AMTRAK-P42
Conductor
Well, it has been a long time since I have posted over here. School and a lot of flying have seen me more over on the airline side of things lately. With being in Europe for the last 4 months though I have since been doing quite a bit of train travel again. Here is one particular trip worth mentioning:
Background:
I have 2 loves when it comes to travel; Trains and Planes. Lately I have been more focused on airline travel so this trip served as an opportunity for me to get back to the rails and enjoy some luxurious ground transportation (not an oxymoron, believe it or not!)
I have been living and studying in Milan, Italy for the past 4 months and thus went ahead and purchased an unlimited, 3 months, first class, global Eurail pass before arrival into Europe. I have to tell you without a doubt that this was the best $2,100 I have ever spent. Over the past 3 ½ months I have managed to travel on 25 different trains to 7 different countries, not to mention all throughout Italy. While I have not kept track of exactly how much money I saved versus buying the tickets right out, I can tell you that if I look at my 10 biggest trips, the full ticket prices already equal over $2,000. Needless to say, I got my moneys worth.
I would recommend this Eurail pass to anyone who has a lot of time and who really wants to travel almost every weekend. If you plan on staying put for a while, you might want to look at the 15 day pass, which gives you 15 days of Europe-wide first class travel and is not as expensive. Important: Make sure you get the flexi, otherwise your 15 days are consecutive.
But, I digress, on to the trip itself.
Trip
Milano Centrale Station – Barcelona
Train #372-Spanish Talgo Equipment
Grand-Class Singular Cabin
October 31st, 2008
Full Fare Cost: 600 Euro
Cost with Eurail Pass: 200 Euro
Since the Milano-Barcelona trains do not depart until late in the evening, I had the entire day to spend anxiously awaiting my departure. As before most trips, Airline or Rail, I try to fill my day with things that will take my mind off of the trip. Of course, this never really works. Fully packed and still hungry, as a big (inclusive) meal awaited me after departure, I headed from my apartment over to Milano Centrale. I won’t go into the station itself, but you have to see it to believe it. It makes any train station we have in the United States look pale by comparison.
As is per the norm here in Italy, tracks are inconsistently posted throughout the station. Some sign boards will show the track of your train over an hour before departure, while some boards decide not to show the track at all. The key is to walk around a bit until you see you train number and a Bin (track) number located next to it. My train was scheduled to depart at 7:40pm. I arrived at Central about an hour before and I managed to find my train waiting patiently on track number 4.
Train in Centrale:
Photo of Centrale taken on a different day:
Note on train equipment: For anyone who has any interest in trains, the equipment used on these premium overnight trains was manufactured by the Spanish Talgo company. This same company manufactured Amtrak cars in the United States for the Cascade service, which currently operates between Vancouver-Seattle-Portland-Eugene. While the version in the US does not really compare on the interior, one can experience the smooth ride aboard a Spanish Talgo trainset right here on our own soil.
As I boarded the train, my partially tri-lingual car attendant asked for my Eurail pass, Passport, and ticket. This is normal on European overnight trains and I was not too concerned with giving away these coveted possessions. In return, my car attendant handed me a hotel-style room key, a dinner/breakfast menu, and some other little advertisement pamphlets.
I made my way to room 4 which was to be my room for the 12 hours or so.
Interior of room:
The essentials:
Impressions: Well the physical set up of the room is efficient, but is certainly underwhelming for all the hype. Basic and comfortable would be the key words I would use to describe the room itself. The colors are not particularly soothing, the chairs are not plush, the bathroom and shower are very basic. But hey, we are on a train here, and to be honest, the fact that all this is private really helps the cause.
I settled into my room, put up my luggage, and took some more photos before departure for Barcelona.
We departed right on the advertised at 7:40pm headed for points west (and south). About 20 minutes after departure there was an announcement made that dinner was ready. I headed one car back in the trainset and found a really fantastic dinner set up.
Dinner set up:
I was able to chose a table to have to myself and settled in for what I expected to be a delicious meal on rails. Note: The entire meal is included in the ticket, so don’t feel bad about ordering to much champagne! Champagne was served first, followed by wine.
For the first course I opted for the salad:
Second course I went with the sweet pork with potatoes and some sort of vegetable I was unable to identify.
Dessert was an apple pie but unfortunately it was already gone before I realized that I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh well, you will have to use your imagination.
Overall impressions of dinner:
Honestly, the meal was delicious, but not plentiful. I have a pretty healthy appetite and after wine, bread, the salad, the small main dish, and pie, I found myself back in the café car about an hour later for a sandwich. Good news is that the snack car remains open late (with a fully stocked bar!)
After dinner I returned to my compartment to find my bed made up, amenity kit set out, and the lights dimmed. Not really being ready for bed yet, I asked if the attendant could make up the lower bunk instead of the upper bunk, which would allow me to use it more like a couch then as a bed. After a bit of trouble communicating across the language barrier, he finally understood what I wanted and did so following the next station stop. Before I went to bed I overheard him speaking some Italian to a couple in an adjacent compartment. My Italian is not great, but from what I was able to pick up, he was essentially letting them know that this train is often late, sometimes up to an hour and a half, and so that they should not expect to arrive into Barcelona on-time. All right then, I wont!
Station stop in Torino (already late):
Amenity Kit:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/D...go/IMG_0032.jpg
After an hour or so of watching my GPS, I decided to call it a night. A bottle of wine had more then done its job to exemplify my exhaustion of another week in Milano, and after a quick (water-lacking, though at least warm) shower, I hit the bed with a sigh and was asleep within minutes.
The next morning I awoke around 7am. After a quick check of the GPS to verify location (we were far enough away from Barcelona I knew we were going to be late!), I headed to the dining car for breakfast. I was able to pick the same seat I had the previous night for dinner and enjoyed a much more filling breakfast as I watched the Spanish countryside speed by.
Breakfast (yes, I already took a bite):
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/D...go/IMG_0033.jpg
About 20 minutes before arrival into Barcelona my car attendant came by to collect the room key and to hand me back my passport and such. I thanked him for everything and he wished me a good stay in Barcelona.
The train finally pulled in at about 930am, scheduled in at 9am. I took a few more pictures of the train and headed into the city.
Arrival into Barcelona:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/D...go/IMG_0037.jpg
Overall impressions:
I had a blast and I think it is a great experience. Unfortunately, I think given the price and the amount of time it takes to travel a distance which can be covered by air in about an hour and half, the trip is not something one should use for anything other then an adventure. The other problem is that since the train is overnight, you really don’t get to see much of the beautiful passing countryside. On the other hand, you don’t see much at 36,000 ft either.
Would I do it again? Probably not, but I am glad that I did. Would I try other over night trains in Europe? Absolutely!
Background:
I have 2 loves when it comes to travel; Trains and Planes. Lately I have been more focused on airline travel so this trip served as an opportunity for me to get back to the rails and enjoy some luxurious ground transportation (not an oxymoron, believe it or not!)
I have been living and studying in Milan, Italy for the past 4 months and thus went ahead and purchased an unlimited, 3 months, first class, global Eurail pass before arrival into Europe. I have to tell you without a doubt that this was the best $2,100 I have ever spent. Over the past 3 ½ months I have managed to travel on 25 different trains to 7 different countries, not to mention all throughout Italy. While I have not kept track of exactly how much money I saved versus buying the tickets right out, I can tell you that if I look at my 10 biggest trips, the full ticket prices already equal over $2,000. Needless to say, I got my moneys worth.
I would recommend this Eurail pass to anyone who has a lot of time and who really wants to travel almost every weekend. If you plan on staying put for a while, you might want to look at the 15 day pass, which gives you 15 days of Europe-wide first class travel and is not as expensive. Important: Make sure you get the flexi, otherwise your 15 days are consecutive.
But, I digress, on to the trip itself.
Trip
Milano Centrale Station – Barcelona
Train #372-Spanish Talgo Equipment
Grand-Class Singular Cabin
October 31st, 2008
Full Fare Cost: 600 Euro
Cost with Eurail Pass: 200 Euro
Since the Milano-Barcelona trains do not depart until late in the evening, I had the entire day to spend anxiously awaiting my departure. As before most trips, Airline or Rail, I try to fill my day with things that will take my mind off of the trip. Of course, this never really works. Fully packed and still hungry, as a big (inclusive) meal awaited me after departure, I headed from my apartment over to Milano Centrale. I won’t go into the station itself, but you have to see it to believe it. It makes any train station we have in the United States look pale by comparison.
As is per the norm here in Italy, tracks are inconsistently posted throughout the station. Some sign boards will show the track of your train over an hour before departure, while some boards decide not to show the track at all. The key is to walk around a bit until you see you train number and a Bin (track) number located next to it. My train was scheduled to depart at 7:40pm. I arrived at Central about an hour before and I managed to find my train waiting patiently on track number 4.
Train in Centrale:
Photo of Centrale taken on a different day:
Note on train equipment: For anyone who has any interest in trains, the equipment used on these premium overnight trains was manufactured by the Spanish Talgo company. This same company manufactured Amtrak cars in the United States for the Cascade service, which currently operates between Vancouver-Seattle-Portland-Eugene. While the version in the US does not really compare on the interior, one can experience the smooth ride aboard a Spanish Talgo trainset right here on our own soil.
As I boarded the train, my partially tri-lingual car attendant asked for my Eurail pass, Passport, and ticket. This is normal on European overnight trains and I was not too concerned with giving away these coveted possessions. In return, my car attendant handed me a hotel-style room key, a dinner/breakfast menu, and some other little advertisement pamphlets.
I made my way to room 4 which was to be my room for the 12 hours or so.
Interior of room:
The essentials:
Impressions: Well the physical set up of the room is efficient, but is certainly underwhelming for all the hype. Basic and comfortable would be the key words I would use to describe the room itself. The colors are not particularly soothing, the chairs are not plush, the bathroom and shower are very basic. But hey, we are on a train here, and to be honest, the fact that all this is private really helps the cause.
I settled into my room, put up my luggage, and took some more photos before departure for Barcelona.
We departed right on the advertised at 7:40pm headed for points west (and south). About 20 minutes after departure there was an announcement made that dinner was ready. I headed one car back in the trainset and found a really fantastic dinner set up.
Dinner set up:
I was able to chose a table to have to myself and settled in for what I expected to be a delicious meal on rails. Note: The entire meal is included in the ticket, so don’t feel bad about ordering to much champagne! Champagne was served first, followed by wine.
For the first course I opted for the salad:
Second course I went with the sweet pork with potatoes and some sort of vegetable I was unable to identify.
Dessert was an apple pie but unfortunately it was already gone before I realized that I forgot to take a picture of it. Oh well, you will have to use your imagination.
Overall impressions of dinner:
Honestly, the meal was delicious, but not plentiful. I have a pretty healthy appetite and after wine, bread, the salad, the small main dish, and pie, I found myself back in the café car about an hour later for a sandwich. Good news is that the snack car remains open late (with a fully stocked bar!)
After dinner I returned to my compartment to find my bed made up, amenity kit set out, and the lights dimmed. Not really being ready for bed yet, I asked if the attendant could make up the lower bunk instead of the upper bunk, which would allow me to use it more like a couch then as a bed. After a bit of trouble communicating across the language barrier, he finally understood what I wanted and did so following the next station stop. Before I went to bed I overheard him speaking some Italian to a couple in an adjacent compartment. My Italian is not great, but from what I was able to pick up, he was essentially letting them know that this train is often late, sometimes up to an hour and a half, and so that they should not expect to arrive into Barcelona on-time. All right then, I wont!
Station stop in Torino (already late):
Amenity Kit:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/D...go/IMG_0032.jpg
After an hour or so of watching my GPS, I decided to call it a night. A bottle of wine had more then done its job to exemplify my exhaustion of another week in Milano, and after a quick (water-lacking, though at least warm) shower, I hit the bed with a sigh and was asleep within minutes.
The next morning I awoke around 7am. After a quick check of the GPS to verify location (we were far enough away from Barcelona I knew we were going to be late!), I headed to the dining car for breakfast. I was able to pick the same seat I had the previous night for dinner and enjoyed a much more filling breakfast as I watched the Spanish countryside speed by.
Breakfast (yes, I already took a bite):
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/D...go/IMG_0033.jpg
About 20 minutes before arrival into Barcelona my car attendant came by to collect the room key and to hand me back my passport and such. I thanked him for everything and he wished me a good stay in Barcelona.
The train finally pulled in at about 930am, scheduled in at 9am. I took a few more pictures of the train and headed into the city.
Arrival into Barcelona:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn192/D...go/IMG_0037.jpg
Overall impressions:
I had a blast and I think it is a great experience. Unfortunately, I think given the price and the amount of time it takes to travel a distance which can be covered by air in about an hour and half, the trip is not something one should use for anything other then an adventure. The other problem is that since the train is overnight, you really don’t get to see much of the beautiful passing countryside. On the other hand, you don’t see much at 36,000 ft either.
Would I do it again? Probably not, but I am glad that I did. Would I try other over night trains in Europe? Absolutely!
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