You’ve got to go to Greece for Easter," Dimitri said. "Everyone comes during the summer, but tourists never come for Easter."
I met Dimitri in a café in Amsterdam. He was from Athens, studied in England, and was away from London for the weekend. I got out my map of Europe and he pointed to a small mountain village north of his hometown where he thought the Orthodox celebrations would be worthy of the long trip.
I was going to spend a month seeing Europe, and I wanted to do it the rite-of-passage way. By train. Beyond that, who knew? Dimitri’s suggestion was just the insider tip I needed to give my planning some direction.
Some grads hit the road the week college gets out, a Eurail ticket in one hand and a wad of cash in the other. Others save their Benjamins while reading Lonely Planet cover to cover. Some excited travelers map out every detail, and practice packing their backpack a month before leaving. Whether your style of planning falls under control freak, grab and go, or somewhere in the middle, these fresh-from-the-rail tips will take the fog off your first Eurail experience.
FIRST THING'S FIRST
Where do you want to go? When the answer is everywhere, just change the question to Where do you want to go first? There are lots of complexities that can influence this answer. Having a limited amount of time or money can narrow your options. So can travel partners. If you can’t mention Europe without your friends and relatives telling you where you should go, consider their recommendations, but determine a short list of what you would like to experience independent of what others think.
I was stuck in this stage for weeks until I got Independent Travellers Europe by Rail (Thomas Cook Publishing; $19.95). As soon as I opened the book, my dream of going to Prague, Budapest, and Paris, and following Dimitri’s suggested holiday in Greece, started to take shape. It was essential reading before and during the trip.
You’ll also want to get Thomas Cook’s European Rail Timetable. It has been published monthly for more than 130 years and gives you the heads-up on what kind of train is leaving when and from where. Yeah, when you first see the hieroglyphic pages of numbers, dots, circled letters, lightning bolts, forks, knives, and city names, you might feel more lost than you’ll ever feel on the rails. Not to fear. Using the index to look up where you want to go, cross checking it with where you’ll be starting from, and getting used to military time will have you on the fastest train from France to Italy in the blink of an eye. The codes are easier to learn than Statistics, and will be a huge help for those who enjoy planning all the details before they get cleared by U.S. Customs.
BUYING YOUR EURAIL TICKET
Once you’ve got an idea of where you want to go and how long you’ll be gone, then you can start shopping for the magical Eurail pass. Instead of buying a ticket for each individual train trip, you can buy a consolidated pass that covers many days, cities, and connections. But if you try to look at the passes before some initial planning, you might end up wasting travel cash on an unnecessary ticket that could be used for souvenirs, late nights at a club, or upgrading accommodations later on.
"While the fun of the Eurail pass is not having to plan every move, there’s a risk to buying an expensive ticket. You never know if you’re going to fall in love with your first destination and end up staying there for half your trip," says Sean Presant, a former Let’s Go writer. "It’s often cheaper to buy a limited ticket, use the days for the long trips, and pay for short day trips at the regular rate."
TIP: There are a number of Websites that sell Eurail tickets; www.TravelCuts.com is an agency specializing in discount student travel and offers a wide range of Eurail options. www.Eurail.com also offers tickets.
DISCOVERY ON THE RAILS
"Trains seduce me–the gentle pull as they glide out of the station, the smooth roll along the track, the efficient warning of the whistle and the possibility of being able to put your head out of the window for a mouthful of rushing air, like a dog in a car on the M1," says Kate Matthams in "Spotting Trains," on www.BootsnAll.com.
There is no doubt; rail travel is the most romantic form of transportation. Where else does fantasy come to life out the window? French farmlands, towering Swiss Alps, or the dream-drenched blue of the Italian coast. Small towns with brick homes, green mountain passes and arched wooden bridges; stray dogs, a shepherd and his flock, or food-laden villagers walking back home before dusk. All backed by the soundtrack of whirring hums and a metronome’s pulse of rickety creaks as the cars rock and sway on the tracks.
On a train, the possibilities are endless. The most annoying chatterbox will be rendered speechless, while a novelist could be born from an inspiring encounter and a blank notebook. Sometimes a four-hour journey can pass in an easy conversation with a new friend. Other times an all-day trip on a full train will feel like a week next to an un-showered seat partner.
TIP: Don’t sit next to the main compartment doors. If you’re trying to enjoy some peace and quiet, the bathroom traffic (and sometimes the smell) will get old fast.
TURNING YOUR COMPARTMENT INTO YOUR BEDROOM
Taking a night train is the traveler’s way of multitasking. You spend your sunlit hours enjoying your destination, and make tracks while you sleep. There are a variety of ways to sleep on the train. Hardcore budget travelers will save money on a hostel and curl up in their second-class seats instead. Sometimes there are closed-door cabins for six. If the train is fairly empty, then you can spread out and use the whole row to lay down.
Couchettes are enclosed rooms with seats that convert into bunks in the evening. They come with bedding and have six beds in second class, four berths in first class. Attendants will keep your ticket overnight and alert you before you reach your destination. They often cost as much as a night in a cheap hostel.
Sleeping cars are slightly more pricey than the couchette, have fewer berths, and come with a washing basin. Sometimes attendants will serve beverages or breakfast for an extra charge. When the train is not crowded, you’ll be thrilled to get a compartment to yourself.
TIP: When taking an overnight train, departures on or after 19:00 can be written with the next day’s date.
SAFETY, SECURITY, AND AVOIDING SURPRISES
Sleeping or hungover backpackers are easy targets for pickpockets on trains, and in the rail stations. Money belts work, even if they’re not the most attractive fashion accessory. Everyone reaches into their jeans for their passports and cash, so shake that "Geez, I look dumb reaching into my pants" attitude. If you’re nervous about leaving your backpack when you go to the toilet or even to the lounge car, consider bringing a cable lock. (www.Roadwired.com has some great travel locks, including the The Travelock security kit. Other travelers swear by the cable alarms.
Money-changers at the train station sometimes charge a commission or give you a bum exchange rate. You’re better off getting your money out of the ATM.
Be prepared to pay for routine surcharges on express trains. If you want to try and get around them, ask the ticket office if they have a surcharge-free alternative. High-speed services like the French TGV, the German ICE, the Swedish X2000, Eurostar Italia, and Spanish AVE services will require a supplement. Of course, they all mean you spend less time watching the countryside go by, and more time actually at your destination.
When you buy the 17-country Flexipass, it’s easy to forget which countries are covered and which are not. Check your route against the ticket, and be prepared to buy an extra ticket to cover lapses like Prague.
TIP: Travel insurance is worth the paperwork if you want to recoup some monetary losses in the event your bags do get stolen.
FLEXIBLE = FUN!
"Istanbul?" asked the woman to my left.
"Sure, I thought I’d go get a Turkish bath," I said after my plans to go to Greece for Easter were squashed by missing a connecting train.
"But you can still see an Orthodox Easter celebration in Bulgaria. Why go all the way to Turkey?"
Bul-where? I didn’t know anything about Bulgaria. Over the next two hours, she told me about growing up in Bulgaria, her work in Romania, and a small village named Veliko Turnovo that would have candlelit Easter celebrations the next day at midnight.
As I excitedly changed my plans to follow her suggestion, the young woman across from us looked up from her book and said that she was from Veliko Turnovo. She walked out with me and later invited me into her home for the night, and then to her grandparent’s village for Easter celebrations the following day.
The best part of traveling on a train is sitting knee-to-knee with other travelers. When you meet someone from another culture, your world expands in ways you have yet to imagine. Keeping yourself open to changing your itinerary and traveling with new friends can often lead to your most memorable moments.
TIP: Bring pictures from home that can fuel a non-English conversation but won’t break your back when stowed in the pack.
Eurailing 101