Helo Cymru.
#HamburgsHalfWay

Hello England. Hello London.
"Oh" is probably the most tactful thing for me to say next.
The word/s immediately after, I leave to your imagination.
#HamburgsHalfWay

#HamburgsHalfWay, and Brussels is about three quarters.
The Eurostar departures area is not made less tedious by lots of English cliché graphics: teapots, guardsmen, Downton Abbey.
Wales doesn't get a look in, just like in my UK passport.

A presumably Belgian lady has just done the best sigh I have heard in a long time.
Plenty of "putain" and a few "shit"s thrown in, then an "oh la la", but it was the sigh that was worth a thousand words.
The shits now appear to be winning over other outbursts.
#HamburgsHalfWay

Oh yeah. Hello Belgium!
#HamburgsHalfWay

Also filed under don't know…
The football drill that involves four grown men, one standing in goal pointing his (fully clothed) arse at the other three who appear then to practice taking penalties.
#HamburgsHalfWay

I don't know how fast the Thalys train runs between Köln and Bruxelles, but significantly faster than the cars on the adjacent motorway is a safe bet, and always pleasing to the former cycle courier in me.
#HamburgsHalfWay

Happy to report that the elephant tested Wuppertal Suspended Railway is still a thing of, hmm, not quite beauty.
It's kind of pointless and ugly and ruins a river, but even so, I grudgingly admire it. One day I may even ride it.
https://schwebebahn.de/en
#HamburgsHalfWay

Hello German sunshine.
#HamburgsHalfWay

Hello Germany. Hello German rain.

A car transporter train trundles alongside. All Volkswagens. Is it delivering new vehicles? Or is it doing motorail for people who just happen all to drive a VW?

#HamburgsHalfWay

14 hours into the 28 and I am at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, and half way through #HamburgsHalfWay.
What fun/exciting things did I spot during the 45-second walk between platforms 4 and 14?
Er, I arrived, my onward train was already at the platform with doors open. I got on. I found a seat. Sometimes dull is good.

But what about #HummusRoulette, you ask. ( @Taeron )
Chill, the hummus is doing fine. The overpriced snacking carrots I bought at Stockholm Central station are already a bit dodgy though.
#HamburgsHalfWay

Total cost, with couchette berth, is around £240.
That breaks down as £190 for around 2000km across 5 countries and through the Channel Tunnel at speeds up to 300km/h.
Then £52 for the two-hour trip from London to Cardiff.
#HamburgsHalfWay

After my aborted attempt on the then new SJ Euronight train between Sweden and Germany last September, it's time for another go.
With this overnight link, and paying extra for a high speed Thalys service between Köln and Brussels, the journey time Stockholm to Cardiff is down to 28 hours.
#HamburgsHalfWay