Here we all stood with our shiny clean faces
In brand new clothes and pinching shoes with long laces
The cases were packed, passports, tickets and foreign currency
Were all safely tucked away with a feeling of great urgency
Flasks of tea and sandwiches to last us for days
Were safely secured in bags, black and grey
The adventure was about to begin
Before we set out, we say goodbye to the cat
He’s going next door to the lady with the hat
We’ll be away for a month, 4 whole weeks – he’ll miss us
I do hope he doesn’t bring her back too many mouses
His adventure is about to begin
We run and bounce happily to the railway station
My sister and I carry the bags of rations
Mum and dad each carry a heavy suitcase
My brother, carrying his teddy, struggles with the pace
But we make it down the steep Aboyne hill, where the train waits,
Get on board, stow the luggage and wait with baited breath
The adventure is beginning
Slowly, but surely, the train chugs its way to Aberdeen
Passing through all the small villages, it was just like a dream
I’d never seen some of these places before and now
Excitement, staring at them through the train window,
Made them so magical, I was sure it would show
The adventure had begun
This train was bigger, longer and had very powerful steam engines
Making jiggle-te-jog, jiggle-te-jog noises from station to station
Through Stonehaven, Montrose, Arbroath and Dundee
Flying through the Scottish countryside with such glee
By this time, we were hungry, time to break out the sandwiches
Happily munching on them, with a few biscuits, tea and juices
The adventure was on
Past Kirkcaldy, with the smell of linoleum
And on to Edinburgh the big capital city
The train thunders along as we catch up on sleep
But we’re all so excited, we have to keep
Pinching ourselves to keep us awake
So we see everything – and no mistake
Bring on the Adventure
While we toss around in our seats, travelling down to London
We pass through Newcastle, Peterborough, Darlington
We arrive at Kings Cross, so busy and swarming
With people bustling everywhere – it was so alarming
The journey was nearly half way done
Little did we know the worst was still to come
The adventure?!
In the middle of the station, my sister and I were left guarding the cases,
A terrifying experience as mum, dad and bro go looking for places
To get boiling hot water to fill up the flasks so we can have cups of tea
For the rest of the journey, but right now we were filled with fear
Never been here before, it was so busy, nobody spoke to us
To even say “hello” so we kept quiet – mum said “make no fuss”
I’m beginning to not like this adventure
After a while they come back, with lots of hot water
So now, we pick everything up, to travel with a lot of bother
To Euston Station, so down to the tube, an escalator – no-one likes
My brother took one look and shouts out “yikes”
We hadn’t been on one of these things before, so high, so long,
Going deep into the depths below the streets of London
Not a good adventure anymore
We get on the tube and off at Euston
Up another escalator and into the station
We’re booked on a train to travel to Dover
And with a big sigh, this part is nearly over.
Because the train is overcrowded
We’re starting to get tired, narky and short-tempered
Let's not mention the adventure
We arrive in Dover, and are herded like cattle, towards a ferry
Where we climb up the gangplank, and are given a deckchair to carry
To a spot on the deck where we can shelter
From the stormy weather – four hours of this, boy, what a belter!
The ferry sets sail, the weather gets worse, the boat rises and falls
Up and down, up and down, and overhead the seagulls scream their calls
The adventure is getting worse
We get through customs in Ostend with very little trouble
Through to the railway station, marching at the double
We have to find our reserved seats on this train to Wien
So we hurry along to the carriage and there was seen
Our seats fully booked, we were so pleased
We make ourselves comfy and with a peep of its whistle the train teased
The final stage, the last part of the journey, hopefully nearing the end of the adventure
We were lucky on this train, we each had a couchette
A bed to lay down on, a corridor outside for dad to have his cigarette
But by now tempers were short, tiredness was setting in
The slightest thing would start an argument and that was such a sin
As this was going to be a good holiday
A break for us all, lots of sun, warm rain and just being happy
Only a short journey now till the end of the adventure
Early next morning we get up and watch as we get nearer the Austrian capital.
The mist makes the countryside appear cold and unwelcoming, but who can tell?
As we shunt along, the sun begins to peer out through the mist
We know now that this is going to be a good day, the journey was just a test
When the train stops in Wien Hauptbahnhof we grab the luggage, get off the train
And start looking for Oma and Opa who had arrived early but who would never complain
The adventure is ending
We have arrived in Vienna, tired but elated
We are looking forward to meeting all our relations
Seeing Vienna's attractions, going on visits to shops
Museums, churches and other attractions and hope
That with the advent of time
The return journey will be just fine
But we know that that adventure will be beginning again