On the train: Wroclaw (Poland) to Lvov (Ukraine)

Sunday 15 April

We've been travelling for 11 hours. We've been stopped for some time here, at the Ukranian border.

Reg is interested in all things technical and mechanical and has no hesitation in going to have a look to find out what's happening. He gets involved in a curious non-verbal conversation with the train guard, involving exaggerated gesticular movements of the arms. Reg discovers that they are hoisting up the train in order to change the wheels, so that they will fit the different gauge of the Ukranian rail system. It would seem that they have to do this every time they come into the Ukraine from Poland and when they go back!

It's been a long day, but we have our own private “cabin”, with 2 bunk beds on one side, clean sheets & pillows (with starched white pillowcases) & blankets. The top bunk is quite high, giving ample room for moving about below & getting comfortable on the bottom bunk, which doubles as the train seat.

The cabin is lovely and warm and Reg reports, on returning from an earlier mission to see how everything works, that the heating works through the guard piling coal into a boiler at the end of the carriage. There is a separate boiler for each carriage.

We save our thermos flask for lunchtime. The lovely Agnes at the Flower Power hostel in Wroclaw packed us plenty of food for the journey; 6 baguette rolls, 3 with Polish ham and and 3 with camembert, all with salad, 4 hard boiled eggs, 4 Polish sausages (Kabanosy), and 2 bananas. Plus we have crisps, and a few Aldi Hobnobs and gingernuts left to keep us going.

The scenery speeds by (though this isn't actually a very fast train). Out of the window we see many contrasts; crop-planted countryside; suburbs with quite wealthy-looking houses, interspersed with towns containing forlorn grey tenement flats; dilapidated buildings; expanses of brightly coloured graffitti; pockets of scattered litter; and evidence of new building work, include a new motorway.

Reg and I take it in turns to have a nap on the lower bunk, putting our feet on the lap of the other one, who sits by the window. At about 2 o'clock the guard brings us a lovely cup of tea! Bliss! After we've had the rest of our rolls at about 6 pm, Reg plucks up courage and asks the guard to fill up our thermos flask, so that we can have another cuppa. (Well done, Reggie).

When we boarded the train, there were 4 complimentary bottles of water in our cabin, plus 2 croissants, 2 soaps, and 2 small towels (not sure if we're meant to keep these or not, but we can't take the extra weight of anything we don't need, in any case). The irony is, although the toilet at the end of the corridor does flush (we think to the rails below) the water tap isn't working – so the soap & towels aren't much use! Thank goodness for antiseptic handwash. But see note at end of blog!

We're still at the border, where we've been stopped for about an hour and a half. 2 separate customs offficers have checked our passports.

It hasn't been too bad on the train for this length of time. I've had a nap, done a bit of studying, finished Wild Swans, and started reading The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue on my kindle! Yey!!

From now on texts will be 40p as we're leaving the EU where they are 10p each. Reg has a sim-free phone and will buy a local simcard when we get to Lvov, so that it will be cheaper to contact home.

We're still stationary and it's 8.35pm Ukranian time ( 7.35pm Polish time).

A relaxing day

Saturday 14 April

Although the last blog was posted on Saturday, it was about Friday 13th – perhaps that's why I lost my sunglasses! Anyway, this blog is about Saturday.

It's a beautiful sunny day, quite warm in the full sunshine, but a bit chilly in the shade.

We decide to visit the Jewish Cemetery, which is about 15 minutes walk from our hostel. However we get a bit lost and ask a couple who are walking past if they know where it is. As with most other Wroclawians they are extremely helpful and friendly and we end up in conversation for about 20 minutes. They are a married couple who teach English, so they understand what we are saying! In addition to being a teacher, the man plays guitar in a hard-rock band called “Lady Perfect”, although, he added with a broad smile, the band wasn't perfect and it didn't have any ladies in it. This wife had lived for a time in Salisbury. We said our son and his fiancee lived there until very recently. The couple had also spent time in London and Wales but hadn't been to Bristol. We've yet to find someone in Wroclaw who has!

The couple direct us to the cemetery which is really just a huge rather neglected area with lots of tombstones and trees. There are some stone vaults where whole families are buried. There are, according to the guidebook, some very famous Jews buried here, but this is not a cemetery particularly for Jews who died during the 2^nd world war. They were simply Jews who lived in Wroclaw (which was German territory before 1945). Some of the tombstones date back to several centuries ago. There is an air of peace and tranquillity here, though we do not notice any birdsong.

I need my cup of coffee. We take a tram into the centre of Wroclaw, but as it's nearly lunchtime decide to forgo the elevenses and search for somewhere to eat. I buy a pair of huge purple sunglasses which I can wear over my normal glasses, having lost my optical sunglasses yesterday. Reg is feeling witty.

“Out of a crisis comes light. Or rather, darkness in your case,” he quips.

We have Polish dumplings stuffed with pork for lunch, with several “dips”. The food is delicious and we are soon full up. We chat to the waitress, who is studying Geology at Wroclaw University. Reg always asks all our young waitresses and waiters if they are university students, and invariably they are. They always seem pleased to have a chance to use their English, which is usually quite good.

After lunch we return to a shop we went to yesterday, to buy a present for one of the family (no details here, or it won't be a surprise). I persuade the friendly young woman behind the counter to post the present home for us (Elaine, watch out for the parcel). She couldn't really refuse as she remembered us from yesterday when Reg mended a stool for her (as you do).

After lunch we visit the botanical gardens. They are really special, and we spend a relaxing couple of hours here, stopping at a cafe for lemon tea (even I am starting to enjoy this) and a lodi (icecream). There is only one woman serving in the kiosk – she is cooking, making sandwiches and hot drinks, and taking the money. Talk about multi-tasking, not to mention food hygiene.

Today is much more relaxing than yesterday, which is how we planned it. We find that sightseeing can be extremely tiring if you try to cram too much into one day. We decide to round off our day, before going for our evening meal, with an hour-long boat trip along the river. There are lots of Italians on the boat, and two of them start waltzing on the small deck area to piped music, which is playing “Magic Moments”.

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After regaining our landlegs, we make for a restaurant which is recommended in the guide. It's quite classy, but it is our last night in Wroclaw, and in Poland for that matter. As we go in, the bow-tied maitre d'hote looks at us in our fleeces and walking boots and says in English “reservations only,madam.” So we beat a hasty retreat and go next door, which is just as classy, and where they welcome us with open arms.

The food turns out to be top quality. I have beef in mushroom sauce, Reg has pork knuckle,which has been slow-cooked and is delicious. We have some wine and a pudding, plus tea and coffee afterwards. The total cost for the two of us is £40, which is expensive by Polish standards but reasonable in England. The food is brilliant, the service first class, the surroundings elegant, and the young waiter enjoys talking football (European cup) with Reg. What more could you ask for?

As a bonus a tram arrives straight away to take us to our hostel – where we pack our things, ready to leave at 6.30 am tomorrow, to catch the 7.22 train from Wroclaw to Lvov in the Ukraine. The journey will take fifteen and a half hours, arriving in Lvov at 11.07pm Polish time (12.07am Ukranian time.) We'll be an hour ahead of Poland in Lvov.

I've lost my optical sunglasses!

Had a Polish breakfast in the hostel - cold meat & sourcrout (which I didn't indulge in but Reg did), lovely bread baked on the premises, scrambled egg, frankfurter, cottage cheese, Polish Edam type cheese, home made jam, and, of course, English tea.  Gave us full tummies to start the day!

We've found people in Wroclaw particularly helpful and friendly.  A woman rolled down the window of her parked car to tell Reg his camera had just fallen out of his rucksack (what are we like?!!)  And thanks to a fellow passenger, we've finally figured out how to pay on the tram, since you don't pay the driver - he's shut away in his driver's compartment.  You can buy tickets at newpaper kiosks, or at machines at tram stops (though we've yet to locate a machine at a tram stop).  Or, you can buy the tickets from the machine on the tram with your credit card.  You don't have to type in your pin|!  Weird!  The first time I've ever used my card in a machine without typing in my pin.  However, the kind fellow passenger said, if the pay machine on the tram is out of order (this has happened to us twice) you don't have to pay at all.  The mystery of paying for tram tickets has been solved|!  By the way, once you've bought your tickets(s), you have to put them into a separate machine on the tram to validate them - or else, if the inspector gets on, you're in trouble.  It's all quite easy really when you know how.  We're old hands at it now of course!!

Once in Wroclaw we realise we've left behind in the hostel the details we need to collect our next train tickets from the town's Post Office.  We have to collect them today, so Reg says we'll have to go back to the hostel and get the missing papers.  Then we think about retrieving the email (which would have all the info we need to collect the tickets) through Reg's phone, using an internet cafe.  We visit the Tourist Information Office to ask the whereabouts of an internet cafe.  To our surprise we're told we don't need to do this, as we are in a free wifi spot.  We are then able to retrieve the email and the information we need (which fortunately the organisation which arranged the train tickets has written in Polish), show it to the clerk at the Post Office, and, hey presto!  The clerk disappears out the back and returns waving our envelope containing our precious tickets!  We are mightily impressed!

Wroclaw is beautiful, unspoilt, and cheap to eat out in. We decided just to bring one backpack while out for the day and Reg is chivalrously carrying it.  I only have my tiny handbag to carry, and my optical sunglasses don't fit in it.  So they're in the pocket of my fleece.  Or they were till they must have dropped out.  So far we've lost our lunch yesterday (which I later found in my suitcase (why on earth would I put it in my suitcase?) and now my sunglassses.  Oh dear.  Retracing our steps and asking in the coffee shop brings no joy.  Have asked Angela if she would kindly organise having my prescription emailed  to me (it pays to have friends).

Reg then shouts "Uuuuh!" and looks down.  I move my feet and step on his reading glasses which he's just dropped.  He's not amused.  Luckily he has another pair.

We have an interesting, enjoyable but very tiring day sightseeing.  At lunch the couple on the table opposite (we discover that he is Scottish, she is Polish)  offer to help us decipher  the menu.  We get  into a long conversation about tracing our roots.

In the afternoon we visit Wroclaw university, which is a very beautiful building with ornate carved stonework and spectacularly painted ceilings.  A steward approaches us and points out a couple of things, and we say "tac" (yes) and "dobja" (good). This encourages a further spiel, and we haven't the heart to tell him we don't understand a word he's saying, as he's enjoying himself so much, and he's a very nice man, we can tell.

By 5pm, as we walk along the by the river, I have a sick headache.  We rest awhile, and after a couple of ibuprofen I feel much better.  We decide to go for an early meal then back to the hostel.

We return to the restaurant we ate in last night as the food was delicious and extremely reasonable.  By now I'm feeling better but decide just to have a starter (potato pancakes and 3 sauces) and icecream after.  Reg has pork chop and bacon, which we are surprised to find comes cooked in breadcrumbs.  Reg said he enjoyed it though,  and I tried a bit - it tasted good.

After our tram journey back to the hostel (yey! the ticket machine was working so I bought all the tram tickets we need for tomorrow too)  - we arrive home at 9 pm.  Reg goes downstairs for a cuppa and further long chat with the hostel receptionist about Poland.  I fall into bed and sleep soundly till morning.

We've arrived in Wroclaw!

We arrive in Wroclaw quite tired after 6 hours on the train, even though it was a very comfortable journey.  We have a system now for getting on and off trains.  Reg lifts my big wheelie suitcase and his backpack on and off transport and up and down stairs, and I manage my & his small backpack.  Moving on the straight is a different matter. Reg takes his luggage (large rucksack and small rucksack) and I wear my new purple backpack (which is supremely comfortable, thank you Elaine and your friend Kate), and scoot along beside my borrowed-from-my-lovely-sister 4 wheeled case, which goes reasonably fast on a smooth flat surface, despite containing everything but the kitchen sink, and therefore to my shame being extremely heavy.  This despite my being ruthless and routing out the 6 extra bottles of shampoo and conditioner and shower gel before we left home.

The "Flower Power" hostel (yes it is actually called that) in Wroclaw is absolutely lovely.  Small, friendly. clean, and provides proper towels! Yippee!  But I am tired and oh dear a bit niggly after our long train journey. I have another go at my lovely husband.  We decide to go into Wroclaw and the hostel receptionist recommends some restaurants and tells us which trams to get.  I can't wait to get out into the fresh air and to get walking, having been sitting on the train for so long.  I start off being friendly and polite, calm and patient while Reg engages into a long conversation about Wroclaw and Poland in general, and his Polish roots.  Reg is showing no signs of finishing the conversation and I'm getting hot and bothered, as I am too tired to follow this chat any longer.  In a gap in the conversation I say,"Shall be off then, dear?" but Reggie is engrossed in his dialogue with the hostel lady (he gets on well with everyone) and doesn't take the hint.  I say, "I'll see you downstairs" and feel the welcome rush of fresh air as I wait outside for Reg.  He follows after in a minute or 2 and there follows an angry tirade from me about his lack of sensitivity in ignoring my obvious need to get out into the fresh air.  We quickly make up though and take the tram into Wroclaw,  enjoying a delicious Polish meal (including those potato cakes, Rose, that we enjoyed so much in Prague).  We return to the hostel tired but happy, and enjoy a telephone conversation with George, Marianne and Elaine, who is over at G & M's tonight.

I've lost my lunch!

I forgot to mention the sunken double bed in our hostel room. It was a bit like getting into a swimming pool, and just as difficult to climb out of, especially when needing a wee in the middle of the night. Hey!! We're not all young things in this hostel you know! Some of us have knees which have known better days! The hostel was great though. Extremely friendly and helpful young staff on the reception desk.

After our pizza last night we got talking to some young people in the lounge. One was German, one was German but had a Japanese father and had been brought up in the Netherlands, and one was Australian. We talked about our travels – they were impressed with our trip – our itinerary and how long it would take us. Then it got on to the subject of politics and the NHS and I said how easy it was to criticise those in power, what difficult decisions our ruling party have to make, and I wouldn't want to be Prime Minister for all the tea in China. (No worries, I haven't ever been asked to run for parliament...).

Reg and I both had the best night's sleep we've had in ages. We're gradually getting into relaxed mode. Went for breakfast to a small bakery/cafe opposite the hostel. I had warm croissants and jam.. delicious! Tried Assam tea,it's actually ok without milk. The milk here is often the old-type sterilized milk, with a strong smell and taste which some people love, but I don't like and Reg won't touch as it makes him want to heave. Reg didn't want breakfast, as they didn't have toast and he's not keen on croissants. He said he'll eat the egg roll he's still got from yesterday. I bought a tasty looking camembert baguette (yes, it's my favourite,Brucie),but think when packing I left it in our hostel room. As Elaine said in an early morning text to me, “Mum, what are you like”.  Postscript:  When we unpacked in the hostel in Wroclaw, found my lunch in my suitcase!!

The showers in the Berlin hostel are really good. We're managing ok with those quick-drying absorbent

backpackers towels – not quite like the lovely fluffy towels in Hotel Bristol Stephanie but a lot lighter and less bulky for travelling. Elaine said that when she went travelling for 3 months, she used to dream of a proper towel, and I expect I'll be the same.

It's 11.50 am as I write this, and we're on the train from Berlin to Wroclaw in Poland (Reg has just said over my shoulder that it was German before the 2^nd World War.) We caught the train at 9.45 am and arrive in Wroclaw at about 3pm. We're there till Sunday. Many of you will know that Reggie is half Polish.

“Reg, why did you choose to go to Wroclaw in particular?”

“Because it's a very beautiful city. In fact nearly everywhere we're going, we're going because they are spectacularly beautiful places – many are World Heritage Sites”.

So there you have the answer.

Reg and I are managing to sort out our differences. He gets enthusiastic and rushes on ahead to find the right bus stop, the right platform etc. It is quite important to check these things out, after all. But, in a tired tirade as we disembarked from our train at Berlin last night and Reggie disappeared before you could say “Circus Hostel”, I told him how it felt to be left behind, wheeling along a large suitcase, and likely to lose sight of him at any moment.

“I bet Geoff wouldn't do that to Rose,” I whinged. Reg did give me that lovely big smile of his, , and he has been much better since, only walking a few yards ahead now (!!)

As I leave you for now, I look at the cluttered table in front of our train seats. On it is: this computer, Reg's book, my book (I'm not using my kindle yet as I have to finish the book I brought from home, “Wild Swans”,about Chinese life under Chairman Mao) the thermos flask, Pringles, cups and spoons, teabags & milk sachets (thanks, Marianne! So thoughtful and a real life-saver!),Aldi's version of Hobnobs, 2 bottles of water, a copy of “The Word for Today”, fruit (brought from home), train timetables and tickets, Reg's wallet and headphones, and his egg sandwich from yesterday, which I don't fancy sharing. We stop for over half an hour at Wegliniec at about lunchtime, so I may be able to nip on to the platform and buy a replacement lunch, should they happen to sell food on the platform!

Brussels to Berlin

Travelling by train all the way from Brussels to Berlin. This takes most of the day. Unfortunately we didn't realise that there are 4 railway stations in Brussels and guess what – we went to the wrong one! Had to quickly get into another taxi to take us to the right station. Traffic is slower with the public transport strike (everyone is going to work in private cars) but we make it on time. We have to change trains twice on our journey to Berlin. Lunch is a Camembert baguette and Pringles bought at Aachen station in Germany. From Aachen to Koln we have our first experience of travelling on a double decker train. The trains and stations in Germany are extremely clean, as you would expect in Germany – but one of their trains was 5 minutes late! Mmmmp. Not what we expect from German efficiency!

Orange have texted me to tell me that in the EU I can still text home for 10p. Reg looks at the beautiful countryside out of the train window while I busy myself sending loads of texts, thanking the good number of kind people who texted us “bon voyage” messages.

We're both still very tired,but relaxed. Reg is now fast asleep as I write this. Think I

will have a doze too. We are oap's, after all!

Am finishing writing this blog posting while sitting in the lounge area of the Circus Hostel in Berlin.  We've stayed here before - remember it, Elaine?  Just had pizza for dinner in the very busy fast pizza place across the road.  Delicious.

Tomorrow we travel to Wroclaw in Poland.  We leave Berlin at 9.45 am tomorrow and arrive in Wroclaw at about 3 pm.   We'll stay there till Sunday.

No, Ray, I'm not out of my comfort zone yet - German trains are smooth & clean with lovely toilets.  I think I'll be rating the trains we travel on by the state of the "little room"! And our accommodation so far has been clean and comfortable.  I'll let you know when things deteriorate!

Departure day!!

 Our train was due to leave Parkway at 11.01am T. My reputation for not quite being on time went before me. My dear sister-in-law Rose arrived at about 10 past 10, and in her calm yet determined manner gave us occasional countdowns as to how many minutes we had left until 10.30, when we absolutely had to leave the house or risk missing the train. We managed to hang out the washing before we left (filling those time pockets which are what causes a late person's.. well ... lateness). Elaine would bring in the washing when she got home from work. Will she be cheering? A parent-free house at last! And for 3 and a half months! Elaine,let the party begin! Well, you do have those gorgeous cupcakes that Auntie Heather brought you yesterday, as she couldn't make you a birthday cake in March cos you were on Lent. Just right for sharing with friends.

We caught the train with 10 minutes to spare. Geoff, Rose's husband (Rose and Geoff are the grandparents of baby Joe who was born a week ago on my 60^th birthday, clever niece Sarah, and clever baby),is sharing our journey with us as far as St Pancreas, where we catch the Eurostar, as he has to go to Paris on business. He goes there a lot and has decided he prefers the train to the plane. He brings his Dahon folding bike so gets off the Eurostar in Paris and cycles to his hotel, so benefits from some stress relieving exercise as well. Can't be bad.

We arrived in Brussels to a transport strike,but didn't have to wait too long for a taxi to take us from the station to our hotel. I thought a fight might break out between a taxi driver and a private car owner – the latter was coming up to people and trying to take the taxis' business. It pays to be aware of this practice, as the private car driver will come up to you in the taxi queue and say, “How many people?” Before you know it he's got you into a car where he'll centrally lock all the doors, and as there's no meter, he can charge you what he likes, and won't let you out until you've paid him. That happened to Reg in Warsaw.

The Brussels hotel was slick, sleek and of high quality, with chandeliers and a 12 foot wide red carpet out the front. Hotel Bristol Stephanie, part of the Thon chain, its really expensive for business users, but gives great deals for private travellers. A doorman came and got our bags and soon whisked them up to our room. I was impressed. Oh, bliss, to arrive at our first destination, and be able to relax, after all the stresses and strains of the past few weeks – the nightmare of obtaining visas, train tickets which couldn't be booked until just before the journey, organisations which didn't like Mastercard, and, suitcase handles falling off when you lift your packed suitcase off the bed. Now we could relax – and we did, by having (in the hotel) rabbit cooked “au nouveau cuisine”with red wine (as I don't often drink I had a pounding head the next morning as I did have rather more than usual), followed by rhubarb crumble with fruit compote - very exotic. I slept well for the first time in about a month. No longer was my head swimming with things I had to do before I went away (eg Minutes of the Worship Committee - I wouldn't have let you down,John,honest), last minute shopping, & people to see or phone before I left). My great-nephew had arrived safely and on my birthday(I never tire of repeating this fact) – so we could leave with hearts and minds at peace!

I mustn't get used to this luxurious living though - most of our accommodation is hostels - shared bathrooms etc etc.  Lovely for the first night though!!