I made all the transfers from Toulouse to Lille Europe, then Lille to Brussels, and finally Brussels to Ghent (but only because the train to Ghent was a bit late). I thought the Ghent link was only a local train but it was packed and the trip was a reasonable journey. I will have to rethink my connection to the Brussels at the start of my train trip to Vienna. Based on the trip down I may have to go the day before and stay in a Brussels hotel for the night!
The Ghent trip was actually the most stressful of the connections, apart from the 4.30 am start from a closed Railway Station in Toulouse inhabited by drunks and young thugs. The security staff were patrolling the inside of the station, where it was safe, and did not open the station until 30 min before the first train was due to leave. We had to move fairly quickly to get to our seats. Due to the schedule I actually had no breakfast or lunch and only managed to grab a "sandwich/roll" from the stand at the Ghent railway station on the way to the Hotel. The real problem was lack of water as all my connections were too tight to allow for "shopping". I will have to check-out the dinning cars on my next train trip(s).
My first day in Ghent was short as I arrived (finally) well after the 1457 (2.57 pm) on the ticket. It was more like 1600 (4.00 pm) by the time I booked into the hotel, which is just a short distance from the Ghent railway station. I had "virtually" walked the street to the Hotel with Google maps so I was OK with directions. That was the last Google navigation I managed in Paris, the rest of the destinations will be more difficult. My French Orange Internet data card no longer works so the phone will not be very useful. I am still using it for directions but my account enquiries show "blank", the maps go next I assume. As it was I ate my "sandwich" dinner, showered, checked out the Internet connection and then crashed. I slept pretty well but then I had built-up a hefty sleep-debt.
A real positive is that the Ghent Hotel has free Internet, which I am utilising at the moment. Unsecured WiFi, which is a worry however.
This morning (Sunday 2/10/2011) I walked up to the Cathedral/historic district, but I may be becoming "Cathedraled-out". I also found a DIY laundry (Laundromat) and ran all my shirts, socks, underwear, and spare trousers through. I also rinsed out what I was wearing today so at the moment I have a completely clean wardrobe. I have an iron in my room so my entertainment tonight will be ironing my clothes for the seminar that I am presenting tomorrow at the Ghent University. I worked on the talk for most of the afternoon, hopping out for a "sandwich" for dinner. I checked the "McDonalds Hamburger" foreign exchange index and the burgers are actually more expensive in Ghent than Cairns, if you substitute A$ for Euros (instead of at least 30% cheaper in Euros if the exchange rate was correct). This means the Euro has a bit more to fall before the exchange rate reflects the reality of prices. The same was true in in the UK.
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