Thread by @politic_animal

…until finally the train reaches the 10.6km Arlberg Tunnel, completed in 1884. #Europe24

Out the other side, we’re descending rapidly. Most importantly, we’re now in the catchment of the Inn, which drains into the Black Sea by way of the Danube. On the eastern side we were in the Rhine/North Sea drainage basin. #Europe24

At the bottom of the steepest part of the descent is Landeck-Zams station. I’m resisting temptation to hop off here and get a bus over the Reschenpass to tick off Italy in a few hours. But even with 1 country now out of reach in original plan, think best to push east. #Europe24

Sailing past the autumnal larch trees as we descend the Inn valley. #Europe24

A wakeboarding centre makes an odd foreground to the Geigenkamm range of snow peaks… #Europe24

Crossing the west-bound local train, Öztal. #Europe24

Over the glacial River Inn as we leave Innsbruck. We picked up a Railjet portion for Wien Airport here, which has an Austrian Airlines flight number and everything. #Europe24

Kufstein is a border town - and we’re about to cross back into Germany. Like nearly every W Austria > Wien train, we are taking the ‘German corner’, as the route through Bavaria is much faster than the mountainous all-Austrian route via Zell am See #Europe24

However - these are non-stop ‘Corridor Trains’, so this wouldn’t count as a visit to Germany under my rules, hence the trip to Saarbrücken. I can remember pre-Schengen timetables advising that travellers on corridor trains would ‘find the doors locked while in Germany.’ #Europe24

This is the time of year when every red-blooded male wonders what the Austrian Federal Railways are putting on their autumn menu this year.
Among other things, there’s a very passable veg lasagna. The waitress apologised profusely that they hadn’t loaded tablecloths. #Europe24

After our wander round the German corner, we’ve crossed back into Austria. To prove it, the unmistakable floodlit skyline of Salzburg appears as we rumble over the Salzach. #Europe24

Racing east along the Westbahn - what was once the Kaiserin Elisabeth-Bahn (or the Sisibahn as I prefer.) It’s a Trigger’s broom of a railway - so many cut offs, tunnels etc, the 1850s original barely exists. It’s the closest to a high-speed line on our entire journey. #Europe24

The speed with which a 14-coach and 2-locomotive train can enter a platform it is stopping at are quite something. Even more so when the driver is determined to gain some minutes back. There is quite a strong smell of brakes in this carriage. #Europe24

Briefly stepping off the train in Vienna Hbf, just for some air and because I can’t pass through our honeymooon town and not set off. An alarming announcement about a technical issue, but thankfully only in the Airport portion, which is detached and cancelled here. #Europe24

And we’re off again, just the 3 of us in the coach now, for the shortest capital-to-capital journey you can make in Europe. If you don’t count the Vatican and Rome. Which I do.
I love first class on these Railjets. Leg room to kill for, comfy seats, so much space. #Europe24

Having to explain to a disappointed Mrs Turtle that the catering team got off in Vienna, so there’s no salsas available any more on the train. #Europe24

There’s an alt @politic_animal who didn’t get messed around by SNCF who is standing on this cold platform at Parndorf right now, watching the warm express power through.
Cold he may be, but he’s got another country (🇭🇺) under his belt through a trip to Hegyeshalom. #Europe24

Obviously, I’m disappointed to be a country down. But also that I didn’t get a crucial 15 minutes in the obscure border village of Hegyeshalom to try to work out why this is their coat of arms. #Europe24

It’s 21:24, we’ve passed lake-less Kitsee, and finally completed country 8, Austria 🇦🇹 after travelling the entire length of it. We’re into Slovakia 🇸🇰. 22-years ago, I crossed the former Iron Curtain for the first time here. The first thing I saw was a Tesco sign. #Europe24

Going to do something a bit odd now. This Railjet calls at 3 Bratislava stations, in a huge, slow arc, ending at the main station, Hlavná Stanica. That’s where I need to be to move on, but it’s much quicker to get off at the first stop, Petrzalka, and grab a bus. #Europe24

Bit bleak and uncared for, Bratislava Petrzalka station. #Europe24

See what I mean? Bleak. #Europe24

Managed to get my €0.90 30-minute ticket. Could have got that down to €0.81 if I’d worked out how to use the app, but I reckon enough public transport agencies have my credit card details already. #Europe24

One more bendy bus for the day #Europe24

Over the Danube on the Most SNP. Which means Bridge of the Slovak Uprising, not a description of what happens in Scottish elections. And there’s Bratislava castle, floodlit on its hill. #Europe24

Hlavaná Stanica divides opinion. I accept it is cramped, both for passengers and rail capacity, but look at that space age wonder… #Europe24

Ok, so the interior smells strongly of dope. But it has got this sodding mosaic. Just look at it. Socialist realist mosaic of vast proportions. #Europe24

Waiting for the night train… #Europe24

And here is the ‘Metropolitan’, a multi-part classic night train, with portions from Budapest for Warsaw, Berlin and Breclav. And in the middle, my coach, a single Czech sleeper coach heading for Prague. And the final train of this journey… #Europe24

Mrs Turtle keeps a beady eye on proceedings as we spin west out of Bratislava… #Europe24

Departing Kúty, a tiny village but important rail junction near the Czech/Slovak border. It’s our final stop in Slovakia. In a moment the train will branch sharply west and head towards the border on the River Morava. #Europe24

It’s 23:09. Amid the blackness of the woods and marshes of the Morava valley, our train rattles noisily over the river bridge, and we’ve completed country 9, Slovakia 🇸🇰! We accelerate into the Czech night, passing a local passenger train at Lanžhot. Next stop: Breclav. #Europe24

23:25 I hop off the train at Breclav, in country 10 of the #Europe24 challenge, the Czech Republic 🇨🇿. Ten countries with 33 minutes to spare. We’re not going to fit any more in now…
Sorry we didn’t quite get to the 11 I hoped for, but it was always a spin of the wheel.

There’s now some remarkable shunting to take place of the ‘Metropolitan’. Off go the portions to Berlin and Warsaw. The Breclav cars are shunted away. And my single Czech sleeper sits here for the next 6 hours to be coupled to the morning Prague express. #Europe24

Effectively, Czech Railways are giving me a hotel room in Breclav for the night, without having to get up at crack of dawn for the first fast train to the capital. Anyway, I’m unshaven, unshowered and unslept. The sleeper car can fix all those. I’ll round #Europe24 up tomorrow!

Good night - and may you sleep well in whatever siding you are shunted into. #Europe24