Sustainable travel: "At night through Europe - for me, the travel romance is pure"

SPIEGEL: In recent years, you have traveled a lot by night trains. To be honest, have not you broken your teeth after tens of thousands of kilometers?

Sebastian Wilken: I would be lying if I said that I always slept well on all rides. Of course, I sleep better on my own bed. The train is moving, there are driving and shunting noises .

SPIEGEL: ... and snores and tome among fellow travelers ....

Wilken: Maybe I've been lucky so far, no fellow traveler has made me sleep. Unless with exciting talks. During the day, people often meet people in the train who are upset about delays, missing reservations or uncomfortable seats. In night trains, another human race is on the way. I often have great encounters there.

SPIEGEL: How is that?

Wilken : Night train is always a little adventure. The feeling ensures connectedness. The nocturnal travels through Europe make me very happy. Slowly approaching the destination - for me the travel romance is pure. And - that too is very important to me: there is no other means of transport that can cover European distances in such a comfortable and climate-friendly way.

SPIEGEL: Anyone who makes an effort to let low-cost flights fly will not find it easy to get an overview of all night train connections in Europe. How do I work as a beginner best in the route network?

Wilken : On Wikipedia there is under the entry 'night train' a pretty good and up to date map with all connections between southern Spain and the Arctic Circle. On Interrail.eu night trains and reservation options are listed. The standard work for European-traveling train enthusiasts is the website The Man in Seat 61. I also find the book "Europe by rail" very inspiring.

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SPIEGEL: How do you find out about travel times?

Wilken : The online travel information provided by Deutsche Bahn is very suitable for this. There are also the travel times of international connections. But I will book my tickets through the websites of the national railway providers. The Czech Railways, for example, has an excellent German language website.

SPIEGEL: Why do not you book via Deutsche Bahn?

Wilken: The international booking system of Deutsche Bahn has become quite complicated by now. Online booking a ticket to Helsinki or Scotland? Forget it! In addition, the night train tickets are often more expensive there. I generally book trips with the Nightjet via the ÖBB, which took over the night train business of the Deutsche Bahn in 2016.

SPIEGEL: Which austerity trick would you recommend to beginners?

Wilken: The most important thing: book early. Night train tickets are available from three months before departure, for some trains even six months before departure. If you have to book at short notice and perhaps have several trips in front of you, you should always calculate whether an Interrail ticket is worthwhile. Even if the reservation fee for the night train is added, an Interrailticket can be cheaper than a booked short-term ticket. Almost frighteningly cheap are trips in eastern Central Europe. In the otherwise rather expensive Scandinavian countries, I also find the tickets comparatively cheap. Incidentally, Scotland also has really great night trains.

SPIEGEL: Which routes would you recommend to beginners ?

Wilken : Berlin-Budapest. The journey takes 14 hours. When you wake up at 7 in the morning, the Danube landscape passes by outside the window. The entrance to the Budapest East Station is spectacular. The route from Stockholm to Narvik in northern Norway, the gateway to Lofoten, is also a highlight. The journey lasts quite long with 19 hours and is, above all, landscape magnificent in the brighter season. The last piece leads down from the high mountains to sea level. Also great: the Aurora Borealis Express between Helsinki and Kolari.

SPIEGEL: What favorite routes do you have in southern Europe?

Wilken: Once the Italian boots down from Milan to Sicily. This is also a pretty long and scenic drive. At the end of the train is still on a ferry. Such shipments are rare in Europe. Also great and a good workout for those who want to travel with the Trans-Siberian Railway is the route Vienna-Kiev.

SPIEGEL: That sounds like a very long drive.

Wilken: It lasts around 24 hours. And apart from the great scenery, the train takes you into two fascinating cities: Lviv and Kiev in the Ukraine. Both are located hundreds of kilometers from the war zone and are highly recommended. It's amazing what great cities there are still to discover in Europe.

SPIEGEL: A few more practical questions: What can night train beginners learn from the professionals?

Wilken: Those who need absolute darkness to sleep should have a roll of tape in their luggage. This can mask annoying light cracks in the compartment. What you should also think: before going to bed, remove the existing hangers in the compartment, so they do not rattle.

SPIEGEL: Covering your pajamas or nightgown with strangers is not everyone 's and - frau' s thing. How do you do the wardrobe change the best?

Wilken: If you want a moment of privacy, ask your fellow travelers to leave the compartment for a moment. Everyone understands that. Also good to know: In European sleeping cars, gender segregation is standard. Unless you have booked the compartment for yourself and your family or friends. In the couchette cars, the ÖBB offers pure ladies compartments.

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SPIEGEL: Until two years ago, night trains in central Europe were mined. One had the feeling: the night train was gone forever. Meanwhile, the route network is growing again - at least a bit.

Wilken: Inspired by the climate debate, the night train is making a comeback. Demand is rising. This is the response of some European railway companies. Brussels will apparently get a Nightjet connection from Vienna next year, Amsterdam will probably follow in the year after next. It will be really interesting at the end of 2022.

SPIEGEL: Why?

Wilken: Then the ÖBB will get 13 new night trains. Then the Austrians, who want to become Europe's largest overnight train operator, could significantly expand their network. I assume that then Copenhagen will be added. Incidentally, the ticket demand on some routes is now so big that you hardly get a seat.

SPIEGEL: On which tracks is it difficult?

Wilken: Especially the nightjets from Hamburg and Berlin to Zurich are often fully booked. By the way, as a short-term traveler, you have the best chance of getting a bed in the couchette car and not - as usual - in the more expensive sleeping car. The trains from Munich to Venice, Rome and Milan are also very popular.

SPIEGEL: Your heart beats not only for night trains, but also for dining cars. In which one should you have eaten?

Wilken : I do not know anybody who does not really care about the ride on the Czech dining car through the Elbe Valley - sirloin, dumplings and Bohemian beer.