While I have wrapped up the Europe travel log, I have a few more topics planned covering different topics that may be of interest.
Anyone who knows me knows I love train travel (in theory). Unfortunately, early in the last century, the United States, in love with Henry Ford and cars, decided to largely eradicate our extensive passenger rail system for roads and eventually interstate highways.
One of my favorite decor items in my condo is a poster of an advertisement about the number of trains that used to come into Indianapolis (my home town) every single day. The number? 495! Now, Indianapolis gets a train three times a week only because an Amtrak line from Chicago to New York goes through it. Pathetic.
On my 2024 trip to Europe, I wanted to do a lot with train travel. I flew into London, immediately got on a train to Manchester to see a friend perform at Pride there, trained back to London for a few days, and then flew to Prague. From there, I went to Berlin via commuter rail, took and overnight train to Brussels, and then took Eurostar back to London before flying home.
If you’ve kept up this long, then you know I repeated myself a bit on this most recent trip, but for someone who is constantly moving, the comfort of familiarity was a good mix in with the newness of Vienna and Budapest.
International Trains
For this trip, London was merely a bookend, and I almost immediately got on Eurostar towards Brussels. This turned out to be advantageous because entering border control in St. Pancras in London means entering French territory and the European Union, and I was able to avoid some of the pain people have been experiencing at airports with the new EU biometric requirements.
Before I get to far in this, I must add that I used the Rail Europe app to book all my rail travel except for one. I have done a little research on Eurail passes and the like, but I prefer the comfort of a ticket and a booked seat to how I understand how that works. Rail Europe is an easy to use way to book your travel across different countries.
For all of my train travel this time around, I bumped up to first or business class. In 2024, my Brussels to London trip on Eurostar in standard class was $82.50. In 2026, my London to Brussels trip was $130.50 in Eurostar Plus, which is a step up from standard but not business class. I had a single seat, and there was food and beverage service, which made the extra cost worth it, though I have to say Eurostar is in some major need of upgrades. These are mostly the same trains that rolled out when the Channel Tunnel first opened. They are about to get more competition, which I think will drive costs down and make things a lot nicer.
For the overnight train from Brussels to Vienna, I booked directly with ÖBB, which is Austria’s main rail company. I booked a room that fits three for the current equivalent of $294, but I was the only person in the room. This was the priciest travel I took this trip, but the way I see it, I saved myself transit and a hotel stay by taking the NightJet (my original plan was to fly to Munich and take the train the rest of the way).
This was an older train, which had its issues, but I understand they are rolling out newer trains. It was also a lot better than the European Sleeper I took from Berlin to Brussels in 2024, but part of that was the minimal AC and very hot weather.
The last three train rides were all commuter style rail, and it was universally affordable, even for First Class: Vienna to Budapest – $37, Budapest to Prague – $54.50 (nearly 7.5 hours), and Prague to Berlin – $58.50. The first two were RegioJet, and I was in a berth with three other folks. There was a lot of room and perks like prosecco and coffee. The train to Berlin was operated by Deutsche Bahn, and it was much nicer. Seats were in a 2-1 configuration, and I was fortunate enough to get a single seat.
Other than the overnight train, which was still a pretty rough experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to do any of these trains again.
Local Transit
A quick note on getting around the various cities I visited. If you’ve traveled in any city with mass transit like Chicago or New York, then you are pretty much used to what the London Tube does with their rides. I didn’t really explore passes this time around, but tap to pay works great there. The Tube is affordable and fairly easy to navigate, but I would definitely use Apple Maps to get around. Yes, I like Apple Maps in cities a lot better than Google Maps. It is just my preference.
For the rest of the cities, Brussels, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and even Berlin, the transit situation is a lot less straight forward. You still need to buy tickets and validate them, but there aren’t necessarily turnstiles and things you need to use to get into the stations. It makes it look like an honor system, but this is where many tourists get tripped up.
For all of these cities, I purchased multiple day passes via their mobile apps, either transit based or branded CityCards that usually offer some sort of discount system for attractions. For these options, you activate them and pretty much forget about them unless you are stopped by transit checkers looking to curb people not paying. The most aggressive city I saw this in was Budapest, but I saw it in Prague, too. If you are caught without a ticket, the staff can fine you on the spot. You can’t hurry and buy one online, either.
If you’re spending multiple days in a city, it is worth downloading the apps ahead of time, getting them setup with payment information, and be ready to buy your passes when you get to the city. Then you can just sit back and hop on and hop off all the modes of available transit and not worry about getting fined.
That is about it for transit, but I’ll be back with some more topics in the near future. I fully understand that for a lot of people, navigating transit in other countries may be a scary thing, but there was never a point in my entire trip where I felt completely lost or in an unsafe situation. There were times in Budapest, Prague, and Berlin where I had to stop and get my bearings, especially if signage is not as clear for non-native speakers, but if you use the tools available to you, namely the super computer you are holding in your hand, you can get around most major cities via train, tram, or bus without bothering to call a car all the time.
Hope you found this informative!
