Travel Europe by train — A field experiment
05. Nov 2019
When climate activist Greta Thunberg was asked on how to fight climate change now, her answer was simple: Don’t eat red meat and don’t take flights. While the former was well known to me, the latter took me by surprise. Being a passionate traveler, this challenged my commitment to following Greta’s words. Going to Napoli for a few days, travelling the Balearic Islands with friends to escape the Berlin heat in summer, why would anyone question the available options here being either Ryanair or Easyjet? Google Flights and Skyscanner recently became my portals of choice; sort prices by lowest to highest and there we go, another passage to happiness bought! And now a young Swede comes along and makes me consider the cost of my behaviour.
Last year, I had travelled through South America for 6 months by land. From Bolivian Salt deserts, via the Peruvian Andes, until the Amazon rainforest in Colombia — all by bus. I had my conscious calmed by offsetting the emissions for outbound and return crossing the Atlantic on atmosfair.com. Carbon offsetting is great, but changes of behaviour are not being triggered by calming our conscious. So in July, I made a decision for the rest of the year 2019: no more flights. But how does one travel to all those beautiful places even within the EU borders if not by Ryan-/-jet?
So here it comes, the field report of how to make visiting 5 cities in 9 days possible by land travel. The itinerary:
Berlin — Paris — Barcelona — Lyon — Radolfzell — St Gallen — Berlin
I researched the trip and embarked one week later. Seat61.com, a train travel blog, provided me with valuable last minute advice. I equipped myself with the flatrate-like interrail pass (Eurail for non-eu citizens). Surprisingly, these passes must be sent in paper form. I was lucky enough that it arrived on my last day before the departure. The travel dates need to be handwritten on that paper slip. Any mistakes and you automatically invalidate the whole 178 EUR ticket and, like me, eventually argue with every ticket controller.
On Friday, I took a train from Berlin to Paris, using a day of vacation to make that part of the trip happen. The change in Mannheim Central Station actually was a welcomed stretch after having spent the rest of my night and the early morning on a train. By lunchtime, I was already walking the banks of the river Seine in the French capital.
Next day, it was TGV time. Paris to Barcelona in 6 h. The picturesque flat landscapes of the Rhone valley coasted by my window the further south I got. The last time I saw flamingos flocks had been in the Bolivian salt flats, now I learned that you just have to travel to Southern France to watch them grazing on peaceful lakes.
After a long weekend in Barcelona, it took me half of my Tuesday to travel to Lyon. That was the first time I actually checked the map of South Europe more detailed. My geographical knowledge was astonishingly small, since I had only ever taken flights over these areas. A habit I currently focus on developing: check the train landscape of Europe instead of choosing my travel destinations based on the cheapest flight tickets.
No offense to the Spaniards, but organizational talent at train stations does not necessarily belong to their strengths. The poor ticket officer was arguing with every Interrail pass holder on readability of handwriting, the queue of 25 people merely advanced. Finally, he gave up, letting everyone pass and run to the train. After having boarded my wagon in a rush, a friendly Brazilian couple sitting opposite me asked in which language it was best to address me. Eventually, we discussed European travel destinations in a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, and English. They invited me for lunch, coffee, wine. Such an encounter has never happened to me on an airplane! Sitting cramped in a much too small seat, the only thing I have shared with my seat neighbours on flights is annoyed faces during the security instructions.
Close to Lyon, I stayed in a small house near a lake for three days, working remotely from a coworking space in the city center. Fortunately, my company is remote by default, allowing for such extraordinary climate friendly ideas like travelling Europe by train without spending all your vacation days. These ideas should not be extraordinary though, if we want to increase train travel.
On Saturday in the early morning hours, I hiked along the lake towards the train station with my backpack, ready to leave for the next destination. With every step, I welcomed that feeling in my bones to have everything you need on your back, take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.
I had heard about the beauties of lake Geneva, but passing by it in a train at 8 am, I couldn’t decide in which direction my eyes should look. To my right to watch that silver mirror-like water surface in the morning mist or to my left to dream of being a winegrower in one of those small castles on the hills.
The worst user experience as a Europe-train-traveller happened to me in Switzerland. When I arrived at Zurich main station, I checked the national public transport company’s mobile app, SBB, to buy a ticket to Radolfzell in Germany. I was surprised that you cannot buy such tickets in the app. So I checked their not-for-mobile-optimized website and put all my details into the much too small ticket form fields. Only by checkout, they showed the asterix: if you are crossing the border to Germany, you need to print the ticket. Excuse me, SBB, I am right here at your train station, I think I forgot my mobile printer at home. Ok, 10 minutes until my train leaves. I ran across the station, ignoring how hungry I was and passing by those Pretzels for 5 EUR, found a ticket vending machine and put in my destination. “You cannot buy this ticket here.” Alright then, 5 minutes until my train leaves. I found the information counter and the lady told me: You have to go to the ticket office, wait in line and buy the passage to Germany from the ticket officer. You must be kidding! No, she was not. I waved goodbye to my train and waited 25 min in line at the ticket office, speechless.
The 25 minute was totally worth it. Between Zurich and Lake Constance, anything looks like in a model railway. I decided I have to come back in winter to see the cute train station houses in between boreal forests covered in snow. The train was crossing over a bridge by the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen, one of the largest waterfalls in Europe. It was basically a sightseeing tour.
In late September, I could still dip into the Lake Constance in the evening, with the Alps watching over the scene. On Sunday evening, it was time to make my way from Zurich back to Berlin. Luckily, I had bought the seat reservation while I was still in Lyon. With my interrail pass, it was only 14 EUR for 12h of train. Yet I had to dial a number, wait in line and give my credit card details via phone. The so called nightjets do not allow for online booking with an interrail pass. Why? No idea.
It didn’t take long until I fell asleep, having transformed my seat and the one opposite of me into a bed. I dreamed of silver lakes, boreal forests, and mystical vineyards. Two things I would have liked to know in advance: Yes, you can regulate the temperature of the train compartment, and no, there is no breakfast included. I woke up at 7 am and watched the Brandenburg landscape pass by my window. I walked around the train for a bit until I found someone who sold me a cup of coffee. The deer outside were just as much early birds as the pheasants and I. At 8 am sharp, we entered Gesundbrunnen station in Berlin. With a sigh, I realized my adventure has already come to an end and it was soon time to go to the office. But my heart was filled with lively travel memories. Train travel through Europe, I learned a lot, and I will do it again!
by Nina Böhm