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.

---

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.

--

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!

Ljubljana, Slovenia & Zagreb, Croatia

Janne and the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

We only have a couple of minutes between our next train to Osijek, Croatia- but we wanted to post up a couple of pictures from our stay in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia. We have really enjoyed spending some time in the Slovenian and Croatian capital cities, and are so impressed by the diversity and character that both cities uniquely have. Special thanks to our new friend, Peter, for showing us around Ljubljana and telling us more about Slovenia history (and teaching us about great Slovenian beer)!

Janne and Peter in Ljubljana.

Now we are off to Osijek, Croatia - a town that marks a region of intense violence in the early 1990s wars in the former Yugoslavia. We are very interested to learn more from the local people, and hopefully leave with a better picture of what actually happened.

Off to a four-hour train ride!

Tyler in Zagreb, Croatia.

sLOVEnia!

Tonight is our final night here on Lake Bled, Slovenia, and we are quite sad to go. We have loved every second of it. The water is crystal clear, the mountains still are snow-covered (a HUGE change from the heat waves in Amsterdam and Rome), and there are adventures gallore!

Slovenia's official tourism line is 'I am in sLOVEnia,' and we are definently in agreement. We are in love with this country and all it has to offer!


Tomorrow we are off to Ljubliana, Slovenia for our final few nights here before Croatia! We are sad to go, but know we will be back.

Beautiful Slovenia!

When we first decided, on a whim, to visit Slovenia, we were unsure what to expect. We had planned most of our trip, but intentionally left a week and a half open to new adventures and spontaneity. We took the advice of Thomas Cook's Europe by Rail book (a wonderful wedding gift from our good friends Erlend and Andrea) and headed to a country relatively unknown to us both.

We have now been in the country for four days, and we have only one word to describe the place: "Wow!"

Slovenia seems to offer everything. From the beautiful coastlines of Portorose and Piran (see picture above), to the scenic Alps surrounding Lake Bled (where we are currently writing from), we continue to be impressed by the diversity of such a cool, small country.

We are currently writing from the Ojro Bar right outside of the Lesce-Bled train station. The trains in Slovenia are clean, new, and efficient. From Ljubljana (the capitol), it is only a quick one-hour train trip into the Alps. We are now waiting for a bus to take us to Lake Bled, a gorgeous glacial lake nestled in the mountains - and home of a medieval castle on a island! We are enjoying getting to know our new friend, David, who has been giving us great info on the history of Slovenia and its independence from the former Yugoslavia.


We are looking forward to four days in the mountain after four great days on the beach. Word on the street has it that Slovenia is about to get hit with the worst cold of the summer in years, so we may see some snow! Even the weather in this country is diverse! :)

Cheers to another week in this great country, and more updates to come!

Rome, Italy

We have now reached the half-way mark of our honeymoon adventure, and we could not have stopped in a more exhilerating location!

The Colesseum and the Roman Forum.

Rome! There is little arguing that Rome can be considered one of the most interesting and historically impactful places in the world. From its ancient ruins, many which date back over 3000 years, to the Vatican City, Rome stands out as a gem on the planet.

Out of all the stops on our adventure so far, we are definently trying to soak up the most here. Our days consist of early morning breakfasts at the hotel, to a subway trip downtown, to a full day of sight-seeing and history-learning. We have so far taken tours of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palantine Hill - the location of the start of Rome. We have also explored the ancient heart of the Rome, its modern streets, and stopped to take in a few of its grand museums.

It has been VERY hot here, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees C / 113 degrees F on Saturday. Although sweat is a common entity on EVERYONE here, we are still learning to avoid becoming embarassed when the sweat gets really bad.

We are learning some of the tricks of living here, and do have some advice for the those coming to visit:


1.) There are very high cover charges if you would like to eat a restaurant. We recommend buying the food "take-away" and sitting in a park to eat. This can save you literally 10 euros each time - and creates some pretty fun memories.

2.) There is an aqueduct which still brings fresh spring water to Rome every day. Throughout the city, you will find water spouts from which this spring water consistently flows. Instead of buying 2-3 euro bottles of water every time, use one bottle and re-fill with fresh water that is likely better than the stuff found in bottles.

3.) Pay the extra money for the guided tours of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palantine Hill. There is SO MUCH history that you miss a ton if you dont have someone pointed out sights along the way.

4.) Play. Rome is a gorgeous city, and it leaves room for you to become part of its history. Example, see below:
5.) Take time to realize where you are. Rome. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Rome!

We have now made it safely to Rome, and are already thrilled to be here. Rome has been a life-long dream for both of us, and we canàt wait to explore. Internet connection will be a little trickier here, but expect updates later this week!

Florence, Italy

Tyler waking up on the night train between Paris and Florence.

Goodbye, France. Hello, Italy! In order to save us a day of travel time, last night was spent aboard a night train between Paris and Florence, Italy. Each car fits six people, and beds fold down from the wall when it is time to sleep. We shared a train car with 4 fantastic Argentinians on their way to Italy for the first time. It was definently a new experience, and one we would recommend trying at least once in your life. Just make sure you bring some ear plugs to get some sleep!

The best part of the train was falling asleep outside of Paris, and waking up the next morning in Italy! Florence was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1982 and widely considered one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. It is also the birthplace of great names such as Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Galileo Galilei! A lot of history in this city!

We have already had our fill of fantastic pizza, pasta, and of course Gellato (Italian ice cream). Tomorrow we hope to search for the Statue of David, arguably Michelangelo's most famous sculpture, which is found here in Florence!

Florence at night.

The River Arno, which runs right through the heart of Florence.

Happy French National Day!

Happy July 14th, France's National Day! Not a bad day to be in Paris!

Rome tomorrow!!

Le d'Artagnan Youth Hostel - Paris

Le d'Artagnan Youth Hostel

For the past four nights, we have been privilaged to stay at the Le d'Artagnan Youth Hostel in Paris (HI-Hostel France). It is located just 15 minutes away from downtown Paris, and is so far the nicest hostel we have ever stayed in. The hostel hosts over 440 guests at a time, but we never felt lost in the crowd.

Le d'Artagnan's friendly staff.

Not only does the hostel have a restaurant that serves three meals every day, it has an arcade, a movie theater, and a bar! We arrived the night of the World Cup championship game, and the hostel hosted a watch party - complete with at least 5 HD TV screens to cover the excitment. Very cool.

Our amazing room after a long train ride.

To learn more about Le d'Artagnan, especially if you plan on visiting Paris, visit their website here. We highly recommend it!

Paris, France

We are now on day three here in Paris, and are enjoying every minute! Janne has been busy practicing her french (which is minimal, but helpful). Above you can see her grasping a bit of French culture while she can (i.e. the Eiffel Tower).

Today we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral, and are headed back towards the Eiffel Tower for our first experience up close. The weather has been great, and we could not be happier!

Brussels, Belgium

As a short lunch stop on our journey from Amsterdam to Paris yesterday, we stopped for a three-hour stay in Brussels, Belgium. The city was BEAUTIFUL and filled with gothic buildings built in the 1500s and 1600s. Our pictures will come soon! Thanks to rosenblumtv.wordpress.com for the temporary picture above!

We are now in Paris, and are loving every minute. More updates soon!

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

While some scortchingly hot weather slowed our pace down a bit, yesterday was spent relaxing and exploring The Netherland's capital, Amsterdam. Neither of us have spent much time exploring Europe, and we were definently surprised by this amazing city!

Amsterdam by boat, the Church of St. Nicholas in the background.

Built on a series of canals that were dug in the 17th century, Amsterdam was best accessed and explored by boat! The city consists of over 100 ocean canals and over 1000 bridges. We decided to take the advice of the tour books, and hopped aboard one of Amsterdam's many tourist boats.

The smallest house in Amsterdam. 1 meter wide. Yikes!

Locals enjoying a hot day through the city.

A hot day in a cool city.

Today we will spend the day on the beach in Noordwijk (catching some of the action at the Noordwijk sand volleyball tournament), and tomorrow we are off to PARIS!