thetrainfamilyPreparing
Embarking on a 6-month train journey with three children requires meticulous planning. To fully savor the experience and minimize on-the-go arrangements, it’s essential to have a comprehensive plan in place beforehand.
Turning Dreams into Reality: Our Journey from Leave Requests to Budget Crunching
About 2.5 years ago, we took the initiative to request leaves of absence from our respective jobs. To our delight, these requests were approved, setting the foundation for our journey. Our next step involved crunching numbers to determine the required budget. While we generally adopt a frugal lifestyle – as discussed in my previous post on this matter – we took it up a notch over the past years. We even turned saving into a bit of a challenge, especially with regards to minimizing our food expenses.
Adapting Dreams: From Russia to New Horizons – Crafting a Train-Only Journey
With finances in mind, we delved into the planning process. Our initial idea was to embark on a train journey through Russia to China. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, abruptly altered this plan. Once we had absorbed this news, we invested a considerable amount of time into researching alternative destinations. One thing was certain: our journey would exclusively involve train travel. This ruled out destinations like the USA, Australia, and Africa.
Given our familiarity with train travel in Eastern Europe, we began to lean towards a combination of countries we hadn’t yet explored, along with Western Europe. Our conclusion was that Western Europe could be quite expensive during the summer months. Consequently, we decided to initiate our journey in Eastern Europe.
The Original and the New Journey
Our original plan was to journey from Kolding to Hamburg, then from Hamburg to Lübeck, continuing through Grambow to Szczecin. From there, we aimed to travel to Poznan, then Bialystok, and onwards to Vilnius. After exploring Vilnius, our path would lead us to Riga and then Garciems, followed by another stop in Riga. We planned to revisit Vilnius before making our way to Warsaw. The journey would then continue to Budapest, Belgrade, Podgorica, and ultimately Dobra Voda. Then to Tirana, then proceed to Pogradec, Ohrid, Pristina, Skopje, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Thessaloniki, Athens, and Zakynthos. From Zakynthos, we intended to head to Bari, then travel onwards to Napoli, Palermo, and Sardinia. Continuing the adventure, we aimed for Barcelona, followed by Cordoba, Malaga, Gibraltar, and back to Malaga.
However, we have made several changes to the plan, both with short and long notice. One significant alteration between the initial plan and the actual journey was the inclusion of additional stops along the way. This adjustment was made primarily due to the challenge of keeping the children seated for extended periods during the long train stretches.
We incorporated a stop in the Czech city of Ostrava. It worked well to break up the train journey between Warsaw and Budapest at this point. Additionally, we disembarked in the Serbian town of Uzice. We had read on other travel blogs that it was a great place to interrupt the Belgrade-Bar route.
Preparing for Adventure: Homeschooling, To-Do Lists, and House in the Final Countdown
About six months before our departure, we reached out to the children’s school, informing them of our intention to homeschool during the half-year journey. Fortunately, the school responded with support and assured us of a meeting shortly before our departure. In the final six months leading up to the trip, our to-do lists grew extensively: tasks ranged from securing travel insurance, renewing passports, getting tetanus shots, buying new shoes for the kids, and acquiring new headphones, among other things. In addition to travel-related matters, there were responsibilities tied to our pets and plants needing care, ensuring the lawn would be mowed, and arranging for someone to stay at our house and look after it. You are welcome to read our previous post about to-do lists:)
Adjusting Routes: Prioritizing Train Travel
Now that we’re on the journey itself, there’s also a fair amount of planning and route adjustments. Amoung the significant changes, unfortunately, is the omission of Bosnia from our journey. The primary reason for this decision is our high priority for train travel. Since there are very limited train services in Bosnia, we have had to postpone exploring this fascinating country for another time.
Another significant change is that we won’t be continuing to Spain. The reason behind this decision also revolves around train travel. If we were to return to Denmark from Spain by train, the cost would have been quite high, potentially pressuring us into taking a flight. Opting to drive back home from Italy through Eastern Europe will prove to be much more economical, which is definitely our preferred choice.
So, our upcoming route is as follows:
Tirana, Pogradec, Ohrid, Pristina, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Athens, Zakynthos, Saranda, Vlorë, Brindisi, Corigliano Scalo, Syracuse.
We haven’t yet planned the details of our train journey back from Italy.
Smart Accommodation Choices: Flexible Bookings and the Pros and Cons of booking.com and Airbnb.com
We had strategically pre-booked accommodations that allowed for cancellations, a decision we were immensely pleased with. Our lodging arrangements were made through both (sponsored content) booking.com and Airbnb, and we found merits and drawbacks to each platform. Notably, on (sponsored content) booking.com payment has to be made in cash upon arrival, while on Airbnb, loyalty points can not be accumulated.
From Planning to Adventure: Inspiring Your Journey to Explore the World, One Train Ride at a Time
So, that was a bit about the planning both before the trip and during our journey. We hope it inspires you to embark on a travel adventure. The world awaits at your feet, and of course, preferably by train
