The Inter-Rail bible
I don’t know if anyone recognises this book. I just retrieved it from my parents’ house, and it brought back fond memories. For three years of backpacking and Inter-railing in the late 1980s this book was my bible.What Katie Wood and George McDonald said was worth visiting got the thumbs up from thousands of young backpackers. With no internet to research destinations and ideas, Europe by Train had a powerful position as an influencer of which train I chose to board, and where I would get off along the way.
Looking at the book now, I can’t believe some of the descriptions used to introduce the reader to each country. However wealthy Mr McDonald and Ms Wood became as a result of this best-seller, I can’t imagine they were the darlings of the European tourist boards. Their ability to throw backhanded insults at entire nations was totally lost on me as a teenager. Now I look at this again and believe it to be a literary masterpiece, worthy of far more acclaim than they probably achieved.
Here are a selection of their best quotes, each one being the opening sentence for that country in the book:
“Austria would have been no place for eurailing during its early history, certainly not for sleeping out at the station, as one power struggle followed another until the Habsburgs emerged at the end of the thirteenth century.”
I take it that immediately after the Habsburgs the 14th century railway network became a safe place to spend the night.
“East Germany is not as grey or univiting as it’s made out to be, but if you like the bright lights you might find it a bit grim”. “Unfortunately tourists are not encouraged, especially eurorailers”
This was it. Once I read this I had to go.
“The Germans are a restless lot. Wherever you go in Europe, there they are. It’s always been like this from the days of the Franks and the Saxons”
I checked, and yes this edition was updated in the eighties and not the forties.
“Irrespective of when you plan to visit Ireland, prepare for the worst: the chances are you’ll soak up more than its history and folklore”.
Surely they were awarded the freedom of Dublin after this promotional piece.
“Most of Holland’s major cities are concentrated in the flat Protestant west where one has visions of windmills, tulips and clogs. However, not all of Holland is like this; the south is very different: the land is not all flat, and many people are Catholic and much more like the French in many respects.”
So there are some who don’t wear clogs and are almost French. That’s ok then.
“Yugoslavia is one of the most complex and culturally diverse countries in Europe. There are no less than six republics inhabited by eight nationalities, speaking five different languages and using two alphabets. To make matters even more complicated, they practice four separate religions.”
Sadly perceptive words, written only a few years before the country disintegrated into a bloody series of wars.
I notice Katie Wood is still writing a guide to European rail travel. I hope that she has kept her wonderful introductions to each of the European nations, and not had her ascerbic creativity stifled by the demands of tourism agencies and PR professionals. I shall treasure this book as a personal keepsake; one that captures a moment in time, where Europe was divided yet united, where you came home from a trip with bundles of worthless notes of obscure currencies, and where political correctness was yet to dim the uninhibited musings of a travel writer.
Very inspiring quotes. If I read good travel writing I get hints for describing completely different places. It’s not easy to find always the most original angles or the most unsaid words, but reading from great writers helps a lot. I get this kind of inspiration every time I read Stanley Stewart, that’s why I’m constantly in the lookout for his latest work!
Yes I had this too. It’s only 20 or so years ago but Europe was a different and exotic place back then. At least, it was to a teenager; the joys of discovering a place for the first time with no or few other Brits in sight; the days before cheap flights. How things have changed. I’m feeling all nostalgic now.
Thanks Angela and Victoria for your comments. Yes, of course: cheap flights. They really did change the way that people were able to visit remote European cities. A trip to Tallinn or Dubrovnik would have been several days, or a very expensive series of connecting flights. Now they are a couple of hours away. Like you, I feel nostalgic about those journeys to discover the far corners of Europe.
Excellent post as per. That book, the red Thomas Cook rail timetable, an £87(or was it £99?) one month inter-rail ticket, £300 to surrvive, that inspired (and put off in equal measure), a whole generation to travel. Am also sure that it was that book that made everyone avoid Vienna because you couldnt crash in the Westbahnhof.
That’s right Stuart. Any mention of stations that didn’t welcome rough sleepers led to their boycotting be many backpackers. Venice was renowned for having cleaners hose down the station floors at around 3am, and they took great delight in soaking whoever was crashing on the floor.