A train in Görlitz, Germany on one of the routes featured in the book.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries in Berlin—

What train routes might make it into a list of Europe’s greatest train journeys?

The book that inspires us to ask this question is published next month by Time Out Guides Ltd. Great Train Journeys of the World is edited by Andrew Eames who pulled together a team of leading luminaries on rail travel to write the book. (Full disclosure: Andrew was good enough to ask us to contribute prose and images for a number of routes across Europe.)

The routes: Classic long-distance and branch lines

Europe makes a good showing in this global compendium of journeys worth making. Of course the book includes many classic itineraries such as the Trans-Siberian and the posh tourist train Orient Express. But the joy of the volume is the neat way in which unexpected tiddlers are pushed into the limelight. For example, the book includes a rural run through the Cévennes area of southern France, a branch line that crisscrosses the border between Germany and Poland, a rural route in Catalunya, and a line that cuts through the heart of the Bosnian countryside.

This is not just a book for train buffs. It is pitched at the general reader who is looking for hints about journeys that might be worth taking. Some cutting-edge European express trains are celebrated for their speed, such as the Eurostar link from London to Paris, Germany’s ICE services, the TGV in France and the AVE routes in Spain.

But the lure of Europe’s greatest rail journeys is not generally in their speed, but in the way that trains trundle through the countryside both by day and by night. The book has a little Hungarian rhapsody in an account of a 12-hour journey by day that takes in four European capitals, and a Highland fling with a super essay on the Caledonian Sleeper night train from London to the Scottish Highlands.

A firm favorite: the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William

Editor Andrew Eames comments in the book that the night train from London to Fort William in Scotland (often dubbed “The Deerstalker”) was the service that every one of the two dozen authors really wanted to write about - no matter how many times they had taken the train before. In the end, Eames himself wrote about that particular journey.

Bargain berths, too

Rail travel on some of Europe’s classic rail routes need not be impossibly expensive. Some of the journeys in the book are brief and cost no more than a few euros. And bargain berths on that overnight train to the Scottish Highlands can still be booked for dates later in 2009 for as little as 39 pounds sterling - all inclusive in the comfort of a sleeping car with crisp linen sheets.

Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner are based in Berlin and write regularly for EuroCheapo. They contributed to “Great Train Journeys of the World” with articles and pics on rail routes in central Europe and Scandinavia. Nicky and Susanne are editors of hidden europe magazine, about which you can find out more on www.hiddeneurope.co.uk.

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The station at Schaanwald in Liechtenstein. Photos © hidden europe.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

Remember George Dubya? Here in Europe he is still revered as a remarkable pioneer in “alphabetical tourism.”

After all, during his first-ever visit to Europe in June 2001, the presidential itinerary featured Spain, Sweden and Slovenia - or perhaps it was Slovakia. Even Dubya himself was a shade uncertain, but he did a grand job in covering up his doubts.

From Vaduz to Vilnius

In any case, given the fact that most visitors to Europe have only the haziest notion about their intended destinations, alphabetical tourism makes perfect sense. The Netherlands and Norway one year, Poland and Portugal the next.

For urban types, the principal of alphabetical tourism can be extended to capital cities. Tallinn and Tirana find themselves nicely allied as travel partners. And the letter V throws up an improbable handful of desirable spots: Vaduz, Valletta, Vatican City, Vienna, and Vilnius (which if visited in a single long trip, would reveal a peculiarly Catholic Europe).

Think L: Liechtenstein and Luxembourg

For “first timers” to Europe we really think “L” is the place to start. Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg make up the perfect foursome for Europe novices.

Latvia and Lithuania are an object lesson in just how different neighbouring states can be. And Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are among the most perfect countries on the entire continent, both heaving with interest, yet each small enough that the visitor can have a sense of coming to grips with the issues of culture, identity, and language that make up nationhood.

We happen to be great fans of both Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, and were in both countries only last month. If there were an award for the countries on the planet with the finest public transport, it would be shared by Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. Amazing bus services, and in both countries you can travel for a pittance across the entire national bus network (in each case it is just €4 for a one-day ticket).

Trains, too!

The Princesse Marie-Astrid approaches Wasserbillig in Luxembourg.

And both countries have trains, too. Who ever would have thought that Luxembourg could boast more than sixty train stations? Tiny Liechtenstein packs a punch with four train stations, including at Schaanwald, one of the most handsome little station buildings in the Alps. And, what’s more, it’s a border station–the first stop on the line from Austria after the train crosses the Liechtenstein border.

It is too easy to write off Europe’s small countries as undeserving of a visit. We beg to differ. Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are both perfectly formed, and each country deserves a thorough exploration. There are few better European days than listening to cowbells in the Liechtenstein Alps above Vaduz or cruising up the River Moselle in Luxembourg on the Princesse Marie-Astrid.

So if you don’t know Europe from A to Z, think L. It’s as good a place as any to embark on alphabetical tourism. And from there it is an easy hop to M for next year’s tour, with a neat fivesome: Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, and Montenegro.

About the authors: Susanne Kries and Nicky Gardner are regular contributors to EuroCheapo and together edit hidden europe magazine. They live in Berlin. hidden europe 27 has just been published and contains articles on Italy, Georgia, Vienna, Switzerland and more. Have a look at the table of contents.

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Blink and you can easily miss a thousand changes to European rail schedules. We’ve been taking a look ahead to next year’s timetables, just to see what Cheapos can look forward to in 2009. All the new services mentioned here come into effect on December 14, 2008.

Prague routes

Prague, which just this year benefited from a new night train from Amsterdam (which stays in the 2009 schedules), gets a further upgrade in the 2009 timetables with a new daily night train to Zürich (like many other central European night trains named after a heavenly constellation, in this case Canopus). And Prague gets a new direct daytime train to Belgrade, the EuroCity Avala service.

Paris to Berlin; Berlin to Bratislava/Budapest

The long-standing Paris to Berlin night sleeper service run by Deutsche Bahn is entirely recast in the 2009 schedules, departing from Paris Est (rather than Paris Nord, as at present) and no longer serving Brussels. No great loss, we might add, for the train’s Brussels stops were in both directions at such inconvenient hours that no sane traveller made use of them. Berlin secures new direct night services to both Bratislava and Budapest, as well as a revised service with improved capacity to Warsaw.

Across the Alps; Austria; Budapest to Munich; Amsterdam to Berlin

New Cisalpino trains bring great improvements to cross-Alps services in 2009 with reduced travel times on routes from Geneva and Zürich to Milan, Florence and Venice. And new trains across Austria too, where Railjet will introduce a new premium service linking Budapest with Munich via Vienna.

International train services from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (great for travellers arriving off long-haul flights) get more prominence with a doubling of frequency of trains heading east towards Hanover and Berlin.

British routes

In Britain, services on the route out of London Euston get a boost with increased frequencies to both Birmingham and Manchester and a new hourly service to Chester. But it’s not all gain, for direct services from Gatwick Airport to the West Midlands and Manchester are axed after December 13, 2008. Thereafter, red-eyed passengers arriving early at Gatwick off overnight flights will need to change trains at Watford Junction or Reading for connections on to Birmingham and northwest England.

Eurostar service from London

In the winter 2008-09 timetables some thirty Eurostar trains each day will link London with Brussels, Paris, Lille, the Marne valley and the French Alps. With fares starting from €77 from Paris return and €80 return from any station in Belgium to London, we wonder why anyone still bothers to fly for short hops across the English Channel.

Fuller details of 2009 rail schedules for Europe will be available in mid-November 2008. To keep abreast of developments, just get hold of the latest issue of the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable.

About the authors

Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries, the authors of this post, are the editors of hidden europe magazine. The current issue of the magazine, published on September 4, has a feature on the Eurostar rail route linking France and England.

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