great way to chase some winter rays.Those wanting to travel overnight from Paris or Florence or Rome will have to hang on a while longer though, since this route isn’t scheduled to start until June 2012.

While its predeccessor held some happy memories for me, there was alaways scope for improvement. Here’s hoping that we can say hello Thello and wave goodbye to Artesia on a happy note.

Tried it out yet? Tell us how it was by leaving a comment below.

France Railpass: Don’t travel in France without it!

Eurail Italy Pass

Rail Europe: Specials & Promotions

With their endless, airless, grey corridors, miles of walking to get anywhere, over lit retail and credit card concessions staffed by garishly made up promotions people foisting their wares on you, airports don’t help matters. Especially massive, sprawling ones like London Heathrow, Paris Charles DeGualle or Amsterdam Schipol.

I don’t enjoy flying, but it’s become a necessary evil, since I occasionally get flown in and out of places I visit on press trips.  Recently en route to a trip to Bulgaria I found another reason to curse airports: the flagrant rip off that are hotel shuttle buses. I was staying overnight at the Heathrow Sheraton for an early morning flight to Sofia from Terminal 5 and so fell foul of one myself.

Even if we manage to shrug off the vexing business of the extortionate cost of airport rail transfer services (the Heathrow Express costs as much as £23 for a single journey if bought on board, while the Stansted Express is little better at £21 for a 45 minute journey) the shameless money wringing of weary, bleary eyed air travellers does not end there.

Heathrow has numerous airport hotels, many of which are actually a good 30 minute walk along a grim, pedestrian-free motorway from the terminal buildings. The solution? Coach operator National Express conveniently runs a series of Hotel Hoppa bus services from directly outside Terminal 5 which stops right outside each of the main hotels. Handy eh?

You might think so until you discover these cost an eye watering £4.50 (or £8 return) for a single 7 minute journey. Ok, so convenience has a price, so surely they run like clockwork? In fact they only run every half hour, with most making their last departure before midnight. And on top of it all mine was some 45 minutes late for some strange reason which the driver could not account for.

But there is an alternative.  What the signage at Heathrow T5 makes no obvious effort to point out is that London Regional Transport actually runs a series of free, familiar red London buses which also stop at the Sheraton, Park Inn and others. They run more regularly and take no longer. You just have to walk out of the terminal and round the corner a little to the perimetre roads to find the stop.

If you’ve just disembarked from a long haul journey and shuffled your way through the snaking passport control cattle queues (or battled your way past those annoying new machines which repeatedly tell you that you’re either too close to the eye scanner or too far, depending on what mood they’re in)  the chances are you’ll take the path to least resistance – and of course this is precisely what services like this are banking on.

Do a bit of research before you arrive though and you can save a few notes. Decide for yourself and look at the full range of options on this handy website. At least National Express runs a better value alternative to the Stansted Express. Coaches leave from Stansted direct to Stratford tube station (and on to Liverpool St)  in 45 minutes from £8.50 one way or £15 return.

None of this is likely to rival the more enjoyable experience of travelling by train but it may just make the whole sorry business of flying a little more bearable.

Rail Europe: Specials & Promotions

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