HOW TO SURVIVE AN INTERRAIL I

India, Argentina, Patagonia...I have so much to tell that I don't know where to start. I think that seeing what we have seen, it is always better to start at the beginning. I have always had my traveling passion inside me. With the family we already travel to the beach or the mountains... but also to European countries like England and Portugal. I was also lucky enough to be able to learn from a very young age what it means to live abroad with exchanges in Ireland and Canada. The English experience, highly recommended!

In order not to go around the bush, I go back to the beginning. When did my desire to leave start? I think after finishing high school. One summer day in the middle of vacation, lying in the park, two friends and a servant decided to go Interrail.

Tour Europe with a backpack on your back!

How long does it take us to organize it? Two days. Don't think that it takes much longer. You must take a map and select the cities you would like to visit. Surely you will spend three towns but then everything is adding or removing cities as you wish.

You must be clear about how long you would like to travel: whether 15 days or 21 days. We opted for the 21 days and spent around 1000 euros on the entire trip, an investment for the year's savings!

Elysian Fields

Once you have decided on the duration of the trip, you have to see how long you want to stay in each city. The ideal is to stay between two and three days to get a general idea of the trip and the places you visit. Our tour consisted of the following:

Paris (3 days) – Brussels + Bruges (2 days) – Amsterdam (2 days) – Berlin (4 days because we had a free house) – Krakow (2 days although it was not in the initial planning) – Prague (2 days) – Vienna (2 days) –Budapest (2 days) – Milan (2 days)

As you can see, we barely had time to enjoy the cities, but the curious thing is that even today, six years later (how time flies!), we continue to remember each and every one of the stories we lived and the places we visited.

It is very important to have very well planned (of the two days this will take up a whole day) the departures and arrivals to the cities. Check the train schedules very carefully and make sure you reserve your place in advance. It was the first thing we did as soon as we stepped into each city: our first stop. Any other advice? Night train whenever you can to make the most of the day. Believe me, the fatigue is barely noticeable when you've been traveling for 5 days, even if you can't even move when you get back!

On the banks of the Siena

In short, we took the backpack and within a week of deciding we were already at the Chamartín station to take the 8-hour night train with which we would arrive to the city of love: Paris.

They say it is very overrated but for me it is one of the most beautiful cities I have had the opportunity to visit. Four days are perfect to kick it hard, yes, non-stop! And explore its neighborhoods and streets… well, okay, we took the occasional metro, but only for long journeys!

The first thing we did was go to the Eiffel Tower, I won't forget it because it was eight in the morning, we had barely slept there and we were carrying the excitement of our first big trip. And there it was in front of us, one of the most incredible spectacles built by man.

Paris before my eyes

In four days we had time to see everything we had proposed, map in hand. Very clear! A map of the city is essential to get to know it, available at any station or tourist office. The Champs-Élysées, the Seine River, Notre Damme, MontMartre, the Louvre, Moulin Rouge...we got up at eight in the morning and at eleven at night we wanted to die of exhaustion, so we barely went out to party. If there is something that I especially remember about Paris, it is the views from the top of the Pompidou National Center of Modern Art,

Paris before my eyes as the sun goes down and the lights of the Eiffel Tower begin to shine!

I think it is one of the cities I will return to, without a doubt, maybe it will be on the next trip, who knows! And the rest of the cities? For the next post! If you want more you can read these tips for traveling during the Interrail

A hug travelers!