At KNIR, we actively promote environmentally conscious travel. One of our recent scholarship holders, Puck de Boer, has been travelling by train to Italy for the past seven years. She wrote a blog reflecting on her experience, demonstrating the many benefits of train travel.
From Rome to Groningen, stopping only at Milan, Basel, and Utrecht. The uninitiated might be surprised to learn that it took me three transfers to get home. After spending three months in Italy for my PhD research, the nineteen-hour train journey actually provides a welcome opportunity to unwind and reflect on this dazzling experience. With each transfer the landscape and climate become more akin to home, and slowly I accept the fact that another Rome experience has come to an end. Conversely, arriving in Rome by train feels nothing short of concluding a pilgrimage. There is something magical in approaching the blue ROMA TERMINI sign and realising you are only half an hour away from Angelo’s warm welcome hug.
Those who have met me at the KNIR will have heard me preach about trains. Really, I am an obsessive nerd about them. Did you know that you can actually travel from Rome (07:20) to Utrecht (23:38) in one single day, using only three trains? If this seems too much, the Nightjet from Basel (23:13) to Utrecht (08:53) allows you to do part of this journey asleep.
For seven years, I have been taking trains to Italy for climate reasons. Surely, the inefficiency of some train routes is not a selling point, and duration, costs and comfort are some of the most commonly-heard objections. But weighing train benefits against aviation, in my view, falls short of a more urgent reality. What is so comfortable about a 45° summer heatwave anyway? My train travels may not have been the quickest, but they have definitely made my journeys abroad more meaningful. I select my research activities abroad with more intent, prolong my stays if possible and seek additional experiences. It takes some courage to change your travel mindset, but the rewards for yourself and the world are plentiful.
Puck de Boer
Those interested are welcome to contact Puck directly for more information on how to organize such a trip for a stay at KNIR.