NW/Baltic Interrail Trip

[8ace]

I’m planning an in interrail trip in July and any advice/tips would be much appreciated

I have a rough idea of route/things to see but it is quite rough. I’m wish to set off Friday 10th July and return Sunday 26th July. I’m happiest sitting on a train enjoying the scenery rather than visiting museums or art galleries etc.
I’ve done Brighton to Glasgow return in in a day and the California Zephyr end to end to give you an idea. Other things to mention I’m a vegetarian of 40 years plus and a bit of a fussy eater. I do enjoy a beer or ten though

• First stop Amsterdam, either E* or ferry from Harwich. Already done the train when we played Ajax a few seasons ago. Not particularly bothered about staying there for long so will be precede onwards to Hamburg where I will stay overnight.
• The next morning I will be revisiting the superb minitatur wunderland after my previous visit was cut short thanks to DB’s XC-style reliability. Then I’m going to get the train to Copenhagen where I will stay overnight.
• Don’t know if there is anything much I want to see there other than having a general mooch about. I’m open to suggestions, particularly transport (railway) related - not really interested in ABC (another bloody castle)
• My next train journey I think will be to Oslo for an overnight stay. No real plans there either (you get the picture lol)
• From there I want to go to Bergen, partaking of the Flam railway either enroute or as a day trip from Bergen. I would probably stay overnight in Bergen.
• This is is where my plan hits the buffers somewhat, I’d like to take the ferry northwards up the coast but they all seem to be cruises - a bit pricey for a solo traveller (don’t really fancy paying for any of my lady friends to accompany me either!)
• I’d really like to do the Narvik sleeper but that seems to include RRBs then sold out
• Next part of the plan after any further Norway/Sweden adventures would be the ferry to Helsinki. I’ve heard this can be a bit of party boat which is music to my ears . Been to Stockholm before so not bothered about spending too much time there, intend to stay in Helsinki at least one night - any decent railway day trips from there?
• Ferry to Tallinn next where I will stay one night. New country no idea what to see or do (NCNIWTSOD)
• Train to Riga, stay one night NCNIWTSOD
• Train to Vilnius, probably stay one night NCNIWTSOD
• From there to Poland, Warsaw probably. Again NCNIWTSOD
• Next I’m thinking Prague but might not have time. Was thinking a couple of nights there with a day trip to the Budvar brewery.
• I’ve been invited to attend the Offenbach Kickers 125th Anniversary game on the 25th to do this would have to meet my mates in Düsseldorf on the 24th
• 26th back to Blighty

None of this is must do, only that I have to be back at work Monday 27th

 

[StarCrossing]

Hi there.

I'm currently on my way back from a 2-and-a-bit week trip to Scandinavia.

Some quick thoughts:

• I haven't been to Miniatur Wunderland, so I can't say this with any authority, but there's something somewhat similar in Rotterdam that might be worth checking out.
• Both my Hamburg to Copenhagen trips had last minute bustitutions. Not sure if that was bad luck or if something systematic is going on.
• If you like mechanical stuff, I'd check out Jens Olsen's World Clock in Copenhagen city hall, very near the main station.
• I recommend the ferry between Copenhagen and Oslo, especially if you like a party atmosphere!
• I wasn't really seeking out items of transport interest in Oslo (too much else to see!), but line 1 towards Frognerseter was very interesting - quite steep and rural at the end. Plenty of ferries too.
• The Bergen line was fabulous, so definitely recommend even if your plans from there have hit the buffers.
• However, I do highly recommend the daily coastal ferry that's run by Hurtigruten and Havila (I used the latter from Svolvaer to Bergen). The scenery is incredible. I agree that they are a bit "cruisey" and can be pricey, but do check the "point-to-point" fares, which they hide away on the websites!
• If travelling Narvik to Stockholm, I'd recommend a day at Abisko Turiststation if you're at all into spending time in the great outdoors. Lots of easy walks with interesting stuff to see if you're not into "proper hiking".
• Stockholm was quite interesting for transport (and a lovely city in general). The metro stations are interesting (lots of art), there are lots of ferries, and there's a vintage tram (line 7N). You could probably cover all that in half a day though.
• Beer was expensive but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety.

 

[8ace]

Really need a like button, tyvm for your detailed reply mate will look into it on Monday, bedtime now - Watercress line in the morning

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Rather than Hamburg to Copenhagen does Hamburg to Hirtshalls then the ferry to Bergen, then train Bergen to Oslo work? We did this route a couple of years ago.

If you do end up in Bergen on the right day the vintage Tram ride and Museum (Technical Museum) is worth a visit: https://bergenstekniskemuseum.no/en/

 

[Quincy]

Then I’m going to get the train to Copenhagen where I will stay overnight.

As a suggestion, as someone who took this last week (also on an Interrail trip) pay the extra for a cabin, we decided to cheap out and sit in the seated area and got treated to what appeared to be a American school trip which lived up to the loud stereotypes, and some other lovely drunk and loud passengers, though we experienced these type of people on every seated sleeper train we took.

Edit: it appears I have imagined the part of your message which suggested the sleeper, and you are probably taking a normal train to Copenhagen.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

It is a very ambitious itinerary - you are going to have to drop something if just over a fortnight is all you have got!

A few observations:-

a) You will not make Amsterdam and Hamburg in the same day from Brighton - if you have 'done' Amsterdam I would go directly to Hamburg via Brussels and Cologne.

b) Hamburg to Copenhagen is half a day, so afternoon at leisure in Copenhagen.

c) Copenhagen to Oslo is effectively all day as is Oslo to Bergen..

d) Visiting the Flåm Railway will take another day - consider staying at Voss to reduce the 'dead' mileage.

e) The Hurtigruten is fantastic - the cruise packages are ruinously expensive but it is a scheduled service and local fares are available. It will however eat into your time - Bergen to Svolvaer (for Narvik) is 3 nights. Otherwise you will have to backtrack by rail to Oslo, then to Trondheim onto Bodø and then bus to Narvik.

f) From Narvik, consider going into Finland via Haparanda and on to Helsinki if you have 'done' Stockholm.

g) Travelling through the Baltic States is very slow in essentially DMUs - 'Rail Baltica' has yet to happen!

 

[8ace]

It is a very ambitious itinerary - you are going to have to drop something if just over a fortnight is all you have got!

Yeah I'm aware that I won't do it all, just threw in all the options in case some are not do-able so I have options.

a) You will not make Amsterdam and Hamburg in the same day from Brighton - if you have 'done' Amsterdam I would go directly to Hamburg via Brussels and Cologne.

I think I'd make it if I took the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook, allowing a pre-lunchtime departure from Amsterdam. I did Brighton-St Pancras-Brussels-Dusseldorf in January, so would prefer not to repeat so that journey so soon.

d) Visiting the Flåm Railway will take another day - consider staying at Voss to reduce the 'dead' mileage.

This could work

e) The Hurtigruten is fantastic - the cruise packages are ruinously expensive but it is a scheduled service and local fares are available. It will however eat into your time - Bergen to Svolvaer (for Narvik) is 3 nights. Otherwise you will have to backtrack by rail to Oslo, then to Trondheim onto Bodø and then bus to Narvik.

3 nights would be too long on a ship for me, 1 or 2 at a push. Happy to use buses for getting around town but not a fan of them long distance. Looking more like I'm going to swerve going to Narvik on this occasion. I need to do a bit more research and try to hunt down the local fares.

f) From Narvik, consider going into Finland via Haparanda and on to Helsinki if you have 'done' Stockholm.

I considered this but it's quite a long journey and I remember reading that some or the scenery wasn't particularly interesting, just mile after mile of pine trees (I could be confusing this line with somewhere else).

g) Travelling through the Baltic States is very slow in essentially DMUs - 'Rail Baltica' has yet to happen!

I'm fine sitting for hours on a 156 so this should be ok
Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[8ace]

Rather than Hamburg to Copenhagen does Hamburg to Hirtshalls then the ferry to Bergen, then train Bergen to Oslo work? We did this route a couple of years ago.

Yes that looks like a good way to day to do it - will investigate thanks.

If you do end up in Bergen on the right day the vintage Tram ride and Museum (Technical Museum) is worth a visit: https://bergenstekniskemuseum.no/en/

Will definitely try to make the dates work so I can do this

 

[The exile]

3 nights would be too long on a ship for me, 1 or 2 at a push. Happy to use buses for getting around town but not a fan of them long distance. Looking more like I'm going to swerve going to Narvik on this occasion. I need to do a bit more research and try to hunt down the local fares.

I faced the prospect of the bus from Narvik to Fauske with exactly the same trepidation when Interrailing (in 1991!) - I am not a good long-distance bus / coach traveller on anything other than nearly empty motorways. It ended up being the most memorable part of the whole trip - for all the right reasons.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

I faced the prospect of the bus from Narvik to Fauske with exactly the same trepidation when Interrailing (in 1991!) - I am not a good long-distance bus / coach traveller on anything other than nearly empty motorways. It ended up being the most memorable part of the whole trip - for all the right reasons.

Yes, it is a superior coach (with onboard loo) rather than a bus, and there is still one ferry crossing left (with refreshments available) which breaks up the journey. In high summer relief coaches run from Fauske to Narvik to cater for all the Interrailers as well as the main service from Bodø. The scenery is fantastic.

 

[The exile]

Yes, it is a superior coach (with onboard loo) rather than a bus, and there is still one ferry crossing left (with refreshments available) which breaks up the journey. In high summer relief coaches run from Fauske to Narvik to cater for all the Interrailers as well as the main service from Bodø. The scenery is fantastic.

Indeed - I think on my trip 5 vehicles set off from Narvik - was glad I wasn’t on the last one as it looked like the local school bus!

 

[Pegpilot]

A few off the cuff ideas

Oslo - The Fram museum is great. Amundsen's vessel from his successful South Pole trip, perfectly preserved and you can explore it inside.
Tallinn - Simply wonderful. The old town is great, but for an off-the-wall idea visit the Linnehall on the harbourfront. A squat, brutalist concrete edifice that hosted the maritime sports at the Russian 1980 Olympics - now just rotting away. And there's a great military/maritime museum about a mile out of town and walkable along the coast road - it includes a Barrow-built submarine, the Lembit. And there's a little museum near the old town gate dedicated to Tallinn's history, including a moving display remembering the Estonia ferry disaster. But good luck dodging the stag groups.
Riga - as per Tallinn, well worth a visit. Go up the Cathedral tower for great views of the city. Check out the food market in a 3-span hall built from old Zeppelin hangars. Watch the trams cross the cobbles in the city centre near the railway station. For me, there's an air of sadness about the place, bearing in mind successive occupations from the Germans and the Russians. Beautiful old buildings in the main City square. But Riga lost its ferry link with Sweden a few years ago and the former terminal building has been flogged off so there's little chance of a return.
Oh and Helsinki - a bit grey but a boat trip out to Suomenlinna island provides a diverting few hours. An old brick-built dry dock, a submarine, a museum dedicated to the Winter War when the Finns spanked the invading Russians before the the latter got their house in order and (sadly) did the job properly second time round. Also old fortifications. Check out the Russian Orthodox cathedral near the harbour front, the food market just along the way, all within walking distance.

Anyway, I'm taking Mrs Pegpilot to Helsinki next week on our way up to Svalbard - but that's a completely different story !

Have fun !

 

[WolvertonWorks]

Rather than Hamburg to Copenhagen does Hamburg to Hirtshalls then the ferry to Bergen, then train Bergen to Oslo work? We did this route a couple of years ago.

If you do end up in Bergen on the right day the vintage Tram ride and Museum (Technical Museum) is worth a visit: https://bergenstekniskemuseum.no/en/

We did overnight ferry Harwich-Hook of Holland, worked out which door was going to be opened for foot passengers to disembark and made sure we were standing beside it before the announcement for foot passengers to wait in the lounge so that when they did open the door we were first off and first in the queue for border control.

Straight out and onto the platform for the metro into Schiedam, then train to Amsterdam, then train towards Hamburg. We chose to break the journey by overnighting in Onsabruk but could have got to Hamburg same day. We did Osnabruk to Hamburg the following day and overnighted there.

Next day early train from Hamburg to Hirtshalls with a couple of changes en route. Overnight in Hirtshalls then next day overnight ferry to Bergen but I think, if you chose your days right you can do Hamburg to Hirtshalls and onto the ferry all on the same day.

 

[Pegpilot]

Takes me back 2014, Wolverton. We did Harwich - Esbjerg overnight, train to Hirtshals, Fjord Line to Bergen but then did two nights on Hurtigruten's veteran Lofoten to Trondheim before flying home from there. Shame DFDS withdrew from the Norway run. A great trip.

 

[8ace]

Gonna see if I can make this work:
Thursday 9th Harwich-Hook overnight ferry
Friday 10th Hook-Amsterdam-Hamburg
Saturday 11th Hamburg-Hirtshals-Ferry to Bergen
Sunday 12th arr Bergen in time for the tram museum.
Have decided it might skip minitatur wunderland this time around as was only there 18th months and want to return when they've built the GB section (probably be dead by then anyway lol)

 

[A S Leib]

I haven't been to Miniatur Wunderland, so I can't say this with any authority, but there's something somewhat similar in Rotterdam that might be worth checking out.

That seems to be closed until further notice or has already permanently closed due to financial issues, which strangely doesn't seem to be mentioned on their own website.

 

[StarCrossing]

That seems to be closed until further notice or has already permanently closed due to financial issues, which strangely doesn't seem to be mentioned on their own website.

What a shame. It looks to have been very sudden.

 

[8ace]

I’m having trouble finding a Eurostar reservation to get me back to STP on Sunday 26th July
Plan is to depart from Düsseldorf that morning. Rather it wasn’t at the crack of dawn. Any advice please?
(edit: had to leave it this late as required new passport only arrived today)

 

[StarCrossing]

I’m having trouble finding a Eurostar reservation to get me back to STP on Sunday 26th July
Plan is to depart from Düsseldorf that morning. Rather it wasn’t at the crack of dawn. Any advice please?
(edit: had to leave it this late as required new passport only arrived today)

I recently had this issue, so I bought a ticket for that leg. I then checked again on the day, and passholder reservations were now available. I therefore moved my ticket to sometime in the future (so I can have a trip to Belgium for just the cost of a single ticket) and bought a passholder reservation. I have no idea how common this scenario is though.

Other ideas:

1. Check Eurostar availability from the Netherlands and France.
2. Get closer to Brussels the night before.
3. Consider coaches, ferries or flying.

But personally, I'd just accept the early start from Duesseldorf and then hope a passholder reservation becomes available on a later service.

 

[A S Leib]

I’m having trouble finding a Eurostar reservation to get me back to STP on Sunday 26th July
Plan is to depart from Düsseldorf that morning. Rather it wasn’t at the crack of dawn. Any advice please?
(edit: had to leave it this late as required new passport only arrived today)

The 19:28 from Rotterdam (due to St. Pancras at 21:57) still has available pass holder reservations.

If you're planning on going reasonably directly back from Düsseldorf to London, ICE services to the Netherlands have mandatory reservations during the summer; the 15:11 from Düsseldorf to Utrecht / Amsterdam (ICE 124) has seats available.

 

[30907]

I’m having trouble finding a Eurostar reservation to get me back to STP on Sunday 26th July

The 19:28 from Rotterdam (due to St. Pancras at 21:57) still has available pass holder reservations

And the 1728 in Plus (or 1156 ex Brussels in Plus.)

 

[185143]

I did the Tallink ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki on Monday night.

My head can certainly confirm it is a very good party boat! Think it was around €7 a pint, but not sure. The nightclub is open until 03:00, the views from it at this time of year are pretty good.

Getting the Viking Line ship from Turku to Stockholm tomorrow, but the day sailing. That was €11.50 for passage with the Interrail discount, or €28 total to add the cheapest cabin. Figured it was worth it for the space to dump my stuff and charge devices safely alone. Or somewhere to get more sleep given I've mysteriously tripped into an Irish pub in Turku.

All these pictures were taken between 00:40 and 03:31 Finnish time from Silja Serenade.

 

[8ace]

The 19:28 from Rotterdam (due to St. Pancras at 21:57) still has available pass holder reservations.

If you're planning on going reasonably directly back from Düsseldorf to London, ICE services to the Netherlands have mandatory reservations during the summer; the 15:11 from Düsseldorf to Utrecht / Amsterdam (ICE 124) has seats available.

And the 1728 in Plus (or 1156 ex Brussels in Plus.)

What sites are you using to book please? The Rail Planner app is say no reservations available.

 

[A S Leib]

What sites are you using to book please? The Rail Planner app is say no reservations available.

raileurope.com

 

[8ace]

raileurope.com

Sorted TYVM kind sir

 

[185143]

€5.90 for a pint on Viking Line btw

 

[ThirteenArches]

e) The Hurtigruten is fantastic - the cruise packages are ruinously expensive but it is a scheduled service and local fares are available.

There's only one problem, as we found out recently. Although it's a scheduled route, subsidised to be so by the Norwegian government, it's primarily a cruise ship. This means that port- hopping passengers are decidedly not at the forefront of their planning. We wanted to go from Vardo to Hammerfest, except that they skipped Hammerfest and took us on to Oxfjord (never heard of it? Unsurprising, it's even more remote than Bacup). That cost us a 50km bus trip, a 65km taxi ride and a night in a hotel at Alta. They said it was due to weather. Well it was a bit choppy out at sea, but they're supposed to run this route in winter and this was height of summer.