Archive for the ‘Travel’ Tag
Gran Canaria: museums, galleries and colonialism
Filed under: History, Museums, Travel | Tags: Art, CAAM - Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, canary-islands, Casa-Museo de Colón, Gran Canaria Museums, Museo Canario, Travel
Leave a comment Museums and galleries
Las Palmas – the capital of Gran Canaria – is home to at least four museums, three of which we visited.
Naturally there is a Columbus Museum (Casa-Museo de Colón – https://www.casadecolon.com/) that chronicles the significance of the islands for Columbus’s so-called discoveries. What we learned from the museum was how strategic the islands were for transatlantic crossings, particularly to the Caribbean. Columbus made four such crossings as captain and for each, the Canary Islands provided resources – food, water and labour. For example, for his first tour he needed, essentially, to refit his ships and fix a rudder.
The museum basically presents maps and artefacts in a reproduction of ship environments; for example, the Captain’s quarters showing a bed, desk (right). There is lots to learn about cartography – the evolution of maps is part of the story, of course. Visitors trace through the centuries how humanity moved from a flat earth to a globe and eventually got the shape of the continents right. I suppose cartography is the discovery that we can celebrate if not the conquering aspect of the voyages.
I give them credit for being focused and not getting distracted – Columbus is a big story. It is a lovely small but informative museum close to the cathedral in the historic centre of the city.
The top floor of the museum is an art gallery with time-limited exhibitions. At the time of our visit (29 November 2024) was a celebration of the work of a Canarian artist, Juan de Miranda. There is, as one might expect for a painter of his era, a lot of religion and aristocracy. But also some quirks. For example, I was intrigued by the portrait of St Lucia dated from around 1785. St Lucia is often depicted with eyes on plate. The meaning is not entirely clear but it is thought to reflect her lack of desire to marry. To be blind and eyeless – or to have one’s eyes literally disembodied – may well help her to avoid what she did not want!
CAAM – Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno
As one might expect, this is gallery of modern art (free entry). Over three floors there are three exhibitions dedicated to particular artists and themes. On our visit (4 December 2024) the artists were: British artist, Zak Ové; Canarian artist, Juan Hidalgo Codorniú and Teresa Arozena. Arozona’s work featured large prints of photographs showing the impact of tourism on the natural environment of the islands of the archipelagos (largely negative). Whilst they are recognisable for anyone who opens their eyes as they wander around the tourist spots (and possibly beyond), they are not particularly standout or framed in an interesting way. For example, shots of the dunes of Maspalomas fail to capture their scale (always difficult with photographs) and show engagingly the threat posed to it. I sense that we as tourists may have some better shots to take home with us.
Juan Hidalgo Codorniú had a lot to say about himself. A long career (he died in 2018) as a conceptual artist presented some interesting artefacts. Like for all conceptual artists, there are good, interesting and not-so-interesting pieces. Bizarrely in one of the galleries is a large area of simple pornography, and another a series of pictures of the artist with nude models. Let me put it this way, they are of their time (the latter the 70s), but unworthy of the exhibition more generally. One piece stood out, though. The depiction of the Earth in a condom (right) resonated. Though I suspect his meaning was different to mine – rather more sexual. It gave me a sense of the earth being emasculated/suffocated, particularly by men. But all we need is a little tear!
Finally, Zak Ové, whose collection here was streets ahead and eclectic. Ové’s father was also an artist and this work seemed like an extension across generations. Both men had a deep commitment to black rights. Seemingly the family lived adjacent to Michael X (aka Michael de Freitas) – there are some atmospheric photographs of him – one particular in Paddington Station, London. (He was eventually convicted of murder and executed in Port of Spain in 1975.) Images of the Notting Hill Carnival in the 60s also feature. Striking images include Evil is White (left) – though for me it could also include the adjective, male.
Ové is also a big user of re-used materials. One gallery demonstrates the fun and creativity associated with his approach. For example, for Fish (2009) he used brass instruments, rubber gloves and dolls. There is a series of masks made from old leather jackets dating form a 2024 collection.
Ultimately, this is a fascinating exhibition in an unlikely location. All the better for it.
Museo Canario
This museum is charming. It is made up of a private collection that was donated along with the building that charts the pre-history of the indigenous people of the island up to the point they were conquered by the Spanish. So it does not deal with the conquest. I bought a book to take up that story – it is complex, see later.
Charm comes in many forms – the building (left, the gift shop is housed in the collector’s library); the collection is disproportionately comprised of lots of bones and skulls; the staff (guaranteed not to leave without having visited the gift shop and bought something) and a curious but welcome adoption of technology (QR codes enable visitors to have an audio guide for each gallery in a selection of languages).
The story is one of arrival (by boat with a few animals and seeds); shelter (in caves and huts); clothing (tanning animal skins and weaving); food (agriculture, preparation/grinding of grains particularly barley); pottery (technology and types) and death (causes and funerals). There are representations of life dotted around the galleries. For example, pottery making (right).
The are other museums and galleries on the island. In Las Palmas, for example, there is El Museo Néstor, dedicated the work of the Gran Canarian artist Néstor Martín-Fernández de la Torre. Moreover, Gran Canaria is more than Las Palmas. There are important other towns in the north of the island such as Galdar.
Colonialism
The colonial history of the islands seems to be something few museums want to address. The conquest of of the islands is not told in any depth. I had to do my own research and, so far, have relied on a single source, Carlos Alvarez’s book, Chronicle of the Conquest of the Canary Islands (left).
Alverez notes that there are a number of different accounts of this period (17th Century), none of which, of course, take account of the indigenous populations’ experiences. Alvarez has done a lot heavy lifting for us in checking the facts; for example, when false dates are presented, he make it explicit to us that it is false and why (if possible). In reading the book I conclude a number of things.
- The islands were not homogenous – geology, culture, natural resources. I sense this is still the case today.
- Colonialisation requires the cooperation of an indigenous population – on Lanzarote, the population surrendered rather quickly realising that they could not defeat the invaders. They agreed to be converted to Christianity as confirmation of their surrender.
- Of all of the islands, Gran Canaria was the most difficult to conquer (eventually in 1478). The final conquest was brutal – but conquistadors suffered high losses until Captain Don Juan Rejón arrived armed and prepared for his success attempt at conquest.
- The islands became property of the Spanish nobility (though the Portuguese had a go at wresting control by miliary force). They were traded between Spanish nobles. The owners and nobles were paranoid (fearful of losing their claims) and vindictive. This actually led to the “accidental” death of Captain Rejón an (unwelcome) unscheduled landing on La Gomera en route to La Palma (yet to be conquered). Consequently, the story of the conquest is told in the voice of the nobles – and their squabbles – rather than the voices of the indigenous people.
Being on the Island of Gran Canaria
Filed under: Travel | Tags: canary-islands, Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria buses, Maspalomas, nature, Travel
Leave a comment Architecture
I think this is the first time that I have stayed at a place that is one big resort. And I was not quite prepared for what constitutes mass tourism based around sand, sea, eating and drinking. We are not staying in one of the resort hotels, we have a small apartment that we are renting from friends. So, we can cook our own food and observe.
The architecture of the island is split into two very distinct groups – tourism and colonialism.
The tourism architecture is, I presume, functional, but does not even have the merits of brutalist architecture that some of the post-war buildings in the UK herald (or suffered, as some see it). Here are a couple of examples from Maspalomas:
The building on the right really does emulate so many examples of telecom exchange buildings in England. It is breath-taking in its lack of sympathy. That on the left is a gap in the generic shops in one of the town’s shopping centers. I could go on with this, but will not. It is a cheap shot at functional architecture that serves its purpose and makes available tens of thousands of beds that simply are the local economy of the south of the island.
Good examples of the colonial architecture can be found in the capital, Las Palmas. I’m not impressed with my phone camera shot here, but this fine example is now a posh restaurant. Make of it what you will regarding style and period.
Public transport
Of course there are no trains on Gran Canaria. There seemingly once was a plan to build a tramway south along the coast from Las Palmas to Maspalomas (reminiscent of the tramway in Belgium between De Panne and Ostend), but there is insufficient money to invest. That said, the island boasts an extraordinary bus service. Las Palmas has its own yellow bus network, the rest of the island has the benefit of Globalbus services. The buses are largely single deck, 3 axel vehicles, a combination of Volvo, MAN, IVECO and Scania chassis (right). Their frequency is excellent – though the real-time information at bus shelters leaves a lot to be desired. Buses can be 5 minutes away for 15 minutes, never actually getting any closer. I’m not sure if I am confident about the published timetable either. From where we stayed in St Augustin east and west, there were plenty of buses during the day. Fewer in the evening (the last bus back from Las Palmas is currently 2115, which is a bit early if we had wanted to attend an evening football match or a concert). Plus, if one arrived at 2115 it would already have departed. Pretty sure about this by experience.
Each bus shelter has a list of destinations, the buses that serve that destination and the price. These range from €1.40 to €5.60 to various locations on the coastal routes. The drivers are amazing. They take no prisoners, for sure. Some of the routes are a bit like the Amalfi coast route in Italy – a bit, the architecture doesn’t compare – and the drivers work the roads with great skill.
We have also used the bus to get inland – into the interior mountains. These buses are fewer, of course, with last buses making it necessary to travel early. For example, to get to Tedeja, one really needs to be on the 0800 from Maspalomas to have enough time in the town and be able to return on the last bus at 1700. Once on, it is perfectly reasonable to regret it. The drivers know the roads and drive the hairpin bends like F1 drivers.
Public works
The roads along the coast are pretty good. I have seen a few rougher streets in the tourist areas, but the motorway along the coast – GC-1 is excellent. Though just like British roads, there are countless roundabouts (traffic lights are few). Inland, whilst the quality is good, they are narrow, bendy and cut into the side of the mountain (GC-550, above right).
I am always on the lookout for how the daily stuff is done. So, along the coast are very large rubbish bins. The are the same colour as the sand which is odd, because for people with eyesight like mine, I could do with them to be fluorescent pink rather than brown. I did wonder how they were emptied. And then I found out (left).
The trees are largely palms. I did just think they got on with it, but no, they are managed by the local authority (right).
Wildlife
The coastal area is pretty much bereft of wildlife.
Birds: I have seen a few small waders on the beach (Sanderlings and possibly Common Sandpipers), but nothing like the numbers I would encounter on a similar beach on the south coast of England. There are a few egrets on the island. Alien parakeets are everywhere, as well as collared doves. I’ve seen what I think my poor identification skills might claim to be Whimbrel. Gulls are not present in numbers. I trust I have seen a few black-backed gulls. On the lagoon near to the dunes of Maspalomas, there were three what appeared to be Glossy Ibises (they were rather dark-feathered, though). It has been a delight to see Common Hoopoes. Birders have classified the birds that one can expect to find here.
Reptiles: Of course, there are reptiles on the island. Again, on the southern coastal area, there are a few geckoes clinging to walls and scurrying into crevices. I was not expecting to find giant lizards in the tourist areas and I am sure that at night or early morning the dunes are busy with reptilian life (the rocks do retain their heat). I may need to revisit the hinterland and be patient.
And then there are crabs. Red-rock crabs to be precise (Red Rock Crab, Grapsus adscensionis).
. They are found on the rocks, particularly those inaccessible rocky areas where humans rarely go (it is quite dangerous). They are distinctive, mobile, potentially aggressive with one another, but a delight to watch if one cares to look. And I think that kind of sums up the island generally. It is not the most beautiful, but there is beauty if visitors want to find it, even in the architecture.
Gran Canaria – over land and sea, November 2024
Filed under: Easyjet, Environment, Transport, Travel | Tags: Cadiz, europe, European ferries, Eurostar, ferry, Gran Canaria, low-carbon travel, Madrid, Paris, Refre, SNCF, spain, Travel
Leave a comment OK, here we go. Low carbon travel. Train and ferry. Some facts.
Cost
Journey starts Saturday 17 November 2024. To fly from Gatwick Airport on that day would have come in at £45.00 (no luggage) – probably double that with the luggage I have taken that would need to go in the hold. Such pricing in the age of a climate emergency is obscene. By train:
London-Paris – £69.00 (standard class – average of return fare in November/December, considerably more in the summer or ahead of public holidays)
Hotel Paris – I was too late booking this for a Saturday evening. Overall cost £135. Hotel was Ibis Styles, Bercy. Breakfast included, and it was not bad. The room was tight but comfortable.
Paris – Madrid – £175.00 (standard class) – TGV to Barcelona and then Renfe to Madrid. The double-decker TGV is not particularly generous in terms of space, but not uncomfortable. The single-deck Renfe train was much more spacious but with no table (drop down rests were adequate for a laptop). We could not use the wifi because we could not see our ticket number (needed to register).
Hotel Madrid (Ibis Ventas) – £96.33 (incl. breakfast)
Madrid – Cádiz – £80 (standard class)
Hotel Cadiz (Soho Boutique Cadiz) £80 (incl. breakfast)
Cádiz – Gran Canaria – £91.10 (ferry – no cabin)
Taxi – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria – San Augustin – (£75.71) – Why taxi you ask? See below
Being in my sixties, I am not up for hostels, although I know that some budget travellers do so. Good for them, but I think I have reached a milestone. That said, in not selecting a cabin for the journey, we effectively slummed it, but the cost so far have been significant.
There are two of us so we need to double transport costs and share the hotel costs.
First leg
I’m pretty familiar with Eurostar. I travelled standard class on 16 November 2024 on the 1758 (retimed from 1801). I was able to work (the new drop down rests for stuff are now a bit wider). There are power sockets – UK and European. I have my own modem/internet for security reasons. The signal was pretty good throughout, including in the tunnel. In the past when I have connected to the Eurostar wifi, it has been pretty unreliable.
It cost me €2.15 to use the Paris Metro/RER to get from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon/Bercy. One can buy a card to load and reuse. Ticket machines take cash and cards.
Second leg
The next day (17 November 2024) we walked for 10 minutes from the hotel to Gare de Lyon and went to Hall 2 from where the trains depart. The QR codes on our phones or paper did not read. There was someone at the barrier to scan using their own reading machine. All good. We had two seats on the upper deck with a collapsible table usable only for the people sat closest to the window. There is a socket and wifi (below left).
The route taken by the train is pretty much rural France, but on reaching the Mediterranean, the scenery changes to on of salt marsh as it precariously meanders through the Parc Naturel Regional de la Narbonnaise (below right). The train is probably the best vantage point for seeing it as the train runs over what seems to be a causeway.
Warning, however, whilst writing this blog entry my case located by the entrance to the carriage was stolen. My advice is either to chain it to the bars or locate your case inside the carriage – there are some internal luggage racks.
The RENFE train to Madrid was directly opposite the arrival platform of the incoming TGV. It was that simple. Though there are a few challenges. We bought our tickets on RailEurope.com. The pdf that is made available on the app is unreadable by anyone with less-than x-ray sight. The train manager had a record of the ticket, so we were fine. It seems also possible to print tickets from ticket machines providing one has a PNR number that was clearly stated on the itinerary confirmation.
We then looked to buy tickets for the next leg, Madrid – Cádiz. We tried the machines – ticket buying by non-Spanish citizens is not so easy. Each traveller needs to insert their passport number. We got so far in the process (give yourself 10 minutes) before we were thrown out of the system whilst trying to pay. We did then find the staffed Renfe ticket office on the first floor and bought them in the traditional way, but passports are still needed. And the ticket office sales person found the system equally cumbersome. Our passport details had to be put in twice!
Then on to the Metro. Two lines, first 1 (blue) to Sol and then 2 (red) to Ventas. Buying tickets is easy, but you have to buy a card and load it with as many journeys as you need. In our case one centre ticket. Each centre area ticket cost €2.50 with the card. For the first charge, I think the card costs €2 (extra). On the way back to the station the following day, 18 November, we just loaded the cards. Note the machines are cashless. We ate in a nearby Lebanese restaurant. Portions were huge – salad, falafel, spicey patata and vegetal mousaka.
The hotel is next to the bull ring (left) – a constant reminder that there are some residual bloodthirsty passions in Europe. (The British as much as the Spanish – though not in such grand areas.)
Third leg
Monday 18 November is another train journey – about 4 1/2 hours to Cádiz. There is a fast and direct service roughly every 3 hours. It think it can also be done in two legs if needed: one to Seville and then Seville – Cádiz. The trains are spacious (standard class). Each seat has a socket (though mine did not work). There is room for a laptop to be opened and used. The wifi on the train is not working. Though my modem is fine. Similar to Paris, Madrid has distinct boarding gates. Passengers are advised to get there 30 minutes before departure – all baggage is scanned (unlike Paris). It takes about 10 minutes to pass through.
Incidentally, I bought a new case at the station, a t-shirt, shirt, a pair of socks and a sweater to keep me going. I discovered that I did have some underwear in my rucksack.
For a change we arrived at our destination in daylight. We checked into our hotel – probably one of the best we have ever enjoyed – the Soho Boutique Hotel. We had a suite. It was sensational. The breakfast was additional, but worth it. The spread was varied ranging from breads, pastries, cereals, cheeses, meats and fruit.
We bought a few more items in the town:
- food to take onboard – correctly assuming that the onboard catering might be a little unapetising
- Some eye protection (my prescription sunglasses were in the stolen case)
- some trousers and a gilet from a male clothing retailer and shorts, leggings, t-shirts and underwear at an unexpected-to-find branch of Decathlon.
We ate in a Latin-inspired restaurant in the town. The restaurant – Más Que La Cresta – is not exclusively vegan, but the options are good. We took a selection of starters as tapas; though the vegan burgers were certainly enticing, burgers are not quite our thing.
Fourth leg
The ferry terminal is about a 15 minute walk from the entrance to the port. Foot passenger enter the office through which they pass security control and then enter a taxi to drive to- and then in-to the ferry. We did not take a cabin – trying to keep down the costs somewhere – so slept in the reclining seat area on deck 7. For the first part of the journey we sat on the deck in the sunshine. The ferry crosses the shipping route from the Mediterranean west. I trust they have some communication and understanding that ferries operate against the dominant shipping route. It is a reminder that the seas are equally colonised by humans. And on the deck, the exhaust from the ferry reminds us that there are still greenhouse gases being expelled into the environment.
The ferry has a small shop that sells the basics – cigarettes and soap. There is a bar/café and then the self- service restaurant. Not much more. It is unlike the ferry to Rotterdam from Hull which has cinemas and a casino (not that a casino is of much interest to us).
Sleeping – without a cabin, there are rows (2-3-2) of reclinable seats on decks 5 and 7 (right). Deck 7 is the quiet level. What we have realised is that this ferry carries some very seasoned travellers, many of them young, who bring mattresses, airbeds, sleeping bags and food to microwave (the restaurant has a public microwave for use). There is no washing up area, though. So the seasoned travellers often sleep horizontally on any available floor (there are signs all around forbidding this, of course). It is, I think, also the case that this is not a party ship. People are here to sleep, not to party (that is probably saved for the islands).
Did I sleep…yes. It was quiet. People slept. Though in the summer it might get more chaotic with so many floor sleeepers. The reclinables are least comfortable, I found, when reclined (they do not recline too much). I reverted to normal position. A pillow of some kind is needed. That doesn’t mean that I am not looking forward to a bed on arrival.
For the day, I was on deck for much of the time (left). The sun was warm and I had a book. Working is not so easy as the ship is really not geared up for business. The sockets are few – and in demand for mobile recharging. There is a small cordoned-off area in the restaurant that could act as a business space. It does have sockets, but I only counted four, and they were not well spaced around the room either. In the end I went to work in the restaurant in-between sittings (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Talking of which, we did take breakfast. It was not bad actually. And not expensive. For €12.50 we had cereal, bread, egg, yoghurt, tortilla and coffee. We are not sure whether it was accurately calculated. But hey.
We were scheduled to dock at midnight…in the end it was 0130 GMT. We were out by about 0200. But what then? Cadiz is easy, the port is adjacent to the town and walkable. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria port is quite large, not walkable and relatively deserted at 0200. There was no shuttle bus, no taxi rank. My beloved was armed with a taxi phone number but more than once – without perfect Spanish – they just put the phone down on us. I walked back to the ferry to ask one of the personnel if they could speak for us. We had a volunteer whose intervention magically summoned a taxi that arrived after about 10 minutes. Uber is on the island – download the app before you travel. Anyway, the drive was approximately 45 minutes – fast because there was little on the roads (which are superior to anything in the UK – not a pothole to be seen). The fare was €90 to San Augustin – 55km. Journey end.
Reflections
I wanted to test the feasibility of getting to the island by land and sea and be productive in the process. Whilst I may be on holiday, I still want to engage in some academic work – I am an academic after all. All travel raises questions that warrant answers. I have never regarded travel time as a waste. I do think my efforts here were thwarted by the transport operators – notwithstanding the theft of a bag. Here are the key challenges:
- Cost – it is significantly more expensive to travel overland than by air. The journey cost overall was £802.14. That is at least eight times what it would cost to fly. We could cut out the hotels – do Paris to Cadiz in a single day starting very early in the morning. That is a tough day and all the connections need to work.
- Time – I wanted to be productive and connected. It was ideal for reading books and academic papers, not so good for writing. Observations:
- I could not connect to the internet on Renfe between Barcelona and Madrid because users need their ticket number. This was unreadable on my ticket from RailEurope. That said, for security, I use my own dongle with European roaming, which worked fine. I did use about 21/2 Gb.
- The (un)complementary internet on the ferry was very poor. And because we were sailing, there was no mobile signal (I feared, too, that if there was, it would be Moroccan, and therefore elicit extra roaming costs). I could have bought a better internet package from the operator, though. I did not because I had lost my credit card in the bag theft.
- As noted, there is no dedicated workspace onboard.
- Foot passengers on ferries are poorly served. The situation at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was a problem. There was absolutely no provision for us at the port. And being so late, it leaves stranded passengers vulnerable. This is not universal. Other ferry journeys that we have taken have been better served. Hoek van Holland has its own railway station! Europoort had coaches to take passengers to Rotterdam (or used to).
What needs to be done
- Sort out ticketing…
- Buying European train tickets is way too complicated, especially across borders. We used Rail Europe, but the tickets issued were unreadable by station and train staff.
- Adding to that, buying tickets in Spain either by machine or at a staffed ticket office is slow and cumbersome. Passports are needed for non-Spanish travellers and it can take an inordinate amount of time to get issued with a ticket. On the machines, we twice got ejected and had to start again.
- Wifi…
- I am happy to use my dongle for security reasons, but the ferry wifi was poor by any standard. Even basic searching was difficult or impossible. The wifi would shut off in any case after 30 minutes or so and it was necessary to log in again, including reading the terms and conditions.
- Make provision for work – dedicated space, sockets, reliable wifi. I know the argument – there is no demand. But there is no demand because there is no provision, arguably. Equally, the ferry would be an ideal place for a conference, workshop, briefings, etc.
- Treat foot passengers with respect. Ensure that they can embark and disembark safely. And do not leave them stranded at a port in the middle of the night. That is truly shocking.
Getting back
We flew back! It was not the original intention, for sure. I made the decision when we got on the ferry from Cádiz. I am not advocating flying – my overland and sea days are not over, far from it. Indeed, the flight was long, cramped, hot and involved airports. However, three key things swung it for me (a further two factors made me feel slightly more sanguine).
- The timings of ferries back relative to my need to be at my desk on 9 December meant that the time on the island would be much shorter. In order safely to get back by 9 December, I would need to leave the island on 1 December 2024. That ferry is scheduled to be 43 hours. Having taken 5 days to get to the island, to leave after just over a week seemed rather punitive (bearing in mind I am working throughout the period January to August inclusive and this is my summer holiday).
- The experience getting here was not the best – from having my bag stolen to the facilities on the ferry and the restaurant menus.
- Cost – I had to spend quite a bit of money replacing some of the things I had lost particularly my clothes.
- Carbon – I am trying to be a good citizen, but I am not perfect. Though I am reminded by some pioneers of low carbon working of studies relating to carbon generated by flying, in particular the contrast between short haul and long haul. That is not to say that I am going suddenly to start flying again as I had done prior to Covid (i.e. every week). Here is a quote based on work by Frédéric Dobruszkes, Giulo Mattioli and Enzo Gozzoli “flights of less than 500km account for 26.7% of flights, but only 5.2% of fuel burnt; while flights of 4000km or more account for just 5.1% of flights, but 39% of fuel burnt. This tallies with AEF’s (The Aviation Environment Federation) findings that shows that in terms of carbon emitted from flights from the UK to destinations around the world, the worst offenders are indeed long-haul – in top place is the US with 23.6% of the UK’s international flight emissions (10.6Mt), and Dubai with 6.7%.” You can read the summary article, “The Elephant in the Middle Aisle” here.
- Finally, I picked up an injury in the final week on the island (see later entry) that would have made overland very difficult, painful and dangerous. On that basis, too, I can safely say that disabled travellers are much better served by airlines (though there are some horror stories) than overland across borders and modes.
Summer 2022: the €9 ticket holiday – 1
Travel
There is a certain normality currently as I sit on ICE928 heading to Frankfurt and then Brussels. What is not normal is that the trains are running to time and my Eurostar connection is within reach. This is not normal!
Nor is a holiday facilitated by train journeys courtesy of the €9 ticket. This ticket has been available since June 2022 and allows unlimited travel on regional services, buses, U-Bahn and trams. It is wonderful and has taken us from one end of the country to the other. The DB Navigator app is the essential companion. The downside is that sometimes the demand generated by the €9 ticket has not been met by DB or the private rail operators. It has been difficult to board trains, let alone get a seat. But on the whole, trains have been on time and reliable. And people have been polite. On the whole.
So, we wanted to go to the Baltic coast. We also wanted to go into Poland to visit a place in Eastern Poland called Elbląg – the birthplace of my beloved’s mother and trace the movement of the whole family seeking to avoid a confrontation with the Red Army as it pushed back the Nazis and established what we now refer to as the “Eastern Bloc”.
We made it to Berlin on one day and then visited the Reisezentrum in Berlin Hauptbahnhof to book tickets to Elbląg. There were two substantive problems. First, demand for trains in Poland is high. It’s the summer and “walk-on” is not always possible. Second, as others have noted, booking trains – or even just getting tickets for cross-border services – is thwarted by insufficiently integrated IT systems. Or just insufficient systems. Buying tickets online or through an app is not easy. We did not try it. We used the Deutshe Bahn Navigator to provide times, as well as Koleo. Since looking more deeply into this, I have found another online option, Polish Trains, though I have no way of validating this site. (as buying tickets online or through an app in Poland is not easy).
We delayed our journey by a day and bought tickets as far as Zbasznek via Frankfurt an der Oder and Rzepin. We thought that buying a ticket at Rzepin should be straightforward, but there is always something about border towns. The stations are often either not open or simply building sites. The towns themselves may be a good walk away. It was difficult to find a café, or a bank as we needed some cash (Poland is not in the Eurozone). We did find a bank and the bank machines dispensed cash, though in unwieldy-denominated notes. Most shops do have card payments, but I dare not look at how much it costs per transaction.
We managed to buy a ticket using the machine (right) to Poznan. We stayed overnight and carried on the following day, but not without a 90-minute wait in the queue at the station ticket office. In the end we took regional trains from Posnan to Elbląg (via Bydgoszcz, Tczew and Malbork). For the return journey we did book ahead and got a seat on the direct InterCity service Elbląg to Szczecin. Another overnight stay and another ticket purchase problem. I asked the conductor on a Germany-bound train whether we could buy tickets on board (as there was another long queue at the ticket office and the two auto ticket machines were out of order). She basically said no, but as we discovered the following day, it is possible, but at a greatly inflated price. It was about €20 to get to Pasewalk (below left) – advanced purchased more like €2. By the morning the ticket machines were again functioning, but unable to sell tickets across the border. Though you have to go through the motions to discover this. The touch screens assume you have a paw rather than a finger, so it is easy to mess up and have to start again.
I am learning something about border crossings. We crossed the German/Polish borders at two different locations (hin und zurück). Both services were operated by Deutsche Bahn – both were diesel traction and made up of two coaches. It is very similar to what I experienced in recent times crossing the border between Germany and Belgium. Welkenraedt, for example, is not an obvious place to cross from Aachen (Liège, surely?). But the border history of European countries cannot be ignored. They are located where checks could be made, identities validated.
Polish railways are quirky like in most countries. This is partly due to the EU which requires a split between infrastructure and operation, and partly to facilitate operational efficiencies – essentially separating longer-distance Inter City services from regional services and freight. To that end, in Poland the Inter City services are run by PKP (Polskie Koleje Państwowe) centrally and the regional services, (Przewozy Regionalne) are just that, regional and managed so. Additionally the Gdansk areas has its own brand, (SKM). There is no inter-operability between PolRegio and Inter City. Over many routes they compete with one another. Though those aforementioned auto ticket machines can dispense both.
The Inter City services are fantastic. They run using refurbished rolling stock manufactured in the 1980s (the plates in each corridor specify exactly when they were built. The locomotives seem to be of more recent vintage. They are not high speed. They have many timing points. But they do seem to be reliable. Many have European power sockets, but no wifi. That is for East to West. North to South has some impressive new Pendolino trains but seemingly they run fast not so often as, again, the infrastructure cannot support it. That said, I saw lots of evidence of infrastructure renewal using equipment from Alstom and Bombardier.
The units used for regional services seem to be more modern, with a few exceptions – Malbork to Elbląg being a case in point.
The PKP (right) logo is interesting. It has a period design and the obligatory arrows associated with mobility – and railway mobility in particular.
Naturally, the younger company, PolRegio has a much more modern appearance and a bit more of primary colour. The livery of the trains reflects this, too. Though exactly what it is supposed to say, I’ve no idea. PolRegio seems to be enough. But what do I know about design?
Most of the cities that we have visited have street trams. Elbląg, not a huge place, has a complex network of trams. Some of them are dated – rustbuckets, even (left). They run – in certain parts of the city over beautifully grassed avenues. They are a delight (we did not ride the trams, but they sat with me as characterful as the art – see blog entry 2).
Be informed 