Recently, my wife Alex and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, and we decided to take something off of our bucket list: a trip on the legendary Orient Express!
The first train crossed Europe in 1883, and now, a terrific company has brought it back in all of its original splendor.
The Venice-Simplon-Orient Express is run by Belmond, who did a fantastic job, with meticulous attention to every detail…
In 1982, the Venice-Simplon Orient Express was established as a private venture, running restored 1920s and 1930s carriages from London to Venice. Stops include Paris, Budapest, and Istanbul as well. The company does an amazing job, as we discovered when our Porter Davide greeted us…
Davide took care of everything we needed on the first part of our journey: the overnight trip from Venice to Budapest, with a short stop in Vienna.
Each train car has been meticulously renovated and restored to its original look: lacquered wood and rich textures and design everywhere you look – here is our suite – two cabins opened up to give us two different ways to look out at the passing countryside:
You can also wander the entire train, but know that it will take awhile, as there were more than twenty cars on the Venice-Vienna-Budapest leg of our trip – car after car of vintage beauty:
So, can you ever get bored on the train? Not sure that is possible, as the Italian and Hungarian countryside revealed incredible images like these:
There is a dress code, and you are encouraged to dress up, so on our first night, which was our anniversary, we did just that:
We ate in the Cote D’ Azur dining car, where there is a fixed menu, but you can also order other dishes if you like:
We had the Turbot and the Lamb, and as you will see, both dishes were meticulously prepared and presented:
Service was immaculate, the four courses were filling, and of course, some champagne and wine to toast the evening.
After dinner, you are encouraged to have a drink in the legendary bar car…seen here before and then AFTER:
We met so many great people that night, everyone dressed up, celebrating and embracing this unique style of travel…
Now, you might be wondering: how do you sleep on this train? Well, our suite had two cabins and one was turned into a bunkbed for us:
You can also have them side by side but we loved this double decker sleeping – and of course, it is all done while you are at dinner.
One last note about life on the Orient Express: the bathroom is down the hall at the end of this rail car, but know that there are only 8 suites in the car, so there was never an issue with the bathroom being unavailable, plus each suite had wash basins and running water – it was easy and fun!
The next morning, we had coffee and pastries delivered to the suite, and I jumped off at a short stop to get this picture:
It was such a great first part of our adventure. We spent 26 hours on the overnight train from Venice to Budapest, where we were given two days to explore that classic city as well.
Much more to share of our trip, this was just a taste of the amazing adventure ahead – and you can read more about the train by clicking on the company website here:
https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/venice-simplon-orient-express/
Let me know what questions you have and I will put answers on the next post!
Categories: Art, Books / Media, Exotic Travel, Food, Memoirs, Movies, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Uncategorized
This is great – Mum and I going on the train in May next year, and having this information is really helpful – especially the menu. Thanks for sharing.
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WOW Whee! what a gorgeous trip.
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thank you, it really was!
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Well done John – now I want to make that trip.
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What an experience!!! Thanks for taking us along.. And happy anniversary!!
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Thanks for the comment, and for reading!
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What a magnificent way to celebrate your 20th Anniversary. Congratulations! I have been exploring Europe by train, but not in this luxurious way 🙂
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Thanks for the note…Europe by train is the way to go – why fly over it when you can see it up close? Thanks for the comment1
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My pleasure! Exactly 🙂
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Oh, John!! This looks absolutely amazing and magical. This is something I would absolutely love to do. Happy Anniversary, looks like a fabulous way to spend it
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It really was a great trip, will be posting more about some of the most interesting aspects of it!
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What a wonderful way to celebrate your 20th wedding anniversary! Happy anniversary to you both.
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Thank you so much!
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That looks incredible. An experience/trip of a lifetime. Happy Anniversary. I just want to say you look great John but your wife of 20 years looks like someone you married when she was in grade school.
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Thank you for the compliment…Alex is truly a beautiful person inside and out!
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Belated wish for your anniversary. What an amazing way of celebration. We have similar vintage rail journey in India too “Palace on Wheels” passing through the palaces, forts of Rajasthan in Royalty. Visited the given website. It shows all sold out till April 2019. You must have bought tickets quite in advance. Great share. Could imagine the magical experience.
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Thank you!
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1st of all belated wishing you Happy Anniversary. Amazing way of celebration!!! And your descriptions are so lively, one can imagine the magical experience. In India also we have majestic train “Palace on Wheels” crossing through the forts and palaces of Rajasthan. Thanks for share.
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What a lovely and memorable way to celebrate your anniversary!
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Thank you! It was indeed!
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Never realized that oriental express existed in real life. Gorgeous pics and a post filled with love.
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Thank you for the comment! Yes, it’s a truly magical experience!
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Wow, John, this looks so amazing. I didn’t actually realise the Orient Express was a real train. I just reviewed Agatha Christie’s book Murder on the Oriental Express this week.
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Yes, I saw your review and was going to comment but was, well, on the Orient Express! It’s an amazing experience! Thanks for the comment!
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John!! This looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing! Need to add this to my bucket list now 🙂 So happy you’re enjoying!
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It was a great start to the adventure, and there is more to come – thanks for reading and commenting!
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What a wonderful trip John! Looking forward to following along on this great adventure!
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It was magical, and Alex is the BEST person to travel with!
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That’s the best part for sure! You two are great together! 🙂
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You are having the same great adventure with Bob…
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Yes!!! 🙂
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Belated Anniversary congratulations to you and your lovely wife.
I am suitably envious of that trip. The closest I got was when I was an EMT, and had to board the train at a London station, to take off a man who had suffered a heart attack. His wife was in tears, as she had looked forward to the trip all her adult life! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh no, Pete! Thanks for the comment, and for always supporting my posts – much appreciated!
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Happy 20th anniversary, John. Mine is coming next year and you’ve give me a great idea. Train travel is one of the few ways I have to travel without motion sickness. Thanks so much.
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Janet, I love train travel as you get to see the world you are in – the scenery was magnificent, and no horrible security delays!
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OMG!! A trip of a lifetime. Happy Anniversary to you and your lovely wife. xo
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Thank you for the comment – I spent more than 6 months planning it, and it turned out so well – they are truly flawless in their execution!
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Great post John….and lovely snaps…..going through the entire post was like travelling on the train itself……I am pretty excited to see The Orient Express in all it’s glory…..we have some similar vintage classics here in India too taking cross country trips across the land of forts and palaces across the great Rajasthan desert….:)….
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Yes, I know there are wonderful trips through India and Asia as well – would love to experience your country that way! Thanks for the comment, much appreciated!
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Welcome..
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Fabulous post, full of the history and elegance of the Orient Express. Happy Anniversary to you both, what a great way to celebrate!
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Thank you for the comment, it was magical for sure!
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