Travel Diary: Interrailing Around Europe

For a long time, I’ve wanted to take a trip interrailing around Europe. I’ve always loved going on trips to explore cities, rather than sitting by a pool all holiday. I live in England and have been to a few European countries before, but I wanted to explore more places and learn about and experience the cultures of other European countries. It all started when I wanted to go to Amsterdam this year. My dad suggested that we should try to go to more places by interrailing. We started off with so many different cities to go to, but we decided it was unrealistic to travel to all those places in just two weeks. We took a few off our list and these are the cities we decided to go to and my experience there:

Paris, France

Paris was our first and last stop. We were able to get the Eurostar from London to Paris within about 2 hours, which would get us into the loop of trains around Europe. What we didn’t realize is that the day we spent in Paris was actually the day of the World Cup Final- France vs Croatia. It was CRAZY! There were French football fans running through the metro in massive groups with whistles and red, white and blue smoke flares. They were jumping and singing on the metro trains and dancing through the city. I’d never seen anything like it and I’m so happy we were able to experience it. I’ve been to Paris before and the energy there is like no other. I don’t know what it is, but the streets just have a beat about them. I love Paris and will defiantly be going back for the 3rd, 4th, 5thtime ect. Also, as you can imagine the croissants are amazing and if you go to Paris you must have them for breakfast.

Amsterdam, Holland

Our first proper stop was Amsterdam. I’ve seen the hype of Amsterdam grow over the past couple of years and really wanted to see it for myself. Especially as you get in to your late teens there’s a lot of talk about the party scene there. I wasn’t so interested in the party stuff, but I did want to stroll past the canals, visit a few café’s and just take in the beauty of old Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we didn’t go to the Anne Frank house (even though we did walk past), but after we went to have a look I did read Anne Frank’s Diary for the first time and now I know what happened in the house from Anne’s perspective, I would love to actually go inside. The book is so unique and incredible to read so I would highly suggest you read it, especially if you’re interested in the history. One of my favorite things we did there was go on an open top boat tour. The boat tour was a great way to see not only the centre of Amsterdam, but the real, old Amsterdam.  Also, being a bit of a chocolate fanatic, I had heard of Tony’s Chocolonley bars and I had to try it. I got the normal milk chocolate, the orange flavored one and the nougat one. They are really good and I want to try the prezel one next time I’m there. Yes, I say next time because I would love to go there for a long weekend some time.

Berlin, Germany

I’ve been to berlin before, so Berlin was a bit of a stop off point for us, just to break up our journey a bit. Therefore, we didn’t have much time to explore Berlin, but my dad and I went to a tapas bar near where we were staying and had such a great conversation about Germany’s history and enjoyed some really good food.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague surprised me! I didn’t really know what I was expecting from Prague but I absolutely LOVED it. The city is so pretty, full of great architecture and amazing views (especially near Lobkowicz palace). Not only has the city pretty, but I just felt comfortable there and I loved the energy. I think I could live there some day. We spent a whole day there exploring old town, Mala Strana, Lobkowicz palace and Prague castle. There’s also a beautiful cathedral we could see from Lobkowicz Palace which looked gorgeous but we were too tired to walk over to it.

Krakow, Poland

We went to Krakow because we had booked to go to Auschwitz. Auschwitz was a great experience (in a way that I liked learning about it, but it was obviously very upsetting). If you have the opportunity to go, defiantly take it. Krakow as a city it’s self though was lovely. A lot like Prague the buildings were so pretty and the town squares were really fun to explore and get delicious Polish food.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna was another stop off point. We didn’t do much there except for getting something to eat and finding our bnb. Sadly, due to the lack of time we didn’t explore Vienna but I really want to go back and see it properly.

Venice, Italy

Venice is BEAUTIFUL! It was my favorite place we visited because the streets are full of gorgeous, authentically old buildings, which make you feel as though you’re on a film set. The little streets decorated with canals are a dream to walk down. Getting lost in Venice with no plans except walking through the streets and picking up pizza, gelato and cannoli on the way is the best way to spend your time in Venice. Although, in mid-summer, during mid-day the streets are crazy busy and crazy hot as they are so small and it’s difficult to find your way out. Venice is basically the most beautiful maze you’ll ever walk through. Also, if you can, I would highly suggest going on a Gondola ride through the canals because its surprisingly peaceful and you get to see the city through a completely different perspective. It’s pricy but worth it. I have fallen in love with Venice and would go back in a heartbeat.

Milan, Italy

Milan was another stop-off. We weren’t able to see much of Milan, but we did go out in the centre to find something to eat. We settled for pizza (of course). Milan is full of busy streets, mopeds and fashionistas. Honestly, I’m not sure about going back to Milan, but I didn’t really get a fair shot of the city. Let me know if you’ve been and if it’s worth going back!

Bern, Switzerland

Just the train journey to Bern was beautiful. I’ve noted down some of the places we passed on the way and I would love to go back and visit them properly someday. Bern was again a stop-off, but from what I saw there, it is so lovely and there are some gorgeous views of the mountains. I defiantly want to go back to Bern and explore more of Switzerland.

That was a quick over-view of my experience interrailing around Europe. I absolutely adored it and have defiantly got the travel bug. If you get the opportunity to go interrailing defiantly take it! It’s a lot of planning but 100% worth it.