Interrail Ramblings: An A-Z Travelogue

by Brendan James

An entertaining collection of bite-sized Interrail travelogues, peppered with Euro-train history, tips and random ramblings. Travel with the author as he looks back alphabetically over a lifetime of rail journeys from Amsterdam, Istanbul and Moscow, Paris, Stockholm - and Wolverhampton.

Join him on trains like the Orient Express, the Northern Arrow and the Holland-Scandinavia; and see him crotchety in a Krakow couchette or braving the crammed-in masses to Monte Carlo. Will he freeze to death before reaching Ostend? Does he escape robbers on the overnight to Venice? And dodge the hog’s testicles in Slovenia?

With 28 countries, 62 trains, plus the odd ferry, lorry and bus, this is a joyful, funny and nostalgic celebration of European train travel.“Interesting and extremely entertaining. Perfect balance of travelogue, train information and personal musings and anecdotes” – reader review

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 29, 2024

About the author

Brendan James (pen name) is the author of the comedy novel, “Gerard Philey’s Euro-Diary” and “Interrail Ramblings”, a Euro-Rail travelogue. Having escaped a lifetime of teaching, he is now a recovering curmudgeon, keen traveller and enthusiastic beer drinker. He lives with his husband in the West Midlands, listening to 70s disco and pondering his next Euro-train journey. Many thanks for visiting his page - reviews, ratings and shameless word-of-mouthing are always welcome and appreciated!

Reviews

[Frank Meier]

Marvelous

Brendan James must have been a great teacher. He has written a thoroughly readable and enjoyable book. Every trip we take with him is described in his enchanting voice. I put it down at 5 a.m., having finished it on a sleepless night in a cold Smokes hotel bedroom.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was worried that I would put this down after a few chapters, as I'm not a trainspotter: but it was surprisingly entertaining. Short stories detailing some of the many train journeys the author has taken, going back to the 80s when he was a student. Many of the trains do not exist now, thanks to cheap flights, which seems a shame: although some of the shared carriages and bathrooms/toilets sound a little unsavory. Lots of interesting and amusing anecdotes, travel tips, and train trivia make this an interesting and enjoyable read.

[abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and easy read

This book guides you through a wealth of international rail journeys . The author combines factual travel advice with interesting anecdotes from start to finish. A book that is bound to have you planning your next travels!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and insightful.

[Lisa Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brendan James is a definite and self-confessed train geek who collects destination signs (I had no idea that was a thing), but, and this is important, you don’t have to be a fellow trainspotter to enjoy this book. Brendan has an easy, chatty writing style with each of the short chapters, arranged alphabetically by destination, giving a tiny vignette of his life; pieces of a jigsaw to tease the reader.

I loved Brendan’s self-effacing humour, his vivid descriptions of places he’s visited on trains around Europe, and his tales of travel companions – both good and, on occasions, very very bad.

I also mourned for the loss of so many wonderful train services and that Brendan didn’t, in the end, use his other ‘U’, my one and only daily train commute. Still, that can be for the next book, Brendan.

I highly recommend Brendan’s ‘personal homage to train travel and the wonderful places it can take us’.

[Valerie Poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book this is. I’ve so enjoyed experiencing all these different train journeys Brendan James has taken over the years, especially those back in the time when night trains were the norm. Some of his trips were great, others not so, as he describes the challenges of sleeping in cramped carriages with other travellers, many of whom had some unsavoury habits. I’m a big fan of trains myself and could relate to several of his trips, for example, in Hungary where it was so hot he was practically expiring. I’ve had similar experiences in eastern European countries. I also enjoyed Brendan’s gentle humour and his ability to acknowledge and make fun of his own mistakes and faults. This is a lovely book to dip into and is very well written. It’s been a great bedtime read for me. I’ve now bought his other book, which is set in Amsterdam, a city I know well, so I’m looking forward to that!

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two-thirds of the way through...What a superb writer Brendan James is. He's got such a clear, crisp writing style. He's also been everywhere. Moscow, New York, Riga, etc., etc. And written up his experiences in a book that is part Michael Palin and part Alan Bennett. Anyway, back to it. I'm on p.198. Chapter S. Stockholm and St. Petersburg...

And journey's end. What a lovely book this is. Informative, interesting and entertaining. And that's from someone who doesn't like trains or travelling. And STILL I loved this book. I know I keep banging on about it, but it's James' writing style. It's so uncluttered and succinct. And there's a nostalgic feel to it. Escapism at its very best. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[Sharon Hayhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Train travel is not something that I have ever done, so was interested to read this, and I must say, I can now see the attraction. This book is well written, with a good balance between humor, fact, and personal anecdotes. I would recommend for anyone who enjoys train travel or is planning to travel by train as there is a lot of useful information that you could dip into repeatedly. A thoroughly good read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ups and Downs of Train Travel

As someone who has recently completed a couple of Interail trips and who has always enjoyed travel by train, I found this account of the author’s numerous train journeys from young to older years interesting and inspiring. Some of the details were not particularly interesting to me but it was easy to just skip over them. Also his humour might not appeal to everyone 😏

[Davis Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant read

A nice little collection of stories from thirty years ago up until today.
The book reads easily, but the constant trying to be funny in (brackets), on every page becomes quite tiresome after a while.