We left the warm and gracious hospitality of our hosts in a flurry today. With the help of Mary Sue, we found the tram station that would take us to Central Station to catch a train to the German border. The tram wasn't going to arrive for ten minutes and we didn't have that much time, so we caught a cab that was waiting there. As we were running, with our backpacks on and our other bags hanging from us, I asked Bev if she knew the name of the town we're going to. She didn't remember the name any more than I did. Great! We're running to buy tickets, in a hurry to be sure to catch the train, and neither of us know where it is we want to buy tickets for! I had the information written down, but in the flurry this morning as we were running I couldn't remember where I'd put the information. We rushed up to the counter and told the kind Dutch woman we needed to go to a town near the German border with a name that started with “h.” She was puzzled, as she tried to help us. (By the way, everyone we've encountered in the Netherlands speaks English, so language has not been a barrier. It just helps to know where you're wanting to go!) As she was trying to help us, I suddenly remembered that I had the information in my itinerary folder in my bag, so I whipped it out and voila! “We're needing two tickets to Hengelo!” Her face lit up in a smile, “Oh, Hengelo!” So she sold us the two tickets for 50 Euro and 40 cents, told us what platform to be at for the 7:05 a.m. train and how to get there, and we were off! We made it with ten minutes to spare. The train was waiting there on the track, we got in, unloaded our bags in our seats in the empty train, and took a big breath. It was then that I craved my morning coffee for the 2 hour, 15-minute trip to Hengelo, but Bev wouldn't let me get off the train to find coffee. She apparently has a fear of traveling alone. :-)
Considering the stoppage of all air travel in Northern Europe, we didn't notice the trains being busy on the first two legs of our trip on local trains. But the train system is a hub-and-spoke system, like American air travel, and the train from Bad Bentheim to Hamburg was very busy and we stood the first leg of that trip, then grabbed a couple seats after a stop freed up some seating, and had seats for the last hour of the trip to Hamburg. Travel was pretty uneventful until we pull into Hamburg. The platform by the track for the next train we were to take to Copenhagen was teeming with people as far as we could see! As soon as the train stopped, people quickly moved to the platform and started pushing to get on the next train. The crowd never got crazy, but we practically were carried along by the crowd, got separated from each other and it was a little scary. We both did get on the train where there was standing room only. Lots of people were still outside, trying to get on the train, but those at the door were telling them, "No-there's no more room"", so many didn't make it. I remember thinking, "Who are the lucky ones? Them or us?" An announcement was made for volunteers to get off the train to take a bus, and some went off. But comments were made, wondering if those leaving the train would actually get on a bus, or just end up standing in another line (or, as they call it, "queue.") We spent the next six hours standing as we traveled from Hamburg all the way to Copenhagen! (The last picture above pretty much shows what it was like on the train)
The trip could have been unbearable--but we were standing by some very nice people who spoke English. And we did have a break when the ENTIRE train went onto a ferry to cross the Baltic Sea! It was amazing! Everyone had to leave the train and go to the upper levels of the ferry so we had a 45 minute break from our cramped quarters. We finally did arrive in Copenhagen around 8:30--13 1/2 hours after leaving Rotterdam. Luckily our hotel was close to the station and we even found it with minimal time and trouble! We are feeling very lucky to be in Denmark tonight!
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