Night trains.

This mode of transport is one of my favourite. If you try to cover long distances, planes are usually the best, given how quickly a flight gets you from place to place. Since planes are not really my cup of tea, instead of wasting a day travelling on train, I hop onto a night train, get myself comfy on my sleeping place, and before I know it I reach my destination the next morning.

There are downsides to such travelling of course. For instance, sometimes it’s difficult to get to sleep on a train, even if you can lie down. You wouldn’t have thought that a piece of steel can make so many different noises. And move in so many directions! When I was little I used to sleep like a log on our long holiday train rides to the seaside. Now it becomes progressively worse, and I wake up multiple times during the night. There is also a problem of co-travellers. This is not always a problem, but admittedly sharing a small space with a bunch of strangers doesn’t count among most pleasant parts of the journey. Especially when you have to deal with snoring, whining children and the like. And earplugs don’t always do the job. Finally, travelling by train remains a costly pleasure. Even bought in advance, long-distance night trains will cost you around €50 one way in a couchette carriage for six. And prices go up if you want more privacy or even your own toilette or a shower. There's also the problem of delays. On my inbound journey we had a delay of over 3 hours which we spent in Emmerich (again! there some sort of train Bermuda triangle there) waiting for our power supply to get repaired. Not ideal really when you cannot wait to get home.

I know for some this remains a mystery: why would you spend so much money on a 10h long journey while you could have taken an 1.5h long flight for 20 pound both ways? But there's something special about train travel. You feel that you travel when you're on a train more than when you fly. And you stay on the ground. This is a major advantage.