Recapturing the Magic of Travel (via Train)

There is something romantic about train travel. It’s the fading grandeur of another era, dressing for cocktails in the restaurant car, porters and attendants scurrying up and down the isles with pressed clothes and silver trays, quietly sliding open polished, warm wood doors, the slight wriggle it adds to a well dressed woman’s walk or to your cup of tea in bone china, or to your properly made martini from the piano bar car.. The Orient Express, The Trans-Siberian, The Red Arrow from St. Petersburg, authors have written these journeys, and Hollywood has glamourised them further, adding extra red lipstick, pearls, guns and intrigue.

And every moment of a train journey has connotations of romance, from pulling out of the station, blowing kisses to your lover in a cloud of steam - or watching them running to catch up with the train, jumping onto the last carriage, pulled in with help from the perfect porters - or waving farewell from the window, going off to war, one person in an ocean of waving... To clandestine meetings in station cafes, stolen moments in tiny cabins, spies climbing out windows onto the tracks or the roof, to sleeping in bunk beds that have curtains and which you have to pull down from the wall. Obviously I could just go on and on.

If slow food has come back, slow travel hasn’t quite, yet, but actually experiencing the distance you’re covering and the landscape you’re passing through can be miles more pleasant than sitting, cooped up in a tiny pressurised cabin fragranced with eau de sock, amongst shiny faced people wearing sweats. If you can spare the time, travelling by train can be part of the experience of travelling. In your seat on a train you’re in an enforced state of calm; moving already, there is no need for momentum but you’re not there yet, so you’re limited to the activities at hand: reading, writing, thinking, looking out the window…and these are the kinds of things I would like time to do more of. Static, yet there’s the exciting edge of anticipation, the possibility that comes with arriving somewhere new.

The changing panorama outside your window more often than not provides a lot to ponder, the vast red expanses of the Australian red centre, the bright, unexpected colours of small Indian towns or the sweeping view of Mont Blanc and the alps. Places ‘to pass through’ can offer a surprising rich sojourn, a way to capture the real thrill of travelling and maybe have some unexpected thoughts or encounters. Like they used to.

Top train journeys » Most romantic sounding journeys

	The Trans-Siberian Railway Trains in Moscow, Russia Perhaps the most famous train-route of all - the fantasy of every short-trousered boy who has ever stood at Victoria Station and watched people depart to who knows where. The name alone smacks of adventure. The Trans-Siberian rail system is the world’s longest and in addition to the basic stop-start trip, a number of operators now offer a multitude of tailored trips - from the ‘Original Trans-Siberian’ to the ‘Dr Zhivago’. They range from a few days’ jaunt to an epic, month-long voyage, or from a restful sightseeing tour to a full-blown expedition. Moscow to Beijing can include (depending on the time of year) the Ural Mountains, snow mobile rides, scuba diving (!), the Gobi desert, the Great Wall of China and the Harbin Ice Festival. But for sheer romance and gritty adventure, nothing can beat stepping aboard the 21:25 from Moscow - duration? 147 hours on a good day. Review by larapiegeler Photo by kimiwatson
	The China Orient Express Trains in Beijing, China This route covers the old Chinese Silk Road and is serviced only in the summer by restored vintage trains. Indulgently decked out in red and black lacquer and old mahogany furniture, the train boasts two European toilets and a deliberate lack of hot water, due to the steamy weather. The tour itself is a very thorough round trip, beginning and ending in Beijing and making stops for a large number of truly marvellous sights such as the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall, the Magao Caves and the Gaochang necropolis. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user topgold
	India's Palace on Wheels Trains in Delhi, India A veritable rolling Maharaja's palace, this train has a quite unbelievably ornate interior to match a seven-day itinerary of dazzling colour and variety. Beginning in New Delhi by night, the trip follows a winding path through Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittaurgarh and many more outstanding Indian glories. Stops are scheduled in for all of them and offer opportunities to see tigers, flamingoes and other wildlife, explore palaces and wonder at ancient ruins. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user foxypar4
	The Darjeeling Mail, The Decan Odyssey Trains in Mumbai, India The incomparable Taj Mahal, sacred Varanasi and the fortified, pink city of Jaipur roll past the windows of the Viceroy of India from Mumbai in a huge semi-circular trail to the lush tea plantations of Darjeeling. The sumptuous, patterned Indian-style interior and the (mostly) Indian food allow the culture to seep into the carriages themselves, so the country becomes more than just a series of flickering images. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user prakhar
	The Orient Express Trains in Venice, Italy Embodying the ideal of rail travel, The Orient Express cannot help but plunge you into the romantic, adventurous world of Agatha Christie, with 1920s art deco throughout its instantly recognizable blue and gold carriages. This is to say nothing of the routes themselves, which date back to the 1800s and make a dot-to-dot of Europe's greatest and most inspiring cities, before heading out towards the mysterious wildernesses of Eastern Europe. Smaller stops such as Sinaia in Romania provide a touch of the unfamiliar, a whiff of exoticism. The trips can be up to a week long, and the choice of route tortuous, treating the passenger to some of Europe's most important cultural treasures. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user william.ward
	The Golden Pass Trains in Zürich, Switzerland As is the case with all the best Swiss train rides, this Lake Geneva to Zurich connection runs panoramic trains, which have huge, arching windows. The train takes eight hours to weave through Switzerland’s fairytale interior, and although some track changes mean that slightly less exciting trains are on offer for part of the journey (changes are necessary), the lush meadows, mountains capped in crisp snow and idyllic lakes make the hassle worth it. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user aforero
	The Bernina Express Trains in Switzerland Beginning near the warm, Italianate shores of Lugano and Como and winding over the Bernina Pass between picturesque alpine villages, this could well be described as Switzerland’s most diverse and beautiful train trip. The train’s panoramic windows offer the perfect viewing frame as the picture changes from gentle to rugged and back again. Glaciers, plunging ravines, icy peaks and rushing waterfalls all pass by your window at the 7,400 feet high mid-point of the trip, and the trip finishes with a winding descent into Eastern Switzerland. Summer offers the added novelty of roofless carriages. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user marcopesavento
	Grandluxe Rail Trains in Washington D.C., United States Formerly the American Orient-Express, Grandluxe Rail’s trains are immaculate, plush and tastefully turned out. Amongst their many itineraries are four exceptionally worthwhile overlapping options, all around a week long, which cover the Rocky Mountains and Lake Tahoe, Santa Fe and the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton Glacier and Mount Rainier national parks, and the Western and Pacific Coast. Review by larapiegeler Photo by flickr user william.ward
	The Red Arrow Train ex. St. Petersburg Trains in Saint Petersburg, Russia From Peter the Greats’ St. Petersburg to Ivan the Terrible’s Moscow this train leaves each city at five to midnight and gets in at five to eight in the morning, crossing paths with a rush at 4am. This is a romantic way to travel between these two great cities, the trains seem to have carriage upon carriage for days into the distance and the inside is pre-Revolution dilapidated grandeur complete with dining car laid out with crystal and bathrooms with barely functional plumbing. Inside it’s well heated but crossing between carriages can be icy and feels rickety. St. Petersburg has a Moscow station - which is where you catch the train from to go to Moscow. A fast train can take as little as four hours to cover the distance, or you can take more than twice as long on one with many stops. You can ride in luxury with cabins and DVD entertainment or slum it on cold plastic seats. It can be a challenging experience for non Russian speakers to book train tickets, much of the timetabling is done only in Cyrillic and some services are in constant flux. Review by karinabratslov Photo by flickr user floridaguyjoe

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