Training in Europe - Adventure and Advice

Blog Post submitted and written by Rachael Stamp - Fall 2007

A major way of traveling through Europe is traveling by train. These trains are in every country, allowing both people and goods to move throughout Europe.

For Franciscan students living in Austria, trains are one of the top ways to travel. At the beginning of the school year, everyone is a bit petrified about using these. When you first click onto the website with timetables that have stops of towns that you can’t pronounce, it starts to become a little overwhelming.

Time is one of the first boundaries that you have to jump. The twenty-four hour clock is something that students aren’t used to. It’s confusing when you see that a train is leaving at 14:32. What does that mean? The trick to figuring out the times is to subtract two hours from the time. For example, 16:00 minus 2:00 is 14:00 or 4:00. This is the easiest way to find the actual time.

A second boundary is the different language at each station. The board telling the departures of each train is labeled in the local dialect. One must look carefully for the translation in English in small, italic letters. Language is a barrier when making reservations or getting tickets. Be sure to go to the international information stations where people are able to help you, in English. Of course, another alternative to the language barrier is to pick up a language and practice it on the people that you meet. This is only recommended if you are not in a rush to get to your next train, as your travel-mates might not be agreeable to this idea.

The last main boundary is yourself. It takes courage to climb aboard a train that could end up taking you in the complete opposite direction of where you wish to go. The stress that you experience can overwhelm you- if you allow it to. Experience each weekend of travel as an adventure. The whole of Europe is yours to see. You are going to be stretched in ways that you did not imagine and realize many traits about yourself that you did not know that you had.

Students that have traveled once have plenty of wisdom to share about the European trains.
“When I traveled on a train, I had to fight for my seat,” said Hayley Call. “Remember that even though you have a Euro-Rail, you still have to pay for seat reservations, it’s not totally free.

“Don’t oversleep,” said Matthew Brectel. “You will miss your stop and wake up not knowing where you are.”

Sara Kaladish agreed with this. “Also, remember that each train car can split up to different places, so make sure that your car is going to your destination.”

“Be aware that you are sharing cars with different people,” said Jackie Stamp. “Sometimes this is a good thing and you become friends with other travelers. Other times the trip can be one that you save for a fun story.”

This highly used mode of transportation is an adventure in itself to use. It also allows you to experience different European personalities in each country and is the place where stories to tell your friends and family are made.