My Interrail route: an intense trip across Europe

Hi everyone!

Today I would like to share with you the route that I carefully put together for my first Interrail across Europe.

What is Interrail?

Interrail is a really really great train pass for people under 27 (everyone at any age can use it but young people have a bigger discount!)

On the website you can find the perfect offer for you: a one country pass, a month's pass, a two-month pass... And the longer you travel for, the less expensive your journey is!

The context and reason for my trip

For my Art degree, I had to do obligatory work experience. Being interested in foreign countries, I managed to find one in Hamburg, Germany.

But looking at the train tickets from Paris to Hamburg, I saw it would have cost at least €200.

Having a limited student budget, I luckily thought of my friend who had spoken about a €200 euro pass of 3 journeys to the surrounding area, so I jumped at the chance!

The only glitch is that my work experience lasts a month and a half so I'm going to have to buy the two-month pass with 10 journeys. And what a shame it would be to buy it without using the other 8 journeys...!

So, it's the perfect opportunity, it's now or never to discover Europe which is so close yet seems so far away!

In total, that's one month of work experience and one month of travelling (with two events from 3 to 7 days included).

How did I choose my destinations?

The choice of destinations was quite simple for me.

• I had already found out about 2 events which I wanted to go to ('Redhead Festival' in the Netherlands, and an event for Esperantists in Slovakia - I'm an Esperantist-)
• Then, having had several foreign pen pals and friends, I wanted to stop at theirs to say hi (a friend in Vienna, Mainz, Budapest and Fribourg).
• Also, to avoid going long distances, I added a few stops in towns I didn't know anything about!

  Prague, Krakow, Ljubljana, Zagreb... )

So after that, I only had to map out the route in a logical order which was the most fun part!

And with those three elements, the itinerary was complete!

After, knowing how long to stay in each city, I have to admit was a bit tricky. I just did it off the cuff!

The famous journey (a little flawed I admit), but one which would kill two birds with one stone (work experience, visiting friends, events, discoveries, restricted routes... )

Mainz

Mainz was my first destination, because my Korean friend I met during my volunteering work in Iceland, was studying there. It was a bit strange to see my friends again and to see them in their daily routine.

Hamburg

I went to Hamburg to do my work experience with a content creator.

If I had to quickly describe what it was like, I'd say it's a port town which has many different atmospheres depending on the area you're in.

I won't say any more because I intend on doing an article on it, but I would say I was a bit disappointed in terms of what I got out of it.

Prague

Prague was not like any other city I've been to before. It's one of my favourite cities of the trip, I really loved the "fairy-tale" feel to it and the rich culture it has. Unfortunately, I was only there for 2 days and I wasn't able to explore more than the tourist centre. I would have loved to have got lost and discover this city and country more deeply, because I get the feeling I just saw the facade shown to tourists.

Bratislava

I must admit that I didn't have any expectations of Bratislava: I made sure not to look at any photographs of the city before arriving there just to let myself be surprised.

And in fact, it worked since I really didn't expect the medieval atmosphere!

To be honest, I wasn't too moved by this city. The tourist centre is lovely, but once you go out of it to see the more authentic side, I didn't particularly like it.

Once again, I only stayed for one entire day, but it was enough to visit all the main places to see.

Liptovský Hrádok

I wouldn't recommend visiting this little village, although it's pretty, because there's nothing special to see. I was there for just one event with my friends. And it allowed me to get to Krakow by bus!

Krakow

Krakow was a really lovely destination! I found it very similar to Prague. I was there for 2 days and I think that was enough. Once again, I will certainly write an article on it!

Vienna

In Vienna, I met up with a friend who was able to show me around and take me to the different parts of the city. I stayed there for 3 days and equally, I thought that was enough, to visit the prettiest areas of the city. I really liked the view of the château de Sissi (the castle), the libraries, and I even got to say hi to the tombs of Mozart and Klimt.

Budapest

In Budapest, I also went to see my Hungarian friend. I was able to explore areas which are less touristic, and I stayed there for 5 days (the recommendable amount of time because the city isn't too big either).

I have a huge soft spot for the Fisherman's Bastion and the boat bus which takes you to see a beautiful view of the architecture and the city! We also took a lovely walk with an amazing view, but I think that this city deserves a whole article to itself!

Zagreb

Yet another city I knew nothing about before arriving. I was pleasantly surprised, even if it wasn't one of my favourites. Once again, it was lovely to walk around, but very small. It's worth walking high up and seeing the beautiful view from above. But you can see all the pretty places very quickly, and my 2-day stay was definitely enough!

Ljubljana

Ljubljana surprised me the most on this trip!

Like Bratislava, I made sure not to find out any information about it or to look at the photos, or things to do there in advance so I could have the pleasure of discovering it when I arrived!

And I absolutely loved it! I found this city super cute and relaxing.

I really felt at home! I stayed there for 2 days and it was enough because the city is rather small. Even still, I would like to go back there to explore the less touristic areas outside of the city centre a little more.

Tilburg

I stayed in this city for 3 days to go to the 'Red Head Festival' (a kind of festival where the redheads around the world get together, it's really fun!)

The city is so cute! I wouldn't necessarily recommend visiting it because I didn't find it particularly special or unique for all that. But I still had a great time, especially as it was my first time in the Netherlands.

Bruges

This stop wasn't planned, but it's not every day you're in the Netherlands. My Interrail pass wasn't checked, (and also, I was still able to modify my first journey).

So, I took advantage of this to make an extra stop in Bruges, on the way, before going back to Paris.

I only stayed for one day and that was enough to go for a long walk and take in the atmosphere. I recommend it because it's so pretty and lovely despite there being many tourists!

Paris

'Home sweet home... ' I'm only adding in this last bit, which was my departure destination and my arrival destination, just to quickly mention the last stage of my journey home.

In fact, I didn't think I would be so sad. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I was so sad! I realised at that point that travelling was so important to me.

And I admit I was touched by the contrast of all the lovely people, who were lively and radiant, I met on my trip, and the gloomy and depressed people when I took the metro in Paris to get back home.

Anyway, my return was extremely difficult, although I admit that I was really tired from all the stops and the length of the intense trip.

And my next stage, Erasmus in Venice: Link ! I can't wait to live it and share it with you!

And lastly, all this to say, that even if my route is completely disjointed, I hope it will give you some ideas and inspire you to want to travel!

See you soon!

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