Get on track for a Euro break (From Swindon Advertiser)

Get on track for a Euro break

4:18pm Thursday 19th January 2012 in Holiday Reviews

Fancy three destinations in one European trip? It’s no strain if you take the train

SOME of the best trips are those where you come across something new: a gem of a place to visit; a great new dish you can’t wait to try at home; a taste of a different culture... oh, and naked Norwegians in the sauna!

We discovered them all on a three- destination trip by rail to Luxembourg, Trier and Koblenz.

If you enjoy travelling by train – and it’s in the blood for most Swindonians – Eurostar is a lovely way to start your visit to the continent. Try to make time to linger a little at London’s refurbished St Pancras Station – it’s swish and stylish, with upmarket shops and bars, but retains a sense of the heyday of the railways.

After admiring the Victorian architecture, the nine-metre bronze of a couple embracing and another statue of Sir John Betjeman, credited with saving the station from demolition in the 1960s, enjoy a glass of bubbly in the Champagne Bar to begin your journey in style.

You’ll also need to factor in time to get through passport control but once on board our journey to Brussels took less than two hours. From there, we changed Trains for our first port of call – Luxembourg.

It’s not somewhere which immediately springs to mind for a short break but it’s definitely one to consider.

Attractive and rich in history, there’s plenty to see and do. Staying at the Hotel Novotel Centre, we were within easy walking distance of the heart of the city, with other attractions and activities a tram ride away on the outskirts (see panel).

And don’t worry about making yourself understood, the vast majority of Luxembourgers speak an impressive four languages – Luxembourgish, French, German and English.

After being pleasantly surprised by the cultural and historical aspects of Luxembourg and very impressed with the cuisine, it was back on a train to go across the border into Germany to visit Trier, where more surprises were in store.

It’s worth noting that throughout the trip the trains we travelled on were clean, on time, offered plenty of leg-room and were an enjoyable way of seeing more of the countries we were visiting.

Our hotel the Park Plaza – a nice place to stay at any time – had the added interest of acting as base to the World Moto-X Rally Championships, which was holding a stage in the area. A couple of days later, when unfortunately we had already moved on, the streets were closed for an exciting race through the town.

It was also there that one of our party came across the naked Norwegians in the sauna – one a former world champion moto-X driver no less!

Plenty of robes and towels were provided at the well-equipped spa and you didn’t have to completely strip off to use it, but cossies were optional.

Trier was an eyeopener in other ways too.

It’s not well-known as a tourist destination for Britons but it is for the Chinese, as it’s the birthplace of Karl Marx, the revolutionary socialist author of The Communist Manifesto.

As well as the house he was born in, which has been turned into a museum, there was plenty else to make Trier worth a visit. We managed to pack in trips to Roman remains and buildings, the excellent Rhineland Regional Museum (Rheinisches Landesmuseum) and a visit to the vineyards of the delightfully eccentric Georg Fritz Von Nell (see panel).

Our whistle-stop tour concluded in Koblenz, where the National Flower Show was being held. The show is now closed but a cable car constructed for the event, bridging its two halves across the Rhine is scheduled to remain until the end of 2013.

Not keen on heights, I was happy to let the rest of the party go without me while I stayed and enjoyed watching the boats go by at the point where the Moselle meets the Rhine (remember that for your pub quizzes!).

They later told me the views were fantastic but, as they’d had the one car with a glass bottom, I was rather glad I’d given it a miss.

I’d had enough thrilling views for one trip... did I mention that although I wasn’t in the sauna at the same time as the hunky Norwegians, I had a good view of their comings and goings from my spot in the steam room! – JB

Travel facts

• We travelled with Railbookers, a company specialising in organising independent holidays. There’s no brochure, you just tell them where you want to go and they chart a route, booking rail tickets and hotels, with different options available according to budget. There’s no premium added and it often works out cheaper than booking yourself as the company brokers deals with its partners. There’s also a 24-hour helpline in case of problems along the way.

• l See www.railbookers.com or contact 020 3327 0801.

• Trains travelled on included Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) and Deutsche Bahn (www.bahn.com).

Highlights of the trip

Luxembourg

The views: Luxembourg city’s walled defences against possible invaders are impressive to say the least. As well as being able see remains of them all over the city, you can also visit (from March to October) part of the casemates – tunnels running for 13 miles under the city’s fortifications, which were used to house men and horses from 1644 onwards.

Walking around the old city – take comfortable shoes, there are lots of cobbles – you get some wonderful vistas but if you’d like to sit and savour the sun going down with a cocktail or two, try Coco Mango bar at the Sofitel Hotel. They are not cheap, at around 16 euros, but they are fantastic and the floor to ceiling windows on the 8th floor offer a panoramic view, said to be the best in the city.

The loos!: The toilet at Chiggeri restaurant kept us amused for most of the evening for the simple fact that instead of one roll of loo paper it had half a dozen or so in various colours, including black. The food was pretty good too! Another good meal, eaten al fresco, was at Brasserie Mansfield Restaurant.

The outskirts: At Schengen, a village located at the intersection of Luxembourg, France and Germany, we visited a museum dedicated to the agreement signed there in 1985 on the gradual abolition of checks at common borders. Cultural activity ticked off, we then picked up bicycles for a leisurely pedal along the Moselle. You can pick bikes up and drop them off at various points along the way.

For more information about Luxembourg see the tourist information website at Luxembourg www.visitluxembourg.lu

Trier

Roman remains: Trier was an outpost of the Roman Empire and there are plenty of artefacts and remains to be seen including Porta Nigra city gate, baths and part of a swimming pool, the Constantine Basilica, now used as a Protestant church, a bridge and amphitheatre.

Vineyard: We visited the Von Nell estate, established in 1803 and now run by the seventh generation of the same family. Owner Georg is passionate about his business and delivers an enthusiastic and informative tour. Take a look at his website www.vonNell.de for details. For more information about Trier see the tourist information website at www.trier.de/english.

Koblenz

We stayed at GHotel which was conveniently just across from the station. We didn’t have time to see much of the city but it boasts churches dating back to the 12th century, a Prussian fortress and plenty of museums. It’s also got a lively night life – we went to Dali’s bar, thinking it may have something to do with the painter. It didn’t – it’s the name of the owner – but we stayed anyway. For more information Koblenz see the tourist information website at www.koblenz-touristik.de