My recent train trip across Europe would never have got going if it hadn’t have been for this fantastic website (www.seat61.com). One of the things I love about travelling and which people who don’t travel never really understand, is the kindness of strangers. And this website sort of exists as part of that concept - it isn’t a commercial site, but put together by someone who loves overland travel and wishes others to indulge in this crazy but wonderful past-time. I have other entries on train travel and in each of them I describe what a wonderful way it is to travel: far superior to aeroplane travel. You get to to see these beautiful landscapes unfurling, becoming something else. Nothing beats those crazy night train tilts; passport checks in the middle of your dreams; random couchette companions; not being entirely sure when you will arrive and how long your food/beer supplies will last for. It's fantastic. It feels to me like the definition of 'adventure'. Getting on a plane is so dull. You check in. 3 hours later you board a small box with crappy air circulation which breeds germs like its a sport. You get sat next to someone who doesn't stop talking and then falls into a deep, unshakable sleep when you desperately need to escape your seat to pee. All you can see out of the window is endless cloud and sometimes a bit of sky and sun. Pretty yes, educational no. You could be anywhere. The only good bit, which I do concede is thrilling, is the take-off. I admit the adrenalin rush of defying gravity and rushing up to meet the sky is something I still enjoy. But it lasts like 5 minutes and then you are trapped in a little box in the sky, trying not to think about how you are a million miles up in the air and how exactly does aerodynamics work again? And when you arrive and eventually navigate yourself through the hell known as Arrivals, you learn that, sorry madam, your baggage never left your departure point, or, sorry sir, your luggage was not unloaded from the plane and is now on its way to Singapore/New Zealand/Bangkok [circle the one furthest from you].
No, no. Trains have always been the best way to travel. For a start you are never entirely sure whether they will run, be on time, call at the place you want, work. My recent mission through Europe was an absolute revelation. All 12 trains/ferries (through 8 countries) were on time and called at the places I wanted to go (always a bonus) with my luggage always happily accompanying me. Two small exceptions: one in Italy when the train left Bari an hour later than planned, and one in France when the train bound for Paris had an engine problem and arrived an hour and a half late. Small beer really. The point is though that you never quite know. It's an adventure. Which is what travelling should be about, I think. No announcements, train information boards often in another language, no buffet cart. You have to take a chance and hope. And what's the worst that could happen? You end up somewhere different to where you intended, possibly hungry - and...? If you like travelling that isn't exactly an inconvenience. As we all know, getting lost often finds you the best things. I would have been so stuck without Seat 61 though. My trip was lengthy and I was going solo, therefore I needed to be bit convinced I wouldn't get myself stranded in some dodgy hinterland in the middle of the night (despite my protestations a paragraph ago that this is fun, and not problematic in the slightest). I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't, and to be honest I didn't want to guarantee it, but I wanted a pretty good outline of a journey at least. Especially as rather boringly I had to be back in the office in 2 weeks time, pah. Two wonderful things: Seat 61 and bahn.de website (German network detailing all trains in Europe, in many languages. Bar Greek trains - no-one knows when they run, not even the Greeks). Invaluable tools. But Mark Smith, the guy behind The Man in Seat 61 just does it cos he wants to, which is the best reason of all.
Thanks Seat 61, it would have been rubbish without you.
No comments:
Post a Comment