Emily Barr on her Interrail research trip for The Other Girl
And the easiest train journeys for beginners.
The Other Girl follows two girls who meet on the train, except when they get off, they swap lives. Just for a short while, of course. We love Emily Barr’s YA books, such as Ghosted and This Summer’s Secrets, so we are very stoked for this brand new thriller too.
Guest Post is written by Emily Barr, author of The Other Girl.
Travelling by train is one of life’s joys. Of course, there’s the instant caveat: it can be awful. We all know about overcrowded, wildly expensive trains that break down. However, the train travel I’m talking about is the fantastic kind. The exciting kind. The kind that takes you away for an adventure.
When I was planning a novel about two girls who meet and swap identities, I knew straight away that they should meet on a train. On a train, you’re in a liminal space. You’re on the move and when the train’s moving you don’t know exactly where you are. Anything could happen. You basically sit on a chair, and the chair moves along on rails, and whisks you to a different place. It’s better environmentally than flying, and there’s something about covering the ground between your departure point and destination that changes your perception of where you’re going.
When I was young I did a lot of solo travelling, but I never went Interrailing. One of my main characters is travelling on an Interrail ticket and so, when I was writing The Other Girl, I bought a rail pass and set off on a research trip.
This is what I learned about solo train travel:
- You can do whatever you want. Because I was researching a book I was the weird person wandering around taking photos of train doors, luggage racks and seat backs so I could refer back for details when I was writing, and no one commented. You can walk up and down a train as much as you like, or you can sit in one place and read a book, watch a film, play on your phone… You can talk to people or put on your headphones and block it all out. As long as you don’t disturb them, no one cares.
- When you arrive at a destination, you’re likely to be in the middle of the town or city, unlike at an airport. So you can often pull your backpack on and walk to your accommodation. Soon you’ll have checked in and be back out exploring.
- Sometimes you’ll want to hide away and ignore the world and that’s fine. In fact it’s an important part of the process. No one regrets an afternoon spent reading on a beach.
- Nobody will look at you twice if you’re eating alone. Really. They don’t care. Propping a book next to your plate and reading while you eat is entirely acceptable.
- Sometimes you’ll be desperate to talk to people. In which case, do it.
- On which note, I stayed in a dormitory in Grindelwald, Switzerland, and before I got there I was dreading it. I couldn’t afford a Swiss hotel room in August, and the only dormitory space available was in a mixed dorm. I imagined that I would feel old and awkward and that I wouldn’t sleep at all. In fact it was the best part of the trip and the roommates (a brother and sister from Texas and three female students from China) were lovely. I got to have proper conversations and hear people’s stories, and it was wonderful.
- Make sure there are people at home who can see you on Find my Friends or similar apps. Knowing that there were people at home who could see where my phone was made me feel secure.
- When you travel alone, you live in the moment. You’re right there. It’s good for the soul.
Easy train trips for beginners:
* An Interrail ticket is incredibly good value. Depending on how many days’ travel you plan to do, they range from €212 for four days’ travel within a month, up to €717 for three months’ unlimited travel. There are supplements for some reservations, and for some trains.
* If you get an Interrail pass, it’s worth making some plans and reserving some trains straight away, as on the main routes (eg the TGV trains in France) there are limited reservations available for passholders.
* If you’re travelling from the UK your journey is likely to begin with the Eurostar, and it’s a great place to start. It’s a straightforward and comfortable journey, and for me, the moment when you come out of the tunnel is the beginning of the adventure. Once your bags are scanned and you’ve passed through British and French passport control (both at St Pancras), you won’t see another border until you come home, if you’re travelling in the 29-country Schengen Area.
* French trains are fast and efficient, with fabulous buffet cars, as you’d expect. They are also often double-deckers, and I will always take the top deck if possible. Upstairs on a train!
* Nothing beats Swiss trains for stunning views. A casual look out of the window can make you gasp at the sight of a bright blue lake ringed by mountains. The train from Interlaken up to Grindelwald is spectacular, and from Grindelwald you can head steeply up further into the mountains (at a price).
* The line that travels along the French Riviera is stunning: there are frequent trains between Cannes and Menton on the Italian border which run alongside the sparkling water of the Med. Sit upstairs for the best view, and get off in Antibes, Nice, Monte Carlo or any one of the stations in between, and head to the beach.
* The train between Oslo and Bergen, in Norway, takes in forests, mountains, fjords, ski destinations, a bear park and a gondola that will take you straight from Voss station to the top of a mountain. All in one seven hour journey.
* Sleeper trains are a wonderful way to travel: swap your chair for a bed on rails. Top European sleeper journeys include Budapest to Bucharest, Berlin to Stockholm, London to Fort William, and many more. Going to bed on a train, being rocked to sleep by the movement, and waking up somewhere new is magical.
