After having heard about the Interrail ticket in the previous year I picked up to the rails myself in 1978. I was only 17 years old and my mom let me go on the premise that my classmate Gisbert would accompany me. We left Athens with the legendary Venezia Express crossing Yugoslavia and arriving in Venice after two days. Straight on to Cannes. After a few days on the Côte d'Azur we headed into the Massif Central to the little town of Le Mont Dore. I do not know, why I chose that destination. I had wanted to see mountains and funiculars, but all we got was fog and pouring rain. After spending one night in our tent and the next night in a hotel to get our gear dry we left for Paris. Gisbert enjoyed the French capital so much that he decided to stay there, but I had a hunch of some female involvement. Thus I headed to the Loire on my own for visits to some of the famous chateaus: Chenonceau, Blois, Amboise, Chambord, Cheverny. Went to Brussels to see the Atomium, but the famous landmark was completely run down. What a let-down! Same with Maneken Pis. The little guy was so tiny! An excursion to Waterloo did not cheer me up either. Apart from the rolling landscape where the great battle had been fought, there was not a thing to see. Amsterdam stunned me with its museums (Rijksmuseum and Anne-Frank-Haus). The final destination of my rail journey would be Denmark. In Silkeborg I wanted to visit Mette a holiday acquaintance from Tolon. For a youth growing up in Athens this Danish town was a very positive experience: everything was clean and functioning perfectly. The downside was that Mette already had a boy-friend and my aspirations vanished into thin Danish air. To compensate my disappointment I realized a long-cherished wish: a visit to Legoland in Billund. Although too old for this I still enjoyed the visit being a big Lego fan. Time running out on my Interrail ticket I had to return to Athens non-stop and actually managed to return back home to Greece punctually with only a sandwich to eat and my travel budget burnt down to a few bucks.

Itinerary: Athens, Venice, Nice, Cannes, Le Mont Dor, Loire castles, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Silkeborg, Legoland, Athens
- 30 day rail journey across 9 European countries
- 7,000 rail Kilometers covered

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