Anyone ridden the Orient Express?
 

I mentioned in another thread that I am probably going to Turkey this summer. As it turns out, I'm also probably taking students to Scotland. The Scotland trip returns 5/28 and the Turkey trip begins 6/2. It occurred to me that instead of flying back to Denver from the UK and then flying Denver to Istanbul it might be better to hang around in Europe for a few days, then go to Istanbul. A colleague suggested to me that I take the Orient Express or equivalent train from London to Istanbul. Anybody here done it? Could be an adventure.

Not really in a way that matters. The thing is, the Orient Express, is just a train. Amtrack has it's Coast Starlight, they have the Orient Express. While you can opt for a private room and to travel the entire distance, you can also just get a ticket for what would be considered coach class and ride the train as an ordinary commuter between two cities.

That's all I've done. After spending a day in Salzburg, we were set to return to Munich. It wasn't until our train was pulling into the station that we discovered that our train was actually running the Orient Express route, and was indeed the "Orient Express". My father and I were quite excited about it, even though we figured we hadn't the time to plan out a crafty murder scheme and implement it during our 2 hour trip, we thought we could at least pull off a "mooning on the Orient Express". My mother thought otherwise.

As for the "real" Orient Express and the debate you'll hear of it, remember the Orient Express is a swervice, not an actual train. I lifted this description from another website, but it's a pretty good one:

There is, and cannot be, any such thing as the 'original' Orient Express, for a very good reason. Take air travel. Suppose there's a British Airways flight to New York called 'Flight BA123'. Is there an actual unique aircraft called 'Flight BA123'...? Of course not. 'Flight BA123' is a abstract concept, a service, a departure, a 'flight', something which appears in the timetable, in the reservation system and on your ticket. BA own a whole fleet of whichever type of aircraft is required to operate flight BA123 to New York, and any of these might be used to run that flight on any given day. So it is with the Orient Express. It was and is a service, and not a particular set of rolling stock. In any case, it would have used different rolling stock at different periods in its history, and at any given time it would have required several sets of rolling stock to operate.

Don't get me wrong, long distance train travel through Europe is certainly a good idea, I'm just saying don't get all hung up on a name.

MV

Yes, I understand. I think the Orient Express originated from Paris and I want to travel from London. It's the idea of crossing Europe on a train that intrigues me. It's a journey in the imagination back to the 19th century.

Overnight trains are getting harder and harder to find with the expansion of high speed service....I love European rail travel but at 150+ mph, crossing France only takes a shade over three hours, making it more of an amusement park ride than a mystery filled journey. Not to say that our trip to Le Creusot wasn't without intrigue...it turned out that the middle-aged femme sharing 'assigned' seats with us was ripping off the SNCF by traveling sans billet.

Ironically, it takes about 45 minutes just to get through the line in the TGV's bar car.

As was mentioned above, the Orient Express is really no big deal. I did take something called the Orient Express back when I was doing the post-college acquaintance tour of Europe back in the 70's. I can't recall now where that was- perhaps Venice to Vienna? I spent many semi-sleepless nights on those trains years ago.

I agree with Randy in lamenting the demise of the Euopean night train. A lot of them have disappeared from western Europe, although there are still plenty to be found in the east where train speeds are much slower. If you want a taste of 20th century train travel, try the overnight train from Odessa to Kiev.

Rick

So, you really only have time for 3 maybe 4 drinks and then youre there?

It SOUNDS cool. I've thought that might be a fun trip if one had the right company . . . . At least it sounds very exotic.

Hmmm. Orient Express Trains and Cruises (which I believe operates the train running the original routes) is now owned by the Windsor Court Hotel Group. They also own some castles in Europe and Asia as part of their new inventory. My parents took the 'American' Orient Express Train across North America about five years ago. IIRC, the tab for a couple was around $30K for just short of three weeks. Hope your students are flush!! I read about the Euro run in the Windsor Court magazine I took from the hotel a few weeks ago and I know I couldn't afford it as part of a Euro vacation (for four, anyway).

Oh, I knew there was some reason I haven't done it. That would explain it!

So far I've come across a couple of routes. One is London-Cologne-Vienna-Budapest-Bucharest-Istanbul. It takes three days and two nights. Looks like cost is around $400 with a rail pass with some additional cost for upgrading to a sleeper for the 2 nights. I haven't checked airfares but I'm pretty sure that's the train is more expensive. However, I would get to see parts of Europe I wouldn't otherwise.

Doesn't sound bad, but the sleeper cost could be a killer.

Since you are going through France , you might try pricing it through the SNCF website. They have some very attractive rates if you can use a "PREMS" fare.

Rick

I think the upgrade to a sleeper is around $130 for both nights.
I wasn't thinking of John Doe's OE. It's a similar route but not the luxury trip. Here's the link to the info:

http://www.seat61.com/Turkey.htm#via%20Bucharest

Oh, I haven't made such a trip--I just like to look at the pretty pictures in the magazine.:D

Kerry-

Ah, I see. Those are new Inter Rail passes that I wasn't aware of. Not bad. I think the trains are feeling the heat from all the budget european airlines that have been eating their collective lunches. Just keep in mind your tolerance for comfort and lack of personal space. It's no fun to be confined in a coffin-like compartment with 5 non-English speaking folks eating garlic...
Consider a private compartment, if you can afford it. That was what I was alluding to about the Odessa to Kiev ride. I think the overnight ride for the 3 of us in a private compartment was about $60...but that's the old former CCCP.

Thanks, I may take that advice. It's possible I'll have an expense account for this trip and if so, I can depart from my normal frugal self.

I am the original Mr. Cheap guy. If you can't swing the private compartment go anyway and take your chances. It's all good- its part of the experience. Let us know how you make out.