Wanderlust UK – September 2019

25 BESTEUROPEANRAILJOURNEYS

68 wanderlust.co.uk September 2019

15

Krasnaya

Strela,

Russia

Bestfor...Thenoveltyfactor

Thejourney:MoscowtoSt

Petersburg(635km;8.5hours)

Wesay...TheKrasnayaStrela

(pass.rzd.ru)–RedArrow–hasbeen

ridingRussia’srailssincethe1930s,

andwhileitsovernightservicecan’t

keepupwiththenewhigh-speed

daytrain(theSiemens-builtSapsan)

thatridesthisroute,it’sstillthrilling

toboardaSovietrelic–justdon’t

expectaseamlessnight’skip.

Bedtimeisabumpya‰air,although

amedicinalvodkamighthelp...

Toptip:Whenthetraindeparts

StPetersburg,loudspeakersplay

‘HymntotheGreatCity’.Stirring.

16

ElTrans-

cantábrico

Clásico,Spain

Bestfor...Exploringthenorth

Thejourney:LeóntoSantiagode

Compostela(643km;4–8days)

Wesay...Neverhasthepilgrimage

toSantiagodeCompostelafelt

soindulgent.ElTranscantábrico’s

(renfe.com)lavishcompartments

andplentifulexcursionsmakefor

aneasy,enlighteningride.The

Clásicoitineraryhugsthenorthern

coast,withstop-o‰satthe

GuggenheimMuseuminBilbao,

seafoodsuppersinSantander

and,onlongertrips,hikinginthe

UNESCOBiosphereReserveof

PicosdeEuropaNationalPark.

Toptip:Therailnetworkactually

runsbetweenSanFelizandFerrol

• afewkilometresshyofLeón
  andSantiagodeCompostela–
  sothetripisbookendedbybrief
  coachjourneys.

17

Belgrade

toBar,

Serbia,Bosnia

&Montenegro

Bestfor...Across-countrycaper

Thejourney:BelgradetoBar

(476km; 10 hours)

Wesay...ThisBalkanlinecan’t

bebookedonlinewithnational

operators,soyou’llneedtoget

ticketsatthecounter,butonceon

boardyou’llhopravinesandrivers

withthegreatestofease,thanks

toits 254 tunnelsand 435 bridges.

Ittookrailwayengineersdecades

toblastthroughtheDinaricAlps,

traversethethickbirchforests,skirt

theshoresofLakeSkadarandbuild

the200m-highMalaRijekaviaduct,

which,until2001,wasthetallest

railwaybridgeintheworld.

Toptip:Therearetwotrainsaday;

seto‰earlyforthebestviews.

18

Golden

Eagle

DanubeExpress,

Turkeyto

Hungary

Bestfor...Theeastwithease

Thejourney:Istanbul(Turkey)to

Budapest(Hungary)viaBulgaria

&Romania(1,832km; 7 days)

Wesay...OntheDanubeExpress’s

‘CastlesofTransylvania’route

(goldeneagleluxurytrains.com),

you’llwhizzbetweentwoofEurope’s

mostbeguilingcitiesinthelapof

luxury.O‰-trainexcursionsallowfor

easyexplorationofmedievaltowns

andRomaniancastles,whiletheon-

boardexperienceincludesopulent

perks:thinkplushdoublecabins,

starchedlinensandpianorecitals.

Toptip:Spendyourtimesocialising

inthecocktaillounge;thisjourney

tendstoattractfascinatingsouls.

DID YOU

KNOW?

Legend says the

big bend in the

otherwise straight

railway between

St Petersburg

and Moscow

came of Tsar

Nicholas marking

a line on a map and

accidentally

drawing around his

„inger. The builders

were so scared

that they copied it.

Shutterstock; AWL Images

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