And just like that, I ended up back in Staines! Thank you for following - see you on my next one, whenever that may be...

A kiss goodnight from Hannover!

Due to engineering work, a change in peaceful Stendal is necessary. And the next train is a lovely ICE 2, with the welcoming 'lobby'.

Time to sort tomorrow's travel. DB says no seats available, but if you book full fare there suddenly is. But České Dráhy comes to the rescue...9

At Leipzig, I find a coach to myself in an incredibly long ICE. Unusually, everything is working - and the DB burger is delicious!

After a visit to the famous Żabka, my all too short visit to Poland came to an end.

At Poznań I took the Baltic Express to Wrocław. A lovely meal, but who designs a buffet area with seating like this? One seat doesn't even have a table...

The many faces of Poznań Główny. The 'Letni' (summer) station is a lovely little surprise.

Dzień dobry! The day starts in Bydgoszcz with a delay caused by a late Intercity. But soon we are on our way.

You know how you should always bring a small gift when you visit a family? Well, I forgot and so the Gold Bunny ended his journey here, in a small flat in Bydgoszcz...

In Bydgoszcz I checked into the elegant Hotel Ikar, a bit out of town.

I could have taken the Zamoyski all the way from Rzeszów, but the catering was just a machine. So I changed onto it in Warsaw.

Set amidst the otherwise hourly Pendolini to Warsaw was this special treat - a nice EIC 'proper' train, non-stop to the capital. No supplementary charge, modern coaches, comfy seating, and żurek in the restaurant car. What more do you need?

Passing up the temptation to have the full Czech experience, I made do with some chocolate pancakes as I doubled back to Kraków (I wanted longer in bed, hence going as far as Rzeszów!)

Dzień dobry! A nice breakfast somewhere near Tarnów, and then a visit to the shower. But I think we can all guess how that went.

A passport check. At Břeclav. Crossing from Slovakia. What? Why?

Dobrou noc a sladké sny!

Tonight will be the train with many names. And a sleeping compartment with an interesting design flaw.

ZSSK I know you are clearly trying to run this place down, but it's potentially an amazing building if you had a bit of vision. And meanwhile, bring back the luggage lockers.

I took the newly electrified service to Bratislava. While clearly there'd been no timetable improvements, the luxurious OeBB coaches were a treat after that Railjet thing.

As I said, it's back onto familiar territory now...

At Villach I changed to the following Railjet, one with available seats. But what seats - I thought 2nd class Railjet seats were bad, but these are no improvement at all.

Algeria and money. To be honest I never fully got it. I exchanged €100 at a bank (yes a bank) by the port and got around 20,000 dinar. Which seemed generous. That said, I got no receipt or anything. A foreign debit card won't get you very far - you need cash.

This is a first. An empty Railjet restaurant car. A great time for a light lunch with views.

At Udine I said goodbye to the cute train, enjoyed a coffee break, laughed at the local train company, and looked at a train called Rock.

I only travelled as far as Gorizia to kill some time - but was rewarded with a 'classic' train back to Udine. The coach with the end doors was so comfortable.

Lovely signal box at Gorizia! And it looks like I'm in luck with the train...

I am not travelling onward to Slovenia, but for those interested to know, here is the bus stop and timerable.

After one of the best sleeps I have enjoyed on a train, I got off at Gorizia for my next connection.

Are these the same type of cars used on the European sleeper, albeit heavily rebuilt? Something about the internal layout feels familiar.

Although I was not booked in an Excelsior suite, the ordinary compartments on this type of carriage are superior anyway, extra large, with armchair and table, and a curious two-bed 'loft'.

The journey now becomes less exotic, covering more familiar territory. In this case the Intercity Notte service bound for Trieste.

Meanwhile, here in Rome I enjoyed the delights of the 'liturgical south' side of the station - while wondering who decided to put that 'thing' over the platforms and why.

Food & drink Algerian is not foodie heaven. Despite signage, most restaurants/cafes are fast food joints. But there are some exceptions and I recommend: La Rose Blanche Patisserie in Oran. Lovely cakes & savouries. Caracova Restaurant in Algiers. Good food, retro charm. Alcohol.

Buying train tickets: I didn't try online - too complicated. Tickets go on sale a certain (?) time before departure. For the Annaba night train it is 14.30. Booked Oran - Alger 3 hrs early, Annaba - Tunis 2 hrs early, plenty of seats then. No queue! You can see prices on tickets.

How safe is Algeria? Well, I only visited main cities & travelled by rail. I followed current travel advice. My 'subjective' experience was of feeling very safe. Zero hassle, people honest with money & helpful. Even Casbah seemed not 'sketchy'. Officials friendly & professional.

How hard/easy it was to get Algerian visa? I applied at the consulate in North Action, providing a hotel booking (not all nights), proof of employment (pay slips/P60), 2 forms, passport, £85. I collected it 2 weeks later. No problem me being a priest. www.algerian-consulate.org.uk/visas/visa-t...

I hope you all know about the food hall at Termini Station - the best station buffet this side of Manningtree.

While the cat's away, I dropped in to check all was well at HQ.

Tunis Air were alright - a nice short flight, a comfortable old seat, and an inflight meal.

Tunis Carthage Airport is a very disappointing place. I wish I could have taken the ferry, but timings didn't work out...

Tunis has an interesting public transport network, but all I got to see was the bus to the airport - a bargain at 12 pence.

I did not have time to explore Tunis, but it looks like it needs another visit.

I have no idea what connection the 'Golf Royal Hotel' in Tunis had with golf or royalty, but it was pretty central and had a kettle in the room.

I wonder if Pope Leo will take the Algiers - Annaba overnight train... www.bbc.com/news/article...

Oran - Alger - Annaba - Tunis What a lovely journey, what a beautiful country, what nice, gentle, honest people all the way along. I'll miss Algeria! Tunisia proper will be for another time. I have five more days off, but tomorrow it'll be a flight unfortunately...

Eventually, five hours late, the Annaba - Tunis express reached its terminus. Too late for dinner, a cuppa will do nicely instead.

While I'm sure the Tunisian leg of the journey was just as beautiful, it was dark for most of it so I'll never know.

Goodbye Algeria and welcome to Tunisia. At Ghardimaou the Tunisian border formalities were identical - and with lovely officials once again.

Between Souk Aras and the border the scenery is at its best. Like the West Highland line when the sun is shining.