A few days ago, The Independent ran an article about the Interrail’s 50th Anniversary sale: 50% off Interrail passes. I couldn’t resist!
For the last year or so — actually, pretty much since the first extravaganza — I’ve been quietly planning Fantasy Interrail Journeys in my head, but have never got round to buying a ticket or actually getting much further than writing them down in an Excel sheet.
My excitement on arriving in Saint-Étienne and learning that Barcelona was only a few hours away quickly turned to nothing when the SNCF decided that would be the perfect time to have a strike. A planned trip to Poland in March 2020 never happened because about the time I started planning it, the world went into meltdown.
All I’ve been able to do since is paw longingly at my Interrail map and forlornly fondling my Rough Guide to Europe on a Budget. But not any more — oh no — for I have just bought a new Interrail pass, and it’s very exciting.
As is my wont, I decided to leave this to the last minute — despite having been alerted to the campaign days ago — making it so much more stressful that it should have been.
Of course.
The offer was initially due to expire on the 10th May at 11:59pm, but it became apparent when I finally looked at the Interrail web site at about 10pm that it was really struggling with the sheer number of people determined to get a bargain. A quick look at Twitter suggested it had been b0rked for quite a while already and that there was a chance I’d not be going round Europe on the train after all.
At one point I was ready to call it a night, chalk it up to experience (cos that helps) and to go to bed, but then it started working. Sort of. And then it started working properly.
I think.
Three types of continuous global pass were available on the web site, valid for a one-month, two-month, or three-month trip, depending on how long you think it’s acceptable to be away from home having an adventure. The mobile pass can then be activated up to eleven months after the intial purchase, which means — if I’ve understood correctly — that my two-month pass will be good for travel until sometime around July 2023. Eurovision?
I decided two months was probably enough, both in acceptable time-away-from-homeness and expense, so stumped up 488€ for a first class pass. As I type this it’s entirely possible I’m regretting that decision, but it’s too late now and in any case, at 8€ a day for unlimited travel over two months in big comfy seats — potentially with food and drink brought to me — well… meh; hopefully, by the time I activate the pass, I’ll have saved up enough money to be able to do more than sit in bus shelters swearing at passers-by.
Am I insane? Probably. The one-month pass would have cost me 447€, the normal cost of the seven-day pass I travelled on last time and for the sake of an extra 41€ I’m able to travel where and I when I want for an extra month.
In 2019 there was a destination in mind which shaped the route that got us there on our seven-day pass, while stopping in various places along the way. Although it was all incredibly relaxed and enjoyable, there was no room for changing the route once it had been settled on; it was Angoulême-Oradea and back again (accidentally via Cluj-Napoca), and that was it. I’m not yet sure whether to choose a destination country, like last time, and then use the pass to move around a bit while I’m there, or whether to just ride trains, zombie-like and drinking Prosecco from the bottle as the world slurs by my window until it’s time to eat/wash/sleep/go home.
Whatever happens, I am absolutely going on the Railjet again. The longest Railjet journey appears to be from Zurich to Budapest, which according to the ÖBB site takes ten hours and forty minutes. And for 12€ I can upgrade to that Business Class, but without the hangover. Perhaps. In fact, is there anything wrong in proclaiming that I shall only travel on the Railjet?
It is very exciting; I actually have no idea what’s going to happen next.
Apart from a mini-adventure to Antwerp on Friday.
