ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Scenic train on Landwasser Viaduct, Switzerland
Riding the rails in Europe makes for a fun family getaway
I
b y Max Anderson
have always been a ‘plane guy.’ I love airports. I even love airline food. But on a three-week European vacation (taken pre-COVID), I did the unthinkable and swapped wings for wheels.
Taking advantage of Europe’s extensive railway system, I took my family of four from Derbyshire (in the UK) to London, down to Paris, across to Innsbruck (Austria), up to Vipiteno (in the Italian Alps) and, finally, to Budapest. At each stop, we spent three to five days indulging in the local pleasures before returning to a station platform and continuing the journey. I had a suspicion it might prove an interesting alternative – especially for two 16-year-old boys who are, as we parents say, ‘at that stage.’
Turns out I was on the right track.
Rail travel is joyful — even for teens
Dolomites looming over our tiny Trenitalia loco.
No surprises that my wife and I relish hours of relaxing with books while we whoosh smoothly through Europe’s epic landscapes. But the biggest surprise is how our teenage boys are rendered completely content. Or, for want of a better word, chill.
In contrast to airports (increasingly looking the same worldwide), train stations offer distinctiveness and history. London’s St. Pancras railway station has a stunning Victorian glass-and-steel interior, while its handsome gothic edifice was the face of Harry Potter’s magical station in the movies. During a one-hour stop at Zurich Main Station, we enjoy lavish hot chocolates. Paris’ Gare de Lyon is home to Le Train Bleu, a restaurant built in 1901, rich with gilding, chandeliers and ceiling murals.
Naturally, they have movies and games on iPads. But both are happily distracted by scenes playing out alongside the tracks — pheasants in English fields, Swiss chalets alongside Lake Zurich and the Italian
Bernese Oberland countryside, Switzerland
London St. Pancras Station
ENSEMBLE VAC ATIONS I SPRING 2021
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