Coryza
Traveller
57 comments
Posted 8 years ago
Hi All,
Hereby my crazy-ass itinerary:
LINK TIMED OUT
My goal is to see the 31 official capital cities of Europe :) - You have to do something. I love train travelling, hence the decision to see and travel as much as possible.
I really hope someone has some tips to make this trip even better. I would love to see more of Nature's wonders (already included the Bernina line & lake bled).
Cheers,
Koen
Peter
Traveller
9333 comments
Hey Koen.
Please make a screenshot of your tour and post it here. As links will disappear one day. And it is easier to discuss then here in the forum, having the data in your post.
Thanks a lot.....!! :)
Pete :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hi Koen,
looks very interesting but challenging too! You should get in touch with Richard (ardeeay) who has done similar routes in the past, using night trains only (sadly not really an option anymore)!
Regarding your route, I still need some time to get my head around it, especially as I find the PM/AM notation very confusing. ;)
Flo 8)
Coryza
Traveller
57 comments
Thanks for the first comments. I'll convert AM/PM notation to a 24-hours scale. Hereby 2 attachments of my route, however following the link will give much more detail than simply screendumps.
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Hej!
Nice, thanks for changing the clock settings! Much easier now... ;)
Some randon remarks at first glance:
a) I'd take one train earlier to Stockholm, 30 min seems to change to the night trains seems a bit risky to me.
b) What about the later Snabbtag from Stockholm to Oslo, arriving at 2028? That would leave you with more time to see Stockholm and you are going to stay in Oslo for some hours anyway on your way back from Bergen to Göteborg?
c) Did you have a look at the Oslo - Fredrishavn ferry (or even Oslo - Kiel/Copenhagen, but I guess these are more expensive)? Would leave you with more time in Oslo...Göteborg - Kiel could also be interesting. You would miss the Göteborg - Malmö train trip but this isnt very interesting IMO.
d) Why change on the trip from Warsaw to Prague?
e) You probably know about the situation regarding the Istanbul night trains but just to be sure: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/bucharest-sofia-istanbul-train/[/u]
f) You obviously planned your trip to Ankara very carefully. Would be great to hear your experiences. :)
g) Restaurant recommendation for Sofia: Made in Home
h) Do you want to travel through Austria during the day to see the scenery? Otherwise the night train would be a great option to get to Feldkirch/Buchs to see Vaduz and leave you more time in Zagreb and Ljubljana.
i) You can save one hour on your trip to Tirano by skipping St Moritz and heading from Samedan to Pontresina to catch the Bernina line there. This would give you more time in Tirano, eight minutes can be quite risky in case of delays.
Flo 8)
Coryza
Traveller
57 comments
Hi Flo,
Thanks for your first remarks!
a) I suppose you are talking about changing to the night train to Lulea? I actually found out that I do not have the correct time there, lol. According to my planning I arrive at 21:39 with an 1 hour and 1 minut transfer. However I stated there that I would leave stockholm at 22:10, this should be 22:40 :)) .
b) I found more stuff to do in Oslo than in Stockholm, so I'd rather spend some more time there (hence the 7 hours). On the way back from Bergen to Copenhagen I only have a 45 minut transfer in Oslo (arrival 14:45, depart at 15:28), and I do not stay longer there. But I assume that the ferry will be at least arriving earlier than the mentioned time (8 o 'clock)
c) That's interesting, the ferry is faster than the train? I'll look into that.
d) Because the interrail planner says so.... lol. (Is it saying it incorrectly?).
e) Indeed - it actually costs me less money (not 2 times the at least 9.40 E reservation). I'm rather curious to see how all these procedures will work out :) .
f) Will definately share those, If I won't be blown to pieces....
g) Thanks! Any dishes you preferred over there?
h) Actually I did plan to take the night train at first since that wouldn't require me to leave Zagreb that early and Ljubljana that soon. However I desperately want to enjoy the scenery & lake bled. If the weather is bad I'll probably skip lake bled - which will give me more time in zagreb and ljubljana.
i) I actually have booked an extra delay possibility just in case on that trip. I'd like to go via St Moritz to look around there. If the train has delays for whatever reasons I can still go via Samedan / Pontresina even though I have 1 and a half hour transfer in Milano (so one train later from Tirano would still be fine).
Thanksss for your remarks, let me know if you have more :D
Wouter
Traveller
102 comments
b) I've planned for my self as well the route via Fredirkshavn:
Dep Arr Length Change Type
Hamburg Hbf 12:43 Flensburg 14:43 2:00 0:07 RE
Flensburg 14:50 Aalborg st 18:50 4:00 0:22 IC
Aalborg st 19:12 Fredrikshavn st 20:29 1:17 LYN
BB-Hotel Frederikshavn Turisthotellet € 61,37; DKK450
Fredrikshavn 9:15 Oslo 18:30 9:15 Ferry [b] € 27,00 [/b]
This ferry Fredrikshavn Oslo (Stenaline) goes only at day for these times. On Winter's Mondays they have a night service.
I will stay one night in Oslo and than take the Nighttrain towards Trondheim the next evening at 22:46.
Koel/Copenhagen - Oslo is overpriced maybe. But than you can make a overnight stay on the ferry. Small chambers are about €35.
Have fun planning!
Coryza
Traveller
57 comments
If anyone has great idea's for nature trips close/on my route... please let me know! ||
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
[quote]
This ferry Fredrikshavn Oslo (Stenaline) goes only at day for these times. On Winter's Mondays they have a night service.
[/quote]
Fredrikshavn - Oslo: Daytime service
Oslo - Fredrikshavn: Nighttime service
;)
They have only one ship operating on this route, Stena Saga.
ardeeay
Traveller
99 comments
Hi Koen
[quote]looks very interesting but challenging too! You should get in touch with Richard (ardeeay) who has done similar routes in the past, using night trains only (sadly not really an option anymore)![/quote]
As Flo has mentioned I visited all the European Capitals then accessible by train in 2013 using a Eurail Pass and Balkans FlexiPass, and night trains for transport (no hotels or hostels) . That year there were [b]no[/b] international trains running into Greece so I didn't get to Athens, Warsaw was not covered by Eurail, and although Istanbul was on my itinerary, connection problems meant that I only got to Plovdiv (a very, very intersting city). Anyway Istanbul is not a capital city although it is in Europe, and Ankara although being a capital city is not in Europe!
Flo is absolutely correct in saying that the trip is no longer possible because of the withdrawal of CNL services and a number of other night sleeper services. In 2014 I travelled on every CNL sleeper service in their timetable, just in time because they have now been withdrawn!
I would be happy to give you any information (and memories) that I have that may assist in your planning.
Cheers
Richard
Coryza
Traveller
57 comments
For the ones interested; you can follow me live during my trip.
Check out [u]https://www.facebook.com/TravelingOnRails/[/u] - Initial posts are in Dutch, but from now on I will post in English as well.
Wouter
Traveller
102 comments
Nice! Have fun traveling and I'm looking forwards to your blogs :)
Flo
Traveller
10724 comments
Nice! :)