A local week on night trains
Off-season towns are quieter, cheaper and far more honest. Most problems with rainy cities turn out to be problems with time. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. I packed too much, as usual, and wore the same jacket every day.
The process
I would rather do one thing with care than five things fast. Nothing here requires a modest backpack, though it does make things easier. The ferry crossing took four hours and felt like ten minutes. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works.
The short version
We arrived after dark and only understood the view in the morning. The train was late, which turned out to be the best part of the day. I wrote most of this on a calm Sunday morning. This is less a walkthrough and more a record of what worked for me. Every winter I revisit the same questions about border towns.
A few details
A phrasebook helps, but it is not the point. Here is what changed, and what stayed exactly the same. Most problems with modest islands turn out to be problems with time. There is no single right way to approach packing light, but some ways are kinder than others. The details matter less than the routine of paying attention.
I keep a short list of things to try next; packing light is near the top. I keep coming back to rainy cities, mainly because it rewards time. I keep a short list of things to try next; travelling by train is near the top.
What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed.