HOW TO TRAVEL IN EUROPE BY TRAIN

During my trip to Europe starting in February this year, I had planned to visit a number of friends scattered throughout the continent, and I needed to find a budget-friendly way to do so. Despite having grown up in Germany, where one can drive at high speeds on the Autobahn, I prefer traveling by train. Consequently, I opted to purchase a 10-trip Eurail pass that was valid for a two-month period.
It's worth noting that while this ticket is known in Europe as an Interail pass, it's only available to European residents and comes with certain restrictions. The Eurail ticket is a way better deal in my opinion. 

Here is how I used my 10 trips:

1. Munich - Hannover
2. Hannover - Munich
3. Munich - Antwerp, Belgium
4. Antwerp - Munich
5. Munich - Lugano, Switzerland
6. Lugano - La Spezia, Italy
7. La Spezia - Lugano, Switzerland
8. Lugano - Munich
9. Munich - Berlin
10. Berlin - Munich

The Eurail pass comes in different prices and in different configurations but gives you the chance to travel throughout Europe pretty freely. For 10 days of travel in 2 month time, the cost for my ticket was 459 Euros (approximately $503), which is an amazing deal. The trains are extremely comfortable and quiet, with free WIFI available, and "quiet zones" designated for those who prefer a more peaceful journey. At each station, there are information stands with English-speaking employees who are able to assist you if you need help, but the app is really user friendly and you can plan your trips and then activate once you are standing on the platform.  This makes traveling really flexible and stress free. To secure a seat, you can obtain a reservation for as little as 5 euros (with some being more expensive). However, I have only made reservations in Italy and Switzerland, as I was always able to find a seat otherwise.

How to make your train trip it the most comfortable:

• Bring water and food, all of the seats have tables (some have actual tables, the rest have fold out tables. All train stations have bakeries where you can get a pastry, savory or sweet and coffees, teas & juices. There are restaurants in most trains if you decide to go that route. 
• Wear shoes you can slip off and clothing that is comfortable, They have jacket hooks, if you are traveling with bulky winter jackets like I do. 
• Bring a travel pillow, you know you will fall asleep. :) Traveling by train is a bit like meditation to me. 
• Bring your adapter & charging cable, every seat has a plug (and like I said they have WIFI! which comes with movies etc) But you can even do remote work. The wifi does not work everywhere, tunnels, some remote regions in Italy, but you can use your hotspot for those times.  
• Bring your headphones and a book. I used my noise canceling headphone to nap, if you are a light sleeper, bring those or earplugs and an eye mask.
• If you are worried about missing your stop, set an alarm - everyone does it. Just don't keep your ringer super loud - people wont appreciate that. In general the trains are very quiet. 
•  If you are traveling overnight, make sure you reserve a sleeping car, I spent one night traveling in a big train car with the lights on the whole night. That was brutal! ​​

Train travel with kids (I got this information from the website, so please don't quote me on this): 

• Kids under age 6 travel for free
• Kids under the age of 14 travel free as long as they are traveling with someone at least 15 years old.
• Kids that that are traveling alone (age 6-14) get a 50% discount. (and yes, kids do travel alone, I even did that at age 9. Germany and most of Europe is extremely kids friendly and safe - it is VERY different here, kids take the subway alone all the time) 
• On some of the ICE  they have a person that comes around to entertain the kids.
• And I have seen areas that are specifically for families with young kids! How cool is that? 
• If you travel with kids under the age of 5 you can even reserve a family compartment. 
• When you travel long distance, you can bring up to 4 kids with you until the age 14 for free and they don't even have to be related, but they must be listed on your ticket. 
• Here are the guidelines for Eurail tickets: 

TRAVEL WITH KIDS ON EURAIL 

​​If a train trip in Europe is in your future I hope this article helps a little.  I for one, can not wait to come back and and tackle other parts of Europe. I think I want to spend more time in Italy, explore Greece and finally spenn some time in Spain. 

If you have any question feel free to contact me.