Anne and I have just returned from three and a half weeks travelling through France, Austria and Italy. Having spent four weeks Interrailing last year I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it as much as last time. But it was wonderful!

We had a first-class pass for seven travel days, bought in the sale for £278: a real bargain. Our itinerary was as follows:

• Eurostar out (London to Paris)
• Strasbourg (1 night)
• Innsbruck (1 night) 
• Pertisau am Achensee, Tyrol (3 nights)
• Venice (3 nights)
• Monopoli, Puglia (6 nights)
• Bari (1 night)
• Rome (3 nights)
• Siena (2 nights)
• Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre (1 night)
• Cassis, Côte d’Azur (3 nights)
• Eurostar home (Marseille to London, via Paris and Lille)

Along the way we had interesting conversations with American, French, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Romanian and New Zealand travellers – as well as Austrians, Italians and Russians.

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NB For advice about all aspects of rail travel in Europe (and beyond), there is a comprehensive website called The Man in Seat 61. There is also a helpful Facebook group called Interrailing for the older crowd.

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Saturday 30 August

It was dry and warm when we left home at 7 am for Herne Hill Station in South London. I soon regretted wearing my pullover – though it is good to have one handy, as you never know how cold you will feel once you are on the train. Both of us were equipped with a cabin-sized wheelie case (Tripp), a small but heavy rucksack (The North Face Jester) and a little round-the-body bag containing the essentials (passport, cash and cards, power bank, specs etc.). One thing I have learned since last year is to carry my phone on a lanyard around my neck. Much easier to keep track of what is now an essential tool.

In contrast to last year, when we had to travel to Paris via Brussels, our Eurostar to Gare du Nord departed and arrived on time. It was an easy 10 minutes’ walk to Gare de l’Est to board the non-stop TGV inOui to Strasbourg. We raced through the Marne valley and past Reims at an impressive 300 km an hour, arriving in a sunny Strasbourg at 15:39. We would only have half a day in a town we had not visited before.

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We dumped our luggage at the Ibis Budget and headed for the old town. It was chock-a-block with tourists, much busier than we had expected.

The number one attraction is Strasbourg’s Gothic cathedral, apparently the world’s tallest building for more than 200 years. Arriving from railway station you suddenly catch a glimpse of a massive red sandstone structure, apparently hiding up a side street.

There is much to see therein

The rose window, the medieval stained glass, the pillar of the angels, the pulpit, the astronomical clock, the crypts … Unfortunately a service was about to start soon after we entered, so we were chased out sooner than we would have liked. This is always a risk, especially if you turn up in the late afternoon.

The charms of Strasbourg are not really apparent until you reach the ridiculously picturesque canals and half-timbered houses of the island known as “Petite France”.

After an afternoon’s traipsing (and the inevitable pause for beer) we enjoyed a robust Alsatian dinner (woof) at the well-situated Au Pont Saint Martin. I had a substantial choucroute with ham hock, whilst Anne was served with a massive chicken breast cordon bleu.

Alas, it was very hot in our room, resulting in a lousy night’s sleep.

Sunday 31 August

We rose early for the 07:51 to Basel. The chilly and almost empty French regional train had seen better days. I had expected quaint chocolate box views from the window, but we passed through graffiti-spattered and surprisingly down-at-heel towns. (No doubt Colmar is much nicer but it was not on this year’s itinerary.) It was a very different experience at Basel, where we boarded a warm, comfortable carriage on a Swiss train to Zürich. That took less than an hour.

I love Austrian trains

We did not have long to wait for the 10:40 RailJet to Innsbruck. Every carriage was packed, but we had reserved seats. The views were enticing. There were people rowing on the lake, and others were cycling or jogging alongside. A nice way to spend a weekend after making loads of money at the bank.

There were more gorgeous view of the lake and mountains as we sped towards Austria. Table service – jawohl! We enjoyed a Gösser lager for less than we would have paid in a London pub. The goulash soup and a roll was quite acceptable. We arrived in Innsbruck at 16:15, bang on time.

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Motel One, where we stayed the second night, is a glass tower with panoramic views of the town and the mountains beyond. It was a gloriously clear day, so the obvious first step was to head for the Nordkesse cable car, aka Top of Innsbruck. You ascend in stages until you reach the mountain top. Try not to think about Where Eagles Dare. The views towards Bavaria are ravishing, with some of the peaks as high as 2,600 metres. That would make for serious hiking indeed.

Trying to erase the pesky tune of the Happy Wanderer from our heads, we descended to the town. With just the one afternoon and evening in Innsbruck, we decided not to visit the Imperial Hofburg – too expensive, and not enough time to see it properly.

Light tourism and more beer

Instead we popped into St Jacob’s cathedral then headed towards the famous Goldenes Dachl: basically, a medieval royal box situated on the main crossroads of the Altstadt. We arrived to hear medieval fanfares being played from the balcony. We were fortunate to find a table in a restaurant from which we could enjoy a cold beer in the sunshine while listening to the musicians. Exquisite and, once again, not expensive. Why food and drink in Austria are a third of the price of Switzerland I do not understand.

Finally, a beer hall

Well, you have to, don’t you? So off to Stiftskeller, where we explored the impressive interior before enjoying more beer outside in the sun. The food looked good, but we decided to go on to Mizu, a pan-Asian restaurant.

Then back to the hotel for a well-needed kip. We loved Innsbruck and would gladly go back to see more.

Monday 1 Sepetmber

A quick coffee at the station, then the 09:44 to Jenbach, from where we could have taken a free bus to the village of Pertisau am Achensee (the largest of the Tyrolian lakes). But since it was another beautiful day we decided to go on the considerably more expensive Achenseebahn, the oldest steam cog railway still operating anywhere in the world.

The train chugs along at a snail’s pace, rising 440 metres over the hills before terminating at Seespitz, whence there is a ferry north to Pertisau.

I was surprised to see some ladies wearing expensive-looking dirndls, whilst some hardy folk were actually swimming. Why go to Pertisau in particular? I’ll explain next time. There will be yodelling.