On Monday evening 22 October 2012, our weekend with friends in the Netherlands was nearly over. We had dinner with Bart & Alida and Herman, and then
loaded up in the car. Bart & Alida
drove us to Utrecht
train station to catch the CityNightLine train.
This is an overnight train to Munich,
Germany. We got to Utrecht with plenty of time so Bart & Alida
insisted on treating us to Starbucks. :) They really went out of their way to make
sure that we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves! We are so grateful for their generosity
towards us.
It was pretty easy to find the right platform to wait for
our train, with Bart and Alida assisting us. The train was about 5 minutes
delayed. Throughout our train journeys
we found that when things got a bit ‘sticky’ was when we had to board a train
which would be pulling out again within just a couple of minutes. Boarding with all of us and our luggage took a
lot of pre-organizing, and teamwork, but by the time we’d traveled across Europe we were getting the hang of it! Besides the two children, we had a stroller,
which was foldable but not entirely collapsible (bigger than we had wanted for
our trip, but it was the only collapsible stroller for sale in Lusaka when we left… so we
made do!), two very large rolling duffel bags, David’s backpack, my carry-on
size bag, usually a plastic bag of food and oddments for the journey, and
sometimes Elijah’s Pillow Pal or our winter coats if they didn’t fit in the
duffel bags. So it was too much for both
of us to carry on board the train in one trip, thus we had to figure out ways
to transfer everything in stages without leaving the children OR the bags
unattended. Utrecht
was our first attempt, and thankfully Bart was there to help shove our things
on board. The train seemed to leave in a great hurry but thankfully there we
were, everything intact, on our way! Waving to Bart and
Alida out the window. It was an abrupt
end to our delightful stay in the Netherlands,
but now we were on our way to Munich!
After shuffling around awkwardly (after putting our stroller
and our gigantic bags on board there wasn’t much room for maneuvering in the
corridor area at the end of the train car) we found our way to our
compartment. We traveled
‘economically,’ that is to say, in a couchette compartment. These are kind of the equivalent of dorm
rooms on a train, except that being train compartments – they are a lot more
cramped! There are two choices for
couchettes: either you can book a 6-bed compartment, which is the cheapest
option, or you can pay a bit extra for a 4-bed compartment if you want a bit
more space. The 4-bed compartment still
has 6 beds in it, but the middle 2 bunks are left folded up so as to provide
the 4 occupants with more space. Since
we were traveling with the children (who would be sharing our bunks - if you
want a bed for a toddler you have to pay the same fare as an adult) we decided
the extra space would be VERY welcome, otherwise we could end up sharing a
compartment designed for 6 with 8 instead – two being very squirmy
children. This was a very, very good
decision. :) The compartments are incredibly, almost
unbelievably small. There is enough room
between the bunks on either side to stand up, but not more than that.
There was a luggage rack above the compartment door, where
we put the stroller. Our two duffel bags
managed to fit under the lower bunk (on this train – I don’t remember if they
did on the next sleeper train) as well as our shoes and carry-on bags. There was a ladder against the far wall (not
that it was far away!) which reached to the upper bunks. Each bunk was provided with a complimentary
bottle of drinking water and also a reading light. There were 2 types of locks on the
compartment door for security. The
attendant came in to collect our passports and check our tickets. The passports were kept by the attendant overnight, ostensibly so
that we wouldn’t have to be awakened during border crossings (although
sometimes they will still wake you – it is completely inconsistent) and
returned to us in the morning as we approached our final destination. After that, we never saw the attendant again
– so hope that you never have an emergency or a situation where you require
some assistance, because we couldn’t find the attendant afterwards.
It was past the children’s bedtime, so we focused on getting
them settled and getting some sleep.
Elijah slept on David’s bunk, and Ketzia slept on mine. Each bunk was equipped with a sheet, a
blanket, and a pillow. It was helpful to
have the 2 extra blankets from the unused middle bunks since there were 4 of
us. The bunks were nothing fancy – just flat, padded bunks which doubled as
seats during the daytime.
We were informed by the attendant that there would be a
couple joining us around midnight for part of the journey - the occupants of
the 2 upper bunks. So it was an
interrupted night! Don’t choose a train
journey if you want a peaceful, blissful night’s sleep (unless you pay for a
first-class compartment and travel alone – and even then nothing is
guaranteed). But it was definitely worth it for the experience. Poor Elijah’s dinner didn’t settle and he
woke up and vomited on his pajamas and the compartment floor. That was when we couldn’t find the attendant
to get something to clean the floor up with.
So we ended up using baby wipes and then covering the floor with one of
the extra blankets. After that Elijah
was fine and went back to sleep peacefully. But that was one of those moments
when you think, ‘Wow, our first family train ride, and my child just vomited!
Is this a sign of things to come?’
Ketzia was teething, feverish and restless during the night. She must have nursed almost the entire
night. Our companions, an older couple, came in a bit
after midnight, took a few minutes to get themselves and their luggage (which
had to be left standing up in the crevice between the bottom of the ladder and
the compartment wall) arranged, and then climbed up to their bunks. They came climbing back down about 4 hours
later, to disembark at their destination. Since it was the middle of the night it wasn't exactly a good time to strike up an acquaintance!
During the night there were also police on the train at one
point – dealing with some drunk people, at very least, who we could hear
further down the corridor. I think
someone might have gotten taken off the train.
During the border crossing into Germany the police/guards tried to
open the compartment door (which was on the chain) and when I quickly
cautioned, ‘shhh, the children are sleeping’ (just so they’d be aware!) they
closed the door and left, and didn’t come back!
So I guess they weren’t too worried about us. They had our passports anyway.
So yeah… it wasn’t a terribly restful night, but at least we
did get a bit of sleep. We had been forewarned anyway. If I remember correctly, we arrived the next
morning in Munich
around 7am or so. We made our way
through the train station to the upper balcony area overlooking the platforms,
where there was a café. We ordered
coffees and ate breakfast from the travel food we brought along with us. Had a chance to change the kids’ nappies and
clothing for the day of travel ahead.
And got a real good idea of the hustle and bustle of Munich Centraal
during early morning rush hour on a work day!
It was now Tuesday, 23 October – my mom’s 50th
birthday. My family was already in Italy, where
they had arrived a few days before, and were settled in the villa we would be
sharing, awaiting our arrival late that night.
But first we had a full day of travel ahead… from Munich
across Austria to Bologna, and then down through Italy
to Naples. Our train left Munich around 9am for the long ride
south. This time we were in a normal
traveling car with comfortable seats and small tables. It wasn’t a full train so we could use the
empty seats next to us for the children.
What did we do on a long train ride with the kids? Well, like riding on an airplane – we got
them to sit still when we could, with a variety of things to keep them occupied
– toy cars, puzzles, coloring, reading books, DVDs, snack food, etc. But sometimes you just have to move around,
and thankfully they could easily walk up and down the aisles. Meanwhile, the scenery outside was FABULOUS! We were passing through the Austrian Alps
during the middle of the day – a sunny, clear day with gorgeous views of the
mountains. The train went through the Brenner Pass which is just stunning. David spent a lot of time
trying to get photos from a moving train – which wasn’t entirely successful,
but at least we got a few shots to show that we were there. :) We ate our packed lunch as the train sped
along (sausage bites and cheese bites from the Netherlands!) and just enjoyed the
experience of traveling through somewhere we might never be again!
It was a long train ride – we didn’t reach Bologna in the north of Italy until about 4pm. We had a bit of time before our next
train left for Naples,
so we went looking for food. We found
the Bologna station a bit of a challenge because it was not exactly clear where
we should go – and there were lots of steps up to each platform, so what to do
about the stroller? And the rolling bags?
In the end, I think we found a lift.
Then we were looking for food, so that we could get an early dinner, but
there were no cafes or shops in the station as far as we could tell. Eventually we found that there were vending
machines scattered throughout the train platforms, selling not only snacks but
also sandwiches and paninis, so we got a few things to count towards ‘dinner’,
though it wasn’t a proper meal.
Now it was time to catch our next train, one of the
brand-new high speed Freccarossa line!
These sleek ‘designer’ trains are carving up the time it takes to travel
the length of Italy. We were very interested to see how these
high-speed trains compared with the normal trains we had been travelling
on. It would be about a 4-hour journey
from Bologna south to Naples.
These trains travel at speeds reaching higher than 300 kilometres per
hour!
Interestingly, we found that these trains (at least in the
economy section) were the least comfortable of all the trains we traveled on
in Europe.
The seats were high-backed and the tables were very, very tall, so tall
that if you dropped something you couldn’t reach it off the floor because the
table was in the way. It all felt very
tight, cramped, and claustrophobic. The
children had to sit on our laps the whole way because the train was booked
full, and because the tables were so tall, that meant the tables were
practically in the kids’ chests. So it
just wasn’t comfortable. We did have to
deal with a bit of unhappiness during this leg of the journey. Thankfully, even children get tired of
fussing after a while and just ‘zone out’ (helped by the DVD player) or go to
sleep. It wasn’t exactly a fun or
relaxing ride, but it was an experience whizzing across the Italian countryside
at 300kph!
We finally reached Naples
around 8:30pm… after a full 24 hours of travel by train across Europe! But our
journey wasn’t over yet. We disembarked
the train and were met on the platform by my dad and my brothers Ezra and John,
as well as my dad’s friend Tom who lives in Naples.
So there were plenty of hands to help with bags and tired children. My family had been in Italy for several days
already and had been visiting with their old friends Tom and family (who work
with a Christian outreach to servicemen), and when Tom heard that we were
arriving in Naples late at night and would need to travel by train a FURTHER
hour to the Sorrento area where we were staying, he offered to give my dad a
ride to the train station to pick us up, and then drive us all to the villa
where we were staying! This was SO kind
and generous of him and we were very grateful.
We all piled into his minivan and took off through the congested, crazy
streets of Naples. This was the only glimpse we got of Naples, really – it was
after dark and Tom was driving with great experience, so we didn’t have to
worry about anything. But overall, Naples is not a great
city. It is very dirty, and not exactly
nice. There were hookers on the street
corners looking for business (mostly from sailors as there is a large Navy base
nearby). I was glad that we were spending our holiday further away from the filth of Naples.
It was about an hour’s drive to the villa where we were
staying, which was in San’t
Angello, a small, quiet village very close to the bustling, busy tourist town
of Sorrento. It was close to 10pm when we arrived. Tom dropped us off and we got our bags and
baggage sorted, and there we stayed for the next 9 days…. :)
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