- Africa, Asia, Austria, Blog, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Europe, Hungary, India, Morocco, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Stories, Sweden, Travelogue, Vietnam
In praise of train travel
What’s it about long-distance train journeys that brings out the little child in me. A sense of happiness each time I take my seat, listening to the train as it whistles past towns and the countryside. Hurtling through tunnels or racing with the setting sun. There is something that is magical and wonderful about train travel, letting me be the little kid that I always will be. Whizzing through a tunnel between Mostar and Sarajevo Hours spent watching from a window or door of a moving train, as scene after scene unfold. Striking up conversations with complete strangers as they get in at different stations, heading to places near and…
-
The train from Oslo to Stockholm
In Oslo, we had time on hand and no clue on where we wanted to head to, or when. Which is how, walking around one evening, we found ourselves, quite by chance, in front of Oslo Central Railway Station. After a bit of discussion, we figured Stockholm was the prime next destination, and bought our rail tickets for the next day. I know there are various modes of transport between these two cities. A direct flight takes about an hour, but that isn’t as much fun. Besides, getting ready and heading to the airport a couple of hours before the actual flight can be a drag, especially when you know…
-
How not to plan a trip to Norway
Landing at Oslo airport has to be among the most surreal experience I’ve had in awhile. Not for anything except that it was the lousiest bit of planning I’ve done in ages. The problem was that we only decided to go there during a night of heavy drinking (which is generally when the grandest plans are made). All we had were our Schengen visas and our multiple entry visas into the UK. And so, that happy night in London, we decided, just like that, to head to Norway, with no further idea of what we planned to do there. We also figured that since we were going all the way…
