Spring Nostalgia Trip: From Amsterdam to Glasgow by Train

This is one of my information-only posts. Anyone who ever plans a trip including the British Isles and any destination on the European continent should read this one.

You can pull off some pretty remarkable travel tricks in or out of the UK with the help of trains through the Channel Tunnel between England and France. Just as critical to those tricks are the dedicated high-speed rail lines connected to the tunnel at both ends, which allow trains to travel pretty much all the way from London to Paris or Brussels without leaving the high-speed tracks except at the route ends. High speed trains go even farther afield in the various countries.

Here, then, is the story of my high-speed train trip from Amsterdam (leaving at 8:45 in the morning) to Glasgow, arriving at 6:35 the same evening.

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For starters, you have to check in 60-75 minutes in advance of any departure of Eurostar, the high-speed train service that runs through the Channel Tunnel. Why, you ask? Here’s what happens at the station before you even get on the train:

[1]    Ticket gets scanned.

[2]    Security check, just like at an airport.

[3]    Outbound customs/passport check from country where you’re starting (Netherlands).

[4]    Inbound customs/passport check for destination country (United Kingdom).

[5]    Waiting lounge to board train.

This means that you have been cleared to enter your destination before even boarding the train. It’s just like the customs preclearance at major Canadian airports for flights to the U.S.A.

Next thing to understand is the three classes of service on Eurostar.

[1]          Standard Class. You get a nice seat, arranged two and two on either side of the aisle. Seat selection is included. The seats can be airline-style (with someone else’s seat back ahead of you) or a group of four facing each other on either side of a larger table. Your choice.

[2]          Standard Premier Class. Wider seats arranged one and two on either side of the aisle. Seat selection is included. Your fare includes a cold "light bite” with wine or beer of your choice, or soft drinks, coffee, tea, etc. The light bite on this trip was a dish of grilled salmon with couscous, served with a multigrain roll, butter, and a fruit sponge cake as a dessert (there was also a vegetarian option). Not bad at all, and certainly filling. This class, depending on how busy the train gets, may cost only a few dozen dollars more than standard. Especially a good buy if you can book early, up to six months in advance.

[3]          Business Premier Class. Similar seats to Standard Premier. Major difference is a wider selection in the bar service along with a hot meal instead of the cold “light bite.” Cost? Far more expensive than Standard Premier. Definitely worth the price, though, if you’re one of those people with more money than brains.

Here are some sample prices in Canadian dollars – just a random date three months ahead of time, at a similar time of day to when I travelled. These are peak season fares, but they give you an idea of the typical relationship among the three classes. The basic difference from Standard Premier to Business Premier is to pay an extra $219.46 (almost doubling the Standard Premier fare)     just to get a hot rather than cold meal and a better choice of alcohol drinks.

Standard:  185.50

Standard Premier:  269.11

Business Premier:  488.57

Eurostar fares are engraved in jello. Time of day, day of the week, how far ahead you are booking demand for a particular train – all these things mean that almost every possible train comes in at a different price.

And we’re off. The train makes several stops to pick up more passengers for London, but a London-bound Eurostar can not be used by anyone not going to London, because of the customs procedures. We stopped at Rotterdam, Brussels, and Lille.

As the train whips through the Channel Tunnel, you set your time back one hour (I actually do it even before boarding in Amsterdam). From there, it’s only another forty minutes or so and then the Eurostar is rolling into St. Pancras International Station in London. It takes a bit of time to walk  the full length of the platforms and down the exit ramps, then around the International facility and out of the station.

Here comes the payoff. King’s Cross Station, where trains leave for Scotland (and Hogwarts) is right next door to St. Pancras. We arrived in London smack on time at 11:57 am. That gave me ample time for a sit in the sun for a while outside King’s Cross Station before going in to catch my 1:00 pm train to Edinburgh. Why didn't I use the First Class premium lounge while waiting? Because the sun was a much more powerful incentive!

The train operating company running the main services to Scotland, LNER (London Northeastern Railway) offers a two-class service on its trains, like the vast majority of British rail operators. The LNER First Class service again offers one-and-two seating, and includes a meal and beverages at your seat. The lunch menu choices included a couple of hot meals, and several salads, which would be prepared and brought to you, as well as several sandwich choices. The sandwiches were pre-made and packaged, but Canadians need to know that British pre-made and packaged sandwiches generally knock their Canadian counterparts clear into the garbage bin, where they belong BTW. Mine was a ham and cheddar sandwich with Branston pickle, a kind of sweet and spicy relish which I love. The panini roll was fresh and flavourful, and the fillings were generous. As for beverages, I’m sure the staff came through the car offering hot drinks and then cold drinks three times – unless it was four. I’d never had a four-hour train trip pass so quickly. 

 

In a Standard Class coach on an LNER train, you would have to leave your seat and walk to a buffet car and then stand in line to buy drinks and food -- the same as on pretty much any railway's Standard or Economy class service including Eurostar.

 

When we pulled into Edinburgh at 5:20 pm, the 5:30 express train to Glasgow was waiting right along the same platform. Quite a few people dashed to grab it. I didn’t care so much, and simply idled along at a more leisurely pace, since I knew that those expresses (operated by ScotRail, by the way) operate every fifteen minutes during the morning and evening peak hours. Even though they make several stops on the way, the express trains still cover the distance to Glasgow in under 55 minutes.

Now, what about tickets?

First, the bad news: Eurostar sells their own tickets exclusively and only. They do not offer joint fares with other operators on other routes, nor allow other operators to jointly offer Eurostar. Also, Eurostar does not participate in any rail passes, such as Eurailpass, Britrail Pass, etc. You gotta go, you gonna pay.

For the rest, the Britrail Pass, available only in North America, is still the way to go for rail travel in the United Kingdom. I added together the single fares for the one-way ticket from London to Edinburgh, and a round-trip ticket from Edinburgh to Glasgow to Oban (more on that in another post). The result was about $45 more than buying a three-day Britrail Flexpass – usable for any three days in a month. I took the pass -- no argument here!

The real miracle, though, is the speed of the whole experience. I actually did most of this route in a different form on one of my earliest European trips, back in – I think it was 1983. It went like this:

 

Leave Amsterdam 5:30 pm, special boat train to Hoek van Holland.   

Overnight crossing by ferry, Hoek van Holland to Harwich.

Boat Train from Harwich to London Liverpool Street Station, arriving about 9:30 am.

Tube ride to King’s Cross.

“The Flying Scotsman,” the fastest express from King’s Cross to Edinburgh, departs at 11:00 am

Arrive Edinburgh 4:30 pm

Next train to Glasgow departs 5:00 pm

Arrive Glasgow 6:05 pm.

NO meals included.

Total time: 25 hours 35 minutes approximately.

 

Now, a recap of my present day travel time:

Leave Amsterdam 8:45 am, arriving at London St. Pancras 11:57am, light lunch and wine included.

Depart London King’s Cross 1:00pm, arriving Edinburgh at 5:20pm, lunch and drinks included.

Depart Edinburgh 5:45pm, arrive Glasgow 6:38pm.

Total time: 10 hours 53 minutes approximately.

 

Just a wee bit faster!

 

Spring Nostalgia Trip # 7: When Is Amsterdam Not Amsterdam?

Dear old Amsterdam. The city I've visited more often that any other in Europe. The place where just sitting in sidewalk cafe with a cold drink and watching the world go by in all its infinite and sometimes wacky variety is usually the best show in town. The very first city on the European continent which I ever visited, when I was in Grade 11, on a school trip to Italy, when our connecting flight from Amsterdam to Rome was delayed 12 hours -- and KLM took the lucky group on a coach and canal boat tour of Amsterdam as well as laying on a lunch before taking us back to the airport.

Like almost all the other major tourist cities, Amsterdam is in severe danger of choking to death on tourism. The massive crowds in the streets are making movement more difficult every year, Air B and Bs are driving out the local residents, and tourist-oriented restaurants are driving out local stores and services. It's a pattern repeated in major tourist centres all around the planet.

So, I considered the question of "When is Amsterdam not  Amsterdam?" And I came up with three answers.

Answer # 1: When it is called Ijmuiden

Ijmuiden (pronounced “Eye-maowden”) is the seaport of Amsterdam, sitting at the outlet of Amsterdam’s canal link to the North Sea. It’s pretty much a part of the whole Amsterdam/Haarlem conurbation. But it’s a peculiarly tricky place to get to or from – a long taxi ride from the city or the airport, and not even a train station anywhere closer than 2-3 miles away.

Then there’s the unfriendliness of the Felison Cruise Terminal. This is where I really felt for the people who always want to carry all their own baggage off the ship to get to shore faster, We had to walk considerably more than the full length of the ship just to get down the gangway and then hike all the way along the entire dock, and cross behind the ship, before we could even get into the terminal building. Then there were all the usual hassles there, from baggage to customs, and finally it was outside, and look around for your ride. 

 

They could hardly have made the cruise terminal experience at Ijmuiden more inconvenient if they had set out to design it that way! So if you are ever ending a cruise here, do not try to walk your own bags off the ship. Just don't.

This is one of only two cruise ports in my experience where I truly felt that a cruise company shuttle from port to airport or to the city centre was the only sensible way to go. The other, by the way, was Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, which is about a 75-to–80-minute drive from the centre of Rome.

In my case, it was my favourite strategy when I am staying on for a night or two after the cruise: the disembarkation tour which takes you from the ship to some local attraction or attractions, and then delivers you directly to the airport. Which brings me to my second answer to the question.

Answer # 2:  When it is called Zaansche Schauns

Feel free to skip this if you know all about Zaansche Schauns already. That windmill place.

 

Zaansche Schauns is a park established to preserve windmills, houses, and other structures from the old times of Dutch rural life. Like many such establishments in other countries, you will find costumed performers or interpreters sharing details of their lives and work with you. 

It's a great place to spend a couple of hours to half a day immersing yourself in a lifestyle which is now all but gone.

The last time I came here, it was cold and rainy and windy. I kept close to the centre of the park, nosed around in the shops, enjoyed a hot chocolate, and got back to the bus as soon as I could.

This time was a whole different story. The early morning rain had passed off, leaving behind the kind of pale, newly-washed sky which you always see in old Dutch paintings. I had a wonderful walk and a good look around, and took plenty of pictures. And with that, I present to you a photo gallery of Zaansche Schauns.

 

 

If you look closely, you will see that the various windmills each have some design feature or other which distinguish it from the rest of them. There were actually many different designs, and the differences often stemmed from which kind of work a mill was intended to do: grind grains, grind spices, pump water, cut wood, and so on. The one we got to visit was a wood sawmill, but we didn't really get to see it in action because the recently-passed rainstorm sucked all the wind away with it. The interpreter did his best to explain the workings of a mill where nothing was working at the moment. I felt sorry for him, but he didn't seem to mind too much!

 

 

Outside this mill, there was a cutaway model to indicate the structural features.

While you're wandering around looking at windmills, the surrounding canals are often home to waterfowl who are wandering around looking for food or whatever else.

While Zaansche Schauns has a collection of five or six working windmills, they are not all the park has to show you by any means. It also has a sizable collection of older rural houses and other buildings. All are displayed in period-appropriate fashion, right down to the individual footbridges which would link many houses to the adjacent "dry" land. Here are a few examples of the buildings.

 

 

 

Answer # 3:  When it is called Utrecht

 

Shortly before I left for this trip, I saw a video on social media in which a travel vlogger claimed that Utrecht was like Amsterdam without the killing crowds. He was right.

 

First of all, Utrecht is super-easy to get to from Amsterdam. There are express trains several times an hour all day, and they normally take about 27-28 minutes, with only 1 or 2 stops on the way.

 

Important hint du jour: sure, you can check in and out of the stations in both cities by just tapping a card, but it will cost you 2€ extra. Here's why. Download the app for NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the railway company). Book your ticket on the app, and you pay one Euro less for each trip. On the app, when you purchase the ticket you get a QR code to display and you scan that to enter and exit the stations. Booking the ticket on the app was quick and easy.

 

When you come up from the platform into the enormous concourse of Utrecht Centraal station, just look for directions signs reading "Centrum" (downtown). You'll come out the east side of the station, either into a shopping mall or onto a street. Once you cross that street or get out the far side of the mall, you are entering the historic district. It stretches from here as far as the canal on the opposite side of the old city, about half an hour walk each way -- not counting stops and detours. But by all means, stop, turn, detour. Here's what I found in a single exploration of the old town of Utrecht.

 

The Gothic tower of the Dom Kerk, the principal church in the city, can be seen from many places all around the old city -- and its bells can be heard readily too. Like the Markt tower in Bruges, this one houses a full carillon of bells.

 

 

I love this unique wall decoration on one of the old houses.

 

This pedestrian square in the centre of the town was a great people place. It's just a short distance from the Dom Kerk and tower. This was still fairly early on a Sunday morning, but the place was already filling up.

 

And sure enough, as soon as I left the square through the street on the left in that photo, there was the bell tower looming up right in front of me. Utrecht shares with Pisa and Florence (among others) the feature of the bell tower being a separate structure from the church proper.

 

The still make a striking combination even if they aren't attached to each other.

At the far east side of the old town area, it's worth detouring down the canal-side path to examine this remnant of the old city walls.

 

Utrecht doesn't have a canal at every single block as the old centre of Amsterdam does, but the canals it does have are lively centres of the city's life in many different ways.

On the return walk to the Centraal Station, I took a different route and found myself passing through an area like the Herengracht in Amsterdam, well-stocked with dignified public  buildings and with the homes of wealthy merchants and importers of all kinds.

 

The curious little corner turret on this example resembles similar turrets which I've seen on a number of houses in Switzerland -- in Luzern, Bern, and the old town area of Zurich.

In neighbourhoods like this, even the elaborate bridge railings must draw attention to themselves.

One last canal to cross, and you can see that Utrecht also has passenger canal boats.

That was my morning. For a late lunch, back in the big city, I went to one of my favourite Amsterdam patios. It's the restaurant of the Prins Henrik Hotel, right across from the Centraal Station, and there I had a favourite Amsterdam treat: a pint of beer and a plate of bitterballen. I made sure to get a table under one of the spacious umbrellas, because the sky was spitting raindrops (a normal Amsterdam hazard). 

 

 

After lunch was over, I headed back to my hotel, about 5 minutes away. As I got there, the rain was speeding up -- and a couple of minutes after I got in, the sky opened. I figured that was it for the day. This was serious rain. But after I'd had my afternoon snooze, I looked out again -- and lo and behold!

The weather in Amsterdam is more full of surprises than Santa's bag. I got right back out for another walk, a shorter one, just around the district southeast of the Centraal Station. First I went up by the station itself. One of the key sights in Amsterdam is the famous trams, still looking modern and sleek as you please even though this model dates back in Amsterdam service to (I think) the 1980s.

Right in front of the station is the boat basin and the prominent St. Nikolas Kerk.

 

Speaking of things which ain't what they was, this modest little street -- all one block of it -- used to be the holy of holies for anyone who loved Indonesian food. When I first went to Amsterdam on my own, this street, the Binnen Bantammerstraat had in its single block no less than sixteen restaurants specializing in Indonesian food, and in particular the Indonesian-fusion meal known by the Dutch name of rijstaffel.

 

 

There are none left. Now, there’s a café (not a “brown café” for weed), a Thai restaurant, a Japanese restaurant/grocery, a Chinese restaurant, two Italian places, and a burger and steak palace – plus a diner/bar at the end of the street. But no more rijstaffel. Sigh.

 

With that, it was time to head back to my hotel. Try not to be shocked.

 

 The architect of the DoubleTree Amsterdam Centraal Station took advantage of a weirdly-angled site in the Oosterdok development to create a building with a lot of weird angles of its own. My room was on the side you're looking at here, facing south across the canal towards the old city. I stayed here primarily because of the ability to cash in some of my points, in one of the most expensive destination cities I know of in Europe.

So there it is: three different answers to the question "When is Amsterdam not Amsterdam" plus a short spell of poking around in Amsterdam itself just to keep my record intact. In the next post, what happens next now that the cruise is done? The answer: off to Scotland.