See Savvy Seniors for
up dates
Booking Trains & couchettes in Europe via cyberspace The train
trip from Copenhagen to Paris was ALMOST uneventful. I found the schedule
online at
DB website,
then my cousin Ole booked train and reservations by phone from the Danish
equivalent of AAA in Roenne, Bornholm. The whole trip cost me 1500 DKK (less
than $200). The couchette reservation was only 190 Kroner (about $20.00!).
The only thing that went wrong was when I boarded the last leg (the
night train) in Hamburg to go to Paris. The car/cabin I was booked into was
jam-packed, and I was in with 5 high school kids. Not only that, but
I was in the even less spacious top bunk. I tried to get to sleep, but without
success. SO I spoke to the conductor, and he moved me to a couchette which
had only 1 other man in it, and that ended the problem. SO much for the "almost"
uneventful trip! Jim Swensen (from his
May 2000 Road Reports)
First Train Adventure:. Aside from getting on the wrong train at
Rotterdam, and having to change later to the Amsterdam train, it's been
relatively simple to get around. I had a happy accident on my train to Amsterdam.
The car I rode in was marked 1-No Smoking and 2-smoking (this is a double-decker
train) and I thought this meant what it said, but it turned out that 1
was first class - NOT 1st floor! Anyway, no one came by to check
my ticket, so it was not a problem. I guess this was my first first-class
upgrade..
Scandinavia Train Tip: Don't spend extra money for a FIRST CLASS
ScanRail pass unless you're willing to make reservations WELL in advance
(like a MINIMUM of 3 days). I have not been able to get a first-class seat
yet, they're always full. And I can't get on the night train to Stockholm
tonight, (it's full) so I have to leave tomorrow morning and waste a whole
day on the train. Jim Swensen (from his June '99 Road
Reports)
Sold on Training
My husband and I used trains exclusively
on our Europe adventure and loved it. We found every one very obliging. Roasting
in our sleeper car between Rome and Paris, we told the conductor,
and he turned the heat off—for the whole car. We also learned that there
is no difference between first class & second class sleepers for two,
except for price. We had the locked compartment and never had any one
added to our sleeper. From then on we reserved second class sleepers and
saved money. Mele, emphasize the idea of initiating conversations with
European companions in your train compartment. We met so many interesting
people this way. Europeans like to practice their English if you start talking
first. Valarie Chinn—Kaimuki Budget Europe
Student
Get to Chunnel Departure
Earlier The recommended 20
minute pre-boarding time for the Chunnel crossing was too short—you
could miss your train. I recommend people show up at least 40 minutes
before departure. Lines are long. We found there were two lines—one
for people checking luggage and one for us light packers with carry ons.
This line was shorter. Don't get alarmed by the seat numbers—it looked
like my husband and I weren't sitting together—numbering has skips—but
we were.Bring Food! Valarie Chinn—Kaimuki Budget Europe
StudentFirst vs Second Class: —next time we will
definitely get 1st class Europasses—They work great, but we will go2nd class on the
Chunnel. This trip we opted for 1st Class Chunnel to Paris, thinking
the meal would be almost worth the extra. (They returned by 2nd
class chunnel) It wasn't. Just airline food (maybe a tad better)
and service—not worth it." From Reader's
article:
A
Five Week JourneyMarlene and Martin Hall, Big Island of Hawaii.For travelers who will be vagabonding by train, I recommend taking Thomas
Cook timetable. Some stations dosn't have English speaking train information
agents, or their hours may be limited and the information posted on the schedules
can be confusing, especially if you need to transfer trains. In my case,
I was going from Lake Como to Interlaken—The Eurail timetable had me
traveling in a round-about route via Zurich and Bern. An Australian, who
I met at the local hostel, whipped out his Thomas Cook and gave me instructions
for a more direct and scenic route via Lucerne. Robert Kaneshiro
of Honolulu
Scandinavia: Bornholm, Denmark: The new fast ferryseems to be the local jinx. I was supposed to be on one of it's first
voyages today, but last week on a practice run they hit the dock too hard
in Rønne and put a hole in the side, so it went to the yards to be
fixed. So now it should go into service next Monday, if they don't break
it again! That will shorten the trip to Bornholm to about 3 hours. After
July 1st, (2000) the new Øresund bridge connecting Copenhagen to Malmo,
Sweden is supposed to open (it's finished now, but they want to have
a party....). This will mean you can take a train from Copenhagen's central
Station to Ystad, Sweden (about 1 1/2 hours) then the fast ferry to Rønne,
about another 1 1/4 hours. Jim Swensenkermit@lava.net
Found a cheap flight to london! finaly found a cheap flight to
london from NYC for January for $350.00 round from
http://www.imandi.com/ The site hooks
you up with agents who bid on your sale. I got five offers and this was the
best. You may want to check it out! ellie 04-Nov-1999Plane Ticket Tips
Any discounted ticket has restirctions. Be sure you understand these before
you buy your ticket
Study your ticket carefully. If anything is unclear, ask for an explanation.
When overseas, reconfirm your return flight at least 3 days before departure.
If you don't the airline may cancel your reservation and resell your seat.
Consider an "Open Jaw" ticket, which means flying into one city and returning
from another. This can be a great time and money saver!
Keep your tickets in a money belt—under your clothing. Make 2 copies
of your tickets—leaving one with some at home and the other with your
traveling companion—or in your bag. Lost or stolen tickets are not easily
replaced and this may help ease the process of getting reticketed.
Know the fare you paid, flight and ticket numbers, and travel dates.
Mele
...add
RyanAir to your
airline links -- they have some great fares. I'm flying this May from Beauvais
(just north of Paris) to Dublin, and then from Dublin to Charleroi (just
south of Brussels) for a total cost of just $109! Their site is:
http://www.ryanair.com/
Gregory Wahl,
Monday 07-Feb-2000Europebyair.comPurchased 12 coupons for our family - everything
went exceedingly well. I figured we saved over $1500 easily. I would highly
recommend this product for people who want to "hopscotch" around Europe.
I don't think the train will be any less expensive. Leah
Monday, 01-Nov-1999
The whole
Europe by Air
thing went off without a hitch. I was only able to confirm one the
flights (from London to Rome) ahead of time but there was no problem on any
of them. The only hitch is that the "airport taxes" can be pretty steep
- the highest being about 23 BP from Luton, as I recall. Marlee
of Oahu 14 June 99
We found our car a liability on this two-week
trip to Northern Italy. Parking was at a premium even in small
towns such as Menaggio and Bergamo. In Ravenna, only
residents were allowed to park in certain parts of town. Parking in
Milan is definitely a problem--we paid L42,000 per night to park in
a public lot next to the hotel. There is NO parking available on the streets
until after business hours. People here even park on the sidewalk.
We stayed in Rio Maggiore, Cinque Terra, and paid L15,000 per night
for parking and had to walk three blocks down a steep hill with our luggage
to our hotel. (That was the easy part. From there it was another block and
three flights of stairs to the room with easy access.) The areas we visited
were all lovely and we would definitely return but next time we would hook
up with a tour or take the train and backpacks. Carol Morrison
of Costa Mesa, Ca October 30, 2000
CHAMONIX, France to AOSTA, Italy: Aloha,
Bonjour Mele, It's very nice to hear from you.
We hope you & your daughter are doing well. From time to time, we get
some guests from Hawaii & they tell us how you're doing! We really
enjoy meeting you & your group , on your visit to Chamonix. Here
is the answers to your question.
The Tunnel is still closed The best way to get to Aosta is
to take the train from Chamonix to Aosta (Chamonix-Martigny-Aosta)
(You can also drive this route in about 2.5 hr.--search driving
route at:
http://www.shellgeostar.com)
UK Driving Tip: Go to a convenience store after
picking up your British Car and buy a red and white "Learner's" Sign. It
has a Big Red L on a white background. Put
it in your car window and watch the Brits give you a wide birth on their
highways. Charlene Towne of Oahu phoned in this great
driving tip.
Amsterdam is CRAZY with bicycles. I can see why. We think we
have a traffic problem in Honolulu, but it pales by comparison. Instead of
road-hogs, Amsterdam has narrow streets with tram tracks and "bicycle lanes".
Of course, bicyclists only use them when it's convenient seeming to prefer
the walkways and pushing pedestrians around at random. Bicycles seldom stop
for traffic signals or other traffic (foot or vehicular) so one must be on
guard constantly. You'll get the finger from a cyclist if you get in his/her
way. Jim Swensen (from his June '99 Road Reports)
Italy Bike Tour worked out well altho I don't recommend
taking a 78 year old. Mom did well and the guides were very accomodating
but......... also, anyone considering such a thing should be reasonably
proficient on a bicycle and should spend some time doing at least a little
training/preparation. Ididn't and was sorry. The tour guides were very helpful
and very nice, the food was good, the lodgings were all acceptable or better.
The major disadvantage was the pretty fast pace which had us spending only
one nite in every place that we went. I'll give you their catalogue for future
reference. Bike tour web site:
http://www.frii.com/~explus/
Marlee 14 June '99
Cycling
Europe
Copenhagen has their own "red bus". I used it and found it quite worthwhile
and informative. They have a website you can link to. It's
www.copenhagenpride.dk
Hope you find this useful, Jim Swensen 20 May 2000In Copenhagen I used a Copenhagen card to get around on the
bus and to visit Rosenborg. It was also good for
attractions. Jim Swensen (from his June '99 Road Reports)
London: We got around London mainly by Tube. It was a great,
cheap mode of transportation, but it totally disoriented me. I had no idea
what part of London I was in. Larraine Sinclair
