To Vienna by train

Back in 2020, I had booked Eurostar tickets to try and go to Vienna by train; it obviously didn't happen that year, and not the following year either because the connection train from Brussels wasn't running yet, but this year at last we used those tickets and made the journey part of our summer adventure. At the right time as well, considering what's going on with airlines at the moment...

And an adventure it was! A 28-hour journey that really showed just what a distance we cover in a short 2-hour flight.

It started in Bristol, going by train to Paddington. Because there was a night sleeper involved, I had somehow got my dates muddled up and my pre-bought ticket was for the wrong day!! So I quickly had to buy new tickets (to the tune of £90!) and hope everything else was booked correctly.... arriving in Paddington, we slowly wandered towards the Circle Line and a kind buggy driver offered us a lift - D(6) in particular loved sitting up front!

On the Tube

Arriving in London, we took the tube to St Pancras, the Eurostar terminal. We had two hours, so there was no particular hurry, and we arrived comfortably on time to wait in a very long queue. I was so glad we took the Trunki suitcases because despite the clunkiness of maneuvering them, they certainly do shine when it comes to queueing because the kids could sit on them and ride them forward!

Eventually on the Eurostar, the kids were excited to be going under the sea but of course there was no way of telling the sea was above us as we went through the tunnel. I did find it quite cool to go 300 km/h though! 

On Eurostar

There was a very long layover in Brussels: arriving at 2pm, our night train wasn't due until 7.30pm. A very old friend whom I hadn't seen in 20 years (but am still connected with on Facebook) now lives in Belgium and I asked, how about meeting up? And so we did. That was great fun! With seven kids between us we enjoyed the afternoon at a cafe, and us adults had a good catch-up. They did have to leave though and so we made our way back to the train station, where I found a place to sit down outside and the kids found other English speaking kids to run around with: a great way to get some energy out and get ready for bed!

And ready they were. Apart from one 3am wakeup when they lost their blanket down the side, they actually managed to sleep the whole night through. Unlike myself in the bunk above them... I found the noise and movement kept me awake until well past 3am, and when at 6am others around us were waking up that was the end of my night. I think I'll need an early one tonight.

Breakfast on the NightJet

So, would I do this again? I have to say, of course this long journey was much harder work than a 2-hour flight. But that's not what puts me off: I found it interesting, really relaxed and educational, quite a different feel to flying. It was great for the kids to be able to leave their seats and chat with people... however, this cost at least three times as much as the flight. And that is a deal breaker for us, unfortunately - much as I'd love to do this for the environment, our finances just won't allow it.

So finally, after arriving in Vienna and taking two further trains to get to our flat, we are "home" - for the next six weeks. This flat is wonderful, owned by a young family as well, and while everything is functional it doesn't feel like I have to worry about them touching anything. This time there's a microwave and a TV (a bit of an oversight on my part last time to assume these would be in an Airbnb) as well as a full size fridge/freezer. Everything functional, nothing too precious: those are the conditions in which I can relax and enjoy the holiday! 

On the very last leg of this epic journey

Home!

Right now we're waiting for groceries to be delivered (don't we live in convenient times) and once they're here, it's off to explore the nearest playground. And then an early night :)