A ghost is not defined by rationality.
The climate impact of flying tends to be in the heart of the climate change debate. Many criticize, condemn and complain but not that many are actually willing to take action. And usually those that talk the most are also the ones flying the most. Especially during the Nordic winter months, it is understandably easy to forget your principles for the sake of warm weather, one flight won’t make any difference, or will it?
Late February, the sun has just set. Every shade of grey is about to become every shade of black. That hopeful first glimpse of spring is nowhere to be seen. Under these circumstances even the slightest smile could reveal those that have something exciting to hide.
The much easier and faster option would be to take the train to the airport, but this is supposed to be an adventure within an adventure. Something only ghosts, and true environmentalists, would do. That is why this train is heading towards Turku, where an over-night ferry is waiting. A journey that has been made dozens of times before.
Stockholm welcomes with a snowfall and winds from the north. Train delays seem now more likely than ever. A delay of less than two hours is doable but everything more than that and the plan must be re-written completely from the very beginning.
There is a thin layer of snow on the platform. The travel motive is clear – the search for a sunnier and warmer climate is about to begin. Only the travel companion is missing, Sir Yachtlife, or nowadays informally known as Sir Trainlife.
There was a lot of planning to make this happen and some last-minute complications. You could imagine that everything is finally in order but then it turns out that surprisingly the trains to Copenhagen are all fully booked, except for one single seat. This was the situation a week before the departure. Luckily, some tickets got cancelled.
The train starts moving on time, with Sir Trainlife on board. The adventure has really begun. This is how it will feel for hours and hours until we reach the destination some days later. The scenery is nowhere near cheerful but there is at least hope for something better.
A few hours into the journey and the train stops. No one seems to bother. That feels weird because they must have places to go, people to meet and things to do. The train driver makes an announcement. There is apparently another train ahead having issues. That did not take long. Did it all become more difficult already now? Sweat of pain starts to grow. The clock goes tick tock, tick tock. 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes – and finally we are off again.
Copenhagen looks certainly more cheerful with a partly cloudy weather. That is nothing but misleading. The wind is strong and makes the weather feel extremely cold. Less than two hours in the city is not really enough for a lunch and sightseeing tour but more than enough in the back-to-winter coldness. It is time for the next leg, a train ride across Denmark.
And the sooner you can think, the wind parks, the flat landscape and the dunes have transferred into a pitch-black view. The sun has set, and the train is getting closer to Hamburg. That is a solid 10 hours, or so, on rails.
Only Sir Trainlife would take a towable suitcase and another portable bag on a journey like this. An evening walk around Binnenalster with the bags certainly works as a first punishment. In Sir Trainlife’s world, all the moving from one place to another would be done by taxi but little did he think that we would also have to go around. On an adventure like this, there is no driver waiting.
There is something mystical about the name, Nightjet. It is like a night flight but without all the hustle that comes with flying. A comfy full-size bed, a complimentary breakfast list, a mini champagne bottle to greet you welcome and the best of all, grey Nightjet slippers. Has the train travel ever been better than this? And the clickety-clack sound is so relaxing to fall asleep with.
The train is heading to Zürich but there is something more magnificent along the way, Offenburg, a German city near Strasbourg. It’s all fun and games until you get reminded that there is a big world outside. The in-cabin breakfast gets disrupted by some people arguing in Spanish. Someone has entered the train and is now having a heated conversation with the personnel. There is a reason why a sign is saying “keep the cabin door closed at all times”. Eventually the voices disappear. At the Offenburg station, two policemen are walking a guy out of the train.
It feels somewhat unrealistic to walk around Offenburg. It apparently has nearly 60 000 inhabitants, even though the atmosphere is like in a very small town. Perhaps the fact that it is not even 7 am on a weekend has something to do with it. But there are flowers on the ground. This has to be a sign of spring. The next thing giving hope is the French train towards Paris. It flies + 300 km/h through the countryside and, suddenly, it’s Bienvenue à Paris!
The perfume in the air on Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the many excuses to enjoy the Parisian spring for one night, and not push it any more south. Only the freezing cold tries to bring the mood down.
Sir Trainlife’s hotel policy is quite simple – you deserve nothing but five stars, and that may lead to jackpots like enjoying a sunrise, that lightens up the whole Parisian skyline, straight from the hotel bed.
Paris to Barcelona is more than 830 kilometres by train and the TGV makes it in less than 6 hours. Sir Trainlife, being Sir Trainlife, starts a conversation with a woman sitting in front of him. She is a Brit living in the Spanish countryside and on her way back home. She had been in the UK and decided, for the sake of environment, to take the train home. As she admits herself, a journey that makes no sense time- or moneywise.
There is something fascinating about Gaudi and Art Noveau architecture in general but unfortunately the journey needs to continue with just a short train change. But there is enough time to make the observation that the locals are still using jackets and fountains are missing water. TV news on the following morning don’t bring any more confidence. There is a snow chaos on Mallorca and people are desperately covering their pools, but why bother it is just water, right?
Every spring, bright colours, satirical sculptures, loud fireworks, parades, bonfires and music take over Valencia. It’s time for Las Falles. Add temperatures reaching 20 degrees, and it feels like spring, if even not a Nordic summer!
But after a few days in Valencia, the journey has to continue by bus to the final destination. Finally, there will be a proper opportunity to walk around in t-shirts and shorts. It is warm but not warm enough for people to have a swim in the sea. When you do exceptional things, you sometimes get an exceptional reception. How often do lifeguards give thumbs-up? First, a few runs in the outdoor infinity pool, then a swim in the sea and, to warm up an hour or two in the spa. This is the ultimate day rhythm, while Sir Trainlife enjoys his time sunbathing.
But Spain surprises with some action as well. This time on a route to Murcia, the police storms in at a stop in Alicante. They ask everyone to sit down and have the luggage in front of them. Some people have difficulties in taking the commands and when the K9 unit goes through the bus, four people are taken into further checks.
In Murcia, the plan is to buy in advance train tickets back to Barcelona. It is certainly a chock when it appears at desk that all the morning trains are fully for the departure date. This is no good news at all. While planning to throw the towel in they suddenly explain that there are still first-class tickets available. Talk about an easy decision.
Everything good always comes to end. A pre-booked taxi is heading to the Alicante train station. The ride progresses nicely but at some point, a strange feeling takes over. The taxi is definitely not heading to the train station but somewhere else, probably to the airport? The driver doesn’t understand a word but eventually the language barrier is overtaken, and the taxi reaches the train station on time. It remains a mystery why the driver had the wrong destination all along.
It feels a bit sad to know that only the journey home is left, especially knowing that there would be a proper snowstorm waiting in the Nordics. But there is still one night in Barcelona and two full travel days ahead. Barcelona is as pleasant city to visit, as always.
It is crazy how you can wake-up in Barcelona and in the evening, you are in Basel waiting for a night train to north. Thinking back, it was a pure luck that there were no delays destroying the fine travel plan. In Basel, they are warning about an upcoming strike in France starting tomorrow.
In Hannover, it is time to say Auf Wiedersehen. Sir Trainlife continues towards Stockholm, where he is supposed to arrive just before midnight, if only the snowstorm does not put a stop for his journey. The work commitments are waiting, so there was no time for another overnight ferry. But a lunch with another in Berlin and an evening flight home, is not a terrible idea either – except for the climate.
It was pouring in Berlin but that was only to prepare for what was waiting in Helsinki. The spring was cancelled once again. But there was hope, the spring was only a train ride away.
Outbound
Day 1
Helsinki – Kupittaa 17:36 -> 19:25
Kupittaa – Turku Satama 19:35 -> 19:50
Turku Linnansatama – Stadsgården, Tegelvikshamn 20:55 -> 6:30
Day 2
Stockholm Central – Koebenhavn H 8:21 -> 13:25
Koebenhavn H – Hamburg Hbf 15:26 -> 20:02
Hamburg Hbf – Offenburg 22:07 -> 6:37
Day 3
Offenburg -> Paris Est 7:50 -> 10:05
Day 4
Paris Gare De Lyon -> Barcelona – Sants 9:38 -> 16:34
Barcelona – Sants -> Valencia Joaquin Sorolla 18:15 -> 21:02
Return trip
Day 1
Alicante / Alacante Termino -> Barcelona – Sants 9:20 -> 14:15
Day 2
Barcelona – Sants -> Montpellier Saint-Roch 10:33 -> 13:43
Montpellier Saint-Roch -> Mulhouse Ville 13:57 -> 19:09
Mulhouse Ville -> Basel Sbb 19:19 -> 19:50
Basel Sbb -> Hannover Hbf 22:13 -> 6:13
Day 3
Hannover Hbf -> Berlin Hbf 8:31 -> 10:15
Berlin Ostbahnhof -> Flughafen Ber – Terminal 1-2 15:53 -> 16:15
Berlin Brandenburg -> Helsinki- Vantaa 19:15 -> 22:10