So I’ve finally done my first Interrail trip last month, using a basic 4-day pass to test the waters. Overall, it was a fun experience travelling into 7 different countries within a week, even though most people normally advise against cramming in many places within a short space of time. While I understand this, part of the fun (at least for me personally) is in the train rides themselves, experiencing the different types of trains and watching the landscapes go by while getting a quick taste of each city I stopover in. This certainly helped me in deciding what cities I would prefer to come back to for a more proper visit in the future; Basel in Switzerland was definitely my favourite with Zurich, Luxembourg, Metz, Dusseldorf and Amsterdam being honourable mentions. You can watch my full vlog mini-series to see what I got up to on each travel day in video form.
Initially, I was planning to revolve all four travel days around a 3-night stay in the cheapest hotel near Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof (using that as a base) after flying into/out of Cologne-Bonn airport Monday to Thursday (Ryanair flights to CGN from Manchester are dirt-cheap and I wasn’t able to find the Eurostar reservation at an appropriate time the day I wanted), travelling out-and-back each day. However, after further planning and realising the first and last days will be wasted due to barely being able to do much beyond getting to/from the airports, I decided it would be best to just use two of the travel days for that week in the middle days so I could explore Dusseldorf and Cologne at a more relaxed pace on the non-travel days. As for the other two travel days, I found a Eurostar passholder reservation available for my desired 1104 departure (ample time for me to get to London and then still have some time in the afternoon to do something on the continent) on Thursday the week before, allowing me to do something much more interesting. I also found a £20 Ryanair flight from Milan, which is a great end point allowing me to travel right through Switzerland beforehand, back to Manchester on Friday night. Based on the route I wanted to take and timings, I decided Metz was the best place to stay overnight in terms of price and train connections, so bagged a hotel right in front of the train station.
Travel Day 1: (Thursday 6th June)
Started off with an early morning Avanti Pendolino service down to London Euston from Preston, my local city up in Lancashire. Smooth ride on a relatively quiet train, which got into London with plenty of time before my Eurostar, so it was just a leisurely walk across to St Pancras from Euston. I had an hour before check-in opened for my train (1104 to Amsterdam), so I enjoyed spending my time browsing the fancy shopping centre of St Pancras station. Thereafter, I went through a surprisingly quick check-in, taking just 5 minutes total to get through security and both border checks; I suppose it helps that it wasn’t the weekend. After chilling in the lounge, it was finally time to board and I found that the train was noticeably wider than the British loading gauge trains I’ve been accustomed to. It was amazing how wide the gangways were between the carriages when walking to the cafe bar, where I ordered a cappuccino that tasted brilliant. Of course, it was an excellent ride, being my first ever time on the Eurostar. While the channel tunnel itself was nothing to write home about and only a small part of the trip, it truly felt surreal how effortlessly it got me from the British network to the continental network; definitely beats the plane that’s for sure.
Upon arrival into Brussels Midi/Zuid, I had half an hour till my next connection to Luxembourg, which was just about enough time to grab a Belgian Waffle to eat on the train (it was so good that I’ve been craving them ever since) and browse a few shops inside the station. I was pleased to find I got one of SNCB’s double decker sets, as I’ve always wanted to ride a double decker train, so I love that I’ve been rewarded one for this 3-hour journey at a comparably slower pace than the previous two trains. Following a Tour-de-Bruxelles on a roundabout route out of the city (great views though), I trundled through the Wallonian countryside, with some interesting sights at every station given how open they were. The highlight was definitely the views of Namur an hour into the journey. After a leisurely ride, we finally hit Luxembourg, which I spent most of the afternoon exploring.
Free public transport was a welcome addition, as it meant I could just hop on and off the trams as I pleased to get around the city. Mainly loved how clean and picturesque the city was. Ended with that funicular down to Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg, where I hopped back to Gare Centrale to get the next TER (a much nicer Alstom Coradia double decker by SNCF) onwards to Metz, where I checked into my hotel. Luckily, the hotel let me borrow a European charger head during my stay, as I forgot mine for this part of the trip and wrongfully assumed there would be USB sockets on the trains. Had a relaxing evening stroll after charging up my phone a bit and settling into my hotel room, which had a nice little balcony overlooking the station building. I was thoroughly impressed with how picturesque and walkable Metz was, while being very peaceful at the same time; a far cry from the hustle and bustle that Paris would’ve been.
Travel Day 2: (Friday 7th June)
After a nice rest in the hotel, it was time to check out and catch the 0642 TER to Strasbourg (successfully ordered a petit latte in French at the station), which happened to be one of the classic loco-hauled Corail sets. This was an excellent treat, as the seats were insanely comfortable (superbly padded seats with headrests I can actually sink into) and the ride quality was impressively smooth given the age of these carriages. At Strasbourg, I decided to stopover for an hour to see a bit of this city and stock up on food. I really liked the area outside the station and the pedestrianised streets leading into the city, although I spent quite a bit of time browsing the Carrefour due to the amount of interesting food choices on offer. There were some great cafes around the place too, so I had plenty of coffee to keep me at cruising altitude. Heading back to catch the next TER to Basel, it was another Corail set, so another smooth comfortable ride to enter Switzerland for the first time. Interestingly, the views are hilly and mountainous on the right, but completely flat on the left.
Basel was genuinely far more impressive a city than I expected, with some pristine architecture (both old and new) around the Rhine and the cleanest station building I’ve ever seen. I was planning to spend more time in Zurich, but I actually ended up spending more time in Basel because of how much there was to see around the city centre. Views from the bridges across the Rhine were excellent and the Roche Towers (the tallest skyscrapers in Switzerland) definitely complemented the city very nicely, as well as the picturesqueness of the old town. Relaxed by the riverside in nice sunny weather, and the coolness of the water from the fountains was just perfect. Afterwards, walked into the old town and found all sorts of interesting stuff in a Migros supermarket, like a salmon sandwich that uses rice lined with sushi seaweed instead of bread. Grabbed some Swiss cheese to eat with my crackers on the train to Zurich and of course, the obligatory Swiss chocolate.
IC train to Zurich was a classic Mk IV loco-hauled set, which was impressively smooth for its age. However, in hindsight I should’ve gotten the slower IR train this way, as they had some really nice double deckers running on that; noted for next time. Arriving into Zurich Hbf, I was surprised how open the station was, despite its massive size. My favourite thing was the big Coop outside the Hbf, which had all the supplies I needed and more at affordable prices for Swiss standards, including all the Swiss chocolate I could want which saved me from having to go to the Lindt Factory and tighten my already-ambitious itinerary. This time, as the view along the Limmat overlooking the iconic old city buildings was so good, I sufficed with staying around this area and just having a sit-down to take in the views.
After a little walk around the Limmat area, I went back to the Hbf for the 1500 IC departure to Lugano, which was a double Giruno set forming an insane 20 carriages despite the relatively low population on this route. Shoutout to the guy sitting opposite me up to Arth-Goldau, who was kind enough to let me use his charger since I didn’t have a European plug on me, you were a lifesaver! This train journey was the highlight of the whole Interrail, apart from being charged 6 CHF for a coffee (note to self: in Switzerland, only buy coffee from the supermarket coffee machines), given the scenery through the Alps was just as stunning as I expected (lakes, mountains, picturesque little towns, you name it) to the point where I couldn’t get a break from my camera. Thanks to the Gotthard Base Tunnel route being shut at the time, all express trains ran down the old Gotthard route with all its unique twists and turns, which made the scenic experience even better.
Entering the Ticino canton (the Italian speaking part of Switzerland), it was amazing to see how the buildings transformed to a more Italian-style colour palette. Arriving into Lugano, I was greeted by the most breath-taking view of the whole city from the station approach, surrounded by lakes and mountains. I had a whole 10 minutes to take it all in before I needed to hop onto my connecting RE80 onwards to Milan; this is definitely somewhere I need to come back to another time. Despite the TILO train being 12 carriages, it was so busy that all the seats were taken. Luckily, the scenery was so good on both sides that standing was actually beneficial for my filming (even spotted a geographical anomaly, an enclave of Italy in Switzerland, with my own eyes), especially given how spacious the train carriages were. I managed to get a seat briefly, until an elderly person got on who needed it more than I did.
Crossing the border into Italy, it was surreal how dramatic the landscape changed, with more Mediterranean architecture and a total change in vegetation. This is where it truly hit me just how far I’ve travelled. Upon arrival into Milano Centrale, I was impressed by the grand architecture of the station building compared to all the other stations I’ve been through. Exiting into the city centre felt like a totally different world. I had enough time to have a bit of a wander, but after nearly getting pickpocketed while walking into the city, I decided it was better to go back into the station and just have a coffee. My phone was very low on charge at this point and I already used up the one power-bank I had, so I concluded all filming anyway and had to use it sparingly. I had to get the next train to Malpensa Airport (not included in the pass, but I didn’t mind paying the fare necessary) to ensure I had just enough time to check in for my flight, so it wouldn’t be wise to risk missing it.
Apart from being delayed over an hour, the Ryanair flight back to Manchester was great, as I managed to sleep for the entire flight. Had a weekend break back home before another Ryanair flight to Cologne on Monday afternoon, which was nice. Smooth ride on the RRX to take me straight to Dusseldorf from the airport, although not part of this Interrail series. Actually brought my European charger head this time, so that’ll make life easier.
Travel Day 3: (Tuesday 11th June)
After settling into my new home for the next few days (despite many negative reviews due to being ‘cheap for a reason’, I found it perfectly adequate for my needs), I started my next Interrail travel day by deciding on catching the 0652 ICE to Berlin that I initially planned to start off with, as it didn’t report any issues (yet). Just a nice morning stroll to the Hauptbahnhof, grabbing a coffee and some nice bakery food from the many outlets available for the journey ahead. Close to departure time as I made my way up to the platform, it appears the train hadn’t turned up from the depot yet, despite no information about a delay until the very last minute when they finally informed of a 5-minute delay at departure time. Not the end of the world though, as the train did turn up as a double ICE 2 set bang on the 5-minute delay, so it was a good start to DB standards. Train was as comfortable as I hoped (the 2nd class seats are exactly the same as the ones LNER and GWR use in 1st class back in the UK) and the journey went very smoothly, although the delay did gradually increase over time after Hannover. We eventually arrived into Berlin Hbf with a 25-minute delay (terminated at Hbf and cancelled the Ostbahnhof stop but I only intended to go Hbf anyway so it’s all good), which wasn’t too bad as I’ve had many options for the train to Frankfurt to make sure I had enough time to enjoy Berlin, a city I definitely had fun exploring.
After taking some time to admire the Hauptbahnhof, I got an S-Bahn over to Alexanderplatz to explore the main sights and a few shops. Managed to find my favourite Lindt pistachio bar (which my wife desperately wanted more of, cos it was that good) in the adjacent Galeria Kaufhof so going back to Zurich was no longer necessary. Thereafter, I walked across the main roads to Brandenburg Gate (totally underestimated the distance from Alexanderplatz, but it was worth it for all the sightseeing on the way) and then Potsdamer Platz, where I had a Currywurst (realised how simple they were to make) for lunch at a nice Turkish Restaurant (which makes them with Halal Chicken) next to Mall of Berlin.
Getting back to Hbf from Potsdamerplatz in time for the 1500 ICE to Frankfurt was easier said than done, however, as I ended up in the S-Bahn station where (after trying to figure out which platforms were the right direction) I realised I had to change at Freidrichstrasse for Hbf, as the RegionalBahn trains that go direct are in a completely different station that I didn’t have time to transfer to. However, at Freidrichstrasse it turns out all westbound trains to the Hbf were cancelled due to some last-minute disruption, so I had to faff about with the trams or U-Bahn (finally decided to get the latter after figuring out the right ticket for where I need to go) and decided I won’t make the 1500 train, so I might as well just go straight back to Dusseldorf again (which in hindsight, may have been a better idea) on the 1545. However, on my way back to Hbf, I found on the DB Navigator app that the 1500 to Frankfurt was delayed by half an hour anyway, so I could still make it after all. I just about managed to get it upon arrival to Hbf, which happened to be an ICE 1 set.
Thereafter, I had a fun ride to Frankfurt via Halle-Erfurt, as the line was indeed considerably more scenic than the uneventful Hannover-Wolfsburg line I rode from Dusseldorf. We actually made up some time (maybe 5-10 mins) upon arrival into Frankfurt, so it was not bad. I explored a bit of Frankfurt city centre between Hauptwache and the Romerberg, picking up some bakery goodies from an Aldi along the way, and noticed there were new skyscrapers going up next to Commerzbank Tower. Checking updates on the DB Navigator App, the 2009 ICE to Dortmund I was initially planning to catch back to Dusseldorf was delayed by half an hour (it was coming from Munich via the affected Wurzburg line), followed by an additional hour (no longer calling at Hbf so I’d have to get an S-Bahn to the airport), which allowed me to relax. However, I relaxed a bit too much, as I found out the S8 and S9 do not go in the tunnels anymore (at least when I was there) but instead, terminates at the Hbf. Thus, the 2117 time for the S8 was actually from the Hbf, not Hauptwache (Interrail planner app doesn’t take disruptions into account at all which led me to misread the DB Navigator App), meaning I wouldn’t be able to make that ICE connection at the airport (even with the delay it already racked up) since I couldn’t make it to the Hbf until half-past at that point, not to mention the walking from the underground platforms to the main terminus platforms. Thereafter, I was frantic to find a connection to the airport, but found the next one was the S9 at 2150, because no RB or RE trains departing before then were going that way and there were no IC/ICE services departing at least for another hour from the Hbf.
As for what alternative connections (DB Navigator is helpful) I could get once I reached the airport, I found I could get the (delayed to) 2226 ICE to Dortmund straight back to Dusseldorf instead, meaning I’d be back in my hotel by midnight instead of 11pm (my original plan was 9-10pm). However, as soon as I finally reached the airport and made the unexpectedly long walk to the long-distance station from the regional one, I found that service had been cancelled so I had to wait for the (delayed to) 2233 which terminated at Cologne instead. On the plus side, airports are actually the perfect place for free toilets. Also, my train was one of the new ICE 3 neo units, so I could relax a bit in speed and comfort. At least at Cologne, the RRX was still running past midnight, so I’d still have connections onwards to Dusseldorf which would ultimately be better as the next direct ICE service was an hour later with room for further delays. The delay increased upon arrival because we were held hostage at the signals on the bridge between M/Dtz and the Hbf. Thus, I missed the RE1 at 2349 and had to get the RE6 at 0007 arriving in Dusseldorf 0050, so I ended up back at my hotel around 1am, at least four hours later than originally planned. Ultimately, this ended up better than waiting for the direct ICE, as that racked up a greater delay and I found it arrived in Dusseldorf later than my RRX. However, I was shattered by then so it was straight to bed for me after a quick shower.
Travel Day 4: (Wednesday 12th June)
Following my very eventful day dealing with DB delays and disruptions, I decided to take it easy for the final travel day and just go to the Netherlands as a quick escape from DB territory. To ensure I got a decent amount of rest, I aimed for the RE13 to Venlo at 0748 instead of the originally planned 0648. This arrived from Hamm packed, but nearly everyone got off at Dusseldorf, so I was able to get a seat. Overall, not a bad ride, although we arrived at Venlo 10 minutes late narrowly missing the IC connection to Utrecht. No matter, as the next one is in half an hour (arrived 5 minutes late but easily made up the time so a far cry from DB), so I decided to have a quick wander around the outside of Venlo station, which was very peaceful. IC services from Venlo are operated by the VIRM trains I’ve wanted to ride for a while, which I definitely enjoyed. While the Dutch scenery is flat, the landscape still had many interesting things to offer like the dedicated cycle highways in rural areas and canals. While the train from Venlo does go through to Rotterdam, it goes the long way round via Amsterdam Airport and The Hague, so it’s better to change at Utrecht for a more direct service. Likewise, this gave me a change to explore the ultramodern interchange that is Utrecht Centraal, which definitely impressed me far more than I expected. It felt like a cross between Leeds and Birmingham New Street, but much neater. Thereafter, it was straight onto an IC Koploper to Rotterdam, which was a surprisingly smooth ride for trains built in the 1980s (they appear to be refurbished very well as they felt more modern inside).
It was surreal to finally be at Rotterdam Centraal in person, with its modern architecture surrounded by spacious pedestrianised paving and skyscrapers. One thing I’ve noticed was that virtually every Dutch station had an Albert Heijn convenience store, which had really nice coffee machines with cappuccino that’s cheaper than €3 for once. I decided to walk down to the main road with a canal through it (Westersingel) all the way down to the waterfront at Willemsplein, where I could conveniently get a tram back to Centraal (cheap fare tap in tap out, very easy to use) after taking in the views of the Erasmusbrug and surrounding skyscrapers.
Thereafter, I got a new ICNG (which had impressive acceleration and fancy interiors to boot) straight up to Amsterdam and found impressive views of the waterfront from Amsterdam Centraal station. The north side of the station had a nice spacious square-like area to enjoy the waterfront and of course, I didn’t miss out on the free ferry ride across the river and back. Thereafter, I walked down the historic centre on the other side, but it was understandably packed with tourists as it usually would be. Rotterdam was definitely much more peaceful in comparison. However, I managed to enjoy some local fries by the Damrak and browse the unique Primark (7 floors and free toilet). Afterwards, I went back to the station to do some NS Sprinter bashing to see other parts of the city, taking a route down to Duivendrecht (very interesting station) then Zuid, where I got a nice view of the skyscrapers from the station while awaiting my train back to Venlo.
However, upon boarding the VIRM to Venlo, I realised my hourly connecting train back to Dusseldorf (RE13) was cancelled when checking the DB Navigator app. Luckily, I could catch it from M’Gladbach if I got off at Utrecht for the ICE service that I saw earlier resting at Amsterdam Centraal. The amazing thing was that the ICE service (which I initially wanted to avoid) was running ON TIME for once, a rarity given my experience the day before. Thus, I booked a reservation (now compulsory on ICE International, except for Switzerland, during the summer) using the same app (honestly, DB Navigator has been a lifesaver during my stay in Germany) last minute and bailed at Utrecht, where the ICE actually arrived on time (what sorcery is this?) so I could just recline in ultimate comfort for the next 2 hours. Funnily enough, this (supposedly) high-speed train didn’t go above 130km/h for the duration of the trip given the Dutch line speed restrictions, so it was running pretty much the same speed as regional (never mind IC) trains would. Thus, when we passed Venlo, the train I initially got off had just arrived with many disappointed passengers only realising that their connecting RE13 has been cancelled. Luckily, I planned ahead. Arrival at M’Gladbach was 5 minutes late, which wasn’t an issue given we could all still make the connection with the RE13 to Dusseldorf. Overall, this day ended up being much nicer than I expected, concluding my Interrail pass on a high-note.
Next day, I had plenty of time to explore Dusseldorf and Cologne at a leisurely pace without needing to vlog, before heading back to CGN airport for my afternoon flight back to Manchester.
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