The 2011 Europe Train Challenge [NEWS]

April 4, 2011 • Posted by

By the time you read this, we will be sitting on a plane flying back to Europe – that’s right, we decided to cut our Asia travels short, head back to Europe and start a whole new adventure!

On the 2nd of May it begins …

30 countries – 90 days around Europe by TRAIN.

Welcome: The 2011 Europe Train Challenge.

We have teamed up with InterRail (as our premium sponsors) to create this train challenge.

During the challenge, everything we experience will be filmed, edited, and then turned into a travel show, which will be released online while we are still traveling.

The aim is not only to see if it’s possible to visit nearly every country in Europe by train within a 90 day deadline, but also to inspire and show others how easy it is to get out there, and explore the wonders of Europe in an environmentally-friendly way.

So be prepared for an extra busy 3 months here on As We Travel.

Here is the list of 30 countries we will be visiting in 90 days:

Ireland / England / Netherlands / Belgium / Luxembourg / France / Portugal / Spain / Switzerland / Italy / Slovenia / Croatia / Bosnia / Montenegro / Serbia / Macedonia / Greece / Bulgaria / Turkey / Romania / Hungary / Slovakia / Austria / Czech Republic / Poland / Germany / Denmark / Sweden / Norway / Finland … phew!

All this will be starting in 4 weeks, so until then stay tuned, and look out for more awesome video content as we travel around Europe with InterRail by train.

Also if you have any tips or suggestions for things we can do in any of the places above, share them below in the comments.

Lastly if you will be in any of these countries sometime in the next few months (May-July), email us for the exact dates since we would love to meet up!

Talk again soon,

Nathan & Sofia. xox.

76 Responses to The 2011 Europe Train Challenge [NEWS]

  1. Anonymous April 4, 2011 at 8:55 am #

    Guys, you’re gonna be exhausted after so much train time. You’ll need some vacation time when you’re done!

    What cities are you thinking about visiting when in Spain?

    Good luck!

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 7, 2011 at 2:02 pm #

      Hey Javi – yeah it will be a lot of time spent riding trains – we will be spending our few days in Barcelona, and Madrid. after this is done we will need a few months rest ;)

  2. Lauren April 4, 2011 at 9:02 am #

    That’s great news, and so exciting!!

  3. Andrew - The Unframed World April 4, 2011 at 11:57 am #

    ***ENVY*** -___-

    I have a suitcase I can fit myself inside… if you would be willing to roll me along with you.

    So happy for you two. What a great opportunity! You guys are at a level of travel blogging that I aspire to!

    I’m looking forward to your content from Europe.

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:02 pm #

      thanks andrew! :) really look forward to sharing our trip with you guys.

  4. Andi Perullo April 4, 2011 at 5:32 pm #

    Oh yay how fun!!!

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm #

      so much fun – but also a BIG test for our relationship :p

  5. Debbie Beardsley April 4, 2011 at 5:14 pm #

    This sounds like a very fun adventure. I love traveling by train and am looking forward to reading all about it.

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:02 pm #

      Hey Debbie, train travel really is a great way to see the true side of any country, so this challenge will be a great way to see so many sides of Europe.

  6. Peter April 4, 2011 at 5:34 pm #

    Wow! This is a whole lot of fun! Can i come with you? That’s so much to take in in 90 days, the most i have done in 90 days by bus is a tour of the entire UK and a bit of the East Coast of the USA.

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:03 pm #

      yeah I am hoping 30 countries in 90 days will equal many many new impressions of Europe.

  7. Tom Leicher April 4, 2011 at 6:09 pm #

    Hi guys,

    Some cities you should definitely check out while in Belgium:
    - Brussels
    - Ghent
    - Bruges
    - Antwerp

    I don’t know how much time you will have in Belgium but I would suggest you visit the cities in that order. So if you have one day, visit Brussels. If you have two days, visit Brussels and Ghent, and so on.
    I live in Belgium so if you would like some more detailed information on what to see and do here, I would be more than happy to provide it for you.

    And if you want me to show you around in our beautiful cities, let me know and I’ll do my very best to make myself available. I could be your very own personal guide and show you things only the locals know about :)

    And I would love to pick your brains about travelling, since I will be going on my first long term solo trip to Australia in September this year!

    Take care and maybe we’ll see each other over some Belgian Beer, chocolate and waffles ;)

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:05 pm #

      Hey Tom,

      Thanks for the wonderful comment – so many great things to recommend!!!! we really appreciate it :) We will be visiting only Belgium during our trip – have 1.5 days there before moving on to Luxembourg.

      If you are around, it would be fun to meet up!

  8. Sarah Wu April 4, 2011 at 6:18 pm #

    wow that’s awesome, you’ll be tired but you’ll be having fun too!

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:05 pm #

      yes – the more we think about it the more tiring it sounds like it will be – but so much fun as well to see if we can do it.

  9. bethany April 5, 2011 at 3:26 am #

    Wow – that’s so exciting! Can’t wait to read more about it! You guys are so lucky!!! That will be a crazy trip for sure. :)

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:05 pm #

      i agree – only 5 days left, and so many things to do, but we really can’t wait just to get out there and start filming.

  10. Scott April 5, 2011 at 6:43 am #

    So jealous. Europe is where I fell in love with backpacking, train travel, and everything else we all love. Have fun will be avidly watching the videos for sure!

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:06 pm #

      Hey Scott – Europe is a wonderful place to backpack by train – will be posting many videos, so stay tuned via our facebook page.

  11. Jeannie April 5, 2011 at 8:38 am #

    I like your mission. “To show how easy it is to get to these countries and do so in an environmentally way.” I’m paraphrasing, but either way this sounds like an exciting challenge.

    I have one request: blooper reel!

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:09 pm #

      oh of course Jeannie . we will be sure to post the blooper reel :p haha I can imagine there will be many clips.

  12. Akila April 5, 2011 at 2:36 pm #

    Wow – sounds exhausting but awesome. This year seems to be the year of train travel challenges — good luck with it!

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:08 pm #

      yeah it does seem to be that way doesn’t it! not sure why :p it will be an awesome test for us :)

    • Sofia - As We Travel Blog April 25, 2011 at 3:07 pm #

      yeah it seems to be that why doesn’t it – also have been talking with Michael from Go See Write – they have something fun planned later in the year.

  13. Breakaway Backpacker April 5, 2011 at 3:02 pm #

    Oh wow that sounds afuckingmazing!!! I would love to do something like that. I can not wait to follow along through the blog.

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:09 pm #

      hehe yeah it does sound that way ;) ;) when you are in Europe, traveling around by train is a great option.

  14. Urbanthor April 5, 2011 at 7:02 pm #

    Sure, its easy and fun. I Travellers by train in around 10 countries within 3weeks. So 30 in 3 months are no problem :) have fun

  15. Nomadic Matt April 5, 2011 at 8:53 pm #

    3 days per country? Disappointing! I thought you knew how to travel better! At least I might run into you now!

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:06 pm #

      haha yeah ONLY 3 days per country :p we will see if we can do it faster ;) would be great to meet up with you in Europe somewhere.

  16. Michael April 7, 2011 at 8:03 am #

    Exciting stuff guys! Have fun out there!

  17. Laurel April 7, 2011 at 7:30 am #

    What a fun innovative idea! I look forward to following your adventures. I live in Stuttgart, Germany, so if you make it this way, let me know.

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:07 pm #

      Thnks Laurel, we will be visiting Berlin during our German adventures – any ideas of things for us to do there would be great to know!

  18. James Clark April 7, 2011 at 1:31 pm #

    Great trip idea! I look forward to seeing it happen, should be a lot of fun :)

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:24 pm #

      we will be filming everything so you will get to see exactly how we deal with everything – will be interesting :p

  19. Unexpected Traveller April 7, 2011 at 6:57 pm #

    Well, if you’re in Belgium, we could meet up and share a few stories and beers … have a tweet-up perhaps!

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:10 pm #

      we will be in Belgium for a few days, would love to meet up – if you know other travelers there as well, we could all meet – that would be fun!

  20. Anthony April 10, 2011 at 7:42 pm #

    Finally!! I know your secret haha, sounds an awesome idea! If you decide to come very north and have time, it’d be great to meet up!

    • Nathan - As We Travel April 13, 2011 at 3:11 pm #

      haha yeah THIS is it :p we will be in Dublin and London for a few days, so prob won’t be able to make it north this time.

  21. travelguy April 14, 2011 at 5:57 am #

    Amazing! 30 countries in 90 days.Don’t forget to write a diary.Good luck guys!

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:11 pm #

      we will be posting at least 2 videos every week from each country we visit – so you will get to see everything which happens during the challenge ;)

  22. Dylan Lowe April 15, 2011 at 6:31 pm #

    Get yourself here in London and you can count on us London travel bloggers to give you a warm welcome. Keep us posted on your progress, we’ll meet up with you guys for a pint and a bit soon enough no doubt ;)

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:12 pm #

      Hey Dylan – London is our 2nd stop – we will be there after Dublin on the 4-5th of May – if you are around it would be great to meet up and meet a bunch of you london travel bloggers – what is your email so we can contact you?

  23. Norbert April 15, 2011 at 5:49 pm #

    Wow! This sounds like a pretty intensive trip, but pretty awesome! Looking forward to read and see the videos from all those countries!

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 25, 2011 at 1:13 pm #

      Thanks Norbert – it will be many countries, and many new impressions – I just hope we can capture them all within each video.

  24. Market.Travel April 27, 2011 at 7:34 am #

    Nice roundup of posts! Glad to be following your adventures.

    • Sofia - As We Travel April 27, 2011 at 7:38 am #

      thanks :) the Europe Train Challenge is going to be heaps of fun! :)

  25. Lucie Aidart April 28, 2011 at 12:33 pm #

    Oh wow that seems like an amazing trip! I would really like to do the interail thing! Anyway I’ll definitely follow you and maybe we can meet up in London!

  26. Anonymous May 3, 2011 at 12:26 am #

    Hope you have a wondeful trip! Also expect to share your travel experience, it will be my guide for my Europe trip next year!

  27. Rafisad80 August 9, 2011 at 10:54 am #

    very nice post about Europe Train Challenge. Thanks for sharing.

  28. Rafisad80 August 9, 2011 at 10:54 am #

    very nice post about Europe Train Challenge. Thanks for sharing.

  29. Joel Marcelo August 12, 2011 at 8:03 pm #

    As always, awesome article! I am a fan of your work. You take me places. http://www.morethemerrier.com.au 

  30. Nisha India August 25, 2011 at 12:38 pm #

    thanks for sharing such a wonderful information about  Europe Train Challenge

  31. Lileto August 26, 2011 at 8:18 am #

    Hi,

    it’s so awesome:))) Enjoy it every second, i’m sure it will be a wonderful adventure. If you arrive in Bulgaria we may meet up :) ))

  32. Karlo December 14, 2011 at 11:52 pm #

    i live on the coast of Croatia, if you would like a small tour, email me at karlot@live.com

  33. James December 30, 2011 at 10:24 am #

     this is a interesting post to read.

  34. Kona Jungmann January 16, 2012 at 8:05 pm #

    Excellent and
    informative post. I am a regular visitor of this site.I always appreciate
    your work. You should keep it up forever. Thanks for this great article.

  35. S-MARTENS April 2, 2012 at 9:53 am #

    This would cost a fortune if you did not have a sponsor, I live in Europe and train transport is Uber-expensive!!!

    • Sofia - As We Travel Blog May 24, 2012 at 3:44 pm #

      yeah – it would cost quite a bit more without a sponsor, so we were very grateful to be able to get them all on board for such an amazing adventure :)

  36. Sofia - As We Travel Blog May 24, 2012 at 3:43 pm #

    thanks joel for sharing that link :)

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