There's something about trains
Exactly 25 years ago today I said goodbye to my parents and set off for a summer adventure in Europe. Carefully tucked into my money belt were my dark blue passport, an assortment of Eurocheques (remember them?) and my first ever Interrail ticket (bought as a result of successfully listing my 10 speed racer bike and my beloved table-top snooker table in the Classified Section of the Nottingham Evening Post). I had just finished my A level exams and left my Saturday job at B&Q, thanks to which I’d saved around £500. This hard-earned money would now be carefully spent and made to last as long as possible.
My father had dropped me off at Nottingham station in the afternoon and had topped up my already bulging backpack with a dozen cheese rolls – little did he know at the time that I would eat nothing else until I arrived in Oslo several days later.
Carrying my backpack was no small effort for a tall, wiry teenager little used to physical exercise. As well as the sleeping bag and bright green ground sheet that was an obligatory part of the Interrailer’s paraphernalia, I had nine of my favourite tapes, two dozen batteries for my Walkman, a Thomas Cook rail timetable and the chunky Europe by Train guidebook. I’d also packed my camera, an indestructible Zenit EM; as sturdy as a Soviet tank and only marginally lighter in weight.
With barely any plans I would change my mind many times on a whim over the next month as to which train to catch and where next to visit. Eastern Europe was strictly off-limits although the journey behind enemy lines to West Berlin was a guaranteed adventure.
Sitting on a railway station, got a ticket for my destination...
25 years on and I’m looking forward to yet another European rail journey. Over the years my backpack has become thankfully lighter and smaller. I’m travelling with my wife and we stay in guest houses and hotels to rest our heads in favour of concrete station floors and pull-out seats in musty carriages. The rail pass is no more, with the astronomical rise in the cost of an Interrail ticket now meaning that buying individual tickets makes financial sense for all but the most intensive itineraries. As for the cheese rolls, they are thankfully no longer a must-have travel accessory.
As always, there will be unexpected highlights, places that disappoint, surprising encounters, missed connections, great meals, supermarket lunches as well as those uncomfortable moments that we’ll grin and bear in the knowledge that they’ll sound almost glamorous when they’re spun into a dinner-table yarn back at home. The journey may be smoother than it once was, but thankfully the sense of anticipation of travel is as strong as ever.
Europe by train, then and now is a post from: 501 Places
