Hey, Haeja

Gulp. Well. Time to save up and invest!

2. First Class Seats = more comfortable long train rides!

Our Eurail Global Pass automatically gave us first class seats on all trains with first class carriages. Based on all the websites I've read, first class seats are roomier and better, especially if you're going to be on the train for four-five hours. Since there trains that only had second class carriages, I was able to compare, and I can definitely attest to the comfort of traveling first class by train across Europe.

3. Discounts/benefits for Eurail Pass holders in several countries

We bought a Eurail Global Pass Saver (those travelling in groups consisting of 2 or more adults get 15% off, but only if you're travelling together at all times). When I bought our tickets, I chose Standard Shipping because I ordered our tickets over a month before our travel (right on the day our visa was approved), so we were able to afford waiting for it to arrive. Our Philippine post isn't the fastest, and I admit I was nervous, but the tickets actually arrived after three working days!

Eurail travel documents

I bought our pass from the Eurail website (although you can buy from local travel agencies) because the Euro-Peso conversion rate was on our side at that time, and paying in Euros (including the shipping fee + conversion rate + credit card fee) was cheaper by over P1500 per person.

The Eurail shipment included the following:

• Eurail Global Pass coupon and Eurail Control Voucher
• Eurail cover (don't lose this!)
• Official Receipt
• Eurail Pass Guide 2015 booklet

Roomy first class cabins c/o our Eurail Pass

We had no regrets with our Eurail pass even though it was pretty expensive compared to buying point-to-point tickets. You have to weigh the pros and cons. In our case, it definitely helped ease the stress from going one region/country to another.

I was so nervous because we only received one pass four our whole group. My heart pounded as I handed the Eurail booklet to the train inspector, but there were no problems.

Just don't forget to have your Eurail pass validated on the first time you're going to use it. For example, we were in Europe for 17 days, and we only used the Eurail pass on the third day, when we travelled from Rome to Florence. Therefore, I only had our pass validated at the train station in Rome on our way to Florence.


Validating your Eurail pass:

I contacted the Eurail company directly before our trip, and this is what they said:

Visit the ticket desk at an international train station, where a railway employee will write the first and last day of validity and your passport number on your pass, as well as stamp the pass so it becomes valid.

Please note that you do need to show original passport documentation when you activate your pass – a photocopy won’t be accepted.

Officially, it’s not possible to validate a Saver Pass with photocopies of each passport. So, either all passengers must be present, or one of you must have all original passports at hand, I’m afraid.

Using our Eurail Pass:
Since the Eurail pass was for travelling across regions/countries, we did not use it within Rome.

Rome to Florence
Florence to Pisa just to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Florence to Venice
Venice (Italy) to Innsbruck (Austria)
Innsbruck to Munich (Germany)
Munich to Zurich (Switzerland)
Zurich to Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen to Schloss lauf to see the Rhine Falls
Zurich to Engelberg to go up the Swiss Alps
Zurich to Geneva

Train travel record in our Eurail pass

It's pretty nice to look back and see all the train stations we've been to, including Verona, which made me think of Shakespeare.

European train experience

The first time we travelled from Rome to Florence, we were nervous wrecks, my mom especially. She insisted that we be there three hours early, a la airplane style, and stay put until the train arrived. I kept telling her we only needed to be there 30 minutes early as we will only know the assigned actual train platform at least 30 minutes prior, but she wouldn't listen to me (probably because we kept getting lost while in Rome hehehe!).

But staying there for some time helped me to get a bearings of how train changes work.

In every train station, there is a display of the trains arriving and departing, the time it will depart/arrive, the platform number, the destination and the type of train and flight code.

If you're taking a connecting train, sometimes the display will show the connecting train and not your actual destination. Going back to my example of travel from Florence to Venice, since we were going to change trains at Prato, what we had to look for at the board was the train going to Prato, not to Venice. And when we arrived in Prato, we looked for the train bound for Bologna. When we arrived in Bologna, that's when we looked for the train bound for Venice.

This is important because you might panic and see the train code you're supposed to take but the destination displayed is different from your intended destination. The most helpful app I can suggest is the Eurail Rail Planner app, which will show, to the minute, the trains and times you're supposed to take. It can even show you which ones are the regional trains, if you want to avoid paying reservation fees.

(If you're making an itinerary beforehand, the Eurail website's online planner is very helpful, and was the one I used to plan our itinerary to the minute.)

Once you see on the display your train's assigned platform, go to the platform and wait until you're allowed to board. Don't panic if you don't see the train! Some trains can be late (and you will be notified on the platform displays (look at the picture above). If your train is just arriving, let all the passengers disembark before getting on the train.

My parents, enjoying first class carriage comforts in Switzerland.

If the trains have first class seats (some regional trains only have second class carriages -- this is also indicated in the Eurail Rail Planner app), then look for the carriages with the #1 painted outside. Second class carriages have #2 outside.

There are luggage bags overhead, or at the end of the carriages, or if your luggage fits, there's also a bit of space in between the seats.

Sometimes, you might see that you only have 5-10 minutes to change trains. Don't panic! Sometimes, transferring trains is just a matter of alighting from your train and going down the stairs/elevator and taking the train on the next platform.

By the fourth time we've taken regional trains, my mom has become a no-sweat train pro.


Benefits/Discounts using our Eurail pass

The Eurail website lists free passes on the S-Bahn in Austria and Germany, but we were not given free tickets. We still had to buy tickets as we went around Innsbruck and Munich.

With our Eurail pass, we were only able to avail of the 50% discount on the cable car ticket from Engelberg up the Swiss Alps, but that was a pretty good discount of over 40 euros!

We were also supposed to take the free boat rides on Lake Zurich and Lake Geneva, and on the Rhein Falls but we were too exhausted to take advantage, and we just enjoyed the cities.

Majestic Rhein Falls in Switzerland

In Europe, each train ride was an adventure unto itself. There were noisy trains and trains that were cleaner than the others. There were trains with tables, and one train with its own restaurant. There were seats for two, seats for four people. We've ridden train carriages where we were the only ones riding first class. We'd sleep for several hours, or read books, or enjoy the scenery. We passed by several castles on our way from Italy or on our way to Austria.

Yep, they have free charging outlets!

There were times our train would stop for ten minutes at certain stations, and we didn't have to go down, so while the train was stopped and with one hand on the rung, I'd put one foot on the station just to feel like I've been there!

When we travelled from Italy to Austria, there was a train station shared by the two countries and marked as Osterreich and Italia, so it felt like we were in two places/countries at the same time.

Lovers in Austria

And on our way from Austria to Germany, the backdrop at the train station were the Austrian alps. Definitely a memory to remember!

I have forgotten to pick a Word of the Year for 2015, but looking back, I would say that it was Courage.

Courage means doing whatever it is even though scares you, and 2015 offered me plenty of that.

• The year 2015 was the first time I travelled out of town, somewhere new, with only my sister as my companion.
• It was the time a huge work position = responsibility was offered to me.
• It was the time I took on planning a two-week Eurotrip even though I've never been there, and all I had was my belief that we can do it on our own.
• It was also the year I've finally fully let go of the past because I've hidden behind it for so long, using it as a reason for so many things in my life.
• And by the fourth quarter of the year, 2015 became the year I finally opened myself up to the possibility of falling in love again.
• And I finally sent that forgiveness letter because it felt time to fully let things go.

I've pondered for a while what my 2016 will be like, and this was before I've thought of a Word of the Year. The past two years have brought me immense experience and joy, and I have no regrets, but it also took me one step away from my life goals.

So I sat down and started planning. And when I thought about my Word of the Year, I realized it will be this: Taking Chances.

For 2016, I will both move backwards and forwards.

I will move back to the core of my goals and myself, while moving forward with my dreams. I will take chances with the things I want to do (such as fly a plane or go on an out of town trip with certain friends I've never been out with), and I will go back to editing. I will finish my editing class and reconnect with my old authors.

And I will move forward by the end of 2016. I will figure out what I want with my career, and whether I should take that next step I've been hesitating to try.

And finally, 2016 is the year I will take another chance on love. I didn't end up falling in love in 2015, and maybe it won't actually happen this year, but I refuse to let my fears and insecurities get the better of me.

2016, I'm ready for you.

1. Florence has one of the cheapest Italian-made leather shoes I've ever found, and there are a lot of beautiful shoes stores around Santa Maria Novella. The prices in these stores are about half of the pricing in other parts of Europe.