Across Europe on a Train

August 23, 2024

I've just come back home in England from a nice holiday to Finland - on a train.

I'd had the idea for a few years, and finally decided to do it. It wasn't my first time travelling across the continent on land, but it was the first time on a train. (I've done this trip a couple of times on a van but that's another story).

The trip takes three days and a night and spans over 7 countries - UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. The final step is an overnight cruiser boat to Finland - also known as the party boat. Travelling this way is not for the weak butts - there's a lot of sitting involved.

The trip started from Bristol to London, where I embarked the Eurostar to Brussels.

The journey continued the next morning. This was the longest stint in a single day, and involved a couple of changes.It's incredible though how short the distances in Europe are. It took just two hours from to go from Brussels to Cologne, Germany.

The train change in Cologne was very short, but luckily the famous Cologne Dome is literally outside the train station so I got a quick tourist-ey moment to see the Dome in its impressive glory before jumping on the next train that would take me to Hamburg, North Germany.

The final stretch was on a sleeper train from Hamburg to Stockholm, Sweden via Denmark. I didn't get to see much of Denmark though. At this time of year the nights are getting dark again, and it was past midnight when the train crossed the Danish border.

In the morning I woke up in Southern Sweden, and arrived in Stockholm. Although I was supposed to have the entire day to spend in Stockholm, there wasn't that much time in the end. By the time I was out of the train, luggage in safety lockers, and lunch done, it was time to head to the ferry to Finland.

These ferries are lovely. They are big cruisers filled with restaurants, shops and entertainment. This was the most comfortable part of the journey. In the morning, Helsinki welcomed me with its beauty.