I'm willing to bet a few iorrians have done this. What was your journey and do you have any advice?

I see they have a Eurail Pass. This seems interesting.

UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany are the countries I'm interested in.

Thanks!

I do 2-4 "night trains" between Vienna and Zurich OR Tyrol per year. My favorite transportation segment in my winter visits... Used to take the Couchette options but upgraded myself to sleeping cabins in recent years. I kinda feel "at home" standing at the West Bahnhoff in VIenna at 22:52 or 22:40, with the usual "exotic" scene of the Polish and Russian train staff personal on the left manning the Vienna-Warsaw-Moscow night train in the next platform... I actually learned to enjoy this, even though usually Skiers only care about Ski when going on ski vacation...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-27 21:39 by Wroclaw.

I did the Eurail pass in my long gone youth. A great opportunity to travel without a pre-planned schedule. Start off, go where you want to go. We would literally arrive in a town, look at the board and hop on the next train to whatever seemed interesting.

I'm assuming Eurail now includes Eurostar which makes it a ridiculously easy two hours or so to go from London to Paris or Brussels, Not like the old days when you had to take a ferry or hydrofoil across the channel.

Have fun!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-27 21:36 by rowley.

While this was 30 years ago, I bought a Scandinavian Rail pass for the month I travelled thru Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Once I went south I used the Eurail Pass. I (sort of) remember that some trains required reservations and others didn't.

...One word of caution, keep your ears open. I was on a train back in the days of Communist Hungary when I went into the dining car to get something to eat. When it came time to pay, I read the menue wrong and didn't have enough money in my pocket (travellers cheques at the time). So I went back to the Couchette to get the money I needed, which I did, then walked back to the dining car....and it was gone! (The train split.)
...If I didn't go back to my couchette at that very time, my backpack with everything in it would have made it to Budapest and I would have ended up some place in the USSR!










1

This is what I want to hear. Thanks everyone!!!

Keep 'em coming.

Summer of 1991 I had a Eurail pass... WONDERFUL!! Took me from Brussles to Italy to Germany to Sweeden and back to Brussels all on my schedule. Did I meantion it was WONDERFUL?? Assuming things with the pass work the same or better than they did back in 1991 I would highly recomend it. In fact, when & if my wife and I can figure out how to get ouselves a holiday in Europe some time in the next few years, I fully plan on researching the pass for myself again. Happy Travels!

Peace,
Mr DJA

I did this about 10 years ago and had a wonderful time (I'm from Austin, TX). I think I got a separate UK and continental Europe pass. We combined that with cheap plane flights (only missed one connection--cost me 85Euro).

Memorable routes:
Southampton, England to Aberdeen
Lugano to Zurich (crossing the continental divide)
Zurich to Amsterdam (through Germany)

Advice: don't want to offend anyone here (this being a European board and all), but if you are ever in Prague, have your subway ticket handy, with time stamp, should you be randomly stopped (I was, and had it, 2 minutes from expiration). I was also a little bit surprised at the amount of prejudice I encountered based on what country and what state I was from. I don't think people are necessarily as well informed as they think they are. Some people are kind of like computers; bullshit in-->bullshit out.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-27 23:04 by Sipuncula.

The Eurail pass is a huge bargain, even now, I highly recommend it, as those above have said.

I'm sure you've looked at this, but here is the link that shows you the map and timetables, etc., so you can plot out a trip.

This is a nice post. I'm planning to do the same, when the Europe tour is confirmed, and I'm sure this will be a very useful thread for those planning to travel to Europe.

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Cristiano Radtke
This is a nice post. I'm planning to do the same, when the Europe tour is confirmed, and I'm sure this will be a very useful thread for those planning to travel to Europe.

This is in preparation for the Euro tour also. Feel free to post any info you find.

I'm planning ~ 2 weeks, so hopefully shows line up for a nice little adventure. I'm hoping for 4 to 5 concerts.

Thanks Aquamarine, already had it bookmarked, but thank you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-27 23:54 by MingSubu.

Railpass is great. I have used it. And remember flying in summer is cheap, because business is slow so the airliners dump prices. But don't buy any flights until summer sale are on in May or so. We will see how the schedule is working out. I would use train in North Europe to Germany, France, Belgium, NL, cheap and flexible, then flights when the train takes more than 6-8 hours.

Bjornulf

Thanks BV!

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MingSubu

UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany are the countries I'm interested in.

From London to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam: use the Eurostar. Note, that the Eurostar has passport control, security check and a check-in (at latest 30 mins before departure).

From Paris to Brussels, Amsterdam and Düsseldorf: use the Thalys.

Within Germany, you can use the 'Intercity-Express' (ICE), Timetables & Journey planner: [www.bahn.com] .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-03-17 01:25 by Irix.

Take the time to compare the cost of flying to travelling by train. I prefer the train for the comfort and ease, but the European budget airlines (like EasyJet) can actually be cheaper.

Whenever I compared a rail pass to buying individual tickets, the rail pass is never cheaper. Just my experience.

Also if you want to buy tickets on-line but you don't live in Europe, watch out for the automatic redirecting to RailEurope (and its extra fees). Here's a tip I learned - put "Anarctica" as your country of origin and you won't get redirected.

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Sipuncula
I did this about 10 years ago and had a wonderful time (I'm from Austin, TX).

I was also a little bit surprised at the amount of prejudice I encountered based on what country and what state I was from.

2003 was about the worst time for a US citizen to venture abroad (W-43, war in Iraq etc). You may come back now old pal!

An overview in Wikipedia: Train categories in Europe.

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BluzDude
While this was 30 years ago......
...If I didn't go back to my couchette at that very time, my backpack with everything in it would have made it to Budapest and I would have ended up some place in the USSR!.....

Dude... that is crazy!!!... what would you have done then?

I guess it just goes to show.... living right.



Lots of good stories/advice on this page, Thanks

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BluzDude
While this was 30 years ago, I bought a Scandinavian Rail pass for the month I travelled thru Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. Once I went south I used the Eurail Pass. I (sort of) remember that some trains required reservations and others didn't.

...One word of caution, keep your ears open. I was on a train back in the days of Communist Hungary when I went into the dining car to get something to eat. When it came time to pay, I read the menue wrong and didn't have enough money in my pocket (travellers cheques at the time). So I went back to the Couchette to get the money I needed, which I did, then walked back to the dining car....and it was gone! (The train split.)
...If I didn't go back to my couchette at that very time, my backpack with everything in it would have made it to Budapest and I would have ended up some place in the USSR!

I had a similar experience traveling from Cologne, Germany to Copenhagen after the Stones 1999 summer tour. A few friends and I were smoking a joint in the lavatory of the dining car before going to bed when the train split into 2 sections...one going to Denmark, the other to Berlin. We heard some noises but were not aware of what was going on until we exited the bathroom and attempted to return to our cabin...only to discover it wasn't there! Being stoned only added to the confusion and after a few attempts walking the length of the train in both directions searching in vain for our compartment, we found a conductor and asked where our car was. In broken English he said "there is your train....better hurry" and pointed out the window to the other half of the train across the railway yard! Fortunately, we were able to run across the tracks and hop on minutes before it left. Otherwise we would have ended up in Berlin with no money, passports, phones, wallets or luggage...not to mention my friend's sleeping wife and daughter!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-28 19:13 by TornAndFried.

smoking in the boys room... the teachers tried to warn us...

But wow, 2 people with close calls, just in this thread, so close to what seems like would be a total disaster... Stuck with no paperwork, money, phone, luggage... dang, that would suck. I guess the trains must try to warn people about the train splitting, but if one doesnt speak the local language, one could be in a bummer situation.

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Max'sKansasCity
smoking in the boys room... the teachers tried to warn us...

But wow, 2 people with close calls, just in this thread, so close to what seems like would be a total disaster... Stuck with no paperwork, money, phone, luggage... dang, that would suck. I guess the trains must try to warn people about the train splitting, but if one doesnt speak the local language, one could be in a bummer situation.

In my case the train split around midnight and most people onboard were already asleep. They assigned your sleeper compartment or seat according to your final destination but...if you were sleeping in the wrong car at the time of the split you might wake up in the wrong country! I'm sure it has happened many times. Alcohol was probably commonly a factor.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-28 19:16 by TornAndFried.

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TornAndFried

Quote
Max'sKansasCity
smoking in the boys room... the teachers tried to warn us...

But wow, 2 people with close calls, just in this thread, so close to what seems like would be a total disaster... Stuck with no paperwork, money, phone, luggage... dang, that would suck. I guess the trains must try to warn people about the train splitting, but if one doesnt speak the local language, one could be in a bummer situation.

In my case, the split occurred at around midnight and most people on the train were already asleep. They assigned your sleeper compartment or seat according to your final destination but...if you were in the wrong car at the time of the split you might sleep through the change and wake up in the wrong country! I'm sure it has happened many times. Alcohol was probably commonly a factor.

When I am out on the road all I try to do is avoid all the things that can implode a trip, and the whole concept of "and then I went back to where my car was, and it wasnt there" is somewhat horrifying to me. Id be like, "Dude wheres my car?" and they would laugh and say something like Ik begrijp niet de woorden die uit je mond or Je ne comprends pas les mots qui sortent de votre bouche or Ich verstehe nicht, die Worte aus deinem Mund

I like to fly - Short-hop flights during the summer are really cheap and it's much faster. But, I remember taking the train (I think it was 2006) to get from a show in Paris to one in Amsterdam. All alone, just enjoying some wine and cheese and the views out the window. It was wonderful.

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Max'sKansasCity

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TornAndFried

Quote
Max'sKansasCity
smoking in the boys room... the teachers tried to warn us...

But wow, 2 people with close calls, just in this thread, so close to what seems like would be a total disaster... Stuck with no paperwork, money, phone, luggage... dang, that would suck. I guess the trains must try to warn people about the train splitting, but if one doesnt speak the local language, one could be in a bummer situation.

In my case, the split occurred at around midnight and most people on the train were already asleep. They assigned your sleeper compartment or seat according to your final destination but...if you were in the wrong car at the time of the split you might sleep through the change and wake up in the wrong country! I'm sure it has happened many times. Alcohol was probably commonly a factor.

When I am out on the road all I try to do is avoid all the things that can implode a trip, and the whole concept of "and then I went back to where my car was, and it wasnt there" is somewhat horrifying to me. Id be like, "Dude wheres my car?" and they would laugh and say something like Ik begrijp niet de woorden die uit je mond or Je ne comprends pas les mots qui sortent de votre bouche or Ich verstehe nicht, die Worte aus deinem Mund

Yeah, it was pretty much just like that! As I said, we were in the bathroom at the time of the split and totally unaware as to what was happening. Being a little stoned we weren't completely in control of our faculties so it was confusing and disorienting to walk through a few cars back to where you thought your compartment was only to reach the end of the train. Then turn around and walk back the other way. Several times! It was funny until we realized we were minutes away from a complete disaster.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-02-28 19:28 by TornAndFried.

[www.interrail.eu]

[www.dsb.dk]

I have done it from Denmark - under 25 y.o. you can get a Month travelling all over Europe for some 500 EURO. Not bad all.

OK, since the topic is what it is, also on that same train ride from Vienna to Budapest,before the train split situation, as soon as the train crossed the Hungarian border, these two soldiers, or police, or whatever they were, came to collect the passports. One guy looked just like the Nazi from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the other guy looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger carrying a rifle. First time alone like this, crossing into an Eastern Block country, it was a little intimidating to say the least. After the passports were all collected, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere for about an hour.

Meanwhile, in my couchette was a Norwegian couple (who I ended up hanging out with in Budapest) and 2 guys from Iraq (sounds like the name of a middle eastern restaurant). When the guys came back with the passports, they immediately demanded that the 2 Iraqis empty their backpacks while a 3rd uniformed person went thru everything, when finished, our passports were given back to all of us and on to the next room they went.


Next, and I can't believe I had the guts to do this, when I was walking thru the train, I saw the guy who reminded me of the ROTLA Nazi and asked him what was up with searching those back packs. He then cracked a smile and said that the Arabs like to come into their country and sell currency on the black market, but he loved Americans, wished me a good trip and even tried to advise me of some places to visit.

You "Arrive" and ready to rock.

Sounds like you had an eventful trip Bluzdude and that is the beauty, if that's the right word, of traveling around Europe by train.
I would say this is the best way to travel between Stones gigs this summer. Sure, it is quicker by air for longer journeys but with a couple of days between shows, what's the hurry?!

On the train from Amsterdam to Paris they have dogs sniffing for illegal Dutch substances - but otherwise trains are much much easier than flying - and city centre to city centre.

oh yes, and on a train from Paris to Amsterdam, the train stopped in Brussels and announced everyone had to get off the train because there was a strike. It was a Sunday, couldn't find a coach so it took me several hours to find the only travel agency in Brussels open on a Sunday to book me a fight that afternoon to Amsterdam.

Sounds great and I wish I had done it when I was younger and had the time. SOme friends of mine did it, started in the UK and worked their way through France, Italy - calling at Pompei, then on to Greece and then came back a different route to take in Germany and Sweden. THey had a fantastic time and still talk about it now some - years later. Hope you have a great time...sure you will.

Just a word of advice, if you are not from the UK, don;t expect too much from our train services and avoid main city routes at commuter time!