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Channel Crossing

March 5, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

Not available on Eurostar

Not available on Eurostar

The English and French have always been contriving ways of getting at each other sooner, even going so far as proposing a channel tunnel as early as 1804. The current quickest invasion route is Ashford International Station to Calais in France at a mind-boggling 31 minutes. In literally less time than it takes to board the ferry in Dover, you can have crossed the channel or, more precisely, crossed under the channel in the comfort of a high-speed train.

And frankly if you’re travelling in the dark under 50 km of open sea you might just as well get it over with as rapidly as possible. It’s at best a little dull and your phone won’t work.

If, on the other hand, you’re of a mind to treat the journey as part of your trip, you might consider at least once not taking the fastest route possible and dedicating just one part of one leg of your voyage to the sea.

P&O Ferries operates between Dover and Calais and destinations in Belgium and offers an appreciably different experience to the inimitable Eurostar. For one thing, it might actually be more efficient if, for instance, you’re selling your car in Dover or popping over to France to fill your trunk with low-tax cigarettes and wine. But it’s also a proper throwback experience — it’s an actual boat on the sea and it’s susceptible to waves and fog and the rain and it feels like actual travel in a way that a high-speed drawing room in a tunnel simply never can. And your phone works — at least mine stayed on an English carrier until about twenty minutes out of Calais when it switched seamlessly to a French network.

To the pedestrian passenger — or the driver who leaves his car during the voyage — the ferries are more like junior cruise ships then they are vehicle transports. There’s an expansive view to be had foreship in the pub that wraps itself entirely around the view of flat France as you depart or, much more inspiringly beautiful, the famous white cliffs as you arrive. Or you can pass part of the short 90 minute voyage on the observation deck, complete with telescopes, in the aft. I recommend this very much because you’re outside with the elements and the smell of the sea and sound of the gulls and it’s magic.

Making the trip from, say, London, means getting first to Dover and I recommend arriving early and seeing a bit of this charming little seaside town, particularly the monstrous 12th century Dover Castle and its stunning views. A Dover pedestrian departure is surprisingly uncomplicated — Dover Priory train station is within the town and a delightful walk from the ferry docks. From the terminal you’re taken by bus to the gangplank and board the ship the way people have been boarding ships for hundreds of years. By car it’s even easier if considerably less romantic.

The best that can be said about the Calais side, if you’re not going there specifically for cheap tipple, is that it’s easy to leave. That’s slightly less true if you’re on foot from the ferry docks but there’s a handy bus to Calais train station. In fact the train station is technically within walking distance but the walk is anything but charming characterised largely by hideous corrugated tin depots. In any case the approach to the ferry terminal is very distinctly designed for automotive traffic and walking to or from it would be like walking to or from an airport.

Remember that the crossing is only 90 minutes and make a point of taking in as much sea air and scenery as you can. There’s no perspective of Dover’s moving white cliffs like that which you get from the sea and while there are obviously quicker and more convenient crossings there’s no experience exactly like a channel crossing.

You can and should book your crossing a bit in advance at www.poferries.com but these aren’t flights — you can book as late the day before departure and a one-way crossing for a pedestrian is around €30. If you don’t book in advance you can buy your tickets right at the terminal — it’s not like they’re going to run out of space — but it’ll cost you about €100.

Filed Under: Europe, tips, trains

London Layover

January 29, 2013 By Phillip Fitzsimmons Leave a Comment

If you’ve got a layover at Heathrow, even one of those diabolical short overnight layovers where it’s not economical or practical to get a hotel, consider yourself lucky — it could be Gatwick. Or worse, it could be a train station and you’ll be standing outside waiting for it to open or tramping up and down the banks of the Thames in the rain like you’re being narrated by Tom Waits.

Or you can make the most of it and leverage some of the lesser known overnight pastimes London offers.

The Gym
It’s hard to work it out from just the name, but this London institution is a gym. The Gym offers four advantages to the layover victim.
1. It’s a gym. Get a workout and get a shower or just get a workout or just a shower or just sit about sipping juice smoothies and discreetly watching the pathologically fit remain that way.
2. It’s everywhere. There are eleven London locations so you can almost certainly get to one, have an early morning workout or ogle or whatever you choose from the above menu while remaining within walking distance of your platform. There’s a The Gym in West Hampstead, convenient to Eurostar. There’s one at Waterloo if you’ve got an early train to Portsmouth or Windsor. They’re in Hounslow literally walking distance from Heathrow airport. They’re opening more locations as we speak.
3 and 4. It’s open 24 hours and offers a £5 one-day membership. I’m not counseling loitering (I’m kind of counseling loitering) but even if you’re not planning on running the risk of getting healthy that’s a pretty good deal for a clean, warm place with showers and fit people.

The Prince Charles Cinema
The Prince Charles is the only repertory cinema in the UK that “does not receive funding from the Arts Council”! And apparently, that’s meaningful!
Whatever it might mean in theory in practice the Prince Charles is a casual, evocative little centrally located cinema that seems to have a mandate to bring cheer to the layover casualty. They’re open 24-hours (or they wouldn’t be on this list) and they do unashamedly low-brow marathons like Alien, Schwarzenegger vs Stallone and Die Hard — and they go on all night long. The only downside to this arrangement is that you’ll likely have to leave in the middle of a feature.
The Prince Charles has a snack bar, of course, in addition to a real bar but anyway it’s located just off Leicester Square in London’s tiny Chinatown so you can cram a pretty intense London experience into a fairly short layover. Note that this is a tiny, 50-seat theatre so if you know about your layover in advance you might want to buy your tickets online.

A Casino
The cynical might suggest that the recent loosening of the rules governing London casinos are a wholesale money-grab at the expense of those with no self-restraint. To the layover patsy, though, 24-hour opening times and instant registration mean multiple locations throughout London where they can risk their entire vacation budget in exchange for a happy, well-lit, entertaining environment in which to while away the hours until departure.
Unfortunately the rule changes also heralded a new age of wall-to-wall bling and where it was once possible to hang around a casino, watch sports on TV and linger at the bar there’s no more room for that and you’ll either have to play or loiter very cleverly. Entry is free, though, so you could consider money lost on the slot machines a fair price to pay for shelter during your layover or you can try just getting some chips and lingering at the table games disguised as a high-roller biding your time.
There are twenty casinos scattered over London so you’ll probably find something near where you need to be in the morning but the more central you are the easier it’ll be. Don’t forget to have your passport with you and to be at least 18 years old.

What I first said
Having said all that I’d like to give a final endorsement to the first proposal which involved the Thames and the rain and Tom Waits playing in your head — this might still be among the very best ways to spend an overnight layover in London.

Wholly inappropriate image courtesy of Frankfurt Airport “lounge” (Joi Ito) / CC BY 2.0

Filed Under: Europe, hitchhiking, tips, trains Tagged With: slide

Night Train

January 10, 2013 By Phillip Fitzsimmons Leave a Comment

Dude, why the hell did you wake me-HOLY SHIT!

Dude, why the hell did you wake me-HOLY SHIT!

When one is young is when travel presents its finest, freshest and fullest opportunities to live and learn, to expand and be expansive, to party, get drunk and, with a little finesse, have sex with strangers you’ll never see again.

You’ve probably got your own ideas about how to achieve the above lofty goals but if you haven’t considered doing at least part of your voyage by night train then you must. You really really must.

And it doesn’t even matter all that much which bit of your journey the night train fills. The more the better because not only are the night trains cheaper than regular trains (and if you’re travelling on a Eurail pass they’re as near free as makes no difference) but of course a night on a train is a night you don’t have to pay for a hotel. You’ll need to sort out a shower in the morning (oh, yes you will) but these days that can be done for a euro or two at most train stations.

The Allegro Hotel Trains do the route between northern Italy and Vienna so, for example, Venice to Salzburg. Scenic as all hell but of course, it’s night time. If you want to see the mountains (you want to see the mountains) go from Venice to Vienna and you’ll see the sun rising over them in the morning. If you oversleep and miss that then come here so I can slap you. They’re called Allegro Hotel Trains because they’re trains, not because they’re fast or provide anything like hotel accommodation unless you stump up for a cabin with a toilet and shower (which is, in fact, pretty cool).

In the summer the Paris/Nice night trains are a 12-hour party so make sure you’re heading south where you can sleep on the beach when you get there. In fact the beach at Nice is all good sized rocks and it’s summer so you’re going to have to be really, really sleepy to not be kept awake by some of the most svelt and simmering eye-candy that Europe offers.

Ellipsos goes between Paris and Madrid or Barcelona. Choose Barcelona. Unless it’s summer time, then really, really choose Barcelona. As a general rule, if your main objective in choosing the night train is to party with strangers then the north to south route is preferable. It’s mostly the same crowd going from Barcelona to Paris but they’re just a little more tired and a lot more hungover than the southbound traveller.

An excellent place to leave in winter is Malmo in Sweden and a cool way to leave it is the night train to the ski resorts in Åre and Storlien. Note that unless you’re an avid skier the night train is the most fun you’re going to have — none of these destinations are Barcelona. On the other hand the atmosphere in either direction is very après-ski and if you go alone you won’t arrive alone. All year-round there are night trains between Göteborg and Malmo and Stockholm and realistically this route is probably your best chance of joining the 120km/hour club with a stranger.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There’s a great Iberian route and one across Tuscany. There’s Malmo/Berlin and British routes between London and Cornwall and London and Scottish destinations. Apart from the British trains they’re all a bargain, particularly if you don’t need to sleep so that you can just book a regular seat as opposed to a couchette. Regular seats are absolutely not for sleeping so bring plenty to do and drink. Couchettes are calmer, as a rule, and if money’s no object you can have a private cabin and, in some cases, washroom facilities (don’t count on hot water).

These journeys are usually about 12 hours, so be prepared. Bring plenty of water and food and wine. There may be a restaurant car but do you really want to count on that? Even if it’s attached to the train and open it’s going to be overpriced or revolting and in all likelihood both. Anyway what’s more convivial than a shared picnic rumbling through the Alps at four in the morning?

The rest is up to you. Be friendly and nice and remember that almost everybody on the night train is there for the same reason you are. Good night.

Filed Under: Europe, tips, trains Tagged With: slide