First leg of my interrail is not technically interrail, but a bus from Oulu to Haparanda, Sweden, paid without any concession. Feels weird to start the trip south by traveling northwards.
The Finnish ticket shop Matkahuolto insists on using Finnish time everywhere, so according to timetable I’ll be arriving 13:05, instead of the actual 12:05. Also SJ sometimes shows timetables in user’s local time, making that, too an hour off. Annoying and unpractical.
I’m in Lapland!
… met with a huge cue of cars, in the opposite direction, to my luck. If you’re planning to drive E8 south through Simo area, don’t. There has been an accident, not too serious it seems, but traffic is stuck.
And now in Sweden!
The bus route from Oulu ended to the Haparanda-Tornio Travel centre, but I asked the driver just for laughs if he was continuing to the railway station. He said he indeed has a habit to take a stretch there, in case someone is going.
I don't know if it's every driver's habit or official or if I just got lucky, but it was very nice, since the station was further than I thought.
And what a station Haparanda is! Magnificent! The only thing missing is a cafeteria, but luckily I have some provisions. It does feel a tad unrespectful to nibble knäckebröd in this fancy environment, though.
Finally in the night train from Luleå to Stockholm!
The route from Oulu was surprisingly fluent. There were long-ish waits between the legs, but taken SJ's unreliability, possible transfers between stations and provision shopping, it's actually a good thing.
My next concern is if this train is on time and if I'll have time for the hotel breakfast before my next breakfast in the train to Malmö.
@mkivinen Isn't it possible to enjoy the breakfast in the train, don't the night trains between Northern Sweden and Stockholm have restaurant cars? At least last year when I travelled in a 1st class sleeping car Boden–Stockholm there was breakfast available in the restaurant car.
(But yeah, it was the same box as in the SJ Snabbtåg... the hotel one surely is better if you have time.)
I was coming from the Narvik direction and changed into the sleeping car from Luleå in Boden. The bistro car was missing from the Narvik–Luleå train, so I was very hungry in the evening before I finally got something to eat in the restaurant car.
@tml I'll have to check that! I was under the impression that all the SJ first class breakfasts are hotel based now. It would be great to be wrong, though, since I just noticed that the Stockholm hotel breakfast starts half an hour later than previously, which is too late for me.
No dining car on the night train Stockholm-Malmö = breakfast on hotel.
https://www.sj.se/allt-om-resan/sj-nattag/sovvagnskupe-1-klass
But info in English is contradictory
https://www.sj.se/en/about-the-journey/sj-night-train/sleeping-compartment-1-class
@interrailinfosvenska @tml Oh yes, there is a bistro on the train, and breakfast will be served there. All hail to Kullamust!
mkivinen
Tor Lillqvist
Trainfo.eu