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

My favourite train trip is on the regional train from Firenze to Orte. It rolls through a harmonious hilly landscape spotted with olive and lemon trees, old villages on hilltops and bright sunshine. Whenever I travel the route, lightheartedness overcomes me as I am off work and duties whenever I am taking that train.

The train journey from Sarajevo to Mostar taking the early morning time. It's a beautiful journey through mountains, plenty of tunnels and along the beautiful green Neretva River.

The regional train from Sibiu to Mediaș, and later onwards to Sighișoara.
Slowly, very slowly, pushing on through small Transylvanian villages, inbetween fields and abandoned factories. Stopping in the middle of roads to let passengers on and off, or at times coming to a halt in what appeared to be thick woods which turned out to be scheduled stops, all while the train was leaning dangerously to one side as the train tracks might not have been repaired in 3 decades. The doors appeared to be malfunctioning and didn’t close, which thankfully helped deal with the heat.

The West Highland Line is on my wishlist because I'd love to explore the Scottish Highlands at a proper pace, and I reckon it'd be the perfect base for some decent hiking in between stops. Plus, the Glenfinnan Viaduct looks iconic and way less touristy than other UK train routes, which appeals to me.

My favorite route is the one from Nížkov to Žďár nad Sázavou in the Vysočina region (CZ), because I ride it to school and there is a beautiful view of the valley the route passes through. At the same time, the route is followed by a cycle path that runs along the middle of the route and I like to watch people doing various sports here.😋

Next on my list is London to Istanbul 🇹🇷

I love travelling by train, and outside Europe have experienced the Guayaquil to Riobamba adventure in Ecuador in 2003 and the Kandy to Ella blue train in Sri Lanka last year. Within Europe, I had an interrailing adventure in 2023 for a couple of weeks and loved it as an easy, relaxed way to travel and enjoy the views. I’m retiring at Christmas and plan to do more train travel with Scandinavia a definite on the list, and I’m thinking Italy too as somewhere to go soon, getting right down to the toe of the boot! 

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 favourite slow train experience was when I travelled from Berlin through Warsaw, and from there to Bialystok - then the slow trains came and twice busses where there was no connection (Kaunas-Vilnius, and Vilnius-Riga because of rails under construction or no train connactions at all at that time). To do research in the national railway companies’ websites finding out how to cross borders and to change from  broad gauge to  narrow gauge tracks was a real adventure. And the rail service people were always so nice and keen to help until Tallin. In a few from now weeks I will experience full railway connection from Berlin over Warsaw and Kaunas and Riga  to Tallin - with one overnight stay, as a matter of fact!

So many choices, but for a 5 day ticket, Sicily. Stunning scenery and history, food, wine and culture🇮🇹

Step down a pace on the slow train along the Douro river from Porto to Pinhão with stunning scenery, colourful tiled stations and elegant trains. What more could you want?
Well, perhaps a rail pass to Lisbon to celebrate my son’s wedding in September…that would be the icing on the cake! 

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👇

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 train trip would be from Istanbul to London, while reading Bart Giepman’s Platform Europe, of course :-)

I loved traveling between Zurich and Vienna, and I would love to repeat this route, this time with a stop in Salzburg.

One of my favourite routes was from Barcelona to Latour-de-Carol - Enveitg in France, continuing with the “Yellow train” to Villefranche - Vernet-les-Bains and then to Perpignon. A really scenic tour through the Pyrenees!

We would love to explore more of Eastern Europe - We have never been to Romania, Hungary or Serbia, so a week long pass would be an amazing way to fly to Bucharest, travel Via Brasov to Bekescsaba in Hungary, from there down to Subotica (Serbia), finishing our trip in Belgrade.  If we had time I would love to carry onto Bar in Montenegro  :)

Dreaming about my first interrail through switzerland

Difficult to narrow down, I think it would be the train between Mostar and Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with plenty beautiful lakes and mountains passing by along the route. It’s been the most memorable train ride of my first interrail trip through the Balkan many years ago. 

In the past : Tirano to Monza

In the Future: Milano to Palerm

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👇

Id like to travel to the United Kingdom by Train. It must be exciting to pass through under the water. Also the sceneries from England to Scotland are amazing. I really would enjoy seeing all this by train. 

Ohhh, this is a hard one! But as I’m Austrian, I have to say that I love train rides through the snowy mountain landscape in our country! There are such scenic views, especially in winter! 😊

Marselle to Nice :-)

My favorite train ride is the one from Ljubljana to Innsbruck. Amazing slow route passing through the alps!

 I would say Oslo to Bergen for the breathtaking views!

Looking forward to my first interrail trip since 1974. 
I’m sure we will  enjoy all the rail journeys we are going to take but we are really delighted to go on the Glacier Express. Lyon to Geneva will be lovely and if the fountain is running on the lake,I hope to get another photo of albeit 52 years older ! 

I love travelling the slow way by train, as that’s the best way to really experience adventures. I have lots of destinations on my wishlist: I love Sweden, but I’d also like to visit Scotland & Ireland again. I’ve never really been in Spain, so that’s another trip I’d love to take.

I want to travel from Sweden through denmark and down to portugal and then back again through the Italian, Swiss and French alps😍 I am super excited to get out of school to go travel around Europe!