Eurail Blog - Travel Europe with a Eurail Pass

I have many mind-associations with autumn weather: going back to school, taking winter coats out of the closet, eating caramel apples. Now I have a new one: the emptying of trains.

Backpackers have faded with the summer sun. This is a great reason to travel off-season, when trains are less-crowded. It’s especially a boon on night trains, when it wouldn’t be uncommon to get your own sleeping cabin because of the sparsity of long-distance travelers. I had my own sleeping cabin on the night train from Zurich to Budapest.

Train Tip:
Make note that Interlaken has 2 main train stations: West and Ost. I at first thought “West” was the translation of “Ost,” but “Ost” actually translates as “East.” But just like the Witches in Oz, they are very different.

I know little German, but the name Interlaken says it all. This small town that rests between lakes (and is part of German-speaking Switzerland) is popular with skiers in winter, but is a gem even before ski season begins.

Interlaken is very accessible: the train will let you off within walking distance of most hotels. And most hotels will give you a travel card that allows you free transport on all of the local buses and between the 2 main train stations in Interlaken. Ask at the train station Information Center if your hotel doesn’t.
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It was morning, and I surprisingly found myself waking in darkness, eye mask secured, window shade drawn. I had the couchette cabin to myself. I opened the shade. Daylight poured in.

I feared that I had slept through the Zurich stop, not hearing the train attendant wake me in the morning as they do.
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I was heading out into darkness overnite. The total train trip for the first leg, from Budapest to Zurich, is nearly 12 hours overnight.

I know that my brain is not capable of powering down for that long, so I sat in the seated cabins to read for the Budapest to Vienna leg.
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I am making my plans to return to Zagreb on the same new “high-speed train.”

The station attendant tells me in Split that if I book my seat reservation to Zagreb at least a day in advance, then I will get a certificate for a free sandwich on the train. It’s not a sandwich that I would worry about having on this train, but perhaps a motion sickness remedy.
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Downtown Split is sprawling. It’s a tourist-jumping off point, where cruise ships and smaller ferry boats dock, taking travelers on day-trips and longer excursions to the many islands of the Dalmatian Coast.

I hear the expression Dalmatian Coast and it conjures images of water lapping against a land lost in time. Well, apparently the water hasn’t lapped enough.
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Last minute before leaving for Croatia, I realize that I should exchange Hungarian forints for Croatian Kuna. I go to my bank in Budapest, but am surprised to learn that they don’t exchange for Croatian Kunas.

I’ve seen many “corner-store” exchange offices in Budapest, but had always been reluctant to use them, not knowing how legitimate they may be. There are a number of such exchange offices on Andrassy utca. I enter one, to watch a couple purchasing the last of that day’s Croatian Kunas.
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A curious thing happened to me in Barcelona. I entered Barcelona Sants station, knowing that I would need to get a seat reservation to leave north that day to Montpellier, on my way to Geneva.
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