Overnight Train Rides

"If I travel from point A to point B on an overnight train, I'll save money on accommodations and will not waste daylight hours of being on a train."

This seemed to be a good thought of mine in theory! Since I have a Eurail travel pass, I am able to go on mostly any train without making a reservation ahead of time, making it super convenient to take trains without having to do much planning in advance. But let me tell you some of the downfalls I have encountered:

1. When traveling to places that are far distances apart, there will inevitably be train changes in the middle of the night.

This is fine, if your train change is at a nice train station that has a restaurant/cafe/store/information kiosk/security/anything that is open. This is a little (lot) nerve wracking when it's 11 pm, 1 am, or 3 am and one has to wait an hour (or any amount of time) in an unpopulated, unheated, dimly lit, strange smelling train station. (Reminder: Female traveling alone wearing a pink scarf, pink backpack, and shiny lip gloss. Step 1: Wipe off the lip gloss.)

Prayed the whole time. Casually put my (pink) bottle of pepper spray into my pocket with my finger on the trigger. (Unsure of what would happen if I had to use it though because my phone doesn't work to make calls, and even if it did I don't think that 9-1-1 is a worldwide emergency number.) I talked to a nice man from Germany, but his train left before mine. So then I made friends with another man from Germany. Tried not to notice the pack of mischievous looking guys wearing black clothing... Counted down the seconds until the train was scheduled to arrive. Praise God, safely made it onto the train!

2. Sometimes the "train" trip might include a bus rider for part of the journey.

Enter: Standing outside in the freezing cold in the middle of the night, in an unfamiliar city, in a foreign country, with 10 other men non of which speak English very well.  Thankfully German man #2 was getting on this bus also. 

Furthermore, sometimes traffic jams occur and the bus will be at a stand still on the highway for over 3 hours...

3. No matter how tired one is, it's next to impossible to sleep sitting upright in an uncomfortable train seat. 

But honestly, despite being bright and/or loud, I would rather be in a populated train car than a vacant car. If no one else is on the train car, I think I am the only person on the train, and that is so nerve wracking.

4. I can only speak and understand English. All the announcements and signs are not in English. 

This is not strictly related to overnight trains, but it is still true of them... And this makes me feel uneducated 90% of the time. Thankfully everyone I have encountered is accommodations to try to speak English, and kindly translate for me.

Whew, what a night! From now on, I think I will be a little more selective of the train routes and times I embark upon for my adventures. But then again, what's an adventure without a good story...

P.S. I wrote this post from none other than an overnight train.

All is well, I am safe, God is always with me, and don't worry!

Xo,