Wanderlust UK – September 2019

25 BEST EUROPEANRAILJOURNEYS

wanderlust.co.uk September 2019 71

20

Bohinj

Railway,

Slovenia&Italy

Bestfor...Sloveniamadesimple

Thejourney:JesenicetoTrieste

(approx150km; 3 hours)

Wesay...Tofordthepeaksofthe

JulianAlpstothenorthernmost

sliverofItaliancoastline,theBohinj

Railway(slo-zeleznice.si)mustslice

arouteithaspliedforover 110 years.

Itwasbuiltasastrategicnetwork

fortheAustro-Hungarianmonarchy,

butthesedaysit’scatnipforhikers

andcyclistswhorevelintheeasy

connectionstoMostnaSoci,Lake

BledandNovaGorica’swineries.

Toptip:Foraspecialtrip,catch

theheritagesteamtrain(May–Nov)

betweenJeseniceandNovaGorica,

wheresta†stilldontheuniformsof

theoldAustro-HungarianEmpire.

21

Semmering

Railway,Austria

Bestfor...UNESCO-listedjoys

Thejourney:Gloggnitzto

Mürzzuschlag(41km; 40 minutes)

Wesay...PraisedbyUNESCOas

‘oneofthegreatestfeatsofcivil

engineering’,theSemmering(oebb.

at)teetersontwo-storeyviaducts

andnarrowmountainpasses,with

twistsandsteepinclinesaplenty.

Therewardforyourfortitude?

Swoon-worthyviewsoftheAustrian

Alps,andopportunitiesforgreat

hikingorskiing.Ittooksixyearsand

20,000labourerstobuildthistrack,

andthispioneeringprojectfrom

the1850sbecametheblueprintfor

mountainrailwaysallovertheworld.

Toptip:Gloggnitzisjustanhourby

trainfromVienna,sodon’tmissout.

22

Bergen

Railway,

Norway

Best for... Scandi splendour

The journey: Oslo to Bergen

(500km; 6.5 hours)

We say... Even in the cosy comfort

of your compartment, Norway’s

desolate Hardangervidda plateau

will send a shiver down your spine.

While the forests and lakes outside

Osloarebeautiful,it’stheBergen

Railway’s(vy.no/en)eerilyempty

mountainpassesthatstealthe

show.StretchyourlegsatFinse, the

higheststationontheline(1,222m),

toseewhereRobertFalconScott

andhiscrewtrainedinadvance

oftheirinfamous 1912 SouthPole

expedition.Alonelyspotindeed.

Toptip:Hopo†atMyrdaland pick

uptheextraordinary20kmbranch

linetoFlam(1hour),whosespiral

tunnelsandsteepgradientwill

sweepyouupfurtherintothese

breathtakingmountains.

DID YOU

KNOW?

The Bohinj

Railway’s Solkan

Bridge was built

in 1906 and is

the longest stone

railway bridge

in the world,

with a whopping

85m span.

Shutterstock; Alamy

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