Owing to a family issue we decided to postpone our second Interrail trip to Europe from June to September. So we’re off tomorrow morning.

Trains – and the odd Flixbus

Itinerary as follows:

• Eurostar (London to Paris)
• Strasbourg (1 night)
• Innsbruck (1 night) 
• Pertisau am Achensee (3 nights)
• Venice (3 nights)
• Monopoli (6 nights)
• Bari (1 night)
• Rome (3 nights)
• Siena (2 nights)
• Riomaggiore (1 night)
• Cassis (3 nights)
• Eurostar (Paris to London, via Lille)

In short: to the Austrian Tyrol via France and Switzerland, through Italy from Venice to Apulia, then home via Marseille. The map suggests that we’re going to be airlifted to London from Lille, but that’s not the case – at least it’s not in the plan.

As for the weather, who can say? We would expect a bit more rain than on last year’s trip. On the upside, we have avoided the 40c heatwaves of this roasting summer.

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Back in the 1970s, interrailing was a chaotic, carefree exercise indulged in by students; you turned up at a station and went where the fancy took you, often on excruciatingly slow trains with disgusting toilets through lands where no-one spoke English. Fascinating and mysterious but with its challenges, such as the presence of armed police and the insanitary, if inexpensive, accommodation.

Europe has changed

And for the better, I dare say. Few mourn the passing of Franco, Salazar and the Greek colonels, no matter how nostalgic one might be for pesetas, escudos and drachmae. As for going “behind the Iron Curtain”, that took guts. Travelling overseas was an “adventure”; one returned with tales, often involving interrogation by unsmiling gentlemen, not always in uniform. One hoped for a holiday romance. It rarely happened.

Fifty years on, I want more comfort and fewer surprises. Not that travelling by train to Rome, Venice or the Alps isn’t exciting; I am very much looking forward to it.

Though spontaneity has been lost

If everyone else is booking ahead, wouldn’t you be foolish not to do likewise? In 1978 I turned up in Venice – in August! – and traipsed around the canals carrying my rucksack until I found an affordable room in a modest establishment (my unreliable memory suggests that it was Hotel Riva, north of San Marco). That was what young people did. Would I do the same now? I no longer have the stamina. And I want a nice, convenient place to stay, not a room that no-one else fancies.

Express trains often need to be reserved in advance, at extra cost. Of course you can still make it up as you go along, but be prepared to be disappointed. There are surprisingly few trains linking Spain and Portugal, and getting to Greece from the Balkans is more difficult than it was 50 years ago. You might find that your last-minute plan to race through France to Spain overnight is not feasible. Or you could blithely turn up at a town hosting the biggest toy fair in Austria. A friend (no football fan) went to Germany in 2006 without realising that it was hosting the World Cup. Guess what? It was busy. A bit of research, or even watching the news, would have paid dividends.

Why not put your feet up for a couple of weeks?

Well… sometimes that is what you need. This type of holiday does need detailed planning, and there is a lot of early rising and rushing for connections. Nor is it cheap. But if you want to see Europe (which I do) rather than just fly over it, going by train is the way to do it. As for sitting on a beach for a fortnight, how boring!