This post is a continuation of “London, not done” and the sixth part of my backpacking trip.
So the days on my rail pass were about to run out, and it was time to head home. My train back to Denmark would leave in the evening around 3 o’clock and go through Bruxelles, Koeln, Hamburg, Flensburg, and then straight towards Denmark. This trip was expected to be smooth without any issues, but that is for sure not what happened.
At first, the plan was to stay a night in Bruxelles, enjoy a few Belgian waffles and chocolate, and then head towards Denmark, but since I was running out of days on my ticket, I had to skip the stay. The only stop in Bruxelles would be for a train change to Germany. The wait in Bruxelles would only last long enough for me to find the next train to Koeln, so I was in a bit of a hurry and didn’t really get time to buy anything to eat (which I now regret, since the Belgian waffles are sooo delicious!). Anyway, I got on the train to Koeln in time.
My next stop would be in Koeln, where I would have to get on the train to Hannover, Uelzen, Hamburg, Flensburg, and then Denmark.
The train arrived in Uelzen around midnight, and from here I had to wait approximately 5-6 hours for my train to Hamburg. This meant I had the sleep at the train station, which I was actually okay with. Luckily there weren’t many people at the platform, and few of those would also be backpackers, so I put my trust in those people, so I set my alarm and went to sleep. According to the plan, the next (and first train for the day) would be the one straight to Hamburg.
A few hours later, I woke up by the sound of a train arriving, which I thought was the one to Hamburg. It was only at midnight so I thought maybe it was an extra train or something. So without noticing the information board, on the train, I got on it. It turned out to be a train going in the wrong direction, so I got off it as soon as possible and landed in a city called Suderburg (a city south of Uelzen), where I would be stranded for a few hours. Luckily the train that would head back to Uelzen would arrive before my next train to Hamburg, so I made that in time. Hereafter the trip went smooth and easy with no obstacles and I arrived back home in Herning almost 24 hours after leaving London.
So… That was my first time traveling by myself around a bit of Europe, with only a backpack.
This was definitely one of the best trips I went on and I don’t regret anything that I did or experienced. I left as an enclosed person but returned home as a completely different one. This trip did make me break my comfort zone, which has helped by evolving as a person. I will at any time, recommend anyone who is considering going on a solo backpack trip, to do it! You WON’T regret it!
Below is a map of the trip from London to Flensburg.
