Hi
Does anyone know if there’s a limit on how many times you can get a new claim advance, if you still owe from a previous claim?
As in, if you make a new claim, get an advance, the claim shuts, so you make another new claim, can you get a new claim advance again?
Thanks
Edit - I drafted this after I returned in 2025. Publishing now in case it’s of any use to anyone.
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Hi all.
This summer I went interrailing with my four year old. I've tried to give a brief overview of what we did and where we stayed with a focus on travelling with a child.
Day 1 -4
We took the overnight ferry from Hulll to Rotterdam, and my kid woke up about 4 a.m. so we ended up going on the deck to watch the sunrise over the North Sea - bliss. Then we went to Amsterdam by coach transfer. I originally wanted to stay in Rotterdam but for some reason it worked out cheaper to stay in Amsterdam (despite that not being particularly cheap). We stayed for 3 nights which is the minimum most hostels will allow. We didn't actually do much here, except walk around (very pretty), eat Dutch food, enjoy the canals, go to the zoo, buy supplies we had forgotten and just sort of rest. We stayed at Hotel Koopermoolen which was in a great location (noisy but not a problem), but had pretty basic breakfast.
Day 4 - 7
Train to Tilburg. Tilburg is not somewhere I'd ever heard of, but was probably one of my favourite places on the whole trip. It was just had an eerie, perfect suburbia vibe. We visited the library which is huge and child friendly, played in the fountains & park and took a half-day trip to Eftling. We stayed at Hostel Roots - would recommend. There is a piano, a lounge area, and very nice breakfast.
Day 7 - 11
Train to Paris Marne la Vallee via Brussels. Here I met a friend in Brussels briefly whilst waiting for the onward train. The train to Paris was actually the only time that our interrail tickets were checked, not just our reservations! Met an older British couple who were also interrailing. We spent two days in Disneyland and went to val d'Europe. We stayed at Hotel Campanile which has farm animals onsite and walked to the ?Carrefour to buy supplies to save ourselves from horrendously overpriced fare.
Day 11 - 14
RER train into Paris where I met up with someone I met in the hostel in Tilburg. Metro to Gare de l'est. Took a sleeper train to Berlin where we realised how cramped it can be getting a pushchair on. The Paris L'est station was also pure chaos, but we figured it out. German border control woke us up shouting and with a flashlight at about midnight on the Strasbourg border, and the CPAP machine kept turning off. Berlin HBF station is futuristic and very, very large. We went to a kindercafe which had amazing home-cooked food and was miles calmer than your typical British soft play. We stayed at martas guesthouse - recommend++ as they have a family room, free umbrellas to borrow and great food that you pay for by weight. They even let my little one eat for free since her portions were so small. Visited the Natural History Museum (disappointing since we've been to the one in London), the Berlin Wall, and a friend who lives in Berlin.
Day 15 - 17
Sleeper train to Vienna. Had some free refreshments in the OBB lounge and then went to Prater. We stayed at the novotel by the station, it was great for looking out over the train station. It also has a family play room with an adjoining bar which was great as our onward train didn't leave until near midnight. Took a day trip to Bratislava and went to an arcade in a shopping centre - I'm sure there are nice parts to this city but I haven't seen them (the station the train stops at is not the main one due to engineering works). Ate at an Indian cuisine 'pay as you feel' place which was great and right by the Freud museum - also recommended. Planned to take a day trip to the Czech Republic but it didn't happen.
Day 17 - 21
Sleeper train to Krakow. Accidentally didn't book the whole booth to ourselves, but luckily the man we ended up sharing with was so friendly and perfectly safe. We visited the castle with the fire breathing dragon which has lovely views over the river and walked through the gorgeous park. We stayed at Hotel Yarden which had a huge garden with sun loungers in it, which was perfect for relaxing. It also had a really nice family room which we had pretty much to ourselves. We couldn't visit the bunny cafe as my daughter was under 7, but she could visit the shooting range? We took a day trip to a restaurant on the other side of town which doubled up as an aviary and terrarium with crocodiles. It was here that we started to realise sleeper trains weren't working for us, so I had to reroute the nightbuses that I had planned through the Balkans for the latter part of the trip.
Day 21 - 25
Sleeper train to Budapest. We went to the petting zoo cafe because by happy coincidence they just happened to have a last minute slot. We also went to the city island twice - once for the waterpark and once for the fountains, ice cream, playground etc. We didn't make it to the petting zoo but there is one here I believe. Budapest is the only place I did not see any pro Palestine graffiti.
To be continued…