Bloc party: on the road in Eastern Europe

Cart ride: Eastern Europe by public transport

Travel writer Karen McIntyre explores Eastern Europe by public transport

Ever wondered what it would be like to follow in Michael Palin’s footsteps? Last summer, I just spent three months travelling around Eastern Europe with the simple goal of the holiday of a lifetime.

But I also wanted to limit my carbon footprint. Without a camera crew tracking my every move, I could travel light – catching public buses and trains everywhere. On my trip, I visited ten countries but didn’t catch a single flight.

Green issues aside, there were other benefits too. Using local transport was a much cheaper and far more interesting option. It was wonderful to swap queues at luggage carousels for memorable experiences on the buses.

A sense of adventure

A train: Eastern Europe by public transport

That’s not to say it was all plain sailing – travelling around Eastern Europe on public transport is never dull, but it can be exhausting.

I soon learned, for example, that Romanian trains don’t hang about at stations. You need to be ready to fling open the door and leap out the moment the wheels stop – with a huge backpack, that was no easy feat.

Polish trains can have a very curious sense of direction. Journeying from Krakow to Zakopane, the gateway to the stunning Tatra Mountains, my train unexpectedly headed off to several small towns and villages in the countryside before returning to its proper route. A two hour journey ended up taking five, but it was worth the extra time – the scenery was spectacular.

Travelling by train challenged some of my preconceived notions about different countries – I didn’t expect Romania to be so beautiful, for example. Rushing through the lush countryside of Transylvania with the Carpathian Mountains rising up majestically in the distance was an exhilarating experience.

When we arrived in the remote region of Maramures in the north of the country, it was like going back in time. The train weaved its way through tunnels and viaducts, stopping at tiny stations where locals would wave and pose for photos. We passed wooden houses in the middle of nowhere, and men and women in the fields, working the land.

Time to reflect

Crossing borders, I saw cultures and landscapes change before my eyes. The train from Vienna to Bratislava took just a couple of hours, but culturally the cities are worlds apart.

Vienna is every inch the classy, western city, whereas Bratislava felt like it was still struggling to throw off its Communist past.

Travelling the distances by local transport also gave me a chance to reflect on where I had been. The journeys helped me adapt to every new experience at the right pace.

There was so much to take in – and rather than glimpsing these places from an aeroplane window, I saw everything up close.
Returning home, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would be planning my next big adventure.

Journey details