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In Switzerland we could relax when visiting beatiful home of a family member. From the balcony we could admire the Alps and beautiful Lake Zurich. The same elements we could enjoy also when railing from Zurich onwards, although the highest mountains were passed in a tunnel.

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Arrival to Berlin on Friday evening, and after some small adventures due to missing buses we found the youth hostel.

The Berlin youth hostel lies near Tiergarten and although big it is quite peaceful. My memories from the atmosphere in Berlin were of a serene big city, but due to those big construction works it has now changed to more chaotic place.

Right now opening my eyes in a small dormitory with two bunk beds and four persons, windows are open and what do I hear, just birds singing. So far all our experiences of these youth hostels are very positive.

Our catch yesterday was two museums. We saw exhibition of Helmut Newton in the photography museum and valuable collections of Neues Museum at Museum insel. Coffee and apfeltorte in the museum cafe were needed after that. But those ancient statues, sarkophags and documents from the times bC really enlarge your conscience.

For the dinner we found our way to Prenzlauerberg a cosy restaurant near U-station.

 

• Our Dresden day was perfect. Weather was sunny and hot. We met Annikki’s old colleague beside the Frauenkirche at the statue of Luther.  We climbed up to the belltower, from where was a magnificent scenery over the 800 years old city of Dresden. River Elbe flew through the city.

  

  Meeting at the statue of Luther.

  

  The work done with the renovation of the houses and the church was unbelievable. Most of it was done with donations. Part of it was done directly after the war, but the renovation of the church was done first in the nineties. After the war some symbolic peace work by British and German individuals was carried out. A son of a British bombarder pilot had prepared and donated a new cross to the church.

  

  When walking from the Youth hostel to the Frauenkirche, we asked the way from the kindergarten group.

  

  

  

  That was a good day, thankyou Sabine for guiding us in your beautiful city.

   

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Youth hostel in Hamburg  had a great scenery towards harbour, plenty of trees in blossom around it. With us there were maybe 50 14-16 years old boys, so some noise in the echoing corridors, but the scenery and good breakfast made the experience really positive. The evening in the town was freezing cold, but next morning on a harbour tour we could enjoy sun.

Our train towards Dresden served afternoon coffee on white table cloths.

Finally in Dresden the evening temperature was 19 degrees.  I tried to catch the temperature display into this picture, but it has already moved to show our arrival time. Tomorrow we will meet a former colleague at Frauenkirche. Looking forward to that.

 

Finally warm, Dresden.

MALMO has a bad reputation with riots and burning cars, but it appears to be a peaceful and friendly town with plenty of art.

 

Checked the weather forecast for packing. Northern Europe will be cool.

Loaded Railplanner timetables to my phone

Should load Here maps of Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Heidelberg, etc

Do I need a new memory card to make sure to have enough memory for photos and all the needed apps.

 

 

 

Now when back at home it is time to look backwards and collect some tips especially for those of my age who are planning the Interrail.

TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS

Buying the IR ticket early and traveling before the high season gives price reductions. I did buy mine before the end of March and the trip had to be started before mid May. When buying the ticket you need to know what kind of ticket you wish, global or one country, how many traveling days during a certain time or a full month ticket.  I bought it via Internet and the whole package with map and instructions arrived in a week. I would have saved a few Euros buying it directly from the counter, but the person whom I was dealing with at the counter seemed to know less than I did. The only reservation I bought before hand was the night train sleeping cabin from Madrid to Lisbon. I bought it from ACRPRail international and it also arrived in a few days. Otherwise I bought reservations and seat tickets  a day before the journey at the station.

The number of seats in the second class are limited and at the same time you hear if there are some schedule changes or even strikes as it was in my case. The prices of seat tickets and reservations that I paid varied from 3- 9 Euros. Especially between Germany and France you had to buy the seats from different spots. I am not quite aware of the logics. In a small Station in Germany I could do the advance booking of tickets to Paris with no problem, but in Cologne to get the tickets to French Thalys I had to go outside the station and find a Thalys office.

ACCOMMODATION

I used the HI hostels, you need a membership card and you can make the reservation in advance. The quality is even and prices reasonable around 20 Euros/ night. Sheets were included  and  towels Canon be rented with a few Euros. I overnighted in the rooms for 4 females and it was peaceful enough for me. If the place was more crowded I used the silicon ear plugs.

Additionally you could buy the breakfast with 6 Euros. I was also welcomed by friends to stay at their homes which was very pleasant.

 

IN THE TRAINS

The proper frequency  of traveling for me was to stay two nights in one place, so you had one whole day in one place to look around and get exercise as sitting in the train Too long does not feel good. I also limited my traveling to stretches of maximum 6-7 hours. There was very seldom proper meals served in the trains, just snacks and drinks, so it is good to have always some water and snacks with you.

It also surprised me that there were not free wifi connections in the trains in many countries. At the stations there were certain spots with wifi connections. To entertain myself in the train I had a Finnish crossword puzzle magazine and one paper back book, that I could leave on the way and get a new one from the hostel. They usually have a shelf for recycled books. When getting over the Finnish shyness it was easy to find new acquaintances in the train and get advice and help from the locals.

PACKING

For me it was good to have only two packs to carry. A larger backpack and a smaller one which you could carry with you everywhere. I had minimum amount of clothes and I washed them three times during my trip. There are washing machines in the hostels and it is also easy to find laundries.  On the other hand I was carrying three pairs of shoes, which was a good solution for me. I did not carry my camera, but was using the IPad for communication and taking pics, although the quality of pictures was not that good.

TRAVELLING ALONE

Allthough I was beforehand exited of travelling alone it was a good solution for me. You can make the decisions alone it was easy to find a place for one person and it was easier to meet new people. You can also easily keep contact with your loved ones using internet. You need to be alert, but at the same time you just need to listen to your own needs. Wish you all good luck who want to try it.

 

 

So this was the end of my journey. Have really enjoyed both the traveling and seeing friends, thank you Liisa in Stockholm, Birte in Silkeborg, Bernd, Christiane and Uwe in Wathlingen, Sanna and Saul in Madrid and Pirkko whom we will meet here in Lisbon.

Now I am waiting for my husband to arrive here in Lisbon, later in the evening.

Finally I hope I may have learned better meet and contact new people.

That was what I really did. I staid at my gooddaughter’s home, meeting her boyfriend for the first time. We had a really nice hiking trip on the mountains north of Madrid. The walk went through pine tree forests, roses (Kistus)  blooming, reached a wild river flowing down from the mountains and followed that. Had our lunch on a granite stone. After sitting in the train that was good exercise and I enjoyed the sun.

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