Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries of hidden europe magazine report for EuroCheapo on the pleasures and value of European night trains:

Do you know Tczew? Perhaps not. It’s an unexciting sort of spot. Poland, top right, more or less. We had never imagined that we might enjoy a leisurely breakfast of caviar, crackers, and coffee at Tczew. Sitting in a Russian railway carriage, which lingered for an hour or two in Tczew. Waiting for a connection perhaps? Who knows. Night trains are like that.

The pleasures of the night train

Night trains are extraordinary. They rattle past factories and canals, disturb the deer that graze at the forest edge in the evening. In the wee small hours of the night, they screech round sharp curves in some foreign town. A listless child stirs in her sleep in a house next to the railway tracks, while last night’s unwashed crockery trembles on the scullery table. And then the train is gone, an emissary from another world, and silence returns to the unnamed town. Night trains get to places that other trains never reach.

Night trains are the stuff of poetry, but they can also be extraordinarily good value. There is something undeniably civilized about being able to sip a good malt whisky in the evening, as the night train from London to the Scottish Highlands weaves its way out through the northern suburbs of the metropolis. Supper on the train and then to bed in crisp clean linen to awake in the morning as the train climbs up onto Rannoch Moor. Book well in advance, choose the right day, and you can even travel from London to the Scottish Highlands for £l9 (yes, that’s less than $40).

Germany’s new night trains

The Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national rail network, capitalizes on its location bang in the middle of Europe to run the continent’s most extensive network of night train services. Revamped for the 2008 season, the trains are quiet, comfortable and often a great value. Trains head from Copenhagen or Prague to Basel in Switzerland, from Amsterdam to Milan or Vienna, and dozens of other connections across Europe.

The comfort of the night train is a quiet retort to the frenzy of modern air travel. They’re also an antidote to the breakneck speed of the fastest daytime express trains. Why not try one next time you visit Europe?

Booking a night train

“Special fares apply” says the admonition in the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable, a monthly publication that is the bible for all savvy rail travelers in Europe. That might imply hefty surcharges. But no, night trains are often cheaper than daytime services. From Switzerland to Denmark overnight in a couchette from just €49 cannot be matched by any discount airline or day train. Choose carefully, and you can travel overnight between European cities in a comfortable sleeping berth for €69.

Most European night trains use a global price system with one all-in charge covering both the train fare and the fee for on-board accommodation. Holders of Eurail and other passes don’t often secure great advantage. The best value all-in fares that Europeans buy locally may cost little more than the supplements that pass holders must pay to secure a couchette or bed. It’s a market which rewards travelers who book well in advance, committing them to traveling on a specific day. Find out more about German night trains, now marketed under the “City Night Line” banner, at www.nachtzugreise.de.

This article is the second of a guest series of summer postings by the editors of hidden europe magazine. Check out the magazine for regular features on European rail travel.

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We’re always keen to dispel the myth that you must be rolling in it (money, that is) to enjoy world-class entertainment. Take the Viennese opera. This Austrian gem is well within the range of Cheapos.

Here are our three best bets for landing a night at the Opera:

Try ’standing room only’

If you are willing to stand for the duration of the performance, then you can get some of the cheapest tickets in town. The cost of a “standing room only” ticket is between €2 and €3.50 per opera. These tickest are only available at the evening box office, which opens 80 minutes prior to show time.

Snag seats for a song

In the nosebleed section of the opera house, you’ll pay anywhere from €7 to €18 for a seat in the rafters (but what rafters they are!). Considering a spot in the front orchestra could cost you €200, we consider this is a huge score. Just bring some good opera glasses.

Take a tour and skip the show

If The Marriage of Figaro isn’t your idea of fun, opt for one of many daily guided tours of the ornate and scope-worthy opera house. For €5, you can get up-close and personal with the opera house, touring even the stage and the tea salon. For another euro and a half, visit the Opera’s museum, too. A recent exhibit showcased the original compositions (on-page edits and all) of Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung”.

And, one last note on all of this: If you’re a student, you’ll almost always benefit from additional discounts. Bravissimo!

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Neville Walker’s ode to Vienna in this past weekend’s Financial Times is gorgeous and plaintive. Writing about Vienna in the newspaper’s “What I Love About…” series, Walker compellingly nails Vienna’s eccentric character.

Walker writes that Vienna was “once a cul-de-sac on the edge of the Eastern Bloc” now “learning to be hip and modern.” Yet what makes the city so interesting is not its uneven emergence into contemporary European cool but rather its vestigal otherworldliness. Walker knows this; by singling out the Kettenbrückengasse flea market and Peter’s Operncafé Hartauer as emblems of today’s Vienna, he gets at a city that is not so much resting on its laurels as much as it is holding the uncanny tight, as if it were a lifevest. Or, in Walker’s words: “Vienna is like an estranged relative grown eccentric by living alone, but suddenly seized with enthusiasm for a newly-expanded social circle.”

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Karlsplatz in Vienna’s Fourth District, bordering the Inner District, is especially festive today through 8 p.m. What is being celebrated is Karlstag, which is basically a Karlsplatz openhouse. The visitors can storm the Secession and other museums in the vicinity and stay for longer hours. Best of all the entrance and tour guide are for free.

Karlstag also features a flea market, outside pubs and bars, workshops, and a program just for children at the Wien Museum called “Kinder Wirtshaft,” where the kids can roleplay as waiters serving customers. This correlates with the museum’s current exhibition, “Im Wirtshaus: Eine Geschichte der Wiener Geselligkeit,” a history of the Viennese pubs and their way of life.

Ending the fest will be an open-air free concert by the Vienna University of Technology Orchestra and Kollegium Kalksburg in front of the Karlskirche at 8 p.m.

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Vienna’s fascination with sports and healthy living has always been striking. There’s the city’s popular spring marathon, the women’s marathon, the children’s marathon, and a host of additional runs.

Registration for the four-kilometer Erste Bank Vienna Night Run 2007 opened this month. The run will kick off at dusk on October 10 and will raise money for the benefit of blind and disabled people of the poor countries through a non-governmental Austrian organization, Licht für die Welt (Light for the World). Licht für die Welt’s aim is to totally reduce blindness among the poor people who need medicinal care through 2020. The start and finish lines will be around the former imperial stables in the Seventh District.

The registration fee is €20. Your cash will get you a trendy blue Puma running shirt along with the satisfaction of having done a good deed.

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Photo courtesy of Kino unter Sternen

One thing we like about summer in Vienna is open-air cinema. This month, we are looking forward to a myriad of events that will allow us to enjoy the flicks without shivering and munch on popcorn without freezing our hands. Mark the following events on your calendar.

1. Kino Unter Sternen (Cinema Under the Stars) at the Augarten, starts off with a tribute to legendary American comedian Jerry Lewis. Naturally, the opening salvo will be one of his popular movies, Artists and Models. Other films that will be screened, either in their original version or with subtitles, include Roman Holiday and The Science of Sleep. The outside Kino, with its jam-packed schedule will run from June 28 until August 12. Tickets cost €7.50 each or €32.50 for a block of five movies. We suggest making reservations to be sure you don’t miss out. Kino Unter Sternen is located between Second and 20th Districts. Just look for the giant tower that the Viennese call Flakturm, a massive anti-aircraft gun blockhouse that was used by the Nazis in World War II.

2. The rooftop of the city’s Main Library in the Seventh District is the place to be for Lichter der Großstadt (The lights in the metropoles). Already in its fourth season, the theme this year will tackle the significance of big cities such as Vienna, New York, and Saigon. Its healthy mix of classics, rarities, and succesful films runs from June 22 to July 1. The feature movie examining Vienna will be Exit–nur keine Panik while Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam will represent New York. Admission costs €7. For more information, email office@stbalbach.at.

3. Schloss Neugebaüde, the former imperial hunting lodge in Simmering (11th District), offers a series of outside cinema, featuring the latest Hollywood films from Happy Feet to Babel. This portion of the Ein Sommer im Scholss (A Summer in the Castle) festivities will run from June 28 until August 30. Entrance costs €7 .

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Photo by oh_fluff!

Would you dare spend your Friday evening inside the church? For the third time in Austria, Christian factions are inviting the public to stay for a night of free exhibitions, shows, fairs, and concerts.

Lange Nacht der Kirchen, which takes places tonight, June 1, aims to lure the non-faithful back into the fold. This time, Salzburg, Graz, and Klagenfurt will join in the hoopla, opening their doors until midnight.

Currently, more than a quarter of the inhabitants without religion on their sleeves are living in Vienna. With Christianity slowly losing ground on the continent, religious groups would like attendees of the event to know more about their churches. Aside from the prominent Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern European Orthodox and the Anglican groups are also participating.

The purpose of the event is not necessarily to preach the Gospel, but to celebrate the beauty found in religion though arts and music. One of the highlights is the concert of Wiener Philharmoniker at the Hofburg Chapel that starts at 6 p.m. in the First District performing from Haydn to Beethoven.

Visit the website to know more about the event and to check out the whole program.

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Photo by Gertud_K.

Heat. Sand. Volleyball.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that’s in Vienna. On Friday, June 1, the lot of the Wiener Eislaufvereins in the Third District will transform into a trendy beach complete with sand, beach games, and parties mimicking the feeling of a vacation to the tropics. Because the Viennese love summer, the festivities will last until the end of September.

SandCity Vienna, occupying more than 6000 square meters (3.5 miles), consists of Sand Sculpture Park, Catering Zone, and Activity Zone. Visitors will revel in tons of fine brown sand, palm trees, and water areas, not to mentionbeach sports and (goody) 14 bars. But the real highlight is the sand sculptures exhibition created by several international carvers. The theme will be “Euro 2008: Europe as a guest in Austria,” in reference to the much anticipated European Football Championship 2008, which will be hosted by Austria and Switzerland.

Expect to see a mini-Pisa, an Acropolis, or even the Eiffel Tower made of sand. And just as important as European landmarks will be the sculptures of international football stars like Germany’s Michael Ballac.

The regular entrance fee is €7, and reduced price €4.50. The event will be located at Lothringerstraße 22 and opens from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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Photo by Iceblinkbaby

We can’t imagine an inefficient Viennese transportation system. Not only do buses, trains, and trams arrive and depart more or less at the expected time, passengers can also map out their itinerary using suggested routes and means of transport via Wiener Linien online.

Recently, the government of Vienna announced that they will increase the prices of tickets along with the parking ticket charges, much to the anger of the opposing political parties and people on the street.

According to Verkehrsverbund Ost Region, the company that manages transportation in eastern and southern parts of Austria, increased ticket prices only make sense. For the last five years ticket prices have remained more or less stable, while vast investments in security and quality have been made. Case in point: last year the U1 metro line was extended five stations, to Leopoldau.

On June 1, the new tariffs will take effect. The price of a single journey purchased in advance will increase from €1.50 to €1.70. A complete list of fare hikes can be seen here.

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Photo by Killerwurm.de

If Richard Linklater had filmed “Before Sunrise“—his tale of two strangers falling in love in a span of one day, with Vienna providing the setting—today, he could have found a much more enterprising First District that he did in the mid-1990s.

Spending a day on Vienna’s touristy museum-hopping path, we were enthralled with the sights and sounds of the Inner District, from Graben to the end of Kärtner Straße.

Graben’s landmark is the famous Pestsäule (plague column) built in the 17th century at the behest of Leopold I following the Great Plague of Vienna. Next to it are two fountains designed to contain fire. One of them is adorned with the sculptures of Saints Joseph and Leopold.

We found a young Asian pianist on the middle of the street performing from Beethoven’s Spring piano piece to Franz Lizst for tips. Moving on, we saw a crowd clustered in front of Stephansdom. We struggled to see a group of hunky men jumping and breakdancing to the delight of an awed audience. Before we entirely left Kärtner Straße, we realized that the warm weather might have been responsible for the plethora of performers.

You see, we spied yet more street performers. There were a couple of blind gypsies singing a capella, a group of old musicians playing Austrian folk music with their self-produced CD already on display, and young people’s orchestra who couldn’t stop the wind from blowing their notes. Finally, we spied a couple of two pantomimes pretending that they were on the run while Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” was playing.

These are, perhaps, the typical tourist traps, but we don’t wonder why they look good on screen.

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