The next step of the trip was one of the most exciting: getting on a proper night train.

The Austrian train company ÖBB runs a number of trains that goes through Europe called Nightjets. Ours was to take us from Berlin, Germany, to Zurich, Switzerland in about 12 hours time.

As we waited on the platform during a pretty Berlin sunset, our excitement was getting quite high. About 15 minutes past 9 (pm), the train finally rolled into the station and we could see our “panorama” double decker carriages in the end of the train.

Berlin-Zurich in a deluxe sleeper on the ÖBB Austrian Nightjet
Since we had to spend the night onboard, we felt we could splurge a little, considering we did not have to pay for a hotel, so we booked their deluxe sleeper for two persons, which got us sort of a miniature hotel room that came with two bunks, a small seating area, private bathroom and even a small shower cubicle.

Pretty much as we had gotten ourselves settled in, a discreet knock on the door and the steward offered us two small bottles of complimentary prosecco.

– I’ve got a whole case of these, so just let me know if you want some extra.

– Well okay then!

30 minutes later he returned with a refill. Upon boarding we also already had waiting forms for our breakfast order to fill in. You get a list of items, and up to six are free. After that a small extra fee is added per item (like €1 or so).

Then it was pretty much enjoy the ride time. There is really nothing to do on the train. No bar, no bistro as it is a sleeper train. We just sat and chatted for a while before the mandatory onboard-a-train-shower and then jumped into the complimentary slippers. We were quite tired after a day of exploring Berlin and passed out pretty much immediately.

Around 7.30 our alarms rang as our new friend had told us that he would bring breakfast shortly after Basel. Shortly afterwards the breakfast arrived in the shape of warm breadrolls with butter, cheese and salami, fresh coffee and yoghurt. Outside, Swiss mountains were passing us by.

Pretty much on the minute of expected arrival we rolled into Zurich Hauptbanhof. It felt almost sad to leave the comfort of the mini hotel room, but on the other hand we were now close to our first proper stop.

In summary, a night on the Nightjet was quite expensive compared to other train rides. We paid €299 in total, but that gave us a super comfy and private compartment on the train with welcoming prosecco and snacks, breakfast, and we did not have to pay for a hotel night. There are also cheaper options onboard the Nightjet, from ordinary seats to shared couchettes up to our deluxe sleeper. Highly recommended, without a doubt my best ever train experience so far.

It should be noted though that Deluxe Sleeper on some trains differ from our compartment. Check when you book.

After an early rise from Axel Guldsmeden we went to find where the bus that was temporarily replacing the train (I guess due to some kind of maintenance work) left. The guy in our hotel told us that it was “to the right of the Central Station”. We found the spot, but quickly realised that it was seemingly only private companies using it. We asked a Flixbus driver at the spot and he too confirmed we were in the right spot. But fortunately, we were getting a little paranoid at this time and doubled checked the info and realised our bus was leaving next to the central station building in a totally different spot.

Where togbussen leaves from
After a semi-panicked brisk walk we found the right spot for “togbussen” (there were signs inside the central station building) and was safely on our way to Rødby.

Taking the train onboard a ferry
In Rødby we boarded a train just next to the ferry terminal and were driven onboard the Scandlines ferry, quite cool and there are only a few ferries like this left in the world (we’re taking one of the others in a week or so.).

The ferry was packed with Germans, Danes and probably the most by fellow Swedes. We had a quick curry sausage with fries for breakfast (when in Rome) and after 45 minutes we jumped back on the train and rolled off into Puttgarden and Germany.

This leg we had upgraded to first class, and we were sat in a mini cabin with two comfortable chairs facing each other. There were electrical outlets in the roof (took me half trip to realise) and free wifi. No food or drink of any kind by some reason. DSB’s website promised breakfast for before-10-departures as well as coffee. But you couldn’t even buy any.

We were about 35 minutes late arriving Hamburg where we had a connection that we hence missed. On the train they told us to go to the ticket office to get a new ticket in Hamburg, which we did with very little effort. Convenient.

From Hamburg to Berlin in ICE First Class
For our final leg to Berlin we got to try Germany’s famous ICE high speed train, a very sleek, spaceship looking vehicle.

The interior was nice and comfy with leather seat and 1+2 seating across the cabin. We sat next to an older guy that seemed to be some kind of celebrity since people stoped and took selfies with him. In first class there was table service from the dining carriage, but you had to pay for it. We tried an apple spritz that came in proper glassware by the super friendly attendant. Since the train goes up to 330 km/h the trip to Berlin took only 1.45 hours and we arrived right on time, an hour after our intended arrival, giving us nearly 6 hours to explore Berlin before our next train. We locked our backpacks in a locker for €6 (coin locker) in the station and went on our way.

5 hours train transit in Berlin
And what do you do in Berlin if you are a hungry person like myself if not taking yourself to the nearest decent kebab shop? The likes of Müstafas gemüse kebap were a bit too far, so we found a place called Kebab Baba looking nice within a 15 minute walk from the central station. The kebab was really good and the guys working there friendly.

From there we walked to Brandenburger Tour, the Reichstag and then back to the central station where we had a faßbier or two on Hans Im Glueck, which had a nice outdoor terrace. Half way into our beers two police men arrived and started cordon off the area. We were told a suspected bag was found and hence evacuated indoors. We never saw how it all ended, since we had to get to our train, but I guess it was in a good way since we could not find any more info online after leaving.

This Summer we’re trying something new: taking the train all the way from Sweden to continental Europe, and then on to the tiny mediterranean island of Malta.

The first step: catching Swedish SJ’s X2000 high speed train to Copenhagen. The trip is about five hours and we paid the equivalent of €30 each per person in second class. 2nd class was quite decent actually with good legroom, space and electrical outlets at every seat pair. There was also free wifi which worked okay. We brought our own food (from Urban Deli) onboard, but they do have an onboard café with food and drinks that looked decent enough.

Onboard picnic.

When arrived in Copenhagen we checked in at Axel Guldsmeden, a really nice four star hotel a couple of minutes’ walk from the central station. Then we took a short walk to Hija de Sánchez for above tacos and a cold beer or two.

Also in the area is Mikkeller Bar, where we had a night cap before heading back to the hotel. Lights out quite early as we had an early start the following day for the next leg of the trip.

Just got back from a trip to surprisingly great Ukraine a few days ago. Before I go into details about the food, low prices and pretty buildings of Kiev though, I will tell you about a side trip we took during our visit, to the currently “in the news”-destination of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

I must admit I had no clue that an HBO series about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was in the making when booking this trip last fall. Born in Sweden in the 80s however, I’ve always been told about the disaster; when we visited the North of Sweden when I was a child, I was told to not eat and pick berries for instance, as radioactive clouds from the disaster swept over the Baltics and Scandinavia delivering poisonous rain.

So I was quite aware of the Nuclear disaster of 1986 already before the series aired, almost perfectly timed about three weeks before our departure. What the series told me however, was how close it was to an even larger disaster, possibly making life impossible for thousands of years in large parts of Europe.

But, can you actually visit? What about radiation?

We where a little apprehensive too, but according to our tour company that has made the tour for quite sometime, the radiation dose that you receive for the full day equals approximately to what you receive in an airplane for a 2 hour flight (because you’re closer to the sun than on Earth). Not very much that is, most people get more on the flight to Kiev.

Booking the tour

We opted to go with Chernobyl Tours (www.chernobyl-tour.com), a tour company we found through Tripadvisor with high ratings. The tour was $99 per person with extras like a Geiger counter at $10 (don’t skip this), lunch in the Chernobyl worker’s canteen at $5 (not in any way delicious, but an experience) – you can also bring your own food and eat it in the same place which might be an idea if you’re picky. We also included pick ups from our hotel at $13 per way which was super expensive compared to Kiev taxi prices, but also very convenient as our driver picked us up very early at 7.15 am from our hotel and returned us back as we arrived late at approximately 9.30 pm and did not need any directions.

Payment of the 25% reservation fee was through Paypal, so not as convenient as just putting in your card details, but not that bad either. Then we got good e-mail updates about the tour and the remaining balance that we paid in cash (Euros, USD or Ukrainian Hryvnia) onboard the bus before departing Kiev.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

We left Kiev in a bus with about 40 other people at 8 a.m. after having our passports thouroughly checked. After an approximate two hour ride where the guides told us about the incident, safety in the zone (except for pockets of radiation there is also wild animals due to lack of people), and showed us a quite good documentary about the incident we reached the border control of the 30 km exclusion zone. Here they had a few (not so nice) bathrooms and a few kiosks where you could buy snacks, drinks and souvenirs. We were supposed to be there for fifteen minutes, but it ended up being about 80 minutes due to being just a few police officers there to inspect our and other bus tour’s passports.

Our first stop in the outer exclusion zone: an abandoned village.

The Duga-1 radar, 150 meters tall, was a Soviet radar supposed to be able to see over the horizon and thus being able to spot a US Nuclear strike in time to be able to retaliate.

Another abandoned village, this in the 10 kilometer exclusion zone where you once again had to show your passport.

Then it was time to head to the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant itself. First up was this not-so-exciting but still edible tray of pasta with a “cheeseburger”; soup; salad; bread, and a glass of juice had in the Chernobyl PP canteen where the workers used to – and still are – having thelr meals in.

After lunch we headed for the power plant itself. I had not really understood that you even can come close to the damaged reactor 4, let alone getting out at its entrance just a few hundred meters away. I thought we’d see it in the distance from a hill or something. But no. We were next to it, a little bit scary, but also very interesting as I’ve heard about Chernobyl all my life, and here I was. Our guides told us about the new Steel Sarcophagus, finished in 2017, which is meant to last for 100 years and has lead to lower radiation in the area. People has also worked at the power plant, as I understood it pretty much since the accident. At the moment workers in the area work two weeks in the zone, and then they need to stay out of it for another two weeks before going back.

After ChnPP as the guides called the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant we were taken to one of the last, and in my mind, most interesting “sights” of the day: the abandoned ‘ghost town’ of Pripyat. If you’ve seen the HBO series, this is where all the people live. It’s only about 3 kilometers from ChnPP and today it is completely deserted, taken over by the forest.

The famous Ferris wheel of Pripyat, in one of the pods we had the highest reading of radiation during the day. 280 Microsieverts inside of it, compared to about 0,5 standing just a meter beside it. Scary.

Stray dog hanging around old bumper cars in the same would-be amusement park (supposed to open May 1st – disaster happened April 26).

Soviet era buildings anno 1986.

Then after a last stop in Chernobyl town where we got to see some of the robots used to clear the reactor roof (which was however mostly done by ‘bio robots’ eg. humans), and the monument of the first responders, many killed in the accident, we left for Kiev again. To leave the area though, we had to go through two radiation controls to see that we did not bring any radioactive dust or similar to the outside world.

Wow, that a day.