In 1975, I went on my first Interrail trip. Almost 50 years later, this is my story
Len Fyfe
3 October 2024
Len, Ronnie and Stuart on their 1975 Interrail trip (Len Fyfe)
I always loved geography. In primary school, I pondered the map of the world, learning its flags and capital cities. In secondary school, I studied rivers, mountains, deserts and the effect of natural disasters across the globe. A major influence was the magazine National Geographic, which opened the world to me. What I read was magical; the photography felt out of this world.
I grew up in a council housing estate in Aberdeen, Scotland during the 1960s. My dad was a bricklayer, and my mum was a nurse. Like many others around me, my interest in countries, cultures and famous global attractions was common. Perhaps it’s because these far-off places didn’t feel accessible to many of my school friends and neighbours; they were another world away. There was, in those days, a lack of opportunity for youngsters from working-class backgrounds.
Then came university in Edinburgh, and my chance meeting with Ronnie, and a couple of his schoolmates, Alan and Stuart. At the end of August in 1975, the four of us embarked on an Interrail adventure that would open our world forever.
As we planned the trip, I thought, “What, me? Going to Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Austria, a section of then-Yugoslavia (now Croatia), Greece, Italy, Switzerland and France?” As our departure date loomed closer, I can still remember the buzzy excitement and nervousness. We would travel around Europe for almost a month, planning to cover more than 7,000 kilometres across the continent, sleeping on more than a few trains and even one ship.
On 29 August, with my rucksack packed and money belt secured under my jeans, we took the train to King’s Cross Station in London, four Scotsmen wearing our tartan bonnets. Our first stop was Dover and then on to Ostend, a Belgian port and rail link to Europe. From Ostend, we caught a night train to Copenhagen.
We arrived at Copenhagen – our first real stop of the trip – the next morning, feeling not so bright and breezy after our first night train experience. This trip, as you would expect, was a big learning curve for me, at the age of 20. For example, in Copenhagen, I left my money belt with absolutely everything in it – Interrail Pass, money, passport, you name it – on the bathroom sink ledge of our youth hostel. I’ve never run so fast, and you will never know the relief I felt when I found the money belt in the same place I left it. I got away with one there; if it had been stolen, I was going home before the adventure had even really started.
In Copenhagen, we saw Tivoli Gardens and the Tuborg Brewery, and set aside time for a day trip to Landskrona, Sweden, by ferry. We also caught a football match between Denmark and Scotland. Witnessing the interactions between Danish and Scottish fans was very enjoyable, with not one bit of trouble — apart from us getting pelted with popcorn from the stand above. It was just good banter, and we didn’t mind, especially with Scotland coming out as 1-0 victors.
Over the following days, we took the train across wide swathes of Europe, stopping in cities such as Würzburg, Hallein, Salzburg, and Zagreb. After a gruelling 33-hour train journey beginning in Croatia, we eventually reached a very hot Athens feeling exhausted, hungry and in desperate need of a shower. But the tiredness faded when we came face to face with the Acropolis, Parthenon, and other sites from the National Geographic magazines I’d pored over in the past – one of my childhood dreams fulfilled.
Next, we crossed the spectacular Corinth Canal on a slow train journey from Athens. Upon reaching Nafplion, we had three days of beach time. It was so good stopping for a moment and getting some much-needed sleep.
Len, Ronnie and Stuart stop for a photo aboard the ferry from Patras to Brindisi (Len Fyfe)
Len poses with the Matterhorn during an Interrail trip he took in 2019 (Len Fyfe)
Next up was a train ride to Patras, a major port in the west of Greece that would take us to eastern Italy. Our Interrail Passes granted us a discount on the ferry journey to Brindisi. Here, Stuart and Alan headed back to Scotland, while Ronnie and I boarded a train to Rome, continuing our tour of famous sites I’d seen in National Geographic: the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Vatican.
In Rome, Ronnie and I spent an evening swapping stories with a young Australian couple who were travelling around Italy on their honeymoon. It’s been said many times that Interrail is about all the different people that you meet on your travels. Another example of this? In our hostel in Rome, we ran into a group of Dutch backpackers we’d met in Copenhagen at the beginning of our trip; turns out, they had simply travelled a different route from us to reach Rome. A small world!
We made more friends in Bern, where we experienced a beautiful Alpine sunrise after a night train from Italy to Switzerland. After a day of sightseeing around the city, we spent the night at the hostel with some fellow Interrailers who were busking their way across Europe; to this day, I remember they were talented, playing many favourites from the ‘70s.
Paris, our final destination, was worth the wait. Over the course of two days, we discovered the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and Place de Concorde, while taking time to walk along the Seine and sample French cuisine. After departing Paris for Scotland, I also learned another lesson: on our train journey home, I found a clean pair of pants I didn’t recall packing. There’s something to be said for having a clear out of your rucksack when travelling.
Nine countries, eight languages and ten currencies later, we arrived home. Our first Interrail trip gave us many things: confidence, the hunger for more travel, increased empathy and tolerance, and an understanding of other cultures, people, and traditions.
Looking back, almost 50 years later, I most vividly remember the people that we met on trains, beaches, bars, and in youth hostels. They shifted my perspective profoundly, and though our encounters were brief, I would like to think they learned something from us in the same way we learned from them.
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a full account of Len Fyfe’s first Interrail trip. Read more about his adventure – and Fyfe’s 2019 Interrail trip designed to recreate his original 1975 journey – on our Community.
Meet the writer
Len Fyfe, originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, went on his first Interrail journey in 1975. Since then, he’s gone on 9 separate Interrail trips, most recently exploring Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Italy and the Netherlands by train.
Len's travel advice:
Don’t cram your Interrail trip and try to do too much. Remember to have restful days without any sightseeing. Go with confidence and talk to strangers.
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