The way we travel is hard work. Not 'poor us' kind of hard work but 'uncertain, physically exhausting, overwhelming, satisfying when it's over' kind of hard work. We don't make too many plans in advance, which gives us maximum flexibility, but it also means that we're constantly working on the next move and sometimes things get a little crazy.
Take, for example, this latest flurry of travel. We did a good job of getting to the ferry--tram then a long walk. We'd scouted out the ferry terminal the day before, which was a very good thing since it was in the other direction and much farther than we had expected.
The next morning we woke in Copenhagen and had a train to catch 2 hours after the ferry landed. Seemed like plenty of time but we had to get to the Central Station. The free shuttle took us to an unexpected place; we couldn't make sense of the metro destinations and the clock was ticking. This time we did the sensible thing and took a taxi (usually we go in circles for hours) and made the train to Copenhagen in plenty of time.
The first leg of the journey was easy and comfortable--first class with free candy bars. There was a surprise when the whole train pulled onto a ferry and we were ordered out for the 45-minute crossing.
The next stage was Hanover to Osnabrück. It was harder to find the right track but we saw two German women pointing to our train on a sign and decided to follow them. After waiting a while we noticed people on our track moving to the other side. When our women did the same we had to make a quick decision--follow those ladies! It was a relief when we found ourselves on the right train.
The final stage, Osnabrück to Amsterdam, was the strangest. The track had letters showing where to wait and Dale figured out our car would be way down, maybe 300 feet beyond where there were any people. That didn't make sense and there was nobody around to ask so we stayed where the people were. Sure enough, the train passed everyone by to stop at that far point down the line. We hurried and got to the coach just as the whistle was blowing to leave. We had assigned seat numbers but the numbers in the coach didn't go that low--uh oh. Then another passenger took pity on us and told us to sit anywhere we liked, the seat numbers weren't working that day. Whew! It wasn't a very nice train, they had been getting dirtier and shabbier with each stage, but we were just happy to reach Amsterdam after this long and stressful day. Now, at 11 pm, we were at Amsterdam Central Station--I had thought ahead for once and booked a room across from the station just a short walk away.
Adventure over, time to relax.
Amsterdam is an amazing place to be--everywhere you look is an incredible beautiful sight.
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