Warszawa & Berlin – Day 0

Published on 11 October 2023

On the European Sleeper!

Just a day after European Sleeper announced it will soon continue to their originally announced destination Prague, I find myself on one of their trains to Berlin.

European Sleeper: route Brussels - Berlin

After a slightly confusing boarding experience—carriage 1 was not at the front where it should be—I settled in my room for the night.

Stewardess—yes, that is how they call themselves on the European Sleeper!—Caroline then explained to me how everything worked, prepared my bed already—since I don’t really need three seats for just myself anyway—and brought me my welcome drink, a European Sleeper Weizen.

Of course I brought some more beers and snacks for the rest of the journey myself! For entertainment, I had downloaded some films and series on my iPad, since the current sleeper service doesn’t offer any WiFi.

Arrival in Berlin tomorrow will be quite early—shortly after six —so Caroline will bring me my breakfast and tea around that time, as soon as I open my room door. I’ll add photos of that in the morning!

Breakfast!

FyneFest Trip – Day 1

Published on 29 May 2023

Out of Kilter in Glasgow!

For breakfast on the Caledonian Sleeper I had the full Scottish, as usual. I’m happy to report it’s being served on real crockery again! Mere minutes after I finished my tea, my train arrived in Glasgow Central fifteen minutes early.

To change things up a bit and try something new, I booked a room in the Z Hotel Glasgow this time. It was my first port of call after arrival, not to check in—it was still a bit early for that—but to drop off my baggage.

Today I started with coffee quite a bit earlier than yesterday: at 7.45 I was already sipping my first cortado and killing some time at Gordon St Coffee.

Something I simply had to do after seeing and enjoying the show “Inside Central Station”, was a Glasgow Central Station Tour, so I was booked for the one at 10:00. For a moment I thought I had to do the tour without any celebrities present, but eventually Paul Lyons did make a few appearances!

After an early lunch at Riverhill Coffee Bar, I could then already check in at my hotel, giving me some time to recharge before starting a filled afternoon.

Just before my trip, I renewed my membership of the National Trust for Scotland, and the first of their properties I visited this trip, was the Tenement House.

Because I was well ahead on my schedule, I decided to already visit BrewDog Glasgow Kelvingrove, my favourite Scottish BrewDog bar. Then I reverted back to my planning, to have an Indian style fully vegan burger—the Roberto Bhaji-O—and some beers at BrewDog Merchant City.

By then it was time to change into my hash kilt, and head to The Rose Reilly, to hash with Glasgow H3, where I’m still known as Out of Kilter…

FyneFest Trip – Day 0

Published on 28 May 2023

Under the Sea & Under the Covers

It’s spring, and for me, that’s kind of the perfect time to go to Scotland! The main destination is FyneFest again, because I just couldn’t get enough of it last year. So once again, I found myself deep under the sea in a Eurostar, on my way to London.

After dropping off my bag, my first stop was Camden Coffee Roastery, since I hadn’t had time to have a coffee before leaving Brussels. Some cake would be very welcome as well, knowing beers would follow soon…

And indeed, 3 Locks Brewing Company was just a couple of hundred meters away. Unfortunately, they were only serving in disposable plastic cups, which for me was reason enough to move on after just one beer.

The next stop was The Black Heart. I had been there before, I’m sure, but either because of the the lack of cell reception, or the level of intoxication at the time, I hadn’t checked in a single beer there…

Just around the corner then, BrewDog Camden, the OG London BrewDog bar! Just a short stop this time, but I’ll make up for that on the way back.

The plan was then to have some Malaysian food at Roti King, but the queue in front of the restaurant was way too long! So I ended up at Yatri, an Indian restaurant conveniently right next to the place where I left my bag.

Then it was time for my traditional last pre-sleeper beer stop: the Euston Tap. Here again, only plastic cups, but this time they gave a reason for it: football…

Not wanting to use too much plastic, I then went to the first class lounge for a cup of tea and a muffin.

Finally it was time to board the Caledonian Sleeper! As soon as the train started moving, I made my way to the Club Car for a dram and a cheese platter, the best way to start a trip to Scotland!

A bit of blogging, and then it was time to get under the covers…

Wien, Bayern & Berlin Reise – 0

Published on 24 September 2022

ÖBB Nightjet Brussels – Wien

For the first time ever, I can take a sleeper train right right from my home town of Brussels! This ÖBB Nightjet is taking me all the way to Austria’s capital Wien, in one easy ride.

Map of NightJet route from Brussel to Vienna

I just missed out on being able to book a Deluxe room with en suite, but the toilet at the end of the carriage is clean so far, and after arrival I can go straight to the hotel for my morning shower.

Contrary to the sleeper trains I’ve used so far, the Nightjet is in day mode at departure—so normal seats and a roomy table—and the beds are only made later on. That means I could comfortably have my Too Good To Go dinner first, and a couple of train beers while watching some Netflix. I had to bring my own cooler bag with ice packs though, since fridges aren’t really common on trains in this part of the world…

It’s about time to turn in, if I want to get up early enough for breakfast, of which I will add the photos to this blog post once I have them.

Goodnight!

Addendum:

Breakfast!

FyneFest Trip – Day 0

Published on 31 May 2022

To London, and on the Caledonian Sleeper

After a shorter hiatus than last time, I find myself once again on my way to Scotland. The main destination is FyneFest this time, but I’ll be spending a couple of days in Glasgow—obviously—and Edinburgh as well.

Lessons learned after last time, I only spent a couple of hours in London in between Eurostar and Caledonian Sleeper, although somehow I still managed to visit two more bars than planned…

I finally made it to the Great Nepalese this time, and the chicken Tikka Bhutuwa with garlic naan didn’t disappoint.