I was in these countries in the summer of 1990 when it was still Yugoslavia and honestly it doesn't look like it's changed much. That area was my favorite in a two month trip to the Balkans and it made me sad when everything really went bad for them. Their war was a true human tragedy
Yes, my aunt was from Yugoslawia and escaped into Germany where she met my Uncle and married into one crazy family, wie das Leben so spielt wie Germans say,
I am from Croatia, Not much has changed in all ex-Yu countries ,(except Slovenia) ,due to problematic gouverment sector (institutions,public service,state owned companies..). .stupid,corrupted,lazy,irresponsible,wicked,communist menthality ,are the key words to desribe it. Result: poor economy and In last 10 years,10% of population left country.
The big attraction of railway travel is that you can simply sit down and watch the landscape pass by. It can be surprisingly different every hour. I took the Trans-Siberia Express in 1985 from Moscow to Khabarovsk. Khabarovks is not the real end of the Trans-Siberia Express, but in 1985 traveling on to Nakhodka meant you were obliged to travel on to Japan. I did not want that, so I took the reverse journey to Moscow in three stages: Khabarovsk-Irkutsk-Bratsk-Moscow. I still have fond memories of the trip.
Yes, and you basically see how one country turns to another and that one to another. In this case how you go from Balkan to Central European architecture. A plane takes you from A to B but you don't really see the places between them that close.
Here in Japan it’s impossible to even think of traveling by train for 2n3d with no air conditioning! Thanks for taking me through a completely different - and beautiful - part of the world.
@@DominantTyphoon What's the point in traveling 6 countries? This train looks far from comfortable - I would certainly fly this distance. And may I remind you that Japan is an island country.
@@vnse725 You cannot transport your car by airplane, but you can by this train. Otherwise, you would arrive earlier if you take a bus. I'm also assumming that transporting car by train along with your family is cheaper than fuel for driving.
Many thanks for this epic video! My whole childhood and youth I was travelling at least 20 times with Optima Express to Turkey and back again, pure nostalgia😊 best travelling experience, loved it!
Just loved this journey. I do not even know if I can save up enough money to ride on trains across the world, but this was quite splendid. Love from India.
Wow, an odyssey indeed. These kinds of rides are increasingly rare. My favorite rail trip ever was all day on the train between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. I had to laugh at the comment about going the speed of Amtrak. Thanks for an epic video.
It is so refreshing to get lost in another world for a few minutes and enjoy another fascinating video by Mr. Thibault. Unique train, beautiful scenery, an introduction to a very different but fascinating world. Who better to do this than Thibault! THanks
Greetings from Slovenija. It's the KarawankEN tunnel btw and there is also a road tunnel of the same name that carries the motorway from Slovenija into Austria. I saw this train (running late again) at Jesenice the other week and wondered what the hell it was so thanks for solving the mystery. I'm fairly sure that they put one of Tito's blue train coaches on the daily service from Beograd to Bar (supplements payable etc) which is another epic journey. Lep pozdrav. 🇸🇮👍
Thank yo for this fantastic video. I want to do that trip now! It is what riding trains east of the Alps is all about. I travelled on the Tauern Express back in the 1960s and this brought back so many memories. Thanks again.
I can remember travelling from Istanbul to Sofia then Sofia to Athens long times ago 1973 that time my journey was very beautiful. Once I travel from Istanbul to Budapest by train.
I can remember travelling by train from Munich to Istanbul in the late 1980s. A daily train, with both couchette and sleeper carriages and, exotically, a carriage with a Bulgarian duty free shop added between Sofia and Edirne. Everything was clean and comfortable, if modest. Travel time was night-day-night. We got to know nearly all people in our carriage (mostly Turks, Yugoslavians, Bulgarians) and were invited to eat and drink with them. Finally at dawn of day two punctually and stately rolling around the Golden Horn at the foot of the medieval Byzantine sea walls was a goosebumpish way to enter magnificent Istanbul - Constantinople. After some days in Istanbul we took the train to Erzurum, a city close to the Turkish-Iranian border. Again a most pleasant experience. The distance and travel time was nearly the same as from Munich to Istanbul. Which made us aware how large Turkey is. Unfortunately our original plan to take the train to Baghdad failed, as that historic line (part of the Berlin-Baghdad railway) was not operated any more.
I am very happy for you that you had a good time with our train in the eighties, but please do not use the name constantinople for Istanbul, we do not like it, I hope you will understand and stay healthy.
i travelled a lot by train during the 90s. the best bed to get some sleep is the upper one. cold air comes inside through the window yet the lights don't wake you up during the night. we had the same compartments in the greek railways during the 90s...i met a lot of foreigners travelling then. i remember an american couple from ohio who were 19 at that time and were travelling all over europe. i cant remember their names but i remember having the best time.
I live in Rakovica, close to the Optima route. Few days ago I spotted the Optima with that rare silver sleeper. Thanks for sharing how it looks inside. The OeBB used to dispatch similar sleepers to Belgrade until few yers ago.
Thank you so much. This is your best (of an excellent selection) video yet! This is a train I have always wanted to travel on - now I am even more determined to give it a try.
Enjoyed the video thoroughly. The open window provided fresh air and the natural sounds from the track. Also the dining car allowing smoking was pleasantly surprising. But above all was the view, consistently from Turkey to reach and every country or passed through to Austria. And I have never seen a train carrying cars booked by passengers (seen freight trains transporting cars though), it seems like a great facility. Perhaps someone could board from Turkey with a car and then drive from Austria onwards to travel around Western Europe. Could be a great way to see around and experience. Loved your video. Keep posting.... Good luck.
Amtrak also has a daily Autotrain route from Virginia to Florida. It's one of their most profitable routes too, getting tons of snowbirds or retirees bringing their cars down when they live in Florida for the winter months.
Dear Thibault, indeed there is so much to see and experience in this short life of ours...We are greatly indebted to people like you, who make it 'possible'...Compartments, stations, scenery, comments were all fantastic; my pick would be the housed in Slovenia...I am sure the woman who was chucking things out, may have changed her attitude by now...! Danke friend, from a rainy and beautifully cool Bangalore...Stay Blessed...🚂🚉🚂
Very beautiful. The verdant greenery is indeed a feast for tired eyes. Of course the heat is a dampener. The journey is laid-back and leisurely. The journey bordering Austria is indeed stunning with the shrubs and bushes neatly arranged and beckoning the tired traveler. Well done bro
These couchettes are quite unique. They are ex-Touropa coaches, recognisable by the special window arrangement and extra big family compartments. Their original classification was Bctüm, and I believe they are the oldest german couchettes still in service.
I envy you 🤫 I love Euro so much ♥ I am very pleased you have taken us with you. Travelling Europe by train is one of the things that I absolutely love doing. Thanks for the detailed and very useful information.
Lovely video everything well explained in English which really appreciated I love trains lots. One day I am planning to go same. Good job brother keep it up
Wow wonderful capture of the fortyhours journey. It was asif i was travelling in the train from Turkey to Austria. Thank you friend keep posting videos like this
I have been travel many times by sleeper train from Istanbul Turkey Haydarpasa Train Station to Sofia Bulgaria in the 1985-90-and once was from Bulgaria to Yugoslavia was so slowly The scenery of the fields was magical but this video h is amazing work so beautiful trip i like it and maybe i will try that trip soon. Thank you
Your video reminds me the train I took about 30 years ago from Budapest to Athens. It took literally four days going through former Yugoslavia territory in war. Still I remember the stunning landscape in the morning in Greece!
coaches from the blue train are sometimes attached to the trains on Belgrade-Bar line, usually during summer months when demand is higher. not the "posh" coaches of course, but those that were used by the staff or the guards who accompanied the Marshall
Nice video. Seeing the number of border crossings and related complexities no other company would find it easy to operate than Optima. Must be the reason why they are operating since 1954!
Wow, I never heard of this long train route without having to change trains before and I never knew you could carry cars in these kind of closed wagons! The design of the passenger's seats just looks the same as the one known from German regional trains (DB Regio), dark blue squares on blue ground, as you've mentioned in the video. This could be a quite good alternative for flights from Central Europe to Turkey and back if the tickets were a bit less expensive and if you've got enough time to travel such a long way by train. I love these train videos without annoying music or speech, so you can just enjoy the natural silence and the hypnotic sound of the train's wheels and the engines carrying it. Stunning views of this beautiful landscape.
The sound of the old track, Klahk, klahk, klahk, and beer, sausage and cupnoodle...one of my best memories with my father and mother in the northen area when i was i child.
I enjoyed your video. I would love to ride that train to see that part of the world. This train is still faster than slamtrak😀. Keep'em coming. Thank you
I miss the Hellas Express and Acropolis Express, operated in the 70s and 80s, between Athens and Dortmund. Always huge delay when going through Yugoslavia, but fun time for rail pass backpackers and I was one.
More than 40 years ago, I took the Hell Express once and will never forget it for the rest of my life. Who never travelled with the Hellas Express has no soul. Who did it twice has no brain 😀
Very nice video Sir, thank you ! Quite a ride though, 35 hours is a lot... I guess the best part of it is that you can put your car on the train and avoid driving all that way. Best regards to all travelers !
Some info on the Serbian section 1) Dimitrovgrad (Bulgarian border) - Niš is getting modernised and electrified (120 km/h, ETCS) and a new Niš bypass will be built. 2) Belgrade-Niš will be modernized and double tracked all the way for speeds between 160 and 200 km/h (2 hrs journey time). After these two are completed the ride from Sofia to Belgrade will be 4 hrs. 3) Belgrade Center is still not finished, station building is missing but a investor is building it with a office complex (starting next month). Also new development will be built in the area 4) Belgrade Center to Batajnica section will be 4-track in the future (2 for the S-Bahn and 2 for RE/IC/EC trains) 5) Stara Pazova - Šid is also planned to be modernized for 160 km/h with ETCS and denivelation of railroad crossings. Stations will also be modernized on all mentioned projects with platforms and underpasses. 5) Elektrickas are RVR class 412 trains (bought during Yugoslavia) and currently in operation in Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. In Serbia they are all used on the S-Bahn system (BGvoz) but will soon be replaced with new trains (plan was for new russian trains (russan desiros) but the cureent war delayed it)
New Russian commuter trains for Belgrade won't arrive anytime soon. Doubt they will be able to export modern EMUs in the near future. Time to look elsewhere tbh.
@@ironfoxzone2252 thanks. So I must up to 2030 travel with slow train from Bulgaria-Bucharest-Vienna. It will be faster then wenn serbian route is ready.
Good afternoon,, I am a train lover from INDONESIA. This video gave me a lot of information about long-distance trains in Europe. What a BEAUTIFUL trip.
21:23 those are some insanely good prices for very decent meals. and the one you took looked very good too. some improvements on the tracks, bring the commute down to under 24h, and it's a real deal.
Many thanks for this epic video! Also thanks for providing complete information and comments on the different locomotives and trains encountered along the journey!
What a fantastic trip ! Nostalgia for me. I travelled many times by train from Germany to Turkey in the 1980s. The incredible slow journey in Serbia with stops in sunflower fields every 2 km, the heat, etc - it evoked many old memories. Back then those trains were often incredible crowded, even the corridors filled with sleeping, drinking and singing people, accompanied by accordeon, throwing their empty beer bottles from the window .. I will never forget those journeys. Frankly, despite the heat I would prefer the old couchette car above that prison-cell like compartment in the old Austrian sleeping car. No windows to hang out from on a 36 hrs journey that is truly torture ! I was amazed to see the reasonable prices of the restaurant car, but the price of the train journey is unfortunately way too high ... BTW: A question: could the lower berths in the refurbished car still be used as one large bed covering the whole compartment ? That was feature not everyone knew about and very popular with lovers in the night ...
@@montpellierand Germany did not change its name, but is called Deutschland by Germans and Germany by English speaking folks. So what is the difference ? Türkiye was already the name of the country for Turks, and it is called Turkey in English. You cannot impose another name on foreign speakers, it would simply not work.
@@plonss No one imposes anything on another language. The pronunciation of the words Turkey and Türkiye is the same. Also, re-read what I wrote. The United Nations adopted this word.
Fantastic view.... I just love long distance sleeper class train 🚂 journey....... Beautiful videography...... Just another level of experience....... Stay blessed..... ❤️ With respect from INDIA 🇮🇳💯
The reason for the cigarette check on the border is the rampant smuggling big and small of cigarettes into the EU/Croatia. They're much cheap in the Balkans, so people buy them there in absurd quantities and bring them up.
I used to know someone who worked for customs at an airport in the UK. Boomers would come back from a one day "holiday" in Serbia or Turkey with suitcases full of cigarettes, lol.
@@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791 Haha still is like that. Everytime I go to serbia and come back to germany with a few boxes, they cost like 9 euro each there so its sure worth
7:31. In France , its forbiden since 20 years to stay between 2 cars when u need to attach them. ( surelly because of past accidents ). The operator have to stay on the platform & wait the train maneuver. Thx a lot for that cute video.
Absolutely fascinating. I had never heard of this train before and you have told us about it really well. It would be too hot for me, but that is why your videos are so enjoyable: you take the pain, we have the gain.
I was in these countries in the summer of 1990 when it was still Yugoslavia and honestly it doesn't look like it's changed much.
That area was my favorite in a two month trip to the Balkans and it made me sad when everything really went bad for them.
Their war was a true human tragedy
Yeah nothing changed much except for the war that destroyed half the country. He did show a lot of the major cities. They are still rebuilding.
Yes, my aunt was from Yugoslawia and escaped into Germany where she met my Uncle and married into one crazy family, wie das Leben so spielt wie Germans say,
all thanks to s*rbians
I am from Croatia,
Not much has changed in all ex-Yu countries ,(except Slovenia) ,due to problematic gouverment sector (institutions,public service,state owned companies..).
.stupid,corrupted,lazy,irresponsible,wicked,communist menthality ,are the key words to desribe it. Result: poor economy and In last 10 years,10% of population left country.
Pauperisation is results of restauration of capitalism.
I am from villach and didn't know we had a train to Turkey and back! How awesome!
Did you come to turkey ?
I m from turkey and i didn't know aswell
The big attraction of railway travel is that you can simply sit down and watch the landscape pass by. It can be surprisingly different every hour. I took the Trans-Siberia Express in 1985 from Moscow to Khabarovsk. Khabarovks is not the real end of the Trans-Siberia Express, but in 1985 traveling on to Nakhodka meant you were obliged to travel on to Japan. I did not want that, so I took the reverse journey to Moscow in three stages: Khabarovsk-Irkutsk-Bratsk-Moscow. I still have fond memories of the trip.
Isn't trans-siberian mostly forest and flatlands? It gets boring after day 1
Yes, and you basically see how one country turns to another and that one to another. In this case how you go from Balkan to Central European architecture. A plane takes you from A to B but you don't really see the places between them that close.
"40 km/h Amtrak style" - made my day! 🤣🤣Great video! I did not know that Optima is a german based company. Hope i hop on this one next year.
Ok, now i get it. "Cash only" in the dining car - has to be german
German based, but the owner is a Serbian migrant woman.
In Serbia 40 km/h only on high speed sections :D
Here in Japan it’s impossible to even think of traveling by train for 2n3d with no air conditioning! Thanks for taking me through a completely different - and beautiful - part of the world.
Japanese trains are the best :)
Japan is small n no rail connection to any country. This trains travels over 6 countries bruh :)
@@DominantTyphoon What's the point in traveling 6 countries? This train looks far from comfortable - I would certainly fly this distance. And may I remind you that Japan is an island country.
@@vnse725 You cannot transport your car by airplane, but you can by this train. Otherwise, you would arrive earlier if you take a bus. I'm also assumming that transporting car by train along with your family is cheaper than fuel for driving.
@@milospavlovic4599 No it's much more expensive than driving.
I used to live in Edirne in early 90's and took the train from TR to BG and GR. I love trains.
I went Glasgow (Scotland) - Istanbul back in '87, 6 changes and one over night stop.
Damn I love the sound of old tracks. Childhood moment right there.
Many thanks for this epic video! My whole childhood and youth I was travelling at least 20 times with Optima Express to Turkey and back again, pure nostalgia😊 best travelling experience, loved it!
Hello sir sanga chal de
One of the best channels on YT. Always amazing videos!!!
Just loved this journey. I do not even know if I can save up enough money to ride on trains across the world, but this was quite splendid. Love from India.
Wow, an odyssey indeed. These kinds of rides are increasingly rare. My favorite rail trip ever was all day on the train between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. I had to laugh at the comment about going the speed of Amtrak. Thanks for an epic video.
Another great trip. Love ending my week with a new video from you. Thanks for taking us along!
It is so refreshing to get lost in another world for a few minutes and enjoy another fascinating video by Mr. Thibault. Unique train, beautiful scenery, an introduction to a very different but fascinating world. Who better to do this than Thibault! THanks
There are many other train vloggers like him lol..as good or better.
Greetings from Slovenija. It's the KarawankEN tunnel btw and there is also a road tunnel of the same name that carries the motorway from Slovenija into Austria.
I saw this train (running late again) at Jesenice the other week and wondered what the hell it was so thanks for solving the mystery.
I'm fairly sure that they put one of Tito's blue train coaches on the daily service from Beograd to Bar (supplements payable etc) which is another epic journey. Lep pozdrav. 🇸🇮👍
You video simply popped up and I decided to watch. It was absolutely fascinating. I now, would love to make this jorney. Well done.
Cheers
Thank yo for this fantastic video. I want to do that trip now! It is what riding trains east of the Alps is all about.
I travelled on the Tauern Express back in the 1960s and this brought back so many memories. Thanks again.
I really enjoyed watching this. Thank you for all of your work and the effort required to post it for the rest of us. 👍
I can remember travelling from Istanbul to Sofia then Sofia to Athens long times ago 1973 that time my journey was very beautiful. Once I travel from Istanbul to Budapest by train.
Should I have any vise to get a tickets?!
I can remember travelling by train from Munich to Istanbul in the late 1980s. A daily train, with both couchette and sleeper carriages and, exotically, a carriage with a Bulgarian duty free shop added between Sofia and Edirne. Everything was clean and comfortable, if modest. Travel time was night-day-night. We got to know nearly all people in our carriage (mostly Turks, Yugoslavians, Bulgarians) and were invited to eat and drink with them. Finally at dawn of day two punctually and stately rolling around the Golden Horn at the foot of the medieval Byzantine sea walls was a goosebumpish way to enter magnificent Istanbul - Constantinople.
After some days in Istanbul we took the train to Erzurum, a city close to the Turkish-Iranian border. Again a most pleasant experience. The distance and travel time was nearly the same as from Munich to Istanbul. Which made us aware how large Turkey is.
Unfortunately our original plan to take the train to Baghdad failed, as that historic line (part of the Berlin-Baghdad railway) was not operated any more.
I am very happy for you that you had a good time with our train in the eighties, but please do not use the name constantinople for Istanbul, we do not like it, I hope you will understand and stay healthy.
You are very lucky...
Thanks 👍 for this video ..wish I could travel to these parts of Europe 🌍....love from India 💖👍
If you know English then it's better to make the video and speak as well ...that will in a way give more effect to the video😊🥰that's my suggestion 🤪
Do you know If that service líne between Munich _İstambul.is still funtioning ??????
i travelled a lot by train during the 90s. the best bed to get some sleep is the upper one. cold air comes inside through the window yet the lights don't wake you up during the night. we had the same compartments in the greek railways during the 90s...i met a lot of foreigners travelling then. i remember an american couple from ohio who were 19 at that time and were travelling all over europe. i cant remember their names but i remember having the best time.
I live in Rakovica, close to the Optima route. Few days ago I spotted the Optima with that rare silver sleeper. Thanks for sharing how it looks inside. The OeBB used to dispatch similar sleepers to Belgrade until few yers ago.
An oddessy#! The slow speed and open window made viewing the scenery more pleasant.
Thank you Thibault for another great review😀😀💚💚
Thank you so much. This is your best (of an excellent selection) video yet! This is a train I have always wanted to travel on - now I am even more determined to give it a try.
Enjoyed the video thoroughly. The open window provided fresh air and the natural sounds from the track. Also the dining car allowing smoking was pleasantly surprising. But above all was the view, consistently from Turkey to reach and every country or passed through to Austria.
And I have never seen a train carrying cars booked by passengers (seen freight trains transporting cars though), it seems like a great facility. Perhaps someone could board from Turkey with a car and then drive from Austria onwards to travel around Western Europe. Could be a great way to see around and experience.
Loved your video. Keep posting.... Good luck.
Amtrak also has a daily Autotrain route from Virginia to Florida. It's one of their most profitable routes too, getting tons of snowbirds or retirees bringing their cars down when they live in Florida for the winter months.
Dear Thibault, indeed there is so much to see and experience in this short life of ours...We are greatly indebted to people like you, who make it 'possible'...Compartments, stations, scenery, comments were all fantastic; my pick would be the housed in Slovenia...I am sure the woman who was chucking things out, may have changed her attitude by now...! Danke friend, from a rainy and beautifully cool Bangalore...Stay Blessed...🚂🚉🚂
Detailed and clear expression🙏 Thx for ur devotion😘 I tried the app mentioned by comments section, amazingly it is 💥super save🤩
Very beautiful. The verdant greenery is indeed a feast for tired eyes. Of course the heat is a dampener. The journey is laid-back and leisurely. The journey bordering Austria is indeed stunning with the shrubs and bushes neatly arranged and beckoning the tired traveler. Well done bro
Exactly. Train will be faster and has more scenery on the way🥹 and with discount the price will be affordable as well😂
These couchettes are quite unique. They are ex-Touropa coaches, recognisable by the special window arrangement and extra big family compartments. Their original classification was Bctüm, and I believe they are the oldest german couchettes still in service.
How old
@@s125ish 99'
Wow so nice journey I love it I like its
Wonderful. Greetings from Canada.
Will wait for more... Travels with u
I envy you 🤫 I love Euro so much ♥ I am very pleased you have taken us with you. Travelling Europe by train is one of the things that I absolutely love doing. Thanks for the detailed and very useful information.
Thanks for sharing. It is fun to ride on a train when you are not in a hurry.
Such a unique odyssey indeed... Loved every bit of it. Thanks.
Wow, My best friend, I liked the video very much, thanks you for sharing, stay safe, stay blessed
Excellent video. The photography was fantastic! I could amost see the heat.of the day. Wonderful editing. Cheers!
crazy travelling experience and i didn't know that there's still a such international connection in Europe like thos one
Thanks for the amazing video... beautifully captured the scenic beauty.... thoroughly enjoyed the journey
Thank you for sharing your long travel, at least I have seen travel g from Istambul to the end of your destination... Tnx from Philippines
Lovely video everything well explained in English which really appreciated I love trains lots. One day I am planning to go same. Good job brother keep it up
Wow wonderful capture of the fortyhours journey. It was asif i was travelling in the train from Turkey to Austria. Thank you friend keep posting videos like this
I have been travel many times by sleeper train from Istanbul Turkey Haydarpasa Train Station to Sofia Bulgaria in the 1985-90-and once was from Bulgaria to Yugoslavia was so slowly The scenery of the fields was magical
but this video h is amazing work so beautiful trip i like it and maybe i will try that trip soon. Thank you
Thank you for inviting us your travel in train it was super exciting, didnt even get bored and watched whole video.
Thank you! That was an awesome adventure.
Greta video mate! Thx for the ride! :)
Awesome journey mate 👍 The Alps are very impressive!! I really enjoy the sleeper train video experience 😀
18:01 is awesome, I liked very much...
Your video reminds me the train I took about 30 years ago from Budapest to Athens. It took literally four days going through former Yugoslavia territory in war. Still I remember the stunning landscape in the morning in Greece!
Very interesting, thank you.
coaches from the blue train are sometimes attached to the trains on Belgrade-Bar line, usually during summer months when demand is higher. not the "posh" coaches of course, but those that were used by the staff or the guards who accompanied the Marshall
What an interesting journey on a very unique train.
28:00 The train will arrive exactly at 4 :00. They just fail to tell you which day.
Actually d view is breathtakingly beautiful
Nice video. Seeing the number of border crossings and related complexities no other company would find it easy to operate than Optima. Must be the reason why they are operating since 1954!
Fantastic! I love your videos. Thanks!
Wow, I never heard of this long train route without having to change trains before and I never knew you could carry cars in these kind of closed wagons! The design of the passenger's seats just looks the same as the one known from German regional trains (DB Regio), dark blue squares on blue ground, as you've mentioned in the video. This could be a quite good alternative for flights from Central Europe to Turkey and back if the tickets were a bit less expensive and if you've got enough time to travel such a long way by train. I love these train videos without annoying music or speech, so you can just enjoy the natural silence and the hypnotic sound of the train's wheels and the engines carrying it. Stunning views of this beautiful landscape.
thanks mate, that was great to see!
I love traveling by train. Thanks for your videos.
The sound of the old track, Klahk, klahk, klahk, and beer, sausage and cupnoodle...one of my best memories with my father and mother in the northen area when i was i child.
I enjoyed your video. I would love to ride that train to see that part of the world. This train is still faster than slamtrak😀. Keep'em coming. Thank you
Thank you, for this Excellent Video. I enjoyed it, very much:the automobiles transported on board the train, unique ❣
Roland Singh, Canada 🇨🇦
This was awesome! I'm adding this to the list.
Wow that’s a great journey you did with the Optima Express from turkey to Austria😊🚂🚂I am really impressed of the journey you did.👏👏
I miss the Hellas Express and Acropolis Express, operated in the 70s and 80s, between Athens and Dortmund. Always huge delay when going through Yugoslavia, but fun time for rail pass backpackers and I was one.
With 'kurswagen' to the Netherlands! It was great to see a coach here with 'Athens' on it. We badly need those legendary trains again.
More than 40 years ago, I took the Hell Express once and will never forget it for the rest of my life. Who never travelled with the Hellas Express has no soul. Who did it twice has no brain 😀
Actually, there was also Olympic express that rode from Ljubljana to Athens in late 90es (maybe even early 2000es). It was leaving Zagreb at midnight.
took Acropolis Express from Thessaloniki to London! what an amazing trip that was back in September of 1976!
I am in Africa i dont have money to travel , life is just work
Very nice.. Thanks .Fantastic coverage,
Very nice video Sir, thank you ! Quite a ride though, 35 hours is a lot... I guess the best part of it is that you can put your car on the train and avoid driving all that way. Best regards to all travelers !
Just traveling by ordinary train, beautiful and elegant, very much inspiring adventure
Some info on the Serbian section
1) Dimitrovgrad (Bulgarian border) - Niš is getting modernised and electrified (120 km/h, ETCS) and a new Niš bypass will be built.
2) Belgrade-Niš will be modernized and double tracked all the way for speeds between 160 and 200 km/h (2 hrs journey time). After these two are completed the ride from Sofia to Belgrade will be 4 hrs.
3) Belgrade Center is still not finished, station building is missing but a investor is building it with a office complex (starting next month). Also new development will be built in the area
4) Belgrade Center to Batajnica section will be 4-track in the future (2 for the S-Bahn and 2 for RE/IC/EC trains)
5) Stara Pazova - Šid is also planned to be modernized for 160 km/h with ETCS and denivelation of railroad crossings. Stations will also be modernized on all mentioned projects with platforms and underpasses.
5) Elektrickas are RVR class 412 trains (bought during Yugoslavia) and currently in operation in Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. In Serbia they are all used on the S-Bahn system (BGvoz) but will soon be replaced with new trains (plan was for new russian trains (russan desiros) but the cureent war delayed it)
New Russian commuter trains for Belgrade won't arrive anytime soon. Doubt they will be able to export modern EMUs in the near future. Time to look elsewhere tbh.
In which year will be coplete the full track from Dimitrovgrad to hungarian border?
@@yogiaol By 2025 Niš-Dimutrovgrad and Belgrade-Subotica, Belgrade Niš will be a little bit further maybe 2030?
@@ironfoxzone2252 thanks. So I must up to 2030 travel with slow train from Bulgaria-Bucharest-Vienna. It will be faster then wenn serbian route is ready.
@@yogiaol Yes, by a lot. It will integrate the whole region
Another excellent video! Thanks for sharing your very warm trip :)
Next summer I will take the Amtrak Autotrain from Virginia to Florida...57 miles and NINETEEN hours shorter than this one and...total AC!!
wow great video good job !
Merci beaucoup et encore pour cette agréable vidéo qui fait plaisir à voir et à revoir et qui vous fait vivre une belle expérience ferroviaire
Awesome virtual journey
fantastic video of an epic journey! gives me a massive attack of fernweh!
Good afternoon,, I am a train lover from INDONESIA. This video gave me a lot of information about long-distance trains in Europe. What a BEAUTIFUL trip.
Let's gooooo! Finally a YT about the Optima
Very nice trip. Thank you !
Amazing video Thibault as usual!
Beautiful that you can even travel your car in auto train, quite amazing
WOW...what a great journey with outstanding views!😎👍
21:23 those are some insanely good prices for very decent meals. and the one you took looked very good too.
some improvements on the tracks, bring the commute down to under 24h, and it's a real deal.
Another great Video, Thibault. I almost felt sorry when the train arrived in Villach, I could have watched for hours. Keep on going 👍
Many thanks for this epic video! Also thanks for providing complete information and comments on the different locomotives and trains encountered along the journey!
Thanks for the great work and for letting us participate.
Thank you, Simply Railway. Tessekur ederim. Schone.
What a fantastic trip ! Nostalgia for me. I travelled many times by train from Germany to Turkey in the 1980s. The incredible slow journey in Serbia with stops in sunflower fields every 2 km, the heat, etc - it evoked many old memories. Back then those trains were often incredible crowded, even the corridors filled with sleeping, drinking and singing people, accompanied by accordeon, throwing their empty beer bottles from the window .. I will never forget those journeys. Frankly, despite the heat I would prefer the old couchette car above that prison-cell like compartment in the old Austrian sleeping car. No windows to hang out from on a 36 hrs journey that is truly torture ! I was amazed to see the reasonable prices of the restaurant car, but the price of the train journey is unfortunately way too high ... BTW: A question: could the lower berths in the refurbished car still be used as one large bed covering the whole compartment ? That was feature not everyone knew about and very popular with lovers in the night ...
Not Turkey. Turkiye 🇹🇷👍
Something like writing Deutschland in an English text you mean ?
@@plonss Nope. Germany did not change its name, but Türkiye did. It's more like saying Czechia instead of Czech Republic.
@@montpellierand Germany did not change its name, but is called Deutschland by Germans and Germany by English speaking folks. So what is the difference ? Türkiye was already the name of the country for Turks, and it is called Turkey in English. You cannot impose another name on foreign speakers, it would simply not work.
@@plonss No one imposes anything on another language. The pronunciation of the words Turkey and Türkiye is the same. Also, re-read what I wrote. The United Nations adopted this word.
Very very well done mate, i love it!
Fantastic view.... I just love long distance sleeper class train 🚂 journey....... Beautiful videography...... Just another level of experience....... Stay blessed..... ❤️ With respect from INDIA 🇮🇳💯
Nice and infirmative vlog 😍
Thank you for this video! I really enjoyed watching it, and I never thought i will see my own house on some of your videos :)
Nice! At which moment ?
@@SimplyRailway Roughly at 24:44 - Exiting main Belgrade station
Wow wow wow, what a great and spectaculair video!!! Keep on going the good work!!
The reason for the cigarette check on the border is the rampant smuggling big and small of cigarettes into the EU/Croatia. They're much cheap in the Balkans, so people buy them there in absurd quantities and bring them up.
I used to know someone who worked for customs at an airport in the UK. Boomers would come back from a one day "holiday" in Serbia or Turkey with suitcases full of cigarettes, lol.
@@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791 Haha still is like that. Everytime I go to serbia and come back to germany with a few boxes, they cost like 9 euro each there so its sure worth
@@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791 nice
kk
@@LordDucarius Yup, better pay a bit less for your lung cancer.
Awesome video :)
What an incredible journey!
7:31. In France , its forbiden since 20 years to stay between 2 cars when u need to attach them. ( surelly because of past accidents ). The operator have to stay on the platform & wait the train maneuver. Thx a lot for that cute video.
Thank you for sharing this lovely journey with us.
Very nice, all parts of the trip
Absolutely fascinating. I had never heard of this train before and you have told us about it really well. It would be too hot for me, but that is why your videos are so enjoyable: you take the pain, we have the gain.
I really enjoy watching your video,
this is an amazing experience..i wish to be there in Europe someday:)