Eurotunnel - nothing to do but relax and wait
We are heading off to Belgium this morning for an overnight stay. One small bag thrown in the back of the car, and we are off. We’ll be there in time for lunch, and still have the best part of two days to explore. It’s a world away from the cross Channel trips I took when starting a European backpacking adventure, or when going on a trip to France on a coach.
Back then, we would make our way to Dover, arriving an hour early to clear formalities. Looking out to the horizon, on a good day it was possible to see the French coast, but usually it was invisible beyond a grey mist that hung over the Channel.
Then the ferry crossing; an adventure in itself. For most of us it was our only experience of a big boat, and riding the waves of this rather tame stretch of water was an ordeal. Too many chips at the start of the journey (or beers as we got older) and then the rest of the 90 minute crossing was spent in regret and wishing for French soil to appear and stop our swaying discomfort.
On the other side, more formalities before a lenghty onward journey – several hours to Paris and a little less to Brussels. From my hometown of Nottingham, getting to Paris involved an early start and a late arrival; a full and long day.
Now, we have a couple of print-outs from my PC and our passports. We cross the channel together with our car in 30 minutes on a train. Travelling through France to get to Belgium poses no problems with currency exchange or border delays. We can book our accommodation online and construct an itinerary with live information about what’s on. I can even post a request on Twitter for recommendations of places to visit and receive twelve replies within 15 minutes.
Does this connected and seemingly much improved world mean that the travel experience is enhanced? On the whole I think it is. After all, we get more time at the places we are visiting (a two day trip would have been impossible before), and the journey is little different to a trip to a UK destination. The seamless borders of Europe and the single currency remove so much of the hassle of travelling around a continent where you can arrive in a new country every few hours. Information is freely available that allows us to plan according to our own wishes.
And yet there is a sense of arrival in a country that is felt when stepping off a ship that is unique to this form of travel. A journey undertaken and completed safely, however short. Passing through a tunnel does not afford this sense of achievement. Maybe it’s all become too easy.
Of course, the option of taking the ferry option is still there should my sense of nostalgia be strong enough to make me want to relive those discomforts of old. Nowadays the need to arrive quickly and make the most of a short weekend break means that I will look at the ships in Calais and smile at the memories of being a stowaway hitch hiker or an over-exhuberant teenager, while I drive off for my lunch and chocolate desserts in nearby Belgium.
Andy, As an expat in Brussels I cross frequently cross the Channel, alternating between Ferry, Eurostar and Eurotunnel. The act of stepping off a ship is significant, but border crossings in Europe now are so easy, sometimes you can miss them as you speed along the Autoroutes. Everyone is fully aware that they are entering another country when crossing the Channel as the border controls are strong. Journeys involving a Channel crossing are one of the few within the Europe that require a passport to be shown.