Has anyone had a holiday on a train.

Lullabelle - what type of trip or itinerary were you thinking about? My assumption, when you said "train holiday," was that you're looking at sleeping on the train, not just taking a train to a destination (or between a string of destinations).

I know there's a luxury line that runs through Cornwall. Can't remember the name of it, but that's on our short list.

We've watched several programs on the Orient Express, and I have to say, it doesn't quite look like what I'd want. It's very short, so I'd want to do a there-and-back trip, but that gets expensive.

I'd love to take that Trans-Siberian trip, all across Russia, but the wife says no way in hell is she doing that. :)
 
I'll tell you about our full-day train trip from Prague to Munich, 2015. It was something like seven or nine hours.

First of all, the main train station in Prague is pretty small, very sensibly laid out, just a big rectangle hall with walkways all along one long side out to the platforms. Easy.

While we were waiting, we noticed this man, no uniform or anything, walking up and talking to each person (or group) in the terminal. I thought he was either with the train company and something was wrong, or that he was pan-handling.

When he finally got to us, he said hello in English (everybody we spoke with in Prague spoke English) and asked where we were going.

"Um...Munich, on the 08:48 service."

"Wonderful. You will find your train waiting for you on platform 6, just through that walkway, and you will have no trouble. Are you leaving or coming back?"

"We'll be going back home to the US after Munich."

"Ah, well then, thank you for visiting us! I trust you had a good time?!"

We assured him we did and he moved on to the next group. Now, I ask you, just how nice is that?! 👍🏻

We had first class tickets on the train, mainly for table service, since we were going to be on the train for so long. That's when disappointment set in.

First, I watch too much Victorian-era TV and movies, and I wanted a train car like Sherlock Holmes would have traveled in - lots of wood paneling and leather seats and four people in a cabin, and a little door I could slam shut, and I didn't get that. It was just a boring old plastic table and hard fabric-covered seats. It didn't even have a door I could close. :(

Then, there was one person working the food service and she was in the worst mood ever. Rude as could be. Complained when we tried to pay with a card, she wanted cash, then complained about having to make change, and we didn't pay with a big bill or anything, then slopped our teas down, threw our pastries like frisbees across the table, no plates, still wrapped up.

Went to use the restroom (and it was a sit-down visit), which I don't do unless I positively have to while out and about, and the toilet chamber was tiny, like smaller than on an airplane, and every time we hit any kind of slight bump, the door flew open the little window dropped down. Keep in mind, this was December, and it was freezing cold, and the restroom was on the backside of the car, between the cars, and it was so small that when the door would pop open, it felt like you really were just sitting right on the little platform between the cars.

So that put an end to my plops. :(

Finally, after several hours, we got into Munich. Unfortunately, the train jerked suddenly just as I was reaching for our bags, and did a horrible turn to my back. I was virtually immobile.

Thankfully, we were staying just two stops from the main train station, and the hotel is built right on top of our stop, so there's a little elevator for guests, if you know where to look. That made getting to the room easier.

Here's how bad it was. This is me in Prague, a day or two before leaving (pardon the filter, this was my work profile for a while, and they hate filters, so the rebel in me used a filter):
Before

Before


This is me after getting to the room that first night in Munich:
After

After


Bit of a difference, yeah? I've got some entry-level PTSD going on there. 😣
 
TastyReuben said:
Lullabelle - what type of trip or itinerary were you thinking about? My assumption, when you said "train holiday," was that you're looking at sleeping on the train, not just taking a train to a destination (or between a string of destinations).

I know there's a luxury line that runs through Cornwall. Can't remember the name of it, but that's on our short list.

We've watched several programs on the Orient Express, and I have to say, it doesn't quite look like what I'd want. It's very short, so I'd want to do a there-and-back trip, but that gets expensive.

I'd love to take that Trans-Siberian trip, all across Russia, but the wife says no way in hell is she doing that. :)
Click to expand...

Yes we are thinking sleeper train, it won't be for a few years but definitely something we are interested in.
 
TastyReuben said:
I'll tell you about our full-day train trip from Prague to Munich, 2015. It was something like seven or nine hours.

First of all, the main train station in Prague is pretty small, very sensibly laid out, just a big rectangle hall with walkways all along one long side out to the platforms. Easy.

While we were waiting, we noticed this man, no uniform or anything, walking up and talking to each person (or group) in the terminal. I thought he was either with the train company and something was wrong, or that he was pan-handling.

When he finally got to us, he said hello in English (everybody we spoke with in Prague spoke English) and asked where we were going.

"Um...Munich, on the 08:48 service."

"Wonderful. You will find your train waiting for you on platform 6, just through that walkway, and you will have no trouble. Are you leaving or coming back?"

"We'll be going back home to the US after Munich."

"Ah, well then, thank you for visiting us! I trust you had a good time?!"

We assured him we did and he moved on to the next group. Now, I ask you, just how nice is that?! 👍🏻

We had first class tickets on the train, mainly for table service, since we were going to be on the train for so long. That's when disappointment set in.

First, I watch too much Victorian-era TV and movies, and I wanted a train car like Sherlock Holmes would have traveled in - lots of wood paneling and leather seats and four people in a cabin, and a little door I could slam shut, and I didn't get that. It was just a boring old plastic table and hard fabric-covered seats. It didn't even have a door I could close. :(

Then, there was one person working the food service and she was in the worst mood ever. Rude as could be. Complained when we tried to pay with a card, she wanted cash, then complained about having to make change, and we didn't pay with a big bill or anything, then slopped our teas down, threw our pastries like frisbees across the table, no plates, still wrapped up.

Went to use the restroom (and it was a sit-down visit), which I don't do unless I positively have to while out and about, and the toilet chamber was tiny, like smaller than on an airplane, and every time we hit any kind of slight bump, the door flew open the little window dropped down. Keep in mind, this was December, and it was freezing cold, and the restroom was on the backside of the car, between the cars, and it was so small that when the door would pop open, it felt like you really were just sitting right on the little platform between the cars.

So that put an end to my plops. :(

Finally, after several hours, we got into Munich. Unfortunately, the train jerked suddenly just as I was reaching for our bags, and did a horrible turn to my back. I was virtually immobile.

Thankfully, we were staying just two stops from the main train station, and the hotel is built right on top of our stop, so there's a little elevator for guests, if you know where to look. That made getting to the room easier.

Here's how bad it was. This is me in Prague, a day or two before leaving (pardon the filter, this was my work profile for a while, and they hate filters, so the rebel in me used a filter):
Before

Before


This is me after getting to the room that first night in Munich:
After

After


Bit of a difference, yeah? I've got some entry-level PTSD going on there. 😣
Click to expand...

:ohmy:
 
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18MfilD_l-E

My Sister takes this and one other train every few years.
Expensive as all get out, but her tales are amazing.
It is an adventure. You wouldn’t think so but it is.

My wife is a seasoned, dialed-in traveler. She mentioned that there are some rail plans/passes for travel in some countries available to foreign visitors that locals can not buy. Has to be bought from a foreign address.
Pays to do your homework.

I like the train The Canadian. Also brutally expensive.

No food smells better than breakfast on the train.
 
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Lullabelle said:
Yes we are thinking sleeper train, it won't be for a few years but definitely something we are interested in.
Click to expand...

My parents have done several riverboat cruises in Europe. They loved them. You might look into that as an alternative.

CD
 
caseydog said:
My parents have done several riverboat cruises in Europe. They loved them. You might look into that as an alternative.

CD
Click to expand...
Yeah, the one we took (Danube during Christmas season) was a lot of fun. We're looking forward to doing another one at some point.
 
I went to Greece by train many years ago. It was certainly an eventful journey. I shared a sleeper with an Irishman going on holiday, 2 Greek sailors going home on leave, and a self-confessed prostitute of dubious nationality! In fact the rest of our carriage and the next one were full of Greek sailors going home on leave, so she had a whale of a time - luckily in their sleepers and not in ours. Although it was supposed to be an express train, the journey took nearly 2 days from Stuttgart to Thessaloniki, mainly due to the fact that at the [then] Yugoslav border the train became a normal stopping train until it got to Greece. Our sleeper became a temporary home for several chickens and a goat all going with their owners to market. Once we reached the Greek border we all had to disembark to get something to eat (there were only snacky type foods available on board) and while they cleaned the train. It didn't take long; the cleaners were obviously used to it. Then all our tickets and passports were checked before we got back on the train. I got out at Thessaloniki and had to get a bus to the nearest town to where I was going, and a taxi from then on.
The return journey some time later was a lot better. Apart from a slightly extended stop at the border where some passengers without seat reservations were ejected from the train, it carried on to Zagreb without incident. People had been warned to keep their luggage with them when we boarded the train, and in Zagreb the reason became only too evident. The train split there with the front half where I was going on to Munich and the rear carriages going to god knows where. There was panic as 2 groups of passengers realised their luggage was in the rear of the train and it was reversed into Zagreb for them to get on and try to get their luggage back. It was not a sleeper train but was still pretty OK because apart from this one incident it travelled straight through to Munich from then on. At Munich we changed trains to the Ancona-Hook of Holland express and travelled first class to Stuttgart, arriving in the early hours of the morning. The worse part of the journey was travelling home on the workers' train from Stuttgart to Waiblingen with its wooden slatted seats (like park benches). At least I wouldn't fall asleep and miss my stop!

The only other times I have been on a train in Europe was travelling a couple of times between Stuttgart and London and return, and once when I was 15 going on my first trip on my own to Salzburg to stay with friends. The next times I went there, I went by car (not a long journey from Waiblingen).
 
No, but I'll tell you one thing. Some of the guys in the ticket offices are a bit dumb.

I went to a ticket office in Southampton a while ago and asked for two return tickets.

The ticket officer said, "certainly sir, where to?"

So I said, "well back here of course, it's a return ticket you idiot."

Badda boom, tish!

Seriously now.

We haven't been on a train cruise but it's definitely on our to do list.

Once we were travelling back through Austria and ended up staying a few days in a place called Seefeld in Tirol. On one of the days we decided to take the train into Innsbruck. It was a lovely picturesque train journey. Several months later chatting to one of my colleagues at work he told me that it was the exact same route as used in the film Von Ryan's Express.
 
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