My June/July 2024 retrospective was written as I was preparing to head off for a couple of weeks’ travelling with my youngest son, Ben. Well, after a few weeks back at work and with August’s roundup on the horizon, I thought I’d look back over what we got up to on #MarkAndBensExcellentAdventure.
A few words about Interrail/Eurail
Ben and I travelled by train, using a ticket called an Interrail pass. Interrail has been around for years and works across 33 countries. It’s also known as Eurail. Confusingly, European residents use Interrail and international visitors use Eurail. I know. It’s counter-intuitive. I just had to get over it, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference in practice. Oh yes, and “European” is defined by geography, not politics (so the UK is still European).
There are various passes available – either global (which is European, not global!) or single country passes. Passes can be valid for a block of time, or for a certain number of days over a period. I spent €833 on two 15-day second class global passes (one youth, one adult). For reference, one train journey in the UK can cost hundreds of pounds, so that seems very good value. The passes can’t be used in your home country, except for one outbound and one inbound journey. For us that was a CIV journey on any UK operator from Bedford to St Pancras International and onwards by Eurostar to Amsterdam, and the return back from Lille to St Pancras International and on to Bedford.
When I first “interrailed”, in the early 1990s, you couldn’t use Interrail on high speed rail services (e.g. TGV). Now you can, but you’ll pay a supplement for a seat reservation. Interrail reservation space on some trains is limited (so book ahead). Interrail/Eurail will sell you the reservation, for a premium, or you can buy it from the in-country train operator.
Professional me was interested in the “digital transformation” of Interrail since I last used the scheme. Basically, instead of a dog-eared piece of paper with journeys filled in by hand, it now uses an app. The app is pretty cool actually and shows where you are going/have been (in map or list form) as well as helping to plan and activate journeys on your “pass”.
There is a paper option, I think, but I didn’t use that. I also needed to download separate apps for various cities’ public transportation services. Normally they have a day pass that can save money but it varies from city to city.
One final point, in some places, an Interrail pass will provide other discounts. For example, in Interlaken, our travel on the BLS ferries was included if we added it as a rail trip, and the funicular to Harder Kulm was half price. Other discounts can be seen in the Interrail/Eurail app.
The trip
Here we go, day by day, with a brief summary of what we got up to. It’s in bullets, because if I write it in prose you’ll never read it all!
Day 1
- Not the best start: East Midlands Railway train from Bedford cancelled; jumped on a Thameslink service, which was delayed at Luton because the relief driver was delayed (presumably stuck on the cancelled EMR train); then switched trains again and made it to St Pancras International in time.
- Huge queues for the Eurostar but well-managed and we made it through security, and were the first passengers onto the platform (thanks to Real Time Trains telling us which door to wait close to).
- Comfortable, but delayed journey to Amsterdam.
- Tram to our hostel (more on that later), then into Amsterdam.
- Wander around the city soaking up the atmosphere.
- Frites!
- See the incredible Stationsplein bike park with over 7000 spaces at the station.
- Dinner and back to the hostel. Dutch food is better than its reputation suggests. Well, I suppose it wasn’t really Dutch food, but we found an excellent Hummus Bistro.
- Cityhub is the most incredible hostel:
- Miniature pods provide privacy, and meant that this hostel was not cheap but was far less expensive than any city centre hotel.
- It’s like something from a sci-fi movie.
- Everything is controlled with an RFID tag on your wrist, including access to the bar, so self-served drinks go on your bill.
Day 2
- More wondering around the city, including a boat trip on the canals. There are many operators but we chose Flagship.
- The XXX is the city logo, not what you might otherwise think…
- The view with the church is the Zuiderkerk, as featured in Claude Monet’s 1874 painting viewed from across the river Amstel.
Day 3
- Up early to catch the train to Berlin. It was delayed. And then delayed some more.
- The DB Train Manager was excellent, as she asked people to move their luggage to help others find a seat.
- The train was cancelled at Hanover but, instead of saying, “off you pop, get the next one”, there was a replacement ICE in the next platform and we sped across Germany to Berlin.
- Checked into our hostel. Nothing special but it was good enough for us. Warm, dry and good transport links to the city.
- Head into the City and wonder around. Lots to see – more than in these photos but highlights here are the Ampelmann Shop, VW Group “Drive” Exhibition, Brandenburger Tor, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, East Side Gallery, Potsdamer Platz, and the film and light projection across the River Spree at the Parliamentary Quarter.
Day 4
- Checkpoint Charlie and The Wall museum (Mauermuseum/Haus am Checkpoint Charlie). Significantly expanded since I last visited.
- Olympiastadion, which recently hosted Euro 2024.
- West Berlin, including that incredible 1950s Verkehrskanzel (traffic tower)!
- A drink at Schleusenkrug in the Tiergarten before heading to pick up our luggage and catch the sleeper train…
- The Nightjet “sleeper” to Vienna:
- Delayed leaving Berlin (it disappeared from the departure board for a while, which was disconcerting), not yet upgraded to the new stock, but I really wanted to do this!
- ÖBB/Nightjet provides a little goodie bag with things to help passengers sleep. Slippers, ear plugs, eye mask, face cloth, water and snacks. There’s also a breakfast order to complete (and a pen to complete it).
- A while after leaving Berlin, the steward took our tickets (which have to be printed on A4 paper), took the breakfast orders, and converted our cabin from seats to beds. I’d thought we’d use the seats for longer (and convert it after dark), but the bed is still comfy.
- Our room has a wash basin, mirror, etc. but I realised there’s only one shower for the whole carriage. Not much chance of getting in there in the morning, so I tried it in the evening instead. As to be expected, water pressure is limited, but it’s warm and it did the job!
- I spent the rest of the evening relaxing on my bed, watching the trains as we called at a variety of stations, and my son said it felt a bit like the scary Thomas story when Oliver and Isabel hide from the diesels as they run away to Sodor!
- Part way through the night I gave up on the tiny pillow and used the duvet instead. I think I woke every time the train stopped. So much for the “clickety-clack” (or modern continuous welded rail version) helping me sleep.
- Shortly before 6, an electronic alarm woke me… set by the steward. After getting dressed and repacking all my gear, I ate my breakfast, though our order was incomplete as the catering had no working facilities to make hot drinks.
- So that was the end of my Nightjet odyssey. I finally got to experience a sleeper train! Perhaps, if we do it again on a budget trip, I’d go for a couchette… but I might have to try the full experience again one day with the new Nightjet coaches…
Day 5
- If Berlin is full of character but not the most attractive place, Vienna/Wien is beautiful but a little bit dull.
- Ben had tracked down a coffee shop for me, as he knew I was missing good coffee.
- We visited some “palaces” – one was a government building, another an auction house – but they were open to the public and had amazing architecture.
- Lunch was a Wiener Schnitzel, of course. (When in Rome… or at least in Wien…)
- I was exhausted so went back to the apartment for a while, then met up with Ben again in the evening… and introduced him to weiss beer.
Day 6
- We’d realised that heading west across Austria to Swizerland would be slow… but we could squeeze in a quick trip to Munich/München:
- I booked us a pitch at The Tent. When I stayed 30 years ago it was just a space on the floor of a big marquee but now there are various accommodation options.
- After wondering around a bit, and a visit to a beer garden, we headed to the Hofbräuhaus for an authentic Bavarian meal and entertainment. Great fun!
- I loved the short time we spent at the bar next to Pfistermühle – chilled house and a bottle of beer!
- Then back across the city to catch a tram back to The Tent.
Day 7
- Up early to travel to Switzerland.
- Bern is stunning but we stayed on the train and headed for Interlaken.
- Camping again. A last minute two night reservation at the excellent TCS site, which is ideally located across the river from Interlaken Ost station.
- Then onto a bus to Bönigen for a swim in Lake Brienz/Brienzersee.
- Interlaken itself is nothing special, but the scenery around the area is stunning.
Day 8
- Another day in/around Interlaken, starting with a train to Brienz then a ferry (paddlesteamer!) to Giessbach falls.
- We swam in the falls, and hiked to the top, then headed back to Brienz and on to Oberried am Brianzersee for some more lake swimming.
- Ben left his phone behind on the station but, because this is Switzerland, it was still there when we returned!
- After eventually getting back to Interlaken, we found the funicular to Harder Kulm was open (it had been closed in the morning due to technical issues). The views are incredible… though a rainbow on the Jungfrau was an extra bonus.
- Then, back down to the campsite for a simple meal and some sleep.
Day 9
Day 9 was a travel day, in two parts:
- In the morning, the Panoramic Express from Interlaken to Luzern.
- Then, a few hours to take a look around Luzern. This was one of the places Ben had particularly wanted to visit.
- It is beautiful, even when the sun didn’t shine for us!
- Then it was time to catch another train to Lugano, and on to Milan/Milano.
- This took us through the Gotthard base tunnel (not the more scenic pass) and also gave some glimpses of the Italian Lakes, though nothing that made a good photo.
- We had enough time in Milan for a couple of hours in the city centre and a very good meal (Italian, of course).
Day 10
- Up early, to catch the train to France, via Genoa.
- We set up camp near Nice, at Parc des Maurettes. I was a little shocked that the floor was stone (I literally had to bash the pegs into the ground with a rock), but that was to be our home for the next three nights…
- After pitching the tent, we caught the train to Juan Les Pins and walked back to spend the evening in Antibes.
Day 11
- 34°C and still very warm overnight. Gravel floor. Noisy neighbours. I didn’t sleep. In fact, I spent most of the night in a chair close to the campsite reception, where I had access to power and Wi-Fi for some photo editing and battery charging.
- In the morning I did some washing, and booked into a hotel for the next two nights. One with air conditioning.
- Ben was visiting a friend in a nearby village, so I had to move all our luggage (two large packs and two daysacks) on my own. Luckily it was downhill to the station at Villeneuve-Loubet and the hotel was immediately adjacent to Nice-Ville station.
- After checking in, I got a couple of hours’ sleep, before Ben came back and we explored Nice. Which was nice.
Day 12
- Monaco Monte-Carlo. Boats, cars, a visit to see the Prince’s cars, lunch, the foyer at the casino, a look at the racing circuit. Cool.
- But Monaco is just, not real somehow. It’s dripping with wealth but, after a few hours, it was time to go.
- We stopped off at Cap d’Ail for a swim, and then at Eze, where I was charged €20 for two cans of Coke.
- Then we waited for a bus to Eze village, that didn’t come. So we caught the train to Villefranche-sur-Mer, which was lovely. I later found that, at one point, I had been just a few metres away from a friend, staying there with his family, but we had missed each other!
Day 13
- We left Nice and caught the train to Cassis, and a bus down the hill from the station towards the town.
- Cassis was probably my favourite destination on the whole holiday. I’m planning a return visit with my wife.
- Somehow, even thought it was last-minute, Ben and I had managed to book two spaces in a shared dormitory at Cassis Hostel. We lucked out there. It was cool enough, even without air-con, and the infinity pool was the icing on the cake.
- But the highlight was that afternoon’s walk – to the Parc National des Callanques – which had some of the most stunning scenery I’ve ever seen, albeit a challenging walk in the heat:
- In the evening, I’d earned a swim in the hostel pool, and a lovely steak dinner (washed down with a local red wine) along with soaking up the atmosphere in Cassis:
Day 14
- After catching the bus to the station, and then waiting around there for a while, we finally caught a train to Marseille and then on to Avignon.
- Avignon is pretty, but not as impressive as I remember. And you have to pay to go on the bridge now. We didn’t. You get a better view from above anyway! Look carefully towards the horizon (in the other direction) and you might also see Mont Ventoux.
- Another piece de boucher (steak) dinner, then back to our accommodation.
- I was glad we’d switched from camping to an aparthotel next to the TGV station as a huge thunderstorm came through that night…
Day 15
- Up early to catch the 7:15 TGV to Lille. Four and a quarter hours to cover the entire length of France. This is why high speed rail is such a benefit for those countries that have invested in it…
- The trains from Paris were full (at least for Interrail) – probably something to do with the Olympics – but I’d booked a TGV that bypassed Paris and then we were getting a Eurostar that came through from Brussels. That meant a few hours hanging around in Lille. Ordinarily, that’s no problem but we had our luggage and were tired.
- We found a cafe and hung around there for a bit before heading back to the station.
- Then, onwards towards the UK, through the channel tunnel and back to the land of poor phone signal.
- The last leg back to Bedford was uneventful, and we were re-united with Mrs W!
4755 kilometres; 44 trains; 42 places; 10 countries
(The 8 countries the app shows is wrong. We passed through Belgium and Czechia. We also travelled to Monaco.)
On reflection
I was the one who wanted to take the sleeper train; I was the one who suggested Amsterdam would be a good first destination; and I was the one who insisted on booking our trains out and back a couple of months ahead of time; but the rest was all down to Ben. We quickly realised that it wouldn’t work to go to Copenhagen on the way to Berlin, and he wanted some flexibility in the second half of the trip, but what we did is remarkably similar to my trip, 30 years ago.
For me, this was a trip down memory lane, but wonderful to share it with Ben. For him, new adventures, a sense of what travelling can be and, I hope, some lifetime memories of a trip with his Dad.
Photos: all the author’s own
