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I have been feeding my son’s insatiable train habit since he was old enough to hold his head up and look out the window.

Here’s why we love train travel:

Jacob loves it.
It’s eco-friendly.
You can carry on all your junk.
Train travel can be quicker, easier and more scenic than flying.

In fact, many people (specifically Americans) don’t realize that train travel can actually be faster - especially in today’s world of security-mad airports. A recent transfer in London’s Heathrow Airport took me two (yes TWO) hours. I could have swum across the channel to Paris in that time. Well...maybe not. BUT I could have travelled by train.

EUROPE

The EUROSTAR between Paris and London is a perfect example of where choosing train over air travel makes sense. You can grab some croissants for breakfast on the Champs and be in ‘Jolly Old’ munching on fish ‘n chips by lunchtime. You can travel from one city center to the other in about 2.5 hours and by late 2007 the journey will take even less time. Flying would take a couple of hours more to travel point to point even though the actual flight time is only about an hour. Convenience factors aside, kids LOVE the ride. The whole concept of the train going UNDER the water in a BIG TUNNEL is not lost on the kids. Yes, it is just blackness outside your window while you’re in the tunnel...but to those among us with active imaginations, there are big sharks circling overhead! Now, if you need some help jump-starting your own dormant imagination, you may want to reserve in first class and take advantage of the free champagne. To reserve your adventure aboard the ‘CHUNNEL’ (as the Eurostar between Paris and London is called) go to www.eurostar.com or www.raileurope.com.

The EUROSTAR also serves Brussels (2.5 hours from London) and has connecting service to many cities in Europe such as Amsterdam and Bordeaux. You may also want to check out the travel packages it offers to places like Disneyland and to ski resorts. My pal Emily who lives in the UK says they sometimes offer great package hotel deals in the City of Light.

NOTE: When you make your reservation and pay for it by credit card READ the fine print. For example, in Paris you cannot pick up your ticket from an electronic kiosk with your credit card. You have to stand in the ticket line, which can be VERY long and that can add a LOT of time to your getting on the train. Plan accordingly so you don’t miss your train.

★The Eurostar is not the only fast train in Europe.

The TGV a network of high-speed premier trains that services major hubs in Europe is a great way to...ahem...fly. Please note that reservations are required. The best source for TGV info is the RailEurope website – here is the direct TGV link: http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/tgv/index.htm

Speed is not the only great thing about travelling by train in Europe. The scenery can be breathtakingly beautiful, making the train ride a destination in itself. Here are some particularly special ones.

SCENIC TRAINS IN EUROPE

One of the best Christmases EVER was spent aboard Switzerland’s GLACIER EXPRESS, traversing the Alps from Zermatt to St. Moritz, crossing 291 bridges and zipping through 91 tunnels while a soft snowfall enveloped the hills and valleys of the land that Heidi made famous. Speaking of Switzerland, we also loved a trip from Paris to Zurich – a great way to jump from one city to the other. Another famous scenic Swiss train trip is the GoldenPass Panoramic train from Lucerne to Interlaken (www.goldenpass.ch). The Swiss train system offers families the SWISS FAMILY CARD and kids under 16 travel free with their parents. For more info on the Family Card and the Swiss Pass go to:

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/swiss_pass.htm.

Scenic and fast trains are certainly not limited to Switzerland and travelling to/from the UK. Each country has a

rail system and most are nicely interconnected. For example the ICE is focused primarily in Germany, but has some service to Switzerland and Austria. It is a speedy little system and connects all major German cities with speeds of up to 174 mph. Now, if scenic and fast is not enough for you may want to try a hotel train.

HOTEL TRAINS

I personally have not tried a hotel train, but they look pretty cool. For example, the “Francisco de Goya” route from Madrid to Paris makes a stop at Blois, France in the Loire Valley (of wine and castle fame). Kids can check out the castles and Moms and Dads can check out the wine. You can book hotel trains at RailEurope (http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/talgo/train_hotel_elipsos.htm)

TRAIN TRAVEL TIX TIPS:

•Reserve/Book Early: Ways to save some Euros include reserving two weeks in advance; travel off-peak; buy restricted or non-refundable round-trip tickets. In fact, sometimes (on the Eurostar, for example) buying a roundtrip is cheaper than one way.

•Use the Internet: Booking directly with the individual train companies can save you a lot of money. For example go to: www.sncf.com for France; www.trenitalia.com for Italy; www.nationalrail.co.uk for Great Britain. Also you can buy tix including rail passes through Rail Europe (800.438.7245; www.raileurope.com). For individual train companies and the tricks of the art of train travel including child fares....

•Consult The Ultimate Source: Check out The Man in Seat Sixty-One (www.seat61.com) for those who don’t like to fly and who love the adventure of train travel. Mark Smith, the site’s author loves trains and knows a lot about them to boot. The site is named for his fave first-class seat on the Eurostar from LONDON to PARIS. To quote Smith: “It’s one of a pair of individual seats with table that actually lines up with the window.” Now that’s specific. He also has a lot more info than I do on lots more destinations. Including...

JAPAN – Land of the Bullet Train

Did you know you can travel to Japan from the UK by train? Now, I doubt you will spend the two weeks on the Trans-Siberian railway travelling with your travelling family across...well, Siberia. BUT you should travel by train IN Japan. I mean, after flying there.

Train is THE way to get around Japan. The whole country is well covered and Japan’s four major islands, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are served by a punctual, reliable network of railways. About 70% of the railway network is operated by Japan Railways (JR). (www.japanrail.com) JR offers a rail pass and it can make your travels easier. It is fairly inclusive and enables you to move about freely including most of the bullet trains. The bullet trains (shinkansen) link major cities including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Niigata, Hiroshima and Hakata. It is now time to talk about the MAJOR LOVE OF JACOB’S LIFE:

>>>>THE SHINKANSEN!!

These high-speed lines, also known as bullet trains are

FAST - reaching speeds of over 300 kilometers per hour. Jacob loved the way they looked and the way the trains zipped along the tracks. It was true love at first sight and he owns no less than 3 plastic replicas of various bullet trains. We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hakone and it only took 30 minutes. The regular train takes 1.5 hours. Osaka to Tokyo is only 2.5 hours on the Nozomi train that stops only at the most important stations. (Note: the rail pass does not cover the Nozomi trains) The other shinkansen categories are: Hikari trains which stop more than the Nozomi trains (for example, it will add about a half hour to the Osaka/Tokyo trip). The slowpoke of the bunch, Kodama trains stop at all stations. For more information on how to use trains and subways in Japan: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2016.html Another good guide to riding the trains in Japan http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2016.html

NORTH AMERICA

Enough of the exotic. What about good old North American trains? Jacob has not ridden the rails of his home continent, but it’s on our to-do list for sure. My neighbors took their kids on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. They said the scenery was amazing and it was great fun for the kids. They also loved a trip they took from LA to Santa Barbara. The east coast has some very exciting routes as well. For longer trips be sure to select a family bedroom sleeper car. Check out www.amtrak.com for details.

Canada also has some fabulous train excursions you can take replete with spectacular scenery and wildlife. For information on rail travel in Canada go to: www.viarail.ca You may also want to read this article from from BUDGET TRAVEL about a couple’s rail trip through Canada. It was not a ‘kid’ trip, but the article talks about the three trains they took and has some pictures. I enjoyed the article. http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020600878.html. I also have recently discovered a great train in Canada that has MAGICAL stuff just for kids around the holidays. There is a special activity car and Santa comes on board with presents for all the kids. For more information go to: www.rockymountaineer.com. This same company has a ‘very do-able with kids’ three hour scenic ride from Vancouver to Whistler in an open air observation car. www.whistlermountaineer.com.

So, that’s the 411 on ridin’ the rails.

Hey…I don’t have an elegant way to close this article…so here are some fun quotes about trains and one of my

favorite photos of Jacob sitting in a Tokyo Hotel room window just staring down at the tangle of train tracks below:

“I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.” Yogi Berra

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” Dietrich Bonhoerffer

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.” Oscar Wilde

Choo Choo!! Safe travels!!!

Trains, Trains, Trains!

en route to paris ABOARD the eurostar