Win a copy of Platform Europe + an Interrail Pass! (closed)

For me it was the train ride along the coast from Bordeaux to Bilbao, when I did interrail in high school. Would like to do it again this summer :)

My favorite journey has been 1,5 month of interrailing through Europe from the Netherlands via Spain all the way to Romania and enjoying the company of everybody i met on the way. Yet the best part was from Vienna to Cluj-Napoca by Dacia Sleeping train and IC. the scenery and experience was unbelievable together with the stories of my fellow travellers

The best route is from Belgrade to Bar, by train 11h of beautiful landscape 

We’re celebrating the release of Platform Europe, the latest book written by our longtime friend Bart Giepmans. Bart is an author, travel journalist, photographer and a passionate advocate for exploring Europe by train.

He is a true champion of slow travel and spends much of the year discovering Europe by rail, embracing historic stations, meaningful encounters and the stories found along the tracks. He wrote and photographed most of the journeys featured in Platform Europe!

😍Win a copy of Bart’s beautiful book AND a FREE Interrail Global Pass (7 days in 1 month)!

Participation is open to all persons 16+ living in Europe. The giveaway ends on 28 April 2026 at 12 pm CET. Five winners will be randomly selected and contacted via the community DM on 28 April 2026. The winners will receive 1x Interrail Global Pass for 7 travel days within 1 month (2nd class) and 1x Platform Europe book. The book will be shipped free of charge.

📄 Read the full Terms & Conditions, here.

How to enter the giveaway

Whether you are an experienced rail traveller or still dreaming about your first trip:

💬 Tell us your favourite slow travel train route – or the train journey that's next on your wishlist – and why.

Share your answer in the comments below to enter the giveaway👇

My dream journey is definitely the Bernina Express route between Switzerland and Italy. I love the idea of seeing glaciers and alpine peaks through windows while you are relaxing on the train. It goes slowly up the Alps and thats what makes it special. The Bernina Express is about taking your time and enjoying the ride. For me it's not about getting from one place to another the journey on the Bernina Express is the best part. I want to take my time and watch the glaciers and peaks go by. The Bernina Express route is definitely my choice, for a slow travel experience.

My favourite slow travel train route (and my favourite railway in general) is the Linke Rheinstrecke between Koblenz and Bingen am Rhein in Germany, where you travel along the Rhine and pass numerous castles, small towns and great sights such as Burg Reichenstein, Bacharach and the Lorelei.

I have already read Perron Europa 1 and PE2, Bart Giepmans’ two books in Dutch, of which I believe Platform Europe is derived. I loved both of them, so I really recommend Platform Europe to everyone here!

Train leg through The Alps was my favorite. Amazing views even though the weather was cloudy. Maybe I’ll see it in its full glory next time.

Edinburgh to Inverness on the sleeper train watching the dawn over the sea

I’d love to travel along the narrow-gauge railway through northern Spain, as Sebastian Wilken describes it here in the Zugpost. Starting in Bilbao, via Santander, Oviedo and Farol to Vigo, and then on to Porto. Galicia is fantastic; we were in Vigo a few years ago – a fantastic city. Unfortunately, the train connections between France, Spain and Portugal aren’t that good, and sometimes a bus journey is simply quicker. But one day I’ll be back on the train, gazing at the countryside – slow travel as it should be.

Nighttrain from Milano to Syracusa

Pontresina to Tirano

I was lucky enough to travel all the way from Lyon to Sicily entirely by train😍
It’s one of the few places in the world where you’re both on the tracks and over the sea. It’s a memory I love to share, and it always sparks curiosity!
A good Italian coffee ☕ to wake up to after a night in a sleeper compartment, and it’s time to enjoy the rest of the journey. The views are breathtaking, no matter which window you look out of: on one side, the clear waters of the Mediterranean, which the train sometimes skims just a few meters away; on the other, a panoramic view of Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano.

This summer, I'd like to continue exploring Italy and this time travel all the way to Puglia -by train, of course! 🤞

I loved the route from London to Cornwall (Penzance) some stunning views of the sea and coastline in Cornwall. :)

My favourite route is the Italian coast line from Ventigmiglia to Genova and La Spezia. Stunning views, after the train is out of one of the many tunnels!

My favorite train journey was traversing the Alps on the route from Munich to Venice. I had just started to build a new life for myself after almost everything had been taken away from me, and it was my first big journey after the events - and the first time venturing out like this on my own. Standing on the platform in Munich, entering the train to another country was magical: I felt like in an old movie, boarding the Orient Express. I really slow travelled - no smartphone, just me, myself and the gorgeous views, with ever changing landscapes. It was early February, and I marvelled for hours at the rolling hills changing to snow and dramatic mountains, frozen waterfalls and then early spring in Italy. I was not expecting anything and excited what was waiting for me, but nothing could have prepared me for the last part of the ride, crossing the ocean at sunset, everything drenched in pink, and then suddenly, just right after leaving the gates of the station, finding myself in the middle of the mystic canals of Venice and stepping on a boat right in the last light of dusk. Truly magical!

Definitely Ventimiglia – Cuneo

I really liked the the railway between Oslo and Trondheim. At the Oslo train station you can get the best cinnamon rolls I ever ate and during the journey you see mountains, drive near rivers and lakes, all in all the whole "Scandinavian" experience. It takes some time but it is worth it!

We are looking forward to a journey from Ferrol to Santander along the “Green coast” of northern Spain in June. Apparently this is a slow but spectacular route which we intend to break with Parador stays in Ribadeo, Gijon and Santillana de Mare.

My favourite slow route is in Switzerland the Glacier Express through to Zermatt. Incredible mountain views and snowy scenes.  I would love to travel up through Norway to the Arctic circle and see the Northern lights. 

From Napoli to Sicilia with Intercity, where the train gets loaded onto a ferry to cross to Sicily, quite an experience xx

🚂 The Coastliner Express Route 🚂
My dream slow travel trip would be to reach southern Portugal by train, following the coast all the way. Starting in southern Germany, I’d first head to the Netherlands and then continue down through coastal France and Spain, watching the seas change from the North Sea to the Atlantic and finally the Algarve. I’d stop in seaside towns for walks, swims and good food, and let the changing coastline be the real highlight of the journey.

A train ride that is next on my bucketlist would be the one from Oslo to Bergen. Oslo is pretty close to my grandparents but I’ve never actually been there. So it is definetely a must for me!

The old EC route between Köln and Frankfurt am Main following the Rhine is one of the nicer routes I’ve done by daylight.

One of the routes on the todo list and where I probably going to to use the pass for is the Scottish Highland line.

So many great train journeys across Europe. One that I really enjoyed and was positively surprised by was from Russe to Sofia in Bulgaria.

My favourite slow travel route is from Nice to Menton, the classic Côte d’Azur (blue coast) route where you can see all of the beautiful cities and towns from the Mediterranean part of France and an amazing view of the sea. 

Next on my wish list is the Indian Pacific, the country is so vast it needs to be travelled by train to truly appreciate it.

I have been on my train journeys, starting with family trips on trains in India, then travelling 2500 kms to and from the University during semester breaks and now hopping on and off the well connected european rail network while working on my thesis under the faculty of transport planning. It has been a full circle moment for me. I have seen some amazing routes such as Salzburg-Innsbruck, St.Gallen-Wasserauen, Munich-Berchtesgarden and Dresden-Prague via Saxony Switzerland National Park. But the one that is always dear to me is the narrown gauge steam train from the city of Wernigerode to Brocken (the highest point in Northern Germany) which helped me to accomplish to climb Brocken from the Station of Schrieke. I have yet to use interrail pass, just like any other of my bucketlist goals which take a long time to accomplish, rescheduled sometimes after making the whole plan and sometimes even after making the first move (booking). However, I have been persistent in accomplishing some of the goals thanks to the trains (wait, did i not tell that I love trains?). Hope to get to some hopping on and off some cool trains this summer.

Choo Choo.