Home sweet home / reflections after a month on the rail

Photo from our final trip home on the Colorline Ferry.

We are HOME! After 33 days of travel, we arrived back in Oslo on Sunday evening. Although the trip was incredible, there was also something incredible about being back in our own bed after such a long trip.

We have been trying to think how we sum up a month on the road, especially for a trip such as the one we such finished. It has been a hard thing to do. But we can close with a few reflections for those that are debating traveling around Europe by rail like we did.

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1.) It is worth it. Through all of the exhausting days of travel, surprises with weather, hours of navigating large cities, and multiple language and currency barriers, our trip via Interrail was entirely worth it. The Interrail pass is about as simple as it gets: hop on / hop off where and when you feel like it. It is environmentally friendly, and quite an experience to see so many places and cultures in such a short period of time.

2.) Don't believe the blogs that say that all 'night trains are from hell.' The three night trains we took (Paris to Florence, Rome to Trieste, and Vienna to Hamburg) were well worth it. While first class is significantly better and more comfortable than second class, even a 6-person second class sleeping car is quite comfortable and manageable. You can cover large stretches of land while dozing off. And, your neck does not hurt in the morning as it usually does after you get off a night-flight!

3.) Plan ahead. While we left room to be spontaneous (thus our incredible trip to Slovenia), it really does pay off to plan ahead. Many of the hostels and hotels we stayed at were completely full in the summer months, and we were very lucky to already have a reservation. We were also able to print out maps to our hostels before we arrived at the train station, making it very easy to find the place and avoiding additional stress upon arrival.

Furthermore, all high-speed trains and night-trains (which cost a bit extra more, but are quite reasonable when you already have an Interrail pass) require a reservation - and most need at least 3 weeks advance notice to make sure there is a place for you.

4.) Learn a tiny bit of each country's languages before you go. Knowing a 'hello,' 'please,' and 'thank you' really helps you make friends and makes you seem much more approachable than the average tourist.

5.) Shop in the grocery stores. It is allowed to bring food with you on the trains. It was really fun to have the food we liked with us as we traveled, and it was VERY nice to save so much money in the long-run.

6.) Do not try to see too much. We have heard from many people that the fault of their Euro-trip was trying to see too much in too little time. They ended up being exhausted the entire trip, and were very ready to go home after spending so much time in trains. We took their advice and tried to stay at least 3-4 days in each place. The trip was then rarely stressful, and instead an opportunity to pick the places where we'd love to return one day.

7.) Blog or Journal. This was a very helpful way for us to process each day, and to look back and see where we visited.

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While there is plenty more we can say, we will leave it there for now. :)

We once again want to thank our friends at Hostelling International Norway and NSB for their generous gift and support. This was absolutely the adventure of a lifetime, and we are grateful for such an opportunity! Thank you thank you thank you!

So, from us, bon voyage on your possible future Euro-Trips, and thank you all for being a part of ours!

- Janne and Tyler



PS: If anyone is interested in seeing the online version of the photo-book we created from the trip, the book can be found here!

PPS: If you are interested in following our not-quite-as-exciting lives back in normal life, we welcome you to read our joint blog which we will update whenever we get the chance. It can be found here.