3 minute read
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Scenic train on Landwasser Viaduct, Switzerland
Riding the rails in Europe makes for a fun family getaway
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by Max Anderson
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.’
Bernese Oberland countryside, Switzerland
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.
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 Dolomites looming over our tiny Trenitalia loco.
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.
London St. Pancras Station
After each journey, the boys were in great shape physically and emotionally — no moody fractiousness, no angst after the rigors of security and officialdom. Trains allowed them to move around (including to restaurant cars), face each other over a table (great for playing cards) and, of course, there was no dehydration, airplane pressurization, or those subtle stress-inducers, like ‘in the event of an emergency…’
As one of my sons told me, “As soon as I’m in the air, I want to be on the ground again. The train ride feels like it’s part of the holiday.”
The Yellow Train (Train Jaune) on Séjourné Bridge, France
Investment and electrification have made European rail networks among the best in the world. They’re comfortable, timed to the second (so think hard about your connections), and high-speed trains can reach up to 185 mph.
But perhaps the greatest time saving is made by cutting out airports. The Paris to Innsbruck journey serves as an excellent example. In Paris, instead of needing to be there two hours early for an international flight (intra-EU flights are not considered ‘domestic’), we arrive at the train station 30 minutes prior to departure, with time to enjoy coffee and croissants.
I estimate this rail trip, door to door, was just 1.5 hours longer than it would have been if we had taken a flight. It was also infinitely more pleasant.
Happy family equals stress-free vacation
After traveling by train across Europe, I’ve come to realize as much as I love flying, my sons don’t like it at all. Moreover, I’m always stressed getting the family onto a plane. Train travel left me the opposite of stressed — and that filtered down. With a happy family, the vacation was able to glide along smoothly like the SNCF double-decker train going at full clip across the Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes.
A French TGV (high-speed train) alongside the Mediterranean
Perhaps most significantly, our rail journeys offered a gentle transition from place to place, and with some 1,300 miles sliding past our window, we feel like we ‘saw Europe’ rather than experienced five separate destinations.
If you’ve got the time, I say get onboard.
No crowded airplane seats, the ability to get up and move around, the scenery outside to entertain the kids – for this father, traveling by train as a family is ideal.
