June 13 – from Maastricht to Hamburg via Aachen
Another whole day spent in transit. Missed the first train to Aachen cos i didn't realise you had to change trained at a small place called Heerlen but got quickly on the next one. Managed to see all of about 10 minutes of Aachen cos had to get straight back on the train again. That was a pity cos i wanted to see Charlamange's throne in the Aachen DOM. Oh well.
My next train to Cologne was pretty uneventful – had the whole 1st class carriage to myself (again) except for a chatty guy who later got very politely told that his ticket was “for second class only, and could he please relocate” Felt sorry for the poor guy because , to be honest it is hard to tell the difference on regional trains (though the big number 1 signs everywhere are a bit of a give away).
Went from having a whole carriage to myself to standing room only on the train from cologne to hamburg. Couldn't believe that in first class there were still people in the aisles! My derrier thankfully had my pack to rest on in my aisle of choice right beside the toilet. Luckily i only had to stand for about an hour of the 4 hour trip before i was able to play a successful game of “dodge the reservations” whereby you move from seat to seat as people get off the train. Eventually (about 2hrs in) i got a permanent seat when some people with reservations didn't show (most likely cos the darn train had been delayed by 1/2hr in the first place).
Arrived in Hamburg later than I would've liked but the tourist info was still open and i found cheap internet (beside a bakery – heaven). thus, getting to my accomodation was fantastically easy (i love Metro's). The hostel was actually not that bad either (despite it being my 2nd choice). Had a room to myself again and washing was just 2Euros, including the drier – YAY!
