Safety, eating, sleeping sitting up, etc, solo, on trains in SE Europe

Tom, We did pretty much the same thing in Sep.-Oct. only starting in Istanbul. The farther east you go the older the trains areDo not even consider a third class couchette. They are made from old cattle cars and plywood. We were in one that had asquate toilets, no paper, no water, and the hole went directly to the rail bed. We tried second class in Romania, Vienna, Krakow and those were a little better, four berths instead of 6. We didn't really see any modern trains until the run from Katowice to Prague. That was a first class upgrad. Its a good idea to take your pas to a ticket counter and upgrade to a reserves seat becuse in western Europe the trains get crowded. Also upgrade to first class if you can afford it. After riding third class, first class is a joy. We always take food and drink. You can buy beer anywhere as well as distilled spirits. Also water. We use Playtpus collapsible bottles. Take cookies, sausage, whatever will get you through ten hours of now cafes. Most trains in western Europe have a concession cart or cafe car for the upper crust. I think reservation will cost you an additional 9 Euros or so, less in eastern Europe. A first class upgrade will be a little more than that. You can send me a personal message if you wish. Oh, Eurail passes are no good in Poland Turkey, or Bulgaria, however tickets are less expensive there. I've just had cataract surgery and am not seeing worh a *** so apologies for errors.

"Mostly I'm asking about the safety issues of solo travel..." I doubt that any opinions and experiences you will get here will be any more helpful than the opinions and experiences you have already read and will review again. They'll be anecdotal. Those with negative experiences will report them, as will those who've had trouble-free trips, but this won't give you a full picture of the risk level. You will probably find that the ones who had trouble either didn't have a money belt or pack locks or tethers, etc., or they were careless with their valuables in some other way. Basic safety precautions with money, cards, and passport, and valuables are something that you already understand, I'm sure. And a back-up plan, in the event that your belongings are stolen, is in order as well. As I would do if you were asking about the security of driving a particular highway or walking a particular neighborhood, I would refer you to some reliable statistics, the only reasonable way to project risk. But I don't think there's a body of data on the safety of train travel to Istanbul.

Tom, If you're starting in Berlin (or other locations in western Europe), the second class cars are usually quite comfortable. However, I've never travelled by train in Turkey or Bucharest, so can't offer any comments on those. One point to note is that your Railpass will NOT include reservation fees, which are compulsory on some trains. You'll have to pay for those separately. I'm not sure how much of an issue these will be in eastern countries, but especially in Italy it's a REALLY good idea to have the appropriate reservations, or you'll be fined on the spot and it won't be cheap! You won't have to worry too much about "border crossings" in countries in the E.U. The Police often board trains at the crossings and check passengers at random. Those who look "dodgy" can expect to have their documents checked. I don't know what that situation is like in Romania or other non-E.U. countries. I haven't found eating on trains to be a problem. There are usually numerous snack bars in the stations, so it's possible to buy a sandwich (or perhaps a Big Mac!), chips and a soft drink before boarding the train (I've done that on numerous occasions). I've seen many Europeans having an impromptu "picnic" on the trains, with meats, cheese, bread and wine. Also, on many trains a food cart travels up and down the cars, selling sandwiches, coffee etc. From what I've seen, these tend to be overpriced and the coffee is somewhat mediocre (usually "instant") but if there's nothing else available that's certainly an option. Sleeping in a coach seat could be "risky" in some of the areas you mentioned, even if your luggage is locked to a seat. You may find items "missing" when you wake up. Good luck with your trip!

Tom Forgive the digression. Monte mentions above that Global passes are "no good in Poland Turkey, or Bulgaria." If you are going to Italy, train tickets are relatively cheap, especially if you buy early on the Italian rail site. Alternatively, you can always buy on the day of or day before in most of Europe. Maybe you might want to consider which countries you are going to and figure out point to point costs for your train trips. Combining buying in advance and closer to departure may be much cheaper than the Pass. Sure you will figure out what is good for you! Bobbie