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A Complete Guide to Eurail Passes

Updated on 21-11-2019

Whew! We have completed our 100+ days extended tour of the Europe, which we named #NiVaEuro. There are so many stories and experiences we would like to share. One of them is travelling by European rail network which was an integral part of our plan. Eurail Pass certainly helped in making our international and Intra-national train journeys fast, fun, scenic, convenient and simple.

Complete guide to Eurail Passes, Europe

The high speed Pendolino EWD350 train by PKP Intercity Premium, Polish Railways

Having had a firsthand knowledge of using a Eurail Pass in a variety of situations, we would like to share all our experiences, tips and tricks. It includes a guide to using Eurail Passes, types of Eurail Passes and many more things. In short, a Complete Guide to Eurail Pass. It is, many times, incorrectly referred to as Eurorail Pass.

We are the Corinthians!

The tall structure in front of us, kissing the clouds, looked like a state of the art office building. Its design was far removed from the buildings of ancient Corinthia in Greece. Maybe even the present day Corinthia for that matter. It looked as if the Corinthia Prague luxury hotel, had set a new benchmark for the city’s premium hotels. It was a surprise for us since we were looking for a “Hotel” kind of building. 🙂

Corinthia Prague Luxury Hotel Czech Republic

A view of Prague from one of the top floors of Corinthia hotel.

The Sound of Music Movie Locations, Salzburg

The Sound of Music Tour, Salzburg

Sound of Music Tour Movie Locations, Salzburg, Austria
Panorama of Salzburg city from the top of Mönchsberg. On the right is the Salzburg fortress and on the hill on the left is the Capuchin Monastery

Only the night before we watched the epic movie The Sound of Music one more time. There were two reasons. One was to get into the mood of the movie & remember the lyrics and the second was to get an answer to my age-old question “where was The Sound of Music filmed?” and make note of various movie locations and try to track them in real life during our Sound of Music Tour.

It was several decades back when it was first released in India and it left a lasting impression, not the story but the music. (The other musical that impressed me was My Fair Lady, around the same time). Soon after, an LP record was duly acquired and played endlessly till it became scratchy.

At that age (I was just a small kid), Nazis and WW2 did not mean a thing. It was only later while reading history I could connect the dots. That was the time I promised myself that someday in my life I would go to those very places where the movie was shot.

Hotel Mandarin Oriental Prague – Review

We boarded tram #12 from Holešovice station in Prague. Before coming to Europe we had already decided to use only public transport as one of the ways of experiencing the life as locals do. We were super excited at the prospect of staying in a 14th Century Monastery, now converted into the luxurious Hotel Mandarin Oriental Prague.

Mandarin oriental hotel prague review

Prague Mandarin Oriental Hotel, main entrance. The high walls are one of the symbols of the original monastery

The tram snaked its way through the

Touristy Frankfurt – What to See

It is quite often that we touchdown at Frankfurt only to take-off to another destinations because we don’t know what to see in Frankfurt. Frankfurt is perhaps in the middle of the world and offers connectivity to many other parts of the world. It is so much a hub of air travel that I often say jokingly that if you lose your luggage anywhere in the world on an international flight, it will somehow find its way to Frankfurt!

Things to do Frankfurt Itinerary

Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, the main railway station

We had heard many a people say

Top 12 things to do in West Sumatra

There is more to Indonesia than just Jakarta, Bali and Komodo! There are islands and islands and there are diverse cultures but united by a country, Indonesia. West Sumatra, third largest of the ten provinces of Sumatra, the largest Island of Indonesia is also known as the land of Minangkabau.

west sumatra clock tower bukit-tinggi

In ancient times Sumatra (Sumatera) was called Swarna Dwipa, Sanskrit for Island of Gold and sometimes Swarna Bhumi (Land of Gold), owing to the fact that there were a lot of gold deposits in this region. Later it was called Samudra Pasai, a kingdom in North of the Island. Again, a Sanskrit word where Samudra means Sea.

5 Most Exciting Hikes in Iceland

Mere mention of Iceland often conjures up images of active volcanoes & areas of geo-thermal activities, stunning landscapes, huge waterfalls & glaciers, the mysterious Northern Lights and very few people! One of the ways to soak up the beauty of this ‘Land of Fire and Ice’ is to explore on foot. We have trekked in different parts of the world including the EBC Himalayas and we think hiking always gives us best opportunities to let ourselves immerse into the surroundings and appreciate a place differently.

Hiking in Iceland

Laugavegur Trail. By Chmee2/Valtameri – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11393212