Although travelers have many more options these days, traveling around Western Europe by trains is definitely the way to go.
Although much has certainly changed over the years, traveling by train throughout Western Europe retains a sense of mystery, romance, intrigue. A friend and I spent 10 weeks in 1998 working our way through 12 countries: Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France England, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg r – and Spain.
Seven years later, another friend and I road the trains through Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and France, but this time, we were marking time. The goal was to pick up my 2000 Isuzu Rodeo so we could drive around the continent. Huge mistake.
The original plan was that, since there were actually going to be three of us with a tremendous amount of luggage, we would ship my Rodeo to Germany (yes, from the Western U.S.), and drive to our destination: Italy. Now, at this point, everyone pretty much wants to know how much it cost to ship an SUV from Idaho to Germany: $2,000.
But this blog is not about my vehicle, it’s about taking the trains, and, in this instance, hindsight is certainly 20/20. Other than a little detour that took us to Bad Schandau, Germany for a few hours rather than on to our original destination of Prague, our train trips were peaceful and uneventful. And, of course, that little snafu was a result of our impatience, not an error by the railways. Through our train rides, we saw a ton of the countrywide, met interesting people, had time to read, listen to music and write in our journals.
I wish the same could be said for our travels in the Rodeo. The word "police" – in several different languages – comes to mind. For now, let’s just say that if your choice is between taking the trains around Western Europe and driving yourself: Opt for the trains. Trust me.
