Night Trains

1) I don't worry about leaving my bag at the hotel. It has nothing of value. If someone takes it, they'd be very dissappointed. I wouldn't be happy, but I'd get by. You can also leave your bag at left luggage in the train station.

2) I can't sleep on night trains. The last one I ever took was between Prague and Budapest in 1998. I took them a lot in the early 90s to save money and see more places, but I never liked them.

3) Starved? no, why would someone be starved after an overnight trip? You can eat dinner before you get on the train.

4) Smelly? Well The only place I ever took a night train in August was in Scandinavia and one rarely breaks a sweat anytime there. You can wash up on the train and there is this thing called anti-perspirant ....

If you are a light sleeper, then night trains are not fun. Some people can sleep through anything; if you are one of those people then take the night train. You say you want to try a night train...Why?

I have never stayed in a hotel in Paris, Rome, London etc.. that has not kept luggage later or let you check in and leave it until room is ready later . Most flights from North American arrive early in morning so I have never had a hotel not accept my luggage earlier even if room is not ready for me. I have also left luggage till later in day.. do note many luggage rooms are not secure , sometimes they are just put in corner of a back office. so do not leave valuables in them.

I do not smell even after 30 hours so sorry can't help you there. lol

Ps I travel in August frequently and have never gotten a hotel without a/c ..where are you going??? I can suggest hotels with ac and reasonable prices.

I have taken City Night Line trains that are operated by Deutsche Bahn, and they are top of the line as far as night trains go. We've taken economy sleeper compartments, so they contain 2 bunks, luggage rack, wash basin, mirror, electrical outlets. I can't speak for couchettes or deluxe sleeper compartments which contain their own toilet and shower.
When you board you give the conductor your ticket and passport (most night trains involve border crossings) and he shows you your compartment and where everything is and gives you your key. There is a bathroom at each end of the car, one of which has a shower. The conductor has a small office where he stays on duty all night. He will also ask what time you want to be woken up before your stop and what time you want your breakfast which is just coffee or tea and a croissant. Nothing fancy, but if you want a big breakfast, you can get that when you disembark. He'll knock on the door at the appointed time with your breakfast and your passport.
As far as sleep, not all that great for me, but younger people probably have no problems. The train will often make stops in the middle of the night, spend extended periods of time in a station (night time is when the freight trains move in Europe). I think you need to experience it for your self and see if it is for you.

I've ridden trains all over Canada, the US, England and Europe, several of them night trains over the years, always in at least a 2 person sleeper.

I will preface by saying that I have ridden my last night train, most likely. With the almost complete lack of sleep (partly because I got waken frequently by banging, crashing, speeding up, slowing down, flashing lights, drunks in the hall, rough track, and all the other myriads of reasons; partly because when I am woken up I tend to look out the window and see where I am, and spend a few minutes working out where that station sign said I was) and the excellent comfort and speed of the modern high speed trains I see no reason to take 3 or 4 times as long at night as travel during the day with light upon the gorgeous scenery.

But - ya pays your money and takes your choice.

1. "Do you not worry about your luggage while you are enjoying your last half day ...?". No.

2. "At what time did you really get to sleep?". See above. Never really sleeping in the normal sense, more like dozing or light sleep
   frequently interrupted.

3. "Starved? Coffee?". Just like anywhere else. I tend to pack a bit of snackage whenever on a train, they give you a little something.
   All the main stations have food, but if your stop is at 4 am it may
   be a bit early for them. But then you normally eat at 4am?

4. "Stink?". No.

When I was in college, I had three three-night cross country train trips with a private compartment in coach and had no trouble sleeping. Twenty-five years later, on a business trip to Europe, the company had me travel from Brussels to Heidelberg on a night train, again in my own compartment. The train was three hours late leaving Brussels, due to having to wait for ferries coming across a stormy Channel. I naively expected them to make up the time and set my alarm for the scheduled arrival time in Heidelberg, only to wake up somewhere around Koblenz. Not knowing how much more time I had, a didn't sleep after that, but I slept well up to then. CNL trains generally run through the middle of the night without station stops. The Amsterdam-Prague train, for instance, only has four stops between midnight and 7 AM (6:59, actually) - two just after midnight in Hamm and Bielefeld to take on passengers and two after 4 AM in Berlin to discharge passengers.

From where are you leaving and arriving? Most night train stops are major stations and they have lockers available 24-7. Check out and leave your luggage at the station where you can pick it up when you go there for the train. Same thing when you arrive. Leave your luggage in a locker, pick it up at the end of the day and check into your hotel. CNL trains serve a box breakfast with coffee in your sleeper compartment; couchette passenger have a Bistro car. And most stations have food service. (Munich has a few fast food places open all night and bakeries that open by 6, some by 4.

Deluxe (1st class) private compartments have their own shower and toilet. Economy compartments have a wash basin where you can clean up and a shower in one of the WC compartments at the end of the car. Couchettes have a shower and wash basin at the end of the car. Seated accommodations have a wash basin at the end of the car (I'm not sure about a shower). Many stations have a shower service in the station.

I try to limit my travel to a small area (I always find plenty to see) so I tend to have short trips on regional trains. After months of travel in Europe, I feel that if you need a night train, you are trying to see too large an area (same with flying)..

We had a night train trip in Scandinavia that was great. The temps were such that we could keep the windows closed and the train was in motion almost constantly. We slept well in our couchette. No complaints, except an electrical problem delayed the train for 3 hours, causing us to miss a connection.
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We had two other night train experiences in central Europe in July that were hot, requiring the window to be open = LOUD, and the train made frequent long, seemingly pointless stops, which interrupts sleep. Those were very basic trains and were not experiences I would care to repeat.
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Then two years ago we decided to be brave and try another night train from Verona to Paris. The ride started out fine except for the construction of the 6-person couchette which left the two poor sods on the lowest bunks incredibly uncomfortable on benches that tilted toward the wall and had only about 16 inches of space between it and the bunk above. Then we experiences a mechanical failure of some sort that wound up delaying the train for six hours. So we have had four such trips; two very hot, loud, and uncomfortable, but on time, and two more comfortable but ridiculously late arriving. Maybe we were unlucky.....

That was great guys. It was more of an academic question than anything else. From time to time I read about someone who is taking a night train across Central (Eastern) Europe and I have thought them to be nutz. But that's just me. If I were still 20-someting and traveling with the guys that would be one thing but I am 50-something now and cant really imagine it. Fortunately we have make the best of other forms of transportation. I asked about luggage because the last two hotels I left my bags in had the exact same "facility" and "technique", they opened an unlocked closet near (but not behind) the check in counter and tossed the bags in, turned and asked; "anything else we can do for you?" The first was in London and the Second in was in Gyor. Hilarious. I think its great that some of you found trains with showers. The Orient Express doesn't even have showers.......

Best

I think the biggest bonus of the night trains is that they are timesavers-you can save your daylight hours for sightseeing. And for long distances, it is cheaper than flying. This is why people use them.

I used them almost exclusively when I was living abroad and trying to make the most of a three day travel weekend. I can sleep anywhere. I didn't get the best nights sleep but I got enough to enjoy the next day. I have never had a bad experience leaving a bag at a hotel or at the luggage storage in a train station. But of course I have all of my valuables on me. Stink factor- Even though you can't check into your hotel, they will let you use their bathrooms when you drop off your luggage. I use that opportunity to wash up in the sink, brush my teeth, reapply deodorant, etc. This is also why it is a good idea to stay somewhere at least 2 nights. Certainly the night train thing would get old if you had to pick up and do it every other night.

Now that I have more time, I can meander more and find the night trains aren't as necessary. Or if is a long distance by train, I would shell out the cash for a plane ticket. But if it makes sense logisitically, I would consider another night train.