There are several passages from the muggle world into the wizzarding world. E.g.: The Leaky Cauldron and its backyard that give access to Diagon Alley, the telephone booth that accesses the Ministery of Magic …

… and there is the entrance through a brick wall somewhere between Railway platforms 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station that gives access to Platform 9 3/4 (Nine and three quarters). Officially Kings Cross Station is the London Railway Station for Northern England and Scotland and The Wandelgek had visited it before in 1990 when he travelled with bike to Scotland (see these blogposts for more: 2. Londen 1990)

The Wandelgek flew to King’s Cross/Saint Pancrass Station and arrived about an hour before the train was leaving… at 11 o’clock sharp.

After the Wandelgek had parked his broom and had entered Kings Cross, he quickly headed to Platform 9 and then ran through the wall between platforms 9 and 10…

… he looked up and saw a sign:

Then he looked left and saw a clock:

 

There was still  plenty of time to board before the Hogwarts Express would leave for Scotland. The platform was full of people …

…and of luggage…

The Wandelgek took some time to admire the red locomotive that would transport him to Scotland and to Hogwarts Castle…

Suddenly a whistle sounded from somewhere on the platform and the locomotive began to release some steam. It was the sign to start boarding the Hogwarts Express and The Wandelgek searched his pockets for his train ticket from London to Hogwarts…

…and search for an empty cabin…

And then, when The Wandelgek was still stowing his luggage in the luggage nets above the seats, the train shook once, twice…and… it began to move and slowly getting faster, it rolled out of the Kings Cross Station. Finally we were moving towards Scotland.

Halfway The Wandelgek heard a voice asking: “Anything from the trolley dears?”. And then the trolley stopped at his cabin and he had still some knuts left in his pockets to really buy the lot. Pumpkin juice, Chocolate froggs with collector cards, Bertie Botts every flavor beans, etcetera… well except maybe butterbeer ??

Time passes quickly when you’re having fun and when the evening was falling and the sky turned dark blue, The Wandelgek looked outside of the cabin window and saw for the 1st time the lights of Hogwarts Castle, far away on a rocky precipice, overlooking a large, dark loch.

See my next blog for more adventures in Hogwarts castle…