Another Ridiculous Interrail Holiday – 6,379Km and 13 Countries over 7 weeks – Terence Eden’s Blog

Last year, my wife and I went on a 5,025 Km Interrail adventure. We got the month-long unlimited pass and saw 10 Countries in 30 Days. That was a bit too intense. So this year we got the 15 travel days in 2 months package. We grabbed the 1st class tickets when they went on sale in December.

Here’s how our journey ended up:

The trip included two ferries – one overnight – which had a small Interrail discount. In total we spent approximately 40 hours on trains over a 7 week trip.

This blog post looks at the practicalities of the journey and the experience we had while travelling. You are free to decide which cities you want to visit and which you want to skip. This worked (mostly) for us – you should write a blog post about your own experiences.

Eurostar St Pancras is dangerously crowded and needs tearing down. You can use RealTimeTrains to see your departure platform before it is announced – that’s useful for avoiding some of the queues.

The first-class service in Eurostar is lovely (even if it doesn’t get you access to the lounge). Unfortunately, you need to book vegan meals a few days in advance – a deadline I missed. The veggie option was fine though.

Made it to Brussels where we hit our first snag.

We’d booked some of our tickets months in advance. What we hadn’t realised is that construction work had been announced and our train would be getting is much later than we anticipated.

Neither Interrail (who we booked the seat reservations through) nor DB (who had our contact details) thought to tell us about the change in journey. Nevertheless, we jumped on a train and had a pleasant enough trip up to Germany.

The Interrail refund form is ridiculously complicated and asks for various screenshots. There really ought to be a big “DB Screwed Up” button for an instant refund. Still, after a couple of days the refund came through.

There’s a DB lounge at the station. We received suspicious stares at our Interrail passes which then necessitated deep examination of our seat reservation by two people. Begrudgingly they let us in. There were comfortable seats and some free drinks. It was mostly quiet until various children started crying.

The train was gentle and slow. 1st class got a snack included – veggie but not vegan. For the first time since leaving the UK there were passport checks which were friendly.

At one point there was a quiet announcement in German. We didn’t think much of it until everyone started getting off the train. Turns out one of the carriages had suffered a failure and we were turfed out at Nyborg. Approximately 1,000 passengers attempted to board the next available train – it looked like an utter crush. So we waited for the one after that.

We were treated to a train with spectacular panoramic windows as it went over The Bridge.

A friendly guard told us where to change. Arrived a little late and filled in the Interrail compensation form again.

The lounge in Copenhagen was basic but fine. A few bowls of fruit and a coffee machine but nothing else. Weirdly no train display.

The train had power sockets on the ceiling – along with headphone jacks! Was a little strange seeing cables dripping down from the ceiling. The 1st class seats were a little roomier than standard, but not much in it. Ticket inspector looked confused at Interrail passes but didn’t challenge us.

Trains were frequent enough that we didn’t bother with advance seat reservations. No 1st class, but the quiet zone was spacious enough. Again, a brief glance at the tickets rather than scanning them.

I was heartily impressed to see snack vending machines on a train! Better than someone pushing a cart through I reckon.

There were no signs on seats to say reserved and the service was very full. But we got our seats without a problem. There was free fruit and tea / water in the 1st class carriage. WiFi speeds were excellent.

Annoyingly, the ferry terminal is a rather long distance from the nearest tram stop which was a bit of an arse.

The check-in to the ferry warns of extra costs if you have the temerity to use the staffed counters – but the automatic check in wouldn’t work with our tickets. They wanted to check that we were eligible for the Interrail discount, so we showed them the app – we didn’t have to spend a travel day though. They printed out our tickets and didn’t charge us extra.

The boat itself was gorgeous. Obviously not full – many of the bars were empty and the disco was dead – but surprisingly they put on a full song and dance show as entertainment. We’d made reservations at one of the fancy restaurants, which was perfectly nice. It was breathtakingly beautiful outside.

The room was basic, but much easier to sleep in than an overnight train. Unfortunately, I fucked up with the timezones. Stockholm is UTC+1 and Helsinki is at UTC+2. I set my alarm an hour too early!

The breakfast buffet was very well stocked for veggie and vegans. Massive queue before opening but not too crowded.

Terminal was a short walk from the tram. It was spacious and had plenty of seating. Again we couldn’t use the automated check in and had to show our Interrail apps. Ferry was small but plenty of room to sit or go shopping.

Slightly confusing process to buy the tickets as they only went on sale a few weeks before departure. No seat reservations for the first half of the journey – we were slightly worried by the number of people waiting for the three-carriage train. In the end there was plenty of space. Again, 1st class a bit roomier than standard but not dramatically so.

The ticket inspector gave a confused look at the Interrail pass and issued us with a receipt for €0.00!

The train had an onboard ticket vending machine with contactless payments and, delightfully, some bowls of water for dogs.

We changed at Valga which was simple – literally walk across the platform to the waiting train. It was a little more crowded, but plenty of seats.

1st class was a bit crowded but pleasant until the boomer Brits started ignoring the quiet carriage signs. They were shut up by the guard. Complimentary sparkling water.

There is a VIP lounge in Vilnius – but it is little more than a quiet space with a loo and water fountain. All the snacks and hot drinks were chargeable. We didn’t actually have access to it this trip – but the Riga to Vilnius trip did. We scanned our previous ticket reservations to get in.

We weren’t able to book seats – because the service said it was sold out. However the train was half empty. No 1st class, but there was WiFi and power, so no complaints from me.

On having our tickets checked we were told that there was 1st class, but we couldn’t use it with our Interrail passes. As with most European trains, announcements were in English.

The change at Mockava was easy – we walked to the next platform. We’d booked seats in a little 6 seater cabin – sadly the air con was little more than homeopathic. Even cracking open the window did nothing but waft hot air over us. Fairly full train, toilets were adequate, but the heat was stifling. Even worse, no WiFi!

The train occasionally stopped for several minutes at a time. The crew just opened the doors to let a breeze in – very little health-and-safety culture here!

Mind you, we also saw people crossing the tracks to get to their platform. Yikes!

There were passport checks by armed guards. Brief and inoffensive.

Despite the extreme heat, it left on time. This 6 berth 1st class carriage was a bit bigger than the last – and the aircon actually worked.

We were treated to complementary water, juice, and a vegan snack bar! The train driver sounded their horn at every opportunity which wasn’t exactly relaxing.

No vegan currywurst on the DB menu any more 😭.

Annoyingly, we were kicked off at Nuremberg – despite most announcements being made in English this one wasn’t, but we figured it out. A train came fairly quickly, so we weren’t too late.

There is a 1st class DB lounge but it isn’t open to OBB/Interrail scum. Luckily there were plenty of food options for vegans in station. No vegan currywurst on train but several other options.

This was one of two reservations which demanded that it be printed out onto paper and under no circumstances would it be accepted from a screen. That was a lie. Showing the code on-screen was fine.

Such a frequent service that no reservations were needed. Annoyingly, the train windows were covered with graffiti so it was impossible to see out. Ticket inspector barely glanced at our tickets. WiFi didn’t work. Crowded and a bit noisy. Air con just about coped with the heat.

The Interrail app seemed certain that we had to change a dozen times for this journey. Instead, I found a direct train to Olten. The 1st class seats were massive and had a handy compartment for smaller bags. Windows were huge. Again, our passes and reservation were barely glanced at.

As we arrived in Olten there was a train a couple of platforms away which was direct to Basel. Bit of a dash to get it. No 1st class, but it was a double-decker so we got to sit upstairs, which is just as good!

The only thing better than 1st class is upstairs on 1st! Big comfy reclining seats. Packed train with not much luggage space. As ever with trains travelling to France, there were warnings about labelling luggage correctly but no one seemed to do it. Zero vegan options on board. C’est la vie!

What a blessing to witness so many people’s first ever attempt to queue for a train 🙄

Mad queues to get in to the departure lounge – but the train departed and arrived on time. I’d remembered to pre-book a vegan option which was tasty and also included a dairy-free chocolate bar. Eurostar’s WiFi is shit but 5G worked OK.

Doing Interrail trips like this is brilliant. The trains are usually a lot more relaxing than flying, it’s more convenient to arrive in a city centre, and they’re less polluting.

Would we do a trip like this again? It’s certain a lot of travel. We weren’t very spontaneous – most of the trip was planned out way in advance, along with hotels. Having 2-4 days in each place is like taking a series of minibreaks, which is delightful. But it can be exhausting. I don’t want to complain that my diamond tiara is too tight, but there comes a point where there is such a thing a too much holiday.

We still have several more European countries to visit; although not all are easy to get to by train. Perhaps we’ll fly in somewhere, take the train around, then fly back? Or spend a week only in one country?

If you have tips for further adventures – please let us know!