Train trips
Last week I talked about road trips; but another more eco-friendly way, with a hint of old-fashioned charm, is to travel by train.
Narrow gauge railroad through "Dead Horse Pass"
The World Train Travel Guide provides a break down, by continent, and has up-to-date news and deals. If you’re interested in exploring the U.S.A., the direct Amtrak site is easy to navigate.
In the Swiss Alps, as I write this, they are digging what eventually will be the longest transportation tunnel in the world–the Gotthard Base Tunnel. But don’t go rushing off to Switzerland just yet; it won’t be done till 2016.
Some trains are purely scenic; while others provide a commute between countries.
Central station, Copenhagen, Denmark
Perhaps one of the most well-known epic train trips is the Trans-Siberian across Russia. Have you ever been? I flipped on the TV late one night–not long ago–in my hotel and stumbled upon an action thriller movie called, Transsiberian. I’d not recommend watching it before heading off to experience the longest railway in the world. However, it did illustrate both the danger and beauty of railway travel.
The American novelist, Paul Theroux, undertook his first long distance rail journey across Asia. That travelogue became the modern classic, The Great Railway Bazaar. Many years later he decided to retrace his steps and account how both he, and the places, had changed in, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star. Theroux also wrote a third railway adventure book, The Old Patagonian Express, about the Americans.
So now, it might be time I read, The Old Patagonian Express, as I plan my next railway journey in May.
Do you recommend any other train books? Or have train stories to share…
April 12th, 2012 at 10:23 am
I highly recommend Luxury Trains by Priya Bhansali. It shows the beauty in old and new trains!
April 12th, 2012 at 10:50 am
The Trans-Siberian journey is not always a thrill-a-minute (it’s a very LONG ride), but I enthusiastically recommend it for any traveler’s bucket list. It’s epic.
That said, apart from Theroux’s work I have yet to read a truly engrossing book about the Trans-Sib. I found Mary Morris’s “Wall to Wall” irritating and superficial, and Eric Newby’s “Big Red Train Ride” less irritating but just as superficial.
Any suggestions for me?
April 13th, 2012 at 10:40 am
I’ve been on a few memorable train trips in Europe and the UK, but the most memorable one was in 1991, a night train from Prague, CZ, to Frankfurt, Germany. There were about seven of us cramped into a typical six person compartment for an all night trip. I slept sitting up as the others, all European youth, younger than me, spralled about the seats and floor trying to make ourselves comfortable. I was the only American, and not so accustomed to night train travel, but they were mostly well behaved, and interesting to talk to. They seemed very experienced with this. I was not, but it was a very instructive experience, and I’ve always looked back on it as a fun, worthwhile and fortunate time.