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.

Hirtshals, Denmark

After over 29 hours of full-on traveling, we were relieved to finally pull in to the charming town of Hirtshals, Denmark. The town is right on the coast of the North Sea, and offers a great view of the ocean.


On Wednesday, we hopped aboard a quick, 3 hour train from Budapest to Vienna, Austria - where we would soon catch our night train connecting Vienna to Hamburg, Germany. While we both argue that night trains are the best way to travel if you have to make long distances, and both have had good experiences all three times we have done it, we will also admit that it was definitely not the best night of sleep we have had.

But after a good cup of coffee, we were up and running again yesterday morning as we finished the last 10 hours of our train travel and had a lovely evening to relax in beautiful Denmark!

Very special thanks to our friends at DanHostel Hirtshals for arranging our beautiful accommodations! The hostel lies right on the coast, and literally has the best hostel breakfast we have ever had. We were especially thankful to the friendly staff, the fantastic common spaces, and the fun conversations were able to share with fellow travelers at dinner. We recommend it to those visiting Denmark!

Danhostel Hirtshals breakfast room

More later, but for now we have to run to catch our ferry to Kristiansand, Norway! We are now officially on our way home, and we look forward to reflecting on our entire trip during the 3 hour boat trip. What an adventure!

Budapest, Hungary

Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest

It is a bittersweet feeling knowing we are now down to the last few days of the trip. We are now formally in the home-stretch, and we are doing our best to try to soak up everything we can as quickly as we can. So far, Budapest has been a great place to do that!

The Hungarian capital, Budapest, is a city of more than 3 million residents and is so-far one of the most beautiful cities we have visited on the trip. Budapest was originally two different cities. Buda, on the right bank of the Danube River, and Pest, on the left bank of the Danube. Buda and Pest were formally unified as one city on November 17, 1873.

The most striking part of the city is far is its dramatic skyline along the River. There are beautiful trails which run along both sides of the river, and they provide excellent vantage points for some of the city's most beautiful and historic architecture.

Tyler in front of the Danube River and the Hungarian Parliament Building

One of the many great statues on Andrássy Avenue

One of the best parts of the city so far, however, have been the used book stores and coffee shops! We have spent many hours in several different used book shops, and are coming home with 2 great books we bought for just around $2 USD! Additionally, there have been coffee shops on basically every corner! It is starting to feel like home.


Finally, one of the best parts of this trip has been taking the advice about what to see from friends and family. Special thanks to our good friend, Daniel, for the many hours he spent designing walking tours for us. Dan lived in Budapest a few years back, and has helped to see the city in a unique way. It was a great way to visit the city!

Janne in front of Dan's old apartment in Budapest! What a great neighborhood!

Adventura Boutique Hostel!

We have now safely made it to Budapest, and we could not be more excited! Special thanks to our friends at Adventura Boutique Hostel and Apartments for the brilliant accommodations! We are currently enjoying one of their Adventura flats, newly renovated apartments which include internet access, cable TV, a washing machine, and a fully-equipped kitchen.

Being in an apartment really helps us get a feel for 'real life' in the city, and the location is great. We particularly love our balcony which looks out into one of the fun, trendy streets here in Budapest.

Since today is actually both of our birthdays (August 2), we could not have asked for a better place to be! We look forward to our three nights here, and can't wait to explore the city more. More to come!!

Keeping busy on the train

One of the best parts of this trip has been the adventures we have had on the train. Not only have we met people from all over the world, we have had time just to relax and have some fun. As you can see from the photo above, Tyler had a little fun getting artistic with Janne's foot. "Hei from Croatia!"

Vukovar, Croatia

Our trip to Vukova, Croatia - a town of around 30,000 people right on the Serbia border - was one of the most humbling days of our lives. In 1991, the town was hit with a massive siege by Yugoslavian military and para-military which left more than 2,000 people dead and nearly the same number missing. Although the war was now 20 years ago, many parts of the city look as if the war was just yesterday. The ruins of the buildings, now covered with shrapnel holes, tell the story of how brutal this war was.

We will have more about our trip in Vukovar a bit later.

A hard reminder of war...

The 1990s Yugoslavian conflict is one that we are still piecing together, but tonight gave us our first hands-on encounter with it: seeing shrapnel from the war which was found in the attic of our hotel. Tomorrow, we will join our new friend Ivan out to the location of one of the most violent battles during the war, as well as a former mass grave, which is located about 45 minutes from Osijek. It is so helpful to see the places first-hand in order to understand what really happened. Stories and pictures to come!