Holidays and Other Excursions

Tag: mileages

Euro Tour 11 – Budapest and Home

Wednesday 2 August 2017

Usually the last day of any tour can be a little wasted as time is spent waiting for collection and return to airport and home.  Today is very different as nearly all of the participants book an extra organised trip to visit the famous Childrens’ Railway and the cog railway.  I had looked at attempting to cover these on our own – so was relieved when the additional tour was organised and the cost was about £20 each.

Normally there is tram route from the City out to the terminus at Huvosvolgy.  As our coach gets closer to the destination we can see that the line is completely closed at present and has been replaced by buses.  Wholesale modernisation by the look of it.  And our coach has to detour around various road works.

The Childrens’ Railway provides children with an education in the ways of the world as well as being a reward for good performance in school.  They learn jobs on the railway and interaction with the passengers – checking tickets, saluting our departures from each station and signalling and related matters.  For the humble passenger the train travels through some very attractive countryside – although getting decent pictures seems to have escaped me today!

If there is time available there are various activities which can be accessed from the stations along the lines – a zip wire and various walks in the woodlands.  We however are simply doing the journey in one direction.

At the destination it is a very short walk to the terminus of the Cog Wheel Railway.  The current cog line dates from 1973 when it was completely renewed but the line first opened in 1874, merely 5 years after the Washington Cog Railway we visited last year.  Again we are taking a single journey down the line – which passes through an expensive residential area back towards the City Centre.

The photographs are here.

We had identified another restaurant within walking distance of the hotel – so once back we walk there.  Again it is very hot (it had been cooler in the hills).  To our disappointment it seems the restaurant is closed.  We walk round in a bit of a circle but the only place we can find open is the one we used on the first night – so it is I think the only time on this holiday that we have eaten in the same place twice.

Once lunch is finished we wander back to the hotel and enjoy the air conditioning until it is time to return home.

JourneyDistance
London - Berlin579
Berlin - Prague175
Prague - Vienna157
Vienna - Budapest133
Budapest - London926
Total1970

So including the coach and river trips this looks like a total of 2000 miles.  I am pleased to report that once we were back Jackie’s sciatica did eventually clear up – but it was a long slow process.

In November / December we are heading to South America for Chile, Argentina and Brazil.  Watch this space.

 

Boston and Homewards

Wednesday 12  and Thursday 13 October 2016

As is common on returning from the USA our flight home is an overnight trip so we have much of the day free in Boston until late afternoon.

We decide to head out once we have to check out of the hotel, but they will store the cases and we will go and find some lunch and then return to the hotel in plenty of time to be collected for the journey to Boston Logan airport.

We did make one mistake – I had suggested we go and see the Boston Tea Party Museum but in the light of our experiences in Salem decided it would probably be overdone so we agree we would not go there.  We later heard that we had missed a treat from fellow travellers – so if we ever get to Boston again we must do it (although that seems unlikely).  So if you are in Boston do not miss the Tea Party!

Jackie had previously identified the best place for a proper American burger, which happens to be in the old area of North Boston we visited yesterday, so we know where we are going.  We then go back to Quincy Market for a wander around running into some of our fellow travellers before returning to the hotel.  This time we walk it in both directions and again the weather is pleasant and conducive to a gentle walk through the City.

Summarising some of the distances we have travelled:
London – Boston is 3272 – so 6544 miles.
Boston – Falmouth return is 154 miles.
Boston – Portland is 106 miles.
Portland – North Conway is 63 miles.
North Conway – Salem is 121 miles.
Salem – Boston only 16 miles.
So known distances total a little over 7000 miles plus the mileage on the trips across to and around Martha’s Vineyard, to the two railways and around the White Mountains.  All without difficulties or problems.

Unlike our return from Australia our journey home is relatively smooth and we are back from another long promised holiday.  Still many more to go!

Really enjoyed all of this trip.  There were more trains than some of our holidays which was welcome – but they were digested alongside some of the parts of the USA which have more history being the first settlers and more recently the Boston powerhouse which drove the Kennedy family to prominence.  And our prime aim was to see the famous autumn colours which we may not have captured – but we certainly saw.  The whale watching was a bonus after the problem at the end of the Canadian trip!  And by and large we enjoyed some excellent weather – warm sunny days throughout most of the trip which always adds to the enjoyment.  The tour was well organised and it operated very smoothly.