Ticket to Ride

Between soaring mountains, across arid deserts, parched plains and valleys of fruit orchards and olive groves, down glittering coastlines and along viaducts towering above plunging ravines... there is no better way to see Spain than by train.<BR><BR>Rail enthusiast Tom Chesshyre, author of Slow Trains to Venice, Ticket to Ride and Tales from the Fast Trains, hits the tracks once again to take in the country through carriage windows on a series of clattering rides beyond the popular image of "holiday Spain" (although he stops by in Benidorm and Torremolinos too).<BR><BR>From hidden spots in Catalonia, through the plains of Aragon and across the north coast to Santiago de Compostela, Chesshyre continues his journey via Madrid, the wilds of Extremadura, dusty mining towns, the cathedrals and palaces of Valencia and Granada, and finally to Seville, Andalusia's beguiling (and hot) capital.<BR><BR>Encounters? Plenty. Mishaps? A lot. Happy Spanish days? All the way.

"Easy-going, discursive and digressive, even those to whom trains are a closed timetable will find this a charming travelogue." - Stuart Maconie<BR><BR>Join travel writer and self-confessed "train nut" Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways on a zigzagging tour around the UK - where trains (proudly) began<BR><BR>In a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings started moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with engine-powered wheels. The contraption was called a "train". What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the worldwide railway revolution. Today, 1.3 million miles of tracks crisscross the planet.<BR><BR>To celebrate the 200th anniversary of this groundbreaking event, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a journey around the country that invented trains, taking in many heritage lines maintained by armies of enthusiasts. On a long, circular series of rides beginning and ending in Darlington, Chesshyre enjoys the scenery, seeks out the history, dodges delays (as best he can), reports on the current (often shambolic) state of British railways, and lets the rhythm of the clattering tracks reveal what it is about trains - especially wonderful old trains - that we love so much.

"Tom Chesshyre is the consummate traveller, who makes you want to experience all his adventures and mishaps for yourself." - Christian Wolmar, author of British Rail: The Making and Breaking of Our Trains<BR><BR>From London via Paris, Naples, Nuremberg, the Swiss Alps, Budapest, Athens and into the furthest corners of Eastern Europe across Romania and Bulgaria, join Tom Chesshyre on his fascinating journey to Istanbul and back<BR><BR>Ever dreamt of dropping everything and adventuring cross-country to the edge of Asia? That's just what rail enthusiast Tom Chesshyre did, hitting the tracks for a 4,570-mile adventure on 55 rides, shadowing the old Orient Express route.<BR><BR>Interrailing was once the realm of young backpackers setting off to "find themselves" - and for many, it still is. But it's also a joyful and eco-friendly twenty-first century adventure that's open to us all, no matter our age or agenda. Dodging striking train drivers in Germany, getting stuck by the Bulgarian-Greek border, and negotiating tricky passport officials in Turkey is all part of the fun in this illuminating and meandering journey around Europe.<BR><BR>Europe by rail awaits. The freedom of the lines awaits. Why not hop on board?

Do you love trains? Do you love adventure? If so, join Tom Chesshyre on his meandering rail journey across Europe from London to Venice.<BR><BR> Escaping the rat race for a few happy weeks, Chesshyre indulges in the freedom of the tracks. From France (dogged by rail worker strikes), through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, he travels as far east as Odessa by the Black Sea in Ukraine. With no set plans, simply a desire to let the trains lead the way, he heads back via Hungary, the Balkans and Austria. Along the way he enjoys many an encounter, befriending fellow travellers as well as a conductor or two.<BR><BR> This is a love letter to Europe, written from the trackside.

ALLES STEHEN UND LIEGEN LASSEN, in den Zug steigen und ans Ende Europas fahren - genau das haben Tom und Danny gemacht. Mit einem Interrail-Ticket in der Tasche begeben sich die beiden Herren mittleren Alters auf eine unterhaltsame und erhellende Low-Budget-Reise quer durch unseren Kontinent. In 55 Zügen geht es von London über Paris, Nürnberg, die Schweizer Alpen, Budapest und Athen bis in die entlegensten Winkel Osteuropas nach Istanbul und wieder zurück. Sie erleben Bahnstreiks, zwängen sich in Schlafwagen, verirren sich und bleiben an der Grenze stecken. Sie sinnieren über die vorbeiziehenden Landschaften - wie einst die ersten Reisenden des Orient-Express. Und trinken dabei sehr viel Rotwein. Ihr Fazit: Eine wirklich angenehme Sache, dieses Zugreisen.

Die Freiheit auf Schienen genießen - dafür begibt sich der britische Autor Tom Chesshyre auf eine abenteuerliche Zugreise quer durch Europa: Von London über die Ukraine bis nach Venedig. Das eigentliche Reiseziel: Europa und seine Bewohner kennenlernen. Und herauszufinden, was sie in politisch und gesellschaftlich aufgewühlten Zeiten wie diesen verbindet. Tom Chesshyre reist ohne genauen Plan, eben dorthin, wohin die Schienen führen, und freundet sich unterwegs mit seinen Mitreisenden an - und natürlich mit dem ein oder anderen Schaffner. Ein persönlicher Reisebericht, der zeigt, was Europa zusammenhält. Und eine leidenschaftliche Einladung, sich mit dem nächsten Zug selbst auf den Weg zu machen.- Grenzenlos und bewusst: Mit dem Zug zu den Menschen Europas - Von London über die Ukraine nach Venedig - Mit klugen Einblicken in Politik, Gesellschaft und Tourismus'Die einzige Möglichkeit sicherzugehen, dass man einen Zug erreicht, ist, den davor zu verpassen.' (G.K. Chesterton)