Norway to London. By Rail. In three days...Maybe.

[Forg]

^ Yeah platforms are apparently assigned relatively fluidly in some countries, I suspect the platform used for some of where you’re going won’t be known until a few hours beforehand. May be apps that can let you know when you’re on the train killing that last 15 minutes between getting yourself ready to disembark & the train arriving …

 

[SeatBackForward]

^ Yeah platforms are apparently assigned relatively fluidly in some countries, I suspect the platform used for some of where you’re going won’t be known until a few hours beforehand. May be apps that can let you know when you’re on the train killing that last 15 minutes between getting yourself ready to disembark & the train arriving …

I'm trying to ensure that there's a minimum of 30min transfers exactly for this reason.

 

[VPS]

Just noticed the man in Seat 61 has tweeted increases in Eurostar from September from London so you may find others have been extended

Eurostar to increase London-Amsterdam departures to 4 per day on weekdays from 5 September, see timetable at https://seat61.com/trains-and-routes/london-to-amsterdam-by-eurostar.htm…. The new 06:16 from London will get you to Amsterdam at 11:11.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1542809245871230980

 

[SeatBackForward]

Just to add (or close out rather) this thread. Due to changes in days and appointments etc, its unlikely I'll be doing the three days of rail thing. What is more likely is a day spent by train from Oslo to Stavanger in Norway. Amsterdam>London via the new Eurostar connection posted by @VPS above. So in the end, quite boring unfortunately.

I had researched a route that would have taken me: Oslo>Copenhagen>Amsterdam>Innsbruk>Vienna>Pars>London with three overnight journeys. But having had a closer look at the overnight sleepers, I think I'd now prefer a hotel room! The Nightjet sleepers look a bit prison-cell like!


Anyhow, disappointed but the Oslo to Stavange r journey should still be a good one!

 

[offshore171]

Some possible routings are: Oslo>Gotenburg>Copenhagen>Hamburg>Amsterdam>Brussels>London. OR could consider going out further to say Switzerland or even Milan/Venice.

We did something like this last week, albeit heading in a different direction after Hamburg.

I appreciate that you didn't go ahead with the plan, but I thought I would add my experience in case it helps others who find this thread.

We did:

Copenhagen to Vejle
Vejle to Hamburg
Hamburg to Berlin
Berlin to Mannheim
Mannheim to Zurich

All of these were comfortable and scenic, travelling on the ICE trains at around 220-250kph.

Longest sector was ~5 hours (Berlin to Mannheim) and most of the others were around 3ish hours.

Germany required masks on the train (onboard only, not required at the station or platform), whereas Denmark and Switzerland did not.

Any suggestions on ideas? Will likely get a four day rail pass (if these are still a thing)

I wouldn't bother with a rail pass these days. Just use the app for the relevant country such as "DB Navigator" for Germany and buy the tickets electronically a few days beforehand. For cross country journeys you can use the app for either country to buy the tickets and make seat reservations.

Most trains were quite full, so I'd strongly recommend seat reservations. Apparently over the summer it was even busier.

Reservations are simple via the app, and only a few Euros extra. Worth it.

 

[FlyingFiona]

Germany required masks on the train (onboard only, not required at the station or platform), whereas Denmark and Switzerland did not.

The DB Bahn website states passengers must wear an FFP2 mask on board their trains. Did you find that was the case? I'd prefer to buy some now before I head over in a few weeks rather than scrambling around in Paris pre-departure.

(Also, I presume that when you crossed the German border the mask requirements didn't change? )

 

[offshore171]

The DB Bahn website states passengers must wear an FFP2 mask on board their trains. Did you find that was the case? I'd prefer to buy some now before I head over in a few weeks rather than scrambling around in Paris pre-departure.

Yeah supposed to be KN95/FFP2 or equivalent. In practice it looked like any mask would do.

(Also, I presume that when you crossed the German border the mask requirements didn't change? )

On the train from Denmark to Germany, the German police boarded the train at Flensburg (the nearest stop to border) and checked people had put their masks on.

No one wears a mask anywhere in Denmark, and people on the train only masked up at this point. A bit of theatre really.

Similar was the case when we caught the train out of Germany into Switzerland. Everyone took their masks off the moment the train crossed over into Switzerland.

If it helps, I found some unusually comfortable KN95 masks on Amazon

Adult_Disposable_K_N95_Face_mask,Black 5-Ply Protectionwith-Adjustable,Comfortable (black 50pc) : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

Adult_Disposable_K_N95_Face_mask,Black 5-Ply Protectionwith-Adjustable,Comfortable (black 50pc) : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement

www.amazon.com.au

 

[FlyingFiona]

Thanks for the tips!

I'd been looking at these: KN95 / FFP2 Disposable PPE Masks (10 pack) | Endo Personal Care (I mean, for sure 50 is better value, but I'm only going to end up leaving them behind!)

It's nuts that they stipulate the type of mask you wear and yet don't care when you're the other side of the border in the same carriage (especially nuts on trains entering Germany! There's zero benefit to the German nation at that point of passengers masking up.)

 

[OZDUCK]

I had the same experience as offshore171 two months ago. In all the regional and ICE trains masks were worn by everyone. In Berlin it was a bit slacker but still at least 98% were wearing them. When travelling from Prague into Germany on the the Czech Republic side no masks were worn. After the first border stop masks were worn by everyone. I never saw anyone on a German train told to replace their surgical mask with a P2 type mask. However I did see people scolded on the trains by their fellow passengers and told to pull the mask up over their mouth and nose.