greatcats
Engineer
A few days ago I wrote on this forum about Italian and Swiss trains and then I arrived Basel, a beautiful city on the Rhine. I have already remarked on how expensive Switzerland is, so will not belabor that point further. The Hotel Basel was by far the nicest place I have encountered since starting in Bulgaria - it appears to be a rather new building, but blends in with the style of the old city on the exterior, and is quite modern on the inside. I went to the Muenster ( Cathedral ) twice on Sunday; in the morning for the German service, mainly to hear the excellent organ and choir, and at 6pm attended the Anglican service in English in the St. Niklaus Chapel, complete with choir and small pipe organ. An aesthetic delight for me!
The next day, I had intentions of taking a Rhine boat cruise, but they take the day off on Mondays. Likewise the art museum. So, for FREE! ( imagine that in Switzerland, because of a pass for hotel guests ) I had unlimited use of the public transport system and opted for what was billed as the Panorama tram tour. ( aka streetcar, aka trolley - w/ pantograph, aka light rail . ) The extensive system in Basel is quite amazing - multiple cars and articulated units snake through the narrow streets. This suggested route makes two loops, on either side of the Rhine, and ascends via a separate right of way up to the Bruederholz neiighborhood, which looks pretty upscale. I debarked up there and walked some woodland paths and around the water tower, which was quite pleasant. Arriving back downtown, I had a nice lunch of pork with mushroom and wine sauce out on the sidewalk, making this the main meal of the day, since there would be no dining car on the train. Per one of our forum members suggestions, I purchased a takeout box and Black Forest tort from the Migros supermarket in the SBB station. ( this is the big station that handles the Swiss and also French trains, and my City Night Line Train left from here. ) There is another station on the north side of the Rhine, the Bad Bahnhof, which belongs to DB, Deutsche Bahn. This huge structure looks like it had a **** architect, with sweeping stone lines that somewhat resemble the stadium where the notorious Olympics were held in the 1930s. Maybe the same architect. I will say one thing for this station - on the above ground platforms, they are very wide, serving two tracks. Penn Station in New York could use platforms of these dimensions, but there would not be many tracks remaining after such a remodel!
OK, with picnic in hand, our train pulled in the station. Vestibule open, nobody there - had trouble finding my room, as things are labeled differently than what one expects. Finally found the car attendant, John, who was a nice guy, but I'll have to say he was out to lunch. When we arrived in Copenhagen, he was in his cabin, not assisting passengers getting off. It is common in Europe for passengers to open doors themselves, but the people ahead of me did, I followed, and we found we were on the wrong platform, not meant for public use. So, I opened the door on the other side myself - no sign of John! Duh!
What I am about to describe, not that the trip was horrible, but in some respects it made Amtrak look pretty good. My sleeping car compartment was pretty nice; this was a single level car. Intended to sleep three passengers, with quite a bit of room to maneuver, and a spacious bathroom with shower, with a clever design of a swiveling sink that is filled from the showerhead. One of the two light bulbs in the room was out. John did not have a replacement. I took a shower later and the squeeze bottle labeled soap and shampoo was empty. ( I had my own shampoo, just in case. ) Not too impressive.
A few months ago the dining car was eliminated on this train. It now reads Bistro. Harrumph! Amtrak snack cars have more to say for them than this. I procured a small bottle of wine with my remaining Swiss cash to have with my picnic in my room, for which there was no table, although there is a rack for drinks. The bistro is in one portion of a sleeper, with a small window for service and a table or two with benches and a standup area. I did not linger here, although the young lady attendant was very sweet. They only have wine and beer, no brandy or Scotch which I might have liked later. These trains have no lounge car, so other than this small snack bar area, there is no place to go besides one's room and mingle with other passengers. In lieu of a baggage car, there is a large area in one of the cars for bicycles.
I will say my compartment was comfortable, and in the past I have done couchettes in Europe and similar stacked sleepers in China, which I detested. The ride through Germany in the evening is mildly interesting, mostly rural. We pulled into Frankfurt about three and a half hours after departure, around 10pm and the ventilation and electric plugs went out, evidently because the locomotive was run to the other end to reverse direction. About 2am I was awakened because my CPAP machine went out - for switching and I believe this was in Hamburg. The other section of the train came from Prague.
I awoke about 6:15 am and we were stopped at the Danish border at Padborg. John brought me my " deluxe " breakfast " as requested at 7:15. I realize this is a take on the traditional European continental breakfast, but I was unable to give a thumbs up - one hard roll, a sweet roll, liver spread, cream cheese, jam, a little container of applesauce and tea, as the coffee was not recommended. ( I have been in too many hotel breakfast buffets lately. ) The rest of the trip was mainly through rural areas. One thing I do not like about Europe, plus we have it in the US, is the preponderance of graffiti, even in Switzerland. It is shame to see sleek, modern rail equipment and buildings defaced this way. We arrived Copenhagen only about 5 minutes late. I give the train credit for being pretty comfortable, having a smooth ride, and arriving as advertised. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 5. In the next two weeks I will be on Norwegian trains, and hope that I will have more positive reports.
The next day, I had intentions of taking a Rhine boat cruise, but they take the day off on Mondays. Likewise the art museum. So, for FREE! ( imagine that in Switzerland, because of a pass for hotel guests ) I had unlimited use of the public transport system and opted for what was billed as the Panorama tram tour. ( aka streetcar, aka trolley - w/ pantograph, aka light rail . ) The extensive system in Basel is quite amazing - multiple cars and articulated units snake through the narrow streets. This suggested route makes two loops, on either side of the Rhine, and ascends via a separate right of way up to the Bruederholz neiighborhood, which looks pretty upscale. I debarked up there and walked some woodland paths and around the water tower, which was quite pleasant. Arriving back downtown, I had a nice lunch of pork with mushroom and wine sauce out on the sidewalk, making this the main meal of the day, since there would be no dining car on the train. Per one of our forum members suggestions, I purchased a takeout box and Black Forest tort from the Migros supermarket in the SBB station. ( this is the big station that handles the Swiss and also French trains, and my City Night Line Train left from here. ) There is another station on the north side of the Rhine, the Bad Bahnhof, which belongs to DB, Deutsche Bahn. This huge structure looks like it had a **** architect, with sweeping stone lines that somewhat resemble the stadium where the notorious Olympics were held in the 1930s. Maybe the same architect. I will say one thing for this station - on the above ground platforms, they are very wide, serving two tracks. Penn Station in New York could use platforms of these dimensions, but there would not be many tracks remaining after such a remodel!
OK, with picnic in hand, our train pulled in the station. Vestibule open, nobody there - had trouble finding my room, as things are labeled differently than what one expects. Finally found the car attendant, John, who was a nice guy, but I'll have to say he was out to lunch. When we arrived in Copenhagen, he was in his cabin, not assisting passengers getting off. It is common in Europe for passengers to open doors themselves, but the people ahead of me did, I followed, and we found we were on the wrong platform, not meant for public use. So, I opened the door on the other side myself - no sign of John! Duh!
What I am about to describe, not that the trip was horrible, but in some respects it made Amtrak look pretty good. My sleeping car compartment was pretty nice; this was a single level car. Intended to sleep three passengers, with quite a bit of room to maneuver, and a spacious bathroom with shower, with a clever design of a swiveling sink that is filled from the showerhead. One of the two light bulbs in the room was out. John did not have a replacement. I took a shower later and the squeeze bottle labeled soap and shampoo was empty. ( I had my own shampoo, just in case. ) Not too impressive.
A few months ago the dining car was eliminated on this train. It now reads Bistro. Harrumph! Amtrak snack cars have more to say for them than this. I procured a small bottle of wine with my remaining Swiss cash to have with my picnic in my room, for which there was no table, although there is a rack for drinks. The bistro is in one portion of a sleeper, with a small window for service and a table or two with benches and a standup area. I did not linger here, although the young lady attendant was very sweet. They only have wine and beer, no brandy or Scotch which I might have liked later. These trains have no lounge car, so other than this small snack bar area, there is no place to go besides one's room and mingle with other passengers. In lieu of a baggage car, there is a large area in one of the cars for bicycles.
I will say my compartment was comfortable, and in the past I have done couchettes in Europe and similar stacked sleepers in China, which I detested. The ride through Germany in the evening is mildly interesting, mostly rural. We pulled into Frankfurt about three and a half hours after departure, around 10pm and the ventilation and electric plugs went out, evidently because the locomotive was run to the other end to reverse direction. About 2am I was awakened because my CPAP machine went out - for switching and I believe this was in Hamburg. The other section of the train came from Prague.
I awoke about 6:15 am and we were stopped at the Danish border at Padborg. John brought me my " deluxe " breakfast " as requested at 7:15. I realize this is a take on the traditional European continental breakfast, but I was unable to give a thumbs up - one hard roll, a sweet roll, liver spread, cream cheese, jam, a little container of applesauce and tea, as the coffee was not recommended. ( I have been in too many hotel breakfast buffets lately. ) The rest of the trip was mainly through rural areas. One thing I do not like about Europe, plus we have it in the US, is the preponderance of graffiti, even in Switzerland. It is shame to see sleek, modern rail equipment and buildings defaced this way. We arrived Copenhagen only about 5 minutes late. I give the train credit for being pretty comfortable, having a smooth ride, and arriving as advertised. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 5. In the next two weeks I will be on Norwegian trains, and hope that I will have more positive reports.
