An overdue return to the Netherlands, and a bit more of Belgium.

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
An overdue return to the Netherlands, and a bit more of Belgium.
Reviving a travel plan from 2020, I headed to Switzerland for the first bouldering world cup of the season.
Arguably Amtrak’s most scenic route, the California Zephyr allows a great variety of landscapes to be sampled from the comfort of a lounge or sleeper car. Here’s some of what I experienced during a winter run with the snow often piled high!
I took on the entire 52 hour, 2400 mile journey from Chicago to Emeryville on the California Zephyr – but rather than one epic ride, I split it into six pieces across nine days. Here’s how those went.
A look at the three types of accommodation I tried during my journey – coach, a roomette, and the family bedroom – plus the communal areas on this superliner service.
Trying out the high speed AVE services, in both first and standard class.
Keen to fly, but not to navigate the cost and complexity of COVID rules, I made my way to a relatively obscure part of Britain (but not the UK): the Isle of Man.
Where and how I found myself travelling in 2019.
My stay nearby in Obertraun meant I could take the slow rail route to Hallstatt, trying out a variety of Austrian trains.
A holiday with Dutch friends introduced me to a new part of the country: Limburg, the southernmost province.
To get to Portland, Eugene and back to Seattle we used both of Amtrak’s rail services in the area: the Coast Starlight and Cascades.
An anniversary return to the Belgian capital, in search of locations from a board game.
An overview of our honeymoon trip across Europe: from our wedding venue in Rotterdam, to Taormina in Sicily, all by train!
An overview of each of the train journeys making up our Honeymoon tour from the Netherlands to Italy.
Although a challenging environment – and one I wanted to enjoy! – I managed a few reasonable shots on the Bernina Express.
Getting from Switzerland to Italy in style – by narrow gauge railway across the Alps.
From a simple idea, our honeymoon plan grew into a five country, nine day train journey from Rotterdam to Sicily (and then a well-earned rest). This post covers the itinerary and logistics, providing a guide to booking something similar yourself (including an alternative start from the UK).
Overview of my travels this summer, exploring Europes extremes from sand dunes to glaciers!
A quick summary of my flights, train rides, and hotel stays – plus all the corresponding loyalty scheme antics – in 2015.
An overview and links to coverage of my trip to New York, Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles via a mix of international business class flights and long distance trains.