Hull to Chester - Day 02 - Wednesday 24th December 2025 - UK Christmas - Day 02/07 - Christmas Eve
- eusts6
- Jan 4
- 2 min read
I had slept on-and-off all night, feeling the waves and the boat rocking every which way. As I couldn't sleep in, I got up before 06:00 and started showering before the wake-up call, which was broadcast to every cabin. I just had a simple cappuccino and croissant, grabbed my bags, and waited to disembark.
I bumped into Andy and his wife again, but they decided to pull me aside and check my suitcases and seemed disappointed at only finding lots of chocolate instead of something exciting. Some poor woman in front of me was sick, and she was sitting on the ground hugging her suitcase as her bewildered husband looked on. It was their turn for passport control, and she bolted for the bathroom, leaving a trail of vomit.
Once outside, as the sky was getting brighter, I chatted with a Dutch guy and his English wife while waiting for the bus to Hull station. It turned out he was from Utrecht but had a perfect local accent in English, as his wife is from Hull. The bus left at 08:00, and we reached the station 15 minutes later, which meant I was two hours too early. Rather than pay to change my tickets, I had an enormous cappuccino and read my Dutch book "Tante Jo."
The train was already waiting on the platform even though I was 30 minutes too early. So I picked a nice window seat and stowed my luggage in the racks. The scenery from Hull to Leeds wasn't that spectacular at all. In Leeds, I had 20 minutes of changing time, but dragging two suitcases up and down lifts and escalators and across a bridge meant I barely had enough time.
The second leg of the journey was more interesting, which took over two hours, with rolling green hills and the occasional rocky outcrop and old English towns and churches along the way. Ivy and Sara texted me, saying they would pick me up outside the station.
Once inside the house in Chester, I emptied the entire contents of the second, slightly smaller suitcase, which contained cheeses, biscuits, presents, and chocolates, all from Holland!
Later in the evening, I helped with preparing the vegetables and potatoes but quickly got fired for cutting the veg too small. During the preparations, we were drinking some beers. Neil was preparing the turkey with the skill of a gynecologist.
Chopping and preparation complete, we all headed to the Owl Pub close to the house for a couple of beers before going home for some Douro wine and chatted for a bit.
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