In 2024, Europe’s rail networks experienced unprecedented demand, with passengers embarking on 8.7 billion trips, accumulating a total of 444.5 billion passenger-kilometres. This surge marked a new record, eclipsing the previous peak of 400 billion passenger-kilometres set in 2019.
Tag: Germany
ANTWERP | Antony Gormley’s ‘Geestgrond’ opens at KMSKA as the most comprehensive solo exhibition of the artist in Europe
On Saturday 23 May 2026, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, KMSKA) will open ‘Antony Gormley. Geestgrond‘, the largest and most comprehensive solo exhibition of the legendary British artist ever staged on the European mainland.
REVIEW | Lufthansa Airbus A380 in business class from Munich to Denver, return
September 2025. After Oscar came to London in June 2024 and I joined him there for a day, I’m now going to his hometown of Denver in Colorado. My second trip to the United States in 2025, after visiting my uncle and aunt in Wilmington, North Carolina. No, Denver is is not on foreign tourists’…
PASSENGER PACKAGE | Why the EU’s new rail passenger package is proving so controversial
The European Commission wants to make international train travel in Europe much simpler. Its newly unveiled Passenger Package promises easier booking, stronger passenger rights and more seamless cross-border journeys. In theory, the reforms could finally bring European rail travel closer to the convenience passengers already expect from air travel.
RIGA | Museum of the Barricades of 1991 and Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
NORWAY | Tourism breaks record with 40.6 million guest nights in 2025
Tourism in the Kingdom of Norway reached new heights in 2025 and continued growing into early 2026, as rising numbers of international travellers headed north for fjords, mountain landscapes, Arctic adventures and cooler summer temperatures. The country recorded its strongest tourism year ever, driven particularly by foreign visitors, with hotels, camping sites and holiday accommodation…
Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies unhappy with EU Passenger Package
On Wednesday 13 May 2026, the European Commission proposed new rules to simplify train travel, enabling single-ticket booking across Europe. The move aims to boost sustainable travel and help the European Union meet its climate goals by making rail a more attractive alternative to short flights. Rail companies will have one year to adjust their…
PASSENGER PACKAGE | European Union wants seamless rail travel with one ticket across Europe, but critics see major obstacles
On 13 May 2026, the European Commission has unveiled sweeping plans to make rail travel across Europe simpler and more integrated, promising easier booking, stronger passenger rights and smoother international journeys. But shortly after the proposals were published, railway experts, passenger organisations, and others argue the reforms risk becoming too rigid, too complex and ultimately…
RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2026 | Spain breaks Malta’s decade-long hold on Europe’s LGBTQIA+ rights top spot
As the rules-based international order fractures and democracy is under pressure from east and west, Spain‘s top ranking in ILGA-Europe‘s Rainbow Map of 49 countries on LGBTI human rights laws and policies stands as proof that political courage remains the most powerful answer. Belgium retains its score of 85% but falls to forth in the ranking,…
GERMANY | Introducing Cologne
November and December 2017. During my solo trip to Taiwan – the vacation which was a catalyst to start Trip By Trip – I met Ugo. Fast forward to August 2025. Ugo is touring Europe and we decided to meet up. Showing him Antwerp was an option, but fitting the metropolis into his itinerary was…