It was time to try out rail travel! So that’s what I did, taking a train from Barcelona along the coast until Avignon, France, then going north to Sursee, Switzerland.
Here’s something nerve-wracking to try: travel by train through countries where you don’t speak the language!
Make sure you get off at the right station (with all your stuff), find the correct platform for the next train, get on a car that’s going to the right destination and won’t get left behind somewhere, and do all that in time as the doors close 2 minutes before departure!
Then repeat four times!
Then repeat four times!
I will remember Montpellier, France for the tears I almost burst into when I couldn’t do all of the above and missed my connecting train. And I will remember the friendly, understanding ticket agent who not only issued me a ticket for the next train at no charge, but gently corrected the French I attempted with him.
All told, the trip was fourteen hours long, with five different trains through three countries!
Yet I still really enjoyed the journey. The scenery – wow! (But what else would you expect for the south coasts of France and Spain??
Here's Portbou, at the border of those countries.)
Meeting interesting people was the other big plus. I met two female backpackers from Ecuador and a man and his teenage grandson who I assumed were Italian since that's what they were speaking. Actually they were from Montreal! They were travelling to Nice to see relatives. We ended up chatting in English. Looks like I'm going to have to wait until Italy to practice my Italian. I think I can do that.
A third group of people were two young couples. One of the men was in a wheelchair. They weren’t backpackers, per se, but they were still travelling across Europe by train. Meeting them made me realize my travel challenges aren’t quite as bad as I might think.
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