you might find these helpful
While we were away, we made some observations which I thought might interest anyone intending to travel in Europe. These are simply personal experiences but the information might be of help if you find yourself in the same or similar predicaments. They appear in no particular order of importance or sequence, so feel free to browse the following to see if anything might be useful.
getting around airports
If you have any mobility issues, getting from A to B in an airport can be a problem. My wife has a fused ankle and arthritis and so cannot walk any great distance. Check with your travel agent (or with your airline if you are booking direct) to find out what options are available to transfer from one gate to another if you are changing planes or from the gate to the taxi rank or bus-stop if you are leaving the airport. You must book all arrangements before you leave Australia.
Kuala Lumpur Airport is huge. Even if you are not changing terminals, just getting from a gate at one end of a terminal to one at the other end is quite a distance. There are not only wheelchairs available, you can arrange to be picked up by a golf-buggy and driven to your next location. It costs nothing. Make sure you check with a flight attendant before disembarking to make sure your buggy will be there.
Heathrow is far more difficult. We tend to avoid flying in or out if we can avoid it. There are similar options available here but make sure you book them well in advance and keep checking at the airline desk if the wheelchair or buggy has not arrived at the arranged time. The booking system leaves a lot to be desired and we almost missed our plane because one wheelchair failed to arrive at all.
Gatwick is a much easier airport to negotiate and the assistance here is excellent. Wheelchairs and buggies are available and the service is extremely efficient. You also enjoy the advantage of assisted passage through immigration.
Kuala Lumpur Airport is huge. Even if you are not changing terminals, just getting from a gate at one end of a terminal to one at the other end is quite a distance. There are not only wheelchairs available, you can arrange to be picked up by a golf-buggy and driven to your next location. It costs nothing. Make sure you check with a flight attendant before disembarking to make sure your buggy will be there.
Heathrow is far more difficult. We tend to avoid flying in or out if we can avoid it. There are similar options available here but make sure you book them well in advance and keep checking at the airline desk if the wheelchair or buggy has not arrived at the arranged time. The booking system leaves a lot to be desired and we almost missed our plane because one wheelchair failed to arrive at all.
Gatwick is a much easier airport to negotiate and the assistance here is excellent. Wheelchairs and buggies are available and the service is extremely efficient. You also enjoy the advantage of assisted passage through immigration.
CHECK AND RECHECK YOUR DEPARTURE GATE
The gate number shown on your boarding pass is not always correct. Make sure you check the arrivals/departures screens to confirm the correct departure gate for your flight. Flights are regularly rescheduled in busy international airports which means they will leave from a different gate. This change may not have been communicated in time to the check-in desk or the automated check-in kiosks, which means the boarding pass they print out will still show the old departure gate. We almost missed a flight from Dublin to Gatwick for just this reason. Check the screens to ensure you are heading to the right gate and then check the gate screen when you arrive to ensure your flight is listed to leave from that gate.
TRAIN TRAVEL
We used a combination of hire cars and trains to make our way around Europe. Both had their advantages and disadvantages. Trains are usually very efficient just about everywhere.
If you can afford it, always book first class tickets on any train but particularly in Eastern Europe. The seating is much, much more comfortable and the compartments bigger. If I was on a budget, I'd forego something else in order to be able to afford first class train travel.
We travelled to Paris on the Eurostar and found it superb. We had been to Canterbury so we were able to pick the train up at Ashford to save us going back into London which was a huge time saver. The Eurostar terminal at Ashford is a rather barn-like but modern facility.
Ensure you allow plenty of time before the train departs as you have to go through two lots of immigration. There is a boarding call 10 minutes prior to departure so you have ample time to move to the platform even with a lot of luggage.
Use the lift on the left hand side of the bridge if you have heavy items, or have trouble with stairs, as there is no escalator, just two sets of stairs to either end of the platform.
The train is higher than the platform but there are automatic steps which fold down when the train stops making it easy to board, even with a disability. What is harder is having to lift heavy suitcases up from the platform. There is a steward at each carriage who directs you where to store your luggage and he is able to assist if requested. But you have to ask, he won’t help of his own accord.
Seats are quite comfy and there is ample leg-room.
The luggage storage is unusual, split across the two levels in each carriage. If you are on the lower level, as we were, it might pay to get on board quick enough to ensure you can put your luggage in the storage area on that level; it takes only a few cases. It was full by the time we boarded so I had to drag everything up to the next level which was inconvenient, particularly when we disembarked in Paris.
The ride is so smooth that the speed of the train is not really apparent. Service on the train is a bit perfunctory but overall it’s a very good trip and much better than flying if you have the two hours or so to spare.
I used domestic trains to travel to Venice. We were staying in Padua as we thought it would be really easy to commute to Venice from there as the journey is supposedly about 40 minutes. It turned out to be a bad decision. The train to Venice was easy to access and the ticket quite cheap but make sure you check timetables as the service is infrequent and if you miss one train there is a long wait for the next. The train was crowded and there was no seating available. This is the norm apparently so not advisable if you have a disability.
Arriving in Venice I thought it would be easy to get a Vaporetto, the local ferry-bus, into the city. Even at the end of the tourist season, we were there in late September, the crowds are terrible. The queue for the Vaporetto contained about 600 people and as the first boat took on just 10 passengers, it was going to take more time than I could spare so I ended up paying 90 euro for a water-taxi. It is much better to stay one or two nights in Venice, despite the price of hotels, and have adequate time each day to see this marvellous city.
The train ride back to Padua was also problematic. Trains at night are far more infrequent than during the day and I had to wait until after midnight for a train that stopped at Padua.
We travelled by train through Poland having flown into Kracow. The journey from Kracow to Warsaw was on a domestic service and rather quaint. First class seating was in an old-fashioned compartment seating six. It was reasonably comfortable but there was no room for luggage inside the compartment so we had to leave it in the corridor outside.
Seating was comfortable but leg-room was limited. Service on the train was perfunctory again and the dining car had a limited menu heavy on Polish cuisine, which I quite like.
Toilets are basic indeed. The trip was enjoyable and the service efficient, arriving within five minutes of the advertised timetable.
After a week in Kracow we travelled on to Warsaw on another domestic service. The compartment was more comfortable but everything else was similar. I quite enjoyed being able to watch the scenery go by and though it is time-consuming, I really enjoyed the experience.
We also used trains to get around Germany. From Warsaw we travelled to Berlin on the Berlin Express. This was a far more comfortable experience. Seating is very comfortable and very roomy. Seats are arranged in singles, pairs or fours so passengers can enjoy some measure of privacy even though everyone is in the same compartment. There is excellent luggage facilities immediately adjacent to your compartment.
Hostesses offer drinks and magazines and the dining car has a broad menu and you can also order food to be brought to your seat.
The service from Berlin to Leipzig and Leipzig to Dresden used similar trains. The station in Berlin is marvellous with three levels of shops and restaurants.
Train travel in Germany is efficient in the extreme, eminently enjoyable and provides the perfect alternative to air travel when you have the time.
If you can afford it, always book first class tickets on any train but particularly in Eastern Europe. The seating is much, much more comfortable and the compartments bigger. If I was on a budget, I'd forego something else in order to be able to afford first class train travel.
We travelled to Paris on the Eurostar and found it superb. We had been to Canterbury so we were able to pick the train up at Ashford to save us going back into London which was a huge time saver. The Eurostar terminal at Ashford is a rather barn-like but modern facility.
Ensure you allow plenty of time before the train departs as you have to go through two lots of immigration. There is a boarding call 10 minutes prior to departure so you have ample time to move to the platform even with a lot of luggage.
Use the lift on the left hand side of the bridge if you have heavy items, or have trouble with stairs, as there is no escalator, just two sets of stairs to either end of the platform.
The train is higher than the platform but there are automatic steps which fold down when the train stops making it easy to board, even with a disability. What is harder is having to lift heavy suitcases up from the platform. There is a steward at each carriage who directs you where to store your luggage and he is able to assist if requested. But you have to ask, he won’t help of his own accord.
Seats are quite comfy and there is ample leg-room.
The luggage storage is unusual, split across the two levels in each carriage. If you are on the lower level, as we were, it might pay to get on board quick enough to ensure you can put your luggage in the storage area on that level; it takes only a few cases. It was full by the time we boarded so I had to drag everything up to the next level which was inconvenient, particularly when we disembarked in Paris.
The ride is so smooth that the speed of the train is not really apparent. Service on the train is a bit perfunctory but overall it’s a very good trip and much better than flying if you have the two hours or so to spare.
I used domestic trains to travel to Venice. We were staying in Padua as we thought it would be really easy to commute to Venice from there as the journey is supposedly about 40 minutes. It turned out to be a bad decision. The train to Venice was easy to access and the ticket quite cheap but make sure you check timetables as the service is infrequent and if you miss one train there is a long wait for the next. The train was crowded and there was no seating available. This is the norm apparently so not advisable if you have a disability.
Arriving in Venice I thought it would be easy to get a Vaporetto, the local ferry-bus, into the city. Even at the end of the tourist season, we were there in late September, the crowds are terrible. The queue for the Vaporetto contained about 600 people and as the first boat took on just 10 passengers, it was going to take more time than I could spare so I ended up paying 90 euro for a water-taxi. It is much better to stay one or two nights in Venice, despite the price of hotels, and have adequate time each day to see this marvellous city.
The train ride back to Padua was also problematic. Trains at night are far more infrequent than during the day and I had to wait until after midnight for a train that stopped at Padua.
We travelled by train through Poland having flown into Kracow. The journey from Kracow to Warsaw was on a domestic service and rather quaint. First class seating was in an old-fashioned compartment seating six. It was reasonably comfortable but there was no room for luggage inside the compartment so we had to leave it in the corridor outside.
Seating was comfortable but leg-room was limited. Service on the train was perfunctory again and the dining car had a limited menu heavy on Polish cuisine, which I quite like.
Toilets are basic indeed. The trip was enjoyable and the service efficient, arriving within five minutes of the advertised timetable.
After a week in Kracow we travelled on to Warsaw on another domestic service. The compartment was more comfortable but everything else was similar. I quite enjoyed being able to watch the scenery go by and though it is time-consuming, I really enjoyed the experience.
We also used trains to get around Germany. From Warsaw we travelled to Berlin on the Berlin Express. This was a far more comfortable experience. Seating is very comfortable and very roomy. Seats are arranged in singles, pairs or fours so passengers can enjoy some measure of privacy even though everyone is in the same compartment. There is excellent luggage facilities immediately adjacent to your compartment.
Hostesses offer drinks and magazines and the dining car has a broad menu and you can also order food to be brought to your seat.
The service from Berlin to Leipzig and Leipzig to Dresden used similar trains. The station in Berlin is marvellous with three levels of shops and restaurants.
Train travel in Germany is efficient in the extreme, eminently enjoyable and provides the perfect alternative to air travel when you have the time.