Yesterday I arrived back home after going on a month-long Euro train trip. As a way to commemorate the trip I’ve got 4 posts lined up. This edition are what route I took and my reviews of each train trip undertaken.

The plan

Last year I bought the tickets on a flash sale to mark Interrail’s 50th anniversary. I nabbed the first class, month-long ticket for £375. The ticket had a time limit on when it could be used and I cut it very fine to begin my trip, beginning it on the penultimate day the ticket could be activated. That effectively meant I traveled just before peak season really kicked off in May, thus my trains were mostly not full but the weather was solid. Mostly light jacket or t-shirt weather.

I had been thinking about the route for a few months and there are so many articles about example routes but personally I wanted to:

• visit some European cities I’d not visited before
• strike a balance of going as far as I could in distance but still loop back via train and not fly
• get some sun / warmth
• experience some night trains
• go on some beautiful train journeys
• use my ticket enough to make it worth the fee but also not travel so frequently that I barely saw any of the places I visited
• see some friends on the way
• try work a little while traveling (yes, I did take some holiday/maximised bank holidays)

The route

That left me with a bit of a loop, with a fair chunk in the former lands of the Austrian-Hungarian empire.

In all honesty I think it was quite a good little itinerary. You probably could get more variety if you had never been to Europe and wanted to see some other cities but for what I was aiming for it did the trick!

The scores

While on the trip I kept a spreadsheet (what a square I know) of each train journey. Here goes my snap scoring & some reflections from each train ride.

Newcastle - London Kings Cross

Score: 7/10

Technically I took a metro (think the Geordie version of the underground) but I’m not counting this otherwise this post will become gargantuan. I managed to get into the first class lounge at Newcastle station and nab biscuits and a coffee. Which is always fun. This is a journey I’ve undertaken many times but was absolutely pleasant. On time, sunny, comfortable and you get food.

Food served on train score : 7/10

Admittedly, there was apparently supposed to be a full service breakfast on this journey but they decided not to do it. I assume because it was a bank holiday. Another passenger was a bit miffed about it but I didn’t mind too much. Weirdly scored it the highest of all food I received on trains (spoiler).

London St Pancras - Brussels Midi

Score: 6/10

I scored this slightly worse but it was very fun to sit in Standard Premier. This train was a lot fuller and I had a rather sweet American man sitting opposite me, traveling with his family but who sat elsewhere, who looked very confused about what was happening. I had to tell him he did not have to pay extra for the food being handed out which he was delighted at. Partly the low score is just simply that the view from a Eurostar journey is crap. Now, obviously, you are underwater for a good chunk so can’t expect much but it’s just fine.

Food served on train score : 6/10

I had to pay extra for the seat reservation on the Eurostar and that was 40 euros. So in some ways I guess I was expecting something pretty great. It wasn’t bad but it equally didn’t blow me away. A little quiche and a nice pudding thing, but the coffee was a bit watery. To be honest, I’d not pay the extra to upgrade if I was thinking of using the Eurostar. Just spend £20 at a nice bakery before checking in and the seats in standard class are basically just as good.

Brussels Midi - Köln Hauptbahnhof

Score: 7/10

Onto the German high speed trains! It left on time but this was the first train without a seat reservation. So it was a bit of a muddle to be moved from seats a few times as people would just pop up and say that was their seat even though it appeared like it was unreserved. In the end, I had to find a seat that faced backwards (the less premium direction to travel) which became a running tactic on busier trains.

Day 2: 'Love at first sight', Belgium pic.twitter.com/j9ECeqBOc4

— Colin Pattinson (@ColinPattinson) April 8, 2023

Köln Hauptbahnhof - Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Score: 5/10

Train was delayed by at least an hour so it dropped some points. One great thing about Köln is the station is next to the cathedral so you get some nice views. Other than that this was again, mostly fine. Not overly beautiful but not ugly either.

Food served on train score : 2/10

Out of pity they served us a couple of small chunks of chocolate to survive the delay. Some water would have been a nice touch.

Berlin trains

Berlin Hauptbahnhof - Berlin Potsdamer Platz

Berlin Potsdamer Platz - Berlin Gesundbrunnen

Berlin Schönhauser - Berlin Potsdamer Platz

Score: 7/10

With my ticket I could take the very regular S-bahn local trains in Berlin which was handy. No first class on these but they were all super functional and every few minutes and got me where I needed to be.

Berlin Gesundbrunnen - Vienna Hbf

Score: 8/10

NIGHT TRAIN! I had the booth to myself, so three empty beds (if you discount the massive antelope staring at me the entire night). That being said it was a tad confusing as I didn’t know if someone would join in the middle of the night. As it was a night train can’t say much about the scenery but we meandered through Poland which I am sure was lovely. One issue was my head was also dangerously close to the emergency stop lever which I was sure I was going to accidentally pull while sleeping.

Day 6: 'Home for the night', Germany pic.twitter.com/wz0NflS1jL

— Colin Pattinson (@ColinPattinson) April 12, 2023

The train too was also kinda odd that it was supposed to leave at a different station, at a different time. I assume due to railway work the timetables had all been muddled so I had to ask confused train station staff if the train even existed.

That being said, how fun! About 16 hours in total (given my record is 53 hours continuously on a train this was manageable). People having a beer in the hallways. Mostly pretty clean carriage and toilets. Not super easy to sleep, fair amount of sloshing about, but I did get a bit. Tactically I tried to take night trains on Saturday nights to also keep hotel prices down.

Food served on train score : 4/10

In the morning you get a little meal before you disembark the train. I say meal but it’s basically some watery coffee, two bread buns and jam. Which is fine but a tad unsatisfying. Really emphasized the locked in a cabin/prisoner vibe.

Vienna Mitte - Vienna Hbf

Score: 4/10

Another regional train but smelt a lot like poo. Double decker though.

Vienna Hbf - Bratislava, Bratislava - Vienna Hbf

Score: 5/10

No first class on these trains. Just a little hour long pop over the border. Absolutely fine, bit more grubby but totally serviceable.

Vienna Hbf - Graz

Score: 9/10

Now we are talking. Hello Austria! I wasn’t actually expecting anything from this journey but it was absolutely beautiful. I hadn’t realised but it follows the Semmering railway, Europe’s first mountain route from the 1850’s. Basically it is very beautiful. You climb up some of the Alps, see the snowy tips and then back down again. They are building a tunnel right through the base of the alps to cut the journey time I learned. Absolutely prefer this route though.

Graz - Zagreb

Score: 7/10

Later night train into Zagreb. Was a wet evening and a rather relaxing trundle across borders. Usually at the border they need to switch gauges/tracks too so you have a funny little interoperability quirk to get through.

Zagreb - Split

Score: 8/10

Another night train! It was very blue and a bit more on the older side but still comfortable and to be honest I probably slept the best on this train.

The only odd thing was you had to buy a reservation in person (couldn’t do online) so that was a faff to make sure I got a bed for the trip as there is only 1 train a day. The train was also very small, only a couple of carriages - buses are apparently way more popular in this part of the world. I later found out the ticket guy who sold me my reservations had decided to let me buy two beds instead of one, so I ended up having the whole cabin to myself again. He also let me buy a seat reservation for the next “train” which as we shall see was a bit useless.

Split - Zagreb

Score: 2/10

Early morning train back to Zagreb. Except it was not a train. It was a rail replacement bus. I think the railway works were scheduled in advance (except not published online in English) so I reckon the ticket bloke might of charged me for a seat I really did not need but it was not a big cost so YOLO. The only reason it gets a 2 is that the journey was faster than the train and the view was nice. On one of the stops we also parked next to the Shakhtar Donetsk youth football’s team coach (Ukrainian football team). Then at the next stop I saw a man selling homemade cheese out the back of his car boot like a more wholesome drug dealer.

Zagreb - Ljubljana

Score: 6/10

Was a bit nervous if this was even going to be running at all, given the replacement bus last time around. Thankfully it did, albeit with a delay. More gauge changes, first class was not really dissimilar to second class but was comfortable for the short-ish journey. We also had a full police check while on board. This won’t be the first time on this trip.

Ljubljana - Villach

Score: 5/10

I had a man cut in front of me when I was peacefully trying to board the train which irked me… then he ended up sitting on the seats next to me, but divided by the aisle. He was shuffling about, staring at me intently and then started asking me about my phone repeatedly. Now I don’t mind chatting with anyone but I didn’t love the vibe because he gave off an energy like he might want to just steal my phone plus he was endlessly dribbling. Like a 3 inch bit of dribble that swung around as the train swooshed about. I wish him all the best and it was nice that he wanted a chat but I can’t get over the dribble.

The views through the mountains and along the river were very nice though.

Villach - Vienna Hbf

Score: 7/10

Longer journey across a large part of Austria. Which quite frankly is rather beautiful. They love plonking a castle on any sorta high hill or mountain so every turn is sort of interesting. I was also in a little booth for this one with just one other passenger. Cabins on a train with a door always feels more quaint and premium.

I was back en route to Vienna because the original train I wanted to take direct to Zurich was no longer running so had a massive multi-hour detour to get back to Vienna which ate up a day but was a nice little journey in the end.

Vienna Hbf - Sargans

Score: 6/10

Final night train. Same cabin as the one from Berlin to Vienna but with more people inside it this time. More odd complications as the train wasn’t on any schedules anymore even though I had my reservation. The app I was using for the trip told me I had to get off multiple times in the middle of the night on my way to Zürich. Eventually though the train staff, after much confusion, said the train was running but 2 hours slower than usual and just ignore all the apps advice. Well, that was sorta right but the staff on the train effectively turfed everyone out at Sargans station to get a faster train for the last leg into Zürich so was a bit confusing.

The cabin also was ¾ full. I had an older Austrian lady basically tell me, very kindly I might add, that I must have the wrong cabin because usually they don’t mix sexes. So that made me sit there expecting that something was wonky and I might need to move cabins until another young-ish guy rocked up and it appears she might of made the boo boo. She decided to stay anyway and had a nice chat with us two and we helped her with her bags, etc.

The room this time was very hot and at one point had a bit of a stench (which I learned was because someone had accidentally pulled the emergency break lever next to their bed… my worry was not unfounded). As for the heat the young guy and I joined forced and unscrewed the window so we could get some air in there. It made the journey quite loud at points but I think better. I cannot imagine what it is like to have x6 people sleeping in these cabins nevermind x3 (which is a cheaper option you can do but I do not recommend).

We did get to see a glimpse into Liechtenstein, which I’d never seen before, and when entering Switzerland there was a full scale sweep of the train and they took off maybe 15 stowaways. The guy from our cabin, who was Swiss, was telling me this always happens and this was the most beefed up border crossing I encountered other than the one under the channel.

Food served on train score : 4/10

Same bread and bad coffee combo as train to Vienna. Just fine.

Sargans - Zürich

Score: 8/10

Swiss trains, especially first class, are all very nice. Clean, modern, swish. So this was my first of a rather long day on trains. It was nice, fast, scenery was good. Got to sit upstairs and look at many a lake.

Zürich - Luzern

Score: 6/10

I decided as it was still early in the morning and I could not check in to my hotel until 3pm that I’d just do a mini train tour and check out some other cities. There are some recommended routes and nicer towns so set about on my adventure.

First was off to Luzern. Second class was very busy but the first class was nice. Pleasant journey.

Luzern - St Gallen

Score: 9/10

Absolutely stunning meandering lake route. The train literally goes over a lake at one point. This is a recommended route and I see why. The train interior was very funky. Felt very premium. I ate one of the worst salads I’ve ever had on this train (bought in the station). It was all leaf and seemingly I must have missed picking up any sauce but not even this could dampen my spirits.

Day 24: 'Lakes on a train', Switzerland pic.twitter.com/kSgtRPHGel

— Colin Pattinson (@ColinPattinson) April 30, 2023

St Gallen - Winterthur

Score: 5/10

Flagging a bit at this point as I’d been on trains for about 15 hours and wanted a shower and rest, post all my sightseeing. This was a busy train, they asked for ID which only seemed to happen in Switzerland and France, and there was no interesting view to distract me.

Winterthur - Zürich Hardbrücke

Score: 7/10

Top deck. Pretty empty, very efficient.

Zürich trains

Zürich Hardbrücke - Zürich

Zürich - Zürich Hardbrücke

Score: 6/10

Another efficient regional train. These even have a first class upstairs usually.

Zürich - Chur

Score: 8/10

Was on my first leg up an Alp. Nice route, quick and clean.

Chur - St Moritz

Score: 4/10

I paid a bit extra to see one part of the Glacier Express. Seat reservations were hard to come by when I was looking but I got a seat up to St Moritz. As you can see I was sorta disappointed. Now the train route is beautiful, the train itself is also pretty swanky but the experience I had was just not worth the extra money.

Firstly the train door was broken so I had a minor rush to even find another carriage to board on and then squeeze past people to get to my seat. Then when I did find my seat I had a very annoying family near me that had a child just going absolutely wild. Others asked to be moved away but I’m a bit more chill than that but it was kinda annoying to have this kid screaming and smashing his toy car everywhere and rolling all over the tables and seats with the parents effectively just taking selfies of themselves. It wasn’t egregious, they didn’t commit any crimes but it did put me off sitting there enjoying the view.

St Moritz - Chur

Score: 10/10

On the flip side, the regional train I took back on the same route was basically perfect. No need to pay a hefty reservation fee. Same view, far more peaceful and absolutely lovely interiors. I don’t think you really miss anything by taking the less touristy option. There is even a dining car and a person selling stuff on the train, so honestly you aren’t missing anything by taking this option.

Chur - Zürich

Score: 8/10

Clean and efficient as usual.

Zürich Hardbrücke - Geneva

Score: 6/10

ID’d again! Not overly interesting scenery on this route but again… efficient and nice.

Geneva - Lyon Part Dieu

Score: 8/10

Very pretty. Lots of forests and along the Rhone river. Barely any big towns in between just lots of greenery. Nice part of the world this.

Lyon Part Dieu - Lille Europe

Score: 6/10

I must have made a mistake and only got a seat reservation for 2nd class on this TGV across the country. The train was busy, everyone was rushing and cramming to get on. The guy next to me was transfixed on a jira ticket on his laptop. The view also was just ok. Nothing to write home about.

Lille Europe - London St Pancras

Score: 7/10

Another standard premier Eurostar experience. I’d been sightseeing in the sun all morning with my big backpack so when I arrived and turfed out some tall Swede sitting on my seat in his pristine suit he must have been confused about who the hell I was. Looked very out of place as I slumped into the chair and had a celebratory beer for surviving the month.

Food served on train score : 5/10

No choice on this train unlike the first. Just given a sorta falafel salad and citron dessert dish. Was actually not bad. I ate it all so it couldn’t have been terrible. The Swede opposite ate about 23% of his though so he was not a fan.

London King’s Cross - Newcastle

Score: 4/10

Due to the weirdness of my ticket this technically was something I had to buy seperately. It was a Lumo train, which in general I think are brilliant usually. Cheap and quick. This time though it was packed and everyone seemed to have massive bags. There was also a large % of stag do’s in my carriage so I had a number of men in odd outfits up and down the aisles to get beer or take a pee so increased the amount of jostling going on in what already felt a cramped carriage. Usually this would be fine but I’d just spent time on these plush Swiss trains so obviously less impressed.

Verdict

So if I ignore seat reservations we are looking at £10.42 per train journey for my trip. Which is amazing really. Even if it was doubled I’d still say this is a pretty fabulous value. I adored seeing the mountains, valleys and rivers while listening to an array of podcasts and music. First class seemed to be typically less busy and the seats comfy so I am happy I went for the upgraded version. Obviously if you add on seat researvations onto the journey it can be a bit more expensive but no regrets from me.

In terms of stats from the trip, I managed to:

• rack up about 6,690km on trains
• took about 36 trains
• Total time on trains was about 3 days, 18 hours and 59 minutes (not accounting for delays)

As for my bests and worsts on all these trains. Swiss trains are hyped up but are pretty excellent but I give a shout out to Austrian trains. In Austria you get great views, nice trains, all the stations are good and usually let you into lounges so I’ll say they take my #1 spot. Mostly no need for seat reservations too. Worst, perhaps France. You typically need to pay for a seat reservation and the trains are just ok.

Overall, would I recommend it? Absolutely. A fantastic adventure! Far superior to flying and Europe is a wonderful continent with so many great cities all interconnected with one another.