Ljubljana in the Rain, Ljubljana, Slovenia (B)

I am absurdly excited. It’s late morning and the sun is shining over Zagreb as I attempt to squeeze through the train corridor with my huge rucksack like a tough piece of meat stuck in somebody’s throat. The train is humming in the background as the whistles and shouts of the busy Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor Train Station provide the music for my departure from Croatia. The reason I am so excited is that this train has compartments; proper old-school, doors-and-all compartments!

As somebody who grew up on a tiny island without trains the idea of actual compartments brings some of the romance of old rail travel back to life, conjuring images of Poirot and Marple and wishing that I could see in black and white to get that true film noir style.

The train departs and we are clattering through the countryside towards the border. Border crossings are a tedious and time consuming thing so if you are travelling in Europe outside of the Schengen Area then factor these into your travels, expect long queues if you’re travelling by car (as I’m writing this after the trip please be aware that because of the refugee crisis some countries have now closed their borders so check before you go). ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).