Day eight: goodbye Lübeck, hello Amersfoort
It was time to move again. My next destination was Amersfoort in the Netherlands. I’ve been to Amsterdam a few times so I thought it would make a change to try somewhere different. I have quite a few Dutch friends who made suggestions and finally I settled on Amersfoort as it sounded like a pretty town with canals and picturesque streets.
My train left Lübeck at 11am so I left the apartment with enough time to stop at the Tourist Information cafe to have the obligatory coffee and pastry. This time I had a pistachio bun.
Coffee and bun at the Lübeck tourist office cafe
From there it’s a 12-15 minute walk to the station dependent on how fast you walk and/or how much luggage you have. I have used my medium sized case because I wasn’t sure about the weather and so I hedged my bets by packing clothes for all seasons. So glad I did because the temperatures have been so low. My shorts, skirts and dress have not even come out of the case so far and are unlikely to do so given the forecast.
Whereas Copenhagen to Lübeck involved just one change, the journey to Amersfoort involves two changes - Hamburg first and then Osnabrueck. The first leg is a quick journey with plenty of unreserved seating. At Hamburg I had a half an hour wait to catch the ICE train. I couldn’t see Osnabrueck on the board which freaked me out a bit but I found out later that the international trains go to so many stations they can’t fit all of the names on the board!
Random pic of some German train tracks
I had a seat reserved for both this and the next train from Osnabrueck. The second train was the first one where I found someone already sitting in my seat. I had to ask them to move as the train was busy and as I had paid for the reservation I didn’t think it was up to me to move As mentioned before, the seat reservations are clearly marked so this person was chancing it.
Lots of room for cases on the ICE train
All three legs of the journey ran to time and so I arrived at Amersfoort station on the dot of 5:25pm. The hotel is in the centre of town on the market square and easy to find. I used Apple Maps but on the day I left I realised that there are silver arrows that guide you to the centre from the station. I was focussing on my phone so much I didn’t see them.
The centre is like a small island surrounded by canals. It’s similar to Amsterdam but on a much, much smaller scale. My first impression was of a very picturesque place - I looked forward to exploring.
Canal in Amersfoort
Typical street in Amersfoort
Once I checked in I decided to go out and explore and find somewhere to eat. The Hotel de Gaaper’s location had the potential to be noisy and the management provided ear plugs. Apparently there is a market on Fridays which could be noisy when stall holders set up.
Big tower close to the Tourist Information office
I wandered around for a while but didn’t really manage to get a sense of the layout - something I’d do the next day. There are lots of cafes and restaurants - in the end I ate at Kafé Van Zantan which felt a bit more like a pub. I had a Dutch beer to go with my mushroom pita. More bread - but what can you do?
Evening meal at Kafe Van Zanten
I was pretty tired by now and made my way back to the hotel. It’s next to a church called Sint Joriskirk which makes for a good landmark to look for in the unlikely event that I got lost. By the time I went to bed I could hardly keep my eyes open. I used my own earplugs which I always carry when travelling and hoped for a good night’s sleep.
This featured blog entry was written by Cath_Greig from the blog My first interrail experience.
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