As I said, this is a big travel day. We are leaving Amsterdam and heading east, but our train doesn’t leave until nearly 11:00 PM. We have a LOT of time to kill. Wait…is that a FEBO? Hahaha

Coffee and a pastry/croissant are the first order of every day and this day was no different. We found a nice place to get a coffee and a bite just a block or two from our hotel. It was different weather – a cool, dreary, drizzly morning, and it never really changed throughout the day.

Another plus of staying where we were was there were two markets down the street a few blocks. Spar is one of the markets you will find all over. TESCO is another. They have a little of everything and you can probably find what you need and a lot of stuff you don’t need. I got snacks and water for the day and we went back to the hotel to finish packing up and check out. There are not huge stores that I have seen in my travels there, but I know a few do exist.

One thing to definitely consider when you travel is maximizing your time. Check out of your hotel as late as possible to avoid carrying your bags all over – you’re already doing that enough. However, if you need bag storage, Europe train stations usually have storage lockers for a small fee. Another thing I found was a handy app that shows you not only those train station lockers, but there are many shops that offer storage as well. Just make sure you get your bags before they close! We used one at a shop and had no problems…just very friendly service.

But, don’t let friendliness let you take your guard down. We are backpacking – everything we have is in those backpacks, and everything we have we need. If it is a train station locker (the one in Cologne takes your bag in a door and whisks it off to someplace) or a shop, I still trust no one. I lock my bag up, and if my bag is in a luggage room with other bags (common when your room is not quite ready to check in) I use a cable lock to secure it to a pipe, shelf, rack, etc. If it is a locker that you take the key I don’t lock my bag.

We went to Centraal Station, then we walked out the back and hopped on a ferry to Amsterdam Noord, a quirky artist area that has some fun & interesting things to see.

We walked along the docks looking at the boats, then walked over in the direction of a big crane on a stand. There were people living in different levels of it.

We went back to catch a ferry back. It was getting colder and a little windy.

We had our Eurail pass so we hopped on a train to check out Rotterdam.

I had never been there before and despite the weather getting nastier I liked it. We walked up through the city center and there were a of of shops and food. It definitely has a different feel to it – less touristy – and I did like it.

We needed some lunch so we found a Vietnamese restaurant and I ordered a big bowl of pho. It was the perfect thing for a cool, drizzly/rainy day.

We went back to Rotterdam Centraal and got back on the train to Amsterdam. It was nice to get out for a day trip on the train. It started to rain a bit and was getting colder.

We still had time to kill so we went to get some dinner and warm up a bit. A coffee sure helped. In Europe the table is yours as long as you want to sit there, and that we did. We had a big night ahead so rest while we can. Little did we know…

We decided we should get our backpacks so I went down the block to get our bags from the shop. We sat for a little longer, then went on over to find our train platform in Centraal Station.

This is my first night train and I really wish I would have taken pictures inside. You sleep on the train while it is on the move to your final destination, but it stop in a few select larger cities along the way. The fares are reasonable and it saves a night of hotel money.

We were on the European Sleeper. This company has been running for the last year or so and is one of many night train businesses that have started up as it has become a popular way to travel once again after flying has fallen out of fashion.

They are a private company with investors (unlike the national railroads) and they buy older cars and refurbish them as they can. They do put them into service if they are usable and can make money until they can refurbish them.

There are a few options of accommodations. You can be in a sleeper berth for three people with three beds and in-room wash basin; you can be in a couchette for 5 that has no in-room facilities, or you can have a berth with six seats. We opted for sleeping in our seats. It was the cheapest so we discussed the drawbacks and figured we would be okay. 🤣

Our train arrived and we were able to board quickly. This train started out in Brussels, then came up through The Netherlands to Amsterdam, then it’s onward to the other stops along the way.

We found our compartment – we were sitting across from two girls who were probably college-aged. I don’t know the nationality of one girl, but I think she was American. The other girl was Korean or Chinese I believe but she did speak English fairly well. Then, another girl came along who was Chinese or Korean (the opposite of the other girl). She sat next to me at the window and she spoke very little English but we communicated pretty well. The girl across from us had to help interpret a few things but overall the girl next to me did pretty good. She was a lot of fun and pretty funny. A very happy person. She was sharing snacks, I shared some snacks, and everyone used my phone charger. I love how people come together like this and are human.

Our carriage was one of the old ones not refurbished yet. It looked and felt like the 1950s. My seat cushion was horrible. It was cool otherwise, though, and it felt like we were in a 16mm film noir moment. It was classic in design and you could just imagine it back in the day.

We all settled in for the trip. We chatted a little bit then most everyone got into their sleep mode.

We will see just how this is in 12 hours!