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

My dream journey would be a slow crawl from the base of the Matterhorn in Zermatt down to the UNESCO-protected Lavaux wine terraces overlooking Lake Geneva. I love the idea of transitioning from the rugged, icy peaks of the High Alps to the sun-soaked, terraced vineyards in a single day, all while watching the scenery through a panoramic window with a local glass of Chasselas in hand.

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👇

I dream of doing the Flåmsbana. Having grown up by the sea in a very mild place I have never experienced snow and snowy periods, so seeing a stretch that crosses the Hardangervidda plateau passing through all those mountain areas, would probably make me cry and get excited. I saw snow in Germany this winter during an Interrail and it left me with an imparable memory. If I were to choose to approach it to other routes to make a long Interrail trip I would probably choose to do Hamburg - Kiel - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Oslo - Bergen

I dream of doing the Flåmsbana. Having grown up by the sea in a very mild place I have never experienced snow and snowy periods, so seeing a stretch that crosses the Hardangervidda plateau passing through all those mountain areas, would probably make me cry and get excited. I saw snow in Germany this winter during an Interrail and it left me with an imparable memory. If I were to choose to approach it to other routes to make a long Interrail trip I would probably choose to do Hamburg - Kiel - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Oslo - Bergen

Tough decision, but if I have to choose it would be Narvik-Kiruna and Rovaniemi-Oulu are both interesting during Winter times.

I'm a Scandinavia lover by heart! The best slow train ride of my life has been the Inlandsbanan in Sweden. It's really slow (max. speed of 80 km/h), but that gives you the opportunity to really see the landscape, really take it in. The train takes you all the way from Kristinehamm to Gällivare, which is a distance of 1300 km. It's the longest single train ride I ever took and I think it could be the longest one in Europe too!

Too mamy great routes to choose from, Prague to Budapest sat in the dining car was probably my all time favourite long/slow journey. Really want to do Narbik to Stockholm but think that will turn into a Narvik to Istanbul via 50 cities for my 50th birthday 

A really slow journey? From Poland's eastern border to Germany's western border in 2022. Almost 37 hours of train travel.

All this to visit my aunt for the first time in Germany and avoid paying a fortune for train tickets, which can be expensive in Germany – I only traveled from east to west on regional trains with a "9 euro ticket". In Poland, I had a 50% student discount, so I could choose faster connections to the border – with just two transfers.

The journey was full of adventure and beautiful views. Or maybe I dreamed it all? It's possible; it was a tough journey, and I needed a few days to recover. But meeting up after all these years was worth it!

But I have since realized that a faster and more comfortable journey is sometimes better. The fastest connections connect two points in about 15 hours—more than twice as fast! Thanks to the new direct connection, I can have dinner at home, breakfast in Berlin, and lunch at my aunt's.

With an Interrail pass, I don't have to worry about a sudden ticket price increase or cancellation fees—after all, who can predict what will happen in a week or a month? I get on the train and travel when it suits me and it’s really comfortable.

I loved the trainride from Marsaille to Barcelona because you look outside of the window and suddenly see flamings and salt flats in the middle of Europe and in the distance the mediterrainian sea.

This year I would love to explore Norway by train!

My favourite route was crossing the sea from Denmark to Sweden. It really makes you want to jump out and throw yourself into the sea and into life in general. 

But my dream would be to travel through the Balkans. Unfortunately the railways are cut from Croatia to the rest of our neighbouring yugoslav countries so it's a bit more difficult :/

While traveling for work, the train from München to Villach was the best office I’ve ever had. Might have spent more time taking pictures of the mountains than actually working though 🤭

My dream (hopefully becoming reality next year) is to travel all the way from The Netherlands to Sicily by train 🥰

I love the slow train route travelling down to Ticino in Switzerland! You can watch the lakes from both sides of the windows!

And this summer I plan on going to Bretagne in France with my friends by train, i imagine it to also be beautiful.

Me encanto viajar por Reino Unido , Amsterdam y Belgica, repetiria otra vez.

The train journey that’s next on my wishlist is the Norway in a Nutshell journey from Oslo to Flåm that I wish to embark on to because of its beautiful scenery when I’ll hopefully visit one of my best friends in Bergen I met at 16, and another one in Trondheim doing her Erasmus exchange next year !

My favourite train is for sure from Zuerich to Milan! You pass through Italy through Lugano and pass lake Como!!

My favourite route so far was from Bern to Basel, watching the sunrise over the mountains

We did a 28 day Interrail trip several years ago. I think my favorite leg of that trip was the Bernia Express. We got off the train at Lake Lugano and to our surprise a concours automobile event was happening that weekend.

When I left the beautiful treinstation of Porto I traveled by try towards the Douro Vallei. The Blue tiles that I thought I left behind in Porto welcomed me again at the cute small train station in Pinhão. But the most beautiful part was off course the journey towards it. Views of green forests and the river that runs through the valley. It almost looked like I was riding through a jungle of leaves from time to time. The train was old but still quite comfortable and after this I sat down by the river and ate the best stake I ever had with a glass of wine from the region. I would recommend everyone who has the opportunity to take this train because the views were better than by taking a boat across the river.

I really enjoyed travelling from Vilnius to Tallinn. I’m looking forward to doing it again, especially with the reduced waiting time in Valga now that the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian railways have coordinated their timetables.

I would like to take the “Hogwarts Express” through Scotland some Day.

My girlfriend and I have never seen the northern lights. The train journey next on my (our!) wishlist would be to embark on an Arctic adventure, taking the night trains from Hamburg to Stockholm and then from Stockholm to Abisko in December.

To be honest I’ve only had one Interrail experience so far, but it was an unforgettable one: the destination from Poland to Amsterdam. What made it special was not the destination itself but the journey. It was soo peaceful to watch the landscapes change as I was surrounded by nature and endless green 🥹 

I’d love to do a bigger interrail journey in the future maybe through Vienna, Prague and Budapest next 

My dream slow travel route would be along the Atlantic coast: Bordeaux, Hossegor, Biarritz and especially Saint-Jean-de-Luz — one of my favourite places.

It reminds me of home in New Zealand, and ideally I’d continue on to San Sebastián.

Train travel in Norway is fantastic, really enjoyed the Flåmsbana and the route between bergen and Oslo (in the snow).

I love taking the train from Paris to Milan and watching the lush French countryside give way to the majestic Alps. One day, I’d like to try taking the Amtrak across the United States: I love the idea of sleeping in a train and waking up with such different scenery!

Checklist: Bernina Express, Venice - München, Oslo - Bergen, Zagreb - Split, night train Prague - Warschau, Clermont-Ferrand - Nîmes: all beauties!

Wishlist: night train Milano - Palermo + Ferrovia Circumetnea, Stockholm - Narvik