So excited to travel again and do a proper. I did my first day of the rail rides through Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria on 7th August 2020. Likely, the most interesting part of the trip regarding the nature while riding from Frankfurt to Milan.
Day 0: Cologne To Frankfurt (6th August 2020)
In fact, my trip had already begun on the evening the day before, on 6th August 2020. After work (home office), I headed from Cologne’s train station to Frankfurt. A couple of trains had issues, so that there were some quite full trains (luckily, you can see a prognosis online before) – so that I opted for a train which took a couple of stops, but therefore was rather empty.


My hotel, the Hampton by Hilton Frankfurt Trade Fair, was more far away from Frankfurt main train station than I thought before. At least, there was a nice mid-size mall closeby, so that I could grab some food for the trip there.



Frankfurt Excitement
I hurried for breakfast as I wanted to be at the main station as early as possible (at least: as early as the train will be arriving). I loved having a slice of cheese which actually smiled at me. Overall, the breakfast was really nice, I was a bit slow but then took a two-stop S-Bahn (local train ride) to the main station.


The ECE 451 to Milan was already at the platform. I was hoping to have the train’s version which is actually having a special livery, but it was a standard one. I had plenty of time to explore the train to find out two bad things: first of all, in contrast to my reservation, my seat did not come with a table (which was an easy fix, as the train was not booked out at all) and secondly, it does not have WiFi. In the year 2020… Glad that I have loads of data volume and (more or less) all-European roaming on my mobile contract…


A lovely train ride
I don’t want to spoiler too much about my detailed review of the ECE 451 trip, which will be published later – but apart from the technical issues and the ridiculous (Swiss) prices for coffee, the train ride was really lovey. Especially in Switzerland with passing Lake Lucerne or crossing Ticino, it was just awesome.



We arrived at Milan Centrale in time. Very strict and well-organized hygienic measures – would love that they work out that well in Germany. The rail station building is simply stunning. There was also a Frecciarossa 1000 train at one platform – some sort of greeting to Day 2 of my trip, which will take me to Rome in that one.




Relaxing at the Hilton
Much better planning on that hotel – the Hilton Milan is really just a quick walk away from Milan Centrale / Central station. The building feels a bit traditional, but the service was very welcoming and I got a lovely room as well. As I woke up very early that day to complete my CD reviews (I already published the album reviews of Luke Bryan and the amazing Cassadee Pope album on the website), I took it a bit slower before heading out to Milan.


First Steps in Milan
Even though I grabbed a local transport 24 hour ticket, I planned to mot push it too hard and just have a short route. Finally, it was longer than I thought. First of all, I passed by some of the Lombardy state offices, before I headed to the park Pareco Bibliotheca degli Alberi – or simply “Library of trees”. A lovely place, where you can even rent some sundowners to relax (with social distancing, of course). The key architectural landmark is definitely Bosco Verticale, the “vertical forest”.





From there, I headed on towards Garibaldi station for a short two stop metro ride. Close to the Lanza station, I had a look at the Castello Sforzesco, a huge medieval fortress. The museums in there were already about to close (or closed), but strolling through the interior was really cool – a very impressive building.








And then I fell in Love
I took the Southeast bound exit of the fortress and decided to take a tram ride. Direction back towards the hotel, but not really with the aim to do it directly. Just exit here and there if I like it. Before even starting that trip, I already deeply fell in love to Milan: aren’t these old-fashioned tram cars lovely? Sooo beautiful!





I left the tram close to Giardini Publico Indro Montanelli (“Indro Montenelli Public Gardens”). I just head a short look before heading back into city life. Due to the Covid-19 regulations, many people still work from home or not at all, so that many offices are closed and with that also a lot of restaurants. I decided to walk back to Milan Central station, which was a lovely stroll. I decided to go for some pizza and bruschetta for dinner. Pictures have only been posted on the story of my Instagram account.







I decided to have a relaxing drink at the hotel before heading to my hotel room. The Executive Lounge at the Hilton is still closed due to Covid-19 – but therefore I got a two drink voucher for the bar. I was surprised to get even more food: some (warm!) pasta, some kind of pizza and rice salad. Amazing food – what a lovely finish of the day.

Four Countries, Four Trains – Day by Day
Here are the links to my daily coverages. I will assign the entire Nightjet trip to the final day.
“Rides on Rail” Postings
Here is everything about trains, trams and other rail vehicles:
After praising my favorite songs of 2020 and the favorite albums and EPs in 2020, the final posting to do ...
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Apart from Trenitalia and their Frecciarossa network, there is also NRT (Nuovo Transporto Viaggiatori - "New Travellers Transport"), who are ...
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I am not too much in Harry Potter - but therefor, my wife is compensating my lack of knowledge. After ...
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After visiting so many German Rail lounges in my life, I was really looking forward how the more exclusive waiting ...
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On my Four Contries, Four Trains trip in summer 2020, my rail trip on Day 2 was an absolute highlight of ...
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One thousand kilometres to the sea - or vice versa One thousand kilometres to the Alps - was the slogan a new private ...
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Also due to the current situation in aviation, I could follow my idea to invest more time in rail travel ...
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While - especially for business reasons - trans-European rail connections may still take too much time for daytime transfers, night ...
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Heading back home. As said in the Day 3 coverage, I did not expect too much going on on that ...
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Being in Milan until the early afternoon, checking out an Italian rail lounge for the first time - and then ...
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Coming back from London from the (finally cancelled) Country To Country Festival 2020 was the last trip I took before ...
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While I so far made an semi-annual look back in time, the "Very Important Postings", I decided something with my ...
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The climate discussions during the last months again boosted discussions whether local traffic could not be for free to reduce ...
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Pittsburgh is not only the city of the three rivers and countless bridges - on the southern bank of Monongahela ...
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If you want to travel from Stockholm's major airport Arlanda to city center, you have multiple options. Undoubtedly, the strongest ...
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Not just due to my favorite flight with LATAM from Frankfurt to the Spanish capital, I love being in Madrid ...
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Just after I left Chattanooga Airport on Day 3 of my CMA Fest Trip, I went to the Lookout Mountain ...
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If you use the Madrid Metro Line 1 between Bilbao and Iglesia, you will likely notice that you pass another ...
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Wuppertal in the Bergisches Land region Northeast of Cologne hosts a very special attraction for train and rail enthusiasts: the ...
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The 15km long Tenerife tram track system between the harbour area of Santa Cruz and the old capital, San Cristobal ...
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The "Jacobite" connecting the Scottish villages of Fort William and Mallaig has always been regarded to be one of the ...
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Trip Reports
Here are all (other) Trip Report postings:
Heading back home. As said in the Day 3 coverage, I did not expect too much going on on that ...
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A Day in Rome - for this Day 3 part of the Four Country Train Trip report, I decided to ...
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Being in Milan until the early afternoon, checking out an Italian rail lounge for the first time - and then ...
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After having so many trip reports involving flights and road trips, this trip report will completely leave me on the ...
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Coming back from London from the (finally cancelled) Country To Country Festival 2020 was the last trip I took before ...
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Four ice hockey matches, Rock of Ages #32 in Hollywood, two new airlines and many more impressions - this trip ...
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Last stage: Las Vegas! My duties supporting my Pittsburgh Penguins were done, time to enjoy... some more hockey. This stage ...
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After four nights in Greater Los Angeles, it was time to follow my team and fly to San Jose with ...
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Let's play hockey - again! The fourth day of my trip through California (with a detour to Nevada) had the ...
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No hockey on Day 3 of my California trip 2020 - the day after the first match of the Pittsburgh ...
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Waking up in Anaheim, cheering fpr the Penguins in Staples center - that was roughly the plan for Day 2 ...
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Day 1 of my trip to the Penguins. The travel days to the US are typically not too thrilling. Leaving ...
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California, here I come. The first trip report of 2020 will bring me to California, where my ice hockey team, ...
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Flying to Barra - an aviation nerd's dream came true on 7th September 2019, when I visited the Scottish Island ...
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After two days of Weird Al Yankovic concerts and a memorable Day 4 with my sports idol Leander Paes and ...
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After having two Weird Al Yankovic concerts on the second and third day of my trip, tennis was in focus ...
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After the transfer Day 1 was haunted by terrible weather and Day 2 the expected long road trip to New ...
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After transferring to Connecticut on the first day, the second day of my "Weird Al & Grass Court Tennis" trip ...
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The first entry of a trip report is typically full of stories about airports, airlines and flying. My trip to ...
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After I did my very first trip report on Flyctory.com about following Weird Al Yankovic on his "Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised ...
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The final day of my trip report to Nashville. The tour is coming to an end, the next days, I ...
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After driving quite a bunch of miles the two days before, 4th June was planned to be a sightseeing day ...
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3rd June 2019 on my trip to Nashville was "Elvis Presley Day". Waking up less than a mile away from ...
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While most of the trip to Nashville was accompanied by magical places of music history, the first highlights of the ...
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The second day on my trip to Nashville was a comparably easy one: waking up in Washington D.C., sleeping in ...
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Naturally, Day 1 of my trip to Nashville lead me to the airport. The first stage of my trip was ...
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Already months ahead, I was looking forward to visiting the CMA Fest in Nashville. Not just that I fell in ...
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Wuppertal in the Bergisches Land region Northeast of Cologne hosts a very special attraction for train and rail enthusiasts: the ...
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Travelling to the NHL Stadium Series match of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Philadelphia Flyers in late February 2019, I ...
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The ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) are more and more becoming of the Carribean's top destinations. Staying a full week ...
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This is the second part of my report on exploring the largest island of the Azores with a scooter in ...
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After having some scooter experience in Spain, I felt that a good way to get a first view of the ...
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Sunday, 27th May 2018 - time to slowly head home. After quite a lot of flying, this has really been ...
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After the helicopter adventure on Day 3, travelling to the other major Spanish exclave in Spain, Melilla, was on the ...
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After having arrived in Gibraltar and Algeciras the day before, the remaining trip would not stay in the European Union, ...
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While Day 1 has been a "transfer day" with the flight from Cologne to Tangier after work, Day 2 was ...
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There are a lot of factors which made me look forward to the first destination of my trip, Tangier in ...
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No, I am not going to travel between Europe and Asia or America like a madman or do some extreme ...
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16th April, time to leave Atlanta again. At least, there has been plenty of time before to do some sightseeing ...
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Day 4, back to Atlanta, heading to where the trip started... and to my final concert of this trip. The ...
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Saturday, 14th April, has not been regarded as the most thrilling day of this trip anyway. Travelling from the very ...
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So long awaited... Time for the first concert of my trip to the Weird Al Tour 2018! Tried to start ...
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Day 1 of the trip to Weird Al Yankovic. It has been already some 14 years since I saw this ...
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My first flyctory.com Trip Report leads me to Georgia and Tennessee. Starting from Cologne airport, my key aim of that ...
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As part of my February travels, I also made a daytrip to the island of Kinmen, which precisely contains the ...
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