My memories of La Spezia are not good. Trying to get a hotel in the evening was impossible. When eventually my girlfriend and I found somewhere willing to take us we were asked how long for. "One night" I said. "The whole night??" was the reply. It was an interesting but noisy place. If you are willing to break your journey in Liguria, there are some beautiful villages just a few km inland, near the French border.
This was such a great read - thanks! Very jealous.
Last time I did inter-railing I was A Youth and it was before the app or The Man In Seat 61 had been invented. You had to buy a giant book which included all the train timetables for every European country, which was like figuring out an enormous logic puzzle, and then if you needed reservations you called/emailed a specialist train travel agent in London who had access to the booking systems. Was very hard work, but also brilliant fun.
Having done some other big rail journeys since - overnight trains from London to Madrid and Barcelona (not sure they still exist); coast to coast in the US; Beijing to Shangai - can 100% endorse that this is a brilliant way to travel and also that The Man in Seat 61 is a national treasure.
Beijing to Shanghai!! I'm so envious. And you've cracked something with the term 'logic puzzle' - I actually love putting everything together, though the book/specialist travel agent situation would definitely have tested me!
Should I ever have the time and money (also past the staying in hostels stage!) to do that kind of trip again, then I would definitely take take trains around China, Japan or Korea I think.
Apparently in Japan, late trains are measured by the second rather than in minutes - which puts the European (or American) experience into some perspective!
My memories of La Spezia are not good. Trying to get a hotel in the evening was impossible. When eventually my girlfriend and I found somewhere willing to take us we were asked how long for. "One night" I said. "The whole night??" was the reply. It was an interesting but noisy place. If you are willing to break your journey in Liguria, there are some beautiful villages just a few km inland, near the French border.
ily ✨
This was such a great read - thanks! Very jealous.
Last time I did inter-railing I was A Youth and it was before the app or The Man In Seat 61 had been invented. You had to buy a giant book which included all the train timetables for every European country, which was like figuring out an enormous logic puzzle, and then if you needed reservations you called/emailed a specialist train travel agent in London who had access to the booking systems. Was very hard work, but also brilliant fun.
Having done some other big rail journeys since - overnight trains from London to Madrid and Barcelona (not sure they still exist); coast to coast in the US; Beijing to Shangai - can 100% endorse that this is a brilliant way to travel and also that The Man in Seat 61 is a national treasure.
Beijing to Shanghai!! I'm so envious. And you've cracked something with the term 'logic puzzle' - I actually love putting everything together, though the book/specialist travel agent situation would definitely have tested me!
Should I ever have the time and money (also past the staying in hostels stage!) to do that kind of trip again, then I would definitely take take trains around China, Japan or Korea I think.
Apparently in Japan, late trains are measured by the second rather than in minutes - which puts the European (or American) experience into some perspective!