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| Italian Water Gardens |
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| Round Pond |
|
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| Kensington Palace |
|
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| Albert Memorial |
|
There was a lot to see at the museum, but my favorite exhibits were the gemstones and minerals.
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| escalator did not lead to anything special |
|
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| fibrous rocks are cool |
|
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| one of many gemstone displays |
|
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| huge diamonds |
|
In the afternoon, we walked back to the hotel to enjoy some sweets in the lounge and rest before dinner.
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| different selection than yesterday |
We decided to have a meal in one of the pubs inside the train station,
The Mad Bishop and Bear, which had decent reviews. The food was tasty!
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| found the hotel door to the station, on level 2 |
|
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| Kaleb's first beer in London |
|
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| specials |
|
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| regular menu |
|
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| childrens' menu, hot drinks |
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| tea and hop smoked haddock |
|
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| fish and chips with crushed peas |
|
After dinner, we walked around the neighborhood and found some
Snowflake gelato for dessert.
The next morning after breakfast, we checked out of the room, stored our bags with the bell desk, then took the Tube to the
British Museum (yes, we love it there) to view the exhibits that we missed previously.
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| light lunch in the museum |
|
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| waffle food truck outside the museum |
|
In the evening, we returned to Paddington Station, bought some sandwiches and snacks from the
M and S store there, then retrieved our bags from the hotel bell desk. We planned to take the Tube towards London Liverpool Street station, where the train to Harwich would depart. At the start of our journey, we heard an announcement that the line we planned to ride to London Liverpool was temporarily closed. Quick-thinking Kaleb figured out an alternate route so that we would not miss our train. The cars were packed as it was rush hour.
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| fresh and tasty |
|
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| tastes like BBQ |
|
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| the potato variety used is on the label |
It was bustling at London Liverpool station. The departure monitors were constantly updating, so there was no way to know far in advance which platform our train would be using. I had purchased "
Rail and Sail" tickets from Stena, which included train tickets from London Liverpool to Harwich in addition to the ferry ride and overnight cabin accommodations. I had a printout of the e-tickets but noticed that people were using cards to enter the turnstiles, so wasn't sure how we would be able to get through.
At last, the platform for the 7:32pm to Harwich train updated. We approached the turnstiles and fortunately there was an employee standing there. I showed her the printout and she let us in through an adjacent gate without scanning the barcode.
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| London Liverpool station |
|
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| looking for an open car |
|
There were no seat reservations, so we walked up the platform in search of an empty second class car. We ended up having a couple of rows facing each other to ourselves. The almost 1.5 hour train ride was smooth and non-eventful.
The total cost of the
Rail and Sail package from London to Amsterdam for the two of us was 191 pounds, which included:
- Two train tickets from London Liverpool to Harwich
- Two ferry tickets from Harwich to Hook of Holland
- 2-berth outside cabin
- Breakfast buffet for two
- Miscellaneous taxes/fees
It was a great value as we could forego staying a night in either London or Amsterdam (which would have cost the same or more for a decent hotel). We also didn't have to deal with the hassles of flying: getting to the airport, checking in, going through security, waiting for the plane, etc. Plus, we saved time by traveling through the night.
A 2-berth inside cabin was cheapest (1-berth cabins also available if traveling alone), but it was only a few pounds more for a window, so I went for it. Breakfast was optional, but I thought it would be nice to start the day with a hot meal, and there was a few pounds discount for pre-purchasing the voucher online.
We arrived at Harwich and it was easy to get off the train and walk up the stairs to the ferry terminal. The ship wasn't ready to accept passengers yet, so a queue formed. There were plenty of seats around, so we just sat and waited until check-in started and most of the queue had been processed.
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| clear signage |
|
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| the line kept going around the corner |
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Once checked in, we were escorted through the bowels of the ferry towards an elevator to get to our deck. It really felt like we were on a cruise ship, but with three hallways versus two. We found we got upgraded from a 2-berth outside cabin to a 3-berth. (double bed as bottom bunk) The window faced the front of the ship so we could see where we were going.
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| paper (!) key card, breakfast voucher, train tickets for tomorrow |
|
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| three hallways onboard; lots of inside cabins |
|
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| looks like a cruise ship |
|
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| walking down the middle hallway |
|
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| upgraded to 3-berth cabin facing the bow |
|
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| pillow, fitted sheet, duvet and a towel |
|
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| bathroom like on a cruise |
|
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| large shower with one toiletry that served as both shampoo and shower gel |
|
We explored the rest of the ship.
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| deck directory |
|
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| self-service restaurant (three-course dinner available) |
|
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| desserts and drinks available a-la-carte |
|
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| other snacks and alcoholic beverages |
|
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| people eating dinner at this time (10:15pm!) |
|
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| bar |
|
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| children's area |
|
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| the casino was just two tables |
|
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| surprised to find Yankee Candles for sale |
|
|
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| huge bottles of liquor |
|
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| and huge Mentos rolls! |
|
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| lounge probably more useful in the daytime |
|
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| a model of our ferry |
|
There was no muster drill, hooray! We were able to walk onto the deck outside the restaurant to get some fresh air. (though that's where the smokers were hanging out)
The paper keycard didn't open the door when we returned to the cabin. We had to go down to Guest Services to get a new one. It was good to have a second card as it kept the lights on if one of us exited the cabin with the keycard.
The ship departed Harwich at 11pm. We went to bed shortly afterwards. A wake-up announcement blasted through the ship speakers around 6am. We lost an hour sailing to the Netherlands, so it was actually 5am according to our bodies - less than 6 hours of sleep! Breakfast buffet was from 6:30-8am. The food was okay. If I take the ferry again, I'd probably skip the buffet and bring my own food so I could sleep in as long as possible.
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| it cost 11 pounds online |
|
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| cold selections ("old cheese" anyone?) |
|
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| hot selections |
|
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| canned fruit or fresh orange slices |
|
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| coffee/tea service |
|
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| my breakfast |
|
After breakfast, we returned to our cabin to pack and look out the front window to watch the ferry sail into
Hook of Holland.
Once the ferry docked, we disembarked and walked a ways in the terminal until we reached immigration, which went quickly.
Normally, ferry passengers would ride a train from Hook of Holland to
Schiedam Centrum, where you would change to a train towards your destination (ie. Amsterdam). But construction was going on (replacing the train with a metro line), so a bus took us to Schiedam.
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| temporary bus service |
|
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| exiting the terminal (but those aren't the buses) |
|
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| this is the bus |
|
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| drove by lots of greenhouses |
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Once the bus dropped us off at Schiedam Centrum, it took us a little while to find the right platform for the train towards Amsterdam.
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| train towards Den Haag/Centraal |
|
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| guy with a marijuana plant |
|
It was about a 1.5 hour ride to Centraal Station, which is pretty long if you have to stand. There was hardly any space for our luggage so we had to stay near the door of the train, where there were only two folding seats. Some people sat on the stairs leading to the upper level of the railcar. We sat on top of our luggage.
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| at Centraal Station |
We have arrived in Amsterdam! Now to get to our hotel and do some sightseeing...stay tuned!
***
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