What preceded...

I am what they call a true "train buff" in English. The best Dutch translation for this might be a "Train Enthusiast in a Category of its own." Put me on a train and I am a happy man. ;)

When I was 18, I traveled through all of Europe by train with Interrail for the first time. I met new people every day, and I just saw for myself which new destination I would visit the next day. Wonderful.

In my student room in Ghent, I hung a large map of Europe above my desk, on which I marked all the cities I had already visited with pins. Honestly? It was the perfect motivator to study, so that I could be sure to pass on the first attempt and enjoy a nice two-month holiday every summer.

My father called me "nuzen tjooloare" with a touch of mockery. Mobile phones didn't exist back then, so they never really knew which country I was in. They did know, however, that I would show up again after a month, because after a month my Interrail pass would automatically expire.

That is how I got a taste for train travel and literally pushed my boundaries further and further. When I was 21, I went to do volunteer work in Russia. The only option to get there: by train. From Poperinge, I went to Ghent, then on to Moscow, and so on to Syktyvkar. A total of 3,953 km, to be precise.

Poperinge - Syktyvkar

After that, nothing was too crazy. I traveled on the Trans-Siberian train from Poperinge to China and was on the road for 9 (!) days. It is still my most memorable train journey. But I also crossed Australia by train. And in Canada, I traveled all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast—you guessed it: by train.

In Belgium, too, I find nothing more enjoyable than heading out by train. You're in Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, Liège... in no time.

Marseille is also traditionally on my train itinerary once a year. I am lucky enough to live close to the French border. So, half an hour by train from Dunkirk to Lille, then the TGV south from there, and a few hours later you are already in the South. Wonderful to break up the winter like that with a good dose of sunshine.

But now there was a train journey that had been on my Bucket List for a while: the train to Sicily. Not that I hadn't been there yet (surprise!), but I had read that this train literally runs onto the ferry to cross the Messina Canal. I really wanted to see that with my own eyes.

So on a beautiful spring day, I started checking out the Interrail website, and before I knew it, there was (oops!) a train ticket in my shopping basket. ;) Happy as a child, I started planning enthusiastically, and the excitement grew by the minute.

This time, there is no longer a booklet to fill out, but a digital app. And in the meantime, youth hostels have made way for slightly more back-friendly hotels.

But otherwise, nothing has changed (except in the world): I still take way too much with me. And now my cameras have been added to the mix as well. Help. But it’s all for a good cause!

Okay, I'm setting the alarm for 5:30 (ouch!)