The view from Europe’s trains—some darting, others dawdling along—offers scope for contemplation. Here is what our columnist discovered about the continent in 23 hours and 59 minutes staring out of a carriage window
of Europe, locate Paris, and draw a line headed east. How far can you get given a full day and night? With the right mix of trains and lots of patience, it is possible to cross France and Germany, then Austria, Hungary and into Romania. That country’s second-biggest city, Cluj-Napoca, lies 1,597km as the crow flies from Paris, or 2,100km as the track meanders. The view from the trains—some darting, others dawdling along—offers scope for contemplation.
If you need to change trains, do so in small towns: a walk across the platform usually suffices. Places like Frankfurt have stations on opposite ends of the city. The walk between them offers little of note besides a giant euro-sign sculpture outside the offices of the European Central Bank—hardly a world-beating attraction.
Long-distance flights make up lost time; long-distance trains accumulate it. A plane that leaves 30 minutes late may land on schedule; on a train you end up an hour off, and thus likely to miss what should have been a comfortable connection in Vienna.
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