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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
And I have 4 spare Interrail days to use between Innotrans and a conference in Bruxelles

I'd initially planned to go to Beograd 🇷🇸 but as the line from Budapest still is not open that isn't happening

So I will instead go to Košice 🇸🇰, meet the super folks from the bike kitchen who hosted me there before, cycle around eastern Slovakia a bit, then head to Bruxelles via 2 🇨🇿🇵🇱 border lines I have not been to

It's going to be great!
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
And after all this mess of compulsory reservations and mess in Spain and Portugal, a bit of central European railways is exactly what I need 🙂
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
And we’re off! Not on this rust bucket today, but just to Ponte de Sor
CP Allan railbus
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
The rust bucket is +12. The Interrailers have 12 mins to change in Badajoz. I’m happy I’m in my shoes today not their shoes!
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
I think we need a nickname for this terrible train here

Wdyt?
Badajoz Barbecue 22 votes18%Badajoz Rust Bucket 39 votes31%Badajoz Blaster 28 votes22%Entroncamento Enterprise 33 votes27%
122 users voted - Ended
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
The vibrations are so bad on this one (361) from the motor. Worse than the one I took the other day (unit 364). Thank goodness only 30 mins more!
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
Somewhere over there is the last 🇵🇹 🇪🇸 I’ve not been to. I aim to find it tomorrow. And yes, that’s a forest fire on the horizon.
Wide open view across a hill going down. Dotted with houses and trees. Forest fire smoke top left.
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
Oh!

There‘s an EU funded e-bike share here in Castelo de Vide. Interreg 🇪🇸 🇵🇹 even

Could I cycle to Valencia de Alcantara tomorrow and leave the bike there I wondered

Download the app

Ah no. It only works in 🇵🇹

😡
Sign about the scheme
Bike stands
Useage Zone
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
Finally downloaded the photos from the Douro line Régua - Pocinho from yesterday. These turned out well! It's a stunning line.
View from the open window heading towards Pocinho on the Douro line - train to the left, river and vineyards right, everything mostly in sun
Closer view of the train - orange locomotive and two silver carriages seen. Train is in late afternoon sun before heading into a shadowy section
View taken inside the train, showing the opening windows of the Schindler built car, with river and vineyards outside
Last light, heading back towards Régua. Train to the right, river left, dusk sky above, only the river and the carriage are lit
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
But tomorrow I messed up 😭 😭 😭

Foolishly I thought there was a train every day from Valencia de Alcantara to Caceres, but it only goes 3x a week!

So I need a bus, and the latest one of those goes at 10am

The 6000 people town Valencia de Alcantara seems to have no other way to get in or out! 🤨
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
All I can find for public transport of ANY SORT tomorrow in Valencia de Alcantara is this: comprasweb.interbus.es/venta/schedules

There is a 10am bus to Caceres

Does that town of 6000 people REALLY have nothing else? I cannot see what else there can be, or where it would go if not Caceres
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
The Balkans is better than this, damn it
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
I got a send off from a friendly black cat here
Black cat on a cobbled road.
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
I‘m stressed though

I need a taxi to Valencia de Alcantara, then a bus to Caceres on a line that goes twice a day (only mornings)

The danger of something going wrong here is quite high

Oh and you can smell the forest fires 😭
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
This smoke 😢

Photo doesn’t really convey the weirdness of the light
Sun filtering through smoke from forest fires
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
My multimodal trip. Taxi across the border, then a bus.
A taxi and a bus at Valencia de Alcantara
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
Meanwhile in Germany new transport minister Bilger is demonstrating he’s a clueless jerk bahnblogstelle.com/262611/bilger-offen-fuer-zugangskontrollen-an-grossen-bahnhoefen/

Maybe go see this in French train stations before talking rubbish. Just an idea.
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
Although this so obviously can’t work just for long distance trains, and applying it to all trains would be far too costly. Imagine rebuilding Germany’s cramped terminus stations. So when the costs are totalled up it won’t happen.
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
Damn I’m missing having a bike with me on this bit of

I want to see Cáceres but have to rely on city buses that are so slooooow
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Jon Worth @jon@gruene.social
1mo
And being in Spain makes me realise France and SNCF could be worse. They could be like Spain and Renfe.
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amrtf 🏳️‍⚧️ @amrtf@net.amr.tf
1mo
@jon SNCF does things bad intentionally, Renfe does worse by pure incompetence

Edit: I usually use Rodalies, operated by Renfe, and after travel in various RER/S-Bahn throughout Europe (Paris, Rhein-Ruhr, Basel, Zürich, Bern, Genève) made me affirm that sentence
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