Jerry and Sue Fillebrown were on a roll.
The Richardson, Texas, couple were riding the rails across Europe. A little older than your average backpackers, they nevertheless traveled light — carrying only small backpacks and rolling suitcases.
Beginning in Barcelona, Spain, the retirees trekked across Europe on a 21-day Eurail SaverPass. Their final destination was Amsterdam before flying home.
I met the Fillebrowns in the first-class car of the new high-speed TGV Thalys train from Paris to Brussels. It’s a two-hour train ride with speeds up to 158 m.p.h. The Fillebrowns were happy to talk about their European travel experiences, maybe because their friends back home in Richardson can’t comprehend traveling as they do, almost by the seat of their pants.
There are no fancy hotels waiting at each stop, sometimes they have a few choices from a guidebook, other times they ask at the visitor centers in town. They eat picnic lunches on the trains and every two or three days they treat themselves to a nice restaurant meal.
Before the trip, Jerry Fillebrown did some research. “I did a lot of checking on the Internet, but I purchased the train ticket from an agent,” he said.
The Fillebrowns enjoy traveling by train in Europe. Jerry, who retired in 1994, traveled a great deal during his oil business career. He doesn’t speak any other languages (“Some Tex-Mex,” he says, smiling) but that doesn’t stop the couple from discovering new places, and Eurail is their ticket for doing just that.
I traveled through three countries in seven days, boarded perhaps a dozen trains at numerous stations, took one ferry boat and navigated the Paris Metro. The biggest surprise was that the international language of travelers with symbols and clearly marked signs make getting around relatively simple.
In the train stations in large Swiss cities, announcements are made in French, English and German. In Brussels, announcements are in French, English, Flemish and German.
This trip begins in Zurich, where I located the train station on the ground floor of the airport. With pass in hand I waited to board my first train, destination Bern. Forty-three minutes after the hour, the train for Bern arrives. I clamor aboard with my luggage and settle in.
The only mistake, which I discovered later, was sitting in second-class instead of first-class as my ticket designated. The class number of every train car is outside on the door, and in large train stations the board will state where to stand for which class/car.
But even the second-class cars on European trains are an adventure for me, having taken only excursion trains in the United States. I couldn’t wait to experience the high-speed, ultra-modern trains.
Trains in Europe compete with air and auto traffic; and they are winning. Drive time between Paris and Brussels is three hours, train time is two hours — plus you don’t have to worry about parking. You can nap and eat on the train, and the price is very competitive. If the Thalys train is 30 minutes late, passengers get a 20 percent refund; an hour late and they ride the train at half price.
WestRail is the company commercializing Thalys for France and Belgium. Spokesman Michel Jadot says surveys show 73 percent of train passengers are leisure travelers. He estimates that by 2000, high-speed trains will travel from Paris to Amsterdam at 186 m.p.h., making the trip in three hours.
Thalys has begun a weekend train from Brussels to Disneyland-Paris, 20 miles from the city. The train features Disney characters on board and special admission prices to the theme park. It will run through September and, if successful, will be operating year-round.
Beginning in December, the Thalys train from Paris to Brussels will take 1 hour 25 minutes. Also by mid-December Thalys’ route will be extended to Cologne, Germany, and travel time will be reduced by a half-hour with completion of another section of dedicated high-speed track.
One of the newest trains we experienced was the Pendolino traveling from Brig to Spiez, Switzerland. The Italian-made Pendolino uses existing rail and was introduced in Switzerland in summer 1996. It now serves Basel-Bern, Geneva and Zurich to Milan routes.
The train tilts, making it hard to walk the aisles. (If you suffer from motion sickness, you might want to avoid the Pendolino — I started to feel a little queasy before the ride was over.) The Pendolino can reach speeds of up to 137 m.p.h. and is ultramodern with electric window shades and a sleek design.
Eating on European trains is as simple as taking a sack lunch. A French couple across the aisle on one trip were well equipped with a silver “warming bag” with their meal. Many larger train stations in France and Switzerland have delis or fast food kiosks.
Meals in the dining car on the TGV can be as expensive as $40 for lunch or a few dollars on a standard train.
To see the countryside of France and Switzerland, there is no better way than the train. On board the Brunig Panoramic Express from Lucerne to Interlaken Ost, Switzerland, we marveled at the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
From Paris, a few days later, we boarded the TGV Duplex for a trip to Lyon. This route moves passengers between the two cities in two hours at speeds of 168 m.p.h. in bilevel cars that provide more space and greater comfort than the standard TGV cars.
For more information about traveling through Europe by train, contact Rail Europe, 800-438-7245, or visit the Web site, www.raileurope.com
