My first train to Frankfurt was at 7.59 so I got up at 6 to get Lottie some food and make sure I didn’t miss out on the hotel breakfast. Unfortunately the Migros store didn’t have dog food so Lottie had to make do with sardines. She couldn’t believe her luck.
I thought Lottie had got over her train nerves, but something about the Freccia Rossa ride from Lecce on Sunday triggered her stress again and she hasn’t enjoyed the last few journeys.
To calm her down and stretch my legs, I decided to do the 40 minute walk between Frankfurt Süd station (where we arrived from Zurich) and Frankfurt HBf station (from where the Utrecht train was departing), rather than take a connecting train.
Once on the Amsterdam train, it was another three and a half hour stretch to Utrecht, a quickly platform change and we were in Leiden after another 45 minutes on a train full of commuters.
Lottie and I have got pretty good at getting on and off trains. I’ve found that the best way is to extend her lead so she can be free to make an unfettered leap.
Sometimes there are up to four steep steps to negotiate and a big gap between train and platform. We’ve had a couple of near misses but neither of us has ended up on the track so far. Why does it have to be so difficult and how do less-abled people manage?
After leaving my bags at the hotel, which is a stone’s throw from the station, I set out to find dinner. I loved Leiden when I first visited it in my 20s and it hasn’t changed a bit.
From the smiling girl who gave me her seat on the commuter train, to the dog walkers who said hello and stopped to chat – the whole place is pervaded by a sense of cheery wholesomeness. And it’s so pretty with the canals, bicycles and picturesque buildings.
Technically my Interrail trip is ended as I’ve finished the ten allotted travel days. I still have an hour ride to the ferry and then a couple of train and underground trips to Cardiff.
The last few days from Lecce have been a slog as I’ve covered 1300 miles travelling north. If I didn’t have a dog, I’d probably have used sleepers more to cover the long distances at night.
2022 and all that 