July 6 – Luxembourg to London, England via Brussels, Belgium. Today's another train day. We left our hotel at the civilized hour of 9:30am and push the railroad's luggage cart, or rather tried to keep it from running away, down the hill to the station. Our platform was #1 so we didn't have to do the elevator routine to get our luggage and ourselves out to the train. We arrived a little early so we sat in the waiting room, or rather Diana did, while I scouted the layout of the platform. Turns out that platforms 1 and 2 are not next to the station but are located at the end of the station. It was nice outside so I walked back and gave Diana an update on the trek past the station to the platform. She decided to join me so we and the luggage cart ambled past the station and took some seats on platform 1.
A train was already parked there so I asked if it was the one to Brussels and was told that it was. Turns out that the man I asked was also the conductor. As I was loading our luggage I asked him where I should store it as there were no luggage racks. He said to just leave it in the entrance because we would be changing trains at the first stop inside Belgium. This was not what I has seen on the schedule so I asked him if I was on the correct train and he said that I was. All the trains from Luxembourg to Brussels operate this way. He said it's no big deal you just walk across the platform and get on the car at the same position as the one you left. Seemed a bit weird but he is the conductor after all.
Sure enough, first stop in Belgium, about 20 minutes later and off we got, only to climb in an identical car and take the same seats we had before. I have no idea why they do this. Maybe it's easier that hooking up a Belgian locomotive so they just switch trains. That uses twice as much rolling stock but maybe they have plenty so that the system. A few minutes later we were on our way again.
We arrived in Brussels right on time and when we got into the station from our platform there was a large sign saying 'Eurostar' with an arrow pointing down the concourse. Off we went to their waiting room. The Chunnel train is part of the Eurostar system. Used to be that the only real route was London to Paris but now you can take the Chunnel to several places. Brussels is very convenient as it has trains going all over Europe. Last time we came through here we changed trains to go to Cologne going and came in from Amsterdam and changed to the Chunnel train coming home. Very convenient.
The Eurostar is a premiere train in Europe. They take great pride in their timeliness and service and they should. We have never had a late departure or arrival on them. Just like clockwork, 20 minutes before departure they opened the gate and you head for the train. When you have as much luggage as we do you have to go first class. Second class is full of backpackers and everyone has a huge backpack. Unless you're first to the car you have no place to put your luggage. One time we wound up with luggage in three different cars. That was not a good experience. First class is never full and most of the people are business travelers with a carry-on and a computer bag. Lots of room for the tourist's luggage and this train was no exception.
They serve a small lunch on the train in first class. Emphasis on small. It's about the size of an appetizer for one on a cruise ship. But it's always tasty and it does come with a 4oz can of soda. Actually you can also get a small wine or beer but the mini soda cans are so cute I always get one.
We arrived at Euston Station right on time and wheeled our luggage to the taxi stand. (The Chunnel trains used to go to the Waterloo Station in London and I really liked that better. All the French people had to ride into Waterloo if they took the train to England. Perfect!!) Because it takes me some time to get all our bags to the platform and start walking out we are almost always at the end of a very long line at the taxi stand. I've learned to pick out someone friendly and start a chat. If there's a family near us in line it's easy. You ask one of the children a question and that gets it going. There was a family with two little girls (4-7) right behind us in line and one of them was wearing a shirt with a rabbit on it. I asked her what the bunny's name and she immediately reported, "Peter". Her mom laughed right away and said, "I didn't know that." The girl said, "Mommy, you never asked." Then we all laughed and the conversation was started. Makes waiting to get to the front of the line actually fun.
Soon we were in the cab and headed to the Crowne Plaza London, Saint James. I don't think I could have picked better. Of all the hotels we've stayed in while in London this was the best combination of accommodation and location. The Queen was our neighbor; it was only 2 blocks to Buckingham Palace. There are lots of cafes, pubs, restaurants, a grocery store, a deli, a drug store all within three blocks. There was even a laundry three doors down the street. Some of my clothes are in dire need of a good professional washing. There's only so much you can do in the sink at a hotel. The hotel itself is also very nice and I'd say the price was about the same as you'd expect in New York. We're not staying all that long so sometimes you have to make things easy on yourself.
A fairly long travel day had Diana worn out and she opted to eat some trail mix and dried fruit for dinner. We didn't have quite enough for two so I went out for some pizza. It was quick and not expensive so it worked out for both of us. Diana was pooped and turned in early. I put on my spelunking light and wrote in my journal and paid some bills online.
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