Sometimes I choose to forget some episodes during my travels. But these things were really taught a hard lesson. So far, I have been to Europe three times, the first two times, once in London, England, and once as a light backpacker. So I haven't experienced the experience of dragging big boxes and small suitcases and changing accommodation in three days, and the most attractive thing about Europe is the preserved historical buildings and landscapes, but it is also relatively inconvenient.
The first pit is a romantic but torturous stone path
Take the pavement of the street, it's really bumpy. Of course, many big cities are now somewhat updated, but this time in order to experience the French Christmas market, I visited some French towns, dragged a large and a small suitcase of nearly 50 kilograms, plus a 10 kilogram backpack, and tried to choose accommodation as close to the station, but I still didn't expect that it was only 10 minutes away, and it actually felt so far away.
It's probably like climbing a mountain road with a 45-degree incline for 10 minutes with 60 kg of luggage
The second pit does not necessarily have a subway station with a road elevator
It is relatively easy to replace the streets of the city, and it is much more difficult to change the subway structure. Yes, large stations usually have elevators, but if they do, they won't necessarily connect to the street or be a bit far away, and may require you to climb/descend a few flights of stairs before encountering it. And I was lucky enough to encounter the maintenance of the upward elevator, suspended the use, almost collapsed, but had to face the problem of climbing the stairs in front of me (when the bag of luggage was large).
It's even more exciting if you get lost in the subway station
The notorious big devil of French travel - French strikes and train delays. During my three months in France, I was fortunate enough to encounter a major miss, a railway strike, and another known but unaffected strike (probably more, in fact).
The third pit is out of control of the French railways
Leaving Lyon for the first weekend, I was full of joy on a small day trip to Avignon and the surrounding area, but on the return trip I encountered a big train delay that surprised even my friends who had lived in France for a long time.
Originally booked the last TGV train of the day, 20:51 pm back to Lyon. After exceeding the schedule, the first announced a delay of 40 minutes, the second announced a delay of another 2 hours, the third ...
After several notices, I was mentally prepared to sleep at the train station before the seventh broadcast train actually entered the station in the early hours of the morning. The passengers around me may look too embarrassed (I got up at five o'clock the morning before), and they kindly came to me and told me that the train is really coming, otherwise the French generally will not take the initiative to talk to you... (except for pick-ups).
Cause of delay: The train hit an animal
Fourth pit strike incident:
At that time, the first stop was Barcelona, and the train ticket from Lyon was booked a little earlier for 66 euros, which friends said was a very good price at the end of the year. And just "three days before departure", I received SMS and email notification that the train had been canceled because of the strike.
Since the accommodation had already been paid for, and my friends were waiting for me there, I had to quickly change the Vueling Air low-cost air, but the extra luggage needed to be purchased, so even if it was already the cheapest ticket at that time, I still paid 102.99 euros.
Tickets that are forcibly cancelled can apply for full compensation afterwards, but they can only be refunded to a French bank account or converted into cash coupons. However, it should be noted that short-distance trains like shuttle cars cannot be used.
Although it didn't cost much money to eliminate the disaster, it was still very time-consuming and energy-consuming
Sincere advice to friends:
- If you need to change overnight often, don't bring too much luggage
- Go back to your hotel early (insurance allows some train delays)
- Always be prepared for alternatives or resourcefulness