Obtaining an Interrail ticket is undoubtedly the most economical way to go abroad for a university student.. During my Erasmus in Turin, I made 2 Interrails and exploited the European railway enterprises to the fullest.. It’s not enough; I showed all Schengen countries that I don’t stay in hostels and get my food from supermarkets with the taste of BİM, and that I use the water, not the money itself.. Although I had the most enjoyable experience of my life at the time, I had a lot of minor annoyances on the journeys.. But there is one thing that goes, “Oh, we’re so crazy!” It has aged 10 years in 1 day under the guise of it.
About My Interrail Ticket
For those who don’t know, let me briefly talk about the Interrail ticket details of that period.. Interrail ticket, which allows you to travel between European countries by train, covers a certain period according to the type you choose.. In our time, there were types such as 10 days in 1 month, 5 days in 10 days.. My ticket was also a 5 day ticket in 10 days. In other words, the ticket is valid for 10 days from the date you choose and you only have the right to take the train for 5 days.. There are 5 boxes on it, you write the dates you got on the train there and you show this single ticket to the officer traveling in the train.. (I am ashamed to say that I use the ticket almost every day through various coyotes such as filling these boxes with a pencil, deleting what is written, changing the number 3 to 8, etc.)
How did I miss the train?
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I made an Interrail plan to leave Turin and return to the same place.. After leaving my other friends in Berlin and spending 3 days in the Netherlands, I was going to return from Amsterdam to Turin on the last day of the ticket. Since there is no direct train, my route was Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris-Turin. So how come I missed the train, even on domestic flights, who went to the airport 3 hours ago? Something I never expected happened: the train from Brussels to Paris was delayed. Yes, trains can be delayed too.. I missed the only Paris-Turin train of the day, as I couldn’t get to Paris at the scheduled time.. I had no choice but to take the train the next day.. But my Interrail ticket would be invalid as the expiry date would be over.. I’m a student, I don’t have a credit card, I’m almost out of money. Even if I spend the night at the train station, it is not possible for me to buy a new train ticket.
What did I do?
The train company that was delayed was the same as the train company operating between Paris and Turin. unfortunately i don’t remember the name. I took my breath in the office of the company and explained my grievance with all the details.. “Thanks to the woman over there, she suckled halal milk.. I’d love to admit his mistake and buy me a new ticket”, but he looked at me and simply said, “I don’t give a fuck!”. I think the disadvantage of being abroad and inexperienced is that I can’t be ugly enough in such situations.. there is nothing i can do. For a while I sat like a pear at the train station, trying to find a solution. When the most logical solution I found was to beg, I decided to think for a while.. I finally got the railway map of France with a gas. I found the nearest train station to Turin from the map. I said, “I’ll throw myself to the border, then I’ll reach the city by hitchhiking or something.”
After traveling by train in France all day, I went down to the border.. Meanwhile, I had some luck; All the trains I take are fast trains, so reservations are required and are subject to additional charges.. But I managed to travel without paying, by taking shelter in a corner like Sezercik.
Is it over?
Of course not! It’s evening, I came to the border station. I found out that there is a night train to Milan at midnight. After all, Milan can be an alternative, I can go to Turin anyway.. Super relieved, waiting at the station. The train has come, everything is fine. I got on the train, but there is something strange. Couldn’t sit, no place to sit. Not crowded, no “place”. What they call the night train is that the train is not moving at night, but consists of beds.. The train started to move as I looked around in bewilderment.. At that time, the officer came to ask for tickets.. I showed my expired Interrail ticket but it didn’t eat. There is no Interrail ticket on night trains anyway.. Meanwhile, a slight fear of being thrown off a train surrounded me.. The uncle in charge asked me for 250€ ticket money without any hesitation.. Now, with the frustration of the day, what a “I don’t have money!” If I rebelled; “Fine, okay, give as much as you have!” he said, he took all my money, we made a deal and he directed me to a room. I entered a 6-bed compartment with 3 bunk beds on the right and left.. I took a trip to the bed, among 5 men I did not know, some of whom were snoring, without blinking my eyes until the morning.
Since I gave all my money to the night train, I have no money to buy a ticket from Milan to Turin in the morning, I can’t think about it. no more. “What else could happen to me!” I got on the train with my expired Interrail ticket.. I showed it to the attendant as if there was no problem. Either he didn’t understand or he didn’t understand me, I don’t know, but he continued his work without saying anything.. This topic, which caused me to break out in cold sweats for 24 hours, was closed before it grew any further.
Conclusion
I would probably have zero problems if I stayed in a similar situation with my current mind and experience. i will get over it. When the lack of money caused by being a student at that time, the shyness caused by being abroad for the first time, and the uneasiness of being alone came together, a simple train miss turned into a nightmare.. Did it prevent you from going out? No. 2 months later, I went and bought another Interrail ticket
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