Cologne

Cologne (Koln) is an important European rail hub so if you're travelling around Europe you'll get to know this station. On my previous trips (Prague, Warsaw) I only got to know the station but on this trip I had a 4 hour lay-over & found the city has plenty of charms within easy waling distance from the station.

Right outside the station is the spectacular gothic cathedral & if you don't see it looming above you - you've gone out the wrong exit so turn around & walk back to the other exit opposite.

In the shadow of the cathedral & along side the Rhine are the captivating cobbled streets of the Old Town. It is packed with Brauhaus' and alfresco restaurants which have a surprisingly Mediterranian ambience in the summer.

One of the most famous is the Hexenhaus (pork knuckle house) which has an 800 year history of sea traders unloading cargo at Cologne.

Cologne has its own beer (Kolsch), brewed nowhere else. Its an ale but tastes like a lager even though its poured from woodedn barrels. Its traditionally serve in 0.2 litre glasses, which keep coming until you put a beer mat on your glass to indicate you've finished. At Hexenhaus its served in metres - metre long planks of wood with 10 holes for 10 glasses of beer.

London to Istanbul 2

Caught a 7am train to Paddigton & arrived at St Pancras by 8am with sufficient time for a leisurely coffee. The Eurostar left on time just before 9am & arrived in Brussels two hours later (12.10, +1GMT).

Brussels Midi is a busy International station with plenty of shops & cafes. When changing trains follow the signs for 'connections' & then signs for the rail company you're travelling with ie Thalys, ICE, DB etc. Finally look for the airport style departure screens to identify which platform you need.

My Thalys trrain to Cologne departed at 1.28pm & took two hours. The Thalys 'comfort 1' class has a spacious 2+1 seat configuration and comes with free WiFi, drinks & snacks.

London to Istanbul

Just got all my train tickets & accommodation vouchers - thanks again Railbookers.

Depart London 08.57 arrive Brussels 12.05 (+1 GMT)
Depart Brussels 13.28 arrive Cologne 15.15

I'm pleased to have a few extra hours to see something of Cologne other than the cathedral that's right outside the station.
Depart Cologne 20.05 arrive Vienna 08.52 next morning. It will be interesting to see what Deutsche Bahn's onsuite cabins are like.
Looking forward to a couple of days in Vienna

Depart Vienna 09.54 arrive Budapest 12.49
Looking forward to a couple of days in Budapest

Depart Budapest 10.00 on the Danube Express arrive Istanbul 09.00 three days later, with a few stop-offs on the way.

It should be a really great journey.

Quiet trains

As an increasing number of airlines are opting to provide noisy mobile services, Eurostar is introducing quiet coaches on its services this September. Business and standard premier passengers will be able to choose the option at no extra cost. Just another reason to prefer trains.

I have just updated my website - peter-lynch.co.uk - to include 16 of my best rail journeys ranging from a steam train to Bath to the Ghan across Australia with lots of European travel in between.

More high-speed rail to Europe

After running some trials last year Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) has sadly had to postpone its proposed new 2013 high-speed service from London to Amsterdam & Frankfurt until 2015.

But this is only a delay for this growing transport sector. Eurostar has effectively killed off air competition from London to Brussels and Paris, with shorter times and a better travel experience and now a broader range of rail operators are looking to consolidate rail dominance across Europe.

New routes will include Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Cologne, Lyon, Marseille and Geneva.

Eurostar now has an 80 per cent market share between these three cities, carrying 9.7m passengers a year. The time savings offered by the rail link were boosted by the full opening of the high-speed rail line between the Channel tunnel and London, along with its St Pancras International terminus, in 2007.

New 900-seater trains are already on order and the key growth area will be taking market share from airlines. The increase in the number of train operators will provide some good competition for Eurostar and should grow the whole market for high-speed rail.

New tourist trains for New Zealand

New Zealand’s KiwiRail (www.tranzscenic.co.nz) is well known for its spectacular TranzAlpine service that crosses the Southern Alps from Christchurch to Greymouth and its Coastal Pacific route from Christchurch to Picton. These routes have primarily become tourist services with modern scenic carriages and tourist services.

The North islands 60-year-old Overlander service between Wellington and Auckland does not have the same tourist appeal and passenger numbers for domestic point-to-point services have dramatically declined in recent years.

From June 2012 the North islands Overlander service is upgrading to smart tourist trains. The new service will drop from a daily service to three trains from Wellington and three trains from Auckland every week. Journeys will be faster, have modern scenic carriages, will make fewer stops and new saloon, cafe and open air viewing carriages will be standard on all routes.

Long distance train travel in New Zealand is developing into an international-standard travel experience rather than simply getting people from one place to another. As one of the most stunningly scenic countries New Zealand is hoping that these developments will revitalise the North Island service and attract more overseas and local tourists.