An ICE express stands on platform 11 at Hamburg central station.
I left Braunschweig on the 13.17 local train for Hannover, where I had to change trains for the ICE (intercity express) to Hamburg. So far so good, as the train was on time, there were plenty of seats, and the 50 minute journey is always comfortable. I arrived on platform 12, and then had 10 minutes to get to platform 7 to catch the Hamburg express. As I arrived on the platform, an ICE was waiting there, and I climbed aboard, assuming it was my train!
Well no it wasn't! It was going to Hamburg, but was the earlier train that was running 30 minutes late, because some poor soul had chosen the day of my travel to commit suicide, and all the trains were delayed and diverted. The train was packed, and obviously other travellers had joined this earlier late train, thinking it was their train that was running on time! I hope you can follow this. I explained my predicament to the ticket checker, who said, "Don't worry, keep calm and carry on," well something like that.
The stations swished by until I saw Uelzen, and then I realised that I had travelled to Hannover, changed trains, and the ICE had done a loop, and was going through a station not that far from Braunschweig! I arrived in Hamburg on the earlier train almost at the same time my proper train should have arrived, to meet my friend M, and only five minutes late! Hi di ho, the delights of travel and the vagaries of human nature.
Pizza and beer in the Restaurant near the River Alster.
I stayed for one night in the same hotel I'd stayed in way back in 2011, which was very comfortable, although one of the receptionists was a bit off, so to speak. Perhaps she had heard about Boris being made Foreign Secretary, and she too was having a bad hair day!
That evening we had a meal in the local restaurant, and then an early night for our early start on Tuesday morning for the train journey to Schleswig.
No comments:
Post a Comment