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Tag: Deutsche Bahn

A Day of Deutsche Bahn…

A Day of Deutsche Bahn…

Published on 30 October 2025 
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If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

Time to go home! Just two high-speed ICE trains, with an easy, 51 minute transfer in Frankfurt am Main. Well, that was the plan, but when travelling with Deutsche Bahn, things hardly ever go as planned…

Since it would be quite a challenge to pack my bag—with more beer, pálinka, clothes, and goodies than I originally left Brussels with—I had my breakfast in the hotel. I even got around to trying the waffle iron this time! Once everything was squeezed in my bag, I checked out for the last time in a while, and went across the street to the station.

In Wien Hbf my ICE to Frankfurt (Main) Hbf was already waiting for at the platform twenty minutes in advance. Well, at least half of it was, so people with seats in the missing carriages were slightly panicking… The other half was attached a bit later, and the then complete train left on time, and stayed on time until we arrived at the first station in Germany… There, due to some ‘technical issues’, we stayed at the station way langer than scheduled… For a while, it still seemed feasible to catch my connection, but the closer we got, the more unlikely it became. Luckily it wasn’t my first time travelling with DB, so I had made sure not to be dependent on catching the last train to Brussels in Frankfurt.

We arrived in Frankfurt am Main Hbf about ten minutes after my scheduled connection left. Fine, I already made a seat reservation on the next—and last—train to Brussels, about an hour and a half later. So I left the station to get something to eat and kill the time. My first choice was a trendy hamburger restaurant, but there was a queue outside, so I went to a fast-food place instead. As it turned out, that queue probably saved my return journey…

Back in Frankfurt am Main Hbf, I went to the platform where my train would leave from. Just after I got comfortable for the wait, I noticed something on the departure board: my train would skip Frankfurt am Main Hbf, and depart from Frankfurt am Main Flughafen Fernbf instead! So I jumped on the first train heading in that direction, which dropped me off at the regional train station at the other side of the airport, and made my way over a dozen escalators and through long corridors to the right platform, which I got to in time.

And just when you think it’s over: another train in front of us broke down, so our ICE had to make a detour. Eventually, at ten minutes after midnight, I alighted in Brussels Midi station… Next time I’ll just take the ÖBB NightJet again!

La Cabra, Kraftpaule, and the Kálmán Imre

La Cabra, Kraftpaule, and the Kálmán Imre

Published on 18 October 2025

It all started with a post-it note left at the 2024 BMPH3 Xmas Party: “Come to Transylvania OCT 25”. Well, it is October 2025 now, so I’m heading to Romania for a hashing event… It is quite a trek, though, so I’ll be making some stops along the way. First destination: Budapest!

Like most of my international trips, this one too started in Brussels Midi train station, to board the ICE 15 to Frankfurt am Main. It was one of the newer models: very comfortable, and everything seemed to work. Even ordering food to my seat, which I did for lunch: a Frikadellenbrötchen mit Senf and a bottle of Apfelschorle. It’s a German train, after all!

I had hoped to have plenty of time to enjoy a coffee, but with the ICE’s arrival ten minutes late—Deutsche Bahn, so not unexpected—I kind of had to drink my La Cabra espresso Italian style! Just my luck that the barista at eins zwei was a particular loquacious one—albeit very nice and informative—so I really had to leg it to get back to the station in time. I did catch my train—the ICE 117 this time—and continued to Stuttgart! 

In Stuttgart I definitely had enough time to sit down and properly enjoy my coffee at Jules Coffee Roastery.  I actually had enough time for beer and dinner! For that beer I went to Kraftpaule. You might remember them as the organisers of Craft Beer Festival Stuttgart, which I visited in 2024. 

For dinner I had the Halbes Hähnchen and potato salad at Biergarten im Schlossgarten. 

Since I wanted to enjoy some more beers on the train, I went to Die Bierothek to stock up. 

And then… The EuroNight 50237 Kálmán Imre to Budapest Keleti was perfectly on time, but the sleeper car was suspiciously dark, and the doors stayed closed. And indeed, the MÁV staff informed me it was out of service, and I would be spending the night in a (shared) couchette instead…Luckily the only other occupants were a quiet French couple, using the top berths, so I still kind of had the bottom part of the couchette to myself. Oh well, time for those train beers, and an attempt to get some sleep after that. Good night!

A Short Trail and a Long Trip

A Short Trail and a Long Trip

Published on 28 July 2024 
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The last day of a hash event is usually a short one, to give participants enough time for the voyage home. On the programme: the Hangover Trail!

The Hangover Trail was as usual quite short—just 4,5 km sightseeing through Hamburg today—and followed by a circle to close off the whole weekend.

While the trail only lasted an hour, the voyage home, which should only take 6,5 hours including transfers, would take me 9 hours in the end! Just as well I didn’t book the latest trains, since I would then probably have had to spend the night in Köln! The extended transfer times of 45 minutes in Hannover and of 1,5 hours in Köln did mean I could take my time for a coffee—although just not enough time to go to a specialty coffee place—and a proper meal in Köln: Leberkäse mit Spiegelei, Bratkartoffeln, Krautsalat und süßem Senf (meat loaf with fried egg, fried potatoes, coleslaw, and sweet mustard) at Gaffel am Dom. And I had some Kölsch… I didn’t plan to, but when their first question is “Ein Kölsch?”, it’s hard to say no!

Then, again in true Deutsche Bahn style, the departure of my last train was about 35 minutes delayed… It did do the job of taking me home though, so this is where my story ends!

Hamburg Ho!

Hamburg Ho!

Published on 24 July 2024

My first and only visit to Hamburg already dates back almost four years, and it was just four hours long… It was however enough for me to decide I had to come back for longer someday, and today is that day! It won’t be merely a city trip, however, since the last couple of days will be spent with runs and other hashing shenanigans.

Three trains it took to get to Hamburg from Brussels! For the train geeks: the first one was a ICE3 neo! In true Deutsche Bahn style, the second arrived 25 minutes late in Hannover, so I missed the booked ICE… In the end, I arrived in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg well over an hour later than planned.

From the station I went straight to my ibis budget in the St Pauli quarter to quickly check in, and head off for my daily coffee. Train coffees don’t quite cut it for me, so I skipped those, but the hour delay meant Playground Coffee was already closed by the time I got there.

The terrace at the brewery ÜberQuell was still sunny, and the beers better than I expected! But with only breakfast and a Laugenstange in my stomach, I quickly felt the two beers, and knew it was time to move on…

Without any caffeine and some pastry, I didn’t really feel like going to one of the few museums still open I planned to visit—the U-Boot Museum—so I decided to get a head start on the evening programme instead.

Last time in Hamburg, the only taste of the local cuisine I had, was a Fischbrötchen. This time I therefore decided to try something more substantial: Labskaus, a dish with salted meat, potatoes, and onion, and beetroot, pickled gherkin, and herring on the side. The version served at Eier Carl had some good reviews, and it was conveniently close to the brewery I just was, so that’s where I went. The dish certainly reminded me of corned beef, but more liquid. While I was there, I had of course try the Eierlikör as well!

It had been quite a long day after a couple of very short nights, and I didn’t want to stray too far for tonight’s beers. So I stayed rather close to the hotel, and my next destination was just a short bus ride away: Malto!

From there another bus took me to Bar Oorlam, which kind of is the taproom of Buddelship Brauerei.

After that, it was time to finally catch up on some sleep…

Dutch Work Party – Return & Reflection

Dutch Work Party – Return & Reflection

Published on 28 April 2024 
Reached this post by just scrolling through my blog? 
If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

And then it was Sunday, and time to go home again… Bags packed, room cleaned, checked out, and it was time to walk into the village for the last time, to go to the station. Goodbye Kandersteg!

I had to take a regional train to Bern two hours earlier than I originally booked, which meant I had some time to walk into town for a coffee.

From Bern my EuroCity was supposed to go straight to Köln, but after standing still before and in Basel Bad for way to long, the train staff urged us to change onto one of the ICEs at other platforms. Just as well I took their advice, since the updated arrival time of the EC would have meant I would have missed my connection in Köln.

In Köln I arrived not much later than my EuroCity should have, so eventually the only train going as planned was my ICE 10 to Brussels…

Reflection

Even over ten years after the last time I was at KISC, it felt like home again straight away! The staff, my fellow members of the Dutch Work Party, the mountains… Seeing people of so many backgrounds and nationalities work together for a common goal, is truly inspiring, and it’s been a real pleasure and privilege to be part of that again.

It was also nice to wear my neckerchief again for a week, and actually do something hands-on for scouting again, and not just meetings and writing, even though that has its place as well.

So while I fully intend to help out with the 2027 World Jamboree in Poland in whatever capacity, I’ll definitely try to squeeze in another Dutch Work Party before then!