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

The perfect slow railway trip for me is leaving Bucharest on a night train, carrying dreams into the dark while the city lights fade behind me. I wake to the elegance of Budapest and after a few days move ahead to meet the grace of Vienna, the magic of Venice, the timeless wonder of Rome, the style of Milano, the golden glow of Cannes, the creative fire of Barcelona, and the warm light of Valencia. I follow architecture, art, and beauty across Europe, and with every station I become more certain, more confident, and more in love with life. Somewhere along the rails, I realize the beautiful world I came to find has been awakening inside me all along.

I would have to pick the sleeper from Berlin to Malmo when I first Interrailed (at the long overdue age of 53!), with my then 10 year old son. A mad adventure but the excitement of catching a sleeper train was the highlight, when we saw the sun rise over Denmark. One of my happiest memories, train or otherwise.

I would love to visit all of Europe, but at this time my next destination would be Narvik in Norway, via the swedish sleeper train.

Oof! My favourite route is through switzerland, seeing all the mountaint and the blue lakes. From there I usually go to northern Italy: but this year on the wish list is to go through south of Italy, and then a ferry to the Greek island Corfu. Very excited!

The route that I couldn't help but think of was part of my first interrail trip. It goes from Marseille to Sevilla with stops in Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid. I loved the coast and all the cities :)

My all time favourite trip is over the Bernina Pass on local trains stopping off all the way, and savouring the views at Alpe Grum

In 2023, I traveled through Europe for almost three months. The most beautiful train journey was from Venice to Vienna. What a view! Another stunning route was from Lyon to Barcelona. Along the way, I saw flamingos standing in a small river. In a month, I’ll be interrailing again. This time I’ll go from Portugal through Spain and France, back to the Netherlands. I’m really looking forward to it! It would be wonderful to make another trip like that in the future.

I LOVED the Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland. If I won this, I’d probably go to Austria to visit my ex-foster son, who lives there now, and then continue to Bulgaria, which I think is the only European country I’ve never visited!

For me, the perfect train journey is the one that leads to the heart of Slovenia. I love the untouched beauty of its mountain landscapes that you can see from the train window, even before you descend the train. There is a unique peace in watching the Julian Alps unfold as the train climbs toward Ljubljana and Bled. It's a journey where nature speaks louder than words. I want to rediscover Slovenia because it's a place that doesn't need many words to impress, it just needs to be seen.

My favorite journey with Interrail was taking the regional train in spain from El Ferrol to Oviedo and then taking the train from Oviedo to Santander. It was a wonderful ride with beautiful landscapes and tracks with only one line, so you were surrounded by nature and had a wonderful view while slowly traveling through it.

My favourite train journey is the Ofoten railway, the route from Narvik in Norway to Kiruna in Sweden. It is a historic railway route that opened in 1902 and was constructed under nearly unimaginable circumstances because of the challenging terrain. With the knowledge of the route´s history riding that old train (where you can open the windows by the way! #fensterauf) with those beautiful views is a very unique experience - my favourite train ride so far.

My favorite route is the night train from Budapest to Brasov - but the one taking the northern tracks via Nyirabrany/Valea Lui Mihai border crossing. Beautiful nature and the most comfortable rolling stock on any tracks right now.

It's a famous one but with good reason: I absolutely loved the Bernina express from Switzerland to Italy!!! Traveling with 2 young children means we don't get to hike in the mountains a lot, but this train ride gave us spectaculair views without even leaving the train! It's on my wishlist to repeat the route in winter :)

My favourite slow travel train route is from Paris to Bordeaux and Hendaye, onwards to San Sebastián and Barcelona, then finishing in Córdoba and Sevilla.

You get to experience a mix of big cities and small cities, a wine capital and a culinary capital, oceanic climate and Mediterranean climate, and distinct French, Basque, Catalan and Andalusian culture. 

My favorite Route is the Rhetian Train from Chur to Arosa. Beautiful wild Alpine Landscape.

My favourite Route is the trip around lake Geneva with the train, either going or coming from Geneva in the direction of Vevey. There I can enjoy the view of the lake and the Alps. I have a secret stop where I can enjoy a fresh refreshing swim in the lake and continue with my journey

I very much enjoyed the trip Zermatt-St. Moritz. The views are simply breathtaking and the tour made me philosophical about our place in space.

My favourite slow travel train route is from Edinburgh to Inverness because of the beautiful landscape of the Cairngorms. 
This year, I plan to travel to the Pyrenees. 

My dream slow travel journey is the line through the Scottish Highlands to Mallaig. Not just for the wild landscapes, but for that rare feeling of stepping outside of time, where every curve seems to tell a story. I don’t just want to arrive, I want to get lost along the way.

This summer, I’m travelling with my youngest from Germany through Austria to Italy and on through France to Spain. We’ll be on the move a lot and the trip will take 18 days.  It involves two flights, as it would have been difficult to manage otherwise, but apart from that we’ll be travelling mainly by train.

Next year, the plan is for me to take my older child on a trip with less sun and less sea… Our interests differ a bit;)

The plan is to travel from Germany via Denmark to Sweden and then back to Sweden via Norway. 

The idea would be…

We’ll set off from Hamburg —1- > Odense (Denmark) (cheaper than Copenhagen but reachable as a day trip) - 2 -> Alvesta - 3 -> Uddevalla - 4 -> Oslo - 5 -> Trondheim - 6 -> Östersund - 7 -> Sundsvall – one too many ;) 8 -> Stockholm …. We’ll fly back 

I enjoyed the trip from Amsterdam to Vienna. It was like travelling through European history.

Id love to take the Bernina express. I've wanted to go since my first interrail trip many years ago, after I met travellers who had just been. It crosses the Alps with incredible views, and I like that the journey itself is the highlight rather than just the destination. The stops along the way are also known for being incredible to travel by train. 

My favourite trip so far was the tour of SWITZERLAND that I have made last year

Christmas 2011, my long awaited trip on the Glacier Express from Brig to Chur, my retirement present was cancelled at the last minute due to sudden avalanche risk - the trip to Chur via Zurich, although scenic at times, still leaves me wondering what the real thing would have been like!

Zurich to Graz, direct route with beautiful panorama vagons in first class. Amazing views of the Alps!