Inter-railing for a week around Europe

By Hannah-Louise Sampson, Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany

After my study exchange had come to an end, I decided I was going to inter-rail for a week as a way to slowly return to England.

I started by taking the train to Krakow, Poland which took around 10 hours. There were a few bumps on the road. I arrived in a small town on the boarder of Poland, and with 10 minutes to get my connecting train, I frantically asked people around me what platform the next train to Krakow was (because my ticket/transport app seemed to leave this crucial part out).

As not everyone obviously speaks English (surprise, surprise) I was stuck using hand gestures to translate my desperate need to find out what platform my train way getting into. Finally, a staff told me to head to platform 5, which ended up being the wrong platform. After a couple of hours (and another missed train due to miscommunication) I finally got to Krakow!! Right outside my hostel, there was a blue van selling traditional polish sausages, which were absolutely delicious! Every time I saw the line, it was huge but luckily, I got there when it was quieter. I spent the next two days walking around the old town and going into markets and shops. I’d say the highlight was taking a walking tour in the jewish quarter, where my bubbly tour guide shared unique stories of Jewish history in Poland as well as unique stories of interesting and important figures of Jewish heritage that lived in the quarter and went on to doing amazing things. Like, a young girl who grew up in the jewish quarter in Krakow and refused to marry so she was shipped off to Australia to go live with her aunt, where she ended up creating a multi-million pound cosmetic company.

My next stop was Budapest, Hungary. I took an overnight train and arrived in the morning. The city’s architecture was a mix of gothic grandeur and neo-gothic revival, which meant wherever you looked, you were surrounded by beautiful and unique buildings. I spent my time on walking tours, eating delicious Hungarian food (Langos is amazing). Budapest was much bigger than krakow, with the city being split into Buda and Pest-separated by the river- and since I was walking everyone, I really got my steps in! The highlight was observing the lit up parliament building at night with its reflection glowing on the river.

After that, I took a quick train to Vienna, Austria, where I was further surprised by the grand and royal inspired architecture. Vienna was on the more expensive side, so touristy things were limited to mainly walking around the gorgeous city (I couldn’t complain) I did head to an art museum, showcasing stunning art works from Picasso to Monet. It was so beautiful here and I would definitely return, when I don’t have a student budget!

My last stop before taking the train back to London, was Brussels. I didn’t have a lot of time so, I walked around the main square and got Belgian chocolate mousse (recommend by tiktok) which was a must! I also picked up some Belgian chocolate before my train to give to my family. (They complained I didn’t get enough- how ungrateful they are 🙄🤭) Overall I really enjoyed my slow return across Europe to return to England. These cities were so beautiful and each had a unique charm. I’ll definitely be returning to explore the cities with more time.