InterRail 2019/2020 – Interailing With a Dog.

Since we got our delightful puppy, and unwillingness to fly with him due to him not being cargo. InterRail is now our preferred method of travel. There are exceptions being shorter trips where he gets a holiday at “The Hylton Hound Hotel” a kennel that we trust and he seems to love.

Interrail around Europe

InterRail 2019/2020

Our first trip with the dog across Europe was a mission to celebrate Christmas in the Transylvanian city of Brasov and hopefully all enjoy some snow. Then, the return journey in the new year after a break in the mountainous city.

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As it was a 4000+ mile round trip, we broke it up, visiting a few equally spaced destinations on the way. The only compulsory options we had when planning was Vienna due the being the launch point of many night trains into Romania and Brasov where we were spending the festive period.

Brasov Christmas

The journey’s eventual destination is one of my favourite budget locations in Romania. Staying for a fortnight for Christmas and the new year. Food, drink, walking and winter sports are on the list of things to do and see some additional attractions.

You can purchase Passes and individual tickets on Trainline. Trainline is also great for cheap fairs and easy to use in my experience.

Packing For The Dog

The dog has little choice in what we pack for him on trips, although he loves to reclaim anything he considered his from the backpack.

Dog & Rucksack ready for Interrail adventure

I kept the EU Pet Passport with mine for safekeeping. However, they have replaced the pet passport in 2021 with a new certificate because of Brexit. Water is very important, so this had a dedicated side pocket with a bowl that doubled up for food too. I packed his bed. It took up lots of space, thus we kept it under the top flap of the rucksack. Anytime he needed to settle down, I get out his bed and he curled up for a probably much-needed nap. Toys like his rope, monkey, his friend and treats were all passengers in the bag.

As I knew some countries to be cold, I kept a pink coat in his top backpack pocket. This was to ensure he was travelling in comfort and easily found. Pet food is frequently available throughout Europe. But we took a few days’ worth to save shopping daily and keeping the weight down.

Getting Dog into Continental Europe From The UK:

Without a car, getting a dog onto the continent has limited options. You can use the Dutch Flyer from Harwich to Hook of Holland or Newhaven to Dieppe. For this trip, the Harwich option ticks more boxes for us. They have a kennel deck somewhere to walk pooch and have beds for us to sleep during the night crossing.

Outbound Interrail Journey Destinations

The outbound journey involved mainly 2-day stopovers to enable some enjoyment of the trip. This was to ensure I did not subject the dog to too many long daytime journeys.

Stroud in Gloucestershire

The Journey started in Stroud railway station, a very nice station. We departed with backpacks on, the dog on its lead and full of optimism. Naturally, we arrived in plenty of time but quickly decided we should stock up with liquid for our vapes. This was to ensure we were not spending any time searching for shops on the journey. Anyway, after a false start of a phantom vape shop on google maps, I bought some liquid. As an afterthought, I purchased some spare coils for the adventure from KNG, a wonderful shop IMO.

Interrail Train from Stroud in Gloucestershire To Paddington Station London

The GWR train arrived, and I updated my Interrail diary. We enjoyed the first leg into Paddington station, London. This train was quiet, and the puppy had no distractions, so stayed settled. Meanwhile, I got some work done. I like the new GWR trains on the Cheltenham to London route these days. They are much nicer than when I was a regular on the line a few years back.

The only incident was a dramatic lady who had a fear of dogs winking at her. She wanted him held so she could move down the train. This was quite amusing, as ours is a very un-scary dog.

Interrail - London Paddington Station

Dog Walk in Kensington Gardens London

I was dreading London, as the dog wishes to be friends with everyone. We planned the cross-London journey to ensure we were past the capital by 4 pm to avoid rush hour. On arrival, we hiked from Paddington station to Lancaster Gate. This gave us an opportunity to pop into Kensington Gardens to give him a run and potty, if required.

Kensington Gardens London

Fun with the dog on the London Underground

Lancaster Gate tube station has a lift to get to the platform. This was great for us with backpacks, as dogs need carrying on escalators on the tube. As predicted, the tube was not too busy initially, but hitting Oxford circus it quickly filled up. People saw the dog was present, many looking at him, and a few gave him a quick pet. This was puppy heaven for him.

After his calm, impressive behaviour on the tube, we had to navigate the Liverpool Street escalators without incident. A quick run around and a sniff at Liverpool Street Station was his reward for being a trooper.

Interrail Train from Liverpool St Station in London to Manningtree

Back into the impressive but not yet heaving station. We found the platform for the Anglian Train to Manningtree that was our next connection. The puppy decided the platform minutes before the train was potty time. He unfortunately squatted down to have his biggest poo to date. My cortisol levels went through the roof but cleaned up, got rid of the poo bag. With seconds to spare, we were on the train.

Not the nicest train in the world, but had plenty of seats. Empty carriages were our key requirement after reading how busy this line gets in rush hour. We had an event-free journey as puppy likes to curl up for a nap after potty time. Unfortunately for him, we woke him up, and we enacted the departing train routine. This was, backpacks on and secured, then waiting for the doors to open.

Outside at Manningtree Station

Manningtree Station had an outside area for smokers, and we opted to sit there to wait for the Harwich train. We were close, so out came the new Trespass hip flask bought for the journey. This included shot glasses so toasted the successful navigation out of London.

Interrail Train From Manningtree To Harwich

The next train of the day was a quick journey to Harwich city on a little regional line. This train passed Harwich International, where we needed to catch the ferry and got off in the town centre. Although dark, the town had a nice pier on the estuary/seafront. Ideal to let the puppy have some exercise before heading for a pint.

Harwich in Essex, UK

A town on the Essex coast and home to the Ferry Port that we caught that evening. We enjoyed great beer and a final chippy dinner before heading to join the boat. More about leaving the UK…

Harwich Pier

Rotterdam in The Netherlands

We passed through Rotterdam and didn’t really get to see anything other than refreshments in the train station before changing and heading towards The Hague. Read about getting to The Hague…

The Hague in The Netherlands

Close to Rotterdam port and a beautiful historic city with many places of historical significance. This was a great day and got to see many of the historical sites and a trip to the beach. The Hague…

The Binnenhof in The Hague

Frankfurt in Germany

The financial centre of Germany has lots of high-rise buildings and a well known Christmas market. This stop was a pleasant way to break up the train journey and got to see some nice architecture and sample some German bratwurst sausages at the Xmas markets. Frankfurt…

Frankfurt Skyline

Nuremberg in Germany

The most Christmassy city in Europe according to many guides and so far cannot disagree. Nuremberg is a fascinating German city with some grant architecture and lots of history. Nearly everywhere we visited here was dog-friendly except for food shops.

Nuremberg Castle

Vienna in Austria

A city that had been on my bucket list for 2 decades. One must do is a waltz somewhere on our stopover. Vienna has so much to see and feel. I only scratched the surface. Prater amusement park was a fantastic fun evening out and visiting the historical central area had some fantastic architecture and religious buildings to admire.

St. Stephens Cathedral

Alba Iulia in Romania

We chose Alba Iulia because of being used primarily to allow the dog a break from the overnight train from Vienna. This was a great Interrail stop because of the city’s fantastic citadel and nice traditional Romanian food.

Alba Iulia

Brasov in Romania

The city, with most tourist visits in Romania in the heart of Transylvania, was to be our home for Christmas and New Year, staying for over 3 weeks. A historical city with lots to see and do, including easy access to the stunning Carpathian mountains which I took advantage of for a few wintertime walks. Brasov…

Dog Friendly Brasov

Return Interrail Journey Route

All the stops on the way back from Transylvania to home in the UK via a different route.

Deva in Romania

Corvin Castle Near to Deva

The first stop after leaving Brasov was to the eastern city of Deva. A town that was near the Border and on the railway line, close to the Hungarian border. This was ideal to use as a launchpad back into Central Europe. The Citadel in the city and nearby Corvin Castle were enough for us to say yes to avoid an 18 hour trip to Vienna or 16 hours to Budapest.

Vienna in Austria

Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna

Back to the main rail crossroads in Central Europe when you travelling to many Eastern and Southern European counties. We also had unfinished business in Vienna, as the stop on the way had lots of rain for us. The rain prevented us from seeing as much as we wanted. The Weather Forecast was blue skies and cold for the 2nd visit and enjoyed a fantastic dog walk admiring the city.

Bratislava in Slovakia

A simple trip to Bratislava from the Austrian capital, the shortest leg for this adventure. Travelling by train as it only takes just over an hour on a frequent commuter train. The accommodation was cheap; the city looked beautiful. Due to it being featured in the movie “EuroTrip” a favourite of ours, the decision was straightforward.

Bratislava Castle

Subsequently, on further research, we found out it they hadn’t actually filmed it there, but at the next stop, it was. Twitter helped also with a great tweeter @PaleAleTravel being very keen on the city. PaleAleTravel is a poster with some very similar interests to me. Especially about the beer and places to get some work done.

Prague in the Czech Republic

Friends had mentioned the city of a hundred spires a few times to me. Primarily for its architectural beauty, fantastic beer, and interesting history. People in my life had mentioned Prague many times, including an older client who had left in a rush in the Prague Spring in 1968 to get to England.

Prague

A blogger Riana | Teaspoon of Adventure who I follow on Twitter seemed to have the best info for me about the city. Especially as her dog was often with her. This helped me with some preliminary research into my visit. Prague was a beautiful city and very welcoming. I must have sold it well. My mum has showed an interest in a trip herself.

Dresden in Germany

Dresden

Next stop was a toss-up between the city of Dresden and the nearby Leipzig. Both cities are in the region of Saxony in the former country of East Germany. Dresden won this choice, as it was a simple day travelling from Prague. And the property was more in our budget on the day of travel. I have heard great things about both cities and will hopefully visit the other on another of our cross Europe tours. Dresden was a stunning city with some fantastic architecture, history and was dog friendly.

Frankfurt an Interrail Hub in Germany

Frankfurt Train Station - an Interrail Hub

This time a quick stopover to stretch mine and the dog’s legs. Also, this gave plenty of time to empty him after quite a few hours on the train. Not much happened except him saving his business for the green outside the European Central Bank. I never knew the dog had voted for PuppyExit since then. He didn’t really think about the puppy-passport if he voted that way. Back to a station bar where the bags were left to enjoy an Erdinger in a train station bar. Next onto the train with minutes to spare before the train left for Achen and onwards.

Houthem St Gerlach in The Netherlands

Houthem St. Gerlach

The endpoint of this full day’s travel was to Houthem St Gerlach, a rural village near to Maastricht. A nice-looking hotel that was chosen as being the cheapest we could find in the country for the timeframe. The rural location meant that we had a chilled out time in the Dutch countryside. Well, except my compulsive need to see Maastricht as a day trip out.

Maastricht in The Netherlands

Maastricht

While the fiance was enjoying the luxury of Hotel Vue back in St. Gerlach. I had itchy feet to visit Maastricht on a 15 minute train journey to have an exploration. A place that drew me to since enjoying many Andre Rieu concerts there on YouTube. The home of the Maastricht Treaty seemed an apt place to visit. Many of my Brexiteer friends have cited this treaty as the one that had the biggest issues with. The city was, in fact, exquisite and was lots to see and experience.

Travel Back Home in UK

Unfortunately, because of uncertainty of the validity of the EU Pet Passport scheme in terms of Brexit. We headed back to the UK before the end of January 2021 to avoid any issues. This let us back to the Ferry from Hook of Holland, back to Harwich for a stopover there. That was a nice budget B&B called The Goodlife Guesthouse. This was ideal for sleep then exploring the seaside town. Finally, breakfast on the beach before traversing London and back to Stroud.

Gloucester Docks

We stayed in my home county of Gloucestershire for a few days to acclimatise to the UK. This meant I got to enjoy some good old British Countryside for some walks in the Cotswolds and catch up with my important clients.

Eventually the last train trip was back to our current home in Birmingham to get back on with the daily grind. This was soon to be followed by the unfortunate lockdown a few months later.

St Martin In The Bull Ring Church Birmingham

Interrail Review

Interrailing was great fun, learned a lot particularly about travelling with a pet. I quickly realised that 1 or 2 days was not enough for our leisurely style of exploring. Rushing doesn’t suit me, I like to enjoy the vibe of the destination as much as attractions. I discovered much of Europe is dog-friendly. The only problem of significant was packs of stray dogs being protective when we had ours. We decided he won’t be coming to the next trip to the Danube Delta. Because there were so many there on our last 2 trips, so off the Hylton Hound Hotel he goes.

Further Information about Interrail

What does Wikipedia say About Interrailing?

The Interrail Pass is a rail pass available to European residents. Residents of countries outside Europe may purchase the Eurail Pass instead. Types of Interrail Pass include the Interrail Global Pass, the Interrail One Country Pass, and the Interrail Premium Pass. The pass allows unlimited rail travel in and between all 33 participating countries for a certain period. High-speed trains and night trains often require a paid seat reservation. The Interrail One Country Pass allows unlimited rail travel within one European country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrail

Buying an Interrail Pass

You can purchase passes at international ticket offices or via the Interrail Website. You can buy an Interrail Pass for a variety of durations to best suit your needs.

Rules on Travel With Pets

Basically, there are rules for each rail company throughout Europe, thus it is best to research beforehand. Some rules for train travel include not allowing large dogs.

Others only permit dogs that can fit into a small pet carrier. Others have the rule that dogs must wear a muzzle or in a carrier while onboard. I trained my dog to not fear the muzzle for a few weeks before embarking.

On some train journeys, they may require tickets for pets to travel. This varies from half fair to full fair. When travelling on night trains, you have two options? You can either travel in a seated area or book an entire cabin for your party. We booked a two-person couchette when travelling from Deva to Vienna, for example.

2 thoughts on “InterRail 2019/2020 – Interailing With a Dog.”

  1. Who ever said pets have to slow down travel plans, you’ve proven otherwise. I had a good chuckle with all the dog related planning. Unfortunately our black lab passed away and never got the chance to experience adventures like this. Keep it going and thxs for posting.

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