Once on the train to Innsbruck, the train slows a bit as it passes through mountains. We’re going through a snowstorm!

It’s really wondrous to experience from inside the train, passing through these picturesque towns and villages covered in snow. I’d recommend a snowy train trip to anyone. This storm hardly slowed the train down. We were only 15 minutes late.

At the train transfer in Geneva, I experience customs control. I wearily approach them, the last night’s melatonin still in my body.
(more…)

It’s my first night on a Hotel Train. It sounds so glamorous, images of Agathie Christie pop in my head.

I meet some other Americans who tell me they chose a reclining seat reservation rather than a bed in a cabin. I decided to do the same, having already experienced a sleeping cabin on my way over. I share a melatonin with the other Americans, and fall fast asleep. A little less comfortable than the bed in the sleeping cabin, but I’m so tired after Fallas, I hardly notice.

Train Tip: If not sleeping in a cabin on a Night Train, consider bringing a blanket. With bed reservations, you’re given a blanket on the train. In the reclining seat, you have only yourself and your jacket to keep you warm. One of those airline blankets would be perfect to carry around for the trains.

Arrival in Zurich
We arrive late in Zurich. My grogginess seems perfectly matched with the overcast weather. I miss my connection. A Swiss agent helps me re-route myself. She tells me to spend the day in Zurich, enjoy the city. I look out the window and see raindrops. I´m thinking of Spanish sunshine. I go on.

Zurich - Geneve
The elderly Swiss man looks big-eyed out the train window, his head bopping to the sights: fog lifting out of valleys, water cascading down rocks, birds encircling tree lines, families emerging from chatlets. Hairs stem from his ears, an oversized cargo jacket engulfs his frail body, and a red plaid cap covers his forehead. He watches out the window with all the delight of a school child. This can´t be the first time he´s taken this train. Maybe he fears he won´t have so many opportunities more? Next to him a young woman sleeps.

There´s a big car show in Geneve today. That´s why the train is crowded, the woman next to me says. She gets off at the next stop. I use the car show as an ice breaker for the rest of the ride. ¨Are you going to the car show?¨ Nearly everyone is.
(more…)

I´m beginning the longest train trip I´ve ever embarked on. Budapest to Valencia, Spain. Schedule says about 30 hours on the train, with 3 connections. Sounds daunting, but I´m excited.

Tonight I´m on a night train. I walk into my sleeping cabin, but there are 2 other people there. Seems crowded, and there are empty cabins. I re-assign myself. The steward, however, wants me in my assigned cabin. The woman has left, apparently she was in the wrong cabin. But still, I think what a waste to have these empty cabins, and this thought wakes me up in the middle of the night, along with the odor from the man´s socks sleeping across from me.
(more…)