I took a 7-day trip from Paris to Istanbul on Europe’s newest transcontinental train

“So this is nan awesome Orient Express,” says a characteristic successful Graham Greene’s 1969 caller Travels pinch My Aunt. “Maybe it’s existent luxury travel…for group not successful a hurry.”

That novelised type of nan famed Paris to Istanbul train was a small run-down, and calamitously, had nary edifice car to sate passengers connected its three-day journey. Ttitular Aunt Augusta bemoans nan deficiency of caviar and champagne successful which she’d indulged connected a erstwhile voyage.

“We practically lived successful nan eating car. One repast ran into different and nighttime into day.”

Just arsenic Aunt Augusta harkened backmost to nan glory days of train travel, truthful excessively does Golden Eagle Luxury Trains. Passengers connected its caller French-Turkish relationship will hardly find themselves going hungry, but they surely won’t beryllium in a rush.

A champagne reception astatine Gare de Lyon group nan inaugural travel disconnected connected a footing of opulence and pleasure. While Paris slipped distant down a drizzle of rain, we first travellers were treated to a boozy on-board luncheon that portended nan extravagance of our seven-day voyage to nan Bosphorus.

Coupled to nan royal-blue wagon-lits of its Danube Express were 2 edifice cars and a barroom car, each successful afloat swing, pinch capable caviar and champagne to past good beyond Istanbul.

The Golden Eagle winds a sinuous way crossed nan continent

Golden Eagle’s itinerary touches connected galore of nan locations taken by erstwhile iterations of nan multifarious “Orient Express” trains — Austria, Serbia, Bulgaria — though it traces an original, much languid, sinuous way crossed nan continent.

The train makes further stops successful France’s Reims to sojourn a champagne house, an day astatine Slovenia’s Postojna Cave, spirit-tasting successful Belgrade, and a metropolis circuit of Sofia.

This was precocious May (the way is offered successful outpouring and autumn), nan cleanable clip to make a cross-continental harvest inspection of Europe. The budding grapevines of France trailed into nan soggy barley fields of Austria, to Serbia’s parched beans and corn, and Bulgaria’s squat, as-yet-faceless sunflowers. Fat Brown Swiss cattle successful Alpine pastures begat Croatia’s sheep, which gave measurement to nan skinny Dardanelle goats of Turkey.

And each time of nan journey, sprouting betwixt nan railway ties arsenic though they had been seeded by passing trains, was a festive tri-colour of poppies, butterwort, and early-purple orchids.

Europe’s champion edifice connected rails

Greene’s Aunt Augusta was correct to opportunity that “in mediate property pleasance begins, pleasance successful wine, successful love, successful food.”

Food was connected my mind from nan get-go of this trip, and did funny things to my senses. At our extremity successful Reims, I was happy to perceive our guideline say, “We will beryllium visiting nan Café Drole.” I was honestly amazed to find america past astatine nan city’s cathedral alternatively than a brasserie.

The statues carved into nan church’s façade, chewed by acerb rain, looked leprotic without various fingers, hands, noses, and toes, and put maine successful mind of gorgonzola.

The adjacent day, arsenic I passed done Austrian Tyrol, nan waiter bent pinch a handbasket of breadstuff and asked if I wanted “The normal, aliases nan unspeakable kind?” Too funny to refuse, I asked for nan terrible, only to find it was, successful fact, made pinch tarragon.

The bread, nan butter, nan finicky meals, and delicate desserts are judiciously constructed successful nan cramped swelter of a railcar kitchen. It feels definite that, were it not moving connected rails for weeks astatine a time, nan Danube Express edifice would person a Michelin prima aliases 2 — that strategy being predicated connected nan anonymity of reviewers, who are improbable to walk a week aliases much eating astatine nan aforesaid establishment.

Yet I could deliberation of thing amended than having my regular meal of poached eggs and bacon while passing done Slovenia’s Julian Alps, aliases eating octopus carpaccio, grilled oversea bass, and baked mango cheesecake arsenic we traveled southbound done Croatia, to my near was a wolfish Balkan wood, to my left, sportfishing boats and Adriatic formation sand.

Each evening, Gábor Viczián, nan train’s resident musician, would capable nan barroom car pinch euphony — tunes from his autochthonal Hungary, nan Great American Songbook, and Elton John. One night, nan carriage slow emptied, until it was conscionable nan 2 of us, him astatine nan piano, and maine drinking my champagne.

I tried to perceive pinch sincerity while Gábor explained to maine really Chopin’s modulated romanticist chords led to nan plaything and jazz of Gershwin and Joplin, but betwixt nan rocking of nan train, nan drink, and Gábor’s unsocial rotation connected nan English language, his explanations soon became a small blurry.

A humanities voyage made caller again

In my clear moments, I knew this was a typical voyage. As nan travel wore connected and Istanbul loomed, it became a taxable of speech — nan humanities connotations of nan journey, successful literature, film, and nan imagination, were inescapable.

The past supper connected board, a semi-formal “black-tie gala,” was held arsenic we rattled betwixt Sofia and Istanbul. I sat pinch an Australian gentleman, who expressed amazement that everything had gone truthful well.

“This travel conscionable flowed for illustration wine,” nan Australian said. “Smooth from commencement to finish.”

Yes, I thought, and nan train is nan terroir, providing america pinch everything needed for an fantabulous trip.

“We tin only do truthful much,” said Tim Littler, Golden Eagle’s founder, who travelled pinch america connected nan journey. They person refined their ngo aft years of operations successful Europe, Central Asia, and India (new itineraries will soon statesman successful China, Tibet, and Vietnam).

What is nether Golden Eagle’s purview — nan delicious food, nan drinks, nan comfortable cabins, nan friends and smiling unit — was amended than anyone could inquire for.

As successful immoderate benignant of travel, nan remainder was up to america passengers. How could nan torrential rainfall we encountered successful Vienna beryllium a problem erstwhile we had a backstage orchestral performance waiting for america astatine nan Burgtheater? Why fuss complete nan occasionally spotty Wi-Fi erstwhile we had nan breadth of Balkan Europe to look retired upon?

How could anyone kick astir nan hold times astatine nan Bulgarian separator erstwhile nan formalities were wholly taken attraction of by Golden Eagle staff, leaving america free to proceed sipping champagne and reference our novels?

The clip allotted to america was nan existent luxury. To paraphrase Greene, this is nan awesome Golden Eagle; it is existent luxury recreation for group not successful a hurry.

The writer was a impermanent of Golden Eagle Luxury Trains.