I'm off ... my long continuous pass from last year's Black Friday sale activated for an initial journey from Schiedam Central to Vlissingen, and as I go I'll be writing - where appropriate sharing here. In recent (err - 20!) years I have been an advocate for rail travel and in my retirement I have had the pleasure of donating more of my time to seeing how other do it, and to making suggestions for improvements / changes which (very) occasionally have resulted in small changes that have made a big difference. And also - very happy to answer questions that share my love of travel and of sustainable public transport development in my home area.
In past years, I have posted for Interrail Users my initial views of towns along the way, and given a flavour so that others can decide whether or not they wish to stop there, and more rail-oriented stuff on the Coffee Shop. "In about an hour" I have said in previous years, but yesterday I allowed myself three hours in Vlissingen, having arrived into the Netherlands on the ferry from Harwich and only headed for Antwerp on the first day.
Fears of long queues at passport control arriving into the
EU» have been overstated - or perhaps I was just lucky. Three minutes ... and transfer to the Rotterdam Metro to Schiedam. Swiped in and out on a credit card; gone are the days of long distance / international trains from the ferry ports. At least on the Harwich route there isn't the dreaded bus-onto-ship scenario.
I have seen Vlissingen on the map, and trains headed there before - but never been. A wonderful breath of fresh air and a lovely town to look around. Be aware that if you're carrying your luggage - even if light - it's a fair step from the station, and I would not want to do it in inclement weather. An hour would not have been enough - and indeed I had allowed three. As seems far too frequent, memories of wartimes across Europe in the past. Of course we should and do remember; let's hope that these horrors don't return to our shores - but I will admit to sometimes despair. Anyway - then onwards to Antwerp.
Dutch trains comfortable, reasonable fast and clean. The Belgian train that sticks its nose into The Netherlands and is "International" is basic, all stations, and externally about the filthiest I had ever seen. It's supposed to call at Antwerp Centraal but didn't - it took the freight bypass and dropped us all off at an overcrowded Antwerp Berchem where, it seems, almost everyone got off and transferred through the narrow subway to a train headed back into Central which is where they all really wanted to go.
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