Day 5 - the train journey home

At 5.45 am there was an announcement on board encouraging us to get up and prepare to disembark. We got showered and dressed. Our breakfast was delivered to our room and we had to pay extra for yogurt and and service - not what we asked for. We packed up (no coats to leave behind this time) and went down to the main deck. The boat carried cars and foot passengers and we went ashore down several sets of stairs.

In Ancona we didn't want to pay for another pricey taxi so we got a coffee and then found a bus to the station, quite a walk away from the ferry terminal. Unfortunately the shuttle bus didn't start running until the afternoon.  At the station we waited outside for the 9.22 train to Milano. It was 5 minutes late but arrived in Milano on time at 13.25. On the long journey I read an Alexander McCall Smith book on Kindle but it finished 72 percent of the way through! So I started on Richard's book A Short History of England and got as far as Henry II.

In Milan we knew our way around and headed for the downstairs bar, where we had a beer and a hot mortadella pomodoro sandwich (without any tomato) which was surprisingly good. We also used the clean loos for one euro each, and I bought a Homes and Gardens magazine in the newsagent's. Our train to Zurich left at 14.25 and we had good seats.

The train called at Monza, Chiasso, Lugana, Bellinzona and Arth Goldau. We arrived in Zug on time and caught our connection to Thalwil arriving back at 18.24. Richard popped into Migros for essentials and we took the bus home. Everything was fine, apart from a few drooping house plants - the balcony plants had been well watered in the rain.

We enjoyed our trip to Split via Ancona and the Adriatic crossing, but I probably wouldn't do the same long journey again.

Setting off

We were up at 7 to finish last-minute packing (beach towel? flip-flops?) and have a usual breakfast. We had the usual conversation about my only wanting half a banana on my muesli. We saw on the news that the EU referendum government website crashed after last night's debate between Cameron and Farage.

I made some sandwiches and we packed a drink for the journey to Milan. We checked all the balcony plants and Richard took out the compost. I checked my emails - nothing new. I will just look at Facebook and messages on my phone.

The weather in Split is forecast to be sunny but we are taking an umbrella just in case. We need to catch the 9.07 bus to get the 9.38 S24 train to Zug. Looking forward to visiting three countries in five days. And taking lots of photos.

On the train to Milano through the Gotthard tunnel

On our way!
The journey by train went  quite smoothly apart from a couple of delays on the Italian trains. I had time in Zug to buy a Good Housekeeping magazine for the journey, and I also read A Tomb in Turkey by Simon Brett on my Kindle. We went through the old Gotthard tunnel, which will be replaced by the new shorter one from Erstfeld in the new year. Nice to see the scenery including the church that the track loops round three times. The weather was sunnier south of the Alps.

We had sandwiches on the train and then a beer at Milano Centrale, a large palatial station with lots of steps and WiFi access. The next connection was to Bologna; we travelled at 298 kph according to the train information. There we found our connecting train to Lecce via Rimini and Ancona, but it was running 28 minutes late.

Our ferry was a Blue Line boat - very nice

In Ancona we took an expensive taxi to the ferry port and found the ticket office where we collected our pre-booked tickets. Ferry lines SNAV and Blue Line appear to share boats, and we went on a Blue Line ferry this time, called Regina della Pace. Our passports were checked about four times and the luggage was scanned. The boat staff were mainly Asian, Chinese and Filipino, and were very helpful.Our cabin was below the main deck on deck 5, and was well equipped.

We had dinner in the main restaurant, including some Croatian Degarta Posip white wine. I had cheeses, sea bass and panna cotta with berries. We had to pay cash, which was a theme during the whole holiday. The cabin was quite noisy due to piped music until 22.00 and I was disturbed by the vibration of the engines underneath us. I woke twice during the night, so par for the course.

The day before

We are getting organised for our trip tomorrow to Split in Croatia. We don't speak Croatian and only have a few kuna but we hope for the best! We will have to carry our single case so we'd better travel light. We have a place to stay and a guidebook. So let's go!

The train journey involves changes at Zug, Milan and Bologna and then we arrive in Ancona. We have to get from the station to the ferry port and board by 18.15. I hope we will be able to get dinner on board.

In Split we will be staying at an apartment, Villa Barbara in Zagrebacka 5. We will arrive in Split on Thursday morning. The weather forecast is for very warm weather. I hope for no rain.

I am not taking my tablet on the trip so I will have to make notes in my diary for later.