Eurail — the special train travel pass around Europe — celebrated their 60th anniversary in style in Sydney. Inviting a select number of guests to a private mansion in Point Piper, we feasted on a delicious breakfast menu and pretended we were on the shores of Lake Como.
For over 60 years, Eurail railway passes have let travellers go all over Europe. Long before the European Union, Eurail allowed people to experience Europe in a border-free way (albeit one that could collect passport stamps along the way, something I miss about modern-day Europe). With just one pass, you can visit a whopping 31 countries!
Starting with passes for three days, and going all the way up to three months, Eurail allows you travel in a seamless, hassle-free way. One of the reasons I always love travelling around Europe by rail? The railway stations are in the heart of the cities. None of this trekking out to the airport, landing, waiting for luggage, and trekking back in. Eurail makes everything so very convenient and classy.
To celebrate their 60th year, Eurail have welcomed three new countries! You can now go by rail to Great Britain, Lithuania, and the newly-re-named Northern Macedonia (formerly the Federal Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).
The Plus Ones’ co-founder Theresa
Plus, they’ve permanently reduced Global Pass fares by up to 37%! You can start with a pass for as little as $265AUD. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty darn neat. Not only that, but they’ve permanently added Adult 2nd class tickets, plus reduced cheaper pricing for One Country and Greek Island Passes. Anyone up for the challenge of visiting all 53 Greek islands on offer?
To celebrate, Eurail took over an Italian-inspired mansion in Point Piper for a decadent al fresco breakfast. Ringing in at a cool $50 million (according to my partner, who works in real estate), it was a glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Looking out over Sydney Harbour from the grassy terrace, removed from 1%ers’ moored yachts only by the private pool, it was easy to imagine we were on Lake Como. I wouldn’t have been surprised if George and Amal slowly cruised by.
Executive chef at Merivale, Jordan Toft, pulled out all the stops for us for brekkie. Explaining that he was inspired by European cuisine, he ushered us into a mouth-watering feast inside the mansion.
The menu:
- soft scrambled eggs, chives, black pepper
- seeded granola, berries, yoghurt, honeycomb
- avocado smash, spring onion, espelette pepper
- pancakes, conserva, creme fraiche
- serrano ham, torn apricots, lemon thyme, raw honey
- heirloom tomatoes, pecaches, burrata, summer basil
- toasts, croissants
The sounds of a Spanish guitar wafted over the nearby waves, and, as we gazed upon Lake Como — er, I mean, the harbour — it was all I could do not to immediately book a summertime flight to Europe.
With Eurail on hand to make travel around Europe so effortless, I highly recommend you consider them for your next jaunt. Here’s to the next 60 years of Eurail!
– Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa’s done BritRail and SwissRail, and is now determined to do Eurail.
For more information on making your future European vacation even better, visit www.eurail.com.
