‘Europe's newest sleeper train made me feel like a child again’
Sasha WoodTTG joined the inaugural service for a new sleeper train connecting Prague with Brussels, which could be the dream ticket for your clients’ European travels
Everyone’s in high spirits as we set off on the first ever night train to Brussels from Prague. A mix of paying passengers, company reps and travel industry professionals from the more than four European nations linked by this route trundle up and down the Good Night Train’s refurbed 1990s carriages, checking out the different compartments and standing in doorways chatting as we travel north across the pretty Czech countryside.
I’m travelling by train all the way back to London – via Brussels and an onward Eurostar link – after a couple of well-spent days exploring Prague.
Known as the city of a hundred spires, it’s a fairy-tale mix of folksy charm and architectural elegance. Walking is the best way to see the Czech capital, from the old cobbled footbridge across graceful Vltava river and one of the world’s largest fortresses, to the 15th-century Astronomical Clock in Wenceslas Square, art deco arcades and shops tucked into undulating gothic facades dishing out delicious baked cinnamon treats.
PYJAMA PARTY
Back on the sleeper, the marketing ladies from Good Night Train’s operator, European Sleeper, invite me to look inside their adjoining sleeper cabins. Perfect for a pyjama party, they feature three pale pink bunks, pillows and duvets and a vanity and sink tucked away in a corner cupboard. My slightly-less-pricey five-person couchette compartment is pretty comfy too, with three girls sharing, pull-down bunks and side tables, airline-style blankets and pillows, plus room to store luggage.
Among my room mates, Inntravel’s rail product manager Kylie Anderson is here scouting out the journey for the tour operator’s expanding rail programme, and is thrilled this slower Golden Age way of travel is regaining its old appeal. Next door, Matt Foy from Railbookers is trialling the trip too, with the goal of offering packages from London to Prague via Berlin and back again.
Passengers play cards, share snacks and peer through the window at the course of the River Elbe unfolding outside, attempting to guess if we’ve crossed the German border in the last light of the day. There is no dining car, but as stewards bring round a selection of evening drinks, we all Cheers with a Good Night Train branded ale, appropriate for a route that links the two European beer powerhouses of Brussels and Prague.
CLEAN SWEEP
The two toilets and four wash rooms in my carriage are enough to prevent a queue forming as we change into our pyjamas. Too excited to sleep, some of us gather in the gangway watching as a brightly lit Reichstag flashes past when we draw near to Berlin station at midnight.
Beyond the city, I catch the refreshing scent of a pine forest through an open window before I climb into my bunk and let the motion of the train rock me to sleep.
The rebirth of sleeper trains
Railbookers’ senior director for rail and transportation Matt Foy says: “We’ve definitely noticed demand for sleeper train experiences has increased dramatically over the last couple of years. Customers want to travel more sustainably, but they also want to make the journey part of the overall holiday experience rather than simply a means of getting from A to B. For the European Sleeper, we’ve put together a two-centre trip with travel on the sleeper from Brussels to Berlin and then back from Prague to Brussels, but like all our packages it could be customised to just Prague.”
Waking at 6am I pull back the curtain at first light to see signs of the Netherlands – tulip fields and windmills – whisk past the window. By the time we leave Amsterdam station I’m tucking into a pleasant breakfast box delivered by the coach steward that will fuel a fun day exploring Brussels, before hopping on the Eurostar home.
The EU capital has much in common with Prague, and while yesterday I was sampling chocolate beer in the Czech capital, today I visit countless Belgian chocolate boutiques on the way to the city’s newest attraction – Belgium Beer World – housed inside the grand old stock exchange. Though beer-making is clearly an adult subject, the museum has Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes, with bold steampunk exhibits and immersive rooms. Sampling a raspberry pop-flavoured ale in the rooftop bar and thinking back to my sleepover on the rails, it’s not the first time on this trip I’ve felt like an overgrown child.
Owning a train was a boyhood dream for European Sleeper’s co-founder Chris Engelsman, and the novelty of the Good Night Train definitely brought out the big kid in me. I can see the journey appealing to families with children as well as groups of friends, couples, even solos who don’t mind hostel-style sleeping arrangements, though all compartments can be booked for sole use.
What’s more, customers on the Good Night Train will generate only a sixth of the carbon emissions compared to a flight. According to calculations from ecopassenger.org, taking the train from Prague to London generates 49.8kg carbon versus 301.7kg by plane – a fact that should help your clients sleep more soundly.
Book it: The European Sleeper syncs with Eurostar services between London St Pancras and Brussels Midi, from Brussels to Prague on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights via Amsterdam, Berlin and Dresden, and arriving the following morning. The service from Prague to Brussels runs on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, reaching Brussels at around 9.30am the next day; europeansleeper.eu/the-train
Railbookers offers an eight-day cross-Europe package to Prague, including hotels, tours and a private cabin on the European Sleeper, from £1,699pp based on two sharing; railbookers.co.uk
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Sasha Wood
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