Europe By Train with the Man in Seat 61

0:00 Hello everyone and welcome aboard the Monday night

0:02 Travel Express operated by Rick Steve's Europe Railways.

0:07 Whether this is your first journey with us or your 200th,

0:10 we're grateful to have you with us.

0:12 My name is Gabe Gunning and I am

0:14 the I suppose conductor this evening as we tunnel

0:19 deep into the European Rail Network with one

0:22 of the most knowledgeable European rail experts [music] anywhere.

0:36 So, thank you all once again for joining us.

0:38 And without further ado, I would love to introduce our guest for this evening.

0:44 He is a former British rail station manager.

0:47 He is the founder of the rail travel bible that is seat61.com

0:53 and he is a bit of a celebrity amongst our Ricksteves Europe staffers.

0:58 It is the man in seat 61 Mark Smith.

1:01 Mark, welcome to Monday night travel.

1:05 Thank you and good evening.

1:07 We are so glad to have you with us this evening.

1:10 And I think the question I want to start with is

1:13 having a nephew myself who is obsessed with all things trucks,

1:17 cars, trains, anything that moves.

1:20 I am wondering how did you first become fascinated by trains and rail travel?

1:28 Well, you know, I I think when from a rail travel point of view,

1:31 I think we need to go back to the to my late teens in the 1980s.

1:35 I did a couple of school trips.

1:37 There was one to the south of France where I it was a school trip.

1:40 We we each spent three weeks with a French

1:43 family and we didn't fly in those days.

1:45 We we took the boat train from London

1:47 Victoria non-stop to Folkston Harour and then the Channel

1:50 Ferry and then the overnight train from Calala

1:54 to the south of France in cushets bunk

1:57 beds and then I went on the school Russian trip where we took a a vintage ship

2:02 1940 turbine electric steamer no less ancient piece

2:06 of kit that [snorts] sailed from London to Oslo,

2:08 Stockholm and what was then Leningrad where we took a train to Moscow

2:12 and then a train to Berlin and then a train back at the Channel Ferry.

2:15 and a train back to London.

2:16 And these these trips really opened my eyes.

2:20 And later I took a rail pass and went to explore Europe,

2:24 which is something I'd advise anyone to do.

2:26 I went all the way down to Greece by train.

2:28 I later went to Morocco by train.

2:30 And I thought, what a great way to travel.

2:33 You're treated like a human being.

2:35 You get to see where you're going.

2:37 The journey is is really part of the destination.

2:40 I think that's where it started.

2:43 Well, those school trips certainly sound like they

2:46 beat the trips that we in the US take in our yellow school buses with just

2:51 everybody crammed into the little plastic seats.

2:54 So, I wish that I could have taken trips by rail.

2:58 And I'm so glad that you are here tonight

3:00 to help our Monday night travel viewers and travelers

3:05 learn how to make the most of what I

3:08 consider one of the best aspects of European travel.

3:11 and that is taking the train.

3:14 And so we are going to get started on our journey this evening.

3:18 And I put together a cutesy little map

3:21 of the route that we'll take through tonight's presentation.

3:24 We're going to start out by hearing a bit

3:26 of your story and how you became the man in seat 61.

3:30 Then we're going to discuss why train travel is so

3:33 excellent and should have a priority on any person's European itinerary.

3:38 We'll spend a bulk of tonight's uh presentation

3:40 just answering some rail FAQs and we are going

3:44 to finish with you taking us along vicariously

3:47 on two of your very favorite European rail journeys.

3:52 But I would love to start with your story, Mark.

3:55 Um paging through the endless information on your website.

4:00 It seems impossible that there was ever

4:02 a point that you were just discovering rail yourself.

4:06 Um, but I would love to hear about how you got your start um,

4:11 working with rail and how you became the man in seat 61.

4:16 Right.

4:16 Well, it it goes back to my university days.

4:19 The first job I had in the rail

4:21 industry was in university vacations where I worked

4:24 for a company called Transpino on the other

4:26 side of the counter actually issuing European rail tickets.

4:29 I'd done all the trips using the rail passes so I knew the trains.

4:33 Now I was actually finding out how

4:34 the ticketing worked and issuing tickets for other people.

4:38 So that was that was that was great.

4:40 And after uni I joined the railways.

4:42 I joined British Rail.

4:44 Uh wonderful training period where I got to swan

4:47 around the rail network and was paid for it.

4:49 I mean can you imagine?

4:50 Fantastic.

4:51 Um after 18 months training I became a station

4:54 manager for the small stations around Asheford and Kent.

4:57 Lovely job.

4:58 and later for Chering Cross and London Bridge up in London.

5:04 Uh big jobs line.

5:06 What is this that we're seeing here, Mark?

5:10 Well, [clears throat] this is something that happened

5:11 about 2011 where I made my television debut

5:15 on the most unlikely of programs for a rail person at Top Gear.

5:20 Uh they put together a train made of caravans

5:23 as you see there and they needed some willing

5:25 guinea pigs to try them out and I was

5:28 one of the guinea pigs in the secondass caravan.

5:31 Uh they had a much better time in the first

5:33 class caravan with the with the smoked salmon and stuff.

5:36 But there we there we are.

5:37 There's me a a much younger uh version

5:40 of me um wondering how on earth this thing is

5:43 going to hold together as we run down

5:45 the tracks on the Great Central Preserve Railway dear Lro.

5:50 So,

5:50 what a day that was.

5:51 You've ridden on some trains that that really nobody else ever has.

5:58 Well, this is true.

5:58 Very few people have ridden this particular train.

6:01 Yes.

6:01 Or been served really crumbly custard cream biscuits by Richard H.

6:06 And then how did you go from being a station manager at at Sharing Cross

6:12 and other stations to building this rail empire

6:17 uh through your website, The Man in Seat 61?

6:20 It was an accident.

6:21 I was commuting to and from London and the day

6:23 the momentous day arrived where I finally finished my novel,

6:28 not novel I was writing, the novel I was reading on the train home.

6:31 So I went into the news agents at Marilaban station in London to find

6:35 something else to read and it I found a teacher self HTML book.

6:41 It was more of a magazine £2.95 which is what $4

6:46 probably the best £2.95 I have ever spent in my life.

6:50 I got a web page online because way back

6:53 in this is this is 2001 and way back then you

6:56 sort of got an email address and a 2 megabytes

6:59 of web space if you could do anything with it.

7:02 And I thought I would create something to fill

7:06 the gap between how easy and practical I found it to travel from the UK to Italy

7:11 or Greece or Buddhapest or whatever by train and how

7:14 difficult it had become to find anyone in the commercial

7:18 world who would tell you how to do

7:20 it because all the commercial world wanted to do

7:22 uh in the 21st century is sell you flights,

7:25 flights, car hire and more flights.

7:29 Well, I think this is it's just such an incredible

7:33 resource and I encourage all of our viewers uh

7:36 before you go on your next trip u exploring

7:40 this website is a must and it truly does seem bottomless.

7:45 Um, and I think part of the reason why we so much

7:50 wanted to reach out to you to come on Monday Night Travel,

7:53 Mark, is not that just that you're an expert,

7:55 but I think one thing that you share with Rick and the Rick

7:58 Steve's Europe travel philosophy is that it has to have a foundation in good,

8:05 solid, carefully, painstakingly researched information.

8:12 um and building on that bed of information and um certainly perusing

8:17 your site uh having good accurate detailed

8:20 information is something that you excel at.

8:23 It's certainly it's certainly what I try to do.

8:27 Well, I think probably just the fact that for those that are on the call,

8:32 they are probably here because they already see

8:35 a lot of the value of rail travel.

8:37 But before we start getting into the FAQs of rail travel

8:42 that um most new European travelers or repeat European travelers want to know,

8:47 I thought that we could take just a few moments to really sing the praises

8:51 and list the virtues of rail travel um

8:55 and why people should prioritize it on their trips.

8:59 So we are going to talk about why it is valuable to take the train.

9:03 Now I [clears throat] think in a nutshell if I had to summarize

9:07 it I would say that air travel has made travel a commodity

9:12 and it shouldn't be a commodity it should be an adventure

9:15 and it's still an adventure when you take the train there are loads

9:18 of practical advantages such as you see here it's center to center

9:24 and it's important I think to point out that if a flight

9:27 takes an hour it actually takes 4 hours it's half an hour

9:32 to the airport we're now told to check in for two hours beforehand.

9:35 It's an hour flight,

9:36 then it's half an hour on a train or bus into the city center at the other end.

9:40 A train can be four hours center to center.

9:43 You you you could if you get your I can

9:46 often walk from my hotel across the road to the station

9:49 and at the other end I walk out the station

9:51 and across the road or down the road to the hotel.

9:53 It it's that simple.

9:54 It's a lot more convenient than flying.

9:57 That's for sure.

9:59 I love that you say that, Mark, because it makes me feel happy because you

10:03 are saying almost exactly what I tell other people.

10:06 Like, if it's a one-hour flight, it's actually four hours.

10:09 So, I'm feeling very affirmed in my talking points hearing you share them.

10:16 And I also know that oftentimes taking the rail

10:18 can be a lot more flexible than taking a flight.

10:21 Well, it's usually affordable and there's usually a frequent train service.

10:25 I mean, it depends what journey we're talking about, of course.

10:28 So, it's a lot easier to change your plans sometimes or to take

10:32 a different route or to um stop off on the way, that sort of thing.

10:39 And you definitely don't need to show up two hours early.

10:41 How how far in advance do you recommend showing up for a train?

10:45 Well, I do get asked this by people who think you need to check in for a train.

10:49 And uh I sort of explain it like this.

10:51 If the train goes at 12:00 and the doors close at 11:59,

10:56 if you're on board when that happens, you go with it.

10:59 If you're still on the platform, you get left behind.

11:02 So, it's that simple.

11:03 Most of the time, you can just walk into the station, walk across the concourse,

11:07 walk up to the train, open the door, get on, sit down.

11:11 2 minutes and it's gone.

11:12 I mean, don't cut it fine.

11:14 You want to be a bit relaxed, but there's usually no check-in for a train.

11:19 The exception of course is Euroart between London and Paris and Brussels.

11:25 And one other thing that I love about the flexibility

11:27 of trains is that so many stations have luggage lockers.

11:30 So if you're ever traveling along a a line and you want to hop off

11:37 and explore a city for a few hours

11:40 and then hop back on to your final destination.

11:43 Um, if you have a flexible ticket,

11:44 I love being able to just stop and and explore another town.

11:49 Oh, yeah.

11:49 I mean, most of the stations in Europe,

11:51 certainly of any size, have got luggage lockers,

11:54 so you can just dump your bags and head off into the city center.

11:57 And because the stations you're changing trains at, are in the city center,

12:00 you can often find some of the sites within easy working distance.

12:04 Take Berlin, the rice stag, and Brandenburg gate are 10,

12:08 15 minutes walk away from the station.

12:12 And of course, um, we have, I think, unarguably superior comfort over flights.

12:22 That's absolutely true.

12:23 You've got room.

12:23 You've got no seat belts.

12:25 You've got leg room.

12:26 Remember that.

12:27 Um, you can stand up and walk around.

12:30 Um, there's often a restaurant car.

12:32 On overnight trains, you've got sleeping car.

12:35 And, uh, you can even have your own room.

12:38 It's a completely different experience.

12:39 I mean really the journey is part of the experience.

12:42 It's not just something you do to get to the experience.

12:46 That's the key.

12:47 And yes, the scenery.

12:48 I mean there are times when the journey is

12:50 actually the highlight even more so than the destination.

12:55 And that certainly goes when you're crossing somewhere

12:57 like Switzerland with the alpine scenery scenery like that.

13:01 Uh that that could be Norway I think there.

13:05 Yeah, we have some Norway.

13:06 Here's a Switzerland.

13:06 And actually you are going to be sharing this uh

13:09 oh you have to remind me the name is it that's the Brucio spiral on the bon

13:14 spiral we are going to get to see

13:15 in action at the end of tonight's presentation.

13:18 So there's uh my carrot that I'm dangling um to get you to to view

13:23 to the end of tonight's show uh to see this live in action.

13:28 And of course it's not just about uh seeing

13:30 the beautiful nature but also about protecting that beautiful nature.

13:35 That's true.

13:36 the these days sustainability is a key driver to the mode of travel that people

13:41 choose and taking the train it doesn't just cut your CO2 emissions by 10 or 20%.

13:48 It cuts them by up to a massive 90%.

13:51 It is just so much more sustainable to travel

13:55 on the ground than to take a flight, especially a short flight.

13:59 And of a lot of the fuel burn is on takeoff and um

14:03 if you you generally get one of those even on a short hall flight.

14:07 So they are actually proportionately worse

14:11 and not just it's not just better compared to flights

14:14 but compared to pretty much every other mode of transportation.

14:18 It is it's a very sustainable mode of transport as so

14:21 it's it's good for you but it's also good for the environment.

14:24 That's always nice to know.

14:27 And one last thing that I love about

14:29 taking the train is when you're taking flights,

14:33 you're mostly with other people that are, you know,

14:36 traveling internationally or traveling great distances, maybe on vacation.

14:40 But sometimes when you're on some of these regional trains,

14:43 I love that you are just with and among the locals that are maybe just commuting

14:48 to and from university for the day or uh

14:53 it just it feels much more slice of life.

14:55 Do you find that to be the case too, Mark?

14:58 Absolutely.

14:58 I mean, trains are the way we Europeans travel.

15:02 Uh you might even meet some of us.

15:04 Yeah.

15:04 And uh people have got there's there's room and time to interact on a train.

15:12 And I think that's why novelists and movie

15:15 makers set romances and mysteries on a train.

15:18 The only thing they seem to set on a plane are disaster movies.

15:22 But yeah, this was one of this was one of my favorite

15:25 moments from a recent trip I took uh in Germany.

15:28 I saw these two kids who were not related to this man sharing a seat.

15:33 Their mom was right behind them and this man

15:35 was just like offering them some candy and it

15:38 just people just seem like they're in a better

15:40 mood when they're on trains than when they're on planes.

15:43 That's true.

15:44 That's absolutely true.

15:44 And people are more likely to talk to you

15:46 and open a conversation with you than on a plane.

15:49 That's absolutely true.

15:50 My son used to wander around the train.

15:52 Uh if he came across somebody with a banana,

15:55 this is when he was about three or four,

15:56 he'd just look at them and they'd sort of hand over a banana.

15:59 It was very strange, but yeah, that sort of thing happens on trains.

16:04 Well, um let's I I now want to talk about some rail FAQs so

16:09 that we can help our viewers become

16:12 those happy uh people on trains enjoying the comfort,

16:16 enjoying the dining cars, enjoying the view and the camaraderie.

16:19 So, I am going to just kind of ask you pretty

16:23 rapid fire some of the most common questions that we here

16:26 at Rick Steves Europe receive from people who are about to go

16:30 to Europe and want to make the most of train travel.

16:35 Um, so on to some rail FAQs.

16:39 The first one maybe seems obvious, but for us here in the United States,

16:44 many Americans don't even consider rail travel as an option given how large

16:49 our country is and how sparse the rail coverage can be in many areas.

16:54 So, what is the rail coverage like in Europe?

16:59 Well, you can pretty much guarantee that the trains

17:02 go to every major city and even large towns.

17:05 So, here we have the um the European rail map.

17:09 Um I've got my copy here.

17:11 It's actually quite a good thing to buy and take with you.

17:15 Most of the all those routes you can see

17:17 on that map pretty much have passenger services on.

17:20 So, you can get from pretty much

17:22 anywhere to anywhere on the European rail network.

17:26 Right from Scandinavia right down to Morocco,

17:28 right down to Greece and Italy and Sicily.

17:31 Pretty much go everywhere.

17:35 Are there if somebody was, you know, after tonight's presentation,

17:39 they're feeling especially jazzed about riding the rails

17:44 in Europe and finding the trip that is

17:46 best going to allow them to take advantage

17:49 of the European rail system at its best?

17:52 Are there any countries that you would say

17:54 these are the ones that are especially rewarding

17:56 via rail and these are ones that have

17:59 decent rail options but maybe not quite as many?

18:03 Well, the the train networks in each country

18:06 tend to reflect the culture of that country,

18:09 which is actually a nice thing.

18:10 So, I don't think it's anywhere bad to try.

18:13 Um, obviously you have excellent high-speed

18:16 networks in Spain and France and Italy.

18:19 Um, so showcasing some of the fastest trains in Europe.

18:24 On the other hand, you can take a really slow

18:26 train from Belgrade to Montenegro and it's a fabulous experience.

18:29 So you have to weigh up a modern fast rail network with the slower experience.

18:35 Both have a value.

18:38 And Mark, I know that oftentimes different European countries,

18:41 they have their own national rail website,

18:44 uh, rail, uh, rail operator with their own

18:47 websites and kind of their own quirks.

18:50 So, how can people find rail schedules and find which

18:55 trains are going to be the best fit for their journey?

18:58 Well, well, well, here's the first reality check.

19:00 I think for somebody coming to Europe to use the rail network,

19:02 I I find people turn up expecting there to be a Euro

19:06 Rail network and a Euro Rail website selling Euro Rail tickets.

19:10 And the answer, of course,

19:11 is that there are over 40 different countries in Europe.

19:14 And almost every single one of those has its own national rail operator and its

19:19 own website with its own ticketing system

19:21 and its own slightly different way of doing things.

19:25 So people ask me what they think is a simple question like

19:28 what are the arrangements for taking a bike on a European train

19:31 and the answer of course there are 40 different answers actually there's more

19:35 than 40 because there's a different answer for a French regional train compared

19:39 to a French high-speed train and some of the regions have different arrangements

19:43 too so the first reality check is that everywhere is different there isn't

19:47 a simple answer which sometimes makes it a bit of a challenge

19:51 but on the other hand it's nice

19:53 because every country's network reflect that country.

19:56 The place to start is to find

19:58 the national rail operator website for that country.

20:02 That's the best place usually to buy tickets for that country's train.

20:07 And I know that um we you have provided some

20:10 of those links and those are currently in the chat

20:12 widget um for some of the the major countries

20:15 with some of those high-speed rail networks that you mentioned.

20:19 And Mark, you actually make me kind of think of uh an analogy which

20:24 is almost connecting rails with what we

20:26 here at Rick Steves Europe say about hotels.

20:29 Like in some ways you could stay in Marriott

20:33 and Hilton and Double Tree and some of these really big

20:39 franchise hotel chains where you are going to have a very

20:43 similar experience no matter where in the world you are.

20:46 And that can sometimes be easier.

20:49 But we here at Rick Steves Europe love staying in these kind

20:52 of quirky familyrun hotels that don't have the same standard set of amenities,

21:00 but they reflect they reflect the local culture and you feel like

21:04 you're able to connect with people and that local culture a lot better.

21:07 So would you say that that's kind

21:09 of a good analogy for planes versus trains as well?

21:13 That's that's a very good analogy.

21:15 Actually, there is there is one resource that I

21:18 need to flag up because I use it all

21:20 the time and it's probably having said that all

21:23 the different train companies uh have their own ticketing system.

21:26 There is one website that will give you train times pretty much all

21:30 over Europe and it's the German railways

21:32 website int.b.de int.b ahn.de de and it's

21:40 got an English version and you can pretty much put in any origin

21:44 and any destination and it will give you train times uh for for that journey.

21:50 So the first place you go to if you want to know how long does

21:54 it take 5 hours 10 hours 3 hours 1 hour if you want to know

21:57 if there's a direct train if you want to know if there are any trains

22:00 stick it into that website because that's

22:03 the best resource for train times across Europe.

22:06 Beautiful.

22:07 Lisa, could you maybe repost that uh bond.de

22:11 link in the in the chat widget for us?

22:15 And Mark, once people they look up the schedule, they find the trains they want,

22:19 the logical next question is,

22:21 is there anything to keep in mind as they actually buy the tickets?

22:25 Well, the starting point for buying

22:27 tickets is the National Rail Operator website

22:30 usually for the country where for for the country where the journey starts.

22:34 That's just sort of starting assumption.

22:37 There's a couple of websites that are worth knowing about.

22:39 Rail Europe.com and the trainline.com.

22:43 Now, these are third-party retailers.

22:45 They connect to multiple uh operators including the ones in Italy,

22:50 Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland,

22:53 but even they don't connect to the Hungarians

22:56 or the Finns or Norwegians or the checks.

22:59 So, if you want a a ticket from Budapest to Zarreb,

23:04 go to the Hungarian Railways website.

23:06 Just Google is your friend.

23:07 Just ignore the sponsored results.

23:09 Scroll down to the organic results.

23:11 You will find if you search for Hungarian Railways,

23:13 you'll find it's called mavcssoport.hu.

23:17 Some of these train companies have very odd URLs,

23:20 but they're household names in the country.

23:23 And in that case, there's your Hungarian

23:26 railways website selling tickets from Budapest to Zarreb.

23:29 That's how you do it.

23:31 And Mark, I will also remind people that this you're

23:36 you're giving a lot of great helpful resources live right now,

23:39 but this is also the reason that you started your website.

23:42 And so if people ever don't know what

23:44 to do for buying tickets in a specific country,

23:47 they can also just remember seat61.com,

23:51 find the country they're interested in, and you will have laid

23:54 out all this same advice um in in print for them.

23:59 That's right.

23:59 That's what I've Thank you for that service going to do.

24:02 And we've now arrived at perhaps um the the most

24:08 difficult question in all of European rail travel.

24:12 The quintessential question we are probably most of often asked by travelers,

24:17 which is should I buy a rail pass or should I just get point-to-point tickets?

24:24 Right.

24:24 Well, let's let's start with baby steps.

24:27 If all you're going to do is go from Florence

24:29 on a day trip to Pisa to climb the leaning tower of Pisa,

24:33 that's €9 each way, which is what $20 round trip.

24:38 You do not need a $300 rail pass to make a $20 round trip.

24:42 Now, believe it or not,

24:43 I get people who think because they're setting foot on a train,

24:45 they got to have a rail pass.

24:47 So, no, you don't.

24:48 Let's assume you're making a few longdistance journeys.

24:51 Well, here's the thing.

24:54 European train fairs work like airline fairs.

24:58 They have done for 20 years.

24:59 Cheap in advance on a wet Wednesday in February,

25:02 more expensive on a Friday in July.

25:04 So, you need to go online.

25:06 You need to see what the rail fairs are.

25:08 Chances are for two or three long distance trips, buy a cheap ticket in advance.

25:13 It's probably the easiest way.

25:15 But if you want to explore Europe, if you've going to Europe for several weeks,

25:20 if you have got an if you've got an extensive itinerary of, you know, five, 10,

25:26 15 train journeys and they're fairly lengthy,

25:29 a rail pass is really what you want because of the flexibility

25:33 and because you can easily rechedu and replan if anything happens on the way.

25:38 You could book a your your 10 trip itinerary with cheap tickets,

25:41 no refunds, no changes to travel plans, specified train only,

25:45 but if anything happened to one or those journeys because

25:48 of a flood or a fire or landslide or national strike or whatever,

25:52 it would come crashing down like a house of cards.

25:55 So, a rail pass is a really good thing

25:56 to get for any sort of extensive tour of Europe.

25:59 And the key range, of course, is URL,

26:02 the famous rail pass range for overseas visitors to Europe.

26:07 I love I love this map that kind of also shows which places are easiest

26:14 to use a rail pass in and which can have maybe a few more barriers.

26:19 This this is a rule of thumb, but it's a pretty good one.

26:22 When you buy your rail pass,

26:24 there are lots of trains that you can just hop on and show your pass.

26:27 That's really easy.

26:28 Then there are other trains where reservation is optional.

26:32 If you want to seek reservation, you can make it.

26:35 If you haven't got one, you can still travel.

26:37 And then finally, we have long-distance trains in some countries where every

26:42 long-distance train requires a reservation and they charge anything sort of 10,

26:48 €13, those are the red countries.

26:51 So, using a rail pass in the green countries where you

26:55 often don't need a reservation or it's optional, that's really easy.

26:59 The yellow countries, you might need a reservation,

27:01 but it's only two or three euros.

27:03 the red countries, you just have to budget for 10 to3 euros

27:08 for every long-distance trip you make in addition to the pass.

27:13 We Yeah, we often tell people at when they

27:16 ask us at Rick Steves Europe that, you know,

27:18 we can give them this general advice for which

27:21 countries it's usually beneficial and which ones it's usually not,

27:26 but the only surefire way is to to look up

27:29 your routes and whip out your calculator uh and do the math.

27:32 Um, so if people make the they finally make that decision of, oh,

27:38 should I get a rail pass or not?

27:40 Maybe they finally decide that they do and they're hit with another decision,

27:44 which is what kind of rail pass?

27:46 Because there's not just one, there's several.

27:49 What are some of the factors that people

27:51 should consider when choosing a rail pass?

27:54 Well, if you're visiting one country like Switzerland,

27:56 you probably want a Swiss pass because that really is focused on Switzerland.

28:02 Um, and there is there are things called the Renfass

28:05 in Spain and the Train Italia pass in Italy.

28:08 But really the pass you really need to know about is the Ural range.

28:13 These are the this is the Europewide pass.

28:17 And as you've got up on the screen there,

28:19 you can either buy a global one which covers all 33 countries

28:22 or you can buy a single country pass which just covers one country.

28:26 And for exploring Europe, of course, you really want the global pass.

28:29 That will get you from one end.

28:30 That'll get you from Portugal to Poland.

28:33 It'll get you from Finland down to Sicily if that's what you want to do.

28:37 That covers the whole lot.

28:40 And I know that there's also flexible and continuous options.

28:44 How can people choose between those?

28:46 Yeah.

28:47 Well, if you're going to spend a lot of time staying put between train journeys,

28:50 then you want the Flexi Pass because this gives you a number of days.

28:54 There's a choice of four, five, seven,

28:57 15 days in a one or two month overall period.

29:01 So, they're quite economic because you can spend those days on any

29:05 dates you like within the overall one month or two month period.

29:09 The continuous version is the sort of deluxe option.

29:13 uh you can have a continuous pass for 15 days or a continuous

29:16 pass for one month that then you can travel every single day which

29:21 is great but it's not the most economical way of doing it if

29:25 you're going to be spending lots of time staying put between train journeys

29:30 and sometimes uh people talk about or you see

29:33 the language unlimited travel um can you clarify that?

29:39 Oh yeah.

29:40 Well, sometimes people think a rail pass gives you one train ride a day.

29:43 No, it's unlimited.

29:45 It's as many trains uh and as many miles as you can clock up in one day,

29:50 which is some people might see as a challenge.

29:53 These days I'm used to when I first got my first rail pass, it was printed out.

29:59 Um but now I know that there's also a lot of digital options.

30:04 This this was a huge improvement.

30:05 I think it was 2020 when Uriel brought out the mobile pass.

30:11 You used to have to wait 2 weeks

30:13 or whatever it was for your pass to be delivered.

30:15 You can now buy it online and download it instant.

30:18 Well, you get you get a a a reference number in the confirmation email.

30:23 And that's all you need, your surname and the reference number to load

30:27 it into the rail planner app on your phone.

30:30 So now the pass sits on your phone.

30:32 There's no need to handwrite a travel diary of all the trains you take.

30:36 It's all online.

30:37 It's all in the app and it's really convenient.

30:42 And so that leads to the next question.

30:44 Once we've settled on the rail pass that we're going to use,

30:47 how do we use our rail pass?

30:49 Do we have to activate it or or validate it?

30:54 And also, I know that you just said that things are pretty much digital,

30:57 but I couldn't resist putting in a nice picture of a paper rail pass from 2014.

31:05 Well, if if you buy the mobile version of a URL pass, you buy it.

31:09 You don't even need to specify the date that it's that you want to use it.

31:13 It's you can you can activate it any time in the 11 months after you buy it.

31:19 You activate you activate it when you want the one month.

31:22 Let's assume it's a flexi pass.

31:24 You activate it when you want the one month period to start ticking.

31:29 And then you can spend each of your travel

31:31 days on any date you choose within that one month.

31:35 And uh to start a travel day,

31:38 you simply find a uh train in the journey planner that's built

31:42 into the app and you toggle it onto your pass and that activates a day.

31:48 Uh, and that tells the URAL people what trains you're taking so they

31:51 know so they can divvy up the revenue at the end of the day.

31:54 And it's pretty much as simple as that.

31:57 If you need a reservation, of course,

31:58 for a particular train, you have to do that separately.

32:01 And there's it it depends on which route we're talking.

32:04 Sometimes you can make reservations on the train operator website.

32:07 Sometimes you can't,

32:09 but there's an interrail and ural reservation service that allows you

32:12 to make reservations on most trains um on the URL website.

32:19 So the next question then is how do I make a seat reservation?

32:24 So, you've already kind of touched on this, and I want to just clarify

32:28 that if I buy a point-to-point ticket

32:31 on a high-speed train that requires a seat reservation,

32:34 if it's just a one journey ticket,

32:37 not a rail pass, that seat reservation just gets naturally included.

32:42 But if I have a rail pass and I'm

32:44 choosing to go on one of those high-speed rails,

32:47 I have to pay a smaller fee than that kind

32:51 of individual point-to-point ticket fee just to reserve a seat.

32:54 Is that correct?

32:56 Well, sort of.

32:57 If you if you buy a ticket in France, Germany, or Spain,

33:00 a regular point-to-point ticket,

33:02 it automatically includes the reservation uh as part of the fair.

33:07 Um it's think of it as an airline.

33:08 They they run their railways like airlines on the long-distance route.

33:13 But then if you go to Germany or Austria then if

33:15 you buy a regular ticket it doesn't come with a seat reservation.

33:18 Seat reservation is optional and seat reservation

33:21 can be added to the booking usually

33:23 for an extra small charge €35 something like that when you buy the ticket.

33:28 When you buy a rail pass then in the in in Spain,

33:32 Italy or uh France then you need to make a separate reservation

33:37 to go with the pass and you can make that on the URL

33:41 reservation service and you get a separate uh separate piece of paper

33:45 and the conductor will want to see that as well as your pass.

33:48 The next question is if we're if we're picking our seats,

33:52 should we take first class or secondass?

33:55 And what is the difference when it comes to European rail?

33:59 Well, again, uh people have a sort of airline view.

34:02 They think that first class might come with free

34:04 limousine transfers and massages from hostesses and stuff.

34:08 And I have to say, hang on, hold your horses.

34:11 Most your default assumption is that first

34:14 class uh second class gets you nice seats.

34:17 First class gets you nicer seats.

34:20 If we look at those pictures, you can see that it's 2 plus two seating across

34:23 the coach width on the right hand side and the secondass coach.

34:27 On the left hand side, it's two plus one.

34:29 So, you get more leg room, you get more elbow room,

34:32 um you get solo seats on one side of the aisle in first class,

34:36 which if you're traveling alone, uh is nice.

34:39 And if you're traveling with as a couple,

34:41 well, you've got a facetoface table for two,

34:43 which you can see here in the first class, which is which is nice.

34:46 But it's your default assumption is that it's just nicer seating.

34:50 You don't get any extras.

34:52 There are a few trains like Euroar where you

34:55 do get extras in first class where food is included.

34:58 Sometimes it's only included if you have a certain sort

35:00 of ticket or is or a certain type of first class ticket.

35:04 But um generally first class you're paying for the nicer seats.

35:10 But just I mean just to clarify,

35:12 everybody first class and second class gets access to the massage car, right?

35:18 I wish [laughter] that's what they need to add.

35:21 They need to add a spa car to the to the trains.

35:26 I know that you have leverage, Mark.

35:28 They need to work on that.

35:29 I'll put it on the list.

35:31 And as we're thinking of, you know,

35:34 different cars and different seating options, that brings us to night trains.

35:40 How do overnight trains work?

35:42 And I feel like I've been hearing that they've make

35:45 been making a bit of a a resurgence since the pandemic.

35:48 Is that true?

35:50 They have.

35:50 It's slowgoing because from a commercial point of view,

35:54 sleeper trains are the most difficult

35:56 to make work to make successful commercially.

35:59 The costs are higher.

36:00 They travel long distances.

36:02 It's hard going against airline competition,

36:05 but they have increased routes after years of cutting back.

36:08 We have brought back, we have seen more routes coming back across Europe.

36:12 And I love overnight trains cuz they're great.

36:14 I mean, what what kid of any age doesn't like bunk beds on a train?

36:19 So, here here you're looking at the two

36:22 basic types of accommodation on European sleeper trains.

36:26 And it pays to understand the difference.

36:28 On the left, we have a proper sleeping car, so it's properly made up beds.

36:32 There's a wash basin.

36:34 There's only two or three people per compartment.

36:36 Uh there's an attendant on duty.

36:39 Uh and that that compartment on the left will convert.

36:41 The beds will fold away to reveal a sofa

36:43 for the morning and evening part of the journey.

36:46 And on the right, we have the economy option, cushets.

36:49 Now, they they come in usually four berth and as you can see here,

36:53 six berth accommodation.

36:55 And it's much simpler.

36:56 You're looking at padded bunk with a rug and pillow.

36:59 So, you sleep just as well really.

37:00 Uh but there's more people per per compartment.

37:04 And it's not a properly madeup bed.

37:05 It is just a padded uh a padded ledge with sheet, rug, and pillow.

37:10 Both of the accommodations, the sleepers and the gushets lock securely.

37:15 Um night trains often do have seats, but don't do it.

37:19 It's not a seat on a night train is a bit

37:22 like sleeping on a park bench to save on the youth hostel.

37:25 The kishette is the youth hostel.

37:27 The sleeper is the hotel.

37:28 You'd always pay for one of those if you stayed in a city, wouldn't you?

37:32 Now, this this picture this picture is great

37:34 because this is the new generation nightjet sleeper train.

37:37 This is the very latest type of sleeper train.

37:39 This is running between uh Amsterdam and Vienna.

37:42 Amsterdam and Munich and Insuk, Hamburg and uh Zurich.

37:48 Uh and it'll be expanding to Amsterdam

37:50 to Switzerland and Switzerland to Vienna very shortly.

37:53 It's the very latest accommodation.

37:55 On the left, we have a sleeper with toilet and shower.

37:58 All the one or two bed sleepers have

38:00 toilet and shower on these new sleeper trains.

38:02 And on the right, we have probably

38:04 the biggest innovation in these trains, mini cabins.

38:08 Now, think Japanese capsule hotel, but on a train.

38:12 Little tiny capsules that are just big enough to lie down and sleep.

38:15 They fully enclose.

38:16 You can lock them up.

38:17 There's a window, a little tiny window at one end.

38:21 um just big enough to allow you to sleep in but in your own space.

38:26 You don't have to share with strangers in these mini cabins.

38:29 And you can you can get a mini cabin for as little as uh €60,

38:33 which is what $70 from Amsterdam to Vienna if you pick your moment.

38:39 Um, actually one of my all-time favorite travel memories, Mark,

38:43 was on an overnight train from Barcelona to Paris where I was in a a car,

38:49 a cabin with um there were four of us and two of them were a couple

38:54 British guys and the three of us ended up in the bar car until like 3:00 a.m.

39:00 just having beers and chatting and one of them

39:03 I'm still in touch with to this day.

39:05 So, um I think further evidence that people

39:08 should give night trains a try and that you

39:10 really do get to connect with people a lot

39:12 better when you're on a train with them.

39:14 Definitely.

39:15 Definitely.

39:15 Night trains are an experience.

39:17 They really are.

39:19 A couple more questions before we get to our final chapter of this journey,

39:23 which is going to be you taking us

39:24 along on a couple of your favorite train journeys.

39:28 One question I have is for Americans traveling on the European railways,

39:34 is there any kind of European train etiquette that we should keep in mind,

39:39 such as don't get drunk in the bar car,

39:42 maybe [laughter] there's nothing to really

39:47 worry about in terms of train etiquette.

39:49 I mean, the big one, of course, is to make phone calls.

39:52 Leave your seat, go and stand at the end of the carriage

39:55 outside the passenger saloon so people aren't disturbed by your phone call.

39:58 That's the only real one.

40:00 You can bring food and drink on European trains.

40:03 In fact, in most countries, you can, not all, but most countries,

40:06 you can even bring your own beer or wine on board.

40:09 Uh, I did get told off once by a French conductor for drinking wine.

40:14 I was drinking a ria, and he said it should have been a good French wine.

40:20 Um, and do you have any other tips of things

40:24 that people can do once they've found this found the schedule,

40:28 gotten the tickets or their rail pass, gotten on board,

40:31 just things that they can do on the train

40:34 to maximize their enjoyment of the trip?

40:36 Any other tips?

40:38 Well, of course, we all travel with our devices these days,

40:41 so you'll find you usually find Wi-Fi and power sockets on modern trains.

40:46 Um, do check if there's a dining car.

40:48 Don't assume uh so that there's nothing worse than being

40:52 on a train with no catering without any food or drink.

40:55 So, check beforehand.

40:56 Don't assume.

40:57 Stock up with supplies.

40:59 Most stations have a supermarket or a mini market that you can do that.

41:04 Other than that, do whatever you like.

41:06 I mean, read a book, uh, talk, look, sleep, look out the window,

41:11 watch a movie on your phone, whatever it is you want to do.

41:14 Taking a train is sort of me time.

41:17 Time to chill out or family time if you're with a family.

41:20 Book a book a table for four if you're family.

41:23 When we drive, we turn our backs on our kids, don't we?

41:27 Sitting around a table for four in a train.

41:29 It's really quality family time.

41:32 And one of my must packs when I travel in Europe is I have a couple like

41:36 very small portable games and I love being

41:39 able to to play those with people on trains.

41:42 Well, yes.

41:42 And uh there's a couple of things that I would mention.

41:44 One is always take a power bank.

41:46 We rely on our phones now.

41:48 Our tickets are on our phones.

41:49 Our rail passes are on our phones.

41:51 The last thing you want is to discover that the train's

41:54 power sockets have tripped out and you can't charge it.

41:57 So take a power bank.

42:00 Um and the other tip I've got,

42:02 even if you're going around cities, think about some hiking shoes.

42:06 You spend an awful lot of time on your feet looking around cities and museums.

42:11 Even though the shoes are designed for climbing mountains,

42:14 uh actually they work just as well cushioning your feet in cities.

42:18 That was a tip I learned the hard way.

42:20 [laughter]

42:22 I'm sure that you have some some blisters uh in your travel past then, Mark.

42:28 Absolutely.

42:28 Yeah.

42:29 Well, now that you have taught us so much about how to enjoy our train journeys,

42:34 I'm so excited to enjoy a couple alongside you.

42:38 I honestly it wasn't until after you had already agreed to come on Monday

42:43 Night Travel that I realized that you have a YouTube channel as well,

42:46 which we also linked to.

42:48 And you post these fantastic videos that are

42:51 just kind of a train journey through your eyes.

42:56 Oftentimes they're, you know, 10 to 20 minutes.

42:59 Um, and just showing the different aspects of the train ride.

43:02 So, a great way to scout out some train

43:04 rides that you all at home might be interested in.

43:07 and we are going to play a couple of your favorites.

43:11 They're a little condensed.

43:12 Um, but we're going to play some of your favorites and you

43:15 are just going to to give us a little bit of light narration.

43:19 Um, so we are going to move along now to the final leg of this journey,

43:26 which is a couple iconic rail journeys.

43:29 And we are going to start with one that is probably well

43:32 known to many of our viewers and that is Switzerland's Bernina Express.

43:44 It really is incredible.

43:46 Also, just the architecture of all of the stations.

43:49 I think that's another one of my favorite things about rail.

43:53 Milano Chantalei is an attraction in its own right.

43:56 It's a fantastic station.

44:01 Yep.

44:01 And this this is the Italian regional train from Milan to Toronto,

44:06 right way along the shores of Lake Ko up into the mountains.

44:10 It's a nice ride.

44:11 €12, which is what, $15 from Milan to the border with Switzerland.

44:24 Oh, so there's two separate stations that you need to go between for this.

44:28 That's right.

44:29 But they're on they're on opposite sides of the same square,

44:31 so it's like 2 minutes walk between them.

44:33 So that's no big deal at all.

44:36 Much easier than walking between two different airport terminals, I'd say.

44:39 Oh, yes, definitely.

44:42 Now, this is a bit of an old video, so I apologize for the the quality,

44:46 but it's still Oh my gosh, there's my daughter.

44:49 Oh, bit younger than now.

44:52 [laughter] How old is she now?

44:56 17.

44:56 Oh, I love this shot here, Mark.

44:58 I've never seen a train that feels like it's truly just driving down the street.

45:03 It is driving down the street, isn't it?

45:04 All the traffic has to stop.

45:06 Yeah, it's a fun way to leave Torano.

45:10 Yeah.

45:10 So often I feel like at least in the US a lot of trains are kind

45:13 of going through more like warehouse districts or this one

45:17 is just right in line with the traffic.

45:21 And there we go up into the hills out of Toronto.

45:25 It just keeps climbing at this point.

45:27 Climbing, climbing, climbing.

45:30 So this is is this one of the viewing cars or Oh no, this

45:33 this is one of the panoramic cars on the Bonina Express.

45:37 Um, so you've got a map on the table as you can see.

45:40 So it's it's uh yeah, a Swiss panoramic train.

45:45 One of Switzerland's two most famous panoramic trains.

45:48 There are others, but the Glasser Express

45:50 and the Bonina Express are the biggies.

45:53 And the Benon Express is really useful because it gets you

45:56 from Italy to Zurich as an alternative to the direct one.

45:59 Here we've got the Brucio Spiral.

46:01 So we are we are looping the loop as it were, looping right round back on us.

46:06 ourselves to uh to gain height.

46:08 Still climbing out of uh Torano towards uh the high Alps and the Bonina Pass.

46:22 Did you do this trip as part of a a family trip to Switzerland?

46:26 Uh yeah, this one I was I was with the family.

46:29 Um so they all enjoyed this one.

46:35 Does your family enjoy rail travel as much as you do?

46:39 They do.

46:39 They get fed up of me running up and down taking photographs.

46:42 [laughter] My wife wishes I would sit still more.

46:51 Wow.

46:50 And it just doesn't stop climbing, does it?

46:52 Climb, climb, climb.

46:53 This is out groom.

46:58 Does that do those stations way up in the mountains,

47:00 do they serve local communities?

47:02 There's just kind of these towns up in the Swiss Alps.

47:05 They do.

47:06 That's that's what they're for.

47:07 The Swiss use the trains uh for their daily lives.

47:10 I mean, it it is really a part of Swiss lives.

47:13 And here we see Yeah.

47:16 We're at we're at the Bonina Pass itself now.

47:19 Very high up in the Alps.

47:21 One of the highest crossings of the Alps by train.

47:25 And what time of year were you doing this?

47:29 This was off season.

47:30 I can't remember when I was doing this, but it wasn't

47:33 uh it wasn't the summer the high summer season at all.

47:36 You need to do these roots twice, you know,

47:38 because they are completely different experiences

47:41 in the summer sun with the beautiful meadows compared to the winter snows which

47:47 look incredibly bleak and windswept and wonderful.

47:53 And we're descending now.

47:54 We're descending now from the Bonina Pass.

48:02 Have you done all of the various scenic railways in Switzerland?

48:06 Oh gosh, no.

48:07 There are so many of them.

48:08 I've done many of them, but not uh not all.

48:12 Not by long chalk.

48:17 And then Pontracina, is this where the the scenic portion ends or Oh, no, sorry.

48:25 It continues.

48:25 No, it continues.

48:26 I mean, the great thing about Switzerland is the scenery is all over.

48:30 It isn't just certain sections.

48:35 Oh, and here we get to see the the Swiss skill for tunneling.

48:47 Now, I think we're about to go over

48:49 one of the most famous vioaducts in Switzerland.

48:52 There we go.

48:52 That's the LandVasa vioaduct.

48:54 That's all the all the PR shots are taken on the LandVasa vioideuct

49:00 on the Bonina route.

49:01 There we go.

49:02 Looking back at it, you literally come out

49:03 of a tunnel and there's a massive valley,

49:07 massive gorge, and you fly across that gorge on that wonderful vioideuct.

49:13 And the windows on some of these trains open.

49:16 I think I'm I'm actually in the baggage area at this point [laughter]

49:19 because it's got a small opening window so I can stick my camera out.

49:23 Well, you're lucky you didn't lose it going through all those tunnels.

49:27 Well, sometimes a lanyard is a good idea for these.

49:31 That's a bring your power bank and your lanyard.

49:34 Oh, [clears throat] yes.

49:42 and arriving at Kerr and making the mainline connection,

49:46 the standard gauge connection for Zurich.

49:56 And how long would this entire journey take from start to finish?

50:01 Well, if you leave Milan on the 10:20 local train,

50:05 uh you leave Tano at about 2:00 in the afternoon

50:09 on the Bonina Express and you eventually get into um Zurich at 1953,

50:14 so just before 8:00 p.m.

50:16 So, it's a day out.

50:17 Uh you could get from Milan to Zurich in 3

50:20 hours and 17 minutes if you took a direct fast train.

50:24 But I don't think anyone has ever taken the Bonina Express and regretted it.

50:28 Never.

50:29 It's one of Europe's most fabulous routes.

50:32 Never mind Switzerland's one of Europe's best rail routes.

50:37 And Mark, on these especially on these scenic trains,

50:41 is it is it something that you would recommend

50:44 on on these scenic trains that people maybe splurge for first class?

50:48 Are the viewing cars much better or [clears throat] is it

50:52 as you were saying earlier on most trains that they're fairly comparable?

50:55 You know what?

50:56 The scenery is the same in first and second class.

50:58 And that's what you're there to see.

51:00 If you're a family of four,

51:01 you're going to sit around a table for four, whether it's first or second class.

51:05 If you're a couple, well, first class, remember that two plus one seating,

51:09 so you've got a table for two on one side.

51:12 In second class, it's all tables for four.

51:14 So, you've got to share the table with two other people.

51:18 So, yeah, there's that.

51:19 But really, it's all about the scenery.

51:21 And in fact, you can even save the search charge for the panoramic cars

51:25 by traveling on the regular scheduled regional

51:28 trains where you can use your rail pass.

51:30 There is no reservation.

51:31 There's nothing extra to pay.

51:33 The scenery is just as good.

51:34 It's the same scenery.

51:37 Well, as always, the the only problem with Switzerland's

51:41 rail network is that they almost have so

51:44 many route and ticketing and pass options that you

51:47 get a little bit of paralysis of choice sometimes.

51:49 But that's why it's great to have wonderful

51:51 resources like your website to to provide that guidance.

51:56 We're now going to go from Switzerland

51:58 to a little closer to home for you, Scotland.

52:01 And we're going to go on perhaps a lesser known line for most of our travelers,

52:06 but one of your other favorites, and that is Scotland's deer stalker.

52:11 And is that the official name of it, or is that just kind of colloquial name?

52:16 That's the colloquial name.

52:17 Okay.

52:18 There was a time a decade or two ago when

52:20 this train was almost discontinued and there was a campaign

52:24 to save it and that's when it became known as the deer

52:28 stalker and uh you might see why in the video.

52:32 All right.

52:32 Oh, we're we're definitely going to see why.

52:34 So, we're going to head off on this one more train journey.

52:37 I want to remind people after this we are going to get to our Q&A with Mark.

52:41 So, if you have any lingering questions, now is the time to submit those.

52:46 Otherwise, uh, sit back and relax and enjoy the deer stalker.

53:02 So, you live very near to London, correct, Mark?

53:05 I live about 40 miles from London in deepest, darkest Buckinghamshire.

53:10 So, I can get in fairly easily.

53:14 Oh, so if you go first class, you do get lounge access.

53:18 That's if you go if on the Caledonian sleeper,

53:20 if you book a club room or a double Caledonian double room,

53:24 you get lounge access.

53:25 That's that's true.

53:26 In fact, since I made this video,

53:28 they've got a dedicated Caledonian sleeper lounge on this platform,

53:32 which is absolutely superb.

53:35 Massages though.

53:37 I'll suggest it.

53:38 [laughter] So this is one of the Caledonian sleeper sleeping cars.

53:46 There are two trains that leave London every night with sleeping cars.

53:50 One goes to Edinburgh in Glasgow and the earlier one leaving about 900 p.m.

53:55 goes to Abedine Invenesse and Fort William.

53:57 Three different portions all leaving Londoners one train at 9:00 p.m.

54:02 every night except Saturday night which makes it really

54:05 convenient for people like me living in the London area.

54:08 We can have a full day's work, full week at home.

54:12 Friday night, we can catch this sleeper

54:14 and be in the highlands of Scotland Saturday morning.

54:17 It's effectively faster than flying.

54:24 And I love your attention to detail in your videos

54:26 of showing people kind of every aspect of their different options.

54:30 That's right.

54:31 This is a Caledonian double room.

54:32 That's right.

54:33 There are double beds on these trains.

54:36 There's only two rooms with double beds in each portion and they sell

54:40 out fast but uh yeah a double bed on a British sleeper train.

54:45 Uh the double rooms and the club rooms have on suite shower

54:48 and toilet a little compact toilet and shower which which does work quite well.

54:52 Um you can order room service.

54:54 This is the breakfast list.

54:55 You order your breakfast items the night before

55:03 and after putting your luggage in your compartment,

55:06 you can go to the club car for uh maybe some haggis tattis

55:10 and neeps and a weed dram or in my case a a glass of red.

55:17 Oh, I love this shot right here.

55:19 I feel like I'm in Jurassic Park with the dinosaurs approaching.

55:24 They've got a good whiskey selection as well,

55:26 as you'd expect on a Scottish train.

55:28 I would hope so.

55:30 And do you find the quality of the food usually quite high on these trains?

55:35 It's good.

55:35 I like their um food and drink selection.

55:39 And the haggis, Tattis, and Neps is my go-to dinner on the on the sleeper.

55:44 [laughter] There we go.

55:45 I'm just about to fall asleep and uh wake up in Scotland.

55:49 Good morning.

55:51 Oh, I love the shower shot.

55:55 Difficult to take a shower on a train.

55:58 So, yeah, we're now we're now in Scotland.

56:00 We're north of Glasgow.

56:01 We're running on time.

56:03 Um, lots of locks and mountains and heather.

56:09 I mean, it's it's just if you get the weather right,

56:13 uh, it's absolutely it can be absolutely stunning.

56:15 And here we go.

56:16 back to the club car for breakfast and a nice latte.

56:23 And of course with the tomatoes.

56:25 I love my British breakfasts.

56:30 Now what we're on here is the most scenic line in Britain.

56:35 I think everyone agrees.

56:37 I don't think there's any debate about this.

56:39 Glasgow to Fort William and onto Malle is

56:42 the most scenic route in the whole of Britain.

56:45 No one's going to argue.

56:46 Uh, it's absolutely fantastic.

56:48 Here we're going around the horseshoe curve.

56:52 And it's always worth getting up a bit

56:53 earlier to get to see the horseshoe curve.

56:56 Train goes right into a valley.

56:58 Basically, they were cheap skates.

56:59 They couldn't afford a bridge across the mouth of the valley.

57:01 So, they sent the railway right into the valley,

57:03 right around a horseshoe, and out again, which is actually great fun.

57:07 But yeah, because they couldn't afford a bridge.

57:10 And later it crosses Ranak Moore which um having crossed Siberia there are

57:15 parts of Ranak Moore that feel bleeer

57:17 and more remote Siberia certainly in winter.

57:23 And if you look very carefully somewhere here there go you've got the deer.

57:28 It's the deer stalker.

57:30 Oh there's another.

57:31 Yep.

57:32 Bounding away from the train.

57:40 Now the the foundations of the railway aren't very solid on Ranic Moore.

57:45 The track is actually floated across on a mat of logs and wood.

57:50 So uh yeah, railway construction in the 19th century across Ranic Moore.

57:59 It's basically a Pete bog.

58:03 But what a place.

58:11 And Kur is one of Britain's possibly Britain's most remote station.

58:17 Uh I think there is now a road to the bunk house at Kur.

58:20 There never used to be.

58:21 It used to be just a track.

58:23 Um and Kur Summit, which I think we might see in a minute,

58:26 but uh that's the highest point on the West Highland line.

58:31 So, do people mostly stop there if they want to stay a night and go hike or?

58:36 Absolutely.

58:36 It's hiking country.

58:38 Uh, and that's a perfect place to get off the train.

58:40 And there we are.

58:41 Kura Summit, the highest point on the line.

58:44 Yeah.

58:44 Hikers, it's a fantastic place to go hiking.

58:47 It's the West Highlands.

58:55 And all of this is sort of over breakfast.

58:57 It doesn't reach uh Fort William until 10:00 in the morning.

59:01 So, uh yes, this is a this is a great breakfast time.

59:06 All this scenery.

59:15 Oh, that's gorgeous.

59:18 Literally a gorge.

59:30 and into Fort William.

59:31 And the train you're seeing there is um the Jacobite which is

59:35 a steamhaul special train with special fairs of course that runs from Fort

59:40 William onto the fishing port of Malik and it crosses the Glenfinnen vioaduct

59:46 which Harry Potter fans will remember

59:48 as the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express vioaduct.

59:53 Um, fantastic piece of line.

59:55 Fort William to Malik.

59:58 I actually rode on the Hogwarts Express when I was studying in York,

1:00:03 England in college because they have the National Railway Museum there.

1:00:06 So, if anybody is a real like rail wonk, um,

1:00:10 I highly recommend going to the National Railway Museum in York.

1:00:14 And when I was there, they had the train from the movie that you could ride on.

1:00:20 So, Mark, thank you for sharing um the most

1:00:24 scenic train in your homeland of Britain with us.

1:00:28 Um before we turn to our Q&A,

1:00:30 I'm wondering, do you have any other honorable mention,

1:00:34 favorite lines, maybe two or three others that people

1:00:37 should consider that are especially exciting or scenic?

1:00:41 There are lots, but um let's let's go from the Bonina Express,

1:00:45 which is quite famous.

1:00:46 Lots of people will suggest that to a road to a route

1:00:50 that uh is if anything even more spectacular but much less known.

1:00:55 It's from Belgrade in Serbia to the Adriatic Sea at Bar in Montenegro.

1:01:02 It's an all day journey if you do it by day

1:01:04 or it's an overnight journey if you do it by night.

1:01:07 Uh it'll cost you €24, what less than $30.

1:01:12 But it doesn't just go through the mountains.

1:01:15 It goes high up in the mountains of Montenegro.

1:01:18 Really arid, rugged, difficult country.

1:01:22 The line was only completed in 1976, but that is an absolutely fantastic route.

1:01:30 Wonderful.

1:01:30 Um, and I'm sorry, where did you say that one starts?

1:01:34 Belgrade.

1:01:34 It's capital Serbia.

1:01:35 Yeah.

1:01:36 Heads across the border into Montenegro.

1:01:42 Wonderful.

1:01:40 Well, that brings us um to the to the end of our scheduled journey this evening.

1:01:50 Um we have a lot of great questions for you.

1:01:53 Um so before we get to those though,

1:01:56 we have a very brief word from our sponsor as always

1:01:58 and that is that there is a rail pass sale coming up.

1:02:01 So um there is a 15% sale on all your rail brand passes.

1:02:06 Um, and that is going to be starting tomorrow, March 10th through the 31st.

1:02:12 Um, and that is for your rail passes.

1:02:14 So, it doesn't cover um the the Swiss passes or the British ones.

1:02:18 Um, and there's only a oneweek refund period.

1:02:21 So, make sure that you read all the details.

1:02:23 Um, but you can find that information if you go to ricksteves.comrail.

1:02:29 Um, and you can be on your own European rail adventure very soon.

1:02:35 All right, Mark, we have arrived at our Q&A session.

1:02:39 Thank you so much for taking us along on this journey.

1:02:42 I know that I am very much itching to do several of those, but honestly,

1:02:47 being on any train in Europe is one of my happy places whenever I visit.

1:02:53 Um, our first question comes from Carol and it's a question that I

1:02:59 can't believe I forgot to ask you at the beginning of tonight's presentation,

1:03:04 but Carol wants to know why seat 61.

1:03:08 Wh how did how I knew this was going to come up.

1:03:10 I always forget to mention it.

1:03:12 [laughter] Basically, when I was going somewhere special on one of my trips,

1:03:17 like I was leaving London to go to Moscow,

1:03:21 Vladivosto, and Japan via the Trans Siberian Railway,

1:03:24 or I was going to Berlin and Ukraine and Crimea, or down to uh Madrid,

1:03:32 Alasir, and Morocco, I would treat myself to Euro Star first class.

1:03:36 And nobody likes a seat next to a a pillar, do they?

1:03:39 They want a seat that lines up with a window.

1:03:41 I like a table for two with a nice space in front of me,

1:03:44 not the seat back in front of me.

1:03:46 T seat 61 in coach 7, 8, 11 or 12 ticked all the boxes.

1:03:51 So when the website came, there was the name,

1:03:53 the man in seat 61 already and waiting.

1:03:57 One of my colleagues was just in Europe and she picked seat 61 for that reason.

1:04:02 And she's like, it was amazing.

1:04:04 He's right.

1:04:05 [laughter] The man at seat 61.

1:04:09 Um, another question comes from Allison.

1:04:14 So, Allison says that um she once took a train for 25

1:04:19 hours and felt like she was still riding the train days later.

1:04:23 Um, do you have any tips for maybe mitigating some of that?

1:04:28 Um, I guess you know, or getting your rail legs,

1:04:32 I guess, instead of your sea legs.

1:04:34 And do you maybe have any kind of rules of thumb

1:04:37 for maybe how to split up a really long rail journey?

1:04:43 Do you know?

1:04:43 I don't split up journeys like that.

1:04:46 Um, basically because I live on the train just as I would live in a hotel room.

1:04:51 Um, I take everything that I need,

1:04:54 food and drink, um, something to watch on my phone,

1:04:58 a reading book, and I don't find that it's a huge problem.

1:05:02 I mean, I did find I spent seven days on a train

1:05:05 from Moscow to Vladivosto way back in uh 1998 and even I

1:05:11 was going a bit stir crazy with um wooden huts and villages

1:05:16 in Siberia and birch trees by the time I got to Vladivosto,

1:05:20 but that's probably an extreme example.

1:05:24 Um that makes me think I this this question comes from Gabe.

1:05:28 I heard you mention once kind

1:05:29 of a difference between cruise trains and scheduled trains.

1:05:35 What what is the difference between those two kinds of trains?

1:05:39 Well, scheduled trains are the normal trains charging normal prices

1:05:43 that citizens of that country use to get around transport.

1:05:48 And a cruise train is a train aimed at tourists.

1:05:51 Usually includes uh accommodation as part of a a package tour.

1:05:56 They often have luxurious accommodations and prices

1:05:59 to match and they depart on certain dates.

1:06:03 Um, and you know, it's it's it's all about the experience.

1:06:08 It's not transportation.

1:06:09 That's really the distinction.

1:06:11 Are there any other particularly notable cruise trains

1:06:15 that you would recommend people look into in Europe?

1:06:18 Well, there are lots of them, and in fact,

1:06:20 there are more now than there have ever been.

1:06:23 We've got the Belmont Royal Scotsman.

1:06:25 uh that tours Scot the Scottish Highlands with sort

1:06:29 of three-day and four-day itineraries on this luxurious hotel and rails.

1:06:33 We have the most famous one of all

1:06:35 of course the Venice Sampl orient Express which links

1:06:38 Paris and Venice through the Swiss Alps sort

1:06:41 of usually once a week from March to November.

1:06:45 Uh and it uses um a lot of vintage vehicles from the 1920s.

1:06:50 I have I have history with this train.

1:06:52 Um, I got engaged in it by accident um way back in uh 2003.

1:06:59 Uh didn't hadn't got anything planned.

1:07:01 My wife and I, my girlfriend and I had only been going out for six months.

1:07:06 And it was in the Brena Pass in a snowstorm.

1:07:09 Somebody one of us said something to the other.

1:07:11 I can't even remember what it was.

1:07:13 And here I am 20 years later with a wife,

1:07:15 two kids, four cats, and a small crazy dog.

1:07:19 Uh so it's magic some of these uh cruise trains.

1:07:22 So if you get on one of those trains, be careful getting on.

1:07:26 Oh yeah, you might get more than you bargain for.

1:07:28 [laughter] Um we have quite a few travelers

1:07:32 that are asking questions about luggage on trains.

1:07:36 Um do you have any tips for how to store your luggage?

1:07:40 Is it safe to just leave your bag in kind of the racks right next to the doors?

1:07:46 Yeah.

1:07:46 [clears throat] Well,

1:07:47 starting assumption is most the default assumption on a European

1:07:51 train is you can take what you like.

1:07:52 If you can carry it, it's fine.

1:07:54 We don't measure it.

1:07:55 We don't weigh it because the train companies aren't airlines.

1:07:59 There are a few trains that have now got luggage requirements.

1:08:02 They, you know, they employ an airline manager to soup things up a bit.

1:08:05 The first thing that happens is they put a luggage restriction on it.

1:08:08 But most of the time, you take what you like.

1:08:10 That said, don't try touring Europe with a suitcase the size of an ISO 20

1:08:16 foot shipping container because you do see people

1:08:19 struggling with those and think, "No, you know,

1:08:21 I I tend to travel with something the size

1:08:23 of a backpack with solid wheels on that I

1:08:26 can tow over broken paving slabs and potholes

1:08:29 and that works really well for me." So, yeah, pack as light as you can.

1:08:33 Backpack size, not a massive suitcase.

1:08:36 it that fits above my head.

1:08:39 And if it's above my head, I can get to it easily.

1:08:41 No one's going to nick it without leaning over me and I'll,

1:08:44 you know, I'm usually awake enough to spot that.

1:08:46 So, it's not going to go anywhere.

1:08:47 So, it's fine.

1:08:48 There are luggage racks inside the passenger saloons these days

1:08:51 where you can keep an eye on your bag.

1:08:53 Um, but that's that's the way it works in Europe.

1:08:55 You don't check your bags in.

1:08:57 You take it with you and stick it on a luggage rack.

1:08:59 It's really simple.

1:09:01 And as a reminder, if you want to travel

1:09:04 on the Rick Steves Europe way and pack light and right,

1:09:07 our dear Lisa friend who's behind the scenes with us right now

1:09:10 has made a great packing class that you can watch a recording of.

1:09:15 Maybe Lisa will even find that recording and post it in the chat

1:09:18 widget for those wanting to pack light and write for their next rail trip.

1:09:24 Um, another question uh comes to us from Susan

1:09:28 is wondering is there any way good way to find out if a rail station is uh

1:09:36 accessible for handicapped people or people with limited mobility?

1:09:40 Um, or is there any kind of service that they can

1:09:44 utilize to make sure that they have good access to the trains?

1:09:47 Right.

1:09:47 Well, it's different in every country, of course.

1:09:50 Remember I said that every country's got its own website,

1:09:52 but there will be websites that will show you a map of the station and [clears

1:09:57 throat] where the lifts and escalators are and give

1:10:00 you an idea of accessibility and level access.

1:10:03 Now, increasingly these days, modern stations have got lifts and escalators,

1:10:07 so if you are in a wheelchair, it's not a problem.

1:10:10 You still get a problem at some of the smaller

1:10:12 stations where they haven't been able to get away with it,

1:10:14 remove every steps, but major stations, you're usually fine.

1:10:20 But it's just a question of googling

1:10:22 for the usually the national rail operator website.

1:10:28 Excellent.

1:10:28 And yeah, again, a lot of those National Rail websites um are in the chat.

1:10:34 We have time for a couple more questions.

1:10:36 Mark, uh one comes from Peter.

1:10:40 What happens if you purchase a ticket and you miss your train?

1:10:47 Depends on the ticket.

1:10:48 If you buy a local ticket from, let's say,

1:10:51 from Basel to Zurich in Switzerland, a standard ticket is good for any train.

1:10:56 So, you just catch the next one.

1:10:58 But suppose you're in France and you're c

1:11:00 you've got a TGV ticket from Nice to Paris.

1:11:03 It's like missing your flight.

1:11:05 If you've got a flexible ticket,

1:11:07 maybe the terms and conditions will allow you to change that after departure.

1:11:11 But in many cases, the cheaper tickets, they can they can't be changed.

1:11:15 They're train specific.

1:11:16 no refunds, no changes to travel plans, use it or lose it,

1:11:20 and if you miss it, you've lost your money.

1:11:22 So, you need to be careful there.

1:11:23 Another advantage of a rail pass, of course,

1:11:25 you can uh you can arrange to catch the next

1:11:28 train with a rail pass with a cheap advanced purchase ticket.

1:11:31 Maybe you're stuffed.

1:11:34 All right, Mark, time for one last question.

1:11:38 And that question is, which rail journey are you most excited to go on next?

1:11:46 Well, the next trip I've got lined up is

1:11:48 the inaugural run of European Sleeper from Paris to Berlin.

1:11:53 So, this is part of that renaissance of sleeper trains that uh we mentioned.

1:11:59 Um it starts on the 26th of March, so only a couple of weeks away now.

1:12:03 And uh that should be that should be great fun

1:12:06 and with a great city at the other end, Berlin.

1:12:10 And will you be posting a video of that on your YouTube channel eventually?

1:12:14 Very probably.

1:12:15 I'll certainly be posting social media from from that first journey.

1:12:20 All right.

1:12:20 Well, I am immensely grateful that you joined us here tonight, Mark.

1:12:26 I'm sad that our journey tonight has come to an end,

1:12:28 but I am very interested in that train.

1:12:31 And no pressure, but if you do post a video,

1:12:33 I will look forward to vicariously joining you on that trip in the near future.

1:12:39 But in the meantime, thank you again, not just for being here with us tonight,

1:12:44 but for compiling and lovingly curating

1:12:48 such helpful rail information for decades

1:12:52 now for me and all of us travelers that are here.

1:12:56 So, thank you very much, Mark.

1:12:58 Thank you.

1:12:59 And to all of you, thank you again for joining us on this journey.

1:13:03 I hope that you picked up a lot of tips

1:13:05 that will enhance [music] your future rail journeys in Europe.

1:13:08 And I would like to invite you to join us again next [music]

1:13:11 week on Monday Night Travel when we are going to go to France.

1:13:14 We're going to explore the Lir Valley, the Dordon,

1:13:17 [music] and down into southern France with an excellent GL guide,

1:13:21 Claire McCarol, who has been very busy compiling some

1:13:25 bespoke video content just for us on Monday Night Travel.

1:13:29 So, um, be sure [music] to come back next week and check that out.

1:13:33 And I look forward to being back with you all then.

1:13:36 Until then, happy travels.

1:13:50 Gabe, where can I find the subscribe button

1:13:52 for the Rick Steve's Travel Talks YouTube channel?

1:13:56 According to the map, the subscribe button should be over there,

1:14:00 and you [music] can click it to be notified of more great travel videos.

1:14:04 Oh, I see it.

1:14:05 And if you look over this way,

1:14:07 you'll find a link to register for upcoming Monday Night Travel shows.

1:14:11 It's so beautiful.

1:14:13 Oh, Gabe, you have a little pretzel in your teeth.

1:14:17 We hope you'll join us again soon.